Thursday, October 15, 2015

Colleagues List, October 18th, 2015

Vol. XI.  No. 11

*****

GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE

Wayne A. Holst, Editor
My E-Mail Address:
waholst@telus.net

Colleagues List Web Site:

http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com

"Quicklinks" are included with many items
at the beginning of this issue. To get a more
complete picture, however, scroll down to
find your special selection in the body of
the blog.


*****

Dear Friends:

We are about to depart for Jerusalem and
the Land of Three Great Faiths with almost
thirty spiritual travelers.

This issue of Colleagues List will be brief.

Here is my October column in the online
edition of the Anglican Journal:

MEDITATION ON SEASONAL CYCLES
http://tinyurl.com/ozvzzl7

*****

If you wish to follow all of us on tour in
the Holy Land, please save/click this link:

http://sduc-calgary.blogspot.ca

Click on map to enlarge it.

I look forward to connecting with you again for
the next issue of Colleagues List, November 8th.

Blessings,

Wayne

Friday, October 9, 2015

Colleagues List, October 11th, 2015

Vol. XI.  No. 10

*****

CANADIAN THANKSGIVING EDITION

GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE

Wayne A. Holst, Editor
My E-Mail Address:
waholst@telus.net

Colleagues List Web Site:

http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com

"Quicklinks" are included with many items
at the beginning of this issue. To get a more
complete picture, however, scroll down to
find your special selection in the body of
the blog.


*****

For Canadian Thanksgiving I offer an
excellent title relating to the season.

It is "My Year of Buying Nothing"
by  Lee Simpson. a United Church of
Canada minister and former editor of
Chatelaine magazine.

This is a timely and helpful book about
living a quality life thankfully and with less.

http://tinyurl.com/onb5eyr
http://tinyurl.com/qhb7lup

Please scroll down to read the background
and my comments about this volume.

*****

Colleague Contributions - this week are from:

Karen McKeown (Calgary AB) who shares a
short and a long interview of Jimmy Carter
at ninety, by Oprah Winfrey:
http://tinyurl.com/ogeyjzd

--

Beth Porter (Richmond Hill ON) offers the current
article she had edited for the Our Human Future
web page of L'Arche Canada: 

"Democratic Essentials at Risk" with Ursula Franklin
web page of L'Arche Canada:
http://tinyurl.com/pw6xqoo

--

Philip Jenkins (Waco TX) - here is a review of his
new book  "The Many Faces of Christ"
http://tinyurl.com/q833t8s

--

Jim Taylor (Okanagan BC) writes on the theme:
 "The Perils of Trying to Please"
http://tinyurl.com/qjqeuh5

--
  
Ron Rolheiser (San Antonio TX) presents
his current website column:

"Innocence, Complexity and Sanctity"
http://tinyurl.com/ng2rmrk

*****

Net Notes that caught my attention this week -

"Grounded - Finding God in the World:
 is the title of a new book by colleague
 Diana Butler Bass, and just out: 
 (Amazon.ca website)
 http://tinyurl.com/opkvyu6

--

"Canada's Refugees" - this article will update
you on current Canadian refugee stats, with
countries of origin (CBC News)
http://tinyurl.com/pjwgqwj

--

"He Named Me Malala" - a movie on the
life of the Pakistani women author who
has gained great fame in the West
(New York Times Movie Review (video)
http://tinyurl.com/ozjo4ks

--

"The Original Suffragette" - for those
interested in the origins of feminist
writing in english, here is a start --
on the life of Mary Wollstonecraft
(The Guardian, UK)
http://tinyurl.com/q54ao8s

--


"Nobel Literary Prize Announced"- among
the many Nobel Prize announcements this
week, here is the literary winner, Belarussian
writer Svetlana Alexievich
(New York Times video)
http://tinyurl.com/qg2pmfv

--

"Ten Reasons Why Gandhi is My Hero" -
we include a lot about the Mahatma on
these pages, but here is something unique
(Faith and Spirituality Website)
http://tinyurl.com/qa7l58s

--

"Christians and their Celebrity Pastors" -
evangelical (but not only evangelical)
Christian congregations can suffer from
this problem; but here is some advice
(Christian Week Online)
http://tinyurl.com/pr8vmk4

--

"Increased Violence and Fears of Third Intifada"
as we plan to leave on our St. David's Travelers
tour of Jerusalem and the land of three great
faiths, here is an update on the current situation
(New York Times) http://tinyurl.com/nc239j5


--

Wisdom of the Week - is from the websites
of Sojourners and the Bruderhof online:

Simone Weil, Aung San Suu Kyi, C.S. Lewis,
N.T. Wright, Pope Francis, Grace Lee Boggs,
Oscar Romero and St. Francis de Sales

Please scroll down to read these thoughts.

