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Road to Joy

Interfaith Spiritual Gathering

God's Perfection Needs No Injection!"  Chant from Health Freedom Rally

 

Health Freedom Clergy Engagement and Support Group:

It's both a challenge and an honor to be serving spiritual communities in these interesting times.  For most of us, support from denominational or congregational bodies has been lacking.  The conversations I've had with fellow Health Freedom clergy have been inspiring, enlightening and fun.  If You're a spiritual leader and would like some camaraderie and sharing of strategies for how to do this crucial spiritual work on Planet Earth now, join us. If You're interested but can't make this time,
let me know and we'll try to accommodate You.

It will be great to be together!
All welcome.  Invite colleagues. 
in solidarity and faith,

Mellen  mellenken@aol.com

This group meets on Tuesdays at 8:00 am ET
on  Zoom.
  Please sign up on the form to the right.

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/801922380

 

Latest:

 

The Impact of COVID-19 on the American Church 

This FREE REPORT gives pastors & church leaders critical insights for facilitating readiness during unforeseen circumstances 

https://pages.churchsalary.com/covid-study-download

 

It wasn’t your imagination: New study proves divisions created in churches by COVID

Baptist News Global    |  March 13, 2024

https://baptistnews.com/article/it-wasnt-your-imagination-new-study-proves-divisions-created-in-churches-by-covid/

 

Critical Conversations. Artificial Intelligence, Jewish Ethics, and the Future of Humanityptist News Global

Artificial intelligence has become interwoven into our lives with alarming speed. This year’s CRITICAL CONVERSATIONS addresses its pervasiveness, perils, and potential.

Critical Conversations is an annual Spertus Institute program that brings together experts and activists to address the most critical issues of the day.

The program will be moderated by Spertus President & CEO Dr. Dean P. Bell

Sunday, March 17, 2024
7-8:30 PM CT

Free and online. Join us from wherever you are!

For more info, visit    https://www.spertus.edu/

About The Topic

For some, AI is a boon to society, capable of helping humanity advance in remarkable ways. For others, it is a dangerous tool destined to compromise privacy, escalate inequity, and, in its most extreme examples, threaten humanity itself.

By bringing together experts in the fields of artificial intelligence, ethics, and Jewish thought, this year’s program will help us consider what this rapidly expanding new technology means for our future.

Critical Conversations is generously funded by the late Eric Joss.

 

Evil Is as Evil Does

The Zone of Interest, nominated for Oscars including best picture, is a Holocaust horror movie about the corruption of the human heart. by |
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2024/january-web-only/evil-is-as-evil-does-oscar-nominated-zone-of-interest.html
 

Mitigation Is the Golden Calf

By  

https://brownstone.org/articles/mitigation-is-the-golden-calf/

 

Senator Demands to Know Who at Treasury Department Approved Search of ‘Religious Texts’ by Financial Institutions  A key member of the Senate Banking Committee probes Treasury’s request for transaction-level searches ‘indicative of extremism’ for Jan. 6 investigation.

By Mark Tapscott  1/21/2024

https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/senator-demands-to-know-who-in-treasury-department-approved-search-of-religious-texts-by-financial-institutions-5570237?src_src=News&src_cmp=breaking-2024-01-21-2&est=nFRdw3Z75xzfGTmtbk33Jrm6au67LfS3EPoU9q20sta27Am1IW1TtSxKX9vq

The Moral Obligation of Civil Disobedience

By  

https://brownstone.org/articles/the-moral-obligation-of-civil-disobedience/

 

US pastors struggle with post-pandemic burnout. Survey shows half considered quitting since 2020

By PETER SMITH Associated Press    January 11, 2024
 

 

Heterodox Academy

https://heterodoxacademy.org/

 

Vaccines and The Church

https://nodeception.org/

Detecting Falsehood in Official Narratives

Rick Plasterer on December 5, 2023

https://juicyecumenism.com/2023/12/05/detecting-falsehood/

 

