Friday, November 26, 2010

Colleagues List, November 27th, 2010

Vol. VI. No. 13

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Edited by Wayne A. Holst

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

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ADVENT ISSUE

Colleague Comments:

"Thanks so much for this ministry you do so faithfully
and competently week by week...I count on it in a number
of ways and benefit from it regularly.

"Have a meaningful Advent season. We'll be in touch in '11.

"Peace, friend,"

Tim Callaway

---

Re: "My Search for my Great-Grandfather"

Hello Wayne:  Thank you very much for the notice you gave
about my book and the space you devoted to it in the last
Colleagues List.

Mathew Zachariah

---

Re: "The Great Emergence"

Thanks, Wayne, for the link, the lovely review, and your
kind words. I will definitely want to receive Colleagues List!
Blessings,

Phyllis Tickle

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

Introduced in this Issue -

My Book Notice:

"Christmas - Festival of Incarnation"

---

My Winter University Course:

"God, Atheism and Morality"

___

Colleague Contributions:

Philip Jenkins
Lorna Dueck
Jon Malinowski
Jim Taylor
Isabel Gibson
Erich Weingartner
Donald Grayston
___

Net Notes:

The Avery Dulles Legacy
Anthony De Mello on Prayer
Pope to Lift Historic Condom Ban
Queen Opens Church of England Synod
Kairos Will Continue Pursuing Mining Justice
The Institutional Church is Bankrupt; Now What?
Orthodox Archbishop Charged with Sexual Assault
S. Korean Churches Condemn N. Korean Artillery Fire
Canadian Prostitution: Beginning a New Social Experiment
Pakistani Woman Raped While in Prison on Blasphemy Charges

___

Global Faith Potpourri:

14 stories from Ecumenical News International

___

Quotes of the Week:

Catherine of Siena
Henri J.M. Nouwen
Brian Manning
Dorothy Day

___

On This Day (Nov. 20th - 24th)

Nov. 20, 1945 - 20 Nazis are on trial in Nuremberg, Germany
Nov. 22, 1963 - John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas
Nov. 24, 1963 - Jack Ruby shoots, kills Lee Harvey Oswald

___

Closing Thought - Benjamin Franklin

(end)


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

Dear Friends:

The Advent Season begins this weekend - for me
it is an eagerly anticipated time of preparation
for the arrival of the Christmas child.

To help you with your preparations, I have located
an excellent book, released this autumn by
Fortress Press of Minneapolis and Kitchener.

"Christmas - Festival of Incarnation" - is a title
I hope you might consider securing for yourself.

---

As the fall term ends, and classes wind down, I can
begin to consider my winter teaching.

First off the block is my January through April
course at the University of Calgary, entitled
"God, Atheism and Morality." I thank colleague
Jon Malinowski for his help in presenting this
class as part of the Continuing Education offerings.
I offer you a website description, below.
___

Colleague Contributions:

This week we feature the following colleagues:

Philip Jenkins - describes 'the prosperity gospel' -
largely an import from the United States to churches
in Africa, Latin America and parts of Asia
(The Christian Century)

Lorna Dueck - brings two matters to our attention:

A special interview with Irene Spencer who spent
years in a polygamous relationship (and)

Blair vs. Hitchens - an introduction to the sixth
semi-annual Munk Debate, held this weekend in Toronto
- this time between former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair
and author/polemicist Christopher Hitchens
(ListenUp, The Globe and Mail)

Jon Malinowski - raises a personal question about
Mary, the doctrine of the incarnation, and where
Joseph fits into the story (personal correspondence)

Jim Taylor - on this American Thanksgiving weekend,
our frequent contributor discusses good and bad
motivations for gratitude (Jim Taylor's Web Log)

Isabel Gibson - found a beautiful choral presentation
from Philadelphia which she is sharing with us all
(personal correspondence)

Erich Weingartner - editor of the CanKor newsletter,
updates us on the current Korean crisis (CanKor)

Donald Grayston - completes this excellent colleague
collection with a choral YouTube marvel that would
not have been possible to produce before modern
cyber-miracles arrived (personal correspondence)

___

Net Notes:

"The Avery Dulles Legacy" - Two years ago, we reported
the death of one of American Catholicism's greatest
modern theologians. Today, I share links to some of
his best articles, written over a forty year period
(America Magazine)

"Anthony De Mello on Prayer" - sometimes at odds with
the Vatican, but still a favourite with Indian Christians
and those who appreciate his rich inter-spiritual gifts
(Cathnews.Asia)

"Pope to Lift Historic Condom Ban" - perhaps the biggest
Catholic news this week was the possible and significant
policy change on the matter of condoms in fighting AIDS
(New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Guardian and
The Tablet, UK)

"Queen Opens Church of England Synod" - I bring you
two articles on the current gathering of the Church
of England in London; including a report on the
opening address of the Archbishop of Canterbury
(The Guardian, UK)

"Kairos Will Continue Pursuing Mining Justice" -
Canada is one of the world's most engaged nations
in international mining. Kairos, a Canadian ecumenical
partnership continues to fight for the rights of those
who work for Canadian mining companies, overseas
(ChristianWeek.org)

"The Institutional Church is Bankrupt; Now What?" -
This is not the first time in history that the Catholic
Church has been declared morally bankrupt, as a result
of the current global sexual abuse crisis it faces
(Uccan.news)

"Orthodox Archbishop Charged with Sexual Assault" -
The head of the Orthodox Church in America (Canada)
is stepping down to face sexual assault charges
(CBC.ca)

"S. Korean Churches Condemn N. Korean Artillery Fire" -
Korean Christians have a lot at stake in the current
warmongering taking place on their peninsula. This
article adds to the material provided by colleague
Eric Weingartner, above (Cathnews.Asia)

"Canadian Prostitution: Beginning a New Social Experiment" -
New laws regarding prostitution are currently working their
way through parliament. Here is an update on developments.
(Oye Times)

"Pakistani Woman Raped While in Prison on Blasphemy Charges" -
the story of Aasia Bibi, reported here last week, continues
(Agenzia Fides, and ENI News, Global Faith Potpourri, below)

___

Global Faith Potpourri:

14 stories come to us from Ecumenical News International

___

Quotes of the Week:

Catherine of Siena, Henri J.M. Nouwen, Brian Manning
and Dorothy Day offer their insights.

___

On This Day (Nov. 20th - 24th)

Read on-the-scene reports of these famous events
provided from the archives of the New York Times:

20 Nazis are on trial in Nuremberg, Germany (1945)
John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas (1963)
Jack Ruby shoots, kills Lee Harvey Oswald (1963)

___

Closing Thought -

This week, we hear some good advice from the
American noteworthy, Benjamin Franklin.

---

May your Advent preparations and celebrations
be spiritually enriching and satisfying!

I'll be back in touch next 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!

We have 26 choristers signed up as part of the
tour group. This special choir begins rehearsals
in early January - led by our congregation's
music director, Brent Tucker.

Details are presently being finalized with
the St. David's cathedral dean, Jonathan Lean.

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

ALL 38 PLACES ON THE TOUR ARE NOW SOLD OUT

We continue to gather 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!

Did You Know?

According to legend, the leek became
the national symbol of Wales in
tribute to a hard-won battle in
640 AD where Welsh soldiers
wore leeks on their helmets to
distinguish them from their Saxon
enemies.

“The legacy of
heroes is the
memory of a great
name and the
inheritance of a
great example.” – Benjamin Disraeli

- discovered by Marlene Holst


*****

MONDAY NIGHT STUDY

Concluding 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 runs
from September 20th through November 29th

Special Guest:

Monday, November 8th - 7-9PM - Completed!

Excellent response to the evening.

Dr. Wayne Davies, Department of Geography, U of C.
is a native of Wales. He spoke 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 was made available for all
Monday Night study-folk plus those planning to
take the tour of Celtic Lands next spring.

40 persons, representing tour and non-tour participants
are currently registered for this ten-week series and
we have been experiencing our best attendances ever!

This study program 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

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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:

CHRISTMAS - FESTIVAL OF INCARNATION
by Donald Heinz, Fortress Press,
Kitchener, ON. Hardcover, 256 pages.
$27.00 CAD. ISBN #13-9780800697334

Publisher's Promo:

Donald Heinz brilliantly unearths the social practices
and broader cultural history of Christmas, even as he
traces the original and evolving incarnational theology
that occasionally still shines through in our celebrations
of Christmas. Heinz's thick description of the religious
and cultural history of Christmas, from its origins in
the sacred texts of early Christianity to the figure of
Santa Claus to the commercial spree of today, is a
marvelous pilgrimage through lived religion as it appears
in folkways, music, art, and literature. Yet it also
assays the deeper theological meaning and appropriations
of this central festival and asks whether retrieving
Christmas can enable deeper appreciation of the reality
of incarnation in each era and, perhaps, even today.

---

Author's Words:

Donald Heinz explains what he is trying to do
in his book "Christmas Festival of Incarnation"

YouTube presentation:

http://fortresspress.com/store/item.jsp?clsid=202731

---

My Comments:

Donald Heinz affirms that Christmas is undoubtedly the most
significant Christian message in terms of global impact.

Christmas is celebrated - albeit with kitch and glitz - in
all parts of the world; and even where the Christian community
exists only as a minority expression. (Some would say that
statement applies to Europe and North America as well.)

Several years ago I wrote a review for the Toronto Star
Religion Page on the book "Santa Claus: A Biography" by
Winnipeg author Gerry Bowler. He said that in spite of all
the fluffy fictional accounts of Santa Claus, Christians can
profitably mine the Santa Claus story and a good deal more of
what currently passes for Christmas.

In a true sense, Heinz has taken up that challenge and his
book attempts to encompass the entire phenomenon - religious
and secular together - in his quest for incarnational meaning.

Here is a sociological, psychological, historical and cultural
portrayal - as well as a religious and spiritual assessment -
of what Christmas has come to be.

This is a charming and generous resource to which a reader might
return again and again over the course of one's life. New insights
will be discovered with each new encounter.

Heinz begins with the original biblical "incarnational" texts
of Christmas - where it all began. At the heart of these accounts
is a fascinating account of how the Divine becomes human. How to
describe the indescribable is our ongoing challenge. From there the
author elaborates on how this primary material was developed and
expanded by the faithful over the centuries.

The Christmas story is drama, par excellence and this narrative
has been told in countless ways with so much creative expression.
With the retelling comes the secularization of it all. More than
just 'religious' folk are drawn into the broadening experience.

The arts (music, painting, and the theatre, for example) have
invested extravagantly in this narrative. For example, I now
count 160 CDs in my my expanding "Christmas music" collection.
It reflects diverse artisty - from renaissance madrigals to
baroque chorales to global folk music to popular and jazz
expressions - and my collection continues to expand!

My music hobby reflects the Christmas phenomenon writ large,
according to the author.