--

On This Day

From the Archives of the New York Times

"All Labor Organizations Banned in Poland"
  http://tinyurl.com/nq5dekl

"Palestinian Gunmen Hijack Italian Cruise Ship"
  http://tinyurl.com/pcktgtn

"Anwar Sadat of Egypt Shot to Death"
   http://tinyurl.com/pjbtd5k

"Soviet Union Launches Sputnik"
  http://tinyurl.com/p33p69h

--

Closing Thought - Dag Hammarskjold

Please scroll down to the end to read him.

(end)

If you are interested in our regularly updated
New Program Season -

Autumn 2015 Adult Spiritual Development
ACTS Ministry Programs through St. David's

United Church, Calgary

- scroll to the end of the blog.

***

Once more, I extend to all of you
a Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

Wayne

*****

SPECIAL ITEM

Book Notice -

MY YEAR OF BUYING NOTHING
by Lee Simpson

Wood Lake Books
Kelowna BC. October, 2015
213 pp. $22.95 CAD
ISBN # 978-1-77064-801-2

Dedication by the Author -

This book is dedicated to the spirit of
radical gratitude and the inspiration of
Mary Jo Leddy; Canadian activist, theologian,
and woman of faith, without whom much of
what is good in my life and those of so many
others simply would never have happened.

--

(Simpson) reminds us that it is not having it all
that makes us happy, it's appreciating what we
do have. It's a very timely message and Lee
Simpson actually makes it fun to hear.

- Rick Wolfe

--

Publisher's Promo:

Lee Simpson may seem like an unlikely
candidate to don the mantel of anti-
consumerist prophet. She is, after all,
the former publisher of Canada’s most
successful women’s lifestyles magazine,
Chatelaine. But that is just the first of
many surprising things about her new
book My Year of Buying Nothing.

In the 1980s and ’90s, Simpson oversaw

the heady days of women’s magazine
publishing. Although proud of the excellent
journalism featured in her magazines, and
of the pioneering work of the editors she
worked with, her “primary role as senior
executive was to ensure that a maximum
number of advertising pages got sold.”

“I was part of the data analysis and market

research conglomerate that helped consumer
predators know your weaknesses and exploit
them mercilessly.”

In My Year of Buying Nothing, Simpson

invites readers into her world to witness
first hand the struggles she faced, the
decisions and compromises she had to make,
and the epiphanies and wisdom she won
during her year-long attempt to shed her
“consumer” skin and live a more sustainable,
more authentic, more earth-friendly life.

Who better to choose as a guide to a new,

healthier post-consumer lifestyle than someone
who is intimately familiar with the pitfalls and
dangers of the starting place, and the challenges
of the way forward.

--

Author's Words:

You tube UC Observer 10 minute video presentation
on the nature of her book and reason for writing it -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrIkxovJpPA

--

My Thoughts:

I have lived through periods in my life when I literally
did not know where my next meal was coming from.

The challenge in my life now is to live mindfully that
difficult times might ever return. My concern today,
during a period of relative plenty, is that I may try
to accumulate things I don't need as a kind of
psychological defense against a return of those
very stressful times in my past.

That is not the challenge author Lee Simpson (former
popular magazine editor and United Church minister
living in Lunenburg) faced when she decided to engage
in YBN - her "year of buying nothing." Her experience
was a choice and done voluntarily. Mine was not.

The learning from both our experiences seems to be
quite similar, however. We do not need nearly as
much to live fulfilling lives as we think we do. As
much as we may believe that we are free people
and can think for ourselves, we are very much the
targets of an advertising barrage that attacks us
constantly. We come to believe we need and deserve
things that we really don't. We continue to suffer
from peer pressure  and a herd mentality long after
our teenage years have passed.

I admire the author's courage in "going public"
through her blog, and interviews about what she
was doing when she was living the YBN. If we
are not convinced we can "live with less" before
we undertake a journey like that, we can certainly
grow from it during and following the experience.

Simpson's five chapters deal with things that
appeal to our animal nature; the food we need to
eat and can avoid; the mineral requirements like
getting there, staying warm and keeping it light.

For me, an important reminder was the amount
I spend on entertainment - cultural events,
books, magazines, newspapers (ouch!) I would
describe that as needed "personal growth and
enrichment." Have I really thought that through?

Her last chapter is a personal attempt to create
an environmental catechism and she uses the
poignant story from Mary Jo Leddy's book "Radical
Gratitude."  The African refugee woman living with
Mary Jo in Romero House, Toronto, stands looking
out the back window of her home and wonders why
we need "houses for our cars."

I discovered affirmation for some of my current
life disciplines, and challenges to my present
lifestyle that I need to heed. I do want to continue
in my personal quest for quality of life (QOL) as
well as significant behavioural change when
I realize that is possible.

This is a most unusual, but 'natural' book to digest. 
I highly recommend that you read it during this
season of Thanksgiving - and any time of year, for
that matter.

