witchcraft (wicca) and christianity

[sachi]

Georgesbluegirl:

  and many of the modern Workers (who are the coolest people EVER, they live in voluntary poverty) are as well.

So would you live in voluntary poverty?

I mean how 'cool' is it for you?

How truly committed are you to this theory in terms of bringing it into practice?

And secondly what actually does one ACHIEVE by living in voluntary poverty?

How does i t help the oppressed and exploited?

[Trinity]

Georgesbluegirl:

[georgesbluegirl]

Absolutely I'd live in voluntary poverty (which generally means within the Worker house with everyone else living there). In fact, I'm seriously considering dedicating my life to the Catholic Worker cause, due to the absolutely amazing experiences I've had with it.

As for the rest...I'll be back in a bit to finish, I have to finish making dinner.

[sachi]

Georgesbluegirl:

Absolutely I'd live in voluntary poverty (which generally means within the Worker house with everyone else living there). In fact, I'm seriously considering dedicating my life to the Catholic Worker cause, due to the absolutely amazing experiences I've had with it.

Tell me about some of these amazing experiences . .

I am truly interested.

Blessings - Sachi

[irishcowboy]

this whole thing is getting to sound alot like Ireland.....

its a shame too..... they call it a catholic/protestant conflict, and it has nothing to do with religion..... it is a doggone land war.....

I was here first.... no! I was.... No way, It was me that was here first... nope it was me... this land belongs to me......

GREED GREED GREED GREED..........

hmmm Ireland at least has 40 shades of green to be struggling for, this has blue grey white, yellow, pink and black.....

personally, anytime i have attempted to leave or post on catholic sites, my post has always been delayed from 24 to 48 hours, and then when it does get posted, there are major attacks.... even from simple questions... so I do not even go to the catholic boards..... very unfriendly..... some how i found my way into a section i dont think i was suppose to have access to, and they were all trashing prots..... i have not been back to any of them since..... just noteing personal experience with ones that I use to be associated with.... ( ex-catholic ) ......

seems like when a post gets started about certain subjects, they turn into a prot dis cath, cath dis prot thread....... I dont like it, I do not follow the beliefs nor the "traditions"..... and there is nothing that will take me back into that life, for I was bound as a catholic, and am free as a protestant.... I have a personal relationship with the Lord as a Protestant, and I did not have that personal relationship as a Catholic, seemed like anytime something needed to be tended to, it had to go thru the priest first, and then the bishop and if the bishop couldnt handle it.... sheesh, who knows when it would be taken care of.....

thing is God can handle all of it... I dont have to take a request for food to anyother person.... I dont have to ask others for work or money to live on, I ask God and God alone......

there is no magic in God... there is no magic formula, there is no incantations or chants a person has to do.... there is no one that you have to go to other then God......

mike

[georgesbluegirl]

Mr. and Mrs. Irish:

What's happening in N. Ireland, in Derry and all, is absolutely abominable (my family's beaucoup Irish, so we kind of have personal attachments to the unity cause). Such hate...Catholic schoolchildren pelted with rocks, Protestants harassed and driven off streets. It has to end, it leads nowhere but destruction. My comments before, from my blog? Those are poking fun at the seriousness with which people view the divisions that seperate Christians. My friends - Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Jewish, whatever - we're past that. We think it's stupid, and we do our best to educate people about the how perfectly easy it is to get along. My group of friends is insanely diverse! If you've seen me post, you'd realize I'm all about the love, about friendship, peace and tolerance. Protestants, Catholics, whatever, we pray to the same God! Let us not let our differences impede our dialogues!

Sachi: Living in voluntary poverty (by the way, this does not mean living without shoes etc, this means living among the people you serve) is an emulation of Jesus. Who was he friends with? Sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes, outcasts - the people society forgot. It also fosters a sense of love and community among those who have any connection to the House, whether as served or servant. It makes a powerful statement about the committment of Workers to dedicate their lives to service. I know a now married woman who was raised in the Catholic Worker House I work at, and she turned out beautiful, conscious and strong.