For many of us, Heinz's chapters on the role of theology in
rediscovering and representing the Incarnation will be eagerly
considered. He devotes a chapter to "taking Christmas back."

And yet, the author is enthralled by the entire Christmas
phenomenon - not only the 'sacred' stuff. If he had a choice,
he would want us to see good in it all. That is what makes his
presentation so extravagantly inviting.

---

If you would like to read and experience something substantive
and fully satisfying on the subject of how God and humans have
handled their relationship, this is a title I know you will
truly relish.

---

Buy the book from Amazon.ca:
http://tinyurl.com/35oqrew

*****

Introducing -

My University Winter Course:

GOD, ATHEISM, AND MORALITY

We continue our investigation of the New Atheists and
consider the question: "Can we be good without God?"

Text for the course will be Sam Harris' new book:

"The Moral Landscape:
How Science Can Determine Human Values"
(Free Press, October, 2010)

http://tinyurl.com/2fc7xr4

*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

PHILIP JENKINS
University Park, PA

The Christian Century
Nov. 19th, 2010

"The Case for Prosperity"

http://tinyurl.com/2c2cam7

*****

LORNA DUECK
Burlington, ON

Listen Up TV Video

POLYGAMY: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM OR ABUSE?

Irene Spenser Talks with Lorna about Her
28 Years in a Polygamous Relationship...

http://tinyurl.com/26j8exz

---

BLAIR VS. HITCHENS -
WHAT YOU BELIEVE TO BE TRUE, MATTERS

The Globe and Mail
November 24th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/24z3xrd

*****

JON MALINOWSKI
Calgary, AB

Quoting Jon Janusz Malinowski :

Wayne, I've always been baffled by the genealogy of Jesus. As I
understand, it is traditionally understood that Jesus descends
from the House of David and, to show this, the genealogical tree
is given listing all the names from David until we reach Joseph.
However, Joseph is not the biological "father" of Jesus. Judaism
is, I believe, matrilineal; so why is not the lineage of Mary
given? In the case of Jesus, this is even more pertinent since
Jesus is of the flesh of Mary and not that of Joseph?

Thanks. Ciao. Jon

---

Jon:

This is a good question, and one for which I may not be the
best adviser!

But let me try.

Modern Judaism may be matrilineal, but classic Judaism was not.
There are few references in the Bible to women and lineage, and
when there is, it is usually by virtue of their association with
a man - husband, father, brother, etc.

The Matthew chapter 1 lineage wants to link Jesus to Abraham,
David, and after the deportation to Babylon. It goes on to say
there were 14 generations between the three periods (Mt. 1:17)
and this would appear to be a deliberate calculation to
demonstrate the significance of Jesus' heritage. Most mainstream
Catholic and Protestant scholars do not put much credence in
this presentation and simply deduce that the writer of this
chapter "wanted to establish the Jewish credentials of Christ"
irrespective of the facts.

Indeed, other gospels, for example Luke 1:26ff make it clear
that Mary "conceives by the Holy Spirit" (vs 35) and the lineage
of Joseph is not part of that process. However, it could be
argued that since Joseph decided to "keep Mary" in spite of her
"questionable pregnancy" Jesus becomes part of the genealogical
family tradition of Joseph by "adoption".

What I also see in your question is that it points to an
important division in the early church. One tradition (Matthew)
wants to affirm Jesus' Hebrew heritage and Joseph plays an
important part in that. Luke, on the other hand, appealed to
the Gentiles, and for them Mary became "the" important figure.
Luke makes little or nothing of Joseph's Jewish heritage.

The question you raise, therefore, is quite profound, and
opens issues that tended to be dormant, or explained away,
for centuries. Now, however, it re-emerges as something
very significant.

In other words "what is the human quality of the Incarnation?"
- do we found the doctrine on something physical, or is it
essentially something spiritual, mystical, mythological?

Wayne

*****

JIM TAYLOR
Okanagan, BC

Web Log
Nov. 24th, 2010

AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

By Jim Taylor

Winter arrived with a vengeance last weekend. A great
flood of arctic air poured southward through the province.
One day, temperatures hovered around ten degrees Celsius,
and my neighbour was out mowing his lawn. The next day,
the temperature had plunged to minus ten. Enough snow
fell to glaze the roads like a skating rink, and to
impose an involuntary diet on birds...

As I watched them peck and pig out, I wondered if they
were grateful. To them, an abundant supply of seeds must
seem like manna from heaven.

At least they don’t try to hoard their bounty, as the
Hebrew people did with the original manna...

Read the entire article: http://edges.canadahomepage.net/

*****

ISABEL GIBSON
Ottawa, ON.

A Random Act of Culture in Philadelphia

YouTube "Hallelujah Chorus"

http://tinyurl.com/29yhgmz


*****

ERICH WEINGARTNER
Calendar, ON

Cankor Newsletter
Nov. 25th, 2010

An Update on the Korean Situation Today

http://preview.tinyurl.com/2flhlmy

*****

DONALD GRAYSTON

Friends: these two brief YouTube items are inspiring, gorgeous,
amazing, hopeful. Take eight minutes out of your life to listen
and watch. Thanks to my friend Doug Burton-Christie in California
for sending this to me...

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir - 'Lux Aurumque'
185 voices and 12 countries

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7o7BrlbaDs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyLX2cke-Lw&feature=channel

*****

NET NOTES

THE AVERY DULLES LEGACY

A Collection of His Writings Over Four Decades

America Magazine,
November 24th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2d6ag7d

*****

ANTHONY DE MELLO ON PRAYER

Cathnews.Asia
Nov. 22nd, 2010

YouTube Videos:

http://tinyurl.com/38vgvy3 (part one)
http://tinyurl.com/34rwtoc (part two)

*****

POPE TO LIFT HISTORIC BAN ON CONDOMS

New York Times
November 21st, 2010

In Rare Cases, Pope Justifies Use of  Condoms
Pope Benedict XVI said that condom use may be
appropriate in some cases to help stop the
spread of AIDS.

http://tinyurl.com/2c6zhpd

---

Wall Street Journal
Nov. 21st, 2010

Vatican Rushes to Clarify Pope's Comments

http://tinyurl.com/27dvs3f

---

For the Faithful, Fear of AIDS
Comes Second to the Fear of God

The Guardian UK
Nov. 22nd, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2wbj5z6

---

"We're in a new world."

New York Times
Nov. 24th, 2010  

The Rev. John Fuller a physician, on the pope's
acknowledging that the need to prevent diseases
like AIDS could outweigh the church's long
opposition to the use of condoms.

http://tinyurl.com/34prfts

---

"A New Kind of Conversation"

The Tablet
Nov. 26th, 2010

http://www.thetablet.co.uk/article/15576


*****

THE QUEEN OPENS CHURCH OF ENGLAND SYNOD
Assembly Meets to Enact Church Policy

The Guardian
Nov. 223rd, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/27azt2v

---

Anglican Church Faces 'Piece by Piece
Dissolution' Says Archbishop at Synod

The Guardian
November 24th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/247m4az

*****

KAIROS WILL CONTINUE TO PURSUE MINING JUSTICE

ChristianWeek.org
November 23rd, 2010

http://www.christianweek.org/stories.php?id=1396

*****

THE INSTITUTIONAL CHURCH IS BANKRUPT. NOW WHAT?

This is not the first time the Church
has fallen short of the ideals it espouses

Uccan News
Nov. 26th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2vr7jfu

*****

ORTHODOX CHURCH IN AMERICA ARCHBISHOP
CHARGED WITH SEXUAL ASSAULT IN WINNIPEG

Priest Turns Self In

CBC.ca
Nov. 25th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/27wlfpt

*****

S. KOREAN CHURCHES CONDEMN
N. KOREAN ARTILLERY FIRE

Cathnews.Asia
Nov. 25th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/29zr95t

*****

PROSTITUTION IN CANADA:
ON THE BRINK OF A NEW SOCIAL EXPERIMENT

Oye Times
Nov. 23rd, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2cjy43q

*****

PAKISTANI WOMAN, ACCUSED OF BLASPHEMY,
RAPED WHILE IN PRISON

Agenzia Fides
November 24th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/242prep

*****

GLOBAL FAITH POTPOURRI

Ecumenical News International
News Highlights
22 November 2010

Pakistani minister denies release
of Christian blasphemy accused

Thrissur, India (ENI news). There is confusion about
the fate of a Christian woman sentenced to death under
Pakistan's draconian blasphemy law after a minister in
the country's government denied reports that President
Asif Ali Zardari has ordered her release. "This is not
true," Shahbaz Bhatti, the federal minister for
minorities, told ENI news on 22 November from his office
in Islamabad regarding the release of Aasia Bibi, who
was sentenced to death on 9 November for blasphemy.
The verdict had led to widespread international criticism
ranging from human rights groups to the churches, with
Pope Benedict XVI calling for her release.

_____


Europeans feature in Pope's new list of cardinals

Rome (ENI news). In his selection of 24 new cardinals,
Pope Benedict XVI has ensured that half of the college
that elects the pontiff will be Europeans, although
the number of Roman Catholics is growing in Africa
and Asia, whilst declining in Europe. Of the cardinals
created on 20 November by the Pope, 15 are Europeans,
of whom 10 are Italians, while nine come from the
Americas, Africa and Asia. One of the newly created
cardinals is Kurt Koch, 60, who was bishop of Basel
in Switzerland until June, when he was named by Benedict
as the president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting
Christian Unity. There are now 203 cardinals, but only
121 of them are eligible to elect a pope, after Pope
Paul VI decided that only cardinals under the age of
80 have the right to take part in the conclave.

*****

23 November 2010

UNAIDS says Pope's condom move
makes HIV cooperation easier

Geneva/Rome (ENI news). The head of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé,
says a statement by Pope Benedict XVI that the use of
condoms is justified when intended to reduce "the risk
of HIV infection" will make it easier for international
organizations to cooperate with faith-based organizations
in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Sidibé is the executive
director of UNAIDS, the United Nations programme on HIV
and AIDS. He was answering a question about the Pope's
statement during a 23 November media conference in
Geneva. "The announcement will make cooperation easier
with faith-based organizations, in the fight against
HIV and AIDS," said the head of UNAIDS. "This is an
important step forward." The Roman Catholic Church
rejects condoms as a means of birth control and had
for many years said they are not a means of
preventing AIDS.

_____


Police raid Sudan churches' offices
during referendum build-up

Nairobi (ENI news). The head of the Sudan Council of
Churches has been calling for close scrutiny of out-of-
country referendum registration processes in Kenya,
Uganda and Egypt, while also reporting that police
recently stormed the council offices breaking down
doors, and conducted a search. The Rev. Ramadan Chan
Liol, the general secretary of the council, said
police forced their way into the council's offices
in Amarat Khartoum on 14 November, a Sunday, as 200
men who arrived in seven trucks cordoned off the
building. The churches' leader said one police
officer had said the building was suspected of being
a hideaway for weapons. The raid came as Africa's
biggest country is preparing for a plebiscite on 9
January to determine if the north and south will
split, Chan noted.