A Wake-Up Call for People of Faith to Fight Evil

Podcast with Eric Metaxas

https://www.ifcj.org/learn/audio-library/eric-metaxas-a-wake-up-call-for-people-of-faith-to-fight-evil?s_subsrc=EYH2300XXEXEP&tum_content=education

 

The First Champion of Free Speech

Brownstone Institute by   https://brownstone.org/articles/the-first-champion-of-free-speech/

 

America's Crisis of Faith: Poll Reveals More Americans Are Rejecting the Constitution and Embracing Violence by Jonathan Turley  October 23, 2023

https://jonathanturley.org/2023/10/23/americas-crisis-of-faith-new-poll-reveals-more-americans-are-rejecting-the-constitution-and-embracing-violence/

 

Clergy burnout is a growing concern in polarized churches. A summit offers coping strategies By GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO  October 9, 2023

https://apnews.com/article/clergy-burnout-church-mental-health-summit-570e71ec96575abc92865ad5baf491e6

 

Religious and Philosophical Exemptions from School Vaccine Mandates: What’s Happening in Your State?

https://childrenshealthdefense.org/community-forum/school-vaccine-religious-mandate-exemption/

Religions from around the world gather together in Berlin

Christoph Strack September 13, 2023

The war in Ukraine has entangled both politics and religion. In Berlin, it shaped the large peace rally organized by the Catholic community of Sant'Egidio, which brought together representatives from dozens of faiths.

https://www.dw.com/en/religions-from-around-the-world-gather-together-in-berlin/a-66797847

Survey: White Protestant clergy more progressive than their congregations

Russell Contreras, author of Axios Latino September 14, 2023

https://www.axios.com/2023/09/14/prri-mainline-protestant-clergy-progressive-white-churchgoers

AI Will Shape Your Soul - But how is up to us.

‘Woke’ Catholic Schools Offer Poison in Place of the Gospel

https://www.ncregister.com/blog/woke-catholic-schools

 

Yes to Prudence, No to Fear — Why the Mistakes We Made During COVID Must Never Happen Again from National Catholic Register, June 9, 2023

https://www.ncregister.com/blog/yes-to-prudence-no-to-fear

 

How COVID Accelerated the Collapse of Religious Practice in Italy

The latest official figures suggest that this country, long considered one of the bastions of resistance to de-Christianization on the Old Continent, is following the same path as its neighbors, albeit a few years behind the others.

September 5, 2023

https://www.ncregister.com/news/how-covid-accelerated-the-collapse-of-religious-practice-in-italy

 

On Catholic subsidiarity as the counterweight to Satanic secular-materialist centralization of power.

And on building up confidence and trust in God's providence, to work for subsidiarity principles in the governance of human societies.

By Katherine Watt, September 5, 2023

https://bailiwicknews.substack.com/p/on-catholic-subsidiarity-as-the-counterweight?publication_id=37889&post_id=136750867&isFreemail=true&r=185mre

 

Artificial intelligence program poised to shake up Catholic education, doctrine

https://religionnews.com/2023/08/24/a rtificial-intelligence-program-poised-to-shake-up-catholic-education-doctrine/

 

Without Religious Freedom the State is God from Stand for Health Freedom

https://standforhealthfreedom.com/storage/2023/05/Updated-Without-Religious-Freedom-5_23.pdf

 

Proposals submitted to the Parliament of World Religions

    go here for the essays

 

The emergence of AI requires ministers to be proactive

By  on August 3, 2023

https://faithandleadership.com/the-emergence-ai-requires-ministers-be-proactive

 

Attempt to Repeal Religious Exemption

Children's Health Defense, CHD TV on August 1, 2023

https://live.childrenshealthdefense.org/chd-tv/shows/good-morning-chd/attempt-to-repeal-religious-exemption/

 

The Role of the Sacred  July 24, 2023

Tiffany Barsotti shares her perspective on “the sacred” and how it applies to health. From Children's Health Defense "Tea Time"

https://live.childrenshealthdefense.org/chd-tv/shows/tea-time/the-role-of-the-sacred/

 

Idaho Christians Secure $300,000 Settlement After Disputing City COVID Policy, Wrongful Arrest

by Jason Chahyadi on July 24, 2023

https://juicyecumenism.com/2023/07/24/christ-church-moscow/

 

