The book arrived about a month ago by post in a very fat envelope. It was 674 pages thick, and I stared at it for a few weeks in dismay. Finally, I thought…. “I’ll give it a go.” and I have been riveted ever since.
Don Semmens suggested that I purchase The Empathic Civilization by Jeremy Rifkin and as Don is very well read I knew he wouldn’t lead me astray. Surprisingly, rather than just being about empathy the book is a fascinating history of human consciousness. It is a rich tapestry of interwoven ideas that plot how society has been on a journey towards “heightened empathic sensitivity and expanded human consciousness”. Reading it has taken me on a profound journey that will forever change my world view – past, present and future…..
….When I was thirteen, like many Community of Christ churches around the world, Drummoyne church had an hour of class before the worship service. I remember feeling quite overwhelmed when I sat in the youth class as we were lead in discussion through various topics each week. “Overwhelmed? In what way?” you might ask. My most enduring impression of that time was of being challenged to think, to form ideas, my own perspectives. I remember as a young person that, that sort of thinking was very, very hard. Just trying to think was hard. I didn’t know it at the time but being confronted by the various theological or world topics we studied was not only helping me to think it was helping me connect with my feelings, to my consciousness and to my very awareness of self and others.
The people in this church – that means you…. You with your inquiring, inquisitive minds…You who have challenged, who have shared deeply other perspectives….You who have prayed for inspiration and guidance… You who have studied… You who have worked….You who have shown compassion… You who have respectfully disagreed at times…You, who have different life experience from me…. You who are passionate, loving and vocal and active…You who have told stores and retold stories….You who have instructed…You who have listened….You who have followed your dreams to build a better community. You have taught me empathy and in knowing you, I have found myself. You have challenged me to find my own way to live up to the example of Christ.
In his book Rivkin asks the question “Can we achieve global empathy in time to avoid the collapse of civilization and save the planet?” He shares that we are entering a new era of connectivity where the old idea of ‘mine versus thine,’ is giving way to the new paradigm of inclusivity and a “multidimensional self.” His only question is, can we embrace empathy quickly enough to affect the future?
History has brought us to this place and before us are opportunities to allow empathy to transform us to a new deeper awareness of our earth, each other and ourselves. I suggest that our church has been a “multidimensional” learning place for us all along. The many touch points and ways we connect locally and globally is changing our very consciousness. As we hold empathy at the very centre of all we do, we are transformed into new ‘multidimemsional’ creatures ready to lift up a new way of being. Could this be Zion? The call for today is to bring "The Class" into this new global awareness, creating a place where we challenge, inform and engage our collective minds to be the empathic people God calls us to be.
Anne Bonnefin
Communication Co ordinator
Community of Christ Australia