What's Happening at St. Mary's?

Indifference, if not outright hostility, toward religion is not just a feature of our current age, but has been around for quite a while. Humanists, secular philosophers, and atheists of many stripes have long tarred religion with the brush of superstition and ignorance. The quote above, from 18th century French Enlightenment philosopher and writer Paul Thiry Baron d'Holbach, comes out this tradition. D'Holbach believed that people can use common sense to discover moral principles without needing religion or divine intervention. He thought that people should be just, moderate, and sociable because it makes them feel good, not because it's what a god commands. In his 1772 book Good Sense: or, Natural Ideas Opposed to Supernatural makes the following claim: "To discover the true principles of Morality, men have no need of theology, of revelation, or of gods: They have need only of common sense.” At its heart, what d'Holbach puts forward is an alternative theory of the origins of morality. As an advocate of secular morality, and a self-described anti-theist and opponent or religion, d'Holbach and others who have adopted this perspective essentially argue that morality doesn't require religion. It's based on social ties, education, and sympathy. Some say that people shouldn't be motivated by the fear of punishment or the hope of reward after death. In contrast, those who approach morality through a theist lens, i.e. a belief in God (or gods), suggest that without God, morality would just be a social convention without any universal validity beyond cultures or self-interest. The second chapter of the Epistle to Titus, traditionally attributed to St. Paul though the scholarly consensus casts significant doubt on that attribution today, is essentially guidance to clergy, specifically bishops, for the teaching of "sound doctrine," in other words instruction in what does and does not meet the demands of moral conduct. Titus 2:11-12 roots this in the divine: "For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men, training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world," Let's talk about this. Is common sense, and common sense alone, sufficient to produce morality, or, as the baron puts it, discover its true principles? Is d'Holbach right, is common sense enough? And if it is, why does it -- both common sense and morality -- seem is such short supply sometimes? Or is morality a consequence of divine authority? Join us for the conversation this week as we wrestle with the age-old question of where morality comes from. The discussion starts at 7pm Tuesday, Feb. 18 at Casa Real in downtown Oxford.

Without really planning it, we seem to have hit upon something of a theme over the last few weeks of PubTheo conversations. We started with a discussion about speaking truth to power, which led to last week's discussion of allyship and what it means to be an ally. And then, at church at St. Mary's this past Sunday, there were two moments in the service which alluded to a famous prayer that has been attributed to St. Francis of Assisi though the author is actually unknown. If you're unfamiliar with it, the prayer starts like this: "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace ..."  It continues this way: "Lord make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy." There is more to the text, but for our purposes, this is where we'll leave off, at least for this week. In the troubled times that we find ourselves in, how does the text of this prayer speak to us? What does it mean to be an instrument of peace? And is peace really what our times are calling for these days? Thinking on that question brought to mind the words of the late congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis, quoted in the illustration for this week's topic. The above-mentioned quote actually comes from a Tweet Lewis wrote back in 2018, a similarly divisive and troubled time in America's political and civic life. Here's the full text:: "Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble." What do you think Lewis meant when he talked about "good trouble" and "necessary trouble"? What was he calling on everyday people to do? Back in 2021, the National Endowment for the Arts posed that question to a group of artists, asking them to reflect on the meaning of good trouble. You can read what they had to say by clicking on this link . In our conversation this week we're going to talk about the relationship between being asking to be an "instrument of your peace" and being called on to get into good and necessary trouble. How do these two sets of ideas fit together? Are they consistent or are they contradictory? In short, is getting into "good trouble" a way to become an instrument of peace? Join us for the discussion this Tuesday, Feb. 11, starting at 7pm at Casa Real in downtown Oxford.

This Sunday, all are welcome to join us for a morning of worship and fellowship. Whether you are with us in the sanctuary or joining from afar, your presence strengthens our community. Our services are at 8:30 & 10:00 a.m. We warmly welcome those who cannot attend in person to join us via our live stream for the 10:00 a.m. service.

During our conversation on speaking truth to power last week, and specifically when we turned to speaking up for others who are vulnerable or in need of compassion from those in positions of power or authority, we touched on the questions of allyship, and what it means to be an ally. Turns out that one of our regulars has some background and experience with these questions, and a passion for the topic, so we're going to explore the ideas in our conversation this week. Allyship is something that a lot of people us in theory, but have a difficult time putting into practice. One of the central tensions in the ally's relationship to people affected by bias is the champion/assistant dilemma. As this article from the Harvard Business Review explains, the champion model is one where a person of privilege uses that privilege to make the kinds of far-reaching change that the disadvantaged person can't make on their own. In this model "Allies ... shoulder some of that burden, freeing marginalized people to spend less time advocating for themselves and more time living their lives." By contrast, in the assistant model the ally takes a step back. "In the assistant model, allies serve as helpers on projects led by others. Proponents of this model point out that affected people know best how to advance their own interests. For that reason, allies need to step back and 'pass the mic' to affected people. To the extent allies bring their own ideas and voices to the table, it’s in a clearly subordinate role." Figuring out whether to act as a champion or an assistant is a thorny choice, and fraught with uncertainty that can prevent a potential ally from doing or saying anything at all. People may worry that their attempts at speaking up will seem performative or even patronizing. Some people are so worried about making mistakes, that they stay silent even when they want to speak up. This fear of doing the wrong thing often prevents people from doing ANYthing. Prof. Christian van Nieuwerburgh from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and Dr. Jummy Okoya from the University of East London wrote a wonderful article that starts with a simple definition: " Allyship is about those who are active in supporting efforts to increase fairness and inclusion in our societies." You can read the full thing, along with their practical guidance about how to be a better ally, by following this link . The steps that they suggest begin with the simple, acknowledging your own privilege, and culminate in taking a stand. There's lots in between. In our conversation this week. we will discuss what it means to be an ally, and what might prevent us from taking on that role for ourselves. We'll consider levels of allyship and how to respond and do better when we inevitably make a misstep. We will also consider how the skills we currently have can be applied to our journey towards more active and effective allyship. Finally, we'll think about the arenas where allyship might make sense in relation to race, socioeconomic status, gender, sexuality, mental health, disability, and the intersectionality of all these that creates unique experiences of discrimination and privilege. We've got a lot on our plate this week, so join us for the discussion starting at 7pm Tuesday, Feb. 4 at Casa Real in downtown Oxford.