GOD HAS A DREAM -- 1

+ updated at 4:00pm EST, Wednesday, February 10, 2010

+ This is the first in a series of posts on a marvelous book, God Has A Dream by ArchBishop Desmond Tutu.

+ There is a website devoted to the book and its ideas and calls to action.

+ Spirituality and Practice offers a review by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat. Here's an excerpt: "Addressing the fear, anger, insecurity, and vulnerability that many people around the world are feeling, the author proclaims that God is present in our lives and does not ignore us when we are experiencing helplessness or hopelessness. What is the source of this assurance? Tutu responds: 'Many of us can acknowledge that God cares about the world but can't imagine that God would care about you or me individually. But our God marvelously, miraculously cares about each and every one of us. The Bible has this incredible image of you, of me, of all of us, each one, held as something precious, fragile in the palms of God's hands. And that you and I exist only because God is forever blowing God's breath into our being.'"

+ Spirituality and Practice offers an excerpt on Unity from the book. Here's an excerpt from the excerpt: "The wonderful thing about family is that you are not expected to agree about everything under the sun. Show me a man and wife who have never disagreed and I will show you some accomplished fibbers. But those disagreements, pray God, do not usually destroy the unity of the family. And so it should be with God's family. We are not expected at all times to be unanimous or to have a consensus on every conceivable subject. What is needed is to respect one another's points of view and not to impute unworthy motives to one another or to seek to impugn the integrity of the other. Our maturity will be judged by how well we are able to agree to disagree and yet continue to love one another, to care for one another and cherish one another and seek the greater good of the other."

+ As is their practice, the Spirituality and Practice team offers connections to a variety of spiritual practices. For this book they have chosen the practices of Hope, Justice, Kindness, Love, Unity, Vision. I would add at least 2 more: Silence and Transformation. I highly recommend all of their 37 practices which you can see on the S&P homepage and on their Spiritual Practices page.  Spirituality and Practice now has over 19,000 pages of inspiration, wisdom, illumination, guidance, quotes, practices and more.  It is awesome!

+ Three Utica Presbyterian churches (First, Moriah-Olivet, Westminster) are studying this book beginning this Sunday evening at 6pm in two homes. The Gospel lesson for this Sunday, the last Sunday before Lent, is The Transfiguration of Jesus.  The theme of Transfiguration is found throughout God Has A Dream. 

+ 4:00pm addition: The Seattle Public Schools developed "Time, Continuity, Change, Peace and Reconciliation" focusing on many of the ideas ArchBishop Tutu puts forward in God Has A Dream.

+ Click here to see all of my posts on God Has A Dream.