Christ Church-Bailey

[powerpress url="https://www.tellurideinside.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/MN2124_11142011100617165_1056266-1.mp3"] [caption id="attachment_7099" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Apostle Paul's in the Roman Empire"][/caption] Over the past year, Telluride Inside… and Out has has enjoyed regular chats with Reverend Pat Bailey of Telluride's Christ Church. Through our conversations, it becomes apparent Pastor Pat, a student of world religions, is...

Dog, Church Once upon a few years ago, Telluride Inside… and Out interviewed a group of young Russian filmmakers visiting town for the Telluride Film Festival. What did they want to talk about most? How dogs in Telluride looked like their people and were everywhere. And how cool it was that dogs were treated like family. And so on… Anyone who lives in town and any observant guest – like the young Russians – know one thing for certain: Telluride is dog heaven.

On October 9, 10 – 11 a.m., Telluride's Christ Church is, well, going to the dogs. And cats. Birds. Even gerbils. That Sunday is a belated celebration of the Feast Day of Saint Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals and the environment, traditionally celebrated October 4.

 

Juan+melendez
Juan Melendez

One of the feature documentaries that premiered at the Telluride Film Festival was Werner Herzog's "Into the Abyss." In it, Herzog's cold but curious lens looked at a capital murder case that took place in Texas in 2001. Three people were killed, one man faces 40 years in prison and another was executed. But he was guilty. Juan Melendez was not.

On Wednesday, September 28, noon – 1:30 p.m., Telluride's Christ Presbyterian Church hosts a special event, a screening of "Juan Melendez 6446" followed by a discussion led by Colorado Alternatives to the Death Penalty.

[click "Play", Susan talks with Rev. Pat Bailey]

 

Contemplation Garden Once upon a lifetime ago, Telluride Inside…and Out visited the Ryoan-Ji Zen Garden in Kyoto, Japan. The mystical place consists of raked gravel and 15 moss-covered boulders, arranged so that when viewed from any angle other than above, just 14 of the boulders are visible at one time. The big idea: only when we achieve enlightenment can we see all 15 at once.

Now let's take that idea home to Telluride, where Reverend Pat Bailey and Christ Church have created a variation on the theme of Ryoan-Ji. In the church's brand new contemplation garden, grass replaces gravel and stones are for sitting as we look up at our "boulders," the giant peaks that surround our box canyon. A Celtic cross, a Buddha and a cairn are set among the flowers, inviting everyone into the spiritual world of his choice.

[click "Play" to hear Susan's conversation with Rev. Pat Bailey]     kicker: Potluck luncheon features regional produce and meats Telluride's Christ Presbyterian Church is shouting "May Day." No, not a cry of distress. A cry of joy.Reverend Pat Bailey has...

[click "Play" to hear Susan speaking with Rev. Pat Bailey about Easter and Lent]   Reverend Pat Bailey of Telluride's Christ Church poses a question: What comes to mind when you hear the the term “Lent?”...

[click "Play", Rev. Pat Bailey speaks with Susan about Charter for Compassion]

 

Logo The answer my friend is blowing in the winds of change: Two different and highly respected institutions in Telluride are talking about the same thing more or less at the same time. And it's a good thing.

On March 7, the Telluride Institute blogged about its upcoming Second Annual Compassion Festival, scheduled for this summer, July 8 – July 10. (The Institute announced early because it is looking for volunteers.) The unique event and the newest festival on Telluride's cultural calendar is dedicated to exploring compassion for a world in crisis. It is byproduct of last year's Language of Mental Life conference, also hosted by the Telluride Institute.

Then as now, while some people appear ready to storm the barricades, others are turning inward in an attempt to find ways to play nice in not so nice times: Compassion as an antidote for overheated passions.

During the period of self reflection known as Lent, Reverend Pat Bailey of Telluride's Christ Church plans to offer a study of Karen Armstrong's "A Charter for Compassion" and her book Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life. The study takes place right after the Sunday service, starting this Sunday, March 3 through April 17 (11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.) or on consecutive Wednesdays, March 16 – April 20, 12 – 1 p.m.

[click "Play" to listen to Rev. Doug Bottorff's conversation with Susan]

 

 

Rev J Douglas Bottorff Thanks to its Reverend, Pat Bailey, Telluride's Christ Church is becoming much more than a house of worship in the conventional sense of sheep gathering around a shepherd to pray and heal. Christ Church is becoming a change-maker in the Telluride community, from a place to study world religion to how to live a more sustainable life in concert with the environment. Next up: altering our internal landscape through meditation.

Thursday evening, February 17, 7:30 p.m., Reverend Doug Bottorff teaches a class on meditation. The evening is part of Christ Church's ongoing silent meditation program held every Thursday night.

[click "Play" to hear Rev. Pat Bailey's conversation with Susan]

 

Renewal Poster Telluride is not just any resort and its local institutions are equally unique and unconventional.

For example, our five-star Wilkinson Public Library is not your mother's book repository. The Telluride Historical Museum is no dusty storehouse of treasures from someone's attic. Even one of our houses of worship, Christ Presbyterian Church, is fast becoming much more than a place for contemplation and prayer. Under the director of Reverend Pat Bailey, a scholar of world religion, Christ Church is fast becoming a change agent within our community, with a brand new focus on the current environmental crisis.

On Wednesday, January 19, at noon, Christ Presbyterian Church launches a five-week program to view and discuss the documentary "Renewal" and how to put its message of sustainability into action. The documentary describes the responses of eight different religious communities – Jewish, Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, and interfaith – to the global issue of climate change and its effects.