On February 13, 2022, Rev. David Randall-Bodman will begin an extended worship series based on Fr. Richard Rohr’s book, The Universal Christ: How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope for, and Believe.

Who is Richard Rohr? Fr. Rohr is a Franciscan priest of the New Mexico Province. He is the founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation and academic dean of the CAC’s Living School. An internationally recognized author and spiritual leader, Fr. Richard teaches primarily on incarnational mysticism, nondual consciousness, and contemplation, with a particular emphasis on how these affect the social justice issues of our time.

Richard Rohr’s main point in his book is that “everything visible, without exception, is the outpouring of God.” He challenges many orthodox Christian beliefs. He wants to liberate the Christian faith from its “clannish” history. Rather than being Jesus’s last name, Christ means life in its fullness.

Fr. Rohr’s book invites us to envision Christianity in a new and different light. Rather than believing in the right things or saying the right words, at the heart of Christianity is a worldview that sees all of life as sacred.  Many of us grew up believing that a “rational assent to the truth of certain mental beliefs, rather than a calm and hopeful trust that God is inherent I all things, and that this whole thing is going somewhere good.”

This worship series will stretch us.  It will also provide an overview of an understanding and practice of Christianity that Fr. Rohr has been practicing for decades. The Universal Christ invites us to enter into mystery and experience God rather than trying to figure God out.

I am excited by the prospect that together we will develop a deeper appreciation for and practice of the religion of Jesus.