Friday, October 29, 2010

Colleagues List, October 30th, 2010

Vol. VI. No. 9. 

*****

Edited by Wayne A. Holst

*****

Colleagues List Blog:
http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com/

*****

ALL HALLOWS AND ALL SAINTS EDITION

Book Notice:

"A New Kind of Christianity"
 by Brian D. McLaren

___


Colleague Comment:

Keith Wright
Therese Castonguay

___


Colleague Contributions:

Jim Taylor
Doug Koop
Martin Marty
John Stackhouse
Kelly Johnson
Beth Porter
Charles Curran
Robert Ellsberg

___


Net Notes:

Interview With Anne Rice
Diocese of Bradford Facing Axe
Dalai Lama Ends Canadian Visit
Tibetans Preserve Their Culture
Happy Birthday King James Version!
Exodus: Changing Map of Middle East
Caste Bias is a Sin Say Indian Groups
Anglican Leader Promotes Shared Values
Beijing Cathedral Restored to Former Glory
Church's Abuse Handling Questioned in Chile

_____


Global Faith Potpourri:

12 stories from Ecumenical News International

___


Quotes of the Week:

Alice Walker
Mahatma Gandhi
Joan Chittister
Elie Wiesel
Anna C. Brackett

___


On This Day (Oct. 25th-28th)

Oct. 25, 1971 - UN votes to admit China and expel Taiwan
Oct. 28, 1886 - Statue of Liberty Dedicated in New York
Oct. 29, 1929 - Stock Market Collapses on New York Exchange

*****

Closing Thought - Seasonal

_____


Dear Friends:

All Hallows and All Saints -

I greet you on this, the weekend of All Hallows
and All Saints! This is the time of the church
year when we classically remember "the church
militant" as well as "the church triumphant."

Perhaps these terms strike you as a bit dated, but
human concerns about death and of "dying in the Lord"
are never out of date. My father would often remind
me of these things as we would tend "God's holy acre" -
the cemetery of St. James Lutheran Church in the town
of St. Jacobs, Ontario where I grew up. Returning there
in early September I was able to recover a sense of
what it meant to be part of that "family of faith"
which extends to many generations and includes all
who died as part of that congregational community.

To recognize those who died well is to demonstrate our
desire to live well.

Today's modern urban anonymity has a way of destroying
the immediacy of "the community of the departed." Still,
it is important for Christians to remember "the great
cloud of witnesses" that continues to accompany us.

We think of that in a special way this weekend.

___


My book notice of "A New Kind of Christianity" by Brian
D. McLaren is of a title that has been on the market for
some months in hardcover. The paperback edition will appear
in early February of next year. This is a good time to
visit a book that attempts to centre on ten important
questions the author believes we in the church need to
be asking at this time.

___

Colleague Comment:

Keith Wright - retired Presbyterian Church USA minister living
in Austin Texas writes to express appreciation for a book
written by another colleague, Douglas John Hall.

Therese Castonguay - retired Grey Nun living in Montreal also
writes to say hello. I recall that her first language is
French, and that she reads Colleagues List to "keep up on
her English." Therese spent her career as a nurse and social
worker in Alberta and Saskatchewan. She contributed much to
building the social services network existing in our two
Canadian western provinces and I salute you, Sr. Therese!

___


Colleague Contributions:

Jim Taylor, Doug Koop, Martin Marty, John Stackhouse,
Kelly Johnson, Beth Porter, Charles Curran and Robert
Ellsberg all contribute to a well supplied selection of
Colleague Contributions this week.

___


Net Notes:

"Interview With Anne Rice" - Ms. Rice, who we reported
some weeks ago has left the church now gives her reasons
(The Guardian, UK)

"Diocese of Bradford Facing Axe"- What happens when your
region in Yorkshire experiences a changeover from Christian
to Islamic worshipers? You close down the diocese.
(Daily Mail, UK)

"Dalai Lama Ends Canadian Visit" - Last autumn, the Dalai
Lama paid a special visit to Calgary. This fall, he came
to Toronto, and experienced a big welcome there as well.
(680 News)

"Tibetans Preserve Their Culture" - While in Toronto, the
Dalai Lama reminded the thousands of Tibetan-Canadians who
came to hear him that they have a responsibility to hold on
to and share special aspects of their culture (Toronto Star)

"Happy Birthday King James Version" - Next year, we will
celebrate the 400th anniversary of the King James Version
of the Bible (1611) This will provide a special opportunity
to remember this pivotal event in the development of the
English language (Publishers Weekly)

"Exodus: Changing Map of Middle East" - Gradually, many
ancient Christian communities, like the one in Iraq, are
disappearing (The Independent, UK)

"Caste Bias is a Sin Say Indian Groups" - Groups of various
persuasions are joining together to deplore the caste system
existing in India in spite of the fact it has continued to
survive (Cathnews Asia)

"Anglican Leader Promotes Shared Values" - While touring in
India, the Archbishop of Canterbury has continued to urge his
hearers of many faith traditions to fight prejudice and to
work together (Cathnews Asia)

"Beijing Cathedral Restored to Former Glory" - After decades
of wear, the classic Catholic Cathedral in China's capital
city has received a face lift (Agenzia Fides)

"Church's Abuse Handling Questioned in Chile"- Pressure from
legal authorities is forcing the Catholic Church in Chile to
deal with its history of sexual abuse (New York Times)

_____


Global Faith Potpourri:

12 stories appear this week from Ecumenical News International

___


Quotes of the Week:

Alice Walker, Mahatma Gandhi, Joan Chittister,
Elie Wiesel and Anna C. Brackett share their
special insights with us courtesy of Sojourners.

___


On This Day (Oct. 25th-29th)

UN votes to admit China and expel Taiwan (1971)
Statue of Liberty Dedicated in New York (1886)
Stock Market Collapses. World-wide panic (1929)

*****

Closing Thought - I offer a few seasonal reflections
on sainthood; living and dying well.

---

I have prepared this issue of Colleagues List from
the home of our daughter and son-in-law Ronnie and
Sarah Lukan who live in Slave Lake, Northern Alberta.
We are spending a few days visiting our new grand-
daughter Mya, but continue to stay in touch with you
through the marvels of modern technology.

By the way, not too many decades ago - this community
on the south-eastern shore of Lesser Slave Lake -
was considered "wilderness" but not so today. It is
a progressive place where native and non-native
Canadians live in general peaceful productivity.
Slave Lake is one of the major supply centres for
the Alberta tarsands industry.

Wayne


******************

SPECIAL ST. DAVID'S LINKS

Contact us at: asdm@sduc.ca (or) admin@sduc.ca
St. David's Web Address - http://sduc.ca/

Listen to audio recordings of Sunday services -
http://sduc.ca/services.htm

___


ST DAVID'S ACTS WEB PAGE

Created and maintained by Colleague Jock McTavish
http://stdavidscalgary.net/

__


ANNOUNCING:

ST. DAVID'S 50th ANNIVERSARY
TOUR OF CELTIC LANDS - 2011

We plan a 15-day tour of special Celtic sites
in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England -
April 26th - May 10th, 2011.

A highlight of the tour will be a visit to
St. David's Cathedral, Pembrokeshire. Choir
members from our group will sing at various
informal cathedral events through the day
and at Evensong, on Saturday, May 7th!

Details are presently being finalized with
the cathedral dean, Jonathan Lean.

We are also planning to sing while visiting
Iona, Scotland and the Church of Mary Immaculate
in Inchicore, Dublin, Ireland.

THE 38 PLACES ON THE TOUR ARE NOW SOLD OUT

We have a waiting list for this trip; also an
interest list for other, future tours!

Let me know if you have an interest in exciting
spiritual tourism!


*****

MONDAY NIGHT STUDY

Introducing our New Fall Program at St. David's:

Follow this series by clicking:
http://www.1journey.net/stdavids/SD/BookStudy/25/25.htm

LISTENING FOR THE HEARTBEAT OF GOD:
A Celtic Spirituality (Philip Newell)

Including background material from the book:

THE CELTIC WAY (Ian Bradley)

Plus:

INTROS TO CELTIC SAINTS PATRICK, COLUMBA & DAVID

Join our ten week Monday Night Study, which will run
from September 20th through November 29th

Special Guest:

Dr. Wayne Davies, Department of Geography, U of C.is
 a native of Wales. He speaks, Monday, November 8th,
on the subject of what to look for when visiting  his homeland,
and will explain some of the important sites we plan to visit to
maximise our appreciation of the tour.

This program is being made available for regular
Monday Night study-folk plus those planning to
take the tour of Celtic Lands next spring.

37 persons, representing tour and non-tour participants
are registered for this ten-week series.

This study series is part of our St. David's fiftieth
anniversary celebrations and is available to all!

___


WEDNESDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY

Announcing our Autumn Series:

"The Book of Genesis"

Primeval and Patriarchal Stories -
Creation, Fall, Flood, Babel
Abraham, Covenant, Ishmael & Sodom.

Join us Wednesday mornings, 9-10 AM
October 6th through December 1st

*****

THURSDAY UNIVERSITY STUDY
Students, faculty and staff

"Becoming Human" by Jean Vanier
 (the 1998 CBC Massey Lecture Series)

Thursdays, Oct 21 through Nov 25, Noon-1 PM
Native Centre, Small Boardroom (MSC 390)

http://www.ucalgary.ca/chaplain/node/87

Oct 21 – Loneliness, Chapter 1
Oct 28 – Belonging, Chapter 2
Nov 4  – From Exclusion to Inclusion, Chapter 3

[skipping Remembrance Day]

Nov 18 – The Path to Freedom, Chapter 4
Nov 25 – Forgiveness, Chapter 5

*****

STUDY ARCHIVES

A collection of twenty-five+ studies conducted since 2000 can
quickly be found at: http://bookstudies.stdavidscalgary.net/

This collection of study resources represents a decade of
Monday Night Studies at St. David's, plus extra courses too!

You are welcome to use our course outlines, class notes and
resource pages in your personal and group reflections.


*****************************************************

SPECIAL ITEM

Book Notice:

A NEW KIND OF CHRISTIANITY
Ten Questions That Are Transforming the Faith
by Brian D. McLaren
HarperOne. 2010. 306 pages. $32.00 CAD
ISBN #978-0-06-185398-2

Publisher's Promo:

We are in the midst of a paradigm shift in the church.

Not since the Reformation have so many Christians come to
ask whether the church is in sync with their deepest beliefs
and commitments. These believers range from evangelicals
to mainline Protestants to Catholics, and the person who
best represents them is Brian McLaren.

McLaren's fans and detractors have eagerly awaited this book.

It codifies the beliefs he introduced in "A New Kind of
Christian" several years ago.  McLaren, one of the most visible
faces in the emergent church movement, examines 10 questions
he believes the church must answer as it heads toward "a new
way of believing."

McLaren deconstructs the "Graeco-Roman narrative" of the Bible
and addresses how the Bible should be understood as an "inspired
library," not a "constitution". He moves into questions about
God, Jesus, and the Gospel, urging us to "trade up" our image
of God and realize that Jesus came to "launch a new Genesis"

The church, sexuality, the future, and pluralism merit chapters,
as does McLaren's final call for a "robust spiritual life."

