Upper Room Inclusive Catholic Community Liturgy for the Season Of Creation Saturday, September 27, 2025 Presider – Kathie Ryan

 

Here is the Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155 

phone-in for (audio only).Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155

Welcome:  Our world is upside down.  Fear and anxiety are high.  We constantly question our ability to do something, anything, to make changes. Where do we find the strength, solace and courage to keep on keeping on? 

 

Opening Prayer: Scripture and hymns tell us you will never leave us comfortless. Please help to recognize you in all creation.  We need and long to experience your loving comfort.

 

Opening Song: More Light by Christopher Gundy video by MTStreck

https://youtu.be/a8XaUlqb8t0

 

LITURGY OF THE WORD

First Reading:

According to an ancient Sufi story, there lived a king in some Middle Eastern land who was continuously torn between happiness and despondency. The slightest thing would cause  great upset or provoke an intense reaction, and his happiness would quickly turn into disappointment and despair. So the king sent for a wise man in his kingdom who was reputed to be enlightened.  The king said can you give me something that will bring balance, serenity, and wisdom into my life?   The wise man said he would help him and he left saying he would be back shortly.  A few weeks later, he returned and handed the king an ornate box carved in jade.  The king opened the box and found a simple gold ring inside.  Some letters were inscribed on the ring.  The inscription read: This, too shall pass.  “What is the meaning of this?” asked the king.  The wise man said, “Wear this ring always. Whatever happens before you call it good or bad, touch this ring and read the inscription. That way, you will always be at peace.”

These are the inspired words of the Sufi tradition. We affirm them with AMEN

 

Second Reading: A reading from an article in America Magazine by Gregory Hillis.

Throughout the book Revelations of Divine Love, Julian expounds on the experiences she had of God’s tender and all-encompassing love for us. God’s love for us is so “high, surpassing, [and] immeasurable” that we cannot comprehend it. And yet this love for us is so intimate that Julian equates it with the love of a mother for her child, and famously calls God “our Mother in nature, our Mother in grace.”

But this experience of the profundity of God’s love led Julian to ask God the question that has plagued humanity for centuries: If God is love and loves us so deeply, then why do evil and suffering exist?

Julian received two responses to her question, the first being that God will perform a deed on the last day of the world by which God “will make all things well.” At another point, Jesus tells her, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.” Precisely what this means is much debated, but Julian appears to understand by this phrase that God will ultimately overcome all evil, all sin and all suffering in such a way that humanity can and will experience the profound love of God.

These are the words of Gregory Hillis and Julian of Norwich. We affirm them with AMEN!

Gospel Acclamation: Celtic Alleluia by Christopher Walker

https://youtu.be/o1rc7ojQtJU

Gospel: A reading from the Gospel of Luke (18 24-27)

Jesus said, “How hard is it for the those who are wealthy to enter the kin-dom of God. It’s easier for a camel to crawl through the Needle’s Eye gate than for the wealthy to enter the kin-dom.”  Then those who heard this said, “Who then can be saved?”  Jesus replied, “What is impossible for humans is possible with God!”

These are the words of the scribe known as Luke. Our community affirms them with Amen.

 

Shared Homily

What does it mean when Jesus says it is hard for the wealthy to enter the kin-dom. When we read this gospel, we must be careful not to read it literally.  Some scholars say there was an actual place called the “Needle Pass” that was very narrow. Camels had a near impossible chance to get through.  Maybe so, but how does that apply to you and me today.  If we leave out the debate of the camel and the pass, it is the wealthy who have trouble getting into heaven.  Aren’t we all wealthy comparatively speaking. Am I too wealthy to enter the kin-dom?   What kind of wealth do we each have?  But Jesus comforts us with don’t worry- “all things are possible with God.”

A few weeks back two of our community members shared their thoughts on Julian of Norwich’s famous prayer: “All shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”  One member took great comfort in the prayer, the other member could not find comfort in the prayer because of the way our world is right now.

The Sufi wise man used a similar meaning phrase “This too shall pass”. This phrase can offer comfort for some but may unintentionally minimize or dismiss someone’s strong feelings of sadness, or anger, or hurt.

Do you see a connection between these three readings? 

