Illuminating the ISM

“Better to illuminate than merely to shine to deliver to others contemplated truths than merely to contemplate.” – Thomas Aquinas INTRODUCTION Soon after sunset, on Manhattan Island, an unmarked white van slowly approaches the Library at Columbia University. Inside the van are cases of heavy equipment and a portable stage. The van parks in front…

The Unidos Manifesto A Collaborative Ministry Outreach Program

Introduction In response to the constitutional crisis currently facing America, Convergent Streams Magazine and Universal Spirit Broadcasting Network have joined together in a collaborative program to resist social injustice and environmental plunder and to foster a constructive reaction in our communities. The Prevailing State of Affairs The election of President Donald J. Trump has created…

Deconstructing Shavuot

“Blah blah blah deconstruction blah blah blah.” – A. Cretan INTRODUCTION Present times demand to dismantle the traditional jubilant celebration of the descent of the Holy Spirit that we have long regarded as the “Birthday of the Church.” Leviticus 23:15-16 reads, “Beginning with the day after the Sabbath, the day on which you bring the…

Driving the Spoke

“We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.”—Dietrich Bonhoeffer INTRODUCTION There is a community of people living on the outskirts of Manila who reside on the edge of the city’s garbage dump. These people survive and support themselves…

People of the Wine

“Beer is made by men, wine by God!” -Martin Luther “I cook with wine; sometimes I even add it to the food.” -W. C. Fields When I began my journey into the Old Catholic church and eventually the path toward priesthood in the Independent Sacramental Movement, my first mentor offered an observation about the clergy…