Ted Halsted, B.D.

In 2017 I visited a United Methodist agricultural project in Zambia, enjoyed a thrilling safari in Botswana, celebrated my 90th birthday, and toured the Canadian Rockies.  I swim a half mile MWF, play doubles ping pong, sing tenor in our church choir, play violin in our community orchestra, am editor of our retirement community newsletter and lead our Current Events group. A highlight was a conference on the Holy Trinity in Albuquerque, NM, with Richard Rohr, Cynthia Bourgeault, and Wm. Paul Young the keynoters. Bourgeault opened my mind and heart to new understanding of the Trinity. She sees the Trinity as “Christianity’s hidden driveshaft” and the basic process for understanding life, and, indeed, the whole cosmos. The process involves three forces: Force 1 - God is love. Force 2 - Love requires a lover, which leads to creation/incarnation, with God (in the Big Bang) becoming enfleshed in all being (every single cell). Force 3 - The universe that expresses God’s love has free will—the power not only for goodness but also evil.  We, created beings who who have within our true self “God incarnate,” sometimes act, metaphorically, “like the devil.” A Third Force is necessary to bring about change. The Church calls this transformative power “the Holy Spirit.” The Trinity process is different from Hegel’s thesis, antithesis, and a synthesis achieved by compromise. In the Trinity process all three Forces meet a need so that transformation can take place continually.  My theological journey with the Trinity was my biggest trip in 2017.