But our souls feel the sensory deprivation of contemporary worship experiences and they long to return to the spiritual play of sensory-rich liturgy. And for many worshippers the call of the senses is moving them out of the Church altogether and back into nature where the senses can feast open divine glory at every turn. And while those who are invested in the Church as an institution may view the choice of creation over Church as apostasy, it’s really the opposite. It is a return, in Spirit and truth, to extravagant worship of the God who is everywhere and in all things. And it has the wonderful potential to reignite the passion and creativity that has been lost in our sanctuaries, if we will let it.

In this final episode of The Progressive Worship Podcast we explore how when we worship through creation, she becomes a portal through which we can encounter God in a deep and more life-expanding way.

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Theologically, creation is, as Richard Rohr teaches, the first incarnation. The Cosmos is filled with the divine presence and spirit and is an embodiment of the divine consciousness and life. It owes its life to God, and as every part of the creation, individually and together, expresses their life, so they reflect and honour the Divine nature and goodness. It may not be a personal and intentional expression of praise, adoration, thanksgiving, awe, wonder, and communion as we would know it. But there is a sense in which the Cosmos does experience union or intimacy with the divine and expresses worship in response.

In this episode of The Progressive Worship Podcast we explore the worship of creation and how we can join it, learn from it, and bring it into our sanctuaries to enrich our worship gatherings and make them transforming and life-giving.

For an expanded version of this episode which goes deeper and offers more practical suggestions for progressive worship practitioners, sign up for the Sacredise Patreon. You'll also get additional bonus content from time to time, and exclusive discounts on premium Sacredise Resources.

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Although there is always benefit from spending time in nature, in our busy and stressful lives, it can be easy to move through creation blindly, with little awareness of the beauty and life around us and with no real connection to the Earth. That’s why it can be helpful to bring a liturgical approach to our time in the natural world. What this means is that we can help ourselves to be more mindful, open, and receptive to creation when we use the same movements and practices in communing with nature as we would in a worship service. Doing this can significantly enrich our engagement with nature and make us more aware of the Divine presence, life, beauty, truth and goodness that we encounter in the natural world.

In this episode of The Progressive Worship Podcast we explore communing with creation as a spiritual practice and how we can enrich our lives by worshipping in the natural world.

This podcast is a little longer than usual because it isn’t just a part of my post for today. This episode contains the full content of this week’s post. I hope you enjoy it.

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Human beings are of the Earth. We are born of the Earth and we return to the Earth when we die. Genesis speaks of humankind being created from the dust of the Earth and on Ash Wednesday we remember this with the words “From dust you came and to dust you will return” as we place the ashen cross on our foreheads. And finally, we rely on the Earth for our survival. The Earth feeds us, clothes, us, shelters us, and provides us with the air and water we need.

When we recognise how deeply connected we are with the Earth, we cannot deny that it is essential to include, in our worship of God, the Earth which is our divinely created, God-given home. And, along with our planet, we also need to include the other God-created, God-beloved, and God-imaged creatures that share it with us.

In this episode of The Progressive Worship Podcast we begin a new series that will run through September and that will explore how creation teaches us to worship God more wholeheartedly and authentically. In this first episode, we explore three principles that we can use to allow a creation-centred approach to deepen and enrich our worship and spirituality.

Here’s the link to Michael Dowd’s The Advent of Evolutionary Christianity audio series that I reference in this episode.

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Our spirituality and sexuality may be inseparably linked, but they are not the only things about us that are inseparably linked. We are all complex, magnificent, multi-faceted creatures and we are each an intricate network of mental, physical, emotional and spiritual elements that connect and combine in infinite ways and shape who we are, how we understand and experience the world, how we relate to others, and how we connect with God.

In this episode of The Progressive Worship Podcast we explore what it would mean for us to honour and value our complex and diverse experiences of sexuality and gender while also going beyond gender in our faith, spiritual practice, and worship.

