Saturday, September 25, 2010

Colleagues List, September 25th, 2010

Vol VI,   No. 4

*****

Edited by Wayne A. Holst

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Blogsite:

http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com/

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Special Item in this Issue:

"Roots and Wings"
A Reflection on Summer Travels in Ontario & BC

___


Colleague Communication:

Douglas John Hall

___


Colleague Contributions:

Michael Higgins
Martin Marty
Jim Taylor
Ron Rolheiser
Eboo Patel
Doug Shantz

___


Net Notes:

An Historic Welcome to the UK
Gideons Slow Down Pace of Change
My Conversation with Terry Jones
Scientific Theory for Red Sea Crossing
Colleagues Honour Sri Lankan Theologian
Belgian Church Still Reels from Abuse Crisis
Christian Astronomer Says He Would Baptize Aliens
Young Theologians Hope to Reduce Church Polarization
Will New Canadian in the Vatican be a Mere "Yes Man?"
Scholars Propose Rewrite of 400 Year Old Passion Play
Conservative Canadian Lutherans Consider Other Alliance

_____


Global Faith Potpourri:

25 stories from Ecumenical News International

___


Quotes of the Month:

Esther de Waal
Oscar Arias Sánchez
Joan Chittister
C.S. Lewis
Mother Teresa
Martin Luther
Toni Morrison

___


On This Day (Sept. 9th - Sept. 25th)

Sept. 9, 1976 - Chinese leader Mao Tse-tung dies
Sept.11, 2001 - Two airliners crash into World Trade Center
Sept.12, 1977 - South African black student leader Biko dies
Sept.22, 1862 - Lincoln issues first Emancipation Proclamation
Sept.25, 1957 - Nine black children escorted to Little Rock school

___


Closing Thoughts -

Looking back two lifetimes ago:

J. Ray Houser and Wayne Holst
Lutheran Brotherhood Award, 1967

(end)


*****


Dear Friends:

The autumn season is upon us and that means
a return to classes and a more regular schedule.

This weekend, the Gandhi Society of Calgary holds
its annual dinner - always a sign of autumn!
Thanks, colleague Tony Parel, for the work you
put into this event each year.

___


As a special item for this issue, I offer some
reflection on the two trips we took near the end
of summer. I entitle these thoughts:

"Roots and Wings - A Reflection on Summer Travels
 in Ontario & BC"

___


Colleague Communication:

Douglas John Hall - writes from Montreal to alert us
to the appearance of his article in the September 7th
issue of the Christian Century. It was entitled -
"Cross and Context: How My Mind Has Changed."

I have located a link to the article and hope all of you
take the time and make the effort to read this important
article on Doug's spiritual/theological evolution.

Doug also informs us that he has written a new book:
"The Messenger: Remembering Bob Miller" to be published
next year by Fortress. We'll watch for it!

Though a United Church of Canada theologian, Doug. Hall
has done more than any modern Canadian Lutheran guide
(William Hordern may come close to him) to interpret
and promote the theology of Martin Luther in this country
and beyond it. He does so using the term theologia crucis
or, "a theology of the cross" - which, like Luther, he
contrasts with theolgia gloria - "a theology of glory."

___


Colleague Contributions:

Michael Higgins - introduces Cardinal John Henry Newman and
tells us why the pope came to the UK to beatify him earlier
this month - "A Very Modern Christian" (Globe & Mail). I then
add other articles on this important man I have long admired.

Martin Marty - provides two pieces this week. The first
is on the extreme and unfortunate comments about Islam made
recently by Franklin Graham. It is entitled: "Franklin
Graham on Islam and Violence." With Marty, I'm not impressed
with Graham's rhetoric. The second article speaks to the
issue of how skewed the subject of Islam has become in
many American minds - "Until There Are Churches in Saudi
Arabia." An American reflects on America (Sightings)

Jim Taylor - takes on the subject of face coverings and
how France has recently banned them - "New Times Replace
Old Traditions" (Web Log)

Ron Rolheiser - writes in a kind and generous way about
inclusiveness - "How Large Is Your Heaven?" and I thank
him for it (Column for September 12th)

Eboo Patel - head of Chicago-based Interfaith Youth Core
(introduced to me by Martin Marty) interviews with
Canadian Irshad Manji and Richard Cizik. Their topic?
"The State of Islam in America" (ABC News Video)

Doug Shantz - chairholder of Christian Thought at the
University of Calgary, Doug announces two important
autumn lectures offered by Anne Moore and Mark Mealey.

___


Net Notes:

"An Historic Welcome to the UK" - beside the Islamic
brouhaha in the USA, a matter of considerable religious
significance this past month was the visit of the pope
to the UK. I include articles from ENI, The Tablet (UK)
Australia News, The Telegraph (UK) National Catholic
Reporter, The Daily Mail (UK) Anglican Journal News
(Toronto) and The Guardian (UK)

"Gideons Slow Down Pace of Change" - the famous Bible
distributors retain some very traditional ideas as
recent decisions reflect - from Christianweek.org

"My Conversation with Terry Jones" - A Canadian
evangelical leader is being credited with convincing
would-be Qar'an-burner Terry Jones to halt his tragic
efforts - at least for now (Christianity.ca)

"Scientific Theory for Red Sea Crossing" - an
American scientist attempts to explain how the
Children of Israel escaped Egypt by "crossing
the Red Sea on dry land" (Sydney Morning Herald)

"Colleagues Honour Sri Lankan Theologian" - some
will recall that, a decade ago, Asian theologian
Fr. Tissa Balasuriya ran afoul of the Vatican and
some in his own religious order (the Oblates of
Mary Immaculate) because of his attempts to replace
Western theological constructs with themes and
imagery rooted in Eastern faith traditions. Now,
in his senior years, he is being honoured by
colleagues (Cathnews Asia)

"Belgian Church Still Reels from Abuse Problems" -
The news for the church in Belgium keeps getting
worse. Here is an update from the New York Times.

