Category Archives: Politics

January 23, 2019 · 4:40 pm

Communities of Liberation, Cuernavaca Mexico (1)

I just returned from a two week Spanish language and social justice immersion program in Cuernavaca, Mexico. This first post provides an overview, part of a short series about what we saw and learned.

Communities of Liberation Blog Series: The posts in this series are-

1. Communities of Liberation, Cuernavaca Mexico (1): About Blogging, Course Description, Celebrating 3 Kings, local homes, Cuernavaca, Museo de Arte Sacro, Tonantzin
2. Communities of Liberation, Cuernavaca Mexico (2): Immigration, Base Communities, Mexico and Morocco
3. Communities of Liberation, Cuernavaca Mexico (3): Customs and traditions, Virgin of Guadalupe, San Charbel Makhlouf of Lebanon, Iglesia del Río de la Plata and the LGBTQ community
4. Communities of Liberation, Cuernavaca Mexico (4): Don Sergio Méndez Arceo, Museo Morelense de Arte Contemporaneo Juan Soriano, Coco, the Day of the Dead
5. Communities of Liberation, Cuernavaca Mexico (5): Museo de Arte Prehispánico Colección Carlos Pellicer, Yolcatl: La representación animal en el Morelos Prehispánico, Museum of Memory and Tolerance (Museo Memoria y Tolerancia), Hate Speech, Rwandan genocide, Diego Rivera murals
6. Communities of Liberation, Cuernavaca Mexico (6): Indigenous people, Zapatistas, Marichuy and 2018 elections

These six blog posts and 100 photos are being submitted to fulfill Pacific School of Religion (PSR) class requirements. My goal in writing these blogs is to present my experience and observations, raise questions and share new information, and to inspire my readers to learn more. I have over 5,000 potential readers in the USA, Middle East, Africa, Central and East Asia and other areas: 2,673 direct blog subscribers, 1,203 on Facebook, 1,361 on Twitter, not counting cross posts to other sites. The blog series is collected under the tag Mexico.

About Blogging and Katysblog: This blog series makes use of the interactive nature of the web log (blog). If you want to see a larger version of any photo, select it. If you want to know more about a subject that is highlighted in blue (or underlined in a printout), click the blue text to go to the linked page. If you want to communicate with me, the author, to ask a question or make a correction, click on the Comment bubble at the bottom of the blog entry. You can learn more about me on the “About Katy Dickinson” page. You can learn more about Katysblog on the “About Katysblog, Using Pictures” page. I hope you enjoy reading, and I look forward to hearing from you!

Communities of Liberation Course class: The Graduate Theological Union course was lead by Professor Bernie Schlager of PSR who accompanied the five of us. Three of the graduate students were from the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary of California Lutheran University (PLTS-CLU), one was from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP), and I joined from PSR. The course started in December 2018 at PSR in Berkeley with two regular class sessions about the history of Mexico and key social justice topics. The Communities of Liberation Course Description:

This course, offered in partnership with Pacific School of Religion‘s Center for LGBTQ and Gender Studies in Religion (CLGS) and CILAC Freire in Cuernavaca, Mexico, will explore communities of liberation in contemporary Mexico, focusing on LGBTQ and women’s communities as well on issues of economic justice within Mexico and between Mexico and the United States.

On weekdays students will participate in ten days of language instruction, including three hours per day of formal classes and daily guided conversations. The classes follow a liberation pedagogy, emphasizing student-led learning and active participation. Each student will be placed in a home stay with native Spanish speakers. Home-stay sites are carefully selected and affirming of diversity in sexual orientation, gender identity, race, and ethnicity.

In addition, students will participate in field trips to important cultural and artistic sites; non-governmental organizations (NGOs); and community settings to gain greater awareness and understanding of Mexican history, culture, and social justice efforts. Students will also benefit from seminars on historical, political, and cultural topics, and there will be many opportunities for conversation with local community members.

