Feature Stories

Balance & Emergence: Listen 2.0

Posted on Mar 1, 2018 in Feature Stories, From Rev. Dave

Human biology and neurology have confirmed what ancient wisdom (and, frankly, intuition) has always taught: Healthy individuality is impossible without community. Yet community demands conformity—with some communities demanding more conformity than others. This makes fully human life at best a balancing act. The March-April worship series “Listen 2.0” moves from a rich inner life cultivated by last series’ “Listening Within” to the necessary and more authentic life of “Listening to One Another.” It’s worship that offers the opportunity to...

Listening within, deeply

Posted on Jan 12, 2018 in Feature Stories, From Rev. Dave

I like to think that, at least at Allegheny, we have come to an understanding of the yin/yang aspect of individualism and communitarianism. That’s what I experienced when we worshiped with community drumming during “Drumming in the New Year” worship the first Sunday of 2018. Community drumming is not just a worship experience—an invitation to nourish the soul. It’s an opportunity to heal, if you let it; to create community, if you make it; to listen to your own drum while listening to others in a way that makes the whole sound better. Or not. It’s all in your hands. “If you feel...