The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox |
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The Passing of My
Brother, Tom Fox,
an Educator Par Excellence 09/07/2024 |
In the past week, I have experienced the loss of two brothers in my life. One being Michael Lerner, co-founder of TIKKUN magazine, author, rabbi, champion of a politics of meaning and of solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian wars—solutions based on each side recognizing the humanity in the other and therefore the dignity of an independent state for both parties. (DM 8/31/2024) |
The second loss was my blood brother, Tom Fox, who died this past Monday in Iceland where he and his wife “retired” after many years living in Chicago. She is an Icelandic native and artist of considerable accomplishment who graduated from the Chicago Art Institute. Tom was the
first-born in our family of seven children and he played an outsized role in our lives as a leader and a pioneer. My brother’s passion was education. Or “edGe- |
Tom Fox, Matthew’s brother, shortly before going
to the hospital and hospice in Reykjavik, where he subsequently died. Photo courtesy of Matthew Fox. |
It is a fitting summary of his life’s work that began with 8 years of teaching sixth graders but doing so in uniquely creative ways and with uniquely striking results. Here are a few examples. To teach physiology, he had the students build skeletons—but first study the body in
depth. Result? He received a phone call one night from a father of one of his students that went something like this: What did you do, teaching my daughter? I teach in the medical school at the University of Wisconsin. I quizzed her today and she knows more about the human body than my students do after their first year of med school. To teach about the Middle Ages, he had them convert the school room into Chartres Cathedral and the students chose their particular interest: stain glass or flying buttresses or sculpture, etc., to contribute to the building. He went to the library, came back with a stack of books on flying buttresses, left them on his desk and said nothing. The next day they were all gone. Three weeks later, he quizzed those students on the flying buttress team
and concluded that they knew as much about flying buttresses as any engineer in America. |
G. Thomas Fox, Matthew’s brother, with his book, On becoming edGe-ucated: how uncertainty can link the frontiers of expert inquiry to the education of all. Photo courtesy of Matthew Fox. | He had a day each week called “Think Day.” On that day there were no rules but one: Jot down your thoughts to share with the class the next day. One
student around 10 AM said, “Mr. Fox, I think I could think better today if I went home.” Tom said, “Okay, but bring your thoughts to share tomorrow.” Arriving home, his mother said, “What are you doing home from school?” “I’m thinking,” he said. He decided he could think better downtown, took a bus,
walked through the capitol |
building, and now
walking on the other side of town at about 2 in the afternoon, a cop car pulled up. “What are you doing?” asked the policeman. Said he, “I’m thinking.” “Thinking? You’re supposed to be in school!” shouted the cop who put him in the police car and raced him to the principal’s office. The principal was ready to fire
my brother who called a meeting of this student and his parents in the class who had heard of the ruckus as a last-ditch effort to save his job. (This was a public school after all.) At the meeting he had the boy get up and tell the story and when he came to the punch line, “Thinking? You’re supposed to be in school,” the parents got the message. And my brother wasn’t fired until two years later when the janitor was working in his classroom late at night with bad lighting in the room. He stumbled over the sandbox (built by the kids to re-create civil war battles) and, falling, he instinctively reached out and grabbed—you guessed it—a skeleton, one of many that was hanging
over the sandbox. My brother was fired soon after and went on to get a PhD in education and ultimately to teach teachers for many years in the US, UK and Iceland. |
Those who know my work in spirituality know how foundational new pedagogies are to our spirituality programs: art as meditation, body prayer, and ultimately the Cosmic Mass. This, and the emphasis on science and cosmology in my work, I owe in great part to my very inspired and inspiring brother, Tom. Thank you, Tom. For your imagination and creativity and love of science and art and all elements of a living culture—and your love of teaching. And, what lies at the foundation of all these stories, |
Tom Fox, Matthew’s brother, celebrating when Iceland defeats England in big soccer match. Photo courtesy of Matthew Fox. |
your trust of the human mind to follow curiosity and come to truth. One might even call yours, a pedagogy of original blessing.
To be continued. |
*G. Thomas Fox, On becoming edGe-ucated: how uncertainty can link the frontiers of expert inquiry to the education of all. The art on the cover of the book is by Tom’s wife, Anna
Joelsdottir. See also, Matthew Fox, Confessions: The Making of a Postdenominational Priest, pp. 49-69, 327-383. See Fox, The A.W.E.
Project: Reinventing Education, Reinventing the Human. And Fox, The Reinvention of Work: A New Vision of Livelihood for Our Time. And
Fox, Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality.
Banner image: Matthew Fox with his brother, Tom Fox, on right. Photo courtesy of Matthw Fox. |
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Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, or read other comments and enter into dialog, please click HERE to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
Queries for Contemplation |
Do you find stories in my brother’s creativity that inspire your own approach to learning and teaching and living? |
Confessions: The Making of a Post-Denominational Priest (Revised/Updated Edition)
Matthew Fox’s stirring
autobiography, Confessions, reveals his personal, intellectual, and spiritual journey from altar boy, to Dominican priest, to his eventual break with the Vatican. Five new chapters in this revised and updated edition bring added perspective in light of the author’s continued journey, and his reflections on the current changes taking place in church, society and the environment.