We six arrived in Mexico on 5 January 2019, in time to celebrate the Biblical Magi on the Día de Reyes with Rosca de Reyes cake. In Mexico, the Magi arrive on a camel, horse, and elephant rather than just the camels I am used to seeing. During the first week, we saw nativity scenes all over town, some of them life size or larger. Cilac Freire, which describes itself as “the most progressive Spanish & English school in Mexico” presented us with traditional small gifts on our first day and told us that those who found one of the little Jesus figures baked into the crown-shaped cake would get to provide tamales for everyone. Cilac Freire was named in honor of Brazilian educator and philosopher Paulo Freire.

Our group was split between several local households which we shared with students in other Cilac Freire programs. I was one of three women who were lucky enough to be hosted at the home with the shortest walk to the school and two charming dogs: Guera (“Blondie”) and Queta. Our host Dora valiantly and lovingly supported our various food preferences and allergies and worked hard to get us to speak only Spanish at home by the second week.

Cuernavaca is the capital of the State of Morelos, south of Mexico City. It is a vacation destination for many in Mexico as well as for foreigners who attend its language schools. In the 19th century, Alexander von Humboldt named it the City of Eternal Spring. Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés built his palace there in 1526 (but most of the palace and cathedral were closed for repairs following the 2017 earthquake). Cuernavaca is a vibrant place full of friendly people, good restaurants and museums, and busy traffic.

On our first day, we walked downtown to the centro or Zócalo to see the cathedral with its open-roofed chapel and Museo de Arte Sacro de Cuernavaca. I there learned about Tonantzin, the Aztec mother goddess whose carved stone figure was found buried in the wall of the cathedral and who has a relationship to the Virgin of Guadalupe. Guadalupe was to become a regular feature of our two weeks in Mexico.

Blog post updated 5 Feb 2019

If you want to receive Katysblog posts by email, please sign up using the Sign Me Up! button (upper right).

1 Comment

Filed under Church, News & Reviews, Politics

Tagged as blogging, Dogs, Mexico, Pacific School of Religion, teaching

September 16, 2018 · 4:07 pm

Interfaith Panel on Religion and Environment

Today, the Islamic Networks Group (ING) presented an interfaith panel discussion on Religion and the Environment at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, in Saratoga, California (the Silicon Valley). I was honored to be the panelist representing Christianity, joined by other certified interfaith speakers who are Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, and Muslim. Some of the questions we answered, in addition to those from the audience:

What texts or traditions in your religion speak to the relationship of humanity to the natural world and the importance of caring for the environment?
Stewardship can be interpreted as living in harmony with the earth: careful and responsible management of shared resources; or dominance and making the most out of an owned resource. How does your faith tradition interpret stewardship of the earth? Does your religion have a formal position on this?
What personal or community practices have you observed in your faith group with regard to these teachings?
How do adherents of your faith consider climate change? Do people in your religious tradition feel a responsibility to respond to climate change? What have you observed in this area in your faith community?
St. Andrew’s holds an annual Faith and Innovation Conference. Technology and innovation have had both positive and negative effects on the environment, for example: reducing transport emissions on the one side, and on the other side using developing countries as a dumping ground for e-waste. Does your religious tradition have a point of view on this? What have you observed in this area?
How can religious traditions and groups work together for the good of the planet?

Each of us researched and brought notes to the panel. Part of what I said was about Christianity and Environmentalism in the Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox branches, and part about the ongoing tension between Stewardship and Dominion. My materials included:

From St. Andrew’s Prayers of the People
- (2 Sep 2018) “Creative God, we pray for the earth. Keep watch over those who rescue endangered species and repair scorched landscapes. Make us good stewards of creation.”
- (16 Sep 2018) “Creative God, quarks and galaxies bear witness to your imagination. Inspire scientists, naturalists, and conservationists who work to conserve precious natural resources. Grant us the wisdom to be good keepers of the earth.”
From 1982 Episcopal Hymnal – 14,161 hymns include “earth” – 5,274 include “sky” – and 5,254 include “stars”
- “For the beauty of the earth” – “For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies, for the love which from our birth over and around us lies. Christ, our Lord, to you we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise…”
- “The Holy Trinity” Verse 4 – “Holy! holy! holy! Lord God Almighty! All thy works shall praise thy Name, in earth and sky, and sea…”
- “Earth and all stars” – “Earth and all stars, Loud rushing planets, Sing to the Lord a new song! Hail, wind, and rain, Loud blowing snow storm, Sing to the Lord a new song! God has done marvelous things. I too sing praises with a new song!”
Book of Common Prayer: Prayers and Thanksgivings, Prayers for the Natural Order pp.827-828
- 40. For Knowledge of God’s Creation
- 41. For the Conservation of Natural Resources
- 42. For the Harvest of Lands and Waters
- 43. For Rain
- 44. For the Future of the Human Race
“Steward” in the Bible, 20 mentions in NSRV. The steward’s job: Manager of house and lands and workers – Master of the Household (Isaiah 22:15)
- “Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.” 1 Corinthians 4:2
- “For a bishop, as God’s steward, must be blameless; he must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or addicted to wine or violent or greedy for gain” Titus 1:7
“Dominion” in the Bible, 50 mentions in NSRV – Ruler, owner, in control over
- “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”” Genesis 1:26
- “God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” Genesis 1:28
- “Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul.” Psalm 103:22
- “We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.” Romans 6:9

If you want to receive Katysblog posts by email, please sign up using the Sign Me Up! button (upper right).
Photos Copyright 2018 by John Plocher

Summary: General Convention GC79

Written after the final legislative day of the 79th General Convention of the Episcopal Church “GC79” (in Austin, Texas). I was with the Deputation of the Diocese of El Camino Real (Central California). In my first GC79 blog, I gave a list of the big topics for discussion at this General Convention. Here is that same list, linked to an Episcopal News Service article about what happened:

Marriage Equality: approved a historic resolution giving all Episcopalians the ability to be married by their priests in their home churches
Revising the Book of Common Prayer: adopted a resolution that allows all congregations in the Episcopal Church to use optional, expansive-language versions of three Rite II Eucharistic prayers in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer
The Episcopal Church and the #MeToo movement: voices and stories of women played a significant role, from a liturgy where bishops offered laments and confession for the church’s role in sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, to passing a resolution so that deputies can to bring babies on the floor of the House of Deputies to feed them
A salary for the president of the House of Deputies: agreed to a plan to pay the president of the House of Deputies for the work of the office
Following up on the church’s three priorities: evangelism, racial reconciliation and justice and care of creation
Formulating the 2019-2021 triennial budget: accepted $134 million three-year spending plan
Middle East peace: of 15 resolutions on Israel-Palestine, only six passed both houses, on topics including Palestinian children, the status of Jerusalem, the disproportionate use of lethal force on both sides, and ways the Episcopal Church can press for peace through its investment decisions

Other GC79 big topics and actions of interest:

Resolutions on ethical investing in gun manufacturers and retailers: develop and implement a shareholder engagement plan based on the Mosbacher-Bennett Principles for Investors in the Gun Industry
Episcopal Church of Cuba admitted as a diocese: Our Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves who was born and raised in Florida was there to welcome Bishop Griselda Delgado Del Carpio to the House of Bishops
Lesser Feasts and Fasts and the calendar of saints are a step closer to revision
Thurgood Marshall, Pauli Murray, and Florence Li Tim-Oi are now permanent saints of the church
Bishop Mary was re-elected as Vice President of the House of Bishops.
Passed a resolution to “Establish an Advisory Council on Disability and Deaf Access” – to reduce exclusion in the life of the church
In addition to resolutions supporting immigrants and their families, a thousand Episcopalians protested at the ICE Hutto Detention Center in Taylor, Texas, on 8 July 2018. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s sermon at the event was inspiring: We come because we are people of love. America Means Welcome. America is great because America is good.

Part of General Convention is spending casual time with the remarkable people who attend – and visiting Exhibit Hall booths of programs and institutions and vendors. I bought so many books I had to ship them home in a separate box – which has not yet arrived. Pictures below are of some of the other giveaways and publications I collected. On my flight home from Texas to California, I spotted Dr. Catherine Meeks of the Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing who gave a remarkable talk at GC79. The Rev. Rob Fisher of our Deputation reported that he spent his flight home reading The Agile Church, which he bought at the GC79 Exhibit Hall.

