Rethinking Process Theology and Religious Pluralism Through the Lens of Divine Omnipresence
2023-08-01 10:30 - 12:00, 2023-08-02 10:30 - 12:00, 2023-08-03 10:30 - 12:00, 2023-08-04 10:30 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
In this five-session course, students will explore the question of religious pluralism and consider what difference a process understanding of divine omnipresence and the centrality of compassion in all major religions can make to how one develops a Christian theology.

“All faiths insist that compassion is the test of true spirituality and that it brings us into relation with the transcendence we call God, Brahman, Nirvana, or Dao. Each has formulated its own version of what is sometimes called the Golden Rule, ‘Do not treat others as you would not like them to treat you,’ or in its positive form, ‘Always treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself.’ Further, they all insist that you cannot confine your benevolence to your own group; you must have concern for everybody — even your enemies.” –Karen Armstrong

In 2001, Marjorie Suchocki wrote Divinity and Diversity, which explored the implications for religious pluralism within various Christian doctrines. In this course, more than twenty years later, she tackles the issue again, this time working from and focusing on a process understanding of divine omnipresence. The central question of this study will thus be the following: What are the theological and practical implications of interpreting religions through the lens of divine omnipresence? The first and foremost suggestion is the near-universal importance of compassion as an essential element of religion. Each session will conclude with a consideration of the role that compassion plays in one of the world’s great religious traditions.

If you’re in the Claremont area please join us in person. If not join us online via Zoom. All are welcome, and will be able to fully participate!

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Learning Circle: Process & Coffee
2023-08-03 08:00 - 09:00, 2023-08-10 08:00 - 09:00, 2023-08-17 08:00 - 09:00, 2023-08-24 08:00 - 09:00, 2023-08-31 08:00 - 09:00, 2023-09-07 08:00 - 09:00, 2023-09-14 08:00 - 09:00, 2023-09-21 08:00 - 09:00 and 2 more dates
Process & Coffee is about spiritual integration and exploration. We meet weekly to dive into books by mystics and sages. The discussion that follows helps to deepen our own spiritual lives.

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Process Pop-Up: Reviving Christian Process Theology
2023-08-14 17:00 - 18:00
Does Christian process theology need revival and renewal? How can process theology be a transformational resource for mainline Christians, spiritual seekers, and evangelicals in search of a truly loving and life-affirming theology? Bruce Epperly sees ‘revival’ as the emergence of a deep and passionate spirituality that changes us and the world, grounded in reclaiming Jesus as a companion, challenger, and guide.

In this Pop-Up, Dr. Epperly will discuss why Christian process theology needs to open to creative transformation so that it can transform the spiritual landscape of our times. Believing there is good news of Jesus beyond the academy, Epperly will show how Christian process theology must join its theological vision with spiritual practices of healing and wholeness, integration of contemplation and action, and a rediscovery of an affirmative vision of Jesus.

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Learning Circle: An Awakening Planet?
2023-08-15 08:30 - 09:30, 2023-09-05 08:30 - 09:30, 2023-09-19 08:30 - 09:30, 2023-10-03 08:30 - 09:30 | Online Event
A Discussion Group Contemplating the Vision of Teilhard de Chardin

Facilitated by Dr. Ernie Tamminga, this group meets every two weeks to carefully consider how and whether Teilhard de Chardin’s hope-filled perspective on the human evolutionary future can still inspire us in a time full of conflicts and division.

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John Cobb & Friends Gathering: Barkley Thompson
2023-08-15 10:00 - 12:00 | Online Event
Topic: Is God in Control? A Pastoral Appreciation of the Process Understanding of God.

Presenters: Barkley Thompson

A sermon by his former student caught the attention of Jay McDaniel, who posted a portion of the Rev. Barkley Thompson’s sermon, affirming the pastoral wisdom in a process understanding of God. See the sermonic moment, asking “Is God in Control?” on the Open Horizons website here. After a decade as dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Houston, Texas, the Rev. Thompson has returned to his home state of Arkansas, where he is now rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Little Rock. Come prepared to join selected respondents in reacting to this pastor’s message to help folks through real grief. Barkley Thompson recommends this website as an introduction to his ministry, which includes authoring several professional articles and three books. The publication date for his most recent book, How Can We Know The Way?: Reflections on Belief, Salvation and Eternal Life, is August 22, 2023.

