Epiphany Explorations, the United Church of Canada’s theological adult education annual program held here January 16-20 at First Metropolitan congregation in the downtown area, is now well into its second decade, a success by any measure of continuing education.
      This past January’s five day event featured Harry Brechner, a Conservative Jewish Rabbi, Raheel Raza, a Muslim moderate, Michael Dowd, an evolutionary Christianity expert, Phyllis Tickle, a veteran of the ‘Emergent Christianity’ wars, Gary Paterson, the new Moderator of the United Church of Canada who happens to be gay and married to a politician.

     Epiphany Explorations, the United Church of Canada’s theological adult education annual program held here January 16-20 at First Metropolitan congregation in the downtown area, is now well into its second decade, a success by any measure of continuing education.
      This past January’s five day event featured Harry Brechner, a Conservative Jewish Rabbi, Raheel Raza, a Muslim moderate, Michael Dowd, an evolutionary Christianity expert, Phyllis Tickle, a veteran of the ‘Emergent Christianity’ wars, Gary Paterson, the new Moderator of the United Church of Canada who happens to be gay and married to a politician.
      Also on the program were Brent Hawkes, the minister of Metropolitan Community church in Toronto who officiated on national television at the burial of Federal NDP leader Jack Layton, Bob McDonald, science reporter for the CBC, Brian Paisley, director of a film about eternity for Vision Television and finally but not only there was a commissioner of the First Nations Truth and Reconciliation Commission, journalist Marie Wilson.
      It is quite a program of and for the progressive Reform Protestant movement of today, representative of the strengths and weaknesses of the movement, which aims for a balance between the authentically avant garde and current celebrity fads by way of progressive theological and spiritual developments. Comprehensiveness competes with relevant correlation.
      In addition, there was an abundance of excellent liturgical and gospel musicianship including jazz musicians Maureen Washington and Daniel Cook. Of personal interest was a lunchtime gathering of the Centre for Progressive Christianity which is one step further along the progressive path than the majority of the attendees.
      This unofficial ginger group gathering included many who can no longer relate to the institutional church and main streamers who are looking for more interesting program content input from the marginal developments within the church.
      Clearly ‘exploration’ is the correct descriptive term for the overall conference, prescriptive it was not. If this was a Roman Catholic sponsored event, people would have been there looking to take home definite if not definitive answers, but this was far from the tone at Epiphany Explorations. Attendees are assumed to be fully capable of determining their own world view and assessment thereof in terms of their own spirituality. Direction and prescription from on high would have been most unwelcome.
      There is a lot of delight and light to be gained from sitting in on such an extensive and intensive five days of theological reflection and spiritual seeking. I feel privileged to be allowed the opportunity.
      I confess my bias right away. I preferred the previous two years when the theological heavyweights Marcus Borg and Dominic Crossan were the main speakers. Their input held a special attraction for me with their clarifying erudition and radically clear scriptural insights into the historical basis of the mainstream Christian faith of both the reform Protestant and sacramental Catholic traditions.
      Without that riveting focus, I just relaxed into it all, took in as much as I could – more that I thought I might –   and had a different sort of experience, maybe more what the original intent of the planners might have been: varied, introductory and, well, exploratory.
      My fundamental assumption about the existence and very need of such conferences is that the Christian church is self-consciously in a state of moderate to severe crisis about how to proceed into the future and this sort of work helps to facilitate the exploratory process. It is all of religion that is in such a state, not just Christianity. When the fastest growing ‘denominational’ category is ‘spiritual but not religious’ by exponential proportions, (See related story page 7) the crisis can be assumed and not simply attributed to apathy toward ‘organized religion’. A new convergence is expected, needed and even worked towards by the more avant garde elements.
      As I listened actively to each and every speaker, I could not ignore the gnawing tone of anguish that accompanied the hard facts, the hopeful yearning, the valiant efforts and the optimistic containment. In some cases like the Muslim moderate woman and the emergent Christianity speaker it was reflected more acutely by their weakness of social analysis. The evolutionary Christianity advocate (who would have been better slated as the key note speaker with three sessions to unpack his excess of material) gave off a distinctly urgent sense that while inevitable the needed new consciousness might be coming a little too late for immediate comfort.
      By staying away from a strong social justice issue with its doom and gloom atmosphere pall casting, the organizers at least unconsciously may have been striving to avert this tone of anguish; but it crept in between the cracks, so to speak. Marie Wilson, the Truth and Reconciliation commissioner, could not avoid it, of course, and yet, unexpectedly I found hers the most riveting presentation. Her calm manner of presentation combined a refreshing if not reassuring maturity and First Nations’ realism.
      She made me aware that the whole TRC process is the result of a court order, it is not a positive federal government program or effort despite what the current prime minister might like to have us register.
      Also that they are afraid time will erode the memory and that their job at bottom is to make sure the truth of the matter is in the permanent public archives.
      It is all very sobering in the face of the retarded and reactionary right wing retrenchment that dominates today’s headlines, where the present powers that be are in a race against time in the opposite direction, to cancel out two hundred years of progressive development at least in Western society.
      Next years’ agenda (which is always published a year ahead) includes three speakers who promise to address this current awe and anguish dilemma. Siobhan Chandler, an expert in the emerging category of religious self-identification ‘spiritual but not religious,’ (see related story, page 7),  Mark L. MacDonald, the Anglican Church of Canada’s first national indigenous bishop and World Council of Churches President for North America and Peter Rollins, the provocative agent with a reputation for forming new and critical sorts of church communities on the basis of what he calls pyrotheology. I for one am looking forward to the continuing theological education opportunity. What about you?