A netfriend:

Many years ago I started to collect sayings under the heading Worth Pondering. Haven’t used them for years but here they are.

Thinking theologically… means more than just interpreting our given Oorthodox ¹ biblical tradition and creedal statements. It also means being willing to think differently now than in the past (Sallie McFague).

God is as present in the failure as in the success William Bausch.

The Kingdom is not a thing to be observed but the experience of God within human activity John Shea.

Nearly all the best things that come to me in life have been unexpected, unplanned by me Carl Sandburg.

Life should be a pattern of experiences to savour, not endure Paula D ¹Arcy

You can ¹t put sawdust in a meat pie and expect it to be tasty Roy Miles

Not the holiness of the elect but the wholeness of all is the central vision of Jesus Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza.

People who are riddled with doubts tend to be dogmatists who are never wrong John Powell

It ¹s traditional for tradition to change. It has for centuries. In fact the only constant thing in life, is change Pat Parelli

Holiness… is seeing with the eyes of Christ Origen of Alexandria.

Christianity is, above all, a way of seeing Robert Barron.

In the very act of giving, I experience my strength, my wealth, my power Erich Fromm.

“It’s not the meaning of life, it’s the meaning in life” Robert Fulghum.

“I took the road less travelled by, and that made all the difference” Robert Frost.

Only an axe is required to expose forest soils to erosion and begin the all to rapid process of creating new wastelands John Cobb, Jr.

My business is not to remake myself, but make the absolute best of what God has made Robert Browning.

The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore Vincent van Gogh.

When the name is remembered, resurrection begins Rubem Alves.

Hope is one of the greatest qualities of the human spirit Francis Macnab.

The purpose of our life is God’s glory. However lowly a life is, that is what makes it great Oscar Romero.

When a baby blushes upon the light, and opens flickering eyes, it is a question, implicit, unasked, ‘Who will I be?’ Kenneth Paton.

Hope is like a river running through our veins. It ¹s with us forever like the cool refreshing rains Jessica Smith (12 years).

I do not pray for tasks equal to my strength: I ask for strength equal to my tasks Phillips Brooks.

Jesus engaged imaginations so that people could get more deeply inside their own experience Patrick Collins.

Good stories grow not only because we continue to remember more but also because we continue to learn Donald Burt.

To have faith in Christ is to believe that Jesus reveals God, that is, reveals the pattern of reality for our world George Macleod.

There needs to be space in our hearts to listen for the innate order of things, to take it into account, to let it be primary Nancy Rose Exeter.

A religion true to its nature must also be concerned about mankind’s (sic) social conditions Martin Luther King, Jr.

Each act is important, each day a new miracle, each person a gift from God’s love Michael Meegan.

The experience of Jesus was an experience of love John Shelby Spong.

May life open to you, door by door; may you find in yourself the ability to trust it, and courage to find the most difficult confidence of all Rainer Maria Rilke.

The agony of the garden shows that Christ does not invite the cross but accepts it rather than abandon the Kingdom and the neighbour John Shea.

Sometimes it feels as though it would be easier for everyone if we just treated the Bible as God’s instruction book – do this, don’t do that. But we couldn’t do that and be the Uniting Church Andrew Dutney.

Spiritual awakening is the most essential thing in a person’s life, and it is the sole purpose of being Kahlil Gibran.

Leadership for change does not wait for permission to act Lloyd Vidler.

Christ comes not to show up or illuminate the deformity of a fallen world, but rather to release a beautiful and holy world from bondage Noel O’Donohue.

Our interpretation of scripture is most clearly shown in the way we live United Church of Canada.

Life is meant to be an adventure; change is a gift that we have to learn to use aright David Adam.

Resurrection is a process, a turning, a striving, a stirring Christine Smith.

To praise another human being… means to recognise, to celebrate and to proclaim the goodness which is in them A. M. Alchin.

Between, beneath the sounds of life there is a stillness like the stillness of a canyon Donald Johnston.

Grief prepares us to relinquish the old dreams… grief that only wails and blames is not enough Walter Davis.

The way is not always the way one expects, but it is the way Megan McKenna.

The creative advance of any generation rests upon the responsiveness of a pitifully small margin of human consciousness Bernard E Meland.

Whenever we are in despair, we are sustained by the promise of baptism that God will not abandon us, even when God seems absent Herbert Anderson.

We must learn to make time and to make room, to make space to allow our God to work David Adam.

Jesus was born a pilgrim, and from the very beginning until the very end of his earthly stay, he always seemed to be on the road or on the verge of moving on Donald Burt.

Tell me a love story. Not one you ¹ve read or heard. One you ¹ve lived Robert Fulghum.

Stories of the mighty acts of God are meaningless unless they connect with what we understand to be real and important about our life Edward Foley.

Everywhere I go I find that a poet has been there before me Sigmund Freud.