Followers will rejoice as McLaren articulates his thoughts
with logic and eloquence; detractors will point out his artful
avoidance of firm answers on salvation, hell, and a final
judgment.

Here you will find a provocative and enticing introduction to
the Christian faith of tomorrow.

___


Author's Words:

"Wherever the willingness to rethink has been squelched,
wherever the sense of quest has been buried under convention
and complacency, the Christian faith in all its forms is in
trouble.

But even there, something is trying to be born. Even now,
right here, among us, inside you, inside me. You may feel
it as a curiosity, a desire for better answers than you
inherited so far.

You may experience it as frustration, knowing that there
must be more to faith than you currently know. You may know
it as hope, hope that God is seeking humble people whose
hearts and lives can be the womb of a better future...
In you, your family, your faith community, and circles of
friends, among people of peace and faith everywhere,
something is trying to be born."

- from the Conclusion

--

"This book is divided into two main sections. After some
introduction, Book I addresses five profound and critical
questions that are being raised by followers of Christ
around the world. These questions, I believe, have the
potential to unlock us from a prison in which we have
been held hostage for a long time; once we unbolt long-
held assumptions and raise these questions, new
possibilities will open. Hence the title for Book I:
"Unlocking and Unopening."

"In Book II, we'll consider five more questions. They are,
perhaps, less profound and theologically radical, but
they are equally important because of their down-to-earth
practicality and the intensity of debate they engender.
We want to explore these questions in fresh and highly
constructive ways. Hence the title for the second section:
"Emerging and Exploring."

"These ten are by no means the only important questions
being raised... but I hope you'll begin to feel the
thrill of something trying to be born."

- from the Preface

---

The ten questions considered in this book -

Part One:

1. What is the overarching story line of the Bible?
2. How should the Bible be understood?
3. Is God violent?
4. Who is Jesus and why is he important?
5. What is the Gospel?

Part Two:

6. What do we do about the church?
7. Can we find a way to address human sexuality
   without fighting about it?
8. Can we find a better way of viewing the future?
9. How should followers of Jesus relate
   to people of other religions?
10. How can we translate our quest into action?

___


My Thoughts:

I was first in contact with Brian McLaren while he was
still a pastor of a large evangelical church near
Washington, DC. I was reviewing a book of his for
"Congregations" - the journal of the Alban Institute,
and wanted his views on some of my questions. From the
beginning, he impressed me with his probing mind and
openness to discuss matters that were not always so
discussable with evangelicals; at least ten years ago.

Mainline Protestants have been interested in McLaren
for a decade. Now, others are also finding him to be
a helpful guide who can help us deal with present
challenges and future directions for Christians and
members of Christians faith communities.

This book is one of a number McLaren has penned since
he left the work of a local pastor and began his new
career as a writer, lecturer and advocate for the
exploration of the future of faith.

He has gathered a formidable team of friends and associates
to help him in this quest. People like Harvey Cox, Phylis
Tickle, Diana Butler-Bass and Marcus Borg - not really
your typical consorts of evangelical pastors and teachers.

The fact is, McLaren has been evolving as an emergent
evangelical - one who seeks to build bridges with other
Christian thinkers. Today, he is considered a rather
progressive theologian by people in mainline Protestant
and Catholic communities and in emergent evangelical
Christian circles.

This book comes on the heels of others like "A New Kind of
Christian," "A Generous Orthodoxy," and "Everything Must
Change."

"A New Kind of Christianity" suggests the kind of church
and theological forms that will be required of "new
Christians living into a new age."

The questions he raises in this book are typical of what
many in the mainstream have been asking for some time.
McLaren brings to these questions a bibilical and spiritual
resourcefulness often lacking among those of a more liberal
Protestant tradition.

This is what I believe is special when reading McLaren.
He takes traditional Christian values seriously - like
the Bible, the Church, ethics and inter-faith relations -
and brings to his discussion a passion and an urgency
of one who did not start by questioning traditional
answers, but whose experience has forced him into new
ways of thinking, being and acting.

I believe that history will recount that it was people like
McLaren who helped the church move into the future in ways
that were both inviting and realistic.

"A New Kind of Christianity" is a good McLaren book to start
with - if you've not read him before. If you are continuing
with him, this is a seasoned reflection.

___

Buy the Book from Amazon.ca: http://tinyurl.com/2avd7cq

The hardcover edition sells at Amazon for under $21.
The paperback edition selling for under $14 will be
available by February 1st, 2011.

*****

COLLEAGUE COMMENT:

KEITH WRIGHT

Austin, Texas
October 23rd, 2010

Keith Wright writes from Texas during an autumn study at
University Presbyterian about a book by Douglas John Hall:

Wayne,

I read with interest your article about Canadian evangelicalism
maturing. Our book study group at University Presbyterian
here in Austin is reading the book, "The Stewardship of Life
in the Kingdom of Death" by Douglas John Hall. We have found
the book challenging, disturbing and enlightening. We were
all caught by his understanding of mission as following God
into the world where God is already working to save the world
through many different groups and individuals who may or may
not be a  part of the church or the Christian Faith.  Seems
like he is saying  much the same thing as you reported in your
review of the book "Going Missional" by Stiller and Metzger.

Hope you are well and that your winter will not be too cold
and harsh.

Keith

---

THERESE CASTONGUAY

Montreal, QC
October 26th, 2010

Dear Wayne,

How much I would love to have time to chat a bit!
Other work is keeping me away from that joy!

How are you? Happy and healthy, I hope.

We are still in Summer days, but Christmas is coming shortly!

With love and prayer,

Sr. Thérèse

*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

JIM TAYLOR
Web Log
Oct. 24th, 2010

"Evil Never Advertises Itself As Evil"

"Evil, pure evil" -- that's how Andy Lloyd described
the man who murdered his sister, Jessica Lloyd.

What is "pure evil"? How do we recognize it?

http://edges.canadahomepage.net/category/sharp-edges/

*****

DOUG KOOP

ChristianWeek.org
October 26th, 2010

"Bold and Beautiful"

A lesson in evangelism from St. Paul and friends:

http://www.christianweek.org/stories.php?id=1284

*****

MARTIN MARTY

"Christian Violence"

Christians too, are engaged in violent behaviour:

Sightings
Oct. 24th, 2010
 
http://tinyurl.com/2ersxka


*****

JOHN STACKHOUSE
KELLY JOHNSON

"Why I Help Addicts Shoot Up"

Christian Week
October 19th, 2010

http://www.christianweek.org/features.php?id=85

*****

BETH PORTER

A Human Future
L'Arche Foundation of Canada

Fall, 2010 Issue

Canadian Muslims Look to the Future
 

http://larche.ca/en/inspiration/


*****

CHARLES CURRAN

Theologian Prompts Reaction to SMU Lecture

National Catholic Reporter
October 26th, 2010

 
http://ncronline.org/print/20989


*****

ROBERT ELLSBERG

Marquette U. Press releases:

"All the Way to Heaven -
 Selected Writings by Dorothy Day"
 Edited by Robert Ellsberg

Press announcement and US Catholic article
by Ellsberg promoting a second volume of
Dorothy Day's letters and diaries:

http://tinyurl.com/2g29ke6

---

Review of the book:

America Magazine
November 8th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/25wkzm2


*****

NET NOTES

INTERVIEW WITH ANNE RICE

Rejects her Catholic faith, pursues new interests

The Guardian UK
Oct. 25th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/38hy6wm

*****

UK DIOCESE OF BRADFORD FACING AXE
Twice as many Muslim worshippers as Anglicans

Daily Mail
Oct. 24th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/3383dqy

*****

DALAI LAMA WRAPS UP VISIT TO CANADA
He visits Canada's largest Tibetan community

680 News
Oct. 24th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/29by4eg

*****

TIBETANS CAN PRESERVE CULTURE
THREATENED AT HOME
Tibetan-Canadians have an important role to play

Toronto Star
October 24th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2wt5wyk

*****

HAPPY BIRTHDAY - KING JAMES VERSION

Commemorative Edition (for 1611-2011) Coming Next Year

Publisher's Weekly
October 27th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/36ozwhy

*****

EXODUS: THE CHANGING MAP OF THE MIDDLE EAST
Christians declining in several countries

The Independent
October 26th, 2010
by Robert Fisk

http://tinyurl.com/2g5xk6k

*****

CASTE BIAS A SIN SAY INDIAN GROUPS

Ecumenical News International
27 October 2010

No tolerance for caste discrimination,
says India church gathering

Bangalore (ENI). Churches in India need to show zero
tolerance concerning caste-based discrimination within
their ranks, a gathering of Christian leaders in New
Delhi has said. "Casteism is a sin and caste-based
discrimination is a crime," said a statement issued
from the conference in New Delhi. "Since discrimination
is contrary to the spirit of the Gospel, churches will
have to be zero tolerance zones with regard to the
practice of caste discrimination." Though the caste
system has been officially abolished in India,
discrimination against Dalits - low castes treated
as "untouchables" - persists. They often have to
survive by scavenging and doing menial jobs, while
living segregated from higher castes in rural areas.

---

Cathnews Asia
October 26th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/3xy34ce

*****

ANGLICAN LEADER PROMOTES SHARED VALUES
In India, Williams Open to Other Faiths

Cathnews Asia
October 25th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/27am2om

*****

BEIJING CATHEDRAL RESTORED TO FORMER GLORY
Cathedral experiences a face lift

Agenzia Fides
Octo. 27th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/268y9pz


*****

CHURCH'S HANDLING OF ABUSE CHARGES 

QUESTIONED IN CHILE

A Chilean judge has ordered that the Rev. Fernando Karadima
be interrogated regarding charges of sexual abuse involving
at least four young parishioners.

http://tinyurl.com/27avlp5

*****

GLOBAL FAITH POTPOURRI

Ecumenical News International
News Highlights
25 October 2010

Tension in Sudan ahead of vote is dangerous,
warns church envoy

Nairobi (ENI). A former general secretary of the World
Council of Churches has warned that tension in Sudan
ahead of a plebiscite on independence for the south of
Africa's biggest country could spark mass killings similar
to the Rwanda genocide in 1994. The Rev. Samuel Kobia, who
is a church-backed envoy to Sudan, said the security and
human rights of southern Sudanese living in the north of
the country are endangered, with intimidation and threats
increasing ahead of the scheduled 9 January referendum.
"We know it is possible these people could easily be
massacred, if Khartoum is not happy with the how the
referendum will go," Kobia, a Kenyan Methodist, told a
press conference in Nairobi on 23 October, after a 10-
day visit to the United States with senior Sudanese
church leaders.