_____


German Protestant head says
a European Islam needed for dialogue

Trier, Germany (ENInews). A European form of Islam
needs to develop before a meaningful interfaith
dialogue can take place on the continent, the new
leader of Germany's 24 million Protestants has said.
"We are only at the beginning of a serious inter-
religious discussion on a theologically high level
and that is because there are problems with finding
counterparts," the Rev. Nikolaus Schneider told ENI
news in an interview in Trier. "The imams who come
from Turkey to Germany can hardly speak German and
that means that we need to train imams in Germany
at our universities," said Schneider, who was
elected the new chairperson of the Evangelical
Church in Germany (EKD) on 9 November during a
meeting of its governing synod in Hanover.
Schneider said that one of his priorities in
his new post is to set up as soon as possible
a meeting with representatives of Islam in
Germany, which has about four million Muslims.

_____


Pope says he looks forward to
meeting with Russian Patriarch

Rome (ENI news). Pope Benedict XVI has in comments
made in a newly-published book says he hopes for a
meeting "in the not too distant future" with Patriarch
Kirill I of the Russian Orthodox Church. The book,
"Light of the world", was presented on 23 November
to international media at the Vatican. It is the
text of an extended interview with the pontiff
conducted in July by German journalist Peter
Seewald. Benedict's predecessor, Pope John Paul
II, spoke repeatedly about his dream of visiting
Russia, but met resistance from the Moscow
Patriarchate, which had accused the Vatican of
aggressively seeking converts among Russian
Orthodox faithful.

*****

24 November 2010

Vatican at odds with China over ordination of a bishop

Hong Kong (ENInews). Vatican and Hong Kong cardinals
have criticised the Beijing government-backed Chinese
Catholic Patriotic Association for organizing the
ordination of a bishop in northeastern China. The Vatican
said in a statement on 24 November that the ordination
was a grave violation of the freedom of religion after
China's State-backed Roman Catholic Church grouping
ordained a bishop without having obtained the approval
of Pope Benedict XVI. There was strong security on 20
November when the Rev. Guo Jincai was ordained at the
Pingquan church in Chengde city, with dozens of police
blocking the building and denying entrance to reporters.
But worshippers said there was also an air of festivity,
with colourful banners and traditional Chinese lanterns
hanging outside the church and worshippers posing for
photos.

_____


Russian Orthodox and Catholics
row over Kaliningrad properties

Warsaw (ENI news). The Russian Orthodox Church has
rejected protests by the country's Roman Catholic
archbishop after government authorities in the
Kaliningrad enclave gave the local Orthodox diocese
ownership of a Soviet-confiscated Catholic church.
"The way the Catholic Church is dealing with this
challenge today reveals its many inherent
contradictions," said Dmitri Sizonenko, the Moscow
Patriarchate's acting secretary for inter-Christian
relations. "Catholics are divided internally, and
behaving in an unjustified way as an injured
religious minority, and are issuing declarations
in the name of a church which counts more than a
billion believers worldwide." The Orthodox church
official was reacting to a statement by Archbishop
Paolo Pezzi, the Italian head of Russia's Moscow-
based Catholic Mother of God archdiocese. Pezzi
had condemned the ruling by Kaliningrad's district
duma, or council, that 15 non-Orthodox places of
worship in the Baltic port city should be handed
over!

_____


'God Box' in New York more diverse as it turns 50

New York (ENI news). The 19-story granite building on
Manhattan's upper west side, often referred to as the
"God Box", has been seen as a symbol of "unbridled
arrogance" on the part of traditional Protestantism,
but now represents a much more diverse religious
community. New York's Interchurch Center is one of
the most visible symbols of Christian ecumenism in
the United States as it marks its 50th anniversary,
the year the modern ecumenical movement for Christian
unity is celebrating its own centenary. A series of
events in 2010, including a rededication in May, have
marked the anniversary of the centre, often called
the "God Box", by tenants and visitors. American
philanthropist and Baptist layperson John D.
Rockefeller, Jr, played a major role in the planning
of the God Box, and U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower
attended the groundbreaking ceremony in October 1958.

*****

25 November 2010

Global and Asian churches leaders warn on Korea standoff

London/Geneva (ENInews). The head of the Council for World
Mission, a global grouping of mainly Reformed churches, has
condemned the shelling by North Korea's military of a South
Korean island and has urged prayers that the tension does
not escalate. "CWM and its member churches share the
sentiments expressed by international leaders, the global
ecumenical fraternity and the world church community in
deploring the unprovoked aggression and attacks, and
calling upon North Korean military to cease from any
further attacks upon the people of the South," said CWM
general secretary, the Rev. Des van der Water, in a
letter to the Presbyterian Church of Korea.

_____


New global Lutheran leader wants dialogue with society

Geneva, 25 November (ENInews). Lutherans worldwide need
to avoid isolation and to open themselves to people in
other churches and of other faiths, the Rev. Martin
Junge has said at his installation as the new general
secretary of the Lutheran World Federation. "Our faith
in the triune God grants us the spiritual resources to
resist the tendency to withdraw to self-isolation and
self-centred monologue," said Junge in a sermon at the
25 November ceremony at Geneva's Ecumenical Centre where
the LWF has its headquarters. Latin American music
heralded the installation of Junge, who succeeds the
Rev. Ishmael Noko, a Zimbabwean theologian who became
general secretary of the Lutheran grouping in 1994.

_____


Scottish church leaders dare
millionaire UK minister to meet poor

Edinburgh, 25 November (ENInews). Two leaders from
the (Presbyterian) Church of Scotland have challenged
George Osborne, a reputed multi-millionaire and
Britain's finance minister, the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, to travel to Glasgow and talk to poor
people who live there. The Rev. Ian Galloway,
convener of the Church and Society Council of the
church, and the Rev. Martin Johnstone, secretary
of its Poverty Truth Commission, said in a letter
that Osborne would be better informed about plans
to restore the economy if he consulted Scotland's
poorest people. Parts of Scotland including certain
areas in Glasgow are among the poorest areas of
Britain.

*****

26 November 2010

Serbian Orthodox bishop defies ouster
from Kosovo diocese

Warsaw (ENI news). A Serbian Orthodox bishop accused of
financial mismanagement has refused to accept a defrocking
order by his church's governing synod and has said he will
remain in charge of his diocese. "The decision to defrock
me is unconstitutional - it is uncanonical and has no bearing
on me, and I'm still what I was before," said Artemije
Radosavljevic, a 75-year-old bishop who previously headed
the church's Raska-Prizren diocese in Kosovo.

_____

Food insecurity war can be won,
says church advocacy body head

Nairobi (ENI news). It is possible to win the war against
food insecurity in Africa, if appropriate measures are
adopted, says Peter Prove, the executive director of
Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, which campaigns for food
justice. At the same time, Prove, speaking at the All
Africa Conference of Churches headquarters in Nairobi
at a 22-26 November conference, warned that the current
impact of climate change is a big challenge, and must
be tackled fully and urgently. "We can win the war.
Here [in our conference] we have heard evidence of small
scale efforts which work. It is do-able and it is our
responsibility to make it happen," Prove told ENI news
in Nairobi during the EAA-organized conference titled,
"Food for Life".

*****

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

Provided by Sojourners Online

November 23rd, 2010

"If you are what you should be, then
you will set the world on fire."

- St. Catherine of Siena

---

November 24th, 2010

"There is no such thing as the right place,
the right job, the right calling or ministry.
I can be happy or unhappy in all situations.
I am sure of it, because I have been …
deciding to do this, that, or the other for
the next five, ten, or twenty years is no
great decision. Turning fully, unconditionally,
and without fear to God is.

Yet this awareness sets me free."

- Henri J.M. Nouwen

---

"To be alive is to be broken; to be broken is
to stand in need of grace."

- Brennan Manning

---

"... If those professing religion shared the life of
the poor and worked to better their lot, and risked
their lives as revolutionists do, and trade union
organizers have done in the past, then there is a
ring of truth about the promises of the glory to
come. The cross is followed by the resurrection."

- Dorothy Day

*****

ON THIS DAY


Nov. 20, 1945 - 20 Nazi leaders went on trial before an
international war crimes tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany.

http://tinyurl.com/3vlno

_____

Nov. 22, 1963 - President John F. Kennedy was assassinated
while riding in a motorcade in Dallas. Suspected gunman Lee
Harvey Oswald was arrested. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson
was sworn in as the 36th president of the United States.

http://tinyurl.com/273fjvg

_____

On Nov. 24, 1963 - Jack Ruby shot and mortally wounded Lee
Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President Kennedy.

http://tinyurl.com/26f53lf

*****

CLOSING THOUGHT

"Remember not only to say the right thing at the right place,
 but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment."

- Ben Franklin

(end)


Friday, November 19, 2010

Colleagues List, November 20th, 2010

Vol. VI. No. 12

*****

Edited by Wayne A. Holst

*****

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

*****

My Book Notice:

"My Search for My Great Grandfather"
 by colleague Mathew Zachariah

___


My Published Review:

"Going Missional"
 Faith Today
 Nov/Dec 2010

___


Colleague Contributions:

Martin Marty:

Closing comment in the final issue of "Context"
(His newsletter completes publication after 41 years)

---

Doug Matacio:

"Overview of Religion in Canada"

___

Net Notes:

No 'Quick Fix' for the Irish Church
Myanmar Rejoices as Suu Kyi is Released
Philip Yancey: A Living Stream in the Desert
BC Court Decision & New Westminster Response
Evangelical Christians in Manitoba Leadership
Lord's Prayer is 'Totally Jewish' Says Crossan
US Catholic Accord with Four Protestant Churches
Christians Protest Blasphemy Sentence in Pakistan
Canadian Anglicans & Lutherans Celebrate Ten Years
Ticking Time Bomb - Lay Ownership of Catholic Parishes

___

Global Faith Potpourri:

11 stories from Ecumenical News International

___

Quotes of the Week:

Sr. Jeanne Jugan
Mpho Tutu & Desmond Tutu
St. Teresa of Avila

___

On This Day (Nov. 18th)

Nov. 18, 1976 -
Spain a democracy after 37 years of dictatorship

Nov. 19, 1863 -
President Abraham Lincoln delivers Gettysburg Address

___

Closing Thought - Bill Cosby


(end)


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

Dear Friends:

Welcome to my latest issue of Colleagues List!

I hope that this mailing finds you well, and that
you will benefit from time spent with this material.