Perhaps it is as simple as the gospel phrase “all things are possible with God.”  Some translations read “all things are possible for God.”   Many will tell us that of course all things are possible for God - he is omnipotent! He can do all things!  Although God could zap the world into a world of peace and love, God does not act in that manner.

Instead, Jesus reminds us that “all things are possible with God.  The preposition “with” makes all the difference.  God is with us in the joy and suffering. God is with us in our most difficult, upsetting, even terrifying moments.   Our comfort is knowing God is with us.  That knowing enables us to pray: “all things shall be well, and this too shall pass.” 

 

Statement of Faith

 

We believe in the Holy One, a divine mystery
beyond all definition and rational understanding,
the heart of all that has ever existed,
that exists now, or that ever will exist.

We believe in Jesus, messenger of the Divine Word,
bringer of healing, heart of Divine compassion,
bright star in the firmament of the Holy One's
prophets, mystics, and saints.

 We believe that We are called to follow Jesus
as a vehicle of divine love,
a source of wisdom and truth,
and an instrument of peace in the world.

We believe in the Spirit of the Holy One,
the life that is our innermost life,
the breath moving in our being,
the depth living in each of us.

We believe that the Divine kin-dom is here and now,
stretched out all around us for those
with eyes to see it, hearts to receive it,
and hands to make it happen.

 

Prayers of the Community

 

As we prepare for the sacred meal, we bring to the table our prayer of intentions:

 

We pray for these and all unspoken intentions that we hold in our hearts.  Amen. 

 

 

LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

 

With open hearts and hands let us pray our Eucharistic prayer in one voice:

 

O Holy One, you are always with us. In the blessed abundance of creation, we gather to celebrate Your nourishing gift of life. May our hearts be open as You invite us to participate in the wise and wonderful work of co-creation. May we be ever aware of Your Spirit within and among us as our world unfolds amid pain and beauty into the fullness of life. 

 

We are grateful for Your Spirit whose breath inspired the primal waters, calling into being the variety and abundance we see around us. Your Spirit sustains and animates our every endeavor, inviting us to act in wisdom and in truth.

In gratitude and joy we embrace our calling and we lift our voices to proclaim a song of praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy: Here in this Place by Christopher Grundy

https://youtu.be/sgkWXOSGmOQ

As a community, we gather in the power of your Spirit, refreshing wind, purifying fire and flowing water, for the variety and diversity of Creation. We seek to live as Jesus taught us, wise and holy as Spirit-filled people, courageous and prophetic, ever obedient to your call.

 

Please extend your hands in blessing.

 

In the power of this creative Spirit, Jesus lived life to the full.
We, too, are blessed in the power of that same Spirit, which we now invoke upon all gathered here, to celebrate the transformative energy symbolized in our gifts of bread and wine, given to nourish and sustain us into the fullness of life.

 

On the night before he faced his own death, Jesus sat at supper with his companions and friends.  He reminded them of all that he taught them, and to fix that memory clearly with them, he bent down and washed their feet.

(Lift Plate)

That same bread, Jesus took and broke, to restore the unity of our broken world. Jesus blessed you, then he shared the bread with those at table saying:

Take and eat the Bread of Life for all who hunger for peace and justice.

(Lift Cup)

After the meal, he then raised the cup of blessing poured in a spirit of solidarity and empowerment, spoke the grace, and offered them the wine saying:

Take and drink the Cup of Compassion for a broken world. 

pause

We share this bread and cup to proclaim and live the gospel of justice and peace. We choose to live justly, love tenderly, and walk with integrity.

Receive the Bread of Life and the Cup of Compassion with the words: The Holy One is with me always.

 

Communion song: Love is Greater than Fear - The Many - lyric video

https://youtu.be/l23Dkmyy1Cw

 

Post Communion Prayer: We seek to act justly and courageously in confronting the suffering that desecrates the Earth and its peoples; to take risks in being proactive on behalf of the marginalized who suffer the environmental injustices of fouled air, tainted water, and a poverty of parks and public spaces that bring people together to enjoy nature. We pray for inspiration to act with the harmony and unity and synthesis that is modeled for us by the trees of the forest, and the stars of the evening.

Holy One, your transforming energy is always moving within us and working through us. Like Jesus, we will open up wide all that has been closed about us, and we will live compassionate lives, for it is through living as Jesus lived, that we awaken to your Spirit within,

moving us to glorify You, O Holy One, at this time and all ways.