_____


Filipino Christian leaders question imam
at inter-faith forum

Baguio City, Philippines, 25 October (ENI)--Imam Bedejim
Abdullah's description of Islam as a "religion of peace"
and Muslims as people "who keep the peace" has helped
clarify misperceptions of the faith say some Christians
in the Philippines. However, during a two-hour lecture on
Islam, Filipino Christian leaders put some tough questions
to the speaker. The imam, also an Islamic chaplain of the
Philippine Military Academy, was invited by the Baguio-
Benguet Ecumenical Group, a northern Philippine inter-church
organization, to speak during a forum on 20 October, which
aimed to help promote inter-faith dialogue and understanding.

*****

26 October 2010

Film on Pacific climate change clinches
Leipzig revolution prize

Leipzig, Germany (ENI). A film charting the dilemmas
facing a community of 400 people on a Pacific atoll
threatened by rising sea levels, due to climate change,
has clinched a prize to commemorate East Germany's 1989
"peaceful revolution". The New Zealand film, "There Once
Was an Island: Te Henua e Nnoho", is the first production
to receive the "Leipzig Ring" prize awarded by the
Peaceful Revolution Foundation, during the 53rd
International Leipzig Festival for Documentaries and
Animation Films. Its film prize is for a documentary
that portrays civic engagement for democracy and human
rights or where the producer has demonstrated personal
commitment or great personal courage in making the film.

*****

Ukraine minority churches back rights
for Greek Catholics

Warsaw (ENI). Minority churches in Ukraine have
urged authorities in the capital Odessa to allow the
construction of a church for Greek Catholics, after
an Orthodox archbishop who sits on the local council
intervened to block the project. "Our joint address to
you was provoked by the atmosphere of unhealthy
aggression artificially created in this city by certain
circles," the church leaders said in a letter to the
city mayor and head of regional administration in Odessa.

_____


Bishop of ancient Christian church
warns on Protestant dialogue

Hong Kong (ENI). The Assyrian bishop in the United States
says his ancient church that was one of the first in China
will not have any official dialogue with Protestant churches
which support the blessing of homosexual partners or the
ordination of women. Bishop Mar Awa Royel, the president
of an inter-church relations commission of the Assyrian
Church of the East, told a Hong Kong audience earlier in
October that the church is committed to ecumenical dialogue
but that it will not support dialogue with churches that
it believes deviate from the teachings of Jesus Christ.
The Assyrian Church was once referred to as the Nestorian
Church, and had earlier been regarded as heretical and
faced persecution.

*****

28 October 2010


SA Jewish group rejects Tutu call
for opera boycott of Israel

Cape Town (ENI). A Jewish group in South Africa has
criticised a call by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond
Tutu for the Cape Town Opera to cancel a performance in
Israel in November. "Peace and understanding is best
served through constructive and positive engagements
between Israel, South Africa and the Palestinian regions,
not by boycotts," the South African Jewish Board of
Deputies said in a statement. In a letter to the opera
company, Tutu had written, "The Tel Aviv Opera house is
state sponsored. By luring international artists to
perform there it advances Israel's fallacious claim to
being a civilised democracy."

_____


Indonesian Christian group warns
on quake and tsunami deaths

Tokyo (ENI). An Indonesian Christian aid group has sent
a team to the Mentawai islands in West Sumatra, where an
earthquake and tsunami have lead to the deaths of hundreds
of people. "It is estimated the death toll will continue
to grow," said the group, Yayasan Tanggul Bencana Indonesia,
on its Web site. "Most of the victims are in South Pagai
Island, which seems the most heavily affected." On 27
October the group had reported 112 dead but the following
day reports said the toll was at least 340 and cited
officials who said it could climb to more than 500.
Hundreds of people are missing and are thought to have
been swept away by the powerful tsunami that followed
the 25 October earthquake.

_____


Israeli criticises Vatican meeting on Middle East

Rome (ENI). Catholic bishops from the Middle East
have urged the United Nations to take steps to end
Israel's occupation of Arab territories to enable a
"two-State" solution for the region. "The Palestinian
people will thus have an independent and sovereign
homeland where they can live with dignity and security,"
the 185 bishops said in an "An Appeal to Safeguard the
Faith" issued on 23 October after a two-week meeting at
the Vatican.

*****

29 October 2010

Christian leader marks farewell
by planting Luther's 'tree of hope'

Geneva (ENI). Martin Luther, the 16th century
Protestant reformer, is reputed to have said that
even if he knew the world would end tomorrow, he
would plant an apple tree today. And it was by p
lanting an apple tree that the Rev. Ishmael Noko
marked his retirement as leader of the global
grouping of Christians inspired by the German
reformer after 16 years as general secretary of
the Lutheran World Federation. "We are planting
a tree as a sign of hope," Noko told ENI news after
the ceremony outside Geneva's Ecumenical Centre,
where the LWF has its headquarters alongside bodies
such as the World Council of Churches. Described as
one of the most influential leaders of the ecumenical
movement, Noko was praised by his ecumenical colleagues
for his passion for Christian unity and his commitment
to interfaith relations.

(Note: Ishmael Noko received much of his higher academic
training in Canada and was known to many Canadian Lutherans
years before he became a world ecumenical figure.)

____


Leader of Latvia's Catholics praises inter-church ties

Warsaw (ENI). The new leader of the Roman Catholic Church
in Latvia has said "exemplary ties" between churches are
strengthening Christian witness in a society still suffering
from communist rule, materialism and corruption. "Our society
caught the virus of communism and fell ill with it, losing
its immunity to the disease which has come from the West
since communism collapsed," said Archbishop Zbignevs
Stankevics in an October interview with Poland's Catholic
information agency, KAI.

_____


Global faith-based aid alliance says a billion hungry wrong

Geneva (ENI). The head of a worldwide faith-based humanitarian
and development alliance has said his organization needs to
take a more vocal stance on global inequalities. "We are fired
up and motivated to challenge political figures, big business
and the vested interests of the world's richest nations," ACT
Alliance general secretary John Nduna said at the end of the
group's 19-22 October assembly in Arusha, Tanzania. "In today's
world, a billion people are going to bed hungry, only 30 percent
of children in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa have access to
anti-malarial drugs and climate change is devastating the
world’s poorest people," said Zambian-born Nduna in a statement,
made available to ENInews. "We know this is wrong. We know we
must make our voices heard against all these gross injustices."

*****

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

Provided by Sojourners Online:

October 25th, 2010

"Activism is my rent for living on this planet.

- Alice Walker

---

October 26th, 2010

"Live like Jesus did, and the world will listen."

- Mahatma Gandhi

---

October 27th, 2010

"Humor and laughter are not necessarily the same thing.
Humor permits us to see into life from a fresh and
gracious perspective. We learn to take ourselves more
lightly in the presence of good humor. Humor gives us
the strength to bear what cannot be changed, and the
sight to see the human under the pompous."

- Joan Chittister

---

October 28th, 2010

"The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.
The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference.
The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference.
The opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.”

- Elie Wiesel

---

October 29th, 2010

"We go on multiplying our conveniences only to multiply
our cares. We increase our possessions only to the
enlargement of our anxieties."

- Anna C. Brackett, in "The Technique of Rest"



*****

ON THIS DAY

Provided by the New York Times:

Oct. 25, 1979, UN votes to admit China and expel Taiwan

http://tinyurl.com/34sxajp

*****

On Oct. 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty, a gift from
the people of France, was dedicated in New York Harbor
by President Grover Cleveland.

http://tinyurl.com/354r52n


*****

Oct. 29, 1929, stock prices collapsed on the New York
Stock Exchange amid panic selling. Thousands of investors
were wiped out.

http://tinyurl.com/23o7evk


*****


CLOSING THOUGHT

This is the weekend of the church year to think of death
and to remember the saints who provide us with examples
for living and dying well.

It is not a morbid thing to reflect on such matters.
Indeed, it is wise - if nevertheless counter-cultural.

A saint can be anyone whose life provides us with exemplary
behaviour, worth replicating.

Who is your favourite saint? What does this say about you?

How does this saint help you live well as well as prepare
to die well?


(end)

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Colleagues List, October 23rd, 2010

Vol. VI. No. 8

*****

Edited by Wayne A. Holst

*****

Colleagues List Blog:
http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com/

*****

Personal Book Review:

"Going Missional"
 Conversations with 13 Canadian Churches
 Who Have Embraced Missional Life
 By Karen Stiller and Willard Metzger

---

Book Notice:

"Conversations With Myself"
 By Nelson Mandela

___

Colleague Contribution:

Jim Taylor

___

Net Notes:

City of Tranquil Light
Pope Names Six New Saints
Christian Unity a Dream in Progress
Atheists Split at Annual Conference
World Falling Short of Millennial Goals
Google to Publish Dead Sea Scrolls Online
Nenshi - Canada's First Big City Muslim Mayor
Crystal Cathedral Files for Bankruptcy Protection
Scouts Remove Mormon Leaders Over Religious Beliefs
Altar Boy, Seminarian and Penthouse Founder Dead at 79

_____


Global Faith Potpourri:

14 stories from Ecumenical News International

___


Quotes of the Week:

Christina Baldwin
Mother Teresa
Abraham Lincoln
African Proverb
St. Augustine

___


On This Day (Oct. 19th - 22nd)

Oct. 19, 1987 - Stock Market Takes Big Plunge
Oct. 21, 1879 - Edison invented a workable electric light
Oct. 22, 1962 - JFK announces air/naval blockade of Cuba

___


Closing Thought -

Falling asleep during your church's "quiet time..."

(end)

*****

Dear Friends:

Lots of interesting things have been happening
this past week, and Colleagues List has tried
to tap into some of these developments for you.

---

Book Review:

Colleague Bill Fledderus asked me to review a new
book on the meaning of the term "missional" in a
Canadian context. He has granted permission that
you can read my pre-edited review for "Faith Today" -
the bi-monthly journal of the Evangelical Fellowship
of Canada.

I hope you enjoy -

"Going Missional"
 Conversations with 13 Canadian Churches
 Who Have Embraced Missional Life
 By Karen Stiller and Willard Metzger

---

Book Notice:

I am thoroughly enjoying my reading of the new memoir
"Conversations With Myself" by Nelson Mandela. It has a
foreword written by President Barack Obama. I introduce
this title and encourage you to get hold of a copy too.

___


Colleague Contribution:

This week, our sole colleague contribution is by long-time
friend and frequent writer on these pages, Jim Taylor, who
worked for the United Church Observer, became a free-lance
writer, and then moved to the Okanagan Valley a lifetime
ago to become a book publisher and editor.

Read his comments on how he views same-sex marriage, a
helpful followup to my own reflections on attending
the religious vows of a lesbian couple this past summer.

