Thursday, September 29, 2016

Colleagues List, October 2nd, 2016

Vol. XII.  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


***

Dear Colleagues:

I keep trying to improve Colleagues List.
Please let me know how I'm doing.

Thanks for sharing this letter with others.

If you have friends who would like to
receive Colleagues List notices, just send
me their email addresses.

Your recommendation is all I would need
to include them.

--

My Special Item - this week is a book notice
for "Cardinal Walter Kasper: Spiritual Writings"
- latest in the Orbis Modern Spiritual Masters
Series, now numbering about 65 volumes.

Kasper is well-known in ecumenical circles,
but perhaps not so much to non-specialists.
An unfortunate lack of broad awareness of
him is compensated somewhat by this book,
and I am pleased to promote it.

Five Colleague Contributions appear below,
followed by ten Net Notes. Spiritual insights
are offered by means of Wisdom of the Week,
with nine contributors, including the Closing
Thought by Martin Luther King Jr.

The New York Times archives provide two
historical events written by journalists as
the stories actually unfolded.

--

Next week, Marlene and I are taking a
"Canadian Thanksgiving break" and wedding
anniversary trip to Ontario - my home province.

The next issue of Colleagues List will appear
October 16th, two weeks from now.

Thanks for reading.

Wayne

*****

SPECIAL ITEM

Book Notice:

CARDINAL WALTER CASPER
Spiritual Writings, Selected
with an Introduction by
Patricia C. Bellm and Robert A Krieg

Modern Spiritual Masters Series
Orbis Books, Maryknoll, New York
$30.00 CAD/22.00 US. 173 pages. 2016
ISBN #978-1-62698-191-1.


“Mercy is the new Christian awareness.
Mercy gives a foretaste and an anticipation
of what we hope for, the coming of the
heavenly Jerusalem. . . One beam of mercy
makes the world warmer and brighter for
all people.”

- Cardinal Walter Kasper

--

Wikipedia Bio:
http://tinyurl.com/jyyv8m9

--

Publisher's Promo:

Walter Kasper, a German bishop and
theologian, has long been regarded as
a vital expositor of the gospel and one
of the leading voices of church renewal
and reform. Named a cardinal in 2001,
Kasper served as president of the
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian
Unity and represented the Church in
advancing Jewish-Christian relations.

He assumed an especially important
role under Pope Francis, who publicly
endorsed Kasper’s book on Mercy, thus
signaling a principle theme of his papacy.

This volume reflects the major themes of
Kasper’s long career. Given the breadth
of his work, the selections here on God,
Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Church,
Ecumenism, and Christian Hope, represent
a veritable introduction to the Christian faith.

--

The Editors:

Patricia C. Bellm - is co-director of the
Science and Religion Initiative with
Notre Dame's Institute for Church Life.

Robert A. Krieg - a professor of theology
at Notre Dame, is co-editor of Cardinal
Walter Kasper: Speaking Truth in Love
(Liturgical), and editor of the Orbis book
Romano Guardini: Spiritual Writings.

--

Introductory Comments:

(I am now completing sixty years of
priestly ministry). The desire to become
a priest was placed in my heart at an
early age...

(After ordination) my priestly ministry
soon took me into academic theology.
This path led me later to the office of
bishop and eventually to Rome in the
service of the world church and the unity
of all Christians. I dedicated my ordination
as a bishop to "truth in love" (Eph. 4:15).

Thus, ministry for the "Joy of the Gospel"
has accompanied me every step of the
way.  For this reason, and along with
my strictly theological presentations,
numerous spiritual texts have come
about over the years from my sermons
and meditations. In this time of so many
significant changes, these writings are
meant to contribute "to giving an account
of the hope that is in us" (1 Peter 3:1-5).

Faith is Jesus Christ is a gift to be passed
on. Therefore, I owe Patricia C. Bellm
and Robert A Kreig for taking the trouble
to select some of the texts written since
1972 and for making them accessible in
English to a wider public.

I hope that this gift for the jubilee of my
priesthood will become a gift for as many
readers as possible.

Walter Cardinal Kasper,
Rome, 2016.

--

My Thoughts:

Bellm and Krieg, the editors of Kasper's
spiritual work, say this about him in their
introduction:

"In four ways, this book probes the depth
of the treasure in Kasper's writings.

"First, it includes selections from Kasper's
memoir "Where the Heart Faith Beats" -
that probes Anselm of Canterbury's idea
that theology is "faith seeking understanding" -
the resulting fruit of Kasper's faith evidenced
here.