Amen.

 

Let us pray the Prayer of Jesus

 

Generous Creator, the intricate and elegant biodiversity of our world is your hallowed autograph on our lives, on our souls and in our hearts.

We yearn for the wholeness of being in harmony with Your will and with all living things.

Each day we draw on your creative, life-giving energy with gratitude and awe as we find nourishment in, seed and field, river and forest.

May we be stewards and co-creators with you in caring for the gifts of Your Creation. 

We acknowledge our shortcomings, especially our neglect of the environment. We seek to be reconciled with those we have hurt and we resolve to do better. 

With your unfailing wisdom and the wind of Your Spirit, inspire us that we may reach out and love one another and care for the world, our home.

Strengthen us to work for local and global justice so that we may one day reap a harvest of equality and fairness as if they were wildflowers, propagating spontaneously, unerringly and in surprising abundance. Amen.                                                         Lynn Kinlan

 

We are called to live the Gospel of Creation in harmony and gratitude with all our sisters and brothers across the Earth. We will live justly, love tenderly and walk with integrity in Your Presence.

BLESSING

Let us pray together our closing blessing:

May we treat all of Creation as sacred and discern the best path to an equitable distribution of the resources we share with our sisters and brothers across the globe. Let us live as if the future depends on it. Amen.

Closing Song: Dance Then Wherever You May Be by John Ogrodowczyk

https://youtu.be/L6R6_Qz6_dU

 

 

Moment of Oneness, September 24, 2025 - Prepared by Deven Horne

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81507551772
Meeting ID: 815 0755 1772
To connect by phone dial: +1 646 558 8656

Stay Still, Listen

Opening Prayer – Shhh, Be still. Shhh very still. Don’t try, just be. What do you feel in your body? Ahhh tension… let it go. Relax your neck and shoulders, let them go. Breath deep long breaths and let them go. Be still, listen.

Opening Song: Be Still and Listen by Shawna Carol

https://youtu.be/FC9JX2l-Enk?si=GGFz6NBeVebC5LvR 

First Reading - Lost by David Wagoner

Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,
I have made this place around you.
If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows
Where you are. You must let it find you.

Second Reading – Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

Siddhartha listened. He was now listening intently,

completely absorbed, quite empty, taking in everything.

He felt that he had now completely learned the art of listening.

He had often heard all this before, all the numerous voices in the river, 

but today they sounded different. He could

no longer distinguish the different voices…

They all belonged to each other: the lament of those that yearn,

the laughter of the wise, the cry of indignation and the groan

of the dying.

Affirmations and Intentions: 

May we hone the skill of patience to be still and listen.

May we speak with the wisdom of the One who breathes in us.

May we hear revelations that evoke tears in our hearts.

May we be inspired by seeing how the Divine moves in another and all things.

May we wait patiently while deep healing takes place.

May we experience gratefulness when we awaken.

Silence to add your own intentions.

Closing Prayer: Listener of our Deepest Self, the ear of your heart Is forever to us. We call and you respond. We turn and you embrace. We look and you gaze. We search and you lead. We lose and you find. We wander and you return us home. Grant us the grace to be a reflection of your presence.

Closing Song – Awake my Soul – Mumford & Sons (ft. Jon Baptiste)

https://youtu.be/PjM6Jbd__Qc?si=wkdcJk6FVNsiMQtI 

Upper Room Inclusive Catholic Community Sunday Liturgy, September 21, 2025 Presiders: Lynn Kinlan and Terri Kersch in person Suzanne De Froy and Phillis Sheppard on zoom

 

Please join us between 9:30 and 9:55 am via Zoom

Here is the Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155 

phone-in for (audio only).Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155

Presider 1: Welcome/theme: Good morning and welcome. Central to our celebration of the Season of Creation is the idea of heaven in the here and now; earth as a holy paradise. Today, we follow the trail of two theologians to find early Christian artwork that makes obvious how Creation was a central focus of early Christian faith. Our gospel affirms in the words of Jesus, that nature is not just a pretty setting, not merely a sustaining feature of life, but a living, sacred offering of Divine peace inviting our co-creation and satisfying our thirst for all that is holy.