___


Net Notes:

"City of Tranquil Light" - here is a book about early
Mennonite missionaries in China, a delightful story
(Books and Culture)

"Pope Names Six New Saints" - Benedict XVI named a Canadian
and an Australian, among a half dozen honoured last week
(Voice of America)

"Christian Unity a Dream in Progress" - Many of us
continue to harbour hopes for a more united Christianity
as well as more co-operation between the great faiths.
Canadians are at work making this dream into a reality.
(Christian Week)

"Atheists Split at Annual Conference" - While it has
been easy to pin point the flaws of religion, atheists
are finding it difficult to find their own consensus.
(Christianity Today)

"World Falling Short of Millennial Goals" - universal
standards are never easy to attain. Still, we try.
Read about the challenges faced by those seeking to
attain the Millennial Goals established by the UN.
(Christian Week)

"Google to Publish Dead Sea Scrolls Online" - Electronic
media continue to dazzle us with breakthrough developments.
The Dead Sea Scrolls are about to be opened to the masses.
(CathnewsAsia)

"Nenshi - Canada's First Big City Muslim Mayor" -
Calgarians made history this week by electing Canada's
first Muslim mayor and leaving the old establishment
(as well as many eastern naysayers) confounded!
(Backofthebook.ca)

"Crystal Cathedral Files for Bankruptcy Protection" -
While the demise of Robert Schuller's church has been
predicted for some time, it is bittersweat to read these
developments this week (Assist News)

"Scouts Remove Mormon Leaders Over Religious Beliefs" -
In the UK, Mormon scout leaders were removed from office
because they were deemed un-Christian. Is this for real?
(Christian Science Monitor)

"Altar Boy, Seminarian and Penthouse Founder Dead at 79" -
For many of us who grew up during the 1960's the names
Bob Guccione and Hugh Hefner were "pioneers of porn."
Alas, the time has come when even such icons pass on.
(Cathnews Asia)

_____


Global Faith Potpourri:

14 stories appear this week from Ecumenical News International

___


Quotes of the Week:

Christina Baldwin, Mother Teresa, Abraham Lincoln,
African Proverb and St. Augustine are specially noted.

___


On This Day (Oct. 19th - 22nd)

The New York Times offers these stories:

Stock Market Takes Big Plunge (1987)
Edison invented a workable electric light (1879)
JFK announces air/naval blockade of Cuba (1962)

___


Here is my closing thought:

Falling asleep during your church's "quiet time..."

___


The last of the leaves and plants are collected from
our yard. Here in foothills Calgary the first snowfall
(likely to melt, we hope) could happen anytime.

It has been a lovely autumn here!

I hope you can still enjoy the weather where you live.


Wayne


******************

SPECIAL ST. DAVID'S LINKS

Contact us at: asdm@sduc.ca (or) admin@sduc.ca
St. David's Web Address - http://sduc.ca/

Listen to audio recordings of Sunday services -
http://sduc.ca/services.htm

___


ST DAVID'S ACTS WEB PAGE

Created and maintained by Colleague Jock McTavish
http://stdavidscalgary.net/

__


ANNOUNCING:

ST. DAVID'S 50th ANNIVERSARY
TOUR OF CELTIC LANDS - 2011

We plan a 15-day tour of special Celtic sites
in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England -
April 26th - May 10th, 2011.

A highlight of the tour will be a visit to
St. David's Cathedral, Pembrokeshire. Choir
members from our group will sing at various
informal cathedral events through the day
and at Evensong, on Saturday, May 7th!

Details are presently being finalized with
the cathedral dean, Jonathan Lean.

We are also planning to sing while visiting
Iona, Scotland and the Church of Mary Immaculate
in Inchicore, Dublin, Ireland.

THE 38 PLACES ON THE TOUR ARE NOW SOLD OUT

We have a waiting list for this trip; also an
interest list for other, future tours!

Let me know if you have an interest in exciting
spiritual tourism!


*****

MONDAY NIGHT STUDY

Introducing our New Fall Program at St. David's:

Follow this series by clicking:
http://www.1journey.net/stdavids/SD/BookStudy/25/25.htm

LISTENING FOR THE HEARTBEAT OF GOD:
A Celtic Spirituality (Philip Newell)

Including background material from the book:

THE CELTIC WAY (Ian Bradley)

Plus:

INTROS TO CELTIC SAINTS PATRICK, COLUMBA & DAVID

Join our ten week Monday Night Study, which will run
from September 20th through November 29th

Special Guest:

Dr. Wayne Davies, Department of Geography, U of C.
is a native of Wales. He will speak with us at one
session, introducing us to his homeland, and explaining
some of the important sites we plan to visit to maximize
our appreciation of the tour.

This program is being made available for regular
Monday Night study-folk plus those planning to
take the tour of Celtic Lands next spring.

36 persons, representing tour and non-tour participants
are registered for this ten-week series.

This study series is part of our St. David's fiftieth
anniversary celebrations and is available to all!

___


WEDNESDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY

Announcing our Autumn Series:

"The Book of Genesis"

Primeval and Patriarchal Stories -
Creation, Fall, Flood, Babel
Abraham, Covenant, Ishmael & Sodom.

Join us Wednesday mornings, 9-10 AM
October 6th through December 1st

*****

THURSDAY UNIVERSITY STUDY
Students, faculty and staff

"Becoming Human" by Jean Vanier
 (the 1998 CBC Massey Lecture Series)

Thursdays, Oct 21 through Nov 25, Noon-1 PM
Native Centre, Small Boardroom (MSC 390)

http://www.ucalgary.ca/chaplain/node/87

Oct 21 – Loneliness, Chapter 1
Oct 28 – Belonging, Chapter 2
Nov 4  – From Exclusion to Inclusion, Chapter 3

[skipping Remembrance Day]

Nov 18 – The Path to Freedom, Chapter 4
Nov 25 – Forgiveness, Chapter 5

*****

STUDY ARCHIVES

A collection of twenty-five+ studies conducted since 2000 can
quickly be found at: http://bookstudies.stdavidscalgary.net/

This collection of study resources represents a decade of
Monday Night Studies at St. David's, plus extra courses too!

You are welcome to use our course outlines, class notes and
resource pages in your personal and group reflections.


*****************************************************

SPECIAL ITEMS

Book Review:

Prepared for Faith Today
Magazine of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada

GOING MISSIONAL
Conversations with 13 Canadian Churches
Who Have Embraced Missional Life
By Karen Stiller and Willard Metzger
Word Alive Press, 2010
161 pages. $16.45 (paper)

Canadian evangelicalism is maturing.

Why? Because qualitative growth, organic development,
a desire for excellence and a humble spirit are
obvious in this distillation from 46 interviews with
13 congregations involving communities ranging from
Duncan BC to Halifax, NS. Those interviewed responded
to the question – “What does it mean for you to be a
missional church?” - producing a rich variety of
definitions.

Several pivotal insights dominate. To be missional
is to be open and aware to what God is doing in the
community (within and beyond the congregation itself)
and to connect people to this. Join with where God is
already at work. The responsibility to do this belongs
to everyone - not just the formal leadership -since all
have unique gifts to offer. Focus on serving the wider
community by discovering its real needs through careful
listening. Fill a niche needing attention. Refocus from
merely “filling pews” and “counting heads.” Move past
spiritual consumerism to authentic servanthood.

Many responses reflect a serious desire to be more
fully the church. People are called to a heightened
consciousness of what God is doing outside the
congregation so that all can join in that activity.
Quantitative growth, while important, is intentionally
complemented by a strong commitment to qualitative
member formation. People stop “coming to church” and
start “being the church.”

Some weaknesses in this generally healthy collage are
detected. Attention is so often fixed on present and
future that there seems to be little consideration
for Christian tradition and its lessons for moderns.
Busyness, a common evangelical characteristic, is
strongly evident. The quiet, contemplative life can
be a worthy ally in efforts to be effectively missional.

Still, this book provides valuable sketches of some very
creative ministry taking place in Canada today.
                                                                                ____

Book Notice:

NELSON MANDELA
Conversations With Myself
Forward by President Barack Obama

Publisher's Promo:

Nelson Mandela is one of the most inspiring and iconic
figures of our age. Now, he has opened his personal
archive, which offers unprecedented insight into his
remarkable life.

From letters written during the darkest hours of his
twenty-seven years of imprisonment to the draft of an
unfinished sequel to his "Long Walk to Freedom" this
book "Conversations With Myself" gives readers access
to the private man behind the public figure.

An intimate journey from the first stirrings of his
political conscience to his galvanizing role on the
world's stage, "Conversations With Myself" is a rare
chance to spend time with Nelson Mandela the man, in
his own voice: direct, clear, private.

---

Author's Comment:

"... the cell is an ideal place to learn to know oneself,
to search realistically and regularly the process of
your own mind and feelings. In judging our progress as
individuals we need to concentrate on external factors
such as one's social position, influence and popularity,
wealth and standard of education. These are, of course,
important in measuring one's success in material matters
and it is perfectly understandable if many people exert
themselves mainly to achieve all these. But internal
factors may be even more crucial in assessing one's
development as a human being. Honesty, sincerity,
simplicity, humility, pure generosity, absence of vanity,
readiness to serve others - qualities which are within
easy reach of every soul - are the foundation of one's
spiritual life. Development in matters of this nature
is inconceivable without serious introspection, without
knowing yourself, your weaknesses and mistakes. At least,
if for nothing else, the cell gives you the opportunity
to look daily into your entire conduct, to overcome the
bad develop whatever is good in you. Regular meditation,
say about 15 minutes a day before you turn in, can be
very fruitful in this regard. You may find it difficult
at first to pinpoint the negative features in your life,
but the 10th attempt may yield rich rewards. Never forget
that a saint is a sinner who keeps on trying.

---

My Thoughts:

On page 39 of "Conversations" we note a letter to Zindzi
Mandela, a daughter, dated December 9th, 1979. It never
reached her because it was confiscated by prison censors.
Neither sender nor the anticipated recipient knew it had
been removed from the card.

The letter was discovered in 2010 in the South African
National Archives with a written note in Afrikaans by a
prison censor which read: 'The attached piece that
prisoner Mandela included with his Christmas card will
not be sent. The card will be sent. The prisoner has not
been informed that this piece has been rejected. He does
not have permission to include it with the card... Keep
it in his file.'

During his years in prison, Nelson Mandela experienced
many indignities and disappointments - he was fully aware
of some of them and of some he was not. Exposure to this
book helps us better understand the profound truth that
it is not what life presents, but how we handle what
comes our way.

Mandela - whose flaws are also visible in places
throughout the text - struggled to make the most of
his situation, and in doing so he developed a sense
of personal freedom that his jailers could not touch.
That is a great discovery that happens time and again
through a reflective reading.

Those who read "Long Walk," Mandela's first book of
memoirs, will discover a different type of memoir in
these "Conversations." This book, while retaining
its public and political side, focuses much more
on Mandela the human; the family man. As he says in his
opening thoughts to the book, "the cell is an ideal place
to learn to know yourself, to search realistically and
regularly the process of your own mind and feelings..."

Periods of solitude in our lives can be challenging,
because so much makes us feel cut off and alone. But
these times also offer the possibility of the rich gift
of insight into the self that is not so available when
our worlds are full of activity and interchange.

What was it that transformed Mandela the young radical
into the mature freedom fighter? The angry black man
into the global diplomatic icon? It was, to a large
extent, the time he spent alone with his thoughts,
and the personal "conversations with myself" that
resulted.

