Progressive Christianity

TCPC's eight points. Crosswalk America
trek. Groups, networks, websites, etc.

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The TCPC's Eight Points:

The Center for Progressive Christianity (TCPC) ₁ is one of the leading groups promoting a network of progressive Christians.

Their eight points are a series of ideas that describe the TCPC's approach to Christianity. ₂ It is not a statement of faith or creed. It is more a description of how Progressive Christians approach life. They are paraphrased below for brevity and to avoid copyright conflicts:

1. Focus: The teachings and life of Jesus provide them with a path to God.
2. Pluralism: They recognize that others follow their own paths to God which are equally true for them.
3. Communion: They view the sharing of bread and wine in Jesus' name to represent "an ancient vision of God's feast for all peoples."
4. Inclusivity: All are welcome to become involved; persons of all genders, sexual orientations, traditions, races, etc.
5. Reciprocity: How we treat others is the "fullest expression" of our beliefs.
6. Search: They find more grace in searching for truth than in accepting certainty.
7. Community: They form communities to support each other in their quest for peace, justice, a restored environment, and to provide hope.
8. Cost: Following Jesus involves a personal investment in "selfless love, conscientious resistance to evil, and renunciation of privilege."

The Progressive Christian symbol is an eight-pointed star, representing these eight ideas that they hold in common. It is unrelated to the twelve-pointed star that appears in the ReligiousTolerance.org logo at the top of each page on our website.

The Crosswalk America trek of 2006:

A group called "Crosswalk America" started walking at Phoenix, AZ on 2006-APR-16, and ended in Washington DC on SEP-03. They are progressive Christians who were publicizing what they refer to as the "Phoenix Affirmations:"

	Christians must have an openness to other faiths
	Christians must care for the earth and its ecosystem
	Christians must value artistic expression in all its forms
	Christians must welcome and include all persons
	Christians must oppose the co-mingling of Church and State
	Christians must seek peace and end systemic poverty
	Christian must promote the values of rest and recreation, prayer and reflection
	Christians must embrace both faith and science.

Eric Elnes has written a book on titled "Phoneix Affirmations: A New Vision for the Future of Christianity." Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com

"Their desire was to turn the present course of Christianity in America away from its divisive pro-war, anti-female, anti-gay public face, where those who disagree are relegated to an emotional status somewhere between being excommunicated and burned at the stake, to a religion identified with the words 'love' and 'inclusion.' In every community entered across this nation, these walkers went to the local churches, identified themselves and shared their message. They worshiped in all kinds of settings, deliberately including the most fundamentalist. One was called 'The Jesus Baptist Church' in Springerville, Texas, that stated publicly their belief in the inerrancy of the Bible and the sinfulness of homosexuality, but they also worshiped in a Metropolitan Community Church in New Mexico, that was organized just for homosexual people who had been forced out of their churches by religious and biblical prejudice." _3,4

Local groups, national and regional networks, web sites, etc:

	United States: The Center for Progressive Christianity has a web site at: http://www.tcpc.org/ A listing of local groups in the U.S. is maintained by the Center for Progressive Christianity. See: http://www.tcpc.org/ A listing of regional networks in the U.S. is also maintained by the Center. See: http://www.tcpc.org/ The Institute for Progressive Christianity is at: http://www.instituteforprogressivechristianity.org Progressive Christians Uniting is at: http://www.progressivechristiansuniting.org Progressive Christian Witness is at: http://www.progressivechristianwitness.org
	Canada: The Canadian Center for Progressive Christianity has a web site at http://www.progressivechristianity.ca  It has links to groups, resources, events, etc.
	UK: The Progressive Christianity Network for Great Britain and Ireland has a web site at: http://www.pcnbritain.org.uk/
	Australia: The Centre for Progressive Religious Thought at: http://www.progressivereligion.org.au/
	A portal which provides access to all of the Progressive Christianity web sites was located at: http://www.progressivechristianity.net It links to web sites in Britain, Canada Ireland, New Zealand, South Australia and the United States.
	BlogShares has a list of the top 100 blogs dealing with Progressive Christianity at: http://blogshares.com/
	Beliefnet has a forum on Progressive Christianity at: http://www.beliefnet.com/
	Religion Dispatches "... is a daily online magazine dedicated to the analysis and understanding of religious forces in the world today, highlighting a diversity of progressive voices and aimed at broadening and advancing the public conversation." See: http://www.religiondispatches.org/

References:

1. Progressive Christianity movement's home page is at: http://www.tcpc.org/ Their address is The Center for Progressive Christianity, 4916 Pt. Fosdick Dr., NW  #148, Gig Harbor, WA  98335. Telephone: 253-303-0022. E-mail: center@tcpc.org
2. "The 8 points: 2003 version," at: http://www.tcpc.org/
3. J.S. Spong, "Crosswalk America Arrives in Washington, DC," A New Christianity for a New World newsletter, 2006-SEP-13.
4. "Change the face of Christianity in America," Crosswalk America, at: http://crosswalkamerica.org/

Copyright © 2003 to 2009 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 2003-SEP-28
Latest update: 2009-NOV-02
Author: B.A. Robinson

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