State of Theology in America Explaining our Missing Compass

by Dr. Sherri Tenpenny, July 23, 2023

https://tenpennywalkwithgod.substack.com/p/state-of-theology-in-america-pt-2

 

Defending the Integrity of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act

By Rick Plasterer on July 20, 2023

https://juicyecumenism.com/2023/07/20/defending-integrity-religious-freedom-restoration-act/

 

"The Essential Church" Movie

Watch for local shows of the brand new movie- "The Essential Church".  You can find out more here:
 
 
Please, ask your local theater to host this movie!  It tells the story of the California state trying to control churches.  It is relevant and important to the future of America.
 
 

Neighborhood App Discriminates Against Faith Group  July 27, 2023

 

One-day October conference refused ad space on Front Porch Forum, a public platform that claims to “help neighbors connect”

South Burlington, VT– Today the Vermont Institute for Human Flourishing (VIHF) roundly criticized the Front Porch Forum (FPF) for refusing to post information about the Restoring our Faith Summit, an event dedicated to engaging with Vermont communities to revitalize the role of religion in daily life.  The neighborhood app that receives public funding to run its website claims to be a place for “building community.”

A request to purchase a paid ad for Restoring Our Faith Summit taking place Tuesday, October 10 in South Burlington, was denied by Front Porch Forum on the basis of non-compliance with “the Terms of Use.” All attempts to elicit clarification were met with silence.

“It’s appalling to suggest that notice of a conference on faith is not welcome on a public platform in Vermont,’ said Deb Billado, President of Vermont Institute for Human Flourishing, the sponsoring organization for the Restoring Our Faith Summit. “Freedom of speech is a foundational principle of our country and without explanation our group is shut down and shut out of reaching our fellow Vermonters with an important message.”

With renowned national speakers, authors, social scientists, and faith leaders who will debate and discuss how to restore the country’s lost faith in God, in trusted institutions, and in the founding principles of our country, the Restoring Our Faith summit is hoping to encourage and inspire fellow Vermonters as it did at its 2022 event.

According to SevenDaysVT, Front Page Forum has received public funding including a $361,500 grant from the Vermont Council on Rural Development, “composed of federal disaster relief funds, to set up forums in every community in Vermont” with taxpayer dollars. 

Other organizations and individuals have complained about Front Porch Forum’s censorship, causing some to organize a Facebook group that has more than 400 members.

“Restoring Our Faith Vermont envisions a flourishing society rebuilt by a renewed faith, strong families and a search for truth in science and government, where, once more, love, respect and tolerance prevail,” said Mrs. Billado. “How can this be a violation of the FPF’s standard?”

 

Restoring Our Faith Summit is a project of the Vermont Institute for Human Flourishing (VIHF).

To register for the October 10, 2023 summit go here:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/restoring-our-faith-summit-2023-tickets-648143202767?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshwebdesktop

 

 

Religion shapes vaccine views – but how exactly? Our analysis looks at ideas about God and beliefs about the Bible  Published: July 17, 2023 8.24am EDT

 The Conversation  

https://theconversation.com/religion-shapes-vaccine-views-but-how-exactly-our-analysis-looks-at-ideas-about-god-and-beliefs-about-the-bible-204178

 

We Don’t Achieve Christian Unity by Avoiding Polarization by Hannah Bowman

https://sojo.net/articles/we-don-t-achieve-christian-unity-avoiding-polarization

 

House United Movement ~ Coming Together for the Common Good

https://www.houseunitedmovement.org/

 

New Virginia law offers churches additional protections against being shut down  (Catholic New Service)

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254769/new-virginia-law-offers-churches-additional-protections-against-being-shut-down

 

Dear Friends,
 
  Hello.  I have just become aware of a courageous spiritual leader, Michael Sutton, from an article from the Brownstone Institute.  Here's his bio:
 

The Rev. Dr. Michael J. Sutton has been a political economist, a professor, a priest, a pastor, and now a publisher. He is the CEO of Freedom Matters Today, looking at freedom from a Christian perspective. This article is edited from his November 2022 book: Freedom from Fascism, A Christian Response to Mass Formation Psychosis, available through Amazon.