"Christian Astronomer Says He Would Baptize Aliens" -
in addition to challenging the claims of creationist
theology, the question of baptism for aliens from
other planets (if we ever encounter them) is taken
up in seriousness (The Guardian, UK)

"Young Theologians Hope to Reduce Church Polarization" -
responding to the growing division in the American
Catholic Church a group of young theologians have met
to discuss ways of bridging serious gaps (National
Catholic Reporter)

"Will New Canadian in the Vatican be a Mere 'Yes Man?'" -
the recently announced appointment of Cardinal Quellet
of Quebec to head the Vatican's bishop's council prompts
other North American Catholics to question his appointment
and, in doing so, reflects the division in the church I
noted above (National Catholic Reporter)

"Scholars Proposed Rewrite of 400 Year Old Passion Play" -
A Jewish rabbi writes about changes to the text of the famous
passion play enacted every decade at Oberammergau, Bavaria.
Concerns by Jewish scholars about biblical language that could
be construed as anti-Jewish now report that the script has
been appropriately altered (Sightings)

"Conservative Canadian Lutherans Consider Other Alliance" -
the pattern has already been established by other groups
breaking from North American mainline denominations. In
this instance, we read about some Lutherans in Canada
(Christianweek.org)

_____


Global Faith Potpourri:

25 stories from Ecumenical News International are presented
this week. As we return to a weekly CL schedule, the number
of short reports will be reduced.

___


Quotes of the Month:

Esther de Waal, Oscar Arias Sánchez, Joan Chittister,
C.S. Lewis, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther & Toni Morrison
provide good insights this week.

___


On This Day (Sept. 9th - Sept. 22nd)

Stories as they happened are from the archives
of the New York Times:

Chinese leader Mao Tse-tung dies (1976)
Two airliners crash into World Trade Center (2001)
South African black student leader Steve Biko dies (1977)
Abe Lincoln issues first US Emancipation Proclamation (1862)
Nine black children escorted to Little Rock school (1957)

___


Closing Thoughts -

When the following link appeared unexpectedly on my screen
I was carried back in thought to a time - 43 years ago -
when my career was beginning. Little did I realize then
how my life would be re-shaped and changed by the opportunity
I had to study in Europe.

J. Ray Houser and Wayne Holst
Lutheran Brotherhood Award, 1967

See link, below.


Wayne

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


SPECIAL ST. DAVID'S LINKS

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

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


___


ST DAVID'S ACTS WEB PAGE

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

__


ANNOUNCING:

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

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

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

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

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

38 PLACES ON THE TOUR ARE SOLD OUT

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


*****


Announcing our New Fall Study at St. David's:

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

---

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

Including background material from the book:

THE CELTIC WAY (Ian Bradley)

Plus:

INTROS TO CELTIC SAINTS PATRICK, COLUMBA & DAVID

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

Special Guest:

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

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

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

___


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

ROOTS AND WINGS
A Reflection on Summer Travels in Ontario & BC

This year Marlene and I made Canada our travel focus once
more. Last year we saw "Mile Zero" of the Trans Canada
Highway in St. John's NL. This year, we visited "Mile Zero"
in Victoria BC.

In addition, we stood on the southernmost tip of Canada -
Point Pelee - which juts into Lake Erie from Essex County
in Ontario. In what might be described as a typical Canadian
experience, we were welcomed by a Least Sandpiper to the very
small, sandy point at which the land literally ended!

That means we still have the northernmost tip of our beautiful
country still to visit as we keep discovering what lies
between our nation's magnificent borders!

---

While I could connect our BC and Ontario visits using any
number of themes and images, I choose the words "roots and
wings" for this brief essay about our recent experience.

For me at least, Waterloo County Ontario represents the
place of my roots. St. Jacobs is my home town and St. James
Lutheran, my formative family of faith. On the other hand,
Salt Spring Island represents a place of wings, which stands
for new, uncharted but exciting and anticipated territory.

We went to St. Jacobs to meet with people who have been
part of my long-established beginnings and to Salt Spring
Island for an experience rather new for us - a same-gender
marriage ceremony involving a member of our family.

Indeed, 'roots' and 'wings' are good, descriptive terms for
these experiences. I maintain that all of us need both.

_____


Thanks to colleague Pauline Miller, the church secretary
at St. James Lutheran, we were able to attend the Sunday
service on September 12th. In many ways it was very much
like the hundreds I attended there as a youth. The liturgy
was solid, substantial, obviously well-known to the regulars,
and a source of comfort and reassurance. I am no longer a
routine attendee at Lutheran liturgies but many memories
flooded back. Here was the location of my baptism and my
confirmation (in an earlier building) and first sermon!

In some ways the service was unfamiliar to Marlene, but
together we recognized the significance of this place for
my early nurturing and spiritual formation.

Some of the welcoming people I recognized. Many I did not.
It has been forty-two years since I left home. It was very
re-assuring to know that good people are still tending the
spiritual fires of a place that has nurtured countless
people over the years.

A special experience for us was to have dinner with the
current mayor of Woolwich Township - former school-mate
Bill Strauss who is two days older than me and heading into
yet another civic election at age 68! Bill and Maryanne are
faithful Catholics and we reflected on growing up in what
was then a rather homogeneously German Protestant community.
Of course, things change - even in a place like St. Jacobs!

Marlene and I visited St. James Cemetery and the graves
of my parents Alf and Marieta Holst, as well as the memorial
stones for many of my ancestors and relatives.

It was good to return to St. Jacobs. It gave me a renewed
sense of life grounding and substance.

_____


The visit to Salt Spring Island was prompted by an invitation
from Laura and Bascia to attend their wedding. It would be the
first time Marlene and I would experience the vow-sharing of two
people of the same gender. Even though such weddings are becoming
more common and families are invited to attend - the experience
is still a bit strange for many.