Mandela could have died in his cell, an embittered
old man. Instead, without planning it, he became an
inspiration to his people and to the world.

Here is a book that opens a window on how and why
that great human being was formed.

"Conversations" should be in the personal library of
anyone who "wants to overcome the bad and develop
whatever is good in you."

---

Buy the book from Amazon.ca:
http://tinyurl.com/25c47l6

*************************

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

JIM TAYLOR

Weblog
Oct. 20th, 2010

A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING

By Jim Taylor

As I read the newspapers, preachers and columnists seem
to be fulminating for and against same-sex marriage almost
everywhere. It’s legal across Canada. Mexico City not only
allows it, it encourages same-sex couples to adopt children.
California first allowed same-sex marriages, then banned them,
then overturned the ban.... Same-sex conflicts threaten to
gut the worldwide Anglican communion.
        
Typically, the cry is that same-sex unions will destroy
traditional family patterns.

It seems taken for granted that we have always had
heterosexual monogamy...

Read the article: http://edges.canadahomepage.net/2010/10/


*****

NET NOTES

CITY OF TRANQUIL LIGHT
A Story of Early Mennonite Missions in China

Books and Culture (Nov/Dec. Issue)

http://tinyurl.com/26tkfb6


*****

POPE NAMES SIX NEW SAINTS
Canadian & Australian Among Those Honoured

Voice of America
Oct. 17th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2ag736d

*****

CHRISTIAN UNITY A DREAM IN PROGRESS
The Canadian Centre for Ecumenism in Montreal

Christianweek.org
October 19th, 2010

http://www.christianweek.org/stories.php?id=1238

*****

ATHEISTS SPLIT AT ANNUAL CONFERENCE
New Atheists and Moderates Fall Out

Christianity Today
October 13th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/3yvkntu

*****

WORLD FALLING SHORT OF MEETING MILLENNIAL GOALS
Time is running out on meeting some pretty big hopes

Christianweek.org
October 19th, 2010

http://www.christianweek.org/stories.php?id=1230

*****

GOOGLE TO PUBLISH DEAD SEA SCROLLS ONLINE
Electronic media make treasures available to all

Cathnews Asia
October 19th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2efrfb5

*****

NENSHI: CANADA'S FIRST BIG CITY MUSLIM MAYOR
Calgary has it week in the sun and wants to stay there!

Backofthebook.ca
October 19th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/28jmhun

*****

CRYSTAL CATHEDRAL FILES
FOR BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION
Pioneer Megachurch faced with reality

Assist News
October 18th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/25fndwv

*****

BOY SCOUTS REMOVE MORMON LEADERS
OVER RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
Can this be for real?

Christian Science Monitor
October 21st, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2agflpw

*****

ALTAR BOY, SEMINARIAN AND
PENTHOUSE FOUNDER DEAD AT 79
Pioneer of porn meets his end

Cathnews Asia
October 22nd, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2fpsp5l


*****


GLOBAL FAITH POTPOURRI

Ecumenical News International
News Highlights
18 October 2010

Evangelical group regrets no show of
China's Christians in Cape

Cape Town (ENI). The World Evangelical Alliance has
expressed disappointment at the failure of a Christian
delegation from China to attend its third world gathering
in South Africa. "The presence and contribution of Chinese
delegates would have enriched all the Congress participants
and contributed to a more complete understanding of our
common humanity and the diversity of ethnicity and cultural
expression that enriches us all," said the grouping in a
17 October statement made available to ENI news. Up to 4500
participants from around the globe are gathering in Cape
Town from 16-25 October for the 3rd Lausanne Congress for
World Evangelization. At least 200 Protestant Christians
were barred from travelling to Cape Town by authorities
in Beijing says a report carried by the Roman Catholic
news agency AsiaNews.it. The churches are said to oppose
membership of China's Three-Self Patriotic Movement, a
group gathering state-approved Protestant denominations.

_____


In India, Archbishop of Canterbury criticises European
burqa bans

Nagpur, India (ENI). The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan
Williams has deplored attempts by governments in Europe
to prohibit Muslim women from publicly wearing the burqa,
a garment that covers the entire body. "Governments should
have better things to do than ban the burqa," Williams,
the leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, told an
interfaith meeting organized by the National Council of
Churches in India at its headquarters in Nagpur, during
a visit to India. "I believe that the State ought not
to be addressing issues like these. Instead, it should
leave such concerns to the religious communities,"
stated Williams at the 14 October meeting in Nagpur.
He described a French ban as, "a sign of being
overanxious".

_____


World churches' leader's speech reaches
to evangelical Christians

Cape Town (ENI). The head of the World Council of
Churches has reached out to a global gathering of
Evangelicals saying Christians of different
traditions need to learn from each other to
participate together in God's mission. "We
are called to be one, to be reconciled, so
that the world may believe that God reconciles
the world to himself in Christ," the WCC general
secretary, the Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit, said in
a 17 October address on the opening day of the
3rd Lausanne Congress for World Evangelization.
It is the first time a WCC general secretary has
addressed a congress of the Lausanne Movement,
which takes its name from the Swiss city where
the first such gathering was held in 1974. "This
historic invitation is a sign that God has called
all of us to the ministry of reconciliation and
to evangelism," said Tveit at the Cape Town
meeting which has gathered more than 4000
participants and runs until 25 October.

*****

19 October 2010

Anglican head concerned for failed Zimbabwe
asylum seekers

London (ENI). Human rights activists have praised the
Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, for showing
concern about the safety problems failed Zimbabwean
asylum seekers face if they are forced to return and
live under the regime of President Robert Mugabe. "I
would love to see more and more Christians and church
leaders follow his example and warn the British
government that there must be checks and monitoring
systems in place before these people are sent home,"
Sarah Harland, co-coordinator of the Zimbabwe Association
told ENInews. "This is not the time for enforced returns."

_____


Tanzanian theologian says 'Saint Nyerere'
is important for Africa

Nairobi (ENI). Some Roman Catholics are making a new
push for the  beatification of the former Tanzanian
president, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, describing
this as important for Africa due to his example of good
leadership. The Rev. Laurent Magesa from Tanzania's
Musoma diocese, where the leader came from, said that
in today's political context where many African leaders
have been criticised for embezzling public funds,
Nyerere is remembered for his honesty. The process
of beatification in the Catholic Church is often seen
as a step towards making a person a saint. A person
who is beatified is given the title "Blessed".

_____


Church of North India turns 40,
with Archbishop of Canterbury

Nagpur, India (ENI). The Archbishop of Canterbury,
Rowan Williams, has led celebrations to mark the 40th
anniversary of the Church of North India, which was
formed by six Protestant denominations, including
Anglicans, in 1970. The six uniting churches in 1970
represented Anglican, Baptist, Brethren, Congregational,
Disciples, Methodist and Presbyterian traditions. The
visit by Williams visit comes as a time of tension in
the worldwide Anglican Communion after the 2003
consecration by the Episcopal (Anglican) Church in
the United States of a homosexual bishop who has a
male partner. The Episcopal Church has since
consecrated as a bishop an openly lesbian cleric,
who has lived with a female partner for 22 years.

*****

20 October 2010

Canadian court urges case-by-case decisions on face veils

Toronto (ENI).  A Canadian court has urged compromise when
considering whether Muslim women should be allowed to wear
veils while testifying in court. The Court of Appeal in the
province of Ontario was considering a Toronto case
involving an alleged sexual assault victim, identified
only as N.S., who wished to wear her niqab - a face veil
with a slit for the eyes - while testifying at a preliminary
hearing against two men accused of assaulting her. The woman,
who had worn a niqab for five years, asked the province's
Superior Court to overturn the ruling. That court affirmed
the judge's jurisdiction to order the woman to unveil but
suggested that similar cases should be decided by judges
on an individual basis.

_____


Kenya Christian leaders' stand
on terror suspects angers Muslims

Nairobi (ENI). Christian leaders in Kenya have cautiously
backed the extradition of terror suspects to Uganda,
expulsions that have enraged Muslims in the east African
country. More than 10 Kenyan Muslims, suspected to be
linked to the Kampala bombing attacks that took place
during the soccer World Cup, have been arrested and taken
to neighbouring Uganda for trial. "The crime was committed
in Uganda and if the extraditions are going to curb crime,
then I support it, " the Rev. David Gathanju, the moderator
of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa, told ENI news
on 19 October in Nairobi. "The exchange of suspects in
a case like this one sends a good signal to east African
countries and the international community of their
commitment to the war on terror. "

*****

21 October 2010

UK Christian groups say tax dodgers
cost developing world billions

Edinburgh (ENI). Tax dodging costs developing countries
more than the total they receive in aid and could be
as high as US$160 billion annually, says a report by
Britain-based Christian Aid Scotland and the Church of
Scotland.  The report's lead author, Christian Aid
Scotland's Kathy Galloway, said the two groups are
working together to highlight the "devastating effect
the tax dodging has on the global economy. In poor
countries, where the tax base is very small and millions
live on subsistence incomes, it is shameful that companies
which make large profits from the resources of these
countries should be dodging fair taxes." The report -
"Paying our dues: How tax dodging punishes the poor " -
calls on multinationals operating in developing countries
to report on their profits and provide other financial
details in each of the countries, or jurisdictions, in
which they operate.

_____


Israel halts El Al flights from Nigeria,
citing security concerns

Jerusalem (ENI). Security officials barred the Israeli
national airline from ferrying thousands of Nigerian
pilgrims to Israel later in October due to security
concerns. The Israeli daily Ha'aretz newspaper reported
that as a result of the decision, El Al cancelled some
20 flights which were to bring 28 000 pilgrims from
Nigeria over the coming months. The report said El Al
was to have removed its symbol from the planes and the
code for the Israeli airline would also be taken away
in an effort to provide extra security. Nevertheless,
media reports said that security agencies were concerned
that Israeli aircraft and crew members could become
targets for terrorist attacks in Africa's most populous
nation, where about 50 percent of the 149 million people
are Muslims.

_____


First woman to lead Church of Norway bishops

Oslo (ENI). The (Lutheran) Church of Norway has for
the first time elected a woman as its presiding bishop,
although her tenure is for an interim period, the
Norwegian News Agency (NTB)reports. Bishop Helga
Haugland Byfuglien of Borg is to succeed Bishop Olav
Skjaevesland of Agder, who has held the post since 2006,
the bishops' conference in Norway said. Byfuglien's term
will end in mid-2011,as the Church of Norway then will
have its first permanent presiding bishop based in the
country's ancient ecclesiastical capital of Nidaros or
Trondheim as it is known now.

