Reflections on "Reflections"

Reflections on the Sea of Galilee, 1981.

On this sixth anniversary of Progressive Christian Reflections, as we begin our seventh year together, I take this time to reflect on its possible meanings for me and for its readers, as well as offer specifics about its outreach.

In the vast universe of the internet, its numbers are tiny, even inconsequential, though growing. Three-hundred and fourteen weekly meditations are available at any time to any one on the globe with an internet connection.

Visitors come primarily from the United States, but substantial numbers regularly come from Russia, France, The Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, China, Ukraine, Poland, India, Malaysia, Australia, Greece, South Africa, Brazil, Barbados, and more. Total number of visitors to date, not including subscribers: 227,000.

Progressive Christian Reflections was recognized by Feedspot in 2016 as one of 100 top Christian blogs in terms of quality and searches. It is listed as a “recommended” blog on other blogs and websites, and its posts routinely appear on ProgressiveChristianity.org.

My copyright line makes it clear that I welcome use of my posts free of cost for non-profit purposes, as readings, in newsletters, on blogs, only asking for attribution of author and blogsite. Visits and subscriptions are free, and the blog is not “monetized” so there are no distracting ads. Book links are sometimes provided for convenience; I receive no compensation for these.

Subscribers have hovered around 600 for several years. Monthly visitors have grown from a base of 3000+, to 5000+ last June, 8000+ in December, 12,000+ last month, and 13,000+ this month!

The three most visited posts for 2016 are:

Don’t You Want Me? with 15,818 visits*;

Henri’s Wound with a View, with 2,448  visits;

R.I.P: Ormewood Park Presbyterian, with 2,094 visits.

Few comments are made on the blog, perhaps because the process seems to require a Google account, though one may choose “anonymous” and add one’s name to the comment itself, or not. Many more comments come to me directly, and I have enjoyed hearing about readers’ circumstances and having some ongoing conversations.

Occasionally I use personal photos from my life or my travels.

Donations—the blog’s only source of income—for 2016 totaled $2500, with several giving monthly. I write thank you notes for each donation, so if you have contributed and not heard from me, your gift has found another route into MCC, a good cause in any case! I am grateful to MCC for recognizing Progressive Christian Reflections as one of its Emerging Ministries since 2012, permitting tax-deductible donations.

Subscriptions are handled by Feedburner, which does not notify me when someone subscribes but does notify me when someone unsubscribes, which always gives me a small “ouch.” In the first years I would inquire why or ask for ways of improving the blog. Usually the reply was positive. Lest it seem as if I were “guilting” those who unsubscribed, I stopped asking.

As is true of most ministries, my blog ministry means more to me than it probably does to readers! It gives me a voice, an opportunity to encourage, inspire, inform, and influence the church. And of keen interest to me is to support and enhance the spirituality of progressive Christians and all who consider themselves spiritual, Christian or not.

I can only speculate upon this blog’s meaning for readers, though I’ve received encouraging feedback that progressive Christians “take heart” from my posts, even if  and especially if they are the only progressive voice in their congregations. And for those unable to attend services, they serve as a link to the Christian community.

While still in college, I visited a Baptist church whose young, progressive minister described what I too experience. He said his work was to do the reading and reflection not everyone in the congregation had the time or opportunity to do, as well as reflect upon and support the congregation’s spiritual growth, offering that on Sunday mornings.

I like that description of a preacher, and I think of all those ministers, imams, rabbis, priests, and spiritual leaders (including lay leaders) who give of themselves on a weekly basis to help shape the spiritual future in that way.

One Teilhard de Chardin translator, Norman Denny, has written that Teilhard distinguished between “reflection” (“the power of conscious thought which distinguishes human beings from all other living creatures—the animal that not only knows but knows that it knows”) and “reflexion” (in which humanity “coils inward upon itself and thus generates new spiritual energies and a new form of growth” or spiritual evolution).

I am grateful to you readers, subscribers, and contributors for giving me this opportunity to join the countless numbers in pulpits, pews, and elsewhere contributing to that evolving spiritual future.

*I have no idea why this particular post has been visited so many times. If you do, please let me know!

To support this blog ministry:  http://mccchurch.org/ministries/progressive-christian-reflections/

Be sure to scroll down to the donate link below its description. Or mail to MCC, P.O. Box 50488, Sarasota FL 34232 USA, designating “Progressive Christian Reflections” in the memo area of your check or money order. Thank you!

Copyright © 2017 by Chris R. Glaser. Permission granted for non-profit use with attribution of author and blogsite. Other rights reserved.  

Do You Read My Blog?

On the occasion of this 100^th weekly post on Progressive Christian Reflections, I thought I would provide a report to readers as well as a request for feedback. Do you read this? How often (guestimate)? How do you use it? Do you share it? Do you have suggestions? Subscribers may simply reply to the e-mail address from which it is sent; others may write me at chrsglaser@aol.com (note there is no “i” in the name).

Today this blog will have registered 60,000 visits since its creation mid-February of 2011. Visitors come from all over the world, though the bulk comes from the U.S. and Switzerland. (I’m not sure why the latter, unless there is a server in that country that distributes to other countries.) Inexplicably, I’ve had surges from time to time from disparate countries, for example: 30 visitors in a single week from Morocco, 40 from China, 75 from Russia, and 102 from Italy. The Vatican makes an occasional visit.

Many of my posts have been re-posted on other blogsites or in e-newsletters, such as ProgressiveChristianity.org, and I blog occasionally for The Huffington Post and Bilerico.