"Second, the depth of Kasper's own thought
comes to light in relation to the documents
of the Second Vatican Council. He sought
to elucidate the council's teachings. His
future development as a theologian was
grounded in the renewing work of that
council for the whole church.

"Third, in his writings, Kasper continually
calls attention to the fact that true Christian
faith and theology are oriented to mystery -
the mystery of being human, of Christ and
of the triune God. Also, the mystery of the
church and of salvation.

"Lastly, this book conveys the spirit with
which Kasper shares the treasure of the
Christian faith. It does this simply because
its texts radiate Kasper's genuine approach
to life in light of the Gospel. All this is done
with a deep sense of joy."

(these lines have been edited by me.)

I am grateful for this book because it
offers the refined thought of a strong
influence in the Catholic Church today.
He has truly influenced others too.

Walter Kasper is known and loved as
a person by many ecumenists - both
Catholic and non-Catholic - who have
worked with him over the years.

The Spirit of God in Christ permeates
his life and influence. I would say that -
even while he is still among us - his
impact is unusually significant.

____

Buy the book from Orbis:
http://tinyurl.com/zv3qa8r

Buy the book from Amazon.ca:
http://tinyurl.com/jgu5eof

*****


COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

Marjorie Gibson,
Vancouver, BC

Marjorie Remembers Blog
September 28th, 2016

"A New Life"
  http://tinyurl.com/jt8gwa9

-

John Stackhouse Jr.,
Moncton, NB

Christianity Today
September 26th, 2016

"The Precarious Future
  of Assisted Suicide"    
  http://tinyurl.com/jypgl9x

--

Martin Marty,
Chicago. IL

Sightings,
September 26th, 2016

"The Moment"
  http://tinyurl.com/z5e7qnu

--

Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX

Personal Web Site
September 26th, 2016

"Software, Moral Formatting,
  and Living in Sin"
  http://tinyurl.com/hky7wqk

***

NET NOTES

REMEMBERING PHYLLIS TICKLE
Her Life and Work (video)

Englewood Review of Books
September 23rd, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/h39y6nx


--

WHEN THE BIBLE
IS BAD FOR YOU
Maturing in Faith

Christian Week
September 26th, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/za8mu2y

--

THE POLITICAL MAGIC
OF C.S. LEWIS
My Social Maturation
(Opinion)

New York Times
September 24th, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/z5zhzvw

--

A DECADE AFTER TRAGIC
AMISH SHOOTING
Mother Talks of Forgiveness

National Public Radia
September 30th, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/hp6yxwa

--

MAJOR KOREAN RELIGIONS
GATHER FOR HARMONY
Four Faiths Involved 

UCA News
September 30th, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/zh3yl4r

--

THE BEST THINGS
SHIMON PERES EVER SAID
Assessing an Israeli Founder

Religion News Service,
September 28th, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/hcwyfqk

"'Peres a Great Man'" Say
  Both Arabs and Jews of Israel"

The Jerusalem Post
September 29th, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/j7rgckm

--

CHRISTIANS SUFFER EXTREME
CRUELTY IN NORTH KOREAN PRISONS
True Stories Often Slow to Emerge

UCA News
September 26th, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/z2afudj

--

'RENT A PRIEST' - SERVICE OFFERED
IN KERALA STATE, INDIA
Former Priests Serve Former Catholics

UCA News,
September 26th, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/hm58gcr

--

THE NUMBER OF FEMALE PASTORS
IS GROWING IN AFRICA
The Tanzanian Lutheran Story

Lutheran World Information
September 25th, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/j6qlse9

--

AMERICAN EVANGELICAL DESPAIR
OVER SOCIETY AND VOTING OPTIONS
Not Supportive of Either Candidate
Unhappy With Shifting Societal Directions

New York Times
September 29th, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/hlsdup5

Religion News Service
September 26th, 2016

"American Evangelicals Divided on Trump
    Following at Least Four Ways"
  
  http://tinyurl.com/jq46mrj


***

WISDOM OF THE WEEK

From Sojourners and the Bruderhof online:

What you are is God's gift to you,
what you become is your gift to God.


- Hans Urs von Balthasar

--

You pray in your distress and in your need;
would that you might pray also in the fullness
of your joy and in your days of abundance.


- Kahlil Gibran

--

I feel most alive, most electric with faith,
breath, and courage, when I think of God
as a current that runs through all that is. 