*****

22 October 2010

Turkish aide wants Hagia restored for Muslim,
Christian worship

Warsaw (ENI). A Turkish government adviser says Christians
and Muslims should be allowed to worship again in Istanbul's
Hagia Sophia basilica, eight decades after it was turned into
a museum by the country's secularist authorities. "Hagia Sofia
was built as a place of worship. It served people this way as
a church and mosque for more than a thousand years," said
Mehmet Akif Aydın, an expert with the Presidency of Religious
Affairs, which monitors religious sites in Turkey, including
more than 80 000 mosques. "As a Muslim, I'd like it to become
a mosque. But if Hagia Sofia were opened to Muslim worshippers
on weekdays, it should also be opened to Christians on Sundays.
It disturbs me that it's become just a museum and tourist
destination." The expert was commenting on calls for the sixth
century landmark to be reopened for religious events. Turkey,
which has witnessed several attacks by Islamic militants on
Christian clergy, including the June killing of Bishop Luigi
Padovese, president of the country's Roman Catholic Bishops
Conference.

_____

Spanish Muslim, who advocated tolerance,
religious liberty, dies

Córdoba, Spain (ENI). The death of a Muslim leader, who had
converted to Islam and sought to build bridges between people
of different faiths, is being mourned in Spain and has been
especially praised in a Spanish newspaper article. Mansur
Escudero, 62,"was considered one of the most important
mediators between the Muslim community and the different
government administrations in Spain", the English-language
edition of the El País newspaper reported on 7 October. "He
was considered an excellent and creative orator, who defended
laity as well as freedom of religious practice.” In one of
his best known acts of interfaith activism, Escudero asked
the Vatican to allow Muslims - there are around 1.3 million
in Spain - to pray at the Cathedral of Córdoba, one of the
most unusual religious sites in the world.

_____


Anglican congregation's plan for Roman exit
not seen as exodus

London (ENI). The decision by an Anglican parish in south-east
England to leave the Church of England to become Roman Catholic
has taken some by surprise. The elected parochial church council
of St Peter's, Folkestone, south east England, which has taken
the unanimous decision to secede, is seeking a meeting with the
Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, to discuss procedure.
Earlier this year Pope Benedict XVI offered special provisions
for members of the Church of England unhappy with the prospect
of female bishops. The Rev. Stephen Bould, the parish vicar, and
the church council said they regretted having to take such action
and called for a smooth transition in the interest of both
parties. Bould said he was proud of the courage and faith of
the lay people concerned. He told journalists after the morning
service on 17 October he did not know how many of the
congregation would join the Catholic Church.


*****

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

Provided by Sojourners Online:

October 18th, 2010

"To work in the world lovingly means that we are
defining what we will be for, rather than reacting
to what we are against."

- Christina Baldwin

___


October 19th, 2010

“Today it is fashionable to talk about the poor.
Unfortunately, it is not fashionable to talk with them.”

- Mother Teresa

___


October 20th, 2010

"To sin by silence when they should protest
 makes cowards of men."

- Abraham Lincoln

___


October 21st, 2010

“When you pray, move your feet.”

- African Proverb

___


October 22nd, 2010

“Charity is no substitute for justice withheld.”

- Saint Augustine


*****

ON THIS DAY

Oct. 19, 1987 - Stock Market Takes Big Plunge

http://tinyurl.com/35dvh5f

*****

On Oct. 21, 1879, Thomas Edison invented a workable
electric light at his laboratory in Menlo Park, N.J.

http://tinyurl.com/24vjclw

*****

On Oct. 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy
announced an air and naval blockade of Cuba,
following the discovery of Soviet missile bases
on the island.

http://tinyurl.com/2b42fda


*****

CLOSING THOUGHT

Falling asleep during your church's "quiet time" is not
the biggest sin in the universe. The disciples did it,
for example. Any they had Jesus around. So don't beat
yourself up about nodding off as you are in good company.

(end)

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Colleagues List, October 16th, 2010

Vol. VI. No. 7

*****

Edited by Wayne A. Holst

*****

Colleagues List Blog:
http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com/

*****

AUTUMN READING ISSUE

Personal Book Notice -

"The Moral Landscape:
 How Science Can Determine Human Values"
 by Sam Harris

___


Colleague Contributions:

Reginald Bibby
Eboo Patel

___


Net Notes:

Book Announcements -

What Good is God? (Yancey)
American Grace (Putnam & Campbell)
The Case for God (Armstrong)
Redeemed by Fire - Christianity in China (Xi)
The Sexual Person (Salzman & Lawler)
The Amish Way (Kraybill, Nolt & Weaver-Zercher)

Other Articles -

Benedict, a shyer, better pope
Chilean mine rescue unites fractured world
Quebec's Brother Andre - Meaning in miracles
Igloo cathedral construction stalls in Iqaluit
Record number of Finns 'resign' from state church
Williams in India; says violence prompts need for unity

_____


Global Faith Potpourri:

12 stories from Ecumenical News International

___


Quotes of the Week:

Joan Chittister
Robert V. Dodd
Dorothy L. Sayers
Thomas A Kempis

___


On This Day (Oct. 14th - 15th)

Oct. 14, 1964 - Martin Luther King Jr. wins Nobel Peace Prize
Oct. 15, 1964 - Khrushchev ousted; replaced by Kosygin
Oct. 16, 1964 - China detonated its first atomic bomb

___


Closing Thoughts -

George Burns Comments on "The Good Sermon"

(end)


*****

Dear Friends:

This issue of Colleagues List begins with my notice
of the arrival of "The Moral Landscape: How Science Can
Determine Human Values" by Sam Harris.

I then offer reviews and notices of six other books in
what I am calling an "Autumn Reading Issue."

___


Colleague Contributions:

Reginald Bibby - writes an article on the changing attitudes
of Aboriginals. Their hopes and dreams seem quite similar to
those of Canadian youth in general (Edmonton Journal)

Eboo Patel - mainstream Christian thought continues to
pick up on the multi-faith youth contribution that colleague
Eboo Patel is offering the current political scene in the USA.
St. David's ACTS Ministry and the U of C Campus Chaplains
hope to bring Patel to Calgary soon (America Magazine)

___


Net Notes:

Book Announcements -

"What Good is God?" - Philip Yancey is a long-time favourite
author and we note his latest book (Books & Culture)

"American Grace" - is a new study by Putnam & Campbell on current
American views re "how religion divides and unites us." This book
can help Canadians to more clearly discern their own posture as
distinct from Americans on this subject (ENI; New York Times)

"The Case for God" - Karen Armstrong releases the paperback
edition of her study on God this fall. Read Armstrong to better
understand a return to faith after her "falling-away" from it
(National Public Radio)

"Redeemed by Fire" - the story of Christianity in China -
Lian Xi writes a history of the emergence and growth of the
Protestant faith in China since the ejection of the Western
missionaries after World War II. David Lyle Jeffrey comments.
(Books & Culture)

"The Sexual Person" - in spite of some harsh criticism by the
American Catholic bishops Salzman & Lawler argue that too much
power to define Catholic sexual teaching has been concentrated
in the hands of the bishops (National Catholic Reporter)

"The Amish Way" - Kraybill, Nolt & Weaver-Zercher demonstrate
to a wider religious audience the spiritual values of the Amish
(America Magazine)

Other Articles -

"Benedict, a shyer, better pope" - Richard McBrien compares and
contrasts the papacies of John Paul II and Benedict XVI
(National Catholic Reporter)

"Chilean mine rescue unites fractured world" - read several
perspectives on the significant news story of the week
(Christian Science Monitor, Wall Street Journal)

"Quebec's Brother Andre" - a visit to St. Joseph's Oratory
in Montreal reveals that foreign, not local, pilgrims
currently promote Brother Andre as a subject for canonization.
Still, his story lends support to Quebec cultural nationalism
and gives new insight to the meaning to miracles - even,
surprisingly, a promoter of his cause by an atheist academic
(Globe and Mail)

"Igloo cathedral construction stalls in Iqaluit" - after a
strong building surge got the new northern cathedral off the
ground following a devastating fire, $1 M is still needed to
complete the job (Christian Week)

"Record number of Finns 'resign' from state church" - in the
wake of a change in church policy to ordain gays living in
same sex relationships, quite a few Finns are leaving
(English Service, the Church of Finland)

"Williams visits India; says violence calls for Christian unity" -
on a trip to India, the Archbishop of Canterbury visited the
Mother Teresa Centre and made comments about the need for Indian
Christians to pull together in the wake of persecution
(Ecumenical News Service, Cathnews Asia)

_____


Global Faith Potpourri:

12 stories appear this week from Ecumenical News International

___


Quotes of the Week:

Joan Chittister, Robert V. Dodd, Dorothy L. Sayers and
Thomas A Kempis offer insights for us all courtesy of
Sojourners Online.

___


On This Day (Oct. 14th - 16th)

New York Times gives full background to these events:

Martin Luther King Jr. wins Nobel Peace Prize (1964)
Khrushchev ousted; replaced by Kosygin (1964)
China detonated its first atomic bomb (1964)

___


Closing Thoughts -

George Burns comments on "The Good Sermon"

---

I hope you enjoyed my book suggestions this week.


Wayne


******************

SPECIAL ST. DAVID'S LINKS

Contact us at: asdm@sduc.ca (or) admin@sduc.ca
St. David's Web Address - http://sduc.ca

Listen to audio recordings of Sunday services -
http://sduc.ca/services.htm

___


ST DAVID'S ACTS WEB PAGE

Created and maintained by Colleague Jock McTavish
http://stdavidscalgary.net

__


ANNOUNCING:

ST. DAVID'S 50th ANNIVERSARY
TOUR OF CELTIC LANDS - 2011

We plan a 15-day tour of special Celtic sites
in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England -
April 26th - May 10th, 2011.

A highlight of the tour will be a visit to
St. David's Cathedral, Pembrokeshire. Choir
members from our group will sing at various
informal cathedral events through the day
and at Evensong, on Saturday, May 7th!

Details are presently being finalized with
the cathedral dean, Jonathan Lean.

We are also planning to sing while visiting
Iona, Scotland and the Church of Mary Immaculate
in Inchicore, Dublin, Ireland.

THE 38 PLACES ON THE TOUR ARE NOW SOLD OUT

We have a waiting list for this trip; also an
interest list for other, future tours!

Let me know if you have an interest in exciting
spiritual tourism!


*****

MONDAY NIGHT STUDY

Introducing our New Fall Program at St. David's:

Follow this series by clicking:
http://www.1journey.net/stdavids/SD/BookStudy/25/25.htm

LISTENING FOR THE HEARTBEAT OF GOD:
A Celtic Spirituality (Philip Newell)

Including background material from the book:

THE CELTIC WAY (Ian Bradley)

Plus:

INTROS TO CELTIC SAINTS PATRICK, COLUMBA & DAVID

Join our ten week Monday Night Study, which will run
from September 20th through November 29th

Special Guest:

Dr. Wayne Davies, Department of Geography, U of C.
is a native of Wales. He will speak with us at one
session, introducing us to his homeland, and explaining
some of the important sites we plan to visit to maximize
our appreciation of the tour.

This program is being made available for regular
Monday Night study-folk plus those planning to
take the tour of Celtic Lands next spring.

36 persons, representing tour and non-tour participants
are registered for this ten-week series.

This study series is part of our St. David's fiftieth
anniversary celebrations and is available to all!