A whole new set of terms are required for such ceremonies.
'Husband' and 'wife' no longer apply, for example. Kissing
was part of the ceremony - but was there a bride? Was there
a groom? Well. not really.

Seeing two women kissing as we did takes a little getting used
to, but we realize that is essentially a matter of custom.
Customs can and do change. We will accept that.

The United Church minister who married them, Rev. Bob Pollock
of Vancouver, did a fine piece of pastoral work - both in the
preparation and follow-through. It was obvious that all three
of the key persons involved in the ceremony had put much thought
and spiritual devotion into the proceedings.

I think Laura and Bascia appreciated that we made the effort
to 'come all the way from Calgary' as they said, to represent
a number of others in our family who did not attend for various
reasons. Frankly, as one who has married many heterosexual
couples over the years, I felt the level of spiritual preparation
and climate of this ceremony was second to none.

We were proud and happy to attend this service in the back yard
of a friend's house on the island, and then to participate in
the joyous reception that followed in the Harbour House in the
town of Ganges.

We love this couple and wish them well on their life journey.
We reflect on the experience as something taking us beyond the
customary; but one which will no doubt become commonplace for
future Canadian generations.

We are proud to live in a country where human rights are
taken seriously and a church that is willing to act on that
belief. Even though we need to respect religious differences -
we are happy that no particular religious/moral perspective
is permitted to control the majority.

_____


So, book-ended by a return to my home church and attendance at
a same gender wedding ceremony this summer, we can speak with
mutual satisfaction about "roots" and "wings."

I hope that your summer was equally nurturing and satisfying.

Wayne


*****


COLLEAGUE COMMUNICATION

DOUGLAS JOHN HALL

Dear Wayne -  Hope you have had a good summer.
Christian Century (Sept. 7th issue) published my
article in the HOW MY MIND HAS CHANGED series.

I also have a new book in the offing —

THE MESSENGER: REMEMBERING BOB MILLER.
Fortress will publish it in 2011.

Doug.

__


Thanks for informing us, Doug.

We will keep an eye open for the book.
Here is the Christian Century link to your article:

http://tinyurl.com/232d4kz


*****


COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

MICHAEL HIGGINS

The Globe and Mail
September 18th, 2010

Newman: A Modern Christian

http://tinyurl.com/2eh7r7k

---

Newman Still Commands Our Attention

National Catholic Reporter
September 18th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/24dqua9

---

A Conspiracy of Bishops and Faithful

America Magazine
September 23rd, 2010

Newman championed the spiritual awareness of
the laity, but not at the expense of bishops:

http://tinyurl.com/29kazdm


*****

MARTIN MARTY

"Franklin Graham on Islam and Violence"

Sightings
September 13th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/28v6ean

___


"Until There are Churches in Saudi Arabia"

Sightings
September 20th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2d6fw3n


*****

JIM TAYLOR

Web Article
Sunday Sept. 19th, 2010

NEW TIMES DISPLACE OLD TRADITIONS
Face-Covering

France has boldly gone where no nation has gone before.
Last Tuesday, the French Senate voted 246 to one to ban
face coverings. France’s lower house, its National
Assembly, had approved the legislation in July...

Read the article:
http://edges.canadahomepage.net/category/sharp-edges/

*****

RON ROLHEISER

Column
Sept. 12th, 2010

"How Large is Your Heaven?"

http://www.ronrolheiser.com/columnarchive/?id=531


*****

EBOO PATEL

"Islam in America"

ABC News Video
September 11th, 2010

(please wait out the brief commercial
 at the beginning of this exchange)

http://tinyurl.com/25w6872

*****

DOUG SHANTZ

Chair of Christian Thought
University of Calgary

Bentall Lecture in Christian Theology
Monday, October 4th, 2010

Swanson Lecture in Christian Spirituality
Monday, November 8th, 2010

For more details:

http://www.ucalgary.ca/christchair/events

*****
        
NET NOTES

AN HISTORIC WELCOME

16 September 2010

Pope arrives in Britain with warning
on 'aggressive' secularism

Edinburgh (ENI). Pope Benedict XVI on his first
official visit to Britain has sounded a warning
against "aggressive forms of secularism" that no
longer respect or tolerate traditional values and
cultures. Speaking on 16 September on his arrival
in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, Pope
Benedict said Britain should not obscure, "the
Christian foundation that underpins its freedoms".
The visit comes against the backdrop of a worldwide
scandal of sexual abuse by clerics and the way in
which Catholic Church authorities have dealt with
it. Speaking to reporters on the plane that brought
him to Edinburgh, Benedict said he was shocked when
he learned of the extent of the abuse. He said the
victims are now the church's top priority, The
Associated Press reported.

-----

Britain Welcomes the Pope

The Tablet
September 17th, 2010

http://www.thetablet.co.uk/article/15272

-----

Kasper Calls Britain a Third World Nation

The Daily Mail (UK)
September 14th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2d2959m

-----

Pope Acknowledges Church's Failures

Australia News, Sydney
September 16th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/23p4d69

-----

We Will Not Be Silenced
Pope Tells Secular Britain

The Telegraph UK
September 17th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2fn886x

-----

When Apologies are Not Enough

National Catholic Reporter
John L. Allen
September `8th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/388rpbc

-----

Pope Speaks about 'Freedom to Convert'

Anglican Journal News
September 17th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/27bt9co

-----

John L. Allen's Wrap-Up on Pope's Visit

A summary of articles
National Catholic Reporter
September 20th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2e9qxrg

-----

Popular Press Summary of Papal Visit

The Guardian UK
September 23rd, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2fk8dw4

-----

Visit Lays a New Foundation

The Tablet UK
Sept. 25th, 2010

http://www.thetablet.co.uk/issue/1000226/editorial


*****

GIDEONS SLOW DOWN PACE OF CHANGE

Christianweek.org
September 22nd, 2010

Gideons retain traditional policies

http://www.christianweek.org/stories.php?id=1073

*****

MY CONVERSATION WITH TERRY JONES

Canadian Evangelical Helps
to Diffuse International Incident

Christianity.ca
September 17th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/23xo3zc


