Gretta Vosper: The Atheist Minister March 2016
Church was never the all encompassing idea of a community for me. There may have been semblances of community that came out of some of my church experiences, but even those experiences were over shadowed by the structure, doctrine, obligations and shame.
It's been over fifteen years since I have been committed to a church organization. I only miss some of the people, I don't miss the rest.
But Gretta Vosper intrigues me. Church is about community for her. Her story is incredible and she is Canadian. I have been looking for Atheist voices from my country. I have had to settle for going south or across the pond. Gretta is the pastor of the West Hill United Church in Toronto. To understand more of her story, her are a few links...
Gretta Vosper: Faith without God August 2015
The Thinking Atheist Podcast 237: Gretta Vosper - Atheist Minister Under Fire September 2015
Freethought matters: Atheist Minister Gretta Vosper (October 2022)
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One thing that impresses me about churches is when they move away from a belief statement to a statement of core values. I am still confused as to how a church body can summarize a group of people's beliefs in a statement when beliefs are very personal. But core values... it makes sense that a community can find common ground in values. I will end this post with the Value statement provided by Gretta's church "West Hill United". I find it encouraging and a great model for other communities if they ever want to veer away from belief statements.
VisionWorks is an evolving document that articulates West Hill’s core values. We use it to inspire, affirm, and guide us as individuals in community.
Grounded in life
Life: connections - With a deep sense of awe and wonder, we acknowledge life, in all its diversity and complexity, as an interconnected web of relationships beyond our full comprehension.
Life: experience - We recognize our place within this web of life: we are each affected by natural forces and human choices, and, in turn, have an impact on the natural world and the human community, helping or harming by our actions and inactions.
Life as source - From these realities we draw our sense of identity and belonging, and form our views on humanity, meaning, and morality. While we are aware of our limited perspectives and fallibility, we are also eager to discover, understand, and experience life.
Guided by love
Love in action: choice - In light of our interconnectedness in life, we choose love as our highest value and guide. We take love to mean actions that embody justice, compassion, honesty, openness, integrity, courage, kindness, forgiveness…for self, others, and the planet.
Love in action: advocacy - Our choice of love leads us to acknowledge the worth of all beings, and therefore their right to be treated with dignity and respect.
We seek to increase our awareness of the places of hurt in the world and our sense of responsibility for the consequences of our actions and inactions.
We strive to promote justice, resist injustice, and bring about reconciliation.
Love in action: decisions - As we encounter ethical complexity, cultural diversity, and conflicting worldviews, we acknowledge inevitable uncertainty, seek a comprehensive understanding, and support one another in making choices in line with our values.