***

Buy the book from the publisher:
http://tinyurl.com/onb5eyr

Buy the Book from Amazon.ca:
http://tinyurl.com/qhb7lup
 
*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

Karen McKeown
Calgary, AB

Super Soul Sunday
October 4th, 2015

"Oprah Interviews Jimmy Carter"
  (plus larger interview on his new book)

http://tinyurl.com/ogeyjzd

--

Beth Porter
Richmond Hill, ON

A Human Future
L'Arche Canada
October, 2015

"Democratic Essentials at Risk"
  Interview with Ursula Franklin

http://tinyurl.com/pw6xqoo

--
 
Philip Jenkins
Waco, TX

The Christian Century
September 30th, 2015

"The Many Faces of Christ"
  (review of his new book)

http://tinyurl.com/q833t8s

--
 
Jim Taylor
Okanagan, BC

Personal Web Log
October 7th, 2015

"The Perils of Trying to Please"
  http://tinyurl.com/qjqeuh5

--

Ron Rolheiser
San Antonio, TX

Personal Web Site
October 5th, 2015

"Innocence, Complexity and Sanctity"
  http://tinyurl.com/ng2rmrk
 
*****

NET NOTES

GROUNDED
Finding God in the World
New Book by colleague Diana Butler Bass

Amazon.ca
http://tinyurl.com/opkvyu6

--

CANADA'S REFUGEES
Where They Come From by the Numbers

CBC News
October rth, 2015

http://tinyurl.com/pjwgqwj

--

HE NAMED ME MALALA
Story of a Young Pakistani Woman

New York Times Movie Review (video)
October 1st, 2015

http://tinyurl.com/ozjo4ks

--

THE ORIGINAL SUFFRAGETTE
Mary Wollstonecraft

The Guardian, UK
October 5th, 2015

http://tinyurl.com/q54ao8s

--

NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE ANNOUNCED
Winner is Belarussian writer Svetlana Alexievich

New York Times
October 3rd, 2015

http://tinyurl.com/qg2pmfv

--

TEN REASONS WHY GANDHI IS MY HERO
From the Faith and Spirituality Website

http://tinyurl.com/qa7l58s

--

CHRISTIANS AND THEIR CELEBRITY PASTORS
Courting a Dangerous Spiritual Model

Christian Week Online
October 1st, 2015

http://tinyurl.com/pr8vmk4

--
 
FEARS OF 3rd INTIFADA ACCOMPANY
INCREASE IN MID-EAST VIOLENCE
Conflict Affects Both Sides in Region

New York Times
October 6th, 2015

http://tinyurl.com/nc239j5

*****

WISDOM OF THE WEEK

Provided by Sojourners and Bruderhof online:

A self-respecting nation is ready for anything,
including war, except for a renunciation of its
option to make war.

- Simone Weil


--

Humor is one of the best ingredients of survival.

- Aung San Suu Kyi

--

Some day you will be old enough to start reading
fairy tales again.
 
- C.S Lewis

--

What Jesus was offering, in other words, was
not a different religious system. It was a new
world order, the end of Israel's long desolation,
the true and final "forgiveness of sins," the
inauguration of the kingdom of god.

 
- N.T. Wright

--

God is in every person’s life. Even if the life of a
person has been a disaster, even if it is destroyed
by vices, drugs, or anything else – God is in this
person’s life. You can – you must –try to seek
God in every human life. Though someone’s life
be a land full of thorns and weeds, there is always
a space in which the good seed can grow.


You have to trust God.

- Pope Francis

--

Real poverty is the belief that the purpose of
life is acquiring wealth and owning things.
Real wealth is not the possession of property
but the recognition that our deepest need,
as human beings, is to keep developing our
natural and acquired powers to relate to other
human beings
 
- Grace Lee Boggs, in memoriam

--


Everyone who struggles for justice, everyone
who makes just claims in unjust surroundings,
is working for God’s reign, even if not a Christian.
The church does not comprise all of God’s reign;
that goes beyond the church’s boundaries. The
church values everything that is in tune with its
struggle to set up God’s reign. A church that tries
to keep itself pure and uncontaminated would not
be a church of God’s service to people.


The authentic church is one that does not mind
conversing with prostitutes and publicans and
sinners, as Christ did – and with Marxists and
those of various political movements – in order
to bring them salvation’s true message.


- Oscar Romero

--

Do not look forward to what may happen
tomorrow; the same everlasting Father who

cares for you today will take care of you
tomorrow and every day. Either he will shield
you from suffering, or he will give you unfailing
strength to bear it. Be at peace, then, put aside
all anxious thoughts and imaginations, and say
continually: “The Lord is my strength and my
shield; my heart has trusted in him and I am
helped. He is not only with me, but in me, and
I in him.”