This week I introduce writing from a faithful
Colleagues List reader and writer. Mathew Zachariah,
emeritus professor in the Education Department of
the University of Calgary shares the story of:

"My Search for My Great Grandfather"

His quest takes him from India, to England and home
to Canada where he and his wife Saro have lived as
citizens for about four decades.

Thank you for sharing your proud family story with
us, Mathew!

---

Published Review:

Several weeks ago, I shared my pre-edited review,
written for "Faith Today" editor Bill Fledderus.
Now, I offer the finished, electronic product
from the current FT November/December issue.

The book is entitled "Going Missional" and relates
conversations with 13 Canadian churches who have
embraced the missional life - in other words - they
seek to be contextual, outward-looking communities
of faith.

To my mind, this book reflects a maturing of
evangelical Christianity in Canada today.

___


Colleague Contributions:

This week I received the final edition of a professional
newsletter to which I have subscribed for forty years.

Martin Marty - who has provided the material for "Context"
for 41 years - using 4 million words -  and he writes his
final message, suggesting how we can continue keeping in
touch with him through his continuing "Sightings" newsletter
on Mondays (Context)

Thanks, Marty!

---

Doug Matacio - a professor of the Canadian church at
Canadian University College, a school of the Seventh Day
Adventist Church - re-issues an article on religion in
Canada which I first read and shared with you my readers
last July 1st (Virtual House, EFC)

Thanks, Doug!

*****

Net Notes:

"No 'Quick Fix' for the Irish Church' - a visit from
an American prelate who 'knows' about such things,
advises Irish Church leaders on the way ahead
(America)

"Myanmar Rejoices as Suu Kyi is Released" - once more,
Suu Kyi has been released from house arrest, and again,
her fellow-citizens have welcomed her warmly
(Cathnews.Asia, the Tablet, UK)

"Philip Yancey: A Living Stream in the Desert" - a
favourite writer to appear on these pages, Yancey shares
some surprizing views after a visit to the Near East
(Christianity Today)

"New Westminster Responds to BC Court Decision" - the
high court has spoken, and rewarded four church buildings -
whose clergy and members have voted to leave the Anglican
Church of Canada - to members wanting to remain in the ACC
(Diocese of New Westminster Web-Statement)

"Evangelical Christians In Manitoba Leadership" - a
new generation of Christians - other than Catholic and
Mainline Protestant, but Evangelical Protestant - are
emerging visible leaders in Manitoba (Christian Week)

"Lord's Prayer is 'Totally Jewish' Says Theologian" -
John Dominic Crossan explains why the most famous of
Christian prayers is actually a Jewish prayer
(Jerusalem Post)

"US Bishops' Accord with Four Protestant Churches" -
Ecumenical discussions continue, in spite of an apparent
slowdown in ecumenical activity. American Catholics are
officially recognizing the baptisms of Christians which
have occurred in Protestant churches (ENI & Zenit News)

"Christians Protest Blasphemy Sentence in Pakistan" -
A Christian woman faces death for blasphemy, and many
are very upset about it (UCAN News)

"Canadian Anglicans & Lutherans Celebrate Ten Years" -
This week, Anglican and Lutheran bishops in Canada released
a pastoral letter acknowledging ten years of co-operation
which encouraged a deeper, fuller, future relationship.
(ELCIC and ACC Church News)

"Ticking Time Bomb of Lay Involvement in Catholic Parishes" -
We have observed this development for years. A growing
number of Catholic parish staffers are laypersons. Lay people
know their theology even as clerical numbers dwindle.
Joan Chittister comments on the situation.
(National Catholic Reporter)

_____

Global Faith Potpourri:

11 stories provided this week from
Ecumenical News International

___

Quotes of the Week:

Sr. Jeanne Jugan, Mpho Tutu & Desmond Tutu and
Saint Teresa of Avila offer their spiritual wisdom
this week.

___

On This Day (Nov. 18th)

On-the-scene stories provided by the New York Times:

Spain a democracy after 37 years of dictatorship (1976)
President Abraham Lincoln delivered Gettysburg Address (1863)

___


Closing Thought - Bill Cosby ends with some humour.

We are drawing to the close of the church year.
Blessings to you as you tend to such endings and
prepare for the new beginnings that Advent offers.

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!

Chorister selection is currently taking place.
An organizational meeting will occur in
Novemgber, and rehearsals start, early January -
led by our music director, Brent Tucker.

Details are presently being finalized with
the St. David's cathedral dean, Jonathan Lean.

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

ALL 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!

Did You Know?

According to legend, the leek became
the national symbol of Wales in
tribute to a hard-won battle in
640 AD where Welsh soldiers
wore leeks on their helmets to
distinguish them from their Saxon
enemies.

“The legacy of
heroes is the
memory of a great
name and the
inheritance of a
great example.” – Benjamin Disraeli

- discovered by Marlene Holst


*****

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 runs
from September 20th through November 29th

Special Guest:

Monday, November 8th - 7-9PM - Completed!

Excellent response to the evening.

Dr. Wayne Davies, Department of Geography, U of C.
is a native of Wales. He spoke 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 was made available for all
Monday Night study-folk plus those planning to
take the tour of Celtic Lands next spring.

40 persons, representing tour and non-tour participants
are currently registered for this ten-week series and
we have been experiencing our best attendances ever!

This study program 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

MY SEARCH FOR MY GREAT GRANDFATHER
The Venerable Oommen Mamen,
Archdeacon of Mavelikara of the CMS
(Church Missionary Society)
Anglican Church of India (1830-1904)

Self-published by Mathew Zachariah, PhD
Professor Emeritus of Education
The University of Calgary,
Calgary Alberta Canada

Author's Words:

Wayne:

It would be very helpful if you could put a brief
notice about my new book, adding that copies are
available for a donation of $25. CAD for a very
worthy cause. I have set up a separate bank account
for each entire contribution. It will be used to
support the education of Muth Wilson.

Muth Wilson was admitted to the Pushpagiri Hospital
Tiruvalla, in Kerala, India Nursing program as a
B.Sc. nursing student. Her admission is a matter of
much satisfaction for me and my two brothers -
George and Alex - because Muth is the first person
in four generations in her branch of our paternal
family who has received a First Class in her Plus Two
(after secondary school) Exam. She is also the first
person in her family who has been admitted to a
professional degree program. Her young, widowed
mother Usha, is not financially able to support
Muth's expensive education ($3,200 CAD a year) so
relatives are helping the family.

Mathew

(See below for book order details)

_____

My Comments:

I continue to look for books to introduce on my
Colleagues List that may not be discovered elsewhere.

___

Oommen Mamen, great grandfather to Mathew Zachariah, was
born in 1830, and was the second native of India to be
ordained archdeacon in the history of the Christian
Missionary Society (CMS, later the Anglican Church of
India). He had already been a Christian, because he was
baptized into the ancient Syrian Orthodox Church of
Kerala State, South India.

His name - Mamen - was derived from the name - Thomas - the
Apostle of Jesus, who is widely believed to be the founder
of that ancient church in India. Mamen responded to the
work of Anglican missionaries during the mid-19th century,
while Great Britain was the imperial power in his country.
He did this because he believed the CMS stood for Christian
principles he found missing in the church of his baptism.

The CMS missionaries he encountered sought to help with
the renewal of the ancient Syrian Orthodox Church but,
because their efforts were rejected, they proceeded to form
the Anglican Church of India which later became part of a
very successful ecumenical experiment - the Church of South
India -  a union of many Anglican and Protestant churches.

Mamen and his fellows - the English missionaries - were
very committed to the proclamation of the Gospel among all
the people of India. They did not want the church to remain
the enclave of upper caste people, as the Syrian Orthodox
Church had become.

Zachariah provides a biographical chapter - written in
Mamen's own words - which the author tracked down in the
Church of England Archives in Birmingham, UK almost two
decades ago.

Manen's conversion to a deeper form of Christianity was
aided by his readings of famous books like "Pilgrim's
Progress" by John Bunyan (spelled 'Banyan' in India).
He progressed through stages of Deacon, Presbyter, and
finally to Archdeacon, only a few years before his death
in 1904.

"Mamen was infused with devotion to God," says Zachariah.
His devotion to the Christian Gospel is evident in the
summaries he makes in his diary of sermons which was made
available to the author. His preaching evidenced a twinning
of the spirituality he had learned from his fellow Syrian
Christian priests and the CMS missionaries. He was very
scrupulous in his behaviour, even though, like Gandhi,
his treatment of his wife at various stages of their marriage
seems to have left something to be desired. Still, we read
these stories from a distance and from hindsight.

___

The author's quest to discover the spiritual roots of
his great grandfather has helped him to situate himself
in both the ancient Christian tradition of his family
in India as well as his Anglican community in Canada.

Zachariah links his archival findings with discoveries
he makes from modern writers like Elaine Pagels (The
Gospel of Thomas) and of colleague Lamin Sanneh (the
trans-cultural communication of the Gospel).

It is important to note that Zachariah is a professional
pedegogist, not a theologian; but his lifelong association
with the church and with Christians of the East and West
make his teachings invaluable to global Christian readers.

_____


When I read a brief study like this one (39 pages) I am
reminded of how important it is for those of us in the
"Christian" West to be reading the faith insights of those
who have made a "Christian" transition across time, place
and culture as Mathew has done.

Recently, Gary Mason wrote an article in the Globe and Mail
(November 18th, 2010): "Bringing smart people here can only
help." In this article Mason writes about how important it
is that the Canadian government and its universities bring
foreign students from around to world to study here. Whether
they remain in Canada or return to their homes overseas is
beside the point, say Mason. The exposure we and the students
get will be invaluable and are significant human investments.

Almost fifty years ago, a bright young student from Kerala
State, India, came to study in the USA. He completed his
doctoral work in Colorado, and accepted a teaching position
in the the Education Department at the newly formed University
of Calgary. Mathew Zachariah has made invaluable contributions
to education and to the church in Canada. In Mathew's case,
we have an example of how four decades of experience can add
perspective to the modern opportunity Gary Mason describes.

_____


For those who are interested in mission history, as well as
those who appreciate cross-cultural family narratives,
first-hand, this book would be rewarding to obtain and read.

Add to that, the window on the future of faith this book
provides.

*****

Purchase the book, make a donation:

Mail or email your request to:

Dr. Mathew Zachariah,,
25 Simitar Heath NW
Calgary, AB. T3L 2E1
CANADA

mzachari@ucalgary.ca

Cost of the book: $25.00 CAD.


*****

PUBLISHED REVIEW

"Going Missional:
 Conversations With 13 Churches
 Who Have Embraced Missional Life"
 by Karen Stiller with Willard Metzger

click this link, then click to enlarge:
http://tinyurl.com/2bt2cne

*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

Hats off to you, Marty!!