As far as my experiences...how could I possibly share in a few lines here what I have seen at the Worker House? I guess what amazed me most the first time I went (I was only twelve), and continues to floor me, is that real, good sense of community. The people who come for soup kitchen or legal aid and the kids that come to the camp, they know the Workers and accept them as part of their community, beloved family. Two of my Religion teachers lived and worked at this same house, and had such a powerful experience there that they chose to be married there, right in the back alley planted so hopefully with flowers. They invited all of their friends from the neighborhood along with their "real family" - people who came to eat regularly at the kitchen attended the wedding and reception and had a blast. It's the coolest wedding video I've ever seen! Overall, among Catholic Workers there is a real sense of responsibility toward the forgotten ones of society, the ones God calls us to recognize as our brothers and sisters. The alive-ness (I guess...life?) of the place draws me in every time, and I leave more humbled and more determined to dedicate my life to service after every experience.

[sachi]

Georgesbluegirl:

Living in voluntary poverty ...is an emulation of Jesus. Who was he friends with? Sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes, outcasts - the people society forgot. It also fosters a sense of love and community among those who have any connection to the House, whether as served or servant. It makes a powerful statement about the committment of Workers to dedicate their lives to service. I know a now married woman who was raised in the Catholic Worker House I work at, and she turned out beautiful, conscious and strong.

As far as my experiences... I guess what amazed me most the first time I went ... is that real, good sense of community. The people who come for soup kitchen or legal aid and the kids that come to the camp, they know the Workers and accept them as part of their community, beloved family.

....Overall, among Catholic Workers there is a real sense of responsibility toward the forgotten ones of society, the ones God calls us to recognize as our brothers and sisters. The alive-ness (I guess...life?) of the place draws me in every time, and I leave more humbled and more determined to dedicate my life to service after every experience.

That is a powerful testimony.

What impacts me is the INTEGRITY of the witness. By that I mean the cohesion between theory and practice.

It is poignant. It is speaks to me. It is something I as a Christian living in the 'burbs' with my pool and RV's and other 'toys' need to pay attention to, because -well let me speak for myself only - I find there is too often a hiatus between my 'faith expression' and my practice.

The alivesness, the life that you say mentioned you experience there I believe is the Spirit of Christ that is present among these poor.

"I was hungry and you gave me something to eat,I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger, you invited me in,I needed clothes and you clothes me..." (Math 25)

Malcolm Muggeridge who wrote about Mother Theresa's work in Calcutta among the dying also commented on the 'light' in the windowless hall where the dying had been laid and the spirit of peace there - in his book 'Something Beautiful for God.

There are so many stories of Christians who have forged a witness for the Lord in most unorthodox ways. I recollect reading the book Bruchko by Bruce Olson who was the first Christian at @ 21 years of age!!!! to bring / to BE a Christian witness to the remote untouched Motilone tribe in Columbia

I think your unorthodoxy Georgesbluegirl can bring you into areas that the conventional Christian witness doesn't tend to find a comfortable place -

I wonder does this work/lifestyle draw you because it resonates with your socio-political views, or your need for community, or your need to 'DIS ' a system which has its layers of hypocrisy and power & control issues that you have identified ( or all of the above) or is it your response to what you belief to be authentic Christian witness?

You aren't obligated to answer -

Blessings- Sachi

Edited September 11, 2004 by sachi

[georgesbluegirl]

It's amazing, people from all walks of life come to help out at the Houses - there's room for anyone of any faith, in the same way that the doors are open to everyone and anyone - no one is barred from a meal or whatever service is provided by a House, it's a fundamental belief Dorothy Day had that we are called as Christians to remain open to all. Catholic or not, all are welcome to help as brothers and sisters under God. It's a pretty powerful experience, and if you're interested or maybe curious, I can find the House near you if you want to check it out or read up on it.

And as for my motivation - I am called to this experience because of my socio-political beliefs, certainly, and because I detest hypocrisy and the corruption of the system that oppresses and starves so many and - because I am a believer in Christ. It is this last that provides the constant rejuvenation I feel in my desire to serve.

Peace be with you.

[sachi]

And peace to you, Georgesbluegirl

I liked talk with you about this.

You have an honesty about you that is rare.

May we all in our separate journey's with Jesus continue to grow in the knowledge of the breadth, and the length and the height and the depth of His love for us.

Sachi

[JesusisGod2]

I was bound as a catholic, and am free as a protestant....

Amen Brother!!!!!