Information about how to access each gathering is made available via email. To find out about a single meeting, send an email to events@cobb.institute. If you would like to receive regular meeting announcements and updates about the Institute, please join our list of Friends.

Can’t make it to the live session? Click here to access our archive of Cobb & Friends recordings.

John Cobb & Friends Gathering: Ellen Brown
2023-08-22 10:00 - 12:00 | Online Event
Topic: Banking on the People: Democratizing Money in the Digital Age.

Presenters: Ellen Brown

Ellen Brown is the founder of the Public Banking Institute and the author of a dozen books and hundreds of articles. She developed her research skills as an attorney practicing civil litigation in Los Angeles. In the best-selling Web of Debt (2007, 2012), she turned those skills to an analysis of the Federal Reserve and “the money trust,” showing how this private cartel has usurped the power to create money from the people themselves and how we the people can get it back.Her latest book is Banking on the People: Democratizing Money in the Digital Age and her 400+ blog articles are at EllenBrown.com. She is visiting Claremont in conjunction with the visit of Wall Street veteran Scott Smith, who will be speaking on Friday, August 25 at Claremont Presbyterian Church about Another Look at the Financial Transactions Tax That Could Eliminate Need for All Others.

Information about how to access each gathering is made available via email. To find out about a single meeting, send an email to events@cobb.institute. If you would like to receive regular meeting announcements and updates about the Institute, please join our list of Friends.

Can’t make it to the live session? Click here to access our archive of Cobb & Friends recordings.

John Cobb & Friends Gathering: Lynn DeJonghe
2023-08-29 10:00 - 12:00 | Online Event
Topic: Critical Thinking as an Integrative Process: Debating Wolves in Yellowstone.

Presenters: Lynn DeJonghe

A frequent presenter for Cobb Institute on educational matters, Lynn DeJonghe will share the lecture she gave at this month’s International Whitehead Conference in Munich. She thinks of this as the “missing 15th chapter” of her book, Starting with Whitehead: Raising Children to Thrive in Treacherous Times (Hamilton Books, a subsidiary of Rowman & Littlefield.) She brings Whitehead’s wisdom to the educational task by reflecting on the experience of 8th graders debating this resolution:

“Resolved: In light of the successful reintegration of gray wolves into Yellowstone Park and surrounding areas, gray wolves should be removed from the endangered species list in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.”

Dr. Lynn Sargent De Jonghe has had a long career in progressive education that spans more than forty years. She served as the founding Head of East Bay Sierra School, which later merged with another school to form Prospect Sierra School, to become one of the preeminent schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. Prior to her work in independent schools, Lynn spent fifteen years in public education administering federal funds to innovative programs, advocating for project learning as an alternative to textbooks, and pushing for integration in Massachusetts schools. She received her BA degree in History from Harvard University and a MS in Library Science from Simmons College before completing her PhD in Education at Cornell University. Her doctoral work on children’s problem solving led her to push for challenging educational programs that encourage all students to pursue learning in depth and to use problem solving skills, collaborative learning, and exploration of values in an integrated curriculum. More broadly she is committed to social justice, to moving society from divisiveness to compassion, and to saving the sentient and becoming-sentient life on our planet.

Information about how to access each gathering is made available via email. To find out about a single meeting, send an email to events@cobb.institute. If you would like to receive regular meeting announcements and updates about the Institute, please join our list of Friends.

Can’t make it to the live session? Click here to access our archive of Cobb & Friends recordings.

John Cobb & Friends Gathering: Patricia Adams Farmer
2023-09-05 10:00 - 12:00 | Online Event
Topic: Grief, Beauty, and a Process Theology for the People.