Presider 2: Opening Prayer:  Holy One, we are grateful for all of creation. We ask that you help each one of us radiate your peaceful and living presence. May we celebrate in the here and now the healing power of Creation. Help us to honor in all ways, the Eden in which we live. Amen.

Opening Song: Come to the Water by John Foley

https://youtu.be/QkoxkhwXjho?si=bMktxg5wF-fMjrUT

 

                                        LITURGY OF THE WORD

First Reading: An excerpt from the Prologue to Saving Paradise

Reader 1:     We are accustomed to images of a Christ who died for the salvation of our sins as the core of our faith. Yet, when we went looking for the earliest Christian art in the catacombs beneath Rome, expecting images of the suffering and crucified Jesus, we found none. Then we set out for Istanbul and Turkey to investigate crumbling remains of ninth to eleventh century monastery churches and from there we returned to Italy to find the mosaics in churches dating to the fifth and sixth century.

 

Nowhere in the oldest artwork did we find the crucifixion of Jesus that we are so accustomed to above our modern Western altars. There were images of Christ as teacher, healer of the sick, the one baptized in the Jordan river, but not one image of his martyred body given up for the world.

 

Reader 2:     Our next pilgrimage was to the church of St. Giovanni in Rome which contains some of the original artwork from the 4^th to 6^th centuries. First, we saw the altar located far short of where it ought to be; not at the furthest point from the first pews but where the nave and transept intersect; and over this altar was a three paneled painting of the crucifixion. We had to go behind this modern altar to find the original semicircle apse and altar space where it had been located for centuries. It was closed off with red velvet ropes. That didn’t stop us.

         

We jumped the ropes to see closely the original altar artwork. A dignified bust of Jesus was surrounded by winged seraphim and doves, water flowing from their beaks into the four rivers mentioned in Genesis. Deer and sheep grazed around a scene of John baptizing Jesus in the water. A small golden city nestled, protected by the rivers and surrounded by palm trees and peacocks. Nearby stood a lush meadow of flowers dotted with birds and pools of water where pairs of swans swam idly by.

         

We stood silently staring at this no longer seen artwork and it came to us; we stood in paradise. We were back in the garden of Eden.

 

Reader 3: We have since found more early church interiors with sanctuaries depicting cosmos stars in midnight skies, sparkling waters teeming with fish and verdant meadows filled with flowers and fruit trees.  Paradise was the dominant image of early Christian worship, not as afterlife but as of this world on earth in our time—sparkling mosaics showed experiences of life in a world created with us and for us as good and delightful. Images of the crucified Jesus do not appear in churches until the tenth century.

 

Nearly everything we had previously understood about Christian theology and ritual began to shift…

         

These are the words of theologians Rita Nakashima Brock and Rebecca Ann Parker and we acknowledge them with Amen.

 

Alleluia Acclamation: Celtic Alleluia by Christopher Walker

https://youtu.be/4cs8NDVM3Vk

 

Gospel Reading:    John: 4: 13-14

          Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman: “If only you recognized God’s gift, and who it is that is asking for a drink, you would have asked for a drink instead, and he would have given you living water. Everyone who drinks water from this well will be thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give them will never be thirsty; no, the water I give will become fountains within them, springing up to provide eternal life.

These are the words of the gospel author known as John and we acknowledge them with Amen.

                                                            Pause

Shared Homily and Reflections:

Presider 1: Today, we look back to the pre-empire early Christians to find the roots of our love for the earth and creation. It isn’t hard to imagine the first thousand years of Christians enjoying scenes of Jesus and the apostles in a pastoral landscape as they worship. After all, they lived in a largely agrarian society, close to the land, in unspoiled awe. For them, the whole year might have been the season of Creation.

         

The mystery that is harder to imagine is how Eden-like artwork above church altars was ultimately replaced by Jesus’ suffering on the cross. Like archeologists, Brock and Parker travelled from Italy to Turkey and back to piece together how artwork reflects theology.

         

The oldest crucifix art dates to 975 in the areas of conquest by

Charlemagne. Brock and Purdy believe the violence of the times - the carnage of war - displaced the love of nature. We do know that by 1095, crusaders were promised a place in Paradise after death when they joined the holy pilgrimages to slay Muslims and Jews. Brock and Parker identify a “piety of suffering” that honored the hardship of this world in exchange for eternal life in heaven. Thus, heaven was postponed.

