Saturday, October 15, 2016

Colleagues List, October 16th, 2016

Vol. XII.  No. 10

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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


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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.

--

I send you this issue of Colleagues List
after missing last week because my partner
Marlene and I were celebrating our wedding
anniversary in Ontario - enjoying friends,
culture and nature. Its always great to go
east, and great to come home again.

In this issue, I introduce "Prayers for all
Seasons, based on the Revised Common
Lectionary, Year A" as an aid to personal
and corporate worship.

Colleague Contributions - includes the
work of a newcomer - Marites Sison  -
friend and editor of the Anglican Journal
whom we visited with her staff team
while in Toronto. Also contributing are
several regulars. Unfortunately, I still
cannot get a connection to Jim Taylor's
website and I know many of you miss
his weekly columns. Please help us, Jim!

Net Notes - contain our usual, and hopefully
interesting, potpourri of web selections. I
have created a special 5-article collection
on "American Evangelicals and the presidential 
election" which I found intriguing.

Wisdom of the Week and Closing Thought -
offers insights from nine persons, living
and dead, who have much to teach us.

I hope you enjoy the six stories from the
historical archives of the New York Times.

--

Thanks for joining me again this week.
I had quite a job sifting and sorting the
emails that arrived while I was away!

Wayne

*****

SPECIAL ITEM

Book Notice:

PRAYERS FOR ALL SEASONS Year A
Based on the Revised Common Lectionary,
Edited by Ellen Turnbull. 2016.

Wood lake Publishing Inc., Kelowna, BC
$19.95 CAD. paper. $9.99 CAD Kindle.
226 pages. ISBN #978-1-77064-809-8

Publisher's Promo:

The Prayers for All Seasons series offers
weekly prayers that complement the
readings from the Revised Common
Lectionary.

This Year A addition to the collection
completes the set of three lectionary
years, providing a complete, handy,
and valuable resource.

Each volume contains an entire year’s
worth of prayers. Use as a weekly
resource, or dip into it as needed.

Prayers for All Seasons includes selections
from the Seasons of the Spirit lectionary-
based Christian education curriculum –
one which is embraced by thousands of
congregations around the world. Prayers
from the collection can be used in various
ways and at various times during worship
or outside of the worship setting.

Each book  features a variety of prayer
formats, including responsive prayers,
breath prayers, and prayers with actions.
A scripture index provides easy reference.

--

Editor's Profile:

Ellen Turnbull’s professional background
includes arts and financial administration
in Canada, Australia, and England. She
discovered a perfect fit with editing, and
worked in-house at Wood Lake for 11 years.
She currently freelance edits from home in t
he Okanagan, where she also loves to hike,
ski, and bake.

--

My Thoughts:

Wood lake has been providing group worship
and personal spiritual resource materials for
thirty years, and continues to do so as its
reputation has expanded from interior British
Columbia to a global audience in the English-
speaking world.

I have been reading, reviewing and endorsing
books and other items from this publisher
since founders and colleagues Ralph Milton
and Jim Taylor began their venture on a wing
and a prayer three decades ago.

I am always impressed by the quality of the
writing and editorial work that this house has
always produced -- as well as the number
of publications they are able to mount.

This particular title is one third of a set of
common lectionary prayers that seeks to
be grounded in Canadian experience as well
as global and ecumenical in appeal.

Every Sunday of the church year in a three-
year cycle (as well as extra services such as
"Blue Sunday" for lonely people at Christmas)
is covered here.

Each service has a seasonal focus with
lectionary reading indexes referencing both
Hebrew and Christian Bibles; as well as formal
prayers and transitional sequences plus helpful
textual explanations to support the liturgical
planner or worshipper.

A few scriptural segments, like the Minor
Prophets and the Book of Revelation are not
to be found in this particular book. Those that
plan and worship with this material, however, 
are exposed to most of the Bible annually,
as a result.

The material can stand alone in less formal
worship orders, as well as fitted into more
established, classical liturgies.


As I have often done in the past, I heartily
recommend a book like this for personal and
corporate usage, and I thank Woodlake once
more for creating a fine resource.

---

Buy the book from Wood lake Press:
http://tinyurl.com/zvhvomc

Buy the book from Amazon.ca:
http://tinyurl.com/zuplh84


*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

Marites Sison
Toronto, ON.

Anglican Journal Online
October 7th, 2016

"Hunger for Justice -
  A Thanksgiving Challenge"
  http://tinyurl.com/jemcevb

--

Marjorie Gibson
Vancouver, BC

Marjorie Remembers Blog
October 12th, 2016

"The Lasting Effects of Experience"
  http://tinyurl.com/jbwzwvc

--

Martin Marty,
Chicago, IL

RNS News Service
October 10th, 2016

"Much Ado About Mormon Leadership
  http://tinyurl.com/jmnf6qc

--

Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX

Catholic Register, Toronto
October 13th, 2016

"My Struggle to Not Make God
  Our Tribal Deity"

http://tinyurl.com/hbbyw4f


*****

NET NOTES

LOCKER ROOM TALK
A Parent Responds to Trump
by Jim Wallis

Sojourners Online,
October 12th, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/z6s4zls

--

WHAT MAKES US CANADIAN?
We Continue to Define Ourselves

Angus Reid Institute
October 3rd, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/zr55rjm

--

INTERVIEW WITH JOAN CHITTISTER
A True Catholic Woman Leader

United Church of Canada Observer
October, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/zp2qwvl

--

DOES TRUMP HAVE A LOCK ON EVANGELICALS?
A Shifting American Political Playing-Field

New York Times
October 7th, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/zw3hgkh