- St. Francis de Sales

*****

ON THIS DAY

From the Archives of the New York Times

"All Labor Organizations Banned in Poland"
  http://tinyurl.com/nq5dekl

"Palestinian Gunmen Hijack Italian Cruise Ship"
  http://tinyurl.com/pcktgtn

"Anwar Sadat of Egypt Shot to Death"
   http://tinyurl.com/pjbtd5k

"Soviet Union Launches Sputnik"
  http://tinyurl.com/p33p69h

*****

CLOSING THOUGHT -  Dag Hammarskjold

Never, “for the sake of peace and quiet,” deny
your own experience or convictions. The only
kind of dignity which is genuine is that which
is not diminished by the indifference of others.
Pray that your loneliness may spur you into
finding something to live for, great enough to
die for. Never measure the height of a mountain
until you have reached the top. Then you will
see how low it was.

(end)

*****

Our New Program Season -
Autumn 2015 Adult Spiritual Development
ACTS Ministry Programs through St. David's

United Church, Calgary.

AUTUMN 2015 MONDAY NIGHT STUDY

Theme: "Living in Darkness - Living in Light"

Books: "Learning to Walk in the Dark"
              by Barbara Brown Taylor

             "Between the Dark and the Daylight"
               by Joan Chittister
              
http://tinyurl.com/pncmzec
http://tinyurl.com/qy9netg

A  ten-week study in contemporary spirituality
with books by two prominent Protestant and
Catholic writers.

Ten Monday evenings, 7-9PM
In the St. David's TM Room
September 21st - November 30th, 2015

Books and Registration/Hospitality - $60.00
Books only - $35.00

Registrations to date: 28.

We have sold close to all of our 35 original book sets,
but registration is still open.

Brenda and Joan will help Jock when Wayne
participates in the "Jerusalem and the Lands
of Three Great Faiths" tour (October 16th - 31st)

Now into our sixteenth year of Monday Night Studies
Our thirty-first series of (usually) ten week sessions!

Our Current "Spiritual Darkness" Study Design/Links:
http://tinyurl.com/nu4ze5b

Check our complete archives for all 45 book studies:
http://tinyurl.com/q3bw6dh

*****

THURSDAY MORNING  BIBLE STUDY

Theme: The Book of Exodus from the Hebrew Bible
              "A Classic Story of Human Liberation"

Ten sessions 10-11 AM
Gathering at 9:30AM
In the St. David's TM Room
September 17th - December 3rd

No charge.

Study resource -

The DK Complete Bible Handbook
http://tinyurl.com/odxlv7q

(copy available in our church library)

*****

ST. DAVID'S SPIRITUAL TRAVELERS'
SPECIAL 2015 SIXTEEN DAY TOUR


"Jerusalem and the Land of Three Great Faiths"
  October 16th - 31st, 2015


http://tinyurl.com/plg4sgo

Tour Company: Rostad Tours Calgary
Tour Hosts: Wayne and Marlene Holst
Sponsored by: St. David's ACTS Ministry
Endorsed by: St. David's Church Council


Talk with or write to Marlene and Wayne
(403-286-7416) waholst@telus.net
marleneaholst@gmail.com

We have 29 paid-up participants getting
ready to depart. On Sunday, October 11th
there will be an official "blessing" and
"send off" from St. David's congregation.

Books for consideration -

JERUSALEM:
One City, Three Faiths
by Karen Armstrong (1997)
http://tinyurl.com/qb4urn5

JEERUSALEM, ISRAEL, PETRA & SINAI
DK Eyewitness Travel (2014)
http://tinyurl.com/prl3k8m

TOP TEN: Israel, Including Sinai & Petra
DK Eyewitness Travel (2014)
http://tinyurl.com/pyromfc


27 persons attended the pre-Jerusalem Tour
gathering at St. David's, September 14th.

29 participants leave for Tel Aviv, October 16th.

*****

ACTS LENTEN RETREAT, 2016

Mount St. Francis Retreat Centre
Cochrane, Alberta
http://www.mountstfrancis.ca/

Mark your calendars!

Sunday February 28th
11:30 AM - 4:00 PM

John Griffith is on sabbatical this year.
Reflections will be led by a Franciscan on staff.

*****

Saturday, October 3, 2015

Colleagues List, October 4th, 2015

Vol. XI.  No. 9

*****

GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE

Wayne A. Holst, Editor
My E-Mail Address:
waholst@telus.net

Colleagues List Web Site:

http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com

"Quicklinks" are included with many items
at the beginning of this issue. To get a more
complete picture, however, scroll down to
find your special selection in the body of
the blog.


*****

Dear Colleagues:

In less than two weeks, Marlene and I will
be tour hosts for a total of 29 participants 
on a 17-day trip to Israel and Jordan .

Over the past 5 years, we have been responsible 
for a total of 90 travelers on 3 trips (previously
we visited the Celtic Lands and Turkey)

Each time we host a tour, I attempt to create
travel objectives, and this time is no exception.

My Special Item for this week is entitled:

GOALS FOR OUR JERUSALEM TOUR
Visiting the Land of Three Great Faiths 

http://tinyurl.com/qb4urn5

Please scroll down to read my words.