*****

SCIENTIFIC THEORY FOR RED SEA CROSSING

US Scientist Explains "Dry Land" Miracle
When Israelites Escaped from Egypt

Sydney Morning Herald
September 22nd, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/27vgvfo


*****

COLLEAGUES HONOUR SRI LANKAN THEOLOGIAN

Fr. Tissa Balasuriya Challenged Western
Christian Models Using Asian Ones

Cathnews Asia
September 22nd, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/32asfjh

*****

BELGIAN CHURCH STILL REELS FROM ABUSE PROBLEMS

New York Times
by Stephen Erlander
September 20th, 2010

Promises of change from a new archbishop have done little
to settle upheaval in a church already dealing with a
loss of members, fewer priests and growing secularization.

http://tinyurl.com/2ad232u


*****

CHRISTIAN ASTRONOMER SAYS
HE WOULD BAPTIZE ALIENS

The Guardian UK
September 17th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2a7nrvq


*****

YOUNG THEOLOGIANS HOPE
TO REDUCE CHURCH POLARIZATION

National Catholic Reporter
September 16th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/36llq3e


*****

WILL NEW CANADIAN HEAD AT VATICAN
BE A MERE 'YES MAN?

National Catholic Reporter
September 20th, 2010

Will Cardinal Quellet Simply Mouth Papal Policy?

http://tinyurl.com/26ofmru


*****

SCHOLARS RECOMMENDED REWRITE
OF 400 YEAR OLD PASSION PLAY
AND CONCERNS WERE HEARD

Sightings
September 16th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2g56rgm


*****

CONSERVATIVE CANADIAN LUTHERANS
MOVE TO JOIN ANOTHER GROUP

Christianweek.org
September 10th, 2010

http://www.christianweek.org/stories.php?id=1057


*****

GLOBAL FAITH POTPOURRI

Ecumenical News International
News Highlights
6 September 2010

Cost of fixing Delhi for Commonwealth Games
worries churches

New Delhi (ENI). Indian church leaders say the billions
of dollars being spent on sprucing up the capital city,
New Delhi, for the Commonwealth Games in October is
wasteful. "There is a whole lot of public money that
could have been used for the welfare of the poor that
is being wasted on Delhi's streets," John Dayal, Delhi-
based secretary general of the All India Christian
Council, told ENI news. "The politicians and officials
have once again proved that the welfare of the poor is
not a major priority for them," noted Dayal, a member
of the National Integration Council chaired by the
Indian Prime Minister. India's leading English daily
newspaper, The Times of India, released the results
of a survey on 1 September that said that 76 percent
of the people of Delhi feel that the Commonwealth Games
expense is "unjustified", while many more are worried
about their tax liability for the prodigious spending.
The games take place every four years.

_____


Mini Luthers on Wittenberg market square
cause offence to some

Trier, Germany (ENI). Eight hundred colourful miniature
figures of the 16th-century Protestant Reformer Martin
Luther on display on the central market square of
Wittenberg, where he lived and worked, are causing
offence. Visitors have been walking around the market
place between the black, green, red and blue figures,
picking them up and placing them in other parts of the
town. This art show has, however, been heavily
criticised by prominent theologians such as  Friedrich
Schorlemmer from Wittenberg, who played a prominent
role in the peaceful protests that led to the fall
of the Berlin Wall more than 20 years ago. Schorlemmer
told the Leipziger Volkszeitung, a newspaper in eastern
Germany, in August, "This is theological and aesthetic
rubbish. Martin Luther cannot be mass produced." The
installation by German artist Ottmar Hörl is part of
the Luther Decade celebrations commemorating the period
between Luther's arrival in Wittenberg in 1508 and the
beginning of the Reformation in 1517.


*****

7 September 2010

Hawking's theories do not nullify belief in God,
say faith leaders

Canterbury, England (ENI). Jewish, Christian and Muslin
leaders have all rejected claims that belief in the divine
has been disproved following the assertion by British
physicist Stephen Hawking that science leaves no role for
God in the creation of the Universe. In his new book,
"The Grand Design", Hawking says, "Because there is a law
such as gravity, the Universe can and will create itself
from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is
something rather than nothing, why the Universe exists,
why we exist. It is not necessary to invoke God to light
the blue touch paper and set the Universe going." In a
previous book, "A Brief History of Time", Hawking had
written that finding a theory for creation would be
humanity's greatest achievement, "for then we should
know the mind of God".

*****

13 September 2010

Trust is needed, says Finland's
first female Lutheran bishop

Helsinki (ENI). Finland's first female Lutheran bishop has
been consecrated at a service in Helsinki Cathedral at which
she said that both Church and society need to strengthen trust.
"People long for trust," Bishop Irja Askola said in a sermon
at her 12 September consecration. "If … we cannot get into
good terms in order to be able to communicate with those
with different opinions, backgrounds or ways of life, we are
on the way to destruction. Different opinions will not destroy
us."

_____


Macau Catholic bishop opposes politics in church paper

Hong Kong (ENI). Macau's Roman Catholic bishop has asked
the local Portuguese-language church newspaper O Clarim
(The Bugle) to downplay political news and focus on religious
issues. Bishop José Lai Hung-seng told journalists on 7
September that during a meeting earlier with the editor of
the diocese-owned newspaper O Clarim, he had urged him to
focus more on church events. "It is a Catholic newspaper.
We do not want it to turn out to be propaganda, or the
mouthpiece of political factions. The church's newspaper
should not meddle in political issues, but share the
Catholic faith and spread the Gospel," the bishop said.