MARTIN MARTY
Final Context Issue

December, 2010

Context: Martin E. Marty on Religion and Culture
December 2010, Part B
Vol. 42, No. 12

Putting it all in Context

I have never been one to claim that "words fail me," but
after four million of them--give or take--imparted through
these pages over the past 41 years (exactly half of my life
to date!), succinct summation of CONTEXT is impossible.
That being said:

It has been a good run. I want to extend my gratitude to
my hosts, the Claretians, who will continue to publish the
best popular Catholic magazine in the country (U.S. Catholic).
And I want to thank the series of exceptional editors they've
assigned to massage these pages over the years--most recently
Heather Grennan Gary, with whom it has been a joy to work.
Naturally we owe an incalculable debt to the countless writers
and editors whose work benefited us all through these pages;
we trust that we were able to return the favor by bringing
some measure of attention and audience to their observations
and labors.

But most of all I leave this "moonlighting" post with nothing
but thanksgiving for the constancy of the family of subscribers.
The conversation cultivated over four decades through these
printed pages (and through related correspondence) has been
remarkable. As I travel I am regularly refreshed by CONTEXT
readers I encounter, and first through mail and later through
e-mail I've developed a strong connection even to the many of
you I haven't met in person.

Editing CONTEXT has been an enjoyable task, part of my vocation
to relate religion to culture in current affairs, just as I
treated the longer-ago times in my profession as an historian.
As a person of faith, I have to say, I have often been fed
spiritually along the way, and readers assure me that they
too have feasted on both the secular and the spiritual
offerings shared here.

My longtime assistant (and son) Micah, who made the selections
for these last four issues from his reading of the first 25
years of CONTEXT, tells me that even in the pre-computer years
of assembling this newsletter I very rarely reused items (when
I did, it was usually inadvertent). But he found that two small-
but-memorable gems appeared twice or more over the years--a
deliberate repetition, as I found both passages particularly
meaning-filled. Rather than striving for fresh eloquence I
choose to close with them here.

The first I have had posted on my home-office door for years
so that I see it multiple times every day. This concise advice
was penned by 19th-century philosopher Henri Frederic Amiel;
perhaps it will find its way to a place where you will view
it often: "Life is short and we have not much time for
gladdening the hearts of those who travel the way with us.
Oh, be swift to love! Make haste to be kind!"

The second is a short prayer by Cardinal John Henry Newman,
containing what some say is the most beautiful phrasing in
the English language: "May He support us all the day long,
till the shadows lengthen and the evening comes, and the
busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and
our work is done. Then in His mercy may He give us a safe
lodging, and a holy rest and peace at the last."

And now let us say, "Amen."

God's benisons,

Martin E. Marty


P.S. Even though this particular vehicle of expression
has run its course, I'm not shutting down. For continuing
information on all things MEM - including how to subscribe
to my e-mailed commentaries, Sightings - feel free to pay
a visit to memarty.com.

*****

DOUG MATACIO

Canadian University College
Seventh Day Adventist,
Lacombe, Alberta

Canadian Faith
A Reflection on our nation's faith stance and
the need to respect each others' religious traditions:

http://tinyurl.com/2a49flw

*****

NET NOTES

NO 'QUICK FIX' FOR THE IRISH CHURCH
American Leader Talks from Experience

America Magazine
Nov. 19th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2bmpbxm

*****

MYANMAR REJOICES AS SUU KYI IS RELEASED
Writer is freed from years of house arrest

Cathnews.Asia
Nov. 15th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/23txhph

---

"Beauty and the Beasts"

The Tablet
Nov. 19th, 2010

http://www.thetablet.co.uk/article/15548


*****

PHILIP YANCEY: A LIVING STREAM IN THE DESERT
How the Christian faith will become a force
for liberation in the Middle East's Arab states

Christianity Today
November 5th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/294enx9

*****

BC COURT DECISION RE DISSIDENT CHURCHES AND
DIOCESE OF NEW WESTMINSTER RESPONSE

Ecumenical News International
November 19th, 2010

Canadian court rules dissident churches
must abandon property

Toronto  (ENInews). An appeals' court has ruled
in favour of a Canadian Anglican diocese in a parish
property dispute with those opposed to same-gender
blessings. In a unanimous decision released on 15
November, British Columbia Court of Appeal Justice
Mary Newbury, writing on behalf of herself and two
fellow judges, dismissed an appeal by four breakaway
parishes against a 2009 lower court ruling. The diocese
has begun to replace the clergy of the four Vancouver-
area churches, whose properties are worth an estimated
20 million Canadian dollars (US$19.6 million). One of
the churches, St John's Shaughnessy, is widely considered
one of Canada's wealthiest parishes. Clergy and trustees
of the four churches, which split from the Anglican
Church of Canada over issues of same-gender blessings
and the interpretation of the Bible, had asked the court
to give them control over the properties.

---

New Westminster Responds:

Anglican Journal News
November 18th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/24ga7ou

*****

EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS IN MANITOBA LEADERSHIP
Protestants hold key positions locally and nationally

ChristianWeek.org
November 17th, 2010

http://www.christianweek.org/stories.php?id=1362

*****

THE LORD'S PRAYER IS 'TOTALLY JEWISH' SAYS CROSSAN
Christian Prayer is Actually Not - Says Biblical Scholar

The Jerusalem Post
Nov. 17th, 2010

http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=195460

*****

US CATHOLIC BISHOPS REACH BAPTISMAL ACCORD
WITH FOUR PROTESTANT CHURCHES
Catholics to respect other churches' baptisms

Ecumenical News International
November 19th, 2010

US Catholics approve baptism accord
with Reformed churches

Baltimore, Maryland  (ENI news/RNS). The U.S. Roman
Catholic bishops on has approved a mutual agreement
with four Reformed Protestant denominations to recognize
each others' baptisms as valid, a pact that was six years
in the making. Gathered here for their annual autumn
meeting, the bishops voted 204-11 to approve the baptism
agreement with the Presbyterian Church (USA), the
Reformed Church in America, the Christian Reformed Church,
and the United Church of Christ, Religion News Service
reports. Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta, chairman
of the ecumenical and interfaith committee of the U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops, called the agreement
a "milestone on the ecumenical journey."

---

The Catholic Perspective

Zenit News from Rome
November 17th, 2010

http://www.zenit.org/article-30992?l=english

*****

CHRISTIANS CONDEMN BLASPHEMY SENTENCE IN PAKISTAN
Strong reaction to court ruling against woman

UCAN News
Nov. 12th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2d8gxe8

*****

CANADIAN ANGLICANS AND LUTHERANS ACKNOWLEDGE
TEN YEARS OF SHARED MINISTRY

Joint pastoral letter issued this week
to celebrate a decade of co-operation

http://tinyurl.com/28grn7a

*****

TICKING TIME BOMB OF LAY INVOLVEMENT
IN CATHOLIC PARISHES
Laypersons becoming increasingly influential

National Catholic Reporter
November 18th, 2010

by Joan Chittiser

http://tinyurl.com/24u4aya

*******

GLOBAL FAITH POTPOURRI

Ecumenical News International
News Highlights
15 November 2010

Malawi Presbyterian leader criticises
Catholic pastoral letter

Blantyre (ENI news). The Blantyre synod of the Presbyterian
Church of Central Africa, in Malawi, has criticised the
country's Roman Catholic bishops for issuing a pastoral
statement critical of the government. The synod represents
most of Malawi's Presbyterians, who make up the country's
second biggest church after Catholics. It says the bishops'
statement lacked protocol and was disrespectful to the head
of state, President Bingu wa Mutharika. Blantyre synod
moderator the Rev. Reynolds Mangisa told journalists that
the Episcopal Conference of Malawi, representing the
Catholic bishops, could have raised the contents of its
letter with the government and President Mutharika
privately before making it public.

_____


Tradition hits Israeli barrier as
Palestinians try to harvest olives

Bethlehem, West Bank (ENI news). Though the olive branch is
a symbol of peace, harvesting olives for Palestinians, when
they have to pass through a military-manned barrier to get
to their land in an occupied area, is a point of conflict.
Against this background and for the seventh year, the Joint
Advocacy Initiative, a programme of the East Jerusalem YMCA
and the YWCA of Palestine, has hosted a group of 75
international volunteers to assist Palestinians with their
traditional olive harvest. Whereas in the northern West
Bank Palestinian farmers face the threat of attacks and
damage to their trees from Israeli settlers, in the
Bethlehem region the farmers lack free access to their
land. JAI campaign officer Baha' Hilo says this is
because of the Israeli barrier that separates many of
the farmers from their land.

*****

16 November 2010

German rights group pleads for
'world's largest' swamp

Nairobi, 16 November (ENI news). A German church-backed
human rights organization is pleading for action to
save the Sudd, one of the world largest swamplands,
located in southern Sudan, which the group says is
threatened by oil extraction activities. Klaus Stieglitz,
the vice chairperson of Sign of Hope, which is backed by
Roman Catholic Church organizations, said his group had
seen evidence of remarkable pollution by companies
drilling for and extracting oil. Stieglitz asserts this
has put the lives of thousands of people at risk. "The
oil companies responsible are about to destroy the Sudd,
the world's largest swampland, by discharging their
waste practically untreated," Stieglitz told a press
conference in Nairobi on 16 November, after a six-day
visit by a Sign of Hope team to the Unity, Al Nar and
Toma South oilfields in southern Sudan. "We strongly
condemn these practices … and urge the companies to
change their environmental behaviour," Stieglitz said.

_____


British Muslims and Christians
jointly condemn Iraq church attack

London, 16 November (ENI news). Christian and Muslim
leaders in Britain have joined in support of Christian
communities in Iraq following the latest attack by
extremists in the name of Islam, which resulted in
the death of almost 60 worshippers at Our Lady of
Salvation cathedral in Bagdad. A statement issued by
Britain's Christian Muslim Forum, following a meeting
two days earlier at the Al-Khoei Foundation Mosque in
London attended by representatives of Christian,
Islamic and Jewish bodies, "condemned in the strongest
terms, all criminal acts committed by terrorists who
seek to hijack the high values of Islam". In Antelias,
Lebanon, Aram I, who heads the Catholicosate of Cilicia
of the Armenian Apostolic Church, told of how the
ancient local churches of the Middle East, which had
been rooted in the region for more than 17 centuries,
"have contributed to its economic, intellectual, and
cultural development".

_____


U.S. activists lobby against U.N. defamation resolution

Washington DC, 16 November (ENI news/RNS). Religious freedom
advocates are urging members of the United Nations to vote
against the latest proposal from Islamic countries to combat
"defamation of religions." For the last decade, the
Organization of Islamic Conference has successfully
sponsored similar resolutions as a way to address
religious persecution. But U.S. religious liberty activists
increasingly say the resolutions actually do more harm than
good, Religion News Service reports."The OIC-sponsored U.N.
resolutions on this issue instead provide justification for
governments to restrict religious freedom and free
expression," the U.S. Commission on International Religious
Freedom said in a policy statement.