--

Colleague Contributions - this week are from:

Lorna Dueck (Toronto ON) who writes about -

"Terry Fox: His Faith and Legacy"
  http://tinyurl.com/pp27rwj

--

Martin Marty (Chicago IL) presents -

"After the Pope's Visit"
  http://tinyurl.com/ph29t7g

--

Jim Taylor (Okanagan BC) challenges us with -

"Whatever They Can Get Away With"
  http://tinyurl.com/os4qrtv 

--

Ron Rolheiser (San Antonio TX) writes two
articles with the themes of -

"Caring for Our Soul"
  http://tinyurl.com/nkuzczg

"Bringing New Life"
  http://tinyurl.com/qdvs97n

Thanks to all four of you.
 
--

Net Notes - from my www-search this week:

"I Am A Sinner" - Don't Forget to Pray for Me -
perhaps this is a key theme from which to 
review the visit of Pope Francis to America
(Sojourners, America Online)

"Summary Thoughts"
  http://tinyurl.com/npy34ju

"A Historic Visit Ends"
  http://tinyurl.com/q3pm8e7

"A Visit of Papal Firsts - Francis Comes to America"
  http://tinyurl.com/nkmzsz8

--

"Mecca Then and Now" - 128 Years of Growth -
two items of interest. The first one is a photo
comparison of the Holy City of Islam, while the
second is a Canadian inter-faith marriage story
as an Anglican priest and Muslim imam
combine to perform  a wedding ceremony
(The Atlantic Online, The Anglican Journal)
http://tinyurl.com/owe4gzt
http://tinyurl.com/o9v64kb

--

"India Fails to Heed its Father's Call" -
multiple incidents belie Gandhi's non-violent
philosophy (UCA News)
http://tinyurl.com/paj93zl

--

"What Evangelicals Like About Francis" -
they appreciate his piety if not his doctrine -
an encouraging set of articles about a segment
of North American Christianity that has rarely
espoused a favourable view of the papacy. 
(Christianity Today)
http://tinyurl.com/pp7lvaz
http://tinyurl.com/pu4pkyw
 
--

"Pope Didn't Endorse Kim Davis' Views" -
Vatican Clarification After Publicity Surge,
especially from Conservative sources.
Before meeting Davis,  the Pope met with
a gay ex-student (New York Times)
http://tinyurl.com/p3v3zpx
http://tinyurl.com/q9sl5ks

--

"What Francis and Xi Jin Ping Have in Common" -
both are leaders of over one billion people
(The Atlantic Online)
http://tinyurl.com/nbtbn35

--

"Trump Warns Against Accepting Syrian Refugees" -
he plays up ISIS scare tactics among the gullible
(The Guardian, UK) http://tinyurl.com/nq4ocb5

--

"Obama Says Deaths by Shootings are 'Too Routine'" -
the president is emotional saying that new gun
control strategies are needed in America
(National Catholic Reporter, New York Times video)
http://tinyurl.com/o6h4edr
http://tinyurl.com/qyxxplx

--

"Confusing Biblical Themes and Political Catch-Phrases"
- a helpful warning against the use of simplistic terms
by vote-seeking politicians (Christian Week Online)
http://tinyurl.com/negoro9

--

"Palestinians Claim 'No Longer Bound by Oslo Accords'"
- they say that abuses by Israel prompt the rejection
of a hard-fought treaty, 22 years ago (New York Times) http://tinyurl.com/nvgnzo2

--

Wisdom of the Week:

Anne Frank, Augustine of Hippo, Kallistos Ware,
Henri J. M. Nouwen, G.K. Chesterton and
Scott Bessenecker -

- share their thoughts, so please scroll down

--

On This Day:

From the archives of the New York Times -

"Allies Agree to Some Concessions re Sudetenland"
  http://tinyurl.com/ll68vt4

"US Planes Complete First Round-the-World Flight"
  http://tinyurl.com/o533h8d

"East and West Germany Re-United After 45 Years"
  http://tinyurl.com/2e8qey

--

Closing Thought -  is from John Donne

Please scroll to the end of the blog.

(end)

If you are interested in our up-graded
programs, please scroll to the blog's end -

Our New Program Season Begins -
Autumn 2015 Adult Spiritual Development
ACTS Ministry Programs through St. David's

United Church, Calgary.

*****

SPECIAL ITEM


JERUSALEM AND THE LAND OF THREE GREAT FAITHS

“The Holy Land in general and Jerusalem in particular
have become essential to the spiritual geography of
Jews, Christians and Muslims,” writes Karen Armstrong
in her book - Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths*


*****

THE HEBREW TRADITION

Begins at approximately 2000 BCE (Before the
Common Era) or 4,000 years ago when Abraham
left Mesopotamia in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley
to the east and sojourned westward to Canaan
“the Promised Land.” Here he fathered Isaac
and Ishmael, the patriarchal founders of both
the Jewish and Muslim faiths. The Hebrew Temple
in Jerusalem was sacked and destroyed by the
Romans in 70 CE and most Jews were forced to
leave their land until November, 1947 when the
United Nations partitioned Palestine into Jewish
and Arab states. This marked the beginning of
the modern state of Israel.

THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION

Jesus arrived on the scene in the ancient regions of
Judah and Israel in 33 CE (The Common Era). He
became a well-known preacher and healer, observing
the Jewish festivals like Passover in Jerusalem. He is
arrested and crucified by the Romans, but his disciples
were convinced he rose from the dead. They persuaded
others to believe in Jesus as the Messiah and in the

Resurrection (the central Christian tenets separating
it from the Jewish faith, and giving birth to a new
religion). Over the centuries, some Palestinian Arabs
became Christians, but their numbers have been in
decline due to Jewish and Islamic persecution. There
are a dwindling number of Christians in the Holy Land.


THE ISLAMIC TRADITION

In 705 CE a small Muslim prayer house was built close
to the site of the ancient Jewish temple in Jerusalem.
Eventually, Muslims built The Dome of the Rock (not
a mosque, but a holy site, displacing most of the ancient
remains on Temple Mount.) Christian sites such as the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre (where Jesus body was

to have been laid after he died on the cross) were
built over the centuries.

Crusaders from Europe made a number attempts to
reclaim sacred places that had been taken over by
Muslims, but this era ended after 1,300 CE. The region
continued as a locus of religious controversy.

A FRUSTRATING BUT IMPORTANT 
ENCOUNTER OF THE TRADITIONS

Most of modern Palestinian Territory and Sinai were
taken over by Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967.
In March of 1979 at Camp David, Maryland Jimmy
Carter worked out a treaty between Israel and Egypt
to establish diplomatic relations and the withdrawal
of Israel from Sinai. In July, 2000 the Palestinian and
Israeli leaders met with US President Bill Clinton to
create an agreement for Palestinian self-government
in Gaza and parts of the West Bank. This was confirmed
in 1993 with the so-called Oslo Accords. These hopeful
efforts failed to accomplish the mutual goal of freedom
for the Palestinians and recognition of Israel’s right to
exist in peace and security among its Arab neighbors.
Just recently, the Palestinians have declared that they
are no longer bound by the Oslo agreements.

So today, in spite of much effort and good will on all
sides, a continuing state of unrest - even terrorism -
exists with regular flare-ups.
 
At the same time, the Holy Land remains an important
spiritual centre for people of all three faith traditions.
 
*****

PERSONAL TOUR HOST GOALS
FOR OUR JERUSALEM TRIP

Five Principles to Help Guide Our Experience

As part of our preparation for this trip, Wayne has
developed five personal goals which may help to
guide our experience.

We believe that with some intentional thought and
planning, our enjoyment and satisfaction will be
increased. This goals are not written in stone,
however, but should be viewed as flexible and
open to serendipity and change.

About 90 St. David’s Spiritual Travelers have
participated with us on three trips over a period
of five years. We are not starting from scratch
and our goals have a certain degree of solid
experience behind them. These goals are open-
ended. Fellow-travelers may wish to build on
them together.


ONE

To do everything possible to make this a most
memorable experience for all participants.

Those on tour have already invested much of
themselves in preparation. We want to do all
that is humanly possible to assure everyone an
unforgettable travel experience which can be

looked back upon with much satisfaction.

TWO

To make the best use of the time, spiritual/
physical energy and financial outlay that we
will be investing in this pilgrimage. Participants
have known from the beginning that this will be
a 'busy' adventure and we will be visiting many

special sites and also covering significant territory. 

That said, we want people to feel that they have
been able to concentrate on good things. We hope
they will be inspired to 'go deeper' and to 'discover
more' on this sojourn, and future travels.

THREE

To help everyone connect with the universal,
spiritual meanings of the places visited. Some
will recall past interfaith associations. Others
may find a lot of this totally new. All can come
into contact with meanings they might not have
otherwise thought possible.

We are visiting particular settings, but these
places hold timeless and universal value - no
matter what one's faith experience might be.

FOUR

To encourage and enable everyone to have fun!
While there are serious aspects to this trip there
is also an opportunity for those involved to get
to know and enjoy each other's company and
places visited in special and unusual ways.

Some on this trip know each other personally,
but there is also an opportunity to make new
and possibly lifelong friends. Travel on a bus can
be disconcerting. It can also be very satisfying.

Much benefit can be derived from individual
contributions to our "Jerusalem Tour" - before,
during and following the trip itself. Be prepared
to share what you have to offer!

FIVE

To invest in the idea that ongoing spiritual travel
can be a most meaningful and satisfying growth
experience for everyone.

Building on what we learn this time, it should be
possible to offer other tours to other regions and
many other 'spiritual locations' – around the world.
Christians need to learn more, and to be enriched
from their faith.