___


WEDNESDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY

Announcing our Autumn Series:

"The Book of Genesis"

Primeval and Patriarchal Stories -
Creation, Fall, Flood, Babel
Abraham, Covenant, Ishmael & Sodom.

Join us Wednesday mornings, 9-10 AM
October 6th through December 1st

*****

THURSDAY UNIVERSITY STUDY
Students, faculty and staff

"Becoming Human" by Jean Vanier
 (the 1998 CBC Massey Lecture Series)

Thursdays, Oct 21 through Nov 25, Noon-1 PM
Native Centre, Small Boardroom (MSC 390)

Oct 21 – Loneliness, Chapter 1
Oct 28 – Belonging, Chapter 2
Nov 4  – From Exclusion to Inclusion, Chapter 3

[skipping Remembrance Day]

Nov 18 – The Path to Freedom, Chapter 4
Nov 25 – Forgiveness, Chapter 5

*****

STUDY ARCHIVES

A collection of twenty-five+ studies conducted since 2000 can
quickly be found at: http://bookstudies.stdavidscalgary.net/

This collection of study resources represents a decade of
Monday Night Studies at St. David's, plus extra courses too!

You are welcome to use our course outlines, class notes and
resource pages in your personal and group reflections.


*****************************************************

SPECIAL ITEM

Book Notice

THE MORAL LANDSCAPE
How Science Can Determine Human Values
by Sam Harris, Free Press: New York.
$29.99 CAD. 291 pages.
ISBN #978-1-4391-7121-9.

Publisher's Promo:

In the aftermath of his first book "The End of Faith"
Sam Harris discovered that most people - from religious
fundamentalists to non-believing scientists - agree on
one point - science has nothing to say on the subject of
human values. Indeed, our failure to address questions
of meaning and morality through science has now become
the most common justification for religious faith.

In "The Moral Landscape" Harris tears down the walls
between scientific fact and human values, arguing that
most people are simply mistaken about the relationship
between morality and the rest of human knowledge.

Harris urges us to think about morality in terms of
human and animal well-being, viewing the experience of
conscious creatures as peaks and values on a "moral
landscape."

Harris foresees a time when science will no longer limit
itself to describing what people do in the name of
"morality"; in principle, science should be able to tell
us what we ought to do to live the best lives possible.

Bringing a fresh perspective to the age-old questions of
right and wrong, good and evil; Harris demonstrates that
we already know enough about the human brain and its
relationship to events in the world to say there are right
and wrong answers to the most pressing questions of human
life. Because such answers exist, moral relativism is
simply false and comes at increasing cost to humanity.

The intrusion of religion into the sphere of human values
can finally be repelled; for just as there is no such thing
as Christian physics or Muslim algebra, there can be no
Christian or Muslim morality.

---

Author's Comment:

Here are the author's main debating points as presented
in his Introduction:

1. Questions about meaning, morality and life's larger
purposes are really questions about the well-being of
conscious creatures (page 1)

2. Values must be translated into facts which are
scientifically understood. The more we understand
ourselves at the level of the brain, the more we see
that there are right and wrong answers to questions
of human values (1)

3. Both religion and classic science are wrong in
discerning moral truth. True science can provide the
moral context for how moral truth is known (2).
Against Stephen J. Gould the scientist, I argue
that science and religion are not different spheres
of influence. They are not "non-overlapping magisteria"
as he has written. This is an unhealthy compromise of
science with religion (6)

4. Human reason is able to discern "the good" from
"the bad" in life (15 ff)

5. I am as much against "soft" science as I am
against "moderate" religion. We live in an either/or,
not a both/and set of circumstances (25)
(Holst summary)

6. Moral progress is best left to science, not
religion. Our current debate over their relationship
has been a morally dishonest one (25)

---

My Thoughts:

In his recent review of "The Moral Landscape" John Horgan
writes in the Globe and Mail (October 9th) that Harris
dismisses post-modernism, which holds that science cannot
"discover" moral truth. He also disclaims moral relativism
with its views that all moral programs are equally valid
or invalid.

Harris claims that questions about values and ethics can be
reduced to questions of well-being. Well-being can be
tested by science and a universal set of transcending moral
truths can be defined.

---

One of my learnings from teaching several series on
Harris' previous book "The End of Faith" was his challenge
to religious moderates who seek a "compromise" between
faith and science - accepting evolution, and discerning a
God who works with modern science. Harris considers this
attempt at collaboration to be unconscionable.

In this book, Harris takes on modern science and its attempts
at compromise with religion. He believes that efforts by
Stephen J. Gould, for example - to view religion and science
as distinct "non-overlapping magisteria" or two distinct
forms of knowledge - as selling out science to religion.

I plan to teach a follow-up Harris course this winter, using
his new book because I believe he adds new insights to an
important discussion of the relationship between God,
science and morality.

When Harris speaks about scientific facts he means "the
hard facts." He cannot perceive of there being a reality
beyond the one we know through reason. As a person of faith,
I cannot accept this. I can understand his reasoning but I
cannot agree to his first principles. Thus, I believe truth
resides in a transcendent form beyond our human
capacity to comprehend it through reason. Faith, for me,
means the acceptance of this reality beyond our own.

I have been helped by my students to see that philosophy -
going back to the ancient Greeks - has often been an attempt
to free humanity from the moral control of the gods. Since
then, Christian philosophers like Aquinas have attempted to
"domesticate" thinkers like Plato and Aristotle and to use
their rational constructs to provide a basis for understanding
the Christian faith.

Modern philosophers like Nietzsche have declared God and
God-based morality to be dead in the wake of the emergence of
enlightenment science. But again, religious philosophers
have been engaged in constructive attempts to "domesticate"
modern science and to see it as co-existing with faith.

Obviously, Harris does not like faith/science compromisers
whatever their stripe. This opens a spirited discussion on
several new fronts. I hope my students will find Harris a
continuing help, even though I cannot agree with all of
what Harris is currently defending.

I continue to believe that humans need to base their
moral lives on a reality existing beyond this world and
I reject a rational capacity to fully understand its Source.

For me, faith in God is a first principle.

At this point, I would encourage you, my readers, to take
on Harris again. He is less defensive, more refined and
a more challenging read this time than in his first book.

I do not believe that people of faith should study only
the material produced by their own kind on such important
matters as faith and reason.

---

Buy the Book from Amazon.ca
http://tinyurl.com/246hwtf

*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

REGINALD BIBBY

"Young Aboriginals Share Same Goals
 as all Other Canadians"

New Bibby survey reveals cultural changes

The Edmonton Journal
October 10th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/22twjab

*****

EBOO PATEL

"The Talking Cure"

America Magazine
October 15th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/22w94z6

*****

NET NOTES

WHAT GOOD IS GOD?
In Search of a Faith That Matters
by Philip Yancey

Book launches, October 2010
Backgrounder appears in Books & Culture Magazine
October 11th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2em7yqy

*****

AMERICAN GRACE:
HOW RELIGION DIVIDES AND UNITES US

Ecumenical News International
Geneva, October 15th, 2010

Personal ties hold U.S. religious fabric together,
says new book

Cambridge, Massachusetts (ENI/RNS). Harvard University
scholar Robert Putnam has earned a reputation as an expert
on the threads that hold the social fabric of the United
States intact. His 2001 bestseller, "Bowling Alone: The
Collapse and Revival of American Community", drew national
attention to an alarming decline in civic engagement. His
new book, "American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites
Us", with co-author David Campbell plums the apparent
divide between religious and non-religious Americans,
Religion News Service reports. Across 688 pages, the two
argue that Americans honour their neighbours' religious
differences largely because they've cultivated personal
ties across sectarian lines. As it turns out, Putnam, 69,
lives by that same ethic, intentionally shortening distances
between Jews and Christians, Americans and internationals,
heartland believers and coastal sceptics.

---

"A pair of social scientists explore whether faith builds or
splinters a sense of connection"

New York Times Review of Books
October 10th, 2010

by Robert D. Putnam & David E. Campbell
Reviewed by Robert Wright

http://tinyurl.com/293gynj

*****

THE CASE FOR GOD

An Interview with Karen Armstrong
National Public Radio, Sept. 21st, 2009

Her latest book is now in paperback...

http://tinyurl.com/2dkpvkq


*****

CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA

Books and Culture
October 11th, 2010

Intro to the new book on the growth of
the church in China - "Redeemed by Fire"
by Lian Xi

Commentary by David Lyle Jeffrey

http://tinyurl.com/25pkyyj


*****

THE SEXUAL PERSON

National Catholic Reporter
October 15th, 2010
by Todd A. Salzman and Michael G. Lawler
Catholic News Service and Georgetown U. Press

"On sexuality, the hierarchy has
usurped the entire teaching office"

Comment by Regina Schulte:
http://tinyurl.com/29ftm8k


*****

THE AMISH WAY
Patient Faith in a Perilous World
by Kraybill, Nolt, and Weaver-Zercher

America Magazine Book Club Selection
September-October 2010

Backgrounder:
http://tinyurl.com/295bumq


***************

Other Articles:

BENEDICT A SHYER, BETTER POPE

by Richard O'Brien
National Catholic Reporter
Oct. 11th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2c3ayol


*****

CHILEAN MINE DISASTER AND RESCUE
UNITES A FRACTURED WORLD

Christian Science Monitor
October 13th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/369bajf

____


Viva Chile! They Left No Man Behind

Wall Street Journal
Oct. 15th, 2010
by Peggy Noonan

http://tinyurl.com/2d3czaf


*****

BROTHER ANDRE AS SAINT
QUEBEC CELEBRATES 'ONE OF ITS OWN'

The Globe and Mail
October 12th, 2010

A man of another era is still an
important Quebec cultural figure

http://tinyurl.com/2bom5ho

---

A Queen's university professor who calls herself
'an atheist who believes in miracles' aided the
canonization cause...

Globe and Mail
October 15th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/28dbo87


*****

IGLOO CATHEDRAL CONSTRUCTION STALLED
$1 Million Still Needed to Complete Construction

ChristianWeek.org
Oct. 13th, 2010

http://www.christianweek.org/stories.php?id=1226


*****

RECORD NUMBER OF FINNS 'RESIGN' FROM STATE CHURCH

Church of Finland News Service
October 15th, 2010

Same sex marriage appears to be the reason...

http://tinyurl.com/293z234

*****

ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY VISITS INDIA
SAYS VIOLENCE PROMPTS NEED FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY

Rowan Williams Visits India

Ecumenical News Service
Geneva, October 11th, 2010

Mother Teresa's tomb is Anglican leader's
first Indian stop

Bangalore, India (ENI). The Archbishop of Canterbury,
Rowan Williams, has begun a 16-day visit to India by
paying tribute to Mother Teresa at her tomb in Kolkata,
the north eastern city once known as Calcutta, the
capital of West Bengal state. "The Archbishop of
Canterbury had expressed a desire to visit Mother
Teresa's tomb first when the trip was planned," Ashoke
Biswas, the Church of North India bishop of Kolkata
told ENI news on 11 October. After praying on 9 October
at the tomb of Mother Teresa, Williams visited the room
of the Roman Catholic nun who would become a Nobel
Peace Prize laureate, and the exhibition on her life
at the Mother House of her Missionaries of Charity.