Let there be spaces in your togetherness, and let the winds of the heavens dance between you Kahlil Gibran.

One of the most precious things you should always preserve in a friendship and in love is your own difference John O ¹Donohue

It ¹s quite important in this life for someone to wink at you just at the right moment… John Clarke.

The trouble with doing nothing is that you never know when you are finished Michael Roth.

Not to decide is to decide Harvey Cox.

Not perfection as a final goal, but the ever-enduring process of perfecting, maturing, refining, is the aim of living John Dewey.

The gospel is not only what is said, but how it is said John Tinsley.

We are all invited to be midwives to the birth of the Spirit in each other Trisha Watts.

The main thing in life is not to be afraid to be human Pablo Casals.

Being ecumenical is not about the lowest common denominator; it is about the highest common factor Taize.

If we dream alone, it remains only a dream. If we dream together, it is the beginning of reality Dom Hilder Camarra.

God ¹s love is not about supernatural rescue but divine sharing in human suffering John Shea.

“In forgiving, we do not forget; we remember in a different way” R Schreiter.

Human beings are more than knowers. They are experiencers, and there is more to being an experiencer than knowing Jay McDaniel.

At all costs we must renew in ourselves the desire and the hope for the great coming Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.

“I said to the Almond Tree, ‘Sister, speak to me of God’. And the Almond Tree blossomed.” Nikos Kazantzakis.

Those who have nothing can share nothing; those who are going nowhere can have no companions with whom to share the journey C. S. Lewis.

“Telling stories allow others to share the unique way we have experienced life” Janet Ruffing.

It is the biblical view that being moral is loving well Daniel Maguire.

We need more persons who are willing to be active in the world of mission and fewer who are willing to be only reactive within the programs and activities of the church Kennon L. Callahan.

We see people and things not as they are, but as we are Anthony de Mello.

“Beyond fact is the art of imagination” Bernard E Meland.

We will have to give account on the judgment day of every good thing which we refused to enjoy when we might have done so Jewish saying, quoted by William Phipps.

The most exciting discoveries happen at the frontiers John O ¹Donohue

Storytelling has been central to Christianity from the beginning, because the Gospel is not a body of teaching… but an account of something done Colin Morris.

Television drama today is religion in its most popular and secular forms Quentin Schultze.

When faced with a totally new situation, we tend always to attach ourselves to the… flavour of the most recent past Marshall McLuhan.

In the business of living one must not live by certainties but by visions, risks and passion Charles Birch.

By doubting we come to inquire, and so to truth Abelard.

Christians… are not called to resist change but to be faithful to Christ amidst change Lawrence Osborn.

Tell someone to do something and you change their life – for a day; tell someone a story and you change their life N. T. Wright.

It is interpretation, not fact-collecting, which makes the human spirit what it is Dafydd M. Board.

Change is not something merely to be tolerated, but to be encouraged as important to the vitality and continuity of the church Robert Mellert.

Becareful what you Oremember ¹ because it will give shape to your hopes and dreams Sam Keen.

To claim a miracle is to make an interpretation of faith, not just a statement of fact John Dominic Crossan.

What kind of God is the God of Jesus? The God of Jesus is the God of compassion… and concerned with human well being Bill Loader.

You can ¹t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf Kabat-Zin.

To keep a lamp burning we have to keep putting oil in it Mother Teresa.

Life is not the way it ¹s supposed to be. It ¹s the way it is. The way we cope with it is what makes the difference Virginia Satir.

Tears not only represent feelings but are also lenses through which we gain an alternative vision Estes.

Glorifying the past can never be the key to our future. We need to get a new perspective on today by getting a new vision of tomorrow Keith A. Russell.

Jesus ¹ speech had the character not of instruction and ideas, but of compelling imagination… Amos Wilder.

When Christians gather to remember and hope, they fundamentally engage in a storytelling process John Shea.

Creativity implies some sort of dissatisfaction with the way things are Matthew Fox.

To pass on love is the real business of Christmas William Bausch.

Lent is a journey to Easter and not a forty-day meditation on the cross Kevin Flynn.

Don ¹t let life scare you Josephine Lawrence.

We have a technical name for people who do not change: dead Thomas Troeger.

When people love unselfishly, God is present Ellwood “Bud” Kaiser

We need to be reminded not to approach all new manifestations starry-eyed. And of course, not squinty eyed prejudiced before we start, either Jim Taylor.

When imagination is allowed to move to deep places, the sacred is revealed Thomas Moore.

New Year is a good time to remember that God is the Lord of tomorrow rather than the patron saint of yesterday John Bell.

“Get the facts first. You can distort them later” Mark Twain.

The desire for security can cause religious beliefs to become oppressive, especially when they do not allow for and encourage fresh, imaginative envisioning of a still better future Don Cupitt.