There are over 300 subscribers and followers. (If you subscribed and do not receive this weekly, try subscribing again and respond to the follow-up e-mail verifying your subscription, and check your spam filter.) Between 100 and 200 now visit the site each day, perhaps reading more than one post. But few comments are placed on the blog itself; a few more come to me directly from subscribers responding to a particular post.

Since last spring when donations became possible, I am aware of six contributors who have given a total of $215.  Btw, if you have made a contribution and not received a handwritten “thank you” note from me, please let me know. Your donations are this ministry’s only financial support. If you’d like to contribute, please click here. Thanks! And please consider inviting me to speak or lead an event.

Told by a publisher that there was no market for meditations for progressive Christians, I decided to give away reflections through this blog. It is free, both to visit and to subscribe. And it is not “monetized” (no ads) to avoid distractions to readers. I post the link on 20-30 relevant Facebook pages each Wednesday morning, as well as to my 2100+ Facebook friends. I encourage all to distribute the link and the posts freely, and to use the posts not only for personal reflection, but for readings in worship or conversation-starters in classes.

I am grateful that Rev. Elder Darlene Garner and Metropolitan Community Churches authorized this blog as an Emerging Ministry in the spring of 2012. MCC receives a tithe from donations in gratitude for handling contributions. MCC has served the broader church throughout its 44-year history as an ecumenical, inclusive, and progressive witness to Jesus and his message of God’s commonwealth.

Writing the blog is a fulfilling form of ministry for me, and I am grateful for you who read it. I believe it’s time for the spirituality of progressive Christians to come out of the closet. We are as spiritually motivated as our often more vocal sisters and brothers in the faith. And we need to be fed and uplifted spiritually.

Early on I mentioned Jesus telling his disciples a parable so that they “might pray always and not lose heart.” It was the story of a woman seeking justice from an unjust judge, who finally gives in to her repeated cries for justice just to be rid of her. I hope progressive Christians take this parable to heart, and never give up seeking justice and mercy and peace, as well as an inclusive church, interfaith dialogue, and fresh ways to understand and interpret our faith.

P.S. Last week’s post also appeared on The Huffington Post, where it has received 470 “likes” and over 500 comments. Click here to see it, and please scroll down to find the comments.

Copyright © 2013 by Chris R. Glaser. All rights reserved. Permission granted for non-profit use with attribution of author and blogsite. 

A Pragmatic Guide to Prayer

Prayer is unfamiliar territory to many people, even those reared in spiritual communities. Many fear they’re not up to the task, having heard eloquent prayers of others. Some progressive Christians doubt the effectiveness of prayer. So I thought I’d jot down some simple guidelines from my reading and experience to prompt but not limit readers’ personal practice and experience of prayer. Take these suggestions less as prescriptive than descriptive. And if any sound too preachy, just go on to the next!

Prayer takes you to another place. There are many ways of saying this. Prayer may lift you up, take you deep within, broaden your horizon, make you feel close to God and all that is, or all of the above. The vital thing is that, in your spiritual imagination, your perspective changes, enlarging or focusing, withdrawing or connecting, detaching or more deeply involving. And it brings us into proximity with our better selves.

Prayer consists of words, silences, and actions.  Most of us know about words and silences in prayer and meditation, but actions may prove a new understanding. I believe that Martha in the kitchen preparing a meal could be praying as much as Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet and pondering his words. And I don’t mean Martha is saying the rosary while cooking, but that cooking itself may be a form of prayer when conscious intention is there, as is true of acts of justice and compassion. To stretch our imagination further, I believe lovemaking may be a form of prayer.

Prayer is presence, mindfulness, and listening. Prayer is a time to be attentive to surroundings, people, feelings, the day’s expectations, God’s hope for you—listening for God and your inner voice in all of them. Repetition of short scriptures (such as “God is love.”) or meditative chants may help one’s focus.

Readings are helpful to praying regularly. What helped me keep to a regular prayer time was the use of reading material that made me want to sit down and set aside time for reflection—that’s why half of the dozen books I’ve written consist of daily meditations. Scriptures, books of prayers or reflections, spiritual or theological or biblical treatises, and even op-ed opinion pieces have proven aids to meditation and prayer. Others may find poetry, art, or music helpful.

Saying the Lord’s Prayer is sufficient. The prayer that Jesus taught his disciples has every ingredient needed in prayer. Having said it daily for most of my adult life, I still wonder at how new meaning comes to familiar phrases, given where I am and what my experience is. I see it less as a prayer asking for things like bread and forgiveness than as a way of aligning myself with the inbreaking commonwealth of God, in particular being gracious as I have received grace. As Thomas Keating has recommended, if one can’t pray anything else, say the Lord’s Prayer.

Less is more. Too many words, too many “issues,” too many confessions, too many requests make prayer burdensome and more of a duty than an experience of God’s grace and love. An abundance of thanksgivings can lighten the load, as long as they are not simply obligatory.

Prayer transforms you, not God. The Desert Fathers and Mothers held this view; prayer is about our transformation, not God’s. When we pray for someone who is ill or in prison or mistreated, I do not believe God “fixes” these things, but that we become better caregivers, liberators, and advocates.

Enjoy being God’s beloved child. Join Adam and Eve walking naked with God unashamedly in the Garden, Isaiah comforted and dandled on Mother God’s knees, and Jesus hearing “You are my beloved on whom my favor rests.” Prayer is the pleasure of basking in the glory of God’s unconditional love, remembering God’s best hopes for us and the world.

Copyright © 2012 by Chris R. Glaser. All rights reserved. Permission granted for non-profit use with attribution of author and blogsite. Suggested uses: personal reflection, contemporary readings in worship, conversation starters in classes.  Please click here to learn more about this ministry and/or make a donation!