- Tracy K. Smith

--

I pledge allegiance to the world,
To cherish every living thing,
To care for earth and sea and air,
With peace and freedom everywhere. 


- Lillian Genser

--

No one can serve two lords. There is
only one God, and that God will either
be the true one, who asks us to give
things up when they become sin, or
it will be the god of money, who makes
us turn our back on Christianity’s God.

The spiritual life does not remove us
from the world,but leads us deeper
into it.

-  Oscar Romero

--

Christ said, “Go and give all you have to
the poor and become the servant of all,”
for if you do that, you’ll become a thousand
times richer because your happiness won’t
be made just of good food, rich clothes,
satisfied vanity, and appeased envy. 

Instead it will be built on love, love multiplied
by love without end. And then you will gain
not just riches, but the whole world! 


- Fyodor Dostoyevsky

--

Venture to give all your possessions to the
poor and you will certainly experience the

truth of Christ’s teaching. Venture once to
make yourself completely vulnerable for
the sake of the truth, and you will certainly
experience the truth of Christ’s word.

You will experience how it alone can save
you from despairing or from succumbing,
for you will need Christ both to protect
yourself against others and to maintain
yourself upright when the thought of your
own imperfection would weigh you down.

- Søren Kierkegaard

--

Found on a wrapping paper in
the Ravensbrück concentration camp:


Lord, remember not only the men and
women of good will, but also those of
ill will. But do not remember all the
suffering they have inflicted upon us.


Remember rather the fruits we brought,
thanks to this suffering: our comradeship,
our loyalty, our humility, the courage,
the generosity, the greatness of heart
that has grown out of this. 


And when they come to judgment, let
all the fruits we have borne be their
forgiveness.


--

ON THIS DAY

From the archives of the New York Times:

"Nine Black Children, Escorted by
  National  Guard into Little Rock School"
  http://tinyurl.com/hhz8bd7

"Meeting in Munich Grants Hitler
  Sudetenland Appeasment"
  http://tinyurl.com/ll68vt4

***

CLOSING THOUGHT - Martin Luther King Jr

We are called to play the good Samaritan
on life's roadside; but that will be only an
initial act. 


One day the whole Jericho road must be
transformed so that men and women will
not be beaten and robbed as they make
their journey through life. 


True compassion is more than flinging a
coin to a beggar; it understands that an
edifice that produces beggars needs
restructuring.


(end)


*****

For Those Interested -

Continuing Our Program Planning Season -
Autumn 2016 Adult Spiritual Development
ACTS Ministry at St. David's 
United Church, 
Calgary

FALL 2016 MONDAY NIGHT STUDY

This series starts in September

Theme: "Rediscovering the Bible for Today"

Book: "Reclaiming the Bible 
             for a Non-Religious World"
             by Bishop John Spong

http://tinyurl.com/jfanqdp

A ten-week introduction to the entire Bible
with help to engage it meaningfully, today.

Ten Monday evenings, 7-9PM
In the St. David's TM Room
September 19th - November 28th, 2016
Excluding Monday of Thanksgiving Weekend

Books and Registration/Hospitality - $60.00
Books only - $20.00

Total book sets made available for sale: 40.


BOOKS SOLD OUT, but more to come if needed.


Now beginning eighteen years
of Monday Night Studies
Our thirty-seventh series of
(usually) ten week sessions!

Course design:

http://rtb.stdavidscalgary.net/

Check our complete archives
for all 48 book studies since 2000:
http://tinyurl.com/q3bw6dh

***


THURSDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY

Theme: "Mark - the Earliest Gospel"


Ten sessions 10-11 AM
Gathering at 9:30 AM
In the St. David's TM Room
September 22nd - November 24th.

No charge.

Study resources -


"The DK Complete Bible Handbook"
  Edited by John Bowker
  http://tinyurl.com/odxlv7q


"Reclaiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World"
  by Bishop John Spong
  http://tinyurl.com/jfanqdp

(reserve copies available in our church library)


***

NEW SEASON,
NEW ST.DAVID'S SPIRITUAL TRAVEL PROJECT

The Planning Cycle for a 2017 Tour Continues.

The Travel Destination has been researched with 
Rostad Tours of Calgary. 

We have selected South Africa as our location!

We plan a seventeen-day trip that combines a
focus on faith, culture, and nature, and it will
happen the second half of October next year.

Cost and itinerary will be published this autumn. 
Follow these notices for weekly updates.