*****

14 September 2010

India churches in appeal for Christians targeted
in Quran protests

Bangalore (ENI). Churches in India are asking for support
after Christian institutions became the target of violent
protests linked to the reported desecration of a copy of
the Quran in the United States. At least 16 people were
killed and more than 60 injured in clashes on 13 September
with security personnel in India-ruled Kashmir. Most of
those people were killed after police opened fire to quell
violent mobs, S. S. Kapur, the chief secretary, or highest
official, of Jammu and Kashmir state, told media. Kapur
said the crowds had come out on to the streets after a
"foreign" television station had reported that a copy of
the Quran had been desecrated in the United States.
Tension had been rising in Muslim-majority Kashmir after
the announcement by the Rev. Terry Jones, pastor of a
tiny church in Florida, of plans to burn copies of the
Qur'an on 11 September, the ninth anniversary of the
terror attacks in the United States.

_____


Russia's prisons look to faiths
to bring moral guidance

Moscow (ENI). Russia's prisons, struggling with a
growing crime rate, overcrowding and shortfalls in
funding, are turning to religion to bring moral
guidance to inmates. The move marks a dramatic change
from the Soviet system, when clergy and believers were
often imprisoned for their faith. "We have signed
agreements with all of the leading confessions of our
country," said Aleksandr Reimer, the director of
Russia's Federal Correctional Service, in an interview
with the Rossiiskaya Gazeta, an official government
newspaper. Although the Russian Orthodox Church has
become increasingly close to the State in recent
years, Reimer said that that imposing Russia's
largest religion on inmates was not the goal.


*****

15 September 2010

Heaven trumps hell in Canadian poll
that shows waning faith

Toronto (ENI/RNS). "Hell is a half-filled auditorium,"
wrote the U.S. poet Robert Frost. In Canada, it's slightly
less full. According to new poll, a bit more than half of
Canadians believe in heaven, but less than a third believe
in hell, Religion News Service reports. About 53 percent
said they believe in life after death; about 27 percent
said they believe in reincarnation and half expressed
belief in religious miracles. In the United States,
according to a 2004 Gallup poll, 81 percent of Americans
believe in heaven and 70 percent in hell. An earlier
Gallup survey found that 77 percent of Americans were
optimistic about making it to heaven. The Canadian poll,
which surveyed 420 people earlier this year, found that
about 30 percent of respondents agreed with the statement,
"I know God really exists and I have no doubts." Another
20 percent conceded that they "have doubts" but "feel
that I do believe in God." Ten percent said they believe
in God "sometimes" and a further 20 percent said they
don't believe in a "personal God" but "do believe
in a higher power".


*****

September 16th, 2010

Romania church leaders say Roma deportations wrong;
no solution

Warsaw (ENI). A Catholic bishop in Romania has deplored
the mass expulsion of Roma from France, and he has urged
European governments to do more to integrate the
continent's Gypsy minorities. "There are substantial
Roma communities in all European countries, not just
Romania and Bulgaria,"  Virgil Bercea, the Greek
Catholic bishop of Oradea told ENI news. "When the
French drive them out, all they do is return to visit
their families and then travel somewhere else, whether
back to France, or on to Italy, Spain or Germany." The
52-year-old bishop, whose church combines the Eastern
Orthodox rite with loyalty to Rome, was speaking as
European Union heads of government gathered for a 16
September summit in Brussels, which was expected to
include a discussion of France's expulsions of Roma.

_____


World media has scant mention of women
in wealth-gap news

Geneva (ENI). Women remain grossly underrepresented in
newspaper, television and radio reporting the Global
Media Monitoring Project has found in recent research.
Carried out in newspapers, television and radio
newscasts in 108 countries across the world, the
project found that only 3 percent of stories on poverty
highlight gender equality and inequality issues, the
GMMP said in a 13 September statement. The research
results were released in advance of New York's 20-22
September United Nations Millennium Development Goals
summit, which is to examine eight development goals to
be achieved by 2015. The media project, coordinated by
the World Association for Christian Communication,
found that only two percent of stories on education
and 3 percent of those on the environment underscore
gender inequality, following research carried out in
the global North and South. The GMMP says it aims to
promote, "fair and balanced gender representation in
and through the news media".


*****

17 September 2010

Indonesian church leaders say
attack on its members 'barbaric'

Tokyo (ENI). Leaders of the Protestant Christian Batak
Church, a Lutheran church in Indonesia, have condemned
the beatings and stabbings of its pastor and church
members in Bekasi, outside the capital Jakarta in West
Java, on 12 September. "Rev. Mother Luspida Simanjuntak,
Mr Sintua Hasian and several other church members were
suddenly attacked by some unidentified men riding a
motorcycle," said Bishop Bonar Napitupulu and the general
secretary, the Rev. Ramlan Hutahaean, on 15 September.
"Sintua Hasian was attacked with sharp weapons, while
the Rev. Mother Luspida Simanjuntak and several other
church members suffered bruises caused by blows and
kicks … Such actions are barbaric," they said in their
statement.


*****

20 September 2010

Pope's Britain visit gets some acclaim
after rocky start

London (ENI). Pope Benedict XVI completed a successful
State visit to England and Scotland despite opposition
from secularists and those who accuse him of intransigence
on the issue of child abuse by clergy, some media reports
suggest. Prime Minister David Cameron said on 19 September
just before Benedict left, "You have offered a message not
just to the Catholic Church but to each and every one of
us of faith and none." Cameron noted that the Pope had
delivered, "a challenge to all of us to follow our
conscience, to ask not, what are my entitlements; but
what are my responsibilities? To ask not what we can do
for ourselves, but what we can do for others?" The Belfast
Telegraph, a daily newspaper in Northern Ireland, reported
on 20 September, "Pope Benedict XVI returned to Rome last
night from the United Kingdom after a four-day State visit
which went much better than expected."