-

"Ron Sider:
  Why I Am Voting for Hillary Clinton"

Christianity Today,
September 23rd, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/zfrwgm9

-

"Donald Trump and Evangelical Women"

Politico
October 10th, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/hj8qpq2

-

"Old Guard Evangelicals Stick With Trump"

Religion News Service 
October 10th, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/z7eacjb

-

"Miroslav Volf on the American Election"

Religion News Service
October 6th, 2016


--

THE RELIGIOUS WONDERINGS
OF BOB DYLAN
Nobel Laureate a
Restless, Seeking Soul

Religion News Service
October 14th, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/hnufxhl

--

MY THEOLOGIAL JOURNEY FROM
CERTAINTY TO DISCOVERY
Opening Up to the Spirit

Christian Week Online
October 9th, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/z6gm5pv

--

CATHOLIC-LUTHERAN CELEBRATION
OF THE REFORMATION IN SWEDEN
500th Anniversary Event - Milestone
in Ecumenical Developments

Lutheran World Information
October 12th, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/jsrwjux

"German Catholic and Protestant Bishops
  Rejoice in Their Ecumenical Collaboration"

Lutheran World Information
October 14th, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/jhy8l3m

--

ARCHEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES -
DEAD SEA SCHROLL FRAGMENTS
Textual Studies Confirm Hebrew Bible

Christian Post
October 12th, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/zcayosu

--

UN AGENCY IGNORES JEWISH TIES
TO TEMPLE MOUNT IN JERUSALEM
Israel Naturally Offended

Religion News Service
October 13th, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/jbj77o4

--

JACOB NEUSER, JUDAIC SCHOLAR, WHO
FORGED INTERFAITH BONDS, DIES AT 84
Well-Known and Loved by Christians

New York Times
October 10th, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/h9szu4h

*****

WISDOM OF THE WEEK

From Sojourners and the Bruderhof online:

Peace can only last where human rights
are respected, where the people are fed,
and where individuals and nations are free. 


- Dalai Lama XIV

--

It is in each of us that the peace of the world
is cast...from there it must spread out to the
limits of the universe. 


- Leo Cardinal Suenens

--

The work of community, love, reconciliation,
restoration is the work we cannot leave up
to politicians. 


This is the work we are all called to do. 

- Shane Claiborne

--

It is better to allow our lives to speak for us
than our words. God did not bear the cross
only two thousand years ago. He bears it
today, and he dies and is resurrected from
day to day. It would be a poor comfort to
the world if it had to depend on a historical
God who died two thousand years ago.

Do not, then, preach the God of history,
but show him as he lives today through you.


- Mohandas K. Gandhi

--

As he submits to John’s baptism of
repentance, Jesus shows the radical
way he will confront the sin that
enslaves humanity. Jesus’ “baptim,” 
begun in the Jordan and completed
on Golgotha, is repentance, self-denial,
metanoia to the fullest.…

To be baptized “into Christ” and “in the
name of Christ” means to be incorporated
into the way of life which characterized his
life, the life of the empty one, the servant,
the humble one, the obedient one,
obedient even unto death (Phil. 2:6–11).


- William Willimon

--

In the first centuries of Christianity the
hungry were fed at a personal sacrifice,
the naked were clothed at a personal
sacrifice, the homeless were sheltered 
at a personal sacrifice.…

And the pagans used to say about the
Christians, “See how they love each other.” 
In our own day the poor are no longer fed,
clothed, and sheltered at a personal sacrifice,
but at the expense of the taxpayers.

And because of this the pagans say about
the Christians -- 

“See how they pass the buck"

- Peter Maurin

--

I heard an old man speak once, someone
who had been sober for fifty years, a very
prominent doctor. He said that he’d finally
figured out a few years ago that his profound
sense of control, in the world and over his life,
is another addiction and a total illusion.

He said that when he sees little kids sitting
in the back seat of cars, in those car seats
that have steering wheels, with grim
expressions of concentration on their

faces, clearly convinced that their efforts
are causing the car to do whatever it is
doing, he thinks of himself and his
relationship with God: God who drives
along silently, gently amused, in the real
driver’s seat.

- Anne Lamott

--

When I was a child, a volcano erupted
unexpectedly in Iceland, burying a small
town at the foot of its cone. All the children
in the town were in school at the time, and
they all perished. The parents sent their sons
and daughters out the door that morning,
same as they always did, and never saw
them again. I remember my mother being
profoundly moved by that tragedy. 

She always made sure that the last words
we had in the morning were loving ones.
That cannot always have been easy, but
my memory is that she usually succeeded.

- Barbara Cawthorne Crafton

*****

ON THIS DAY

From the archives of the New York Times:

"East and West Germany Re-Unite
  After Forty-Five Years"
  http://tinyurl.com/2e8qey

"Solidarity Union Banned in Poland"
  http://tinyurl.com/nq5dekl

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

"Sadat of Egypt Shot to Death
     by Islamic Militants"
   http://tinyurl.com/pjbtd5k

"Russia Launches First Sputnik Satellite"
   http://tinyurl.com/p33p69h

"Martin Luther King Jr.
      Wins Nobel Peace Prize"
   http://tinyurl.com/k4rh4ee


*****

CLOSING THOUGHT - Thich Nhat Hanh

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says,
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall
be called the children of God.” To work for
peace, you must have a peaceful heart.


When you do, you are a child of God.
But many who work for peace are not
at peace. They still have anger and
frustration, and their work is not really
peaceful. We cannot say that they are
touching the kingdom of God. 


To preserve peace, our hearts must be at peace
with the world, with our brothers and our sisters.


(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 started 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.

*****