God Is Not 3 Guys

Sexist prayer cleaned up, October 21, 2011 Those of us who are aware of sexism’s subtleties often cringe in church where we hear the SOURCE of All That Is reduced to a man-like being. But at Roman Catholic WomenPriest Masses, where we clean up the God-talk, we are relieved and renewed. The following Eucharistic Prayer shows what a difference language makes. Ruth Lindstedt took the Prayer we had been using and revised it to create this one that we like even better and now use at our monthly womenpriest Masses. Prayer Leader: God is with us! All: Amen! PL: Let us open ourselves to the transforming power of the Creator. All: We lift our hearts to God and one another. PL: Let us give thanks to the source of all life and love. All: It is right to give God thanks and praise. PL: Blessed are you, Creator God of the universe, through whom all life began, continues to grow and change. In the beginning, God Sophia spoke the Word, “Let there be,” and with a cosmic flash all creati...

Barbara Bradley Hagerty, NPR’s religion correspondent, wanted to know whether science can present evidence for a spiritual dimension. As she was researching the question, she was a little embarrassed, “spooked” to find herself experiencing transcendence. I count myself among those who believe that spiritual entities touch us at times, that the inner realm breaks into our outer lives with messages. What spooked Hagerty consoles me, and I like to collect stories of this phenomenon. Annelee Woodstrom was raised in Hitler’s Germany and after World War II came to Minnesota as the bride of an American soldier. She tells this story in her second book, Empty Chairs . Her daughter Sandy was looking forward to a promotion in May. With the raise in pay she planned to buy her parents a new car and they couldn’t talk her out of it. Annelee wrote, I was happy for Sandy but I was troubled. . . . Without reason, the death skeleton that depicted the Totentanz (Death Dance) in the cemetery chapel in my...