Third Temple-Church Conversation,  July 5th (note this change from June 20th) at 7 pm, Temple Beth-El.

Isaiah 53 speaks of the figure known as the Suffering Servant. On the 20th we will begin to explore the key question: who is the Suffering Servant?   This question takes us into different Jewish and Christian answers. Looking ahead, our exploration of the Suffering Servant passages form the backdrop to a wider exploration of Jewish and Christian understandings of wider mission in the world especially amidst the tumult of the present time.

Second Temple-Church Conversation, Tuesday, 7 pm, January 24th, 2017, Temple Beth-El

A question arises from the following statements: Religious faith is often personal, yet never private for religious faith while often personal is always public! Religious faith is concerned to promote good citizenship.

Question: On what authority, does religious faith address the concerns of the civic space?

In 2017 we will face the unpredictability of wide-ranging political change both at home and abroad. The question posed here and the statements upon which it rests will form the broad background to the second Temple-Church Conversation jointly hosted by St Martin’s Episcopal Church and Temple Beth-El to be held on Tuesday, January 24th at 7 pm, Temple Beth-El.

As members of both Church and Temple, where do we locate the source of our authority to speak within the wider civic arena? What is our qualification to offer a constructive vision to address the alarming decline in civic literacy that has resulted in a loss of the concept of virtuous service to the common good as the foundation for our democratic traditions? How do we defend democracy in the midst of a sharp turn towards a political authoritarianism marked by a contempt for truth-telling and personal accountability in political life?

Many in the secular society question the validity of the faith perspective, challenging our right to speak at all beyond the boundaries of our communities of faith and practice. In a secular space that no longer accepts the existence of the spiritual dimension in human affairs, our confusion about whether our faith is private or public results in our lapsing into silence. In our engagement with wider society, this silence or muting of our faith voice has only strengthened a tendency among progressively minded Christians and Jews to define ourselves as secular humanists – good people doing what good people do. Yet, to define ourselves in this way is to downplay our allegiance to God who is active in human history and human social affairs; God is a very public god.

Jews and Christians are joint participants in the unfolding story of a god named YaHWeH who heard the cry of a people in order to free them from bondage. We are constituted by this core historical experience out of which, YaHWeH-God invites us to live together according to a covenant, i.e. a set of mutual promises that has profound implications for our social, economic, and political lives. As we confront the issues of our own day this story offers profound implications for the way we see the world. It is here we must relocate the source of our authority and energy for engagement with others in the pluralities of our shared civic space.

Reflections on the storied nature of human experience

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First Temple-Church Conversation, 7 pm, September 20th, 2016.

What do we believe, and how does this shape the way we feel about the current tone of civic debate in America?

Many of us in religious leadership positions feel it necessary to address the current state of civic dialogue At the time of the first Temple-Church Conversation particular urgency was lent to concerns about the decline in civic literacy in the lead-up to the Presidential Election. The decline in civic literacy and the nature of citizenship is a wider worry with the current election cycle merely throwing a spotlight on deeper and more long term trends in our ability to conduct the kind of civic debate characteristic of our democratic traditions.
Everyone has a view it seems. As religious leaders, rabbi and rector, are mindful of not using their positions of leadership to promulgate personal views in a partisan manner. This tension has caused them to reflect more deeply on the source of their authority to say anything at all in using the religious voice to address the wider civic space.

In discussion Rabbi Howard Voss-Altman, Senior Rabbi at Temple Beth-El, and Mark Sutherland, Rector of St Martin’s Episcopal Church are both similarly struggling with the public role as religious leaders who are looked to, to offer some guidance, not of a political nature, but from the perspective of our Judaeo-Christian prophetic tradition. Jews and Christians are joint participants in the unfolding story of a god named YaHWeH who heard the cries of a people, freed them from bondage. Our communities are both constituted by this core historical experience out of which, God invites us to live together according to a covenant, i.e. a set of mutual promises. As we confront the issues of our own day this story offers profound implications for the way we see the world.

Here is the link to download the Rector’s full PowerPoint presentation. temple-church-conversations-1