_____


Church near site of Russian tsar's family's remains,
burns down

Moscow (ENI). Fire has destroyed one of the main churches
at a monastery near where the remains of Russia's Tsar
Nicholas II and his family were dumped after they were
murdered by Bolshevik revolutionaries in 1918. An official
from Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations told
journalists during a briefing in Yekaterinburg that the
exact cause of the 14 September fire still had to be
determined but said that it began in a section where a
hot water furnace stood in the wooden church at Ganina
Yama. That is the name of the mine shaft near the Urals
Mountains city where the remains were initially deposited
after the execution. The family and their doctor and
servants were killed in the basement of the Ipatiev House
in Yekaterinburg, about 1500 kilometres (900 miles) east
of Moscow, where they were being detained. Criminal
negligence rather than arson is regarded as the main
cause of the blaze.

*****

21 September 2010

Catholics give 'quality' education in Malawi,
but fall short on faith

Blantyre, Malawi (ENI). Two studies by Roman Catholic
organizations in Malawi show that the church's schools
have contributed to quality education and yet they have
failed to build up Catholicism among their students.
The study, conducted between 2005 and 2010 in 48 out
of 476 Catholic primary schools and 12 out of 119
secondary schools, was the first large-scale
investigation into the role the church plays in
promoting education in the country. It was instigated
by Catholic Relief Services in conjunction with the
Episcopal Conference of Malawi, the grouping of bishops
in the southern African country. "A lack of visibility
of priests or nuns at Catholic schools makes communities,
students and teachers think they are no longer aligned
to the Catholic Church," the Blantyre-based Daily Times
newspaper quoted the bishop-elect for the Karonga
diocese, the Rev. Martin Mtumbuka, as saying.

_____


Filipino Christian and Muslim leaders talk
to repel extremism

Baguio City, Philippines (ENI). The threat by a U.S.
pastor to burn the Quran, on 11 September, and the
reaction it evoked, have spurred Filipino Christian
and Muslim leaders to commit to inter-faith dialogue
to promote understanding. "The pastor who thought he
could burn the Quran may not have even read it," said
Bedejim Abdullah, Islamic chaplain of the Philippine
Military Academy. "Such threats stem from ignorance
of the contents of the Islamic scripture, which
promotes peace and harmony." Abdullah was speaking
on 20 September during a meeting with Christian
ecumenical leaders, during which they planned Muslim-
Christian symposia to promote better understanding
between the faiths. The Muslim chaplain was referring
to the Rev. Terry Jones, who heads the Dove World
Outreach Center, a church in the Florida university
town of Gainesville. Jones and his tiny congregation
threatened to burn the Islamic holy book, but dropped
the plan after worldwide condemnation.

_____


Poll: Most in US say religious expression
in public schools is OK

Washington DC (ENI/RNS). A majority of those in the
United States - including those who do not practice
a particular faith - think students should be able
to express their religion in public schools, a new
poll by the First Amendment Center finds. Three-
quarters of Americans support student religious
speech at public school events. A slight majority
of those who don't practice religion (52 percent)
think such expression is appropriate, Religion News
Service reports. In addition, 80 percent of Americans
said students should be permitted to pray at events
at public schools. "Clearly most Americans want to
keep government out of religion, but they don't see
an expression of faith by a student at a public school
event as a violation of the separation of church and
state," said Ken Paulson, president of the Freedom
Forum's First Amendment Center in a 15 September
announcement of the findings.


*****

22 September 2010

Sudanese churches' leader calls
for Obama’s help over referendum

Nairobi (ENI). The head of the Sudan Council of Churches
has urged U.S. President Barack Obama to help ensure that
the January 2011 referendum on self determination for
southern Sudan is fair. The Rev. Ramadan Chan Liol, the
general secretary of the council, which includes Orthodox,
Protestant and Roman Catholic churches, stressed that a
credible process presented the highest chances of southern
Sudan and the Abyei people's verdict being respected in the
9 January poll. "I urge him [Obama] to help ensure an
internationally monitored and protected, transparent,
free and fair referendum,"  Chan told ENI news in an
interview on 13 September. He was speaking from Khartoum
days after the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
said the situation between the north and south was "a
ticking time bomb with enormous consequence", and
independence of the south was "inevitable".

_____


European Parliament concerned at state of Jordan River

Jerusalem (ENI). The European Parliament has expressed
concern at devastation to the Jordan River and has called
on Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority to
"cooperate and rehabilitate" it. The river holds special
importance for Christians due to the Bible saying Jesus
was baptised in it. The parliament of the European Union
called, "on the governments of Israel and Jordan and the
Palestinian Authority to work in a spirit of cooperation
in order to save the Lower Jordan River, and (urge) them
to establish, with the support of the European Union, a
Jordan River Basin Commission," in a 9 September
resolution. At the same time the parliament welcomed
cooperation among the Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian
local communities who are facing water challenges in the
Lower Jordan River area. It called on Israel and Jordan
to "fully honour" commitments made in their peace treaty
concerning the rehabilitation of the Jordan River.

*****

23 September 2010

German Catholics to apply
new procedures in selecting priests

Trier, Germany (ENI). Admitting past failures in dealing
with cases of sexual abuse by clergy against young people,
Germany's Roman Catholic bishops have announced stricter
procedures for selecting new priests. At its annual autumn
meeting in the central German town of Fulda from 20 to 23
September, the German Bishops' Conference discussed how
to prevent sexual abuse of minors in the future. The
bishops agreed a new framework that would be introduced
into all their institutions. Earlier, the bishops had
apologised for the abuse that had taken place within
Catholic Church institutions, and announced that the
matter of compensation for victims is to be discussed
with government officials. "We know that we failed,"
Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, chairperson of the bishops'
conference, told the meeting of 67 diocesan and auxiliary
bishops from the 27 German dioceses during the opening
ceremony on 20 September. Then, in a 23 September
statement, Zollitsch said that, as part of the new
prevention programme, the bishops had decided to put a
special emphasis on the training and selection of priests.

