It’s all a question of story. We are in trouble just now because we do not have a good story.
We are in between stories. The old story, the account of how the world came to be and how we fit into it, is no longer effective.
We have not learned the new story.
–Thomas Berry
Change the Story, Change the World
–Findhorn Foundation
What is the New Story?
We believe that the process of evolution including the further evolution of the human species is on-going, that the next step is the further evolution of consciousness, and that this step is urgent and necessary for our survival as a species and for the survival of the planet.
We believe the Earth and all Creation are sacred. Knowing that we are deeply interconnected with all Creation, we urgently seek to be transformed and to be agents of transformation in response to the crises of our time. Recognizing this truth and continuing to be led by the Inner Light and wisdom traditions, we are committed to active participation in this emerging consciousness.
The New Story as explored by Brian Swimme, Thomas Berry, Joanna Macy, and others is a integration of a new cosmology, deep ecology, and a non-visible realm variously named God, “the aliveness,” the All-Nourishing Abyss, the Implicate Order, the Light. We also look to the old stories to discover the timeless truths of the wisdom traditions of our and other faiths. Within this framework we seek to answer questions such as:
- In the context of the New Story, what is God? Light? Reality? Consciousness? The self?
- What are the habitual patterns of thought and behavior that hold me/us back from experiencing connection to all life on Earth?
- How do we become agents for the transformation of consciousness?
- What is the special contribution of our faith traditions to the New Story?
- What is the contribution of the New Story to our faith traditions?
For more information and meeting times write to office@fmcquaker.org with subject “attn. Mary Coelho”.
Integrating Science and Spirit
We are an interfaith group working to understand the emerging cultural narrative sourced in science and in spiritual traditions. We seek wisdom to respond to the crises of our time.
Recovering Sacred Presence in a Disenchanted World
Saturday, October 21, 2017, at FMC
Co-sponsored with Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries
Resources
- Agenda and readings for February 26, 2018
- Discussion from meeting on January 22, 2018
- Discussions
- Non-theism, Panentheism, and the Quaker Way PowerPoint presented November 28, 2016
Workshops
- Teilhard for Our Times A new e-course by Cynthia Bourgeault,
October 31 – December 2, 2016 - Free Yale University Online Classes in “Cosmology and Ecology” starting October 24, 2016, and updated flyer for 2017-2018
- Evolutionary Spirituality: Awakening to the New Story Thursday, October 13, 2016, at All Saints Parish, Brookline.
- The Wonder of it All! February 4, 11, and 18, 2016, at FMC handouts
Videos
Links
- Mary Coelho’s homepage
- Severyn Bruyn’s homepage
- Joanna Macy and the Work That Reconnects
- Jennifer Morgan’s homepage
- Thomas Berry website
- Michael Dowd “Standing for the Future”
Pamphlets
- Recovering Sacred Presence in a Disenchanted World, Pendle Hill pamphlet #433 by Mary Coelho, 2015
- Quakers and the New Story, 2014
- Quakers and the New Story, 2007
Books
- Awaking Universe, Emerging Personhood by Mary Coelho, 2001