*****









Saturday, September 24, 2016

Colleagues List, September 25th, 2016

Vol. XII.  No. 8

*****


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


***

Dear Colleagues:

Please let me know how I'm doing.

Thanks for sharing this letter with others.

If you have friends who would like to
receive Colleagues List notices, just send
me their email addresses.

Your recommendation is all I would need
to include them.

--

My Special Item this week is a book notice
about the latest in colleague Brian Arthur
Brown's unique series of inter-faith scriptural
studies, entitled:

FOUR TESTAMENTS - Sacred Scriptures of
Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism and
Hinduism.

Four years ago, he produced:

THREE TESTAMENTS - Torah, Gospel, Quran.

I include my comments on his latest book,
plus links to his previous efforts (see below).

Brian continues to open the frontiers of
scripture study across the faith traditions 
for people in our multi-faith, contemporary
world. Thanks for sharing this, Brian.

Readers, I hope you like it.

--

Colleague Contributions - are provided
by six friends who share some of their
recent work with all of us.

Thanks to you too.

Net Notes - connect us to ten items
appearing on the web this week that
I thought might interest you.

Wisdom of the Week - is shared by six
who provide us with a meaningful
spiritual legacy.

On This Day - presents an account of
Abraham Lincoln's lasting achievement -
the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 -
written at the time it was issued over
150 years ago.

I have provided lots to think about.

Thanks for reading Colleagues List!

Wayne

*****

SPECIAL ITEM

Book Notice -

FOUR TESTAMENTS
Sacred Scriptures of Taoism,
Confucianism, Buddhism and Hinduism
Edited by Brian Arthur Brown.

Rowan & Littlefield, Lanham, MD
$72.00/CAD Hardcover and
$65.00/CAD Kindle Edition
471 pages. July 2016.
ISBN #9781442265776.

Publisher's Promo:

Four Testaments brings together four
foundational texts from world religions -
the Tao Te Ching, Dhammapada, Analects
of Confucius, and Bhagavad Git - inviting
readers to experience them in full, to
explore possible points of connection
and divergence, and to better understand
people who practice these traditions.

Following Brian Arthur Brown’s award-
winning Three Testaments: Torah, Gospel,
Quran, this volume of Four Testaments
features essays by esteemed scholars to
introduce readers to each tradition and
text, as well as commentary on unexpected
ways the ancient Zoroastrian tradition might
connect Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism,
and Hinduism, as well as the Abrahamic
faiths. Four Testaments aims to foster
deeper religious understanding in our
interconnected and contentious

--

Editor's Website:
http://brianarthurbrown.com/

About the Editor:
http://brianarthurbrown.com/meet/resume/

From the Foreword by Francis X. Clooney, SJ
http://brianarthurbrown.com/four/foreword/

--

Christian Century Review Summary:

In a companion volume to Three Testaments:
Torah, Gospel, and Quran, Canadian pastor
Brian Arthur Brown presents the sacred
scriptures of four Eastern faith traditions
alongside critical essays about the texts.

Accessible to non-scholars, Brown’s underlying
narrative posits an ancient meeting between
the textual traditions of East and West in the
Zoroastrian faith. The primary value of this book
for many readers, however, will be in the words
of the scriptures themselves.

Locating scriptures of diverse traditions on
adjacent pages is not without risk - but it is
valuable for those who seek to be illuminated
by the texts and moved to fruitful dialogue.

--

Rev. Joy Abdul-Mohan,
St. Andrew’s Theological College,
Trinidad & Tobago writes -

"Four Testaments is certainly invaluable both
worldwide and in the Global South. People may
be more open to inter-faith and inter-religious
dialogue—a lived reality—than is sometimes
realized. Four Testaments showcases this
dialogue at its best."

See other comments under "Reviews"
http://tinyurl.com/h5jkl7z

--

My Thoughts:

Over the years, I have introduced two books
by colleague Brian Arthur Brown, a United Church
of Canada minister living in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

They are: "Noah's Other Son" and "Three
Testaments" (each promoting Jewish, Christian
and Islamic dialogue and comparative text studies).

http://cep.anglican.ca/tag/brian-arthur-brown/

Brown's goal is the local encounter of people from
the major world religions through a reading together 
of their sacred texts. He is deeply committed to
exposing these spiritual resources to non-specialists.

He wants to take the benefits of scholarly interfaith
dialogue out of the academy and into a fruitful
exchange where people live and relate together 
as neighbours and friends. 

This is one step beyond the goal of his earlier books
which encouraged Christians, Jews and Muslims (the
three great religions of Jerusalem) to study their
sacred texts together in a spirit of mutual respect.