_____


Kashmir churches relieved at 'tough action'
against Quran protests

Bangalore, India (ENI). Church leaders in charge of the
tiny Christian community in India's troubled Kashmir
region have thanked the government for protecting them
during recent violent protests. More than 25 protesters
were killed and many more injured when security forces
fired on mobs venting their anger on scattered Christian
centres in Kashmir following reports that there had been
a desecration of the Qur'an in the United States. "We are
thankful to the government for protecting our people and
centres with determination," said Bishop Pradeep Kumar
Samantaroy, who heads the Church of North India's Amritsar
diocese that covers Kashmir. Bishop Samantaroy spoke to
ENI news on 21 September after returning from a meeting
in Kashmir with leaders and the police chief from India's
northernmost states of Jammu and Kashmir, where he thanked
them for protecting the Christian community.

_____


US scholar says Israelites drank beer as well as wine

Washington DC (ENI/RNS). Ancient Israelites drank not only
wine but also beer, according to a biblical scholar at Xavier
University, a Roman Catholic school in Louisiana. "Ancient
Israelites, with the possible exception of a few teetotaling
Nazirites and their moms, proudly drank beer - and lots of
it," said Michael Homan, in his article for the September/
October issue Biblical Archaeology Review, Religion News
Service reports. While English translations of the Bible
do not mention beer, the original Hebrew does, he said.
Homan, an archaeologist, said the Hebrew word "shekhar"
has been mistranslated as "liquor," "strong drink" and
"fermented drink," but it translates as "beer" based on
linguistic and archaeological research. Confusion over
whether the ancient Israelites drank beer also stems
from the difficulty of identifying and finding
archaeological remains of beer production in Israelite
artifacts.


*****

24 September 2010

UN Millennium Development Goals summit
gets mixed grades

New York/Geneva (ENI). Leaders of global faith and
humanitarian groups have given mixed reactions to a
New York summit evaluating the United Nations'
"Millennium Development Goals", set out a decade ago
to reduce global poverty. Political leaders at the
summit acknowledged that progress towards achieving
the eight MDGs by 2015 is not where it should be. In
a final "outcome document" for the 20 to 22 September
U.N. summit, participants recommitted themselves to
achieving the goals, which include the eradication of
extreme poverty and hunger. Church leaders have
applauded the progress made so far to reduce global
poverty but say more must be done. The general
secretary of the World Council of Churches, the Rev.
Olav Fykse Tveit, told UN secretary general
Ban Ki-Moon in a letter that, "Without significant
transformations in global economic frameworks, the
attainment of the MDGs by 2015 is endangered.

_____


Muslims back Bulgarian Orthodox call
for religion in school

Sofia (ENI). The head of Bulgaria's Muslim community has
announced his backing for a campaign by the country's
Orthodox Church to make religious education compulsory in
schools.  The church held a mass march in Bulgaria's capital
of Sofia on 24 September in support of its aim as protestors
shouted against "60 years of atheism", introduced during the
communist era. In a statement reported in the Bulgarian daily
newspaper Klassa, the office of the Chief Mufti, who is the
spiritual leader of Bulgaria's Muslims, the second-largest
religious group in the country, said, "The mufti calls on
Bulgarian citizens professing the religion of Islam to
support this expression of solidarity with the campaign
by Christians."

_____


Methodist churches in Britain use 89 languages

London (ENI). The Methodist Church in Britain conducted
services in 89 languages, in addition to English and Welsh,
one of the official languages in Wales, in 2009, the church
has announced. "All this reflects the multi-cultural nature
of Britain in 2010," the Rev. John Chambers, a minister at
Walworth Methodist Church in London, told ENI News. "We have
four fellowships in our church: Sierra Leone, Ghanaian,
Zimbabwean and Nigerian." Chambers said that during the
year, each fellowship holds its own service. "There will
be readings in local languages, hymn singing in different
languages, and now and again preachers from the countries
concerned will address congregations. People come to the
Methodist Church knowing that their ethnic traditions will
be acknowledged." The media officer for Britain's Methodist
Church, Karen Burke, said that languages used at services
include Afrikaans, Cantonese, Eritrean, Farsi, French,
Hindi, Portuguese, Shona, Swahili, Urdu, and many others.

*****

QUOTES OF THE MONTH

Provided by Sojourners Online

September 9th, 2010

"Listen!" ... I could spend the rest of my life pondering
on the implications of that one word. It plunges me at once
into a personal relationship. It takes me away from the
danger of talking about God and not communing with [God].

- Esther de Waal, "A Life-Giving Way"

___


September 10th, 2010

Peace is not a matter of prizes or trophies. It is not
the product of a victory or command. It has no finishing
line, no final deadline, no fixed definition of achievement.
Peace is a never-ending process, the work of many decisions
by many people in many countries. It is an attitude, a way
of life, a way of solving problems and resolving conflicts.
It cannot be forced on the smallest nation or enforced by
the largest. It cannot ignore our differences or overlook
our common interests. It requires us to work and live
together.

- Oscar Arias Sánchez, from his Nobel Lecture

___


September 16th, 2010

Monastic spirituality says that we are to honor one
another. We are to listen to one another. We are to reach
across boundaries and differences in this fragmented world
and see in our differences distinctions of great merit that
can mend a competitive, uncaring, and foolish world.

- Sr. Joan Chittister, from "The Rule of Benedict"

_____


September 17th, 2010

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has
risen: not only because I see it, but because by it, I see
everything else.

- C.S. Lewis

_____


September 22nd, 2010

It is not enough for us to say: "I love God, but I do not
love my neighbor." Saint John says that you are a liar if
you love God and you don't love your neighbor. How can you
love God whom you do not see, if you do not love your
neighbor whom you see, whom you touch, with whom you live?
And so this is very important for us to realize, that love,
to be true, has to hurt.

- Mother Teresa, Nobel Prize acceptance speech, 1979

_____


September 23rd, 2010

Faith is permitting ourselves to be seized by the things
we do not see.

- Martin Luther

___


September 24th, 2010

Bit by bit … she had claimed herself. Freeing yourself
was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self
was another.