“The unfolding story of
this irrepressible spiritual revolutionary enlivens the mind and emboldens the heart — must reading for anyone interested in courage, creativity, and the future of religion.”
—Joanna Macy, author of World as Lover, World as Self |
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The A.W.E. Project: Reinventing Education, Reinventing the Human
The A.W.E. Project reminds us that awe is the appropriate response to the unfathomable wonder that is creation… A.W.E. is also the acronym for Fox’s proposed style of
learning – an approach to balance the three R’s. This approach to learning, eldering, and mentoring is intelligent enough to honor the teachings of the Ancestors, to nurture Wisdom in addition to imparting knowledge, and to Educate through Fox’s 10 C’s. The 10 C’s are the core of the A.W.E. philosophy and process of education, and include: compassion, contemplation, and creativity. The A.W.E. Project does for the vast subject of “learning” what Fox’s Reinvention of Work did for vocation
and Original Blessing did for theology. Included in the book is a dvd of the 10 C’s put to 10 video raps created and performed by Professor Pitt.
“An awe-based vision of educational renewal.” — Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice. |
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The Reinvention of Work: A New Vision of Livelihood For Our Time
Thomas Aquinas said, “To live well is to work well,” and in this bold call for the revitalization of daily work, Fox shares his vision of a world
where our personal and professional lives are celebrated in harmony–a world where the self is not sacrificed for a job but is sanctified by authentic “soul work.”
“Fox approaches the level of poetry in describing the reciprocity that must be present between one’s inner and outer work…[A]n important road map to social change.” ~~ National Catholic Reporter |
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Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
Matthew Fox lays out a whole new direction for Christianity—a direction that is in fact very ancient and very grounded in Jewish thinking (the fact that Jesus was a Jew
is often neglected by Christian theology): the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality, the Vias Positiva, Negativa, Creativa and Transformativa in an extended and deeply developed way.
“Original Blessing makes available to the Christian world and to the human community a radical cure for all dark and derogatory views of the natural world wherever these may have originated.” –Thomas Berry, author,
The Dream of the Earth; The Great Work; co-author, The Universe Story |
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Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election
Matthew Fox tells us that he had always shied away from using the term “Anti-Christ” because it was so often used to spread control and fear. However, given today’s
rise of authoritarianism and forces of democracide, ecocide, and christofascism, he turns the tables in this book employing the archetype for the cause of justice, democracy, and a renewed Earth and humanity.
Now also available as an e-book HERE.
From the Foreword: If there was ever a time, a moment, for examining the archetype of the Antichrist, it is now…Read this book with an open mind. Good and evil are real forces in our world. ~~ Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit and
Conversations with the Divine. |
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In the Beginning There Was Joy: A Cosmic Celebration for Kids of All Ages
The first book in the Father Fox’s Fantastical Fables series tells the story of the big bang and how humans fit into the awesome, fantastical,
cosmic picture! With artwork curated from illustrators around the world, this book expresses the joy and wonder of all peoples and cultures, planting seeds of respect, cooperation and hope to work together for the healing of our planet. "Matthew Fox does it again, here for our young ones, who so need a positive, cosmic vision
to thrive, or even survive, in a sad time." - Father Richard Rohr, Author of The Universal Christ "Matthew Fox offers a resounding affirmation of what our souls have always suspected: we are made for joy." - Mirabai Starr, Author of God of Love and Wild Mercy |
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UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar
HERE |
MONTHLY: Join Matthew Fox, Mariko Middleton, and Skylar Wilson of the Order of the Sacred Earth in a free virtual meeting for connection and networking with other mystic warriors. Last Tuesday of every month, 4:00-5:00pm PT.
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88665302478
Meeting ID: 886 6530 2478 Learn more at www.orderofthesacredearth.org |
Matthew Fox will make a guest appearance during the Creation Spirituality Communities course, Creation Spirituality in a Time of Apocalypse. He will talk about his new book on the antichrist, which is an apocalyptic archetype. Join Theodore Richards, founder of the Chicago Wisdom Project and editor of the online Magazine/Podcast
ReImagining as he takes us through 4 sessions exploring how Creation Spirituality can give birth to new stories during times of upheaval. Dates: Sept 9, 16, 23, 30 from 7-9 PM ET. Cost: $150 per student: In honor of
Matthew Fox’s gracious involvement CSC is extending the 25% discounted rate until 9/6/24. USE COUPON CODE APOC25 Register HERE. Join Matthew Fox as he discusses his book Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation in an Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, Thursday, September 19, 4:00-5:30 pm PT.
Register HERE. ConvergenceCoLab hosts Matthew Fox, Margaret Wheatley, and Brian McLaren in an online conversation on “Post-Doom Spirituality," Wednesday, October 16, 6-8:30 PM ET. Register now with an EARLY BIRD rate of $30, HERE. |
Join Matthew Fox as he discusses his two books, In the Beginning There was Joy and The Return of Father Sky, in an Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, Thursday, October 17, 4:00-5:30 pm PT.
Register HERE. Creation Spirituality Conversations |
in part 1 of an in-depth interview titled "Trump and the MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ," where Fox asserts that the archetype applies to the darker side of MAGA and it's Christian-nationalist backers. |
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Inspired by this post? Share your insights on Universeodon, Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #RevDrMatthewFox and tag Matt with @RevDrMatthewFox FOLLOW MATTHEW FOX: |
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