Last weekend I was fortunate enough to attend the inaugural gathering of "Creation Spirituality Communities," a group formed to foster the work of the Creation Spirituality movement. Creation Spirituality, derived principally from the work of theologian Matthew Fox, is an attempt to model ethical community living based upon the belief that all of creation—human, non-human; animal, vegetable, mineral—is sacred, a manifestation of Spirit. Rooted initially in the Judeo-Christian mystical and wisdom traditions, Creation Spirituality now incorporates traditions from all over the world, especially those which have been silenced by mainstream heteropatriarchal religion, such as indigenous people, women, non-Christians, and non-Westerners. It empowers the voice of the new science and cosmology in order to demonstrate that not only is the universe a vibrant, living Being, but it is also a Being whose very life depends upon the interconnectedness and common efforts of all creation, especially the humans who presently control the earth and its systems. Thus, the movement is both deeply ecological and deeply ecumenical.

Creation Spirituality traces its origins to Fox’s seminal work Original Blessing (1983), in which he recalled from historical oblivion the four-fold spiritual path of medieval mystic Meister Eckhart, whose controversial views resulted in his condemnation and execution by the Catholic Inquisition. In daring to share this old vision with the contemporary world, Fox himself was condemned and silenced by the modern Catholic Inquisition as embodied by Josef Cardinal Ratzinger (now Benedict XVI). Among the charges against him leading to his expulsion from the Dominican priesthood and banishment from teaching at Catholic institutions were that he encouraged Native American beliefs, believed in the goodness of gay and lesbian people, and had shared a podium with goddess thealogian Starhawk. Fortunately, this institutional terrorism did not result in Fox going away quietly with his tail between his legs; rather, it only solidified his belief that organized religion is not only non-productive but counter-productive to spiritual health and well-being (Hebrew shalom). Ironically, his supposed silencing resulted in some of Fox’s best work (Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh, 1999; One River, Many Wells, 2000; A New Reformation, 2006), inasmuch as it freed him to look for connections between the world’s great spiritual traditions. Currently, Fox is working with a young rapper named Professor PITT to bring the principles of creation spirituality to inner-city youth in Oakland, California, by nurturing their nascent creativity through music, art, and filmmaking, while leading them away from drugs, gangs, and the misogynistic and homophobic imagery of much rap and hip-hop culture.

Creation Spirituality may be found in Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Wicca, Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and secular humanism, if one is willing to sift through layers of creation-despising teachings and practices. It stands for the reality that all of us are children of the Universe, of Spirit, that we all are equal, important, and blessed from the moment of our birth, and that we each have the capacity—and divine mandate—to be artists, mystics, and co-creators with God/ess. Last weekend’s gathering brought together like-minded individuals from all over the country who wonder if it might be possible to have a network of "creation spirituality communities" that provide mutual support, education, and resources for recreating and repairing our broken world from the grass roots level. Through workshops, sharing groups, art-as-meditation, and "techno-cosmic" ritual, we journeyed together to re/member what had been dis/membered by human-centered philosophies and religions.

I am excited that my church, MCC Rehoboth, along with MCC of the Chesapeake in Annapolis, Maryland, will be exploring how we might become more involved in this creation spirituality movement. Since each MCC is free to develop its own vision and spirituality within the overall MCC movement without denominational approval, I believe that we have a wonderful opportunity for empowering a truly grass-roots level spirituality and community devoted to social justice, inclusivity, and care for the earth. As a place to start, on Thursdays during August, I will lead a reading/ discussion group on some of the great mystical writers (details at www.mccrehoboth.org). Next issue I will describe in more detail the tenets of Creation Spirituality as expressed in Eckhart’s four-fold path and what Fox and PITT call "the ten C’s," and explore how this might work in a contemporary, postmodern context. I hope that those who are interested in this dimension of Spirit will not only read on but contact me to see how they might become involved in this endeavor.