Presenters: Patricia Adams Farmer

Jay McDaniel appreciates the way Patricia Adams Farmer makes process theology accessible to lay people. Here are links to three of her essays that provide a springboard for discussion. Jay reports, “One deals with grief in the death of her mother years ago; my wife Kathy has a copy of it in her wallet, finding it so helpful in dealing with Kathy’s mother’s death. Another is Patricia telling the story of going blind through glaucoma. The third spells out the role Beauty plays in process theology. Explore these readings and come prepared for conversation!

https://www.openhorizons.org/grief-takes-a-road-trip1.html

https://www.openhorizons.org/beauty-in-the-darkness-patricia-adams-farmer.html

https://www.openhorizons.org/my-religion-is-beauty-patricia-adams-farmer.html

Information about how to access each gathering is made available via email. To find out about a single meeting, send an email to events@cobb.institute. If you would like to receive regular meeting announcements and updates about the Institute, please join our list of Friends.

Can’t make it to the live session? Click here to access our archive of Cobb & Friends recordings.

John Cobb & Friends Gathering: Mary Elizabeth Moore
2023-09-12 10:00 - 12:00 | Online Event
Topic: To Repair Earth, Learn from Trees, Ants, and Diverse Humans!

Presenters: Mary Elizabeth Moore

Cobb Institute Board Member, Dr. Mary Elizabeth Moore, will share her thoughts presented in her keynote address to the International Academy of Practical Theology, in Seoul, Korea in June 2023. The conference focused on practical wisdom in the Anthropocene. Dr. Moore asks, “What do trees, ants, and diverse human communities teach about the natural world and its care? The year 2023 offered the hottest spring and summer on record for the Northern Hemisphere; animals, forests, and people died in shocking numbers in the landmark heat. Such a year is a non-gentle reminder of the urgency of ecological understanding and action. Familiar tropes are no longer adequate to provide guidance. The planet insists that humans face critical questions: how will we deepen our knowing and understanding and how will we find the requisite courage and capacities to protect, heal, and repair the earth and solar system?” She argues that the place to begin is with the non-human natural world and the peoples who live closest to the earth. “In my current work, I turn particularly to trees, ants, and diverse human communities to upturn anthropocentric, individualistic, and industrial-technocratic dominance.”

Mary Elizabeth Moore, is Dean Emeritus of Boston University School of Theology and chair of the Cobb Institute’s Strategic Planning process.

Information about how to access each gathering is made available via email. To find out about a single meeting, send an email to events@cobb.institute. If you would like to receive regular meeting announcements and updates about the Institute, please join our list of Friends.

Can’t make it to the live session? Click here to access our archive of Cobb & Friends recordings.

Process Pop-Up: Spirituality, Psychedelics, and Process Thought
2023-09-12 17:00 - 18:00
Drawing from his own deeply moving personal journey through the early death of his father and his quest for sobriety, in this event, John Buchanan, Ph.D. will introduce topics from his 2022 book, Processing Reality: Finding Meaning in Death, Psychedelics, and Sobriety. He’ll highlight why process thought and transpersonal psychology are especially useful for understanding how psychedelics (and nonordinary states more generally) provide a mode of access to the transpersonal realm – what people may refer to as the Sacred or Divine Reality. He’ll explore how and why these experiences may reveal truthful insights into the nature of the universe and its spiritual dimensions along with the ways in which Alfred North Whitehead’s metaphysics and psychiatrist Stanislav Grof’s mapping of exceptional experience offer a powerful interpretive lens through which to view these phenomena.

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John Cobb & Friends Gathering: Sam Coker
2023-09-19 10:00 - 12:00 | Online Event
Topic: John Coltrane’s Love Supreme: A Process Approach to (Popular) Music.

Presenters: Sam Coker

Arguably a dominant “religion” of contemporary culture is popular music: jazz, rock, metal, indie, rap, country, etc. People form identities and communities around it, and enjoy touches of transcendence while listening to it. It is, in a certain sense, the sacred scripture for many around the world: albeit sonic not textual. Recently Sam Coker, a recent graduate of Garrett-Evangelical seminary, with a Master of Divinity and a Master of Theological Studies, wrote a thesis on theology and popular music. His research interests include hermeneutics and the intersection of contemporary theology and music, which culminated in a master’s thesis entitled “Keeping Time: A Theological Reading of Temporality in Popular Music.” Building upon that MA thesis, he will explore the role of popular music in contemporary culture, in dialogue with Jay McDaniel, who was Sam’s professor of religious studies at Hendrix College. Using samples from jazz to metal music, they will discuss (1) how music works with a yearning for restoration with the divine reality and can, at times, embody that restoration in sonic form; (2) how music elicits a dual dialectic of the apophatic and cataphatic; and (3) how temporality itself, understood as a lived passage from present to past to future, is at the heart of all music.

