Tim Burnette is the lead pastor at Way Collective, a community of shared practices and values, in Santa Barbara, CA. (https://www.waycollective.org/)
Tim is a dreamer, philosopher, and theologian. He has spent years reflecting on the evolving Christian faith, and earned his doctorate from Claremont School of Theology, where he studied process metaphysics, philosophy and theology, and compassion.
A self-proclaimed Whitehead nerd, he embraces theopoetics as a lens for seeing the world, with a practical emphasis on communal formation, beauty/aesthetics, and spirituality. He is a partner, father, writer, musician, and avid reader. His interests include vinyl, food, philosophy, poetry, guitar tones, baseball, and all things on the fringe. He is an advocate for love and reconciliation across boundaries of faith and non-faith.
He agrees with Vonnegut that you can see all kinds of things from the edge that you can’t see from the center. Although...sometimes it helps to be centered out on the edge as well.
A Poem by Tim Burnette:
Every breath of the world
is a dying into life.
Like the dew of dawn
soft as sea glass,
wet with possibility,
waits in darkness for the silent voice.
That ceaseless refrain
calling stardust to sigh.
Nudging it perpetually
unto its becoming.
To risk the drench of wonder again
and birth a day
unlike any other day.
Young and wild, with light
quivering like a fawn,
naive and new,
fresh and intoxicating as baby's breath.
A momentary bloom of the timeless and flashing dance
that wilts evermore
back into the belly of reality.
As the dampening glow of Mother Eve
spreads her cascading melancholy.
A balm of passing beauty
that coats like honey
and conspires in all things
welcoming each one in its goodness.
To the rising chest of the horizon
and to its tender, falling return.
A Blessing by Tim Burnette:
Go now and bless the whole world
For we are all connected.
Say yes to your life’s adventure
Noticing and cultivating Beauty as you go.
Cover one another with a friendly presence
Laugh with those who are joyful
And cry with those in sorrow
Eat with anyone and everyone
Always doing your best to ensure that those without have enough
And love with courage
For love is the only way forward
And you are loved, you are loved,
You are deeply loved
Remember there is grace and beauty in the becoming
And go in the name and peace of Christ.
Amen.
50 min