*****

17 November 2010

Holy Land Jews and Muslims pray together for rain

Jerusalem (ENI news). Unseasonably dry weather in the
Holy Land region, with no predictions of rain in the
near future, has led a group of about 60 local Jewish
and Muslim religious leaders, plus one Christian, to
join in praying for rain. Rabbi Yehuda Stolov of the
Interfaith Encounter Association, which helped organize
the gathering, said that the prayers on 11 November
were not only a plea to God for much-needed rain but
also showed the commonality that the residents of the
region shared. The Christian involved was a Roman
Catholic priest from Bethlehem. "They are joint needs.
They [the people] need the same things, and they ask
for them from the same God," Stolov told ENI news.

_____


Polish church ready to unveil
world's largest Christ statue

Warsaw (ENI news). A Polish bishop has invited fellow
Roman Catholics at home and abroad to attend an unveiling
on 21 November of the world's largest statue of Christ.
The statue stands in a town on the plains near the German
border. On its mound, it rises to 65 metres (213 feet),
and is visible for at least 16 kilometres (10 miles) in
any direction. "This is an act of homage, through which
we seek to honour the saviour, and recognise his
universal reign," Zygmunt Regmunt, bishop of Zielona
Gora-Gorzow, told members of his western diocese.
"Being full of trust in Christ, the faith cannot remain
only an internal act. It should also be expressed
externally; firstly, through a life worthy of the
Gospel. The faith also needs certain material signs
to give it testimony, and this monument is just such
a testimony of faith."

*****

18 November 2010

At 50th anniversary of Vatican ecumenism,
new energy 'needed'

Rome (ENI news). Ecumenism, which seeks global church
unity, is in need of new energy, top Roman Catholic,
Orthodox and Anglican leaders have said at
commemorations to mark the 50th anniversary of the
founding of a Vatican group to help bring about
Christian unity. On 5 June 1960, the day of Pentecost,
as part of preparations for the 1962 to 1965 second
Vatican council, Pope John XXIII established a
secretariat for promoting Christian unity. In 1988,
John Paul II changed the name to the Pontifical
Council for Promoting Christian Unity. "Today, some
people believe that this journey has lost its impetus,
especially in the West," the Vatican Information
Service quoted Pope Benedict XVI as saying. "Thus
do we see the urgent need to revive ecumenical
interest and give a fresh incisiveness to dialogue."

_____


EU commissioner questions Polish-church bar on gay teachers

Warsaw (ENI news). A European Union commissioner has rejected
claims by a Polish government minister that her country's
Roman Catholic schools can refuse to employ gay and lesbian
teachers. "The commission fails to see how a teacher's sexual
orientation could reasonably constitute a genuine and
determining occupational requirement," said Viviane Reding,
who is the EU's justice commissioner, and comes from Luxembourg.
"Organizations whose ethos is based on religion or belief are
allowed to take a person's religion or belief into account,
where necessary, when recruiting personnel, and to require
their personnel to show loyalty to that ethos," said Reding.
"It is made clear, however, that any difference in treatment
should not justify discrimination on grounds other than of
religion or belief."

_____


Priest denounced for Hong Kong 'devil'
tycoon words feels betrayed

Hong Kong (ENI news). A Hong Kong Roman Catholic priest,
who at a Halloween party likened the richest man in the
city to a "devil", says he feels betrayed after his
diocese said it regretted his remarks. The priest, the
Rev. Thomas Law, told the South China Morning Post
newspaper on 13 November that the feeling of betrayal
came when his diocese issued a statement about his
remarks, without consulting him. Law, a liturgical
expert, said at a Halloween party in his parish on 31
October that ghosts were not that terrible when
compared with the "real devils", such as Li Ka-shing,
reputedly the richest man in Hong Kong.

*******

19 November 2010

Philippines Protestant leader
renews appeal to free 43 detainees

Manila (ENI news)an appeal for supporters to help
persuade President Benigno Aquino to free 43 detainees,
most of them church-based health workers detained for
more than nine months, and whom the military has accused
of being communist rebels. "Another day in prison for
the 43 is another day of justice denied," said the
Rev. Rex Reyes Jr, general secretary of the National
Council of Churches in the Philippines, in a 9th of
November statement, that repeated an earlier appeal.
Reyes appealed for support from local and global
church organizations, human rights advocates and
civil libertarians.

*****

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

Provided, thanks to Sojourners Online

November 15th, 2010

"Go and find Jesus when your patience and
strength give out and you feel alone and helpless.
He is waiting for you in the chapel. Say to him,
'Jesus, you know exactly what is going on. You are
all I have, and you know all. Come to my help.'"

- Sr. Jeanne Jugan, Founder of the Little Sister
  of the Poor (1972-1879)

---

November 17th, 2010

"Don't struggle and strive so, my child./ There is
no race to complete, no point to prove, no obstacle
to conquer for you to win my love./ I have already
given it to you./ I loved you before creation drew
its first breath./ I dreamed you as I molded Adam
from the mud./ I saw you wet from the womb./
And I loved you then."

- Mpho Tutu and Desmond Tutu, "Made for Goodness"

---

November 18th, 2010

"It would be well for us to consider that our Lord
has taught [the Lord's] prayer to each one of us,
individually, and that [our Lord] still teaches it
to us at this very moment. The master is never so
distant that [the] disciple need raise [his or her]
voice to be heard."

- Saint Teresa of Avila

*****

ON THIS DAY

Nov. 18, 1976 - Spain a democracy after 37 years of dictatorship

http://tinyurl.com/22rjk5z

_____

Nov. 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered Gettysburg
Address as he dedicated a national cemetery at the site of the
Civil War battlefield in Pennsylvania.

http://tinyurl.com/2ayx448


*****

CLOSING THOUGHT

"Gray Hair is God's Grafitti"

Bill Cosby

(end)

Friday, November 12, 2010

Colleagues List, November 13th, 2010

Vol. VI. No. 11

*****

Edited by Wayne A. Holst

*****

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

*****

My Book Notice:

"The Great Emergence:
 How Christianity is Changing and Why"
 by Phyllis Tickle

___

Colleague Contributions:

Lorna Dueck
Elfrieda Schroeder
Don MacLeod
Jim Taylor
Linda & George LeDrew
___

Net Notes:

Awakening to Evolution
Gene Robinson to Retire
The Danger of Cosmic Genius
Obama in India Invokes Gandhi
Iran Works to Strengthen Vatican Ties
Pope Summons Cardinals to Discuss Abuse
A Date With Destiny for Aung San Suu Kyi
Pope Dedicates Sacred Family Church in Spain
Pie in Face for Controversial Belgian Prelate
Canadian University Reaches Out to Omar Khadr
_____

Global Faith Potpourri:

11 stories from Ecumenical News International
___

Quotes of the Week:

Brennan Manning
Joan Chittister
Hildegard of Bingen
Henri J.M. Nouwen

___

On This Day (Nov. 6th - Nov. 11th)

Nov. 6, 1860  - Lincoln named US presidential candidate
Nov. 7, 1917  - Bolshevik revolution begins; led by V.I.Lenin
Nov. 9, 1965  - Northeast blackout in several states and provinces
Nov. 11, 1918 - WWI ends as Allies and Germany sign armistice

___

Closing Thought - Groucho Marx

(end)

*****

Dear Friends:

Phyllis Tickle, best-selling American author and
religion-tracker will be in Calgary (Christ Church,
Elbow Park) for three presentations next weekend.

To prepare myself to hear her, I read her recent book:
"The Great Emergence: How Christianity is Changing and Why"
and I share my thoughts about it with you in this issue of
Colleagues List.

___

Colleague Contributions:

Lorna Dueck - shares her thoughts about Remembrance Day
(Listen Up video)

Elfrieda Schroeder - wrote a review of the recent book
by colleague Miroslav Wolf entitled: "Against the Tide:
Love in a Time of Petty Dreams and Persisting Enmities"
and I am happy to pass it on (ChristianWeek.org)

Don MacLeod - offers the schedule of Phyllis Tickle's
weekend presentations in Calgary, November 19th-21st
(Wisdom Centre)

Jim Taylor - reflects on the recent American election
and has some interesting interpretations on the outcome
(Jim Taylor's Web Log)

Linda & George LeDrew - carry the banner for Canada's
Atlantic provinces! They share a presentation of Leonard
Cohen's musical composition "Halleluiah" presented by an
ensemble from New Brunswick (YouTube)

___

Net Notes:

"Awakening to Evolution" - Andrew Cohen describes
his spiritual joy as he connects to the unfolding
evolutionary process of life (New Catholic Times)

"Gene Robinson to Retire" - Gene Robinson, the gay
Episcopal bishop whose ordination was the trigger
prompting the dissolution of the world Anglican
Communion, says the continuing the stress is too
much for him and he is retiring (The Guardian, UK)

"The Danger of Cosmic Genius" - Freeman Dyson,
award-winning scientist, has some controversial
views from what one might expect of a man in his
position (The Atlantic)

"Obama in India Invokes Gandhi" - The Obamas visited
India, Indonesia and other parts of the Far East
this week. He praised Gandhi and hinted at changes
in US policy toward Muslim nations and North Korea
(New York Times, The Guardian, UK)

"Iran Works to Strengthen Vatican Ties" - Iran
is attempting to open lines of communication with
the Vatican (Voice of America/Associated Press)

"Pope Summons Cardinals to Discuss Abuse" -
This week the pope called his cardinals to Rome
to engage "in prayers" over how to handle the
abuse crisis enveloping the Catholic Church
across the globe. Some Catholics believe the
pope needs to do more than just pray about it.
(Cathnews Asia, National Catholic Reporter)

"A Date With Destiny for Aung San Suu Kyi" -
The woman author who has stood up to the military
regime of Myanmar is on the verge of gaining her
freedom from house arrest (The Independent, UK)

"Pope Dedicates Sacred Family Church in Spain" -
Travelers to Barcelona, Spain can't miss the
modern cathedral designed decades ago by Gaudi,
and still not completed. The pope declared the
official status of the building during a visit
last weekend (Cathnews Asia)

"Pie in Face for Controversial Belgian Prelate" -
Archbishop Leonard would not appear to be the most
popular man in Belgium these days, as this video
suggests (Reuters News Service)

"Canadian University Reaches Out to Omar Khadr" -
An english professor from King's University, Edmonton,
has been conducting a two year correspondence with
Omar Khadr, incarcerated at Guantanamo in Cuba. She
was able to visit him last month and shares her views
(Christian.Week)

_____

Global Faith Potpourri:

11 stories from Ecumenical News International
are provided for your enrichment this week.

_____

Quotes of the Week:

Brennan Manning, Joan Chittister, Hildegard of Bingen
and Henri J.M. Nouwen exchange their thoughts with you,
courtesy of Sojourners.Online.