For an expanded version of this episode which goes deeper and offers more practical suggestions for progressive worship practitioners, sign up for the Sacredise Patreon. You'll also get additional bonus content from time to time, and exclusive discounts on premium Sacredise Resources.

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Patriarchy is so entrenched in our culture and minds that we automatically view anything else as wrong, abhorrent, or even evil. Yet the injustice perpetrated by patriarchy is the true evil. You do’t have to look far to see the control, abuse, and rejection that many women, LGBTQIA+ and non-binary people have experienced in patriarchal churches. So, if we seek a world of peace, justice, and love, we need to remove the influence of patriarchy in our communities. And to do that, we need to ensure that our worship stops promoting and legitimising patriarchal values, ideals, and attitudes.

In this episode of The Progressive Worship Podcast we explore how patriarchy impacts our worship and people in seen and unseen ways. And we consider how worship can free us all from the negative effects of patriarchy by becoming more visibly and intentionally inclusive.

For an expanded version of this episode which goes deeper and offers more practical suggestions for progressive worship practitioners, sign up for the Sacredise Patreon. You'll also get additional bonus content from time to time, and exclusive discounts on premium Sacredise Resources.

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The first question that is asked of every one us at birth (sometimes after making sure we’re healthy, but often not) is whether we are a boy or girl. But we now know that many—perhaps even most—of us don’t fit neatly into these two genders. And the expectations imposed on us seldom support our healthiest and most meaningful lives. Being human just doesn’t work according these limited, rigid, and predictable classifications. This is extremely important, especially in the Church, which is called to follow Christ’s way of love and justice. And we need to become increasingly intentional about deconstructing these gender biases through our use of language.

In this episode of The Progressive Worship Podcast we explore the challenging and important topic of language—how it impacts our experience and understanding of sexuality and gender, and how this plays out in our sanctuaries and worship services.

For an expanded version of this episode which goes deeper and offers more practical suggestions for progressive worship practitioners, sign up for the Sacredise Patreon. You'll also get additional bonus content from time to time, and exclusive discounts on premium Sacredise Resources.

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When we consider all of this diversity in our cosmos, it is safe to say that variety is a central characteristic of the divine work of creation. Isn’t it strange, then that, when it comes to gender and sexuality, most of us believe that there are only two options—male and female? And isn’t it just as strange that we would limit our capacity for love to just one acceptable way—a single, heterosexual relationship with a human of a different sex for life. It’s no wonder so few of us succeed in living up to this rather rigid and narrow ideal.

In this episode of The Progressive Worship Podcast we explore human gender and sexuality and how it impacts our understanding and experience of ourselves and of God. And we will explore the important relationship between our sexuality and our spirituality—which includes our worship.

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How we understand gender and how we experience ourselves as gendered beings shape our view of the world, our reading of Scripture, and our understanding of God. Traditionally, the Church has prioritised, heterosexual, cisgendered experience over all others. But what have we lost in the process? And what might we gain if we were to open our liturgies, our language, our understanding, and our experience to a wider, more diverse, and more creative perspective on gender—with regard to both our human selves and our relationship with God?

In this episode of The Progressive Worship Podcast we begin a new series in which we explore the relationship between God, gender and worship. And today, we will be talking about the gender of God.

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When we read Biblical prophecies and visions, we are not being asked to interpret them literally and try to predict some pre-determined future by them. We are being challenged to allow their vision to capture our hearts and empower us to build the future they describe here among us. They aren’t telling us what will happen. They are telling us what could happen if we will only dream bigger and give ourselves to creating the world they envision. They’re saying, ‘What if?’ And asking ‘Can you believe it enough to live toward it?’

In this episode of The Progressive Worship Podcast we explore how our ideas about the end times shape our worship and mission and why it’s important that we dream bigger than our small, sectarian visions of the future.

For an expanded version of this episode which goes deeper and offers more practical suggestions for progressive worship practitioners, sign up for the Sacredise Patreon. You'll also get additional bonus content from time to time, and exclusive discounts on premium Sacredise Resources.

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