When a young man gets bored during the sermon in a starched Presbyterian Church on a Sunday morning, he pages through the Hymnal. That was Scott barely twelve years old who found, of all things, a Swastika at the top of the page at the end of the book he found in the church pew. The Swastika was crossed out. A cross appeared beneath it, indicating a clear Christian protest against the symbol that has lived in infamy ever since. The heading spelled out the historic Barmen Declaration of 1934. It was written then by German Clergy (led by theologian Karl Barth) who protested the State Church’s endorsement and embrace of Nazi ideology. It was a potent and risky rejection of the “Furher’s” influence in the Church. Years later, 2018, now Dr. McClelland, a student of The Living School (founded by Fr. Richard Rohr) sat in a discussion group with his fellow students as they considered the political turmoil two years into the Trump Presidency. He brought a copy of the Barmen Declaration to the group. Together they determined that this document to be surprisingly relevant. They all agreed, it must be updated and reintroduced to all Americans. From a broad spectrum of faith traditions, it’s a call to all of us who share a commitment to contemplative action for “love and compassion, healing of division, promotion, and protection of human dignity, and the stewardship of creation.” The new version is called BARMEN TODAY: A CONTEMPORARY CONTEMPLATIVE DECLARATION. Father Richard Rohr gave his hearty endorsement, calling it a summary of the Living School’s reason for being. While some 18,000 signed the original declaration in the 1930s, over 31,000 have signed Barmen Today. Ken and Scott unpack the history and application of the declaration - and prepare to encourage many more to sign.
READ AND SIGN the BARMEN TODAY document by clicking here.
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Ken introduces his long-time friend, Dr. Scott McClelland. They talk about awakenings. Scott is a New Testament scholar who has been a professor, a pastor a dean, and now director of the Doctor of Divinity program at South University. After graduating from Wheaton College, Scott was accepted at The University of Edinburgh in Scotland where he pursued and completed his doctoral work. For five years, Scott directed Westmont College's campus in San Francisco's historic Haight-Ashbury District. They review the work of musician Carrie Newcomer and author Brian McLaren. St. Gregory's Episcopal Church triggered another awakening for Dr. Scott. Scott is also a graduate of the Living School founded by Fr. Richard Rohr. In response to evangelical support for Donald Trump, Scott authored the Barmen Today Declaration (over 30,000 signatures to date - read and sign here) which is based on the historic declaration written in 1934 as Adolf Hitler consolidated absolute power in Germany. Ken and Scott discuss the contemplative spirit.
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Dr. Scott McClelland currenly serves as the Department Chair for South University’s Department of Theology. He holds the BA and MA in Biblical Studies from Wheaton College, a ThM from Westminster Theological Seminary, and a PhD in New Testament from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
– Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Friends,
On the website, you’ll find Barmen Today: A Contemporary Contemplative Declaration. A statement of common purpose in a time of dire common need, Barmen Today expresses a resolute commitment to equality, dignity, and opportunity for each and every living being, no exceptions, offered in love and the belief that we humans are capable of more than we’ve achieved so far in fulfilling the spirit of each of our faith traditions as well as the American dream of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” for all.
It is our hope that you and others will gently, thoughtfully, and contemplatively share Barmen Today with your friends, talk about it, post it in your office, write about it, discuss it in small groups, incorporate it in your daily meditation and/or prayer practices…. It is our hope that you will help us move, one soul at a time, from a place of division, hatred and discord to a place of greater awareness, understanding and dialogue; to a place loving and tolerant enough to include and transcend our many differences; to a place where we live united by our common humanity.
Namaste, friends,
Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew, Cynthia Bourgeault, Lee Clasper-Torch, Leslye Colvin, Mary Ann Evans, James Finley, Roy Hoagland, Louise McClelland, Scott McClelland, David Morris, Enrique Otero, Donelle Poling, Richard Rohr, Wendy Shafer, Susan Stocker, Jan Taylor, Amari Verástegui
Among my several vocational roles, I have been a Senior Pastor in New York and southern California, and a co-pastor with my wife, Louise, in San Francisco. I also have served in the Academe as a full-time tenured professor, an adjunct prof, the Director of an off-campus program in San Francisco, an Associate Dean and Director of a south Florida regional campus, and a Dean of Extension Studies to help an isolated small school extend its education to a local urban area. Outside of the academic world, I have been a Director of Development for a non-profit relief agency, and a passenger service agent for an airline!
I am a native of Philadelphia, PA and currently reside in south Florida and on Whidbey Island, WA in the summer. My many vocational opportunities have allowed us to also live in the mid-Hudson Valley of New York, southern California, San Francisco, and Buffalo, NY.
I have taught in both undergraduate and graduate educational institutions such as The King’s College (NY), Nyack College, Westmont College, Houghton College, Trinity International University and Fuller Theological Seminary. During that time I have published several articles and given presentations as a member of the Society of Biblical Literature.
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