With the book Four Testaments, Brown is attempting
to extend the earlier dialogue further, and to include
persons and communities of the four great Eastern
faith traditions.

What I believe he is trying to do, at this period
of first encounter for many, is to "expose" people
to the texts, not study them academically.

He introduces them with the aid of specialists
who know the documentation to such a degree that
they can share it in a natural, non-threatening way.

So again, these are not studies in comparative religion
but in exposure to the texts of the various traditions.

--

Some years ago as a church minister in Toronto,
Brown sponsored his first Jewish-Christian studies
(later expanded to Muslims) in a local congregation.
Now, he expands this.

The book currently under consideration focuses
our attention to the sacred scriptures of Taoism,
Confucianism, Buddhism and Hinduism. To engage
us, Brown encourages the Zoroastrian tradition
as an entry point to the others. This presents us
with  a variety of scripture and spiritual traditions
that pre-date and have influenced all the great
faiths of both Jerusalem and the East.

In a true sense editor Brown editor has now
established the foundation for inter-faith dialogue
using text studies and involving all the major
faith traditions in the world today, based on
inherited written texts.

(Ultimately, primal, aboriginal traditions are
not included, as they are word, not text-based;
even though they have influenced all the others.
To be truly and spiritually inclusive, ways need
also to be found to include these ancient
traditions as well.)

We are now entering a kind of study that is truly
global in scope and covering human history from
the time of its origins. This is far older, in some
ways at least, than what we previous experienced
in the Judeo-Christian plus Islamic traditions.

I consider this a significant accomplishment.
The implications of it will not be realized for
a long time, but a start is being made in
finding a truly global spirituality, based on
written texts.

The task now before us is to encourage these
studies to take place in our local places of
worship, cultural/community centres and
schools. The promise of this is realistic in
Canadian society because of our tolerance,
and we need to start creating models from
what is already taking place across this land.

Thanks and congratulations Brian, for investing
your life in such a worthy undertaking.
____

Buy this book from Amazon.ca:
http://tinyurl.com/hz3g8ol

Buy the book from Kobo e-Books:
http://tinyurl.com/zg4sp6a

Rowan & Littlefield (Hardcover)
http://tinyurl.com/h5jkl7z


***

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

Doug Koop,
Winnipeg, MB

Faith Today,
September/October 2016

"Don't Turn Away From Suffering -
  What we Learn from People in Distress"
  http://tinyurl.com/jxwg78p

--


Mathew Zachariah,
Calgary, AB

St. Andrew's Anglican Website
Calgary, Alberta

August Message:

"A Reflection on Racism and the Church"
--

Mark Whittall
Ottawa, ON.

Blog Site
September 17th, 2016

"Managers of Injustice"
  http://tinyurl.com/h9n37uz

--

John Stackhouse Jr.,
Moncton, NB

Sightings,
September 22nd, 2016

"Can American Civil Religion
    Tolerate  Dissent?
     http://tinyurl.com/j9v8zyl

--

Martin Marty,
Chicago, IL

Sightings,
September 19th, 2016

"Getting Religion"

--

Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX

Personal Web Log
September 19th, 2016

"Indulgences Revisited"
  http://tinyurl.com/zjokuk8


***

NET NOTES

GRETTA VOSPER UPDATE
Removal Process Continues
as well as Growing Support

Toronto Star
September 22nd, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/hgfuora

"Disagreeing in Love"
A Letter of Caution and Inclusivity
from the United Church Moderator"

United Church of Canada Website
September 23rd, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/h33o5z5

--

FOR THE LOVE OF CARBON
It is Part of Creation

Christian Week
September 15th, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/j9jufkr

--

HOW DID WE GET EVERYWHERE?
Study Posits Single Human Source
Emanating Out of Africa

New York Times,
September 21st, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/gu7jff5

--

UCC SEEKS UNITED-HINDU RELATIONS
Encourages Deeper East-West Dialogue

United Church of Canada Website
September 20th, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/hu5zqte

--


WHY DO MOST PEOPLE LEAVE RELIGION?
They Just Stop Believing (US Study)

Religion News Service
September 22nd, 2016


--

CAMPOLO REJECTS
EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN LABEL
He Gives Five Reasons

Christian Post,
September 20th, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/h8e8y9z

--

ANCIENT BURNT HEBREW SCROLL
DECIPHERED - Israeli and American
Scholars Solve Old Mystery Using
State-of-the-Art Technology