These blog posts and other GC79 news are on the Diocese of El Camino Real website. Here is my complete set from GC79 as the official diocesan blogger:

Episcopal General Convention, Austin Texas, Day 1, 4 July 2018
Day 2, Episcopal General Convention, 5 July 2018
Day 3, Episcopal General Convention, 6 July 2018
Day 4, General Convention, 7 July 2018
Day 5, General Convention, 8 July 2018
Day 6, General Convention, 9 July 2018
Day 7, General Convention, 10 July 2018
Day 8, General Convention, 11 July 2018
Day 9, General Convention, 12 July 2018

On 16 July 2018, Episcopal News Service published a summary of GC79.

Note that the GC79 Virtual Binder will only be available online through Labor Day (3 September 2018).

If you want to receive Katysblog posts by email, please sign up using the Sign Me Up! button (upper right).
Images Copyright 2018 by Katy Dickinson.

1 Comment

Filed under Church, News & Reviews, Politics

Tagged as Disabilities, Education for Ministry, Episcopal church, General Convention, Israel, marriage, Middle East, Palestine

July 12, 2018 · 8:16 pm

Day 9, General Convention

This was the eighth legislative session day of the 79th General Convention of the Episcopal Church “GC79” (in Austin, Texas). I am with the Deputation of the Diocese of El Camino Real (Central California).

Today was a hard march through dozens of complex resolutions. Everyone is very tired. Some of the major resolutions passed today include:

Sometimes the House of Deputies took refuge in silly songs and pigeon jokes but mostly we stuck seriously to business. The House of Bishops ended today’s session early because the Deputies had not finished enough to pass along. Both houses meet again starting at 8 am tomorrow for the final legislative day.

Bishop Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows (of Indianapolis) gave an inspiring sermon at the closing worship service, ending with “You know what to do. You have got this. Now go!” The El Camino Real Deputation met after the service to eat a pecan pie given to Bishop Mary by the Bishop of Texas. It was delicious! Bishop DeeDee Duncan-Probe (of Central New York) stopped by to greet Bishop Mary, as well as El Camino Real former-Chancellor Nancy Cohen, and me – she knows Nancy and me from when we were at All Saints’ – Palo Alto together.

These blog posts and other GC79 news are posted on the Diocese of El Camino Real website.

1 Comment

Filed under Church, News & Reviews, Politics

Tagged as Episcopal church, General Convention

July 11, 2018 · 8:35 pm

Day 8, General Convention

This was the seventh legislative session day of the 79th General Convention of the Episcopal Church “GC79” (in Austin, Texas). I am with the Deputation of the Diocese of El Camino Real (Central California).

Today, the GC79 legislative calendar was so full that we had to add an after-dinner session. Very long day! Bishop Griselda Delgado Del Carpio was welcomed with a sustained standing ovation and joyous singing to the House of Deputies after the enthusiastic passage of a historic resolution welcoming the church of Cuba as a diocese of the Episcopal Church. We considered the budget for the first time in a joint session of the House of Deputies and House of Bishops. The House of Bishops rejected the Isreal-Palestine resolution but passed a “Marriage Rites for the Whole Church” resolution with a small amendment.

Marriage Rites now return to the House of Deputies for a final vote. The House of Deputies today agreed on a plan for liturgical and Prayer Book revision plus a great many less-controversial resolutions (including one welcoming nursing mother Deputies). We are proud of El Camino Real Deputy Jeff Diehl who appeared briefly on the House of Deputies big platform as Co-Chair of the Environmental Stewardship and Care of Creation committee today.