         

Theories of purgatory and atonement were developed at this time with the effect of making even wider the distance between earth and heaven. Reaching heaven required sacrifice as well as the mercy and grace of God. Jesus would eventually be seen to ransom us from sin through crucifixion and death. Visuals of Jesus as healer and teacher in a landscape of beauty were replaced by Jesus on the cross, suffering for us. Gratitude and reverence for the God of creation took second place to a God of salvation, deserving of obedience and penance.

         

We of the Upper Room and many other Christians are reclaiming the beauty of Creation and the gratitude to God in the here and now. We insist on the theology of the early church and not the violent, dark vision of the medieval church. We reclaim Jesus as so much more than martyr; we reclaim this life of ours as more than hardship and our earth as more valuable than an environment to be plundered for power and riches.

 

Terri: I love the beautiful image of the Church of St. Giovanni in Rome in the first reading. The view beyond the altar depicts what I imagine the Garden of Eden to look like. As I look beyond the altars of the traditional Churches of my early life, I do not see that wondrous view of Creation.

         

And then the well-known story of the Samaritan woman’s encounter with Jesus at the well. I at first thought literally of the thirsty soil of this summer. I think about how many around the world are thirsty. Digging deeper I wonder what, other than water, am I/are we thirsty for? Peace, justice, integrity, healing, belonging, joy?

         

When Jesus says, ‘If only you recognized God’s gift…you would have asked for a drink, and he would have given you living water.”, Jesus is offering more than satisfaction of physical need. In gifting us the living water, is the Holy One telling us that we may just be living fountains? If, in the immense love of the Creator, we are, as part of creation, instilled with living water, that changes everything.

         

As fountains of living water, we have the ability and perhaps the obligation to share that gift with all of creation. If we are infused with the living water, we have the power to quench the world’s thirst. If we are fountains of living water, we have the extraordinary gift and the responsibility to honor and grow the Garden of Eden, here and now, in this room, in our homes, our communities and our earth. May it be so!

 

Please share your thoughts. What living water are you thirsty for?

Statement of Faith:

We believe in the Holy One, a divine mystery
beyond all definition and rational understanding,
the heart of all that has ever existed,
that exists now, or that ever will exist.

We believe in Jesus, messenger of the Divine Word,
bringer of healing, heart of Divine compassion,
bright star in the firmament of the Holy One's
prophets, mystics, and saints.

We believe that We are called to follow Jesus
as a vehicle of divine love,
a source of wisdom and truth,
and an instrument of peace in the world.

We believe in the Spirit of the Holy One,
the life that is our innermost life,
the breath moving in our being,
the depth living in each of us.

We believe that the Divine kin-dom is here and now,
stretched out all around us for those
with eyes to see it, hearts to receive it,
and hands to make it happen.

 

Prayers and Intentions of the Community:

Presider 2: As we prepare for the sacred meal, we bring to this friendship table our blessings, cares and concerns. Please feel free to voice your concerns beginning with the words “I bring to the table….”

 

We pray for these, and all the unspoken blessings, cares, and concerns held in the silence of our hearts. AMEN

                                       

LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

Presider 2: Let us raise our hands in prayer with open hearts:

All: We are amazed at our universe and our planet Earth which sustains our lives in glorious beauty. We are blessed by the lights of the heavens, the sun, moon and stars; we are blessed by knowing ours is but one galaxy among many. The very size of creation suggests to us the immense love of the Creator. We are blessed also by darkness in the evenings which eases us into contemplation and rootedness and the healing balm of sleep.

We are blessed by oceans with exotic looking marine life, raucous waves and the cliffs and shores which envelop them. Streams and rivers, snow, sleet and rain complete the blessing of water that sustains us, calms us and gives us playgrounds in which to frolic.

Forests and mountains are a further blessing of solitude and summit, of cooling shade and distant horizons. The silence they offer is a sacred reminder to stay in the quiet beauty of each blessed moment in time.

Plant life, both decorative and life sustaining are our living companions, sharing in the sun, wind and rain. Animal life in all its extravagant variety shares with us the glory of creation. They deserve our vigilant protection and loving care in this earth garden gifted to all forms of life.