They can also learn from people of other or no faith.
The world is full of places where we can gain a rich
exposure to ever-expanding cultural experiences.
In our rapidly changing globe, to become more
aware of both human diversity and similarity is no
longer a luxury. It is becoming a necessity.

---

Written and updated to begin a reflection process -
Wayne Holst, October 2nd, 2015

*JERUSALEM: One City, Three Faiths
by Karen Armstrong (1997)
http://tinyurl.com/qb4urn5

*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

Lorna Dueck,
Toronto ON.

Context
Sept. 22nd, 2015

"Terry Fox: His Faith and Legacy"
  http://tinyurl.com/pp27rwj

--
 
Martin Marty
Chicago, IL

Sightings
September 28th, 2015

"After the Pope's Visit"
  http://tinyurl.com/ph29t7g

--

Jim Taylor
Okanagan, BC

Personal Web Log
September 27th, 2015

"Whatever They Can Get Away With"
  http://tinyurl.com/os4qrtv
 
--
 
Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX
 
Personal Web Site
September 27th, 2015
 
"Caring for Our Soul"
  http://tinyurl.com/nkuzczg

America Magazine Online
October 5th, 2015

"Bringing New Life"
  http://tinyurl.com/qdvs97n

*****
 
NET NOTES

"I AM A SINNER"
Don't Forget to Pray for Me

Wrapping up and assessing
the papal visit to America

Sojourners
October 1st, 2015

http://tinyurl.com/npy34ju

"A Historic Visit Ends"

America Online
September 27th, 2017

http://tinyurl.com/q3pm8e7

"A Visit of Papal Firsts -
  Francis Comes to America"

America Online
October 12th, 2015

http://tinyurl.com/nkmzsz8
 
--
 
MECCA THEN AND NOW
128 Years of Growth

The Atlantic Online
(Photo Comparisons)
September 29th, 2015

http://tinyurl.com/owe4gzt

"Unique Interfaith Wedding"
Anglican Priest and Muslim Imam
Combine to Perform Canadian Ceremony

Anglican Journal Online
October 2nd, 2015

http://tinyurl.com/o9v64kb

--

INDIA FAILS TO HEED ITS FATHER'S CALL
Multiple Incidents Belie Gandhi's Non-Violence

UCA News
October 2nd, 2015

http://tinyurl.com/paj93zl


--

WHAT EVENGELICALS LIKE ABOUT FRANCIS
They like his piety, if not his doctrine

Christianity Today,
September 23rd, 2015

http://tinyurl.com/pp7lvaz

Christianity Today
September 25th, 2015

"From Anti-Christ to Brother in Christ"
  http://tinyurl.com/pu4pkyw

--

POPE DIDN'T ENDORSE KIM DAVIS' VIEWS
Vatican Clarification After Publicity Surge

New York Times
October 2nd, 2015

http://tinyurl.com/p3v3zpx

"Before Meeting Davis,
  Pope Met With Gay Ex-Student"

New York Times
October 3rd, 2015

http://tinyurl.com/q9sl5ks
 
--
 
WHAT FRANCIS AND XI JINPING
HAVE IN COMMON
Both are Modern Leaders
of Over One Billion People

The Atlantic Online
September 30th, 2015

http://tinyurl.com/nbtbn35

--

TRUMP WARNS AGAINST
ACCEPTING SYRIAN REFUGEES
Plays Up ISIS Scare Tactics

The Guardian UK
October 1st, 2015

http://tinyurl.com/nq4ocb5

--

OBAMA SAYS DEATHS BY SHOOTINGS
ARE NOW 'TOO ROUTINE'
New Gun Control Strategies Needed

National Catholic Reporter
October 2nd, 2015

http://tinyurl.com/o6h4edr

New York Times (video)
October 1st, 2015

http://tinyurl.com/qyxxplx
 
--
 
CONFUSING BIBLICAL THEMES
AND POLITICAL CATCH-PHRASES
Warning Against Simplistic Language

Christian Week Online
September 29th, 2015

http://tinyurl.com/negoro9

--

PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY IS
"NO LONGER BOUND BY OSLO ACCORDS"
Claims Abuse by Israel Prompts Rejection

New York Times
September 30th, 2015

http://tinyurl.com/nvgnzo2
 
*****

WISDOM OF THE WEEK

From Sojourners and Bruderhof Online:

In spite of everything I still believe that
people are really good at heart.

- Anne Frank

--

I have learnt to love you late, Beauty at once
so ancient and so new! I have learnt to love
you late!...
 
You called me; you cried aloud to me; you
broke my barrier of deafness. You shone upon
me; your radiance enveloped me; you put my
blindness to flight. You shed your fragrance
about me; I drew breath and now I gasp for
your sweet odor. I tasted you, and now I
hunger and thirst for you. You touched me,
and I am inflamed with love of your peace.
 