*****

Cathnews Asis
Oct. 14th, 2010

"Violence against Christians prompts importance of unity"

http://tinyurl.com/34r5mln


*****

GLOBAL FAITH POTPOURRI

Ecumenical News International
News Highlights
11 October 2010

Muslims, Christians can tackle conflicts together,
says WCC head

Geneva (ENI). Muslim and Christian leaders need to set
up permanent structures of relating to each other to head
off potential conflicts in a world where religion is often
seen as having a divisive role, the head of the World
Council of Churches has said. "The role of religion in
emerging geo-political contexts is rapidly changing," WCC
general secretary the Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit said in a
speech to a meeting in Albania of the WCC's Commission
of the Churches on International Affairs. "While religion
often plays a commendable role as a force for promoting
justice, peace and reconciliation, in the 21st century
its role has been much more divisive," said Tveit, a
Norwegian theologian who took up his WCC post in January.

_____


Pope denounces violence in God's name
at meeting on Middle East

Vatican (ENI). Pope Benedict XVI has denounced violence
committed in God's name, when he addressed around 250
people attending a special meeting of bishops from the
Muslim-majority Middle East. In off-the-cuff remarks,
the Pope referred to, "The power of the terrorist
ideology that carries out violence in the name of God,
but this is not God. These are false divinities that
must be unmasked, because they are not God." At the 10
October Sunday service Benedict spoke about the future
of Christians in the Middle East who made up 20 percent
of the population a century ago, but today account for
less than 6 percent, as war and poor economic conditions
have triggered their departure. Jewish and Muslim
representatives are also attending the 10-24 October
gathering, called a synod.

_____

12 October 2010

Poland's Catholic schools 'can bar homosexual teachers'

Warsaw (ENI). Poland's Roman Catholic Church has defended
the right of its schools to refuse employment to homosexual
teachers, after human rights groups called for the resignation
of a government minister who supports the policy. "We must
defend someone's right to declare their views and convictions
publicly," Archbishop Kazimierz Nycz of Warsaw told the Gazeta
Wyborcza daily newspaper on 5 October. "Under both State and
church law, Catholic schools must clearly state the norms
under which they take on teachers. It's a long time since I
encountered such an attack on a State official because of
something they said." The archbishop was reacting to criticism
of Elzbieta Radziszewska, the government representative for
equal treatment, after she confirmed that Catholic schools
are entitled to dismiss gay or lesbian staff members. She
was also backed by Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow,
who praised her for standing up for the rights of Catholics.

_____


Christian communication groups gets first female head

Geneva (ENI). Soon after a study commissioned by the World
Association of Christian Communication found that men continue
to hog the global news headlines, despite the presence of women
growing, the group installed its first female executive head.
The Rev. Karin Achtelstetter, the former director of
communications and editor-in-chief for the Geneva-based
Lutheran World Federation, was installed new general
secretary of WACC in Toronto on 5 October, during an executive
committee meeting. WACC president, Dennis Smith said, "We are
proud that Rev. Karin is not only enormously qualified for the
job, she is also the first woman to serve as the general
secretary of our association." Achtelstetter takes up full
responsibility at the head of WACC on 1 November. She is to
succeed the Rev. Randy Naylor, a Canadian who has served
WACC as general secretary since July 2001. He has been
appointed minister for Parkwoods United Church in Toronto.

_____


Canadian archbishop steps down during abuse investigations

Toronto (ENI). A Canadian orthodox archbishop has stepped
down during a investigation by police and his church into
allegations of sexual abuse involving pre-teen boys about
30 years ago. Archbishop Seraphim Storheim, who is aged 66,
and leads the Archdiocese of Canada in the Orthodox Church
in America, took a three-month leave of absence from his
duties, as of 1 October. The alleged misconduct concerns
two young boys and relates to his time as rector of a
church in Winnipeg, Manitoba. No charges have been laid.
In a public statement released on the church's Web site,
the archbishop said he was stepping aside from all church
duties and suggested health reasons were behind the move.

*****

13 October 2010

Sri Lanka Catholic bishops urge release
of jailed opposition leader

Bangalore, India (ENI). The Roman Catholic Church in
Sri Lanka has joined demands for the release of opposition
leader Sarath Fonseka, the former Sri Lankan army chief who
is in prison after being found guilty by a court martial of
corruption. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka,
in a 7 October statement, made an "appeal for the release"
of Fonseka, who led the Sri Lankan army to victory in 2009
against Tamil rebels who led a 26-year-autonomy campaign.
"We are making this appeal purely on humanitarian grounds,"
Catholic Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo told ENI news.
"We are not making a judgment whether the process is right
or wrong." After being feted as a war hero, Foneska stood
unsuccessfully in a January presidential election against
the incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa. The retired general was
arrested the following month in what his supporters said
was a politically-motivated action.

_____


Report finds strong growth in US Orthodox churches

Washington DC (ENI/RNS). America's Eastern Orthodox parishes
have grown 16 percent in the past decade, in part because
of a settled immigrant community, according to new research.
Alexei Krindatch, research consultant for the Standing
Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas,
said the 16 percent growth in the number of Orthodox parishes
is "a fairly high ratio for religious groups in the United
States", Religion News Service reports.

*****

14 October 2010

World churches' leader praises
Nobel Peace Prize for Liu Xiaobo

Hong Kong (ENI). World Council of Churches general
secretary, the Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit, has welcomed
the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to imprisoned
Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo as a support to those
struggling for freedom and dignity worldwide. At the
same time, in Hong Kong, Roman Catholic Bishop John
Tong has described the award as an honour "for us as
Chinese people" and said he hoped Liu would be
released soon. "I consider this recognition of Liu
Xiaobo to be an affirmation and acknowledgement of
growing respect for human dignity and freedom
around the world," Tveit said, "It also signifies
and underscores the essential parameters that are
needed to ensure development, peace and
reconciliation among peoples and nations."

_____


Utah meeting seeks to unify American Orthodox Christians

Salt Lake City, Utah (ENI/RNS). If a group of Orthodox
Christians meeting in Salt Lake City this week (Oct. 14-16)
has its way, future generations of Greek, Serbian, Russian
and other ethnic faithful all will worship together in a
single American church. A unified church would "honour
and celebrate the multicultural Orthodox community here",
 says Bill Souvall, president of the group Orthodox
Christian Laity, Religion News Service reports. "It would
give us a powerful presence in America. Spiritual seekers
and searchers would find us." There currently are 14
Orthodox jurisdictions in America, and each has its own
bishop in the country of origin and its own language, but
the liturgy and doctrines are the same, Souvall says.
"The churches of America should be American. They shouldn't
have all these separate archdioceses." Even so, this push
for unity is not universally accepted.

_____

Film on effects of Afghanistan war
clinches human rights award

Geneva/Brussels (ENI). A documentary film exploring
the consequences of war in Afghanistan, "The Garden
at the End of the World", has earned a 2010 human
rights award from two global Christian communication
groups. It explores the legacy of devastation and
trauma in Afghanistan and illustrates the consequences
of the conflict, and the hunger, homelessness and
lawlessness that it causes. The film was chosen by
the World Association for Christian Communication,
and SIGNIS, the World Catholic Association of
Communication, as their joint Human Rights Award
for 2010. Directed by Australian film-maker Gary
Caganoff, the documentary follows the activities
of two women, Mahboba Rawi, a humanitarian worker,
and Rosemary Morrow, an internationally recognised
permaculturalist, whose work focuses on human
settlement and sustainable agriculture.

*****

15 October 2010

Role of women in food production
noted on World Food Day

Geneva (ENI). Women farmers in Africa produce more
than 80 percent of the continent's food supply, yet
they lack recognition of their property rights, and
are the most affected by hunger and malnutrition,
says Peter Prove, the director of the Ecumenical
Advocacy Alliance. Prove made his remarks to ENI news
ahead of the World Food Day, marked on 15 October by
the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization and
church and civil rights groups around the globe. "Over
one billion people are estimated as chronically hungry
in our world today and women account for 70 percent of
the world's hungry and are disproportionately affected
by malnutrition, poverty and food insecurity," said
Prove. He noted that according to the report of the
United Nations Human Rights Council Advisory Committee,
despite representing the majority of the agricultural
workforce and production, women are estimated to have
 access to or to control only five percent of land
globally.

_____


There is no absolute darkness in life,
says blind Japanese cleric

Tokyo (ENI). A Japanese pastor who lost his eyesight
as an agronomist in Sudan after taking anti-malaria
medicine says in a new book that there is no absolute
darkness in life. "Christ supported me as I was about
to fall into hell," said the Rev. Yoji Takeoka,
professor emeritus of agronomy at Nagoya University in
central Japan, recalling the time when blindness descended
on him during a visit to Africa in 1992. Takeoka ministered
a church in his home of Nagoya from April 2003 until December
2009 as a United Church of Christ in Japan pastor after
retiring from the university. He has written a book: "By
his bruises: The horizon of overcoming environmentally
caused eyesight loss". It was published on 1 October by
Kirisuto Shimbun Co. Ltd, a Christian publisher in Tokyo.
In the book, Takeoka writes of his experiences in the 18
years since he became blind due to a strong allergy
triggered, he says, by the side effects of malaria-
fighting tablets.


*****

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

Provided by Sojourners Online:

October 11th, 2010

"We must learn to pray out of our weaknesses
so that God can become our strength."

- Joan Chittister

---

October 13th, 2010

"Prayer is something more than that which we do with
our minds. It involves our hearts and spirits -- that
deeper part of our personalities to which only the
Spirit of Jesus has access. Prayer in its highest form
requires more than conscious effort. It also requires
the surrender of our innermost selves to Jesus, giving
him permission to make our lives a continually flowing
fountain of unceasing prayer. When we have learned how
to do that, we will have discovered the secret of the
prayer of the heart."

- Robert V. Dodd, Praying the Name of Jesus

___

October 14th, 2010

"It is curious that people who are filled with horrified
indignation whenever a cat kills a sparrow can hear that
story of the killing of God told Sunday after Sunday and
not experience any shock at all."

- Dorothy L. Sayers

___

October 15th, 2010

"All men desire peace, but very few desire those things
that make for peace."

- Thomas A. Kempis


*****

ON THIS DAY

On Oct. 14, 1964, civil rights leader Martin Luther
King Jr. was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

http://tinyurl.com/27uqgh7

_____


On Oct. 15, 1964, it was announced that Soviet leader
Nikita S. Khrushchev had been removed from office. He
was succeeded as premier by Alexei N. Kosygin and as
Communist Party secretary by Leonid I. Brezhnev.

http://tinyurl.com/2dczgnl

_____

Oct. 16, 1964, China detonated its first atomic bomb.

http://tinyurl.com/272jynj


*****

CLOSING THOUGHT

"The secret of a good sermon is to have a
good beginning and a good ending, then having
the two as close together as possible."

- George Burns

(end)