Deputies in wheelchairs and Deputies who find it hard to hear spoke passionately in support of a resolution to “Establish an Advisory Council on Disability and Deaf Access” – which was passed. Deputy Sarah Watkins of Texas said “nothing about us without us.” She and Deputy Charis and others made the point that there had been nine such resolutions passed in General Convention since 1985 but little effective change has been made – perhaps because few who are themselves impaired have been represented in the groups making the decisions. There have been signers for the deaf at House of Deputy and House of Bishop sessions and worship services but not at most other meetings. There was an interesting moment during Tuesday evening’s worship service when flute player Dakota Wind from Standing Rock spoke silently in Lakota signs with the GC79 deaf interpreter on the stage.

These blog posts and other GC79 news are posted on the Diocese of El Camino Real website.

1 Comment

Filed under Church, News & Reviews, Politics

Tagged as Disabilities, General Convention, Israel, Middle East, Palestine, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church

July 10, 2018 · 8:14 pm

Day 7, General Convention

This was the sixth legislative session day of the 79th General Convention of the Episcopal Church “GC79” (in Austin, Texas). I am with the Deputation of the Diocese of El Camino Real (Central California).

Today very early, I switched badges back with Celeste Ventura (so I became an Alternate again and she has her Delegate badge) and then in the afternoon switched badges with Tim Gee (so he became an Alternate and I became a Delegate). Tim and I will switch back early tomorrow. There are only two short windows of time each day when such switches can be made.

The morning joint session between the House of Deputies and House of Bishops was a TEConversation on the care of creation, with interesting speakers and music and discussion. The El Camino Real Deputation met again on the Alternates side of the curtain so that all could participate. Particularly notable among the presenters was Bernadette Demientieff of the Gwich’in Nation, Fort Yukon, Alaska, who said: “Our children deserve to see creation as it was in the beginning, not just when we are done with it.”

After several failed attempts to make progress, a whole set of elections had to be postponed to tomorrow so that the Virtual Binder could be updated. This was apparently not because of iPad software or hardware problems (of which there have been few) but because the candidate biographies were not submitted in time. The Virtual Binder system has drastically reduced the amount of paper used by GC79 – a very welcome change!

While the House of Deputies was passing important resolutions on inclusive language and support for transgender/non-binary church members, the House of Bishops made history by approving reunification with the Church of Cuba and seating Bishop Griselda Delgado Del Carpio of Cuba. She was welcomed by our Bishop Mary (and became the 8th diocesan female Bishop).

For dinner, I attended the University of the South barbecue and had a very interesting discussion with the most senior Education for Ministry online mentor. She and I plan to keep in touch about our work with EfM!

These blog posts and other GC79 news are posted on the Diocese of El Camino Real website.

2 Comments

Filed under Church, News & Reviews, Politics

Tagged as Education for Ministry, Episcopal church, General Convention

July 9, 2018 · 7:20 pm

Day 6, General Convention

This was the fifth legislative session day of the 79th General Convention of the Episcopal Church “GC79” (in Austin, Texas). I am with the Deputation of the Diocese of El Camino Real (Central California). Pigeon jokes continued (Twitter @gc79pigeon) and most of the House of Deputies wore purple scarves to honor Women Bishops.

Among many smaller decisions, two of the big GC79 topics were discussed today: B012 – “Marriage Rites for the Whole Church” and D019 – “Ending Church Complicity in the Occupation”. The Rev. Lester V. Mackenzie, House of Deputies Chaplain, opened the afternoon legislative session with a shoulder-to-shoulder prayer. The discussion process is complex and time consuming and requires much checking of parliamentary procedure. The capable President of the House of Deputies, Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, keeps us to time and in order with humor and charm.

Deputy Celeste Ventura allowed me to substitute for her in the House of Deputies in the afternoon. Since I have lived and worked in Israel, and because of my many years of work with the TechWomen of the Middle East, I have been particularly interested in the many resolutions on Israel and Palestine and was glad to be able to testify and vote. Both the Marriage Rites and Israel-Palestine resolutions were approved – and will move to the House of Bishops next.

Our Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves presided in English and Spanish over the evening worship service which, as usual, offered excellent music and a peaceful interlude in a busy day.

These blog posts and other GC79 news are posted on the Diocese of El Camino Real website.