I have not read his book.  I'm grateful for a strong, clear voice such as his.  Here's a link to the Brownstone article  https://brownstone.org/articles/downside-of-the-new-normal/
 

 

WEF Calls for AI to Rewrite Bible, Create ‘Religions That Are Actually Correct’

 

How Our Mental Health Crisis Could Lead to a Spiritual Awakening

https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/how-our-mental-health-crisis-could-lead-to-a-spiritual-awakening_5317139.html?ea_src=ai_recommender&ea_med=a_bot_2_ads

Corporations Threatening Free Speech and Religious Freedoms Exposed in Business Index

Many companies celebrate 'transparency' when it comes to issues like diversity, gender identity, and climate change but remain silent on issues like free speech (From the Epoch Times)

https://www.theepochtimes.com/corporations-threatening-free-speech-and-religious-freedoms-exposed-in-business-index_5271756.html?src_src=News&src_cmp=breaking-2023-05-17-2&est=TO9bt1b5b61FrnQHr3vEXBgiuid%2Bo36tG9B%2BBR1fk6CFuTaLUliE%2FFdzbAYe

 

PRAYER to CLEANSE DNA and to  REMOVE HARMFUL VACCINATION ELEMENTS

Dr. Sherry Tenpenny

https://drtenpenny.com/prayer-for-healing2023/

 

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The Pandemic as Revelation - A Conversation with Laurens Hornemann

https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xODUwNzIwLnJzcw/episode/QnV6enNwcm91dC0xMTA0MzI3MQ?ep=14

 

Viganò to Medical Doctors for Covid Ethics International. Pandemic is Only the First Step.

The conspiracy is already there: we are not inventing it, we are simply denouncing it, hoping that people wake up from this suicidal narcosis and demand that someone put an end to the global coup. The operations of social engineering and mass manipulation have demonstrated beyond any doubt that this crime was premeditated, and how it is consistent with a “spiritual” vision of the conflict that is now unfolding: it is necessary to take sides and fight, without giving in. The Truth – which is an attribute of God – cannot be cancelled by error, and Life cannot be defeated by death: remember that the Lord, who has said of Himself, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” has already defeated Satan, and what remains of the battle serves only to give us the opportunity to make the right choice, to choose to do those actions which place us under the banner of Christ, on the side of Good.  ~ Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano
 
 
 
 
Rabbi Mochael Green
Rabbi Green has assisted with thousands of religious exemptions for those who share the belief that no one should be forced to take any sort of injection against their will. The Rabbi is known for his courageous commentary and impassioned speeches on freedom and the rights that come with it- rights that are protected by the Constitution

 Link to Rabbi Green's Newsletter/Substack: https://westbororabbi.substack.com/

 

Remember, Man, Thou Art Dust by Rev. John F. Naugle

https://brownstone.org/author/rev-john-f-naugle/

Reverend John F. Naugle is the Parochial Vicar at St. Augustine Parish in Beaver County, PA. Several articles by him are available at the link above.

 

Why Has the Church Not Spoken Out? By Fr. John Lincoln Downie

https://brownstone.org/articles/why-has-the-church-not-spoken-out/

https://brownstone.org/articles/no-holy-communion-for-the-sick-they-said/

Fr. John Lincoln Downie was born in 1971 in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. He serves as an Orthodox priest in Romania.

 

Have the Ancient Gods Returned? by Dr. Naomi Wolf

https://rumble.com/v2ayldk-naomi-wolf-have-the-ancient-gods-returned.html?fbclid=IwAR0nO9JVXtVcIxr7adqlW1uK9yxiq8evOQMdhqVkEgrKJikgUdy7f9O-m-c

Naomi Wolf is author of many books including The End of America" A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot and the soon to be released The Bodies of Others: The New Authoritarians, COVID 19 and the War Against the Human.  Her website is https://dailyclout.io/

 

Video of Father Peter Williams, who was removed from St. Mary's Parish in Springfield, Vermont

https://www.complicitclergy.com/2022/01/19/watch-vermont-priest-may-be-cancelled-by-his-bishop-for-refusing-covid-jab/

 

Father Daniel Nolan: Our Government Lied to Us

https://courageousclergy.com/our-government-has-lied-to-us-in-the-past

 

Fr. James Altman: FEARdemic – Trust God, Not Men

https://jfaltman.org/feardemic-trust-god-not-men

Fr. Altman is on administrative leave from his position as pastor of St. James the Less in La Crosse, Wisconsin pending the outcome of a Canon law case filed with the Vatican.