- Augustine of Hippo

--

God does not condemn us to hell; God wishes
all humans to be saved. He will love us to all
eternity, but there will exist the possibility
that we do not accept the love and do not
respond to it. And the refusal to accept love,
the refusal to respond to it, that precisely is
the meaning of hell. Hell is not a place where
God puts us; it is a place where we put ourselves.

The doors of hell, insofar as they have locks,
have locks on the inside.

- Kallistos Ware

--

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. I have
felt distraught and joyful in situations of
abundance as well as poverty, in situations
of popularity and anonymity, in situations
of success and failure. The difference was
never based on the situation itself, but always

on my state of mind and heart. When I knew
I was walking with God, I always felt happy
and at peace. When I was entangled in my
own complaints and emotional needs, I
always felt restless and divided.

- Henri J. M. Nouwen

--

People are more themselves when joy is
the fundamental thing in them, and grief the
superficial. Melancholy should be an innocent
interlude, a tender and fugitive frame of mind;
praise should be the permanent pulsation of
the soul. Pessimism is at best an emotional
half-holiday; joy is the uproarious labor by
which all things live.


- G. K. Chesterton

--

[Jesus]'s kingdom is one of righteousness and
justice, and that is always a double-edged sword.

It is good news to some and bad news to others.
It means bending our world back into the shape
God intends, and involves both demolition and
construction.


- Scott Bessenecker

--

ON THIS DAY

From the archives of the New York Times -

"Allies Agree to Some Concessions re Sudetenland"
  http://tinyurl.com/ll68vt4

"US Planes Complete First Round-the-World Flight"
  http://tinyurl.com/o533h8d

"East and West Germany Re-United After 45 Years"
  http://tinyurl.com/2e8qey

*****

CLOSING THOUGHT - John Donne

Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.


(end)

*****

Our New Program Season -
Autumn 2015 Adult Spiritual Development
ACTS Ministry Programs through St. David's

United Church, Calgary.

AUTUMN 2015 MONDAY NIGHT STUDY

Theme: "Living in Darkness - Living in Light"

Books: "Learning to Walk in the Dark"
              by Barbara Brown Taylor

             "Between the Dark and the Daylight"
               by Joan Chittister
              
http://tinyurl.com/pncmzec
http://tinyurl.com/qy9netg

A  ten-week study in contemporary spirituality
with books by two prominent Protestant and
Catholic writers.

Ten Monday evenings, 7-9PM
In the St. David's TM Room
September 21st - November 30th, 2015

Books and Registration/Hospitality - $60.00
Books only - $35.00

Registrations to date: 28.

We have sold close to all of our 35 original book sets,
but registration is still open.

Brenda and Joan will help Jock when Wayne
participates in the "Jerusalem and the Lands
of Three Great Faiths" tour (October 16th - 31st)

Now into our sixteenth year of Monday Night Studies
Our thirty-first series of (usually) ten week sessions!

Our Current "Spiritual Darkness" Study Design/Links:
http://tinyurl.com/nu4ze5b

Check our complete archives for all 45 book studies:
http://tinyurl.com/q3bw6dh

*****

THURSDAY MORNING  BIBLE STUDY

Theme: The Book of Exodus from the Hebrew Bible
              "A Classic Story of Human Liberation"

Ten sessions 10-11 AM
Gathering at 9:30AM
In the St. David's TM Room
September 17th - December 3rd

No charge.

Study resource -

The DK Complete Bible Handbook
http://tinyurl.com/odxlv7q

(copy available in our church library)

*****

ST. DAVID'S SPIRITUAL TRAVELERS'
SPECIAL 2015 SIXTEEN DAY TOUR


"Jerusalem and the Land of Three Great Faiths"
  October 16th - 31st, 2015


http://tinyurl.com/plg4sgo

Tour Company: Rostad Tours Calgary
Tour Hosts: Wayne and Marlene Holst
Sponsored by: St. David's ACTS Ministry
Endorsed by: St. David's Church Council


Talk with or write to Marlene and Wayne
(403-286-7416) waholst@telus.net
marleneaholst@gmail.com

We have 29 paid-up participants getting
ready to depart. On Sunday, October 11th
there will be an official "blessing" and
"send off" from St. David's congregation.

Books for consideration -

JERUSALEM:
One City, Three Faiths
by Karen Armstrong (1997)
http://tinyurl.com/qb4urn5

JEERUSALEM, ISRAEL, PETRA & SINAI
DK Eyewitness Travel (2014)
http://tinyurl.com/prl3k8m

TOP TEN: Israel, Including Sinai & Petra
DK Eyewitness Travel (2014)
http://tinyurl.com/pyromfc


27 persons attended the pre-Jerusalem Tour
gathering at St. David's, September 14th.

*****

ACTS LENTEN RETREAT, 2016

Mount St. Francis Retreat Centre
Cochrane, Alberta
http://www.mountstfrancis.ca/

Mark your calendars!

Sunday February 28th
11:30 AM - 4:00 PM

John Griffith is on sabbatical this year.
Reflections will be led by a Franciscan on staff.

*****