Jerusalem Post (Israeli Perspective)
September 22nd, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/z28j7rq

New York Times (American Perspective)
September 22nd, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/j62jg85

--

FRANCIS' WORDS TO U.S. CONGRESS
PROVING TRUE - A Year Ago, He Warned
Against Hate-based Politics; Urged Support
for Moral Leaders and Grassroots Initiatives

Religion News Service
September 21st, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/z7kpk6b

--

CARTER URGES BAPTIST FAITH LEADERS
TO COMBAT RACISM - Former President
Continues to Focus on Key Issues

The Washington Post
September 19th, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/zdknbvn

--

JEHOVAH'S WITNESS SHUNNING CASE
SHINES LIGHT ON RARE PRACTICE
Colleague Irving Hexham Comments

CBC.ca Calgary
September 16th, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/zynwh97

***

WISDOM OF THE WEEK

From websites of Sojourners and the Bruderhof:

Our deeds determine us,
as much as we determine our deeds.


- George Eliot

--

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain.


- Emily Dickinson

--

It is not our differences that divide us.
It is our inability to recognize, accept,
and celebrate those differences.


- Audre Lorde

--

Sometimes the very walls of our churches
separate us from God and each other. In
our various naves and sanctuaries we are
safely separated from those outside, from
other denominations, other religions,
separated from the poor, the ugly, the dying...


The house of God is not a safe place. It is
across where time and eternity meet, and
where we are – or should be – challenged to
live more vulnerably, more interdependently.


- Madeleine L’Engle

--

We must overturn so many idols, the idol
of self first of all, so that we can be humble,
and only from our humility can learn to be
redeemers, can learn to work together in the
way the world really needs.


Liberation that raises a cry against others
is no true liberation. Liberation that means
revolutions of hate and violence and takes
the lives of others or abases the dignity of
others cannot be true liberty. True liberty

does violence to self and, like Christ, who
disregarded that he was sovereign, becomes
a slave to serve others.


- Oscar Romero

***

ON THIS DAY

From the archives of the New York Times:

"President Lincoln Issues
  Emancipation Proclamation"
  http://tinyurl.com/5x2fp2

***

CLOSING THOUGHT - Peace Pilgrim

Religion is to be used as a stepping stone
to God, but it must never be used as a
tower to hold one aloft from others.

We are all cells in the body of humanity.
When anyone attempts to isolate another,
they only isolate themselves more.

(end)

*****

For Those Interested -

Beginning Our Program Planning Season -
Autumn 2016 Adult Spiritual Development
ACTS Ministry at St. David's 
United Church, 
Calgary

FALL 2016 MONDAY NIGHT STUDY

This series starts in September

Theme: "Rediscovering the Bible for Today"

Book: "Reclaiming the Bible 
             for a Non-Religious World"
             by Bishop John Spong

http://tinyurl.com/jfanqdp

A ten-week introduction to the entire Bible
with help to engage it meaningfully, today.

Ten Monday evenings, 7-9PM
In the St. David's TM Room
September 19th - November 28th, 2016
Excluding Monday of Thanksgiving Weekend

Books and Registration/Hospitality - $60.00
Books only - $20.00

Total book sets made available for sale: 40.


BOOKS SOLD OUT, but more to come if needed.


Now beginning eighteen years
of Monday Night Studies
Our thirty-seventh series of
(usually) ten week sessions!

Course design:

http://rtb.stdavidscalgary.net/

Check our complete archives
for all 48 book studies since 2000:
http://tinyurl.com/q3bw6dh

***


THURSDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY

Theme: "Mark - the Earliest Gospel"


Ten sessions 10-11 AM
Gathering at 9:30 AM
In the St. David's TM Room
September 22nd - November 24th.

No charge.

Study resources -


"The DK Complete Bible Handbook"
  Edited by John Bowker
  http://tinyurl.com/odxlv7q


"Reclaiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World"
  by Bishop John Spong
  http://tinyurl.com/jfanqdp

(reserve copies available in our church library)


***

NEW SEASON,
NEW ST.DAVID'S SPIRITUAL TRAVEL PROJECT

The Planning Cycle for a 2017 Tour Continues.

The Travel Destination has been researched with 
Rostad Tours of Calgary. 

We have selected South Africa as our location!

We plan a seventeen-day trip that combines a
focus on faith, culture, and nature, and it will
happen the second half of October next year.

Cost and itinerary will be published this autumn. 
Follow these notices for weekly updates.

*****