my engagements with Christianity are not like most people's
At lunch today, I mentioned that my Sunday morning church -- the one I usually think of/refer to as my generic mainline rainbow flag church -- had a Drag Gospel brunch this past Sunday. In explaining their mainline-ness, I mentioned T. asking me (in advance of visiting the church) how they were on kink/poly.
C. pointed out that there isn't really much in the Bible (esp. the New Testament) that could be construed as anti-kink. (Later I articulate my sense that most liberal Christian's negative stance on kink comes out of a general ethic of nonviolence, and not out of any particular Scriptural injunctions.)
Having recently read Borg and Crossan on Paul -- which book has a whole chapter on the letter to Philemon -- it occurred to me that, "There are lots of rules about how you are to treat your slave."
Which, yes, only apply if you're doing lifestyle.
***
Rest and re/New
Keith won't be here next Wednesday (proctoring a mid-term), so I may or may not be giving the Reflection (depending on the availability/willingness of the clergy he asked).
He said if there isn't a clergy presence, we shouldn't/won't/didn't have to have Communion. (The way service is structured right now, Communion is an option during the break-out time.) I said I would be in support of a Communion option (yes, I am totally this person who strongly supports church containing things she doesn't personally get anything out of). I was willing to preface it with, "These elements haven't been consecrated by an authorized person," but Keith remembered there was bread in the freezer, so he opted to pre-consecrate that. (I will probably still preface with a mention that the bread has been pre-consecrated by an authorized person.)
I went to the kitchen to be in community while he pre-consecrated the bread. I've never actually been present for a consecration outside of a service (since I got HEUMC-Scott's voicemail the one time that I was doing CWM sans consecrated bread), plus I wanted the consecration to be communal (since that's how it is in my churches, and if I were to believe in magic consecration, that's how I would believe the magic happened).
He did a brief rehearsal of, "On that last night, Jesus took bread..." After he finished, I said, "Those are the Words of Institution." Hey, if we are going to obey the letter... So then he said a bit asking God/the Holy Spirit to bless the bread -- which words included the word "magic."
C. pointed out that there isn't really much in the Bible (esp. the New Testament) that could be construed as anti-kink. (Later I articulate my sense that most liberal Christian's negative stance on kink comes out of a general ethic of nonviolence, and not out of any particular Scriptural injunctions.)
Having recently read Borg and Crossan on Paul -- which book has a whole chapter on the letter to Philemon -- it occurred to me that, "There are lots of rules about how you are to treat your slave."
Which, yes, only apply if you're doing lifestyle.
***
Rest and re/New
Keith won't be here next Wednesday (proctoring a mid-term), so I may or may not be giving the Reflection (depending on the availability/willingness of the clergy he asked).
He said if there isn't a clergy presence, we shouldn't/won't/didn't have to have Communion. (The way service is structured right now, Communion is an option during the break-out time.) I said I would be in support of a Communion option (yes, I am totally this person who strongly supports church containing things she doesn't personally get anything out of). I was willing to preface it with, "These elements haven't been consecrated by an authorized person," but Keith remembered there was bread in the freezer, so he opted to pre-consecrate that. (I will probably still preface with a mention that the bread has been pre-consecrated by an authorized person.)
I went to the kitchen to be in community while he pre-consecrated the bread. I've never actually been present for a consecration outside of a service (since I got HEUMC-Scott's voicemail the one time that I was doing CWM sans consecrated bread), plus I wanted the consecration to be communal (since that's how it is in my churches, and if I were to believe in magic consecration, that's how I would believe the magic happened).
He did a brief rehearsal of, "On that last night, Jesus took bread..." After he finished, I said, "Those are the Words of Institution." Hey, if we are going to obey the letter... So then he said a bit asking God/the Holy Spirit to bless the bread -- which words included the word "magic."