 

A Contagion of Cowardice by Jeffrey Tucker From the Brownstone Institute

https://www.theepochtimes.com/a-contagion-of-cowardice_5085890.html

 

Can religion save us from Artificial Intelligence? by Deborah Netburn

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/religion-save-us-artificial-intelligence-133003066.html

 

China’s new ‘Smart Religion’ app requires faithful to register to attend worship services

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253810/chinese-province-rolls-out-reservation-app-for-religious-believers

 

When a Renegade Church and a Zealous County Health Department Collide: https://davidzweig.substack.com/p/when-a-renegade-church-and-a-zealous

 

New England Peace Pagoda

http://newenglandpeacepagoda.org/

 

Video of panel presentation and discussion:
"Key Ideas from Sri Aurobindo that Society needs today."
 

 

Book: "A Secular Age" by Charles Taylor 2007 by Belknap Press of Harvard University

Taylor provides a convincing discussion as to the how, what, and why of Western Civilization 's demise.  We no longer recognize and value the sacred. It is a daunting read due to the number of pages (874 pages).  But Taylor is a gifted writer and every page is very interesting. I found that I could take reading breaks of several days . . . yet resume reading and immediately follow his thinking.  It reads a bit like classic wisdom literature. - V.C.

 

Restoring Our Faith Vermont Summit

https://restoringourfaithvermont.com/summit-2022/

 

Appeals Court Rules Kentucky Government Pay $270,000 in COVID Church Lockdown Case (EpochTimes)

https://www.theepochtimes.com/appeals-court-rules-kentucky-government-should-pay-270000-in-covid-church-lockdown-case_5187588.html?src_src=News&src_cmp=breaking-2023-04-12-1&est=UEahu7WktTIKdv%2BfvS0O84E3%2BxK44SCC34hTy1bGkoKCWt0K2soN0iI3bN7Q 

 


Transhumanism and Posthumanism

Video Lectures:

Ready for Brain Transparency?  Nita Farahany, a futurist and legal ethicist at Duke University, speaking at Davos 2023- Moderated by Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic.

Brain Transparency, Nita Farahaney, Davos 2016

Technology, Theology and Spirituality in the Digital Age by Dr. Antje Jackelen - Archbishop of the Church of Sweden  (December 9, 2020)

How Police Are Using High Tech to Fight Crime - Short clip from 2018 

Bill Mckibben’s moving speech, Being Good Enough, at Stanford’s Singularity Summit (2006) 

 

 

Books:

The Battle for Your Brain, by Nita Farahany (debut in March)

Mckibben’s book Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age

Thanks to Pastor Robin Junker, Thetford Hill Church, VT

 

Enough Staying Human in an Engineered Age

Nearly fifteen years ago, in The End of Nature, Bill McKibben demonstrated that humanity had begun to irrevocably alter and endanger our environment on a global scale. Now he turns his eye to an array of technologies that could change our relationship not with the rest of nature but with ourselves. He explores the frontiers of genetic engineering, robotics, and nanotechnology—all of which we are approaching with astonishing speed—and shows that each threatens to take us past a point of no return. We now stand, in Michael Pollan's words, "on a moral and existential threshold," poised between the human past and a post-human future.

McKibben offers a celebration of what it means to be human, and a warning that we risk the loss of all meaning if we step across the threshold. Instantly acclaimed for its passion and insight, this wise and eloquent book argues that we cannot forever grow in reach and power—that we must at last learn how to say, "Enough."

Read an excerpt from Enough

 


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