_____

On This Day (Nov. 6th - Nov. 11th)

These stories are provided courtesy of the New York
Times which offers timely on-the-scene reporting:

Lincoln named US presidential candidate (1860)
Bolshevik revolution begins; led by V.I.Lenin (1917)
Northeast blackout in several states and provinces (1965)
WWI ends as Allies and Germany sign armistice (1918)
___

Closing Thought - Enjoy a laugh with Groucho Marx

I will return next 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!

Chorister selection is currently taking place.
An organizational meeting will occur in
Novemgber, and rehearsals start, early January -
led by our music director, Brent Tucker.

Details are presently being finalized with
the St. David's cathedral dean, Jonathan Lean.

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

ALL 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 runs
from September 20th through November 29th

Special Guest:

Monday, November 8th - 7-9PM - Completed!

Excellent response to the evening.

Dr. Wayne Davies, Department of Geography, U of C.
is a native of Wales. He spoke 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 was made available for all
Monday Night study-folk plus those planning to
take the tour of Celtic Lands next spring.

40 persons, representing tour and non-tour participants
are currently registered for this ten-week series and
we have been experiencing our best attendances ever!

This study program 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 -

THE GREAT EMERGENCE:
How Christianity is Changing and Why
by Phyllis Tickle. Baker Books, 2008.
172 pages. $20.50 CAD.
ISBN 978-0-8010-1313-3

Publisher's Promo:

"The Great Emergence offers a sweeping overview of
church history and locates us in a moment of great
opportunity and challenge." To some, this analysis
will come as a rude awakening, and to others, as a
dream coming true.

"This will be one of the most important books of the
year, and will shape the conversation among a wide
range of Christians for years to come," says Brian
McLaren, author/activist. "Without exaggeration, I
say this book is a masterwork, and it will be cited
for decades to come as the most pointed articulation
of the church and Christianity that is emerging from
the compost of Christendom."

As an internationally renowned expert on religion,
Phyllis Tickle has incisive perspectives on the trends
and transformations of our time. Here, she invites us
into a conversation as she shares her reflections
stemming from not only personal faith but also decades
of observation and analysis. The result is a work that
meets the challenge of chronicling a pivotal time in
the church's history so we might better understand where
we have been and what the future holds. Tickle clearly
lays out the gradual steps leading up to this
transformation, including the influences and effects
of Darwin, Freud, Einstein, the automobile, and
technological advances.

She then sets her sights on where we're going, leaving
us with a vision of an exciting future for the Church.

___


Author's Words:

"I have spent the bulk of my professional career in
publishing... My training in religion is not in any
way formal. Rather, I became a student of religion by
being cast dead center of the maelstrom, (religion
editor for Publisher's Weekly) and having to learn to
swim right there and right then.

I became a public intellectual... a "scholar without
portfolio..." I was being transformed into a sociologist
of religion as it is commercially applied... I read
through the lens of my own professional obligations
at Publishers Weekly... but I also learned far more
than what was immediately applicable to publishing
needs and purposes.

"I resigned my post at the journal and began a whole
new life of talking to people - both lay and ordained -
around the country about what it is that is happening
to us just now, and why, and to what probable result.
The book you are about to read is, in essence, a hard
copy at last of what my lectures, speeches and interviews
have been about.

- from the Preface

___


My Comments:

This book is a sweeping commentary on contemporary
Christian transformation in a North American setting.

The author has a focused capacity to name and clarify
the pivotal factors influencing the shifts of religion
in our time, and to see this in light of the past as well
as what she perceives to be the future of faith.

The Protestant era, with its focus on "sola scriptura"
as authority, is dead, she says. History has passed it
by and many people are no longer satisfied with accepting
outright what "the Bible says" or "Rome says" - for that
matter.

Traditional foci of authority for the majority of thinking
Christians today is something to be found essentially in
the mix of self consciousness, scripture and community.

The great emergence (toward which all of this is heading)
will re-write Christian theology into something less
dualistic (Greek-based) and more holistic (Hebrew-based);
more paradoxical, more narrative and more mystical than
anything the church has had for the last seventeen to
eighteen hundred years.

---

The book is divided into three parts and attempts to
pose and succinctly answer three questions about "The
Great Emergence" or the evolution of faith in our time.

What is it?
How did it come to be?
Where is it going?

1. Every five hundred years of so, the church holds
a major 'rummage sale' and disposes of its excess
and unneeded accumulations. The result is a more
vital form of Christianity and previously dominant
forms of faith become purified. This revitalized
faith spreads into new geographic/demographic areas
and Christianity experiences a time of considerable
expansion. Older expressions of the faith remain, but
they no longer hold the prominence they once did.

This "sale" has happened three times previously in
history. Gregory the Great conducted a major monastic
reform (circa CE 500); The Great Schism occurred between
Rome and Constantinople (circa CE 1000); and the
Protestant Reformation took place (circa CE 1500).

Now, it is happening again with what we are calling
"The Great Emergence."

Religion is a human construct. It is transformed
through different eras of faith, or the lack of it.
It reforms meaning and performs mending.

2. Humans need a basis of authority to ground their
faith. The Reformation removed the pope and replaced
him with "sola scriptura" - the Bible. To all intents
and purposes the Bible became a kind of "paper pope."

But thinkers like Darwin, Freud and Joseph Campbell
have forced us to re-evaluate our reliance on "sola
scriptura" as the basis for faith. The book describes
the contribution of all three to the demise of
scriptural authority in modern times.

Two important questions emerge with this refocusing
on "the self" as an arbiter of truth. "What, in fact,
is human consciousness?" and "What is the relationship
of different faiths to each other?"

These are the questions currently moving us from
modernity through post-modernity.

Einstein, Albert Schweitzer and Pentecostalism have
emerged to challenge even further the traditional
Christian bases for authority. Pentecostalism, with
its emphasis on personal experience, opens one door
to a new authority for the future of faith.

3. Some clear directions for the great emergence are
becoming apparent. We can, for purposes of understanding,
describe four emerging movements - liturgicals,
social justice, renewalists and charismatics.

These grouping are fluid, reflecting "propensities"
not exclusive positions. A new "centre" is being formed
which involves persons (upwards of 60% of today's North
American Christians) from all four groups.

A backlash to this centrist movement is inevitable
but that should provide a greater ultimate balance.

Conclusion:

The emergent church might be best described as a
"conversation" among people with its authority developing
from "within" persons and groups. The resulting authority
based in "selfhood" which people require will emerge from
an integration of "scripture" and "community."

---

For those who cherish large ideas and seek to gain solid
historical perspectives on what is happening, I believe
that this book is for you.

___

Buy the book from Amazon.ca -
http://tinyurl.com/2byqd9f


*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

LORNA DUECK
Burlington, ON.

WE REMEMBER

Remembrance Day Video
Nov. 11th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/28rv3gm

*****

ELFRIEDA SCHROEDER
Winnipeg, MB

AGAINST THE TIDE

November 6th, 2010

Hi Wayne,

Just thought you might be interested in reading
a book review I wrote for Christian Week (Nov. 15)
of Miroslav Wolf's book:

"Against the Tide:
 Love in a Time of Petty Dreams and Persisting Enmities"

http://www.christianweek.org/reviews.php?id=152

Thanks for this, Elfrieda.

*****

DON MACLEOD
Calgary, AB.

PHYLIS TICKLE COMES TO CALGARY

The Wisdom Centre and Christ Church Calgary welcomes
Phyllis Tickle (www.phyllistickle.com) to Calgary for an
exciting and thought-provoking conference.  The November
19-21 conference will highlight her book, "The Great
Emergence: How Christianity is Changing and Why"
(Baker Books, 2008).

PHYLLIS TICKLE, founding editor of the Religion Department
of PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, the international journal of the book
industry, is frequently quoted in print sources like USA
TODAY, CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, and NY TIMES as well as
in electronic media like PBS, NPR, THE HALLMARK CHANNEL,
and innumerable blogs and web sites. Tickle is an authority
on religion in America and a much sought after lecturer on
the subject.

All sessions will be held at Christ Church Calgary.

Friday, November 19 - "Leadership for the Emerging Church:
Should We Lead, Follow or Get out of the Way?”  Times are
10:00-3:00.

Saturday, November 20 - "The Church is Dead.  Long Live
the Church!" is open to all. 9:00 for registration with
sessions from 9:30-2:30.

Sunday, November 21 - Join us for worship at Christ Church
Calgary,3602 8th Street SW, Calgary, at 10:30 am, where
Ms. Tickle will be the preacher for the day

*****

JIM TAYLOR
Okanagan, BC

COMMENT ON US ELECTION RESULTS

Web Log
Nov. 7, 2010

MID-TERM ELECTION ANGER SUGGESTS DEEPER DISCONTENT

The mid-term election in the United States overshadowed
all other news this week.


http://edges.canadahomepage.net/2010/11/07/915/

*****

LINDA AND GEORGE LEDREW
St.John's NL.

LEONARD COHEN'S "HALLELUJAH"

Dear Wayne:

"The East Coast of Canada sure has a lot of talent"

- Linda

Kelley Mooney's spiritual lyrical adaptation of
Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah"

Exceptionally Good YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guhr0Vh2hE0

*****

NET NOTES

AWAKENING TO EVOLUTION

New Catholic Times
Nov. 8th, 2010

by Andrew Cohen

It was my own gradual discovery of and awakening to
this picture of the developmental process as a whole
that eventually compelled me to reinterpret and
redefine the meaning and significance of spiritual
awakening, of enlightenment, for our own time...

http://tinyurl.com/25x5oe3

*****

GENE ROBINSON TO RETIRE
Seven years of stress takes toll

The Guardian, UK
November 8th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2c2uxng

*****

THE DANGER OF COSMIC GENIUS
How could Freeman Dyson be so wrong?

The Atlantic
December, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/24dmh5m

*****

OBAMA IN INDIA INVOKES GANDHI

Gandhian Ideals Elude Modern India

Gandhi is revered in India, but his calls for personal
austerity and nonviolence have proved antithetical to
the goals of an aspiring economic and military power.

New York Times
November 6th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/23ysl6o

---

Martin Luther King Jr. as Gandhian Pilgrim

Religion and Ethics - National Public Radio
November 12th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2eu6vwq

---

Obama Reaches Out to Muslim World While in Indonesia

The Guardian, UK
Nov. 10th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2fn5blw

---

Obama Speech Marks Shift on North Korea
US to offer aid if NK junks nuclear weapons.