In developing his themes, he uses John Coltrane’s Love Supreme as one of his examples. Sam will introduce the themes and Jay will link with process thought. Sam currently lives in Chicago and splits his time between working in the chaplain’s office at a senior living facility and as a barista at a midsize coffee company. In his spare time, he listens to tons of music, goes to a lot of concerts, and collects vinyl records. He is excited to collaborate with Dr. Jay McDaniel, who was Sam’s professor of religious studies at Hendrix College.

He is a certified candidate for ordained ministry in the United Methodist Church and one day hopes to pursue a doctoral degree in theology and ethics.To further get acquainted with Sam Coker, see this link to his thesis: https://www.proquest.com/docview/2819964804. Or check out his metal article here:https://www.openhorizons.org/metal-music-a-hunger-for-transgressive-spiritual-spaces.html.

Information about how to access each gathering is made available via email. To find out about a single meeting, send an email to events@cobb.institute. If you would like to receive regular meeting announcements and updates about the Institute, please join our list of Friends.

Can’t make it to the live session? Click here to access our archive of Cobb & Friends recordings.

John Cobb & Friends Gathering: Vivian Song
2023-09-26 10:00 - 12:00 | Online Via Zoom
Topic: Yunhe Centre: Balancing Economic Development and Ecological Restoration in China.

Presenters: Vivian Song

Vivian Song has been working with Yunhe Centre, which is actually a collection of centers in China in places which border preservation areas. By combining social entrepreneurship and innovative education, the Yunhe Center believes “a regenerative economy with all life at heart is possible.” Vivian Song, a director of the program, says, “I’m happy to share my experience working with the Yunhe Centre, and our current summer water restoration community learning and service initiative.” For more information about Yunhe Centre and access to their website, see Jay McDaniel’s piece at this Open Horizons website. Vivian Song has provided leadership for the Youth Dialogues program of the Living Earth Movement, which John Cobb has founded. She is a member of the Cobb Institute Board.

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John Cobb & Friends Gathering: Matt Segall
2023-10-03 10:00 - 12:00 | Online Via Zoom
Topic: Intuiting Life: Process-Philosophical Perspectives on Biology.

Presenters: Matt Segall

Matt Segall, a frequent presenter for Cobb & Friends in his role as Cobb Institute’s chair of its Science Advisory Board, will introduce a new book released in June by Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Process-Philosophical Perspectives on Biology–Intuiting Life, edited by Arthur Araújo and Spyridon Koutroufinis. In order to do justice to the complexity of biological phenomena, the book aims to correct the materialistic metaphysics assumed by many life scientists. Its authors explore the viability of process metaphysics to advance our understanding of fundamental biological concepts such as organism, ontogeny, agency, teleology, environment, and normativity, based on the metaphysics of Alfred North Whitehead and other process thinkers. This book highlights the uniqueness and intrinsic value of living beings, opening up new horizons in the thinking of philosophers, philosophers of biology, life scientists, and environmentalists. Matt Segall wrote a chapter in the book, “On the Place of Life in the Cosmos: Whitehead’s Philosophy of Organism and Contemporary Theoretical Biology.” Segall is a philosopher, transdisciplinary researcher, author, and teacher applying process-relational thought across the natural and social sciences, including the study of consciousness. He is Associate Professor in the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness Graduate Program at California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, CA. For details of his academic background, his teaching, and his writings, see the curriculum vitae on his website, https://footnotes2plato.com/.

Watch for further details, including information about a series of Saturday conversations with presentations by the authors.

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Can’t make it to the live session? Click here to access our archive of Cobb & Friends recordings.