Humbled and grateful for the many blessings of Creation, we sing for joy…

Holy, Holy, Holy: by Christopher Grundy

https://youtu.be/uXyu57tR2gk

When heartbreak or despair make us hard-hearted, when the world’s pain seems unreconciled, our appreciation of Creation can dwindle or lapse. The urgency of reversing climate change is not always a priority; valuing Creation is sometimes an afterthought.

May our recognition of Earth as Eden fill us with gratitude. May the grace of the Divine, and the healing of Jesus fill us with wholeness and wisdom enough to save ourselves and the world.

Presider 2: Please extend your hands in blessing.

We are grateful for the bread and wine that call us to be renewed with the love of the Holy One. Divinity lives and breathes in every plant, land and sea animal and all people across Earth.

We are grateful for this bread and wine which join us with Jesus and the Last Supper companions. Together through history people of good intention stand with the broken and wounded of the world as Jesus did. As we value the garden of Earth, we acknowledge that climate change most severely impacts the impoverished and marginalized peoples of the world.

On the night before he faced betrayal and death, Jesus shared supper with his companions. He reminded them of all they had learned together in years of nomadic ministry. To underscore the importance of humble service, he bent down and washed their feet.

Returning to the table, he lifted the bread, spoke a blessing, broke the bread and offered it to all present saying,

                    Take and eat, go and share my love with

                            all whose lives you touch.

 

Then he took the cup of the covenant, spoke a blessing and offered it to all present saying,

                  Take and drink of the covenant. Whenever you

                   remember me like this, I am among you.

 

Presider 2: Please receive the bread with the phrase, You are the living water. (For those in the room – If you wish to, please come to the friendship table to share the cup)

Communion Song: Flowers of the Forest by Mike Oldfield

https://youtu.be/gC-vTJUzft0?si=wj4pqoH8zziG4DC7  

 

Prayer after communion:

Bread and wine are transformed by your Spirit and we are transformed as we open our hears to Your Spirit. What we have heard with our ears, we will live with our lives; as we share communion, we become communion, both Love’s nourishment and Love’s challenge.

 

Jesus prayer for the Season of Creation:

All: Generous Creator, the intricate and elegant biodiversity of our world is your hallowed autograph on our lives, our souls and our hearts.

We yearn for the wholeness of being inharmony with Your will and with all living things. Each day, we draw on your life-giving energy with awe when we find nourishment in seed and field, river and forest.

We acknowledge our shortcomings, especially our feelings of powerlessness in the face of climate change, and injustice. We seek to be reconciled with those we have hurt and we resolve to do better.

With your unfailing wisdom and the wind of your Spirit, inspire us to reach out and love one another and care for the world, our home. Strengthen us to work for local and global justice.

May we one day reap a harvest of equality and fairness as if they were wildflowers, propagating spontaneously, unerringly and in surprising abundance. Amen

                                                                                                    Lynn Kinlan

 

BLESSING

          All: May we drink of the living water promised by Jesus.

          May it nudge us to respect the earth and all the animals and

           plants that are our companions here.

          May we be agents of environmental justice that brings peace to all peoples.

          May we act as though the future depends on it. Because it does. Amen.

 

Closing Song: Woodstock Lyrics for Back to the Garden by Crosby, Stills and Nash

https://youtu.be/g25DlXOWmMo?si=yYU7m4gF63yTU_b0

 

Sources:

Brock, Rita Nakashima and Rebecca Ann Parker. Saving Grace. Beacon Press, 2008.

 

Rita Nakashima Brock (born April 1950 in Fukuoka, Japan) is an American feminist scholar, Protestant theologian, activist, and non-profit organization leader. She is an independent scholar and a Commissioned Minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).Brock has authored one book, co-authored four books, co-edited five books, and published many essays primarily on moral injury, theology and culture, feminist theology, sexuality and religion.

Rev. Dr. Rebecca Parker received a bachelor's degree from the University of Puget Sound in 1975, a Doctorate of Ministry from Claremont School of Theology in 1979, and an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Northwest Theological Union.^[She was ordained a United Methodist minister in 1992 and holds dual fellowship with the Unitarian Universalist Association.