New York Times
Nov. 12th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2e8dr58

*****

IRAN WORKS AT STRENGTHENING VATICAN TIES

Voice of America/Associated Press
November 11th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/28x7xaz

*****

POPE SUMMONS CARDINALS TO DISCUSS ABUSE
Pope seeks guidance on how to handle the problem

Cathnews Asia
Nov. 10th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/262k3by

---

Pope Needs Unvarnished Solution, Not Pious Language

National Catholic Reporter
Nov. 11th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2b4hme7

*****

A DATE WITH DESTINY FOR AUNG SAN SUU KYI
House arrested author on verge of freedom

The Independent UK
Nov. 12t, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/3ynbrdv

*****

POPE DEDICATES SACRED FAMILY CHURCH IN SPAIN
Gaudi's Cathedral Finally Getting Recognition

Cathnews Asia
Nov. 7th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/34shvbn

*****

PIE IN THE FACE FOR CONTROVERSIAL BELGIAN ARCHBISHOP
It is not been a good week for the conservative prelate

Reuters News Service
November 6th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2wvllbn

*****

CANADIAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE REACHES OUT TO OMAR KHADR
Guantanamo Terror Inmate Contacted by Alberta School

ChristianWeek.org
November 9th, 2010

http://www.christianweek.org/stories.php?id=1347

*****

GLOBAL FAITH POTPOURRI

Ecumenical News International
Daily News Items
9 November 2010

Malawi's Catholic bishops warns rulers on good governance

Blantyre (ENI news). Malawi's Roman Catholic bishops have
called on their government not to use its numerical
parliamentary strength to suppress minority views about
the way the country should be run. "When we emerged from
the 2009 elections, our hopes were high for peace,
stability and development for all. Somewhat more than a
year later, our hopes are slowly fading away," said the
Catholic bishops in a pastoral letter made available to
ENI news. The pastoral letter also reprimanded the ruling
party for disrespecting the country's vice president,
Joyce Banda, whose supporters say has become the target
of a smear campaign by leaders of the ruling Democratic
Progressive Party.

*****

Germany's Protestants elect steel worker's son as
new leader

Trier, Germany (ENI news). The Evangelical Church in
Germany (EKD), the country's main Protestant grouping,
has elected the Rev. Nikolaus Schneider as its head
and the senior representative of German Protestantism.
The 63-year old theologian was elected chairperson of
the EKD Council on 9 November by an overwhelming
majority of delegates at a meeting in the northern
German city of Hanover. He was the only candidate
and received 135 of the 143 valid votes. "The whole
of the commitment for which I stand is in the first
place a spiritual commitment," Schneider said after
his election, the German Protestant news agency epd
reported. As other priorities Schneider mentioned
social issues and continuing with a process of reform
within the EKD, which accounts for about 24 million
Protestants from Germany's 82 million people.

*****

US Episcopalian to lead global
Christian students' federation

Geneva (ENI news). Christine Housel, an Episcopalian
(Anglican) from the United States, has been elected
the new general secretary of the World Student
Christian Federation, a global grouping of student
groups that promotes dialogue, ecumenism, social
justice and peace. The WSCF was founded in 1895 by
the North American evangelist and global ecumenist
John R. Mott, whose efforts also led to the creation
of the World Council of Churches more than half a
century later. Housel studied philosophy at Wheaton
College near Chicago and did a Masters of Divinity
at Yale Divinity School. She has served as project
manager at the federation's international office in
Geneva since 2008.

*****

10 November 2010

In George W. Bush memoir,
faith a small but constant factor

Washington DC (ENI news). Former U.S. President
George W. Bush made no secret that his politics were
tinged by his religious faith, but now says he never
would have made it to the White House without a fateful
- and faith-filled - decision to quit drinking in 1986.
"I could not have quit drinking without faith," Bush
writes in his memoir, "Decision Points", released on
9 November. "I also don't think my faith would be as
strong if I hadn't quit drinking." Across 497 pages,
Bush recounts the ways religious faith shaped his
life and his politics. While religion is not a central
thrust of the book, it's nonetheless a constant theme,
Religion News Service reports.

*****

Zimbabwe church groups warn over new elections

Harare (ENI news). Church and rights groups in Zimbabwe
have warned against new elections saying the situation
in the country is "highly volatile, uncertain and tense"
after a bloody presidential run-off election two years
ago. "The polarised environment does not favour the
holding of elections as violence would most likely
erupt," the groups, which include the Zimbabwe
Council of Churches, the Evangelical Fellowship of
Zimbabwe, the Christian Alliance and the Student
Christian Movement of Zimbabwe, said at the end of
October. The warning came after President Robert
Mugabe told his supporters to prepare for elections
in 2011. At the same time, there have been increasing
reports of intimidation by security forces.

*****

11 November 2010

Respect result, Christian leaders say
in advance of Sudan plebiscite

Nairobi (ENI news). The head of a grouping of Roman
Catholic bishops in Africa has urged Sudan's government
to respect the results of an upcoming referendum on self-
determination for the southern part of Africa's largest
country. "Anybody trying to go against the majority… can
be sure that he is turning against the will and the plan
of God," said Cardinal Polycarp Pengo, the Catholic
archbishop of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, while leading
prayers on 7 November in Rumbek in southern Sudan.
Separately, the leaders of two international Christian
groupings urged religious and political leaders in
Africa and around the world to assure a free and fair
referendum and for all to abide by the results.

_____


Global churches' leader says
faith cannot be imposed through force

New York (ENI news). The head of the World Council of
Churches has affirmed its ties with the U.S. National
Council of Churches, praising churches in the United
States for "bringing change and reformation in this
sinful world". "The 'old world' of Europe brought
the teaching of Martin Luther; you had the Baptist
leader and visionary dreamer of a new future, Martin
Luther King," WCC general secretary the Rev. Olav
Fykse Tveit said on 11 November at the NCC's
centennial ecumenical gathering in New Orleans,
Louisiana.  The gathering marks the centenary of the
World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland,
a 1910 event often referred to as the launch of the
international ecumenical movement for church unity
that led to the founding of the WCC in 1948.

_____


Churches warn on British welfare changes and poverty

Edinburgh (ENInews). Churches in Britain have criticised
a government plan to remove benefits from unemployed people
if they refuse to accept jobs offered to them by labour
officers. "There is a serious danger that people living
in poverty will be stigmatised by government announcements
that they are lazy or work shy," said the Rev. Alison
Tomlin, president of the Methodist Conference. The
government minister for work and pensions, Iain Duncan
Smith, told lawmakers on 11 November that plans for
benefits to be removed for up to three years from
claimants who refuse to take work opportunities are
part of a new "contract" with unemployed people.

*****

12 November 2010

Swedish archbishop points to changes
in Chinese Protestantism

Hong Kong (ENI news). Changes in the make up of Chinese
Christianity may make the officially-sanctioned China
Christian Council less important, says the head of the
(Lutheran) Church of Sweden, who is visiting the world's
most populous country. "I understand the growing force
in China is in the congregations, and the China Christian
Council is an important factor in linking to the
government," Archbishop Anders Wejryd told ENI news in
Hong Kong in advance of his 7-14 November visit to the
Chinese mainland. "But things may change also, making
the CCC less influential," said Wejryd. Some observers
have noted recently that the growth in the size and
the number of Protestant congregations in China may
lessen the role of the Christian council as a
coordinating body for the churches. The China Christian
Council was founded in 1980 as an umbrella for the local
congregations that reopened after being closed during
the country's 1966-197 Cultural Revolution, when the
expression of religious life was effectively banned.

_____


Drama mixes Japanese god and Vatican treasures

Tokyo (ENI news). A traditional Japanese form of theatre
about the Shinto god Susanoo is to be performed in the
southwestern Japanese city of Naruto in a hall that is
a three-dimensional replica of the Vatican's Sistine
Chapel. "A harmony of Eastern and Western cultures and
between a Japanese myth and Western god will be unfolded,"
said publicity from the organizer of the performance,
Naruto's Otsuka Museum of Art. The performance to take
place on 13 and 14 November will be conducted through
the Japanese dance-drama called kabuki, whose name
comes from the word kabuku, meaning to be eccentric,
extraordinary or outside the bounds of common sense.

_____


Poll: Christians most likely to want
New York Islamic centre moved

Washington DC (ENI news/RNS). Christians are more likely
to say a proposed Islamic centre in New York's lower
Manhattan should be built farther away from Ground Zero
than Muslims, Jews and other non-Christians, according
to a new Gallup Poll. Park51, a proposed Islamic cultural
and community centre that includes space for Muslim
prayers, has sparked controversy because of its proposed
location a few blocks from the site of the 9/11 terrorist
attacks, Religion News Service reports. Gallup asked
respondents whether Park51 should be moved, built as
proposed or changed into an interfaith centre. The
greatest resistance to the Islamic centre comes from
Christians, according to the poll: three out of five
Roman Catholics and Mormons, and almost half of
Protestants, said the centre should be built at
another location farther from Ground Zero.

*****

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

Provided by Sojourners Online

November 8th, 2010

"To be alive is to be broken; to be broken
is to stand in need of grace."

- Brennan Manning

___

November 9th, 2010

"Once upon a time, the story goes, a preacher ran
through the streets of the city shouting, 'We must
put God into our lives. We must put God into our
lives.' And hearing him, the old monastic rose up
in the city plaza to say, 'No, sir, you are wrong.
You see, God is already in our lives. Our task is
simply to recognize that.'"

- Joan Chittister, OSB, Wisdom Distilled from
  "Living the Rule of St. Benedict Today"

___

November 11th, 2010

"Because they spurn riches as ashes that are dead because
of avarice, none of them has anything according to her
own will. Whatever each has through the gift of God, let
her possess with God. She says that nothing is hers by
her own strength, but all is from God who gives all good
things to the good. And what are these? Truth and justice,
which interweave with all good things."

- Hildegard of Bingen, from "Book of Life's Merits"

___

November 12th, 2010

"[Praying] demands that you take to the road again and again,
leaving your house and looking forward to a new land for
yourself and your [fellow human]. This is why praying demands
poverty, that is, the readiness to live a life in which you
have nothing to lose so that you always begin afresh."

- Henri J.M. Nouwen, from "With Open Hands"

*****

ON THIS DAY

On Nov. 6, 1860, former Illinois congressman
Abraham Lincoln defeated three other candidates
for the U.S. presidency.

http://tinyurl.com/273vfde

*****

On Nov. 7, 1917, Russia's Bolshevik Revolution took
place as forces led by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin overthrew
the provisional government of Alexander Kerensky.

http://tinyurl.com/2asxn7f

*****

Nov. 9, 1965, the great Northeast blackout occurred
as several states and parts of Canada were hit by a
series of power failures lasting up to 13 1/2 hours.

http://tinyurl.com/3y986n3

*****

On Nov. 11, 1918, fighting in World War I came to
an end with the signing of an armistice between the
Allies and Germany.

http://tinyurl.com/28tsuyb

*****

CLOSING THOUGHT

"In the beginning there was nothing...

"Then God said, 'Let there be light' and there was light.
There was still nothing, but you could see it a whole lot better"

(end)