Spirituality and Poetry: Exploring the Wisdom of Rumi, Hafiz, and Process Theology
2023-10-04 17:00 - 19:00
Bethlehem Centre, in collaboration with the Interfaith Center of Arkansas and the Cobb Institute, is delighted to present a captivating eight-week online series: “Spirituality and Poetry: Exploring the Wisdom of Rumi, Hafiz, and Process Theology.”

Led by Sophia Said and Jay McDaniel, this enriching series will delve into the connections between spirituality, poetry, and the transformative concepts of process theology. As a paradigm for thinking about spirituality, we will use the “spiritual alphabet” of Spirituality and Practice: “A” is for attention, “B” is for beauty, “C” is for compassion, etc. We invite you to join us for an hour each week as we embark on a reflective journey through the spiritual alphabet.

Together, we will explore the timeless verses of Rumi and Hafiz, two poets who transcend religious boundaries and touch upon the universal essence of the human experience. Through their words, we will uncover insights and inspirations that can enrich our spiritual lives, fostering a deeper connection with ourselves, others, and the divine.

In addition, the series will delve into the inclusive framework of process theology, which embraces the ever-evolving nature of spirituality. By integrating the wisdom of the poets and the principles of process theology, we will embark on a transformative exploration of spirituality, inviting active participation in the ongoing co-creation of our world.

The sessions will take place over eight consecutive weeks, providing ample time for reflection and integration between each gathering. Participants will have the opportunity to engage with the facilitators, ask questions, and engage in interactive discussions. We aim to create a space where diverse perspectives can converge, fostering a deep appreciation for the power of spirituality, poetry, and process theology.

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John Cobb & Friends Gathering: Elvi Bjorkquist
2023-10-10 10:00 - 12:00 | Online Via Zoom
Topic: Process Thought & Aesthetic Qualities and Beyond.

Presenters: Elvi Bjorkquist

Using her own paintings, Elvi Bjorkquist, who recently completed the Cobb Institute Certificate Program, will show the connection between Art and the Process thought of Whitehead. For both Whitehead and Buddhism the world is permeated by “aesthetic qualities.” It is these aesthetic qualities that are the content of religious experience within the Whiteheadian and Buddhist process traditions. Whitehead also believes that aesthetic apprehension is complementary to scientific apprehension and helps to complete it. He believes that deeply felt intuitions highlight and illumine nature and that there are multiple ways of knowing that can be jointly affirmed and harmonized. Thinking is actually a form of feeling; aesthetic wisdom and rational inquiry are complementary. Both can be contexts in which people discover higher ideals in which to live and give a sense for the mystery and beauty of the universe. It becomes a means to the end of cultural transformation. God has given all cultures choices on how to relate and this affects what kind of world we live in. By using Process thought and universal art we can help create an ecological change in our world relations.

Elvi Bjorkquist has been an artist all of her life. She graduated with a BFA degree in Art and Art History. A lifetime ELCA Lutheran, she graduated with both a Master of Divinity and a Master of Theological Philosophy from Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado. When John Cobb taught a class at Iliff, Elvi found and immediately loved Process thought.

She was the owner of the Elvi Design Group which worked nationally and internationally for many years. She lives in Denver, Colorado and is now painting and showing her artwork. She’s on the board of the Parker Artist Group.

She was invited to present her thesis, “Andean Originality and Creativity Were Used to Survive and Redefine Selfhood,” at the SARTS Convention in San Antonio in 2016. The paper, titled “Counter-Hegemonic Aesthetics and Spiritual Aesthetics and Spiritual Transformation in the Viceroyalty of Peru,” is presently on “Academia” online. Also available on “Academia” is the Spring Board PowerPoint presentation she did to fulfill requirements for the Cobb Institute Certificate Program, “Process Thought & Universal Art Creating Intertwining Between Cultures.”

Watch for further details, including information about a series of Saturday conversations with presentations by the authors.

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If you would like to receive regular announcements and updates about activities and events at the Cobb Institute, please join our list of Friends.

Can’t make it to the live session? Click here to access our archive of Cobb & Friends recordings.