- Toni Morrison, in "Beloved"


*****

ON THIS DAY

Sept. 9, 1976, Communist Chinese leader Mao Tse-tung
died in Beijing at age 82.

http://tinyurl.com/34w8fnp


*****


Sept. 11, 2001, suicide hijackers crashed two airliners
into the World Trade Center in New York, causing the
110-story twin towers to collapse. Another hijacked
airliner hit the Pentagon and a fourth crashed in a
field in Pennsylvania.

http://tinyurl.com/2v3fct2


*****

Sept. 12, 1977, South African black student leader
Steven Biko died while in police custody, triggering
an international outcry.

http://tinyurl.com/3ylfuwo


*****


Sept. 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the
preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all
slaves in rebel states should be free as of Jan. 1, 1863.

http://tinyurl.com/3x4cqrm


*****

Sept. 25, 1957, with 300 United States Army troops
standing guard, nine black children were escorted to
Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, days
after unruly white crowds had forced them to withdraw.

http://tinyurl.com/26kmg9m


*****

CLOSING NOTE

J. Ray Houser and Wayne
Lutheran Brotherhood Award, 1967

(If accompanying picture does not appear, click 'print')

http://images.ourontario.ca/Laurier/82478/data?n=3


(end)

Monday, September 6, 2010

Colleagues List, September 4th, 2010

Vol. VI. No. 3

*****

Edited by Wayne A. Holst

*****

Blogsite:

http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com/


*****

Special Item in this Issue:

"Against My Will -
 Like Clay in the Potter's Hands"

Sermon preached at:
St. David's United Church, Calgary
Sunday, September 5th, 2010

___


Colleague Communication:

Ontario friend comments on last issue

___


Colleague Contributions:

Lorna Dueck
Doug Koop
John Stackhouse
Miroslav Volf
John Griffith
Irving Hexham

___


Net Notes:

Taize Celebrates Seventy
Faiths Face Turmoil in China
Italy Battles Florence for David
Roger Ebert on Christopher Hitchens
IRA Car-Bomber Priest was Protected
Why Christianity is 'Foreign' to Japan
Belgian Police Raid on Churches'Unlawful'
Should the Catholic Church Scrap Celibacy?
Canadian Bishop Wants Compassion for Tamils
CLAY Brings Anglican/Lutheran Youth Together
Interfaith Apostle Raimon Pannikar Dead at 91
Religious Groups Concerned About Census Reform
A Thousand Miles in the Footsteps of M. Luther
Medic's Faith Affects Care of the Terminally Ill


_____


Global Faith Potpourri:

25 stories from Ecumenical News International

___


Quotes of the Month:

Maya Angelou
W.H. Auden
Esther de Waal
John E. Biersdorf
Norman Borlaug
Julian of Norwich
Richard Forster
Lech Walesa

___


On This Day (August 15th - September 4th, 2010)

Aug. 15, 1947 - India & Pakistan become independent of Britain
Aug. 16, 1977 - Singer Elvis Presley dies at Graceland, age 42
Aug. 19, 1934 - Plebiscite gives sole executive power to Hitler
Aug. 28, 1963 - Martin Luther King gives "I Have a Dream" speech
Sept. 3, 1976 - Unmanned spacecraft Viking 2 lands on Mars
Sept. 4, 1957 - Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus calls up National Guard

___


Closing Thoughts - on future issues of Colleagues List


(end)


*****


Dear Friends:

It is Labour Day weekend and I have been able to
create an early September issue of Colleagues List
between travels to Vancouver Island and Ontario!

I begin with a strongly autobiographical sermon
that I preached yesterday at St. David's United,
Calgary - my home congregation in this city. I
give a defense of autobiographical preaching, and
leave it to you to decide the value of my effort.

The sermon uses the lections for this past Sunday
and my title was:"Against My Will - Like Clay in the
Potter's Hands" based on the Hebrew Bible lection
but with an attempt to weave two others into the mix.

___


Colleague Communication:

After my mid-August issue of Colleagues List, I
received a helpful note of clarification and correction
from an old friend in Ontario. I share his thoughts
here.

___


Colleague Contributions:

Lorna Dueck - comments on the census issue that got
a fair amount of press in Canada this past month.

Doug Koop - provides an obituary, gleaned from
Christianity Today, at the death of Clack Pinnock,
noted Canadian evangelical scholar.

John Stackhouse - wades into the "Ground Zero Mosque"
issue roiling many Americans during the summer months.
It seems much less an bone of contention here in Canada.

Miroslav Volf - came out with a new book about six months
ago, and we missed commenting on it. "Against the Tide"
is a collection of his short pieces, first published in
the Christian Century and other journals, over the past
decade. Enjoy the review which I located, and hopefully
we can say more about this book in future.

John Griffith - still involved with "Spiritual Directions"
here in Calgary and still focused on cutting edge issues
where faith and secularity meet. Read up on the sustainability
conference planned for this autumn. Thanks, John.

Irving Hexham - was recently elected a fellow of Britain's
Royal Historical Society (RHS) a prestigious honour. We
applaud colleague Hexham! Irving was born in the UK but has
spent most of his career teaching in Canada, at the
University of Calgary.

___


Net Notes:

"Taize Celebrates Seventy"- The Taize Community is now
seven decades old since it was founded by Brother Roger
in France, during World War Two (Taize News)

"Faiths Face Turmoil in China"- A recent study by the
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences says that all five
government-recognized religions in that country -
Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism -
face unprecedented challenges and change in the days
ahead (Cathnews Asia)

"Italy Battles Florence for David" - Italians take their
art seriously. Here is a story of the fight between
the Italian government and the city of Florence over the
famous statue of David by Leonardo (The Guardian UK)

"Roger Ebert on Christopher Hitchens" - after Hitchens,
the famous atheist, spoke recently about his cancer with
epithets leveled against religion - Roger Ebert, the
famous Chicago Sun movie critic responds (The Atlantic)

"IRA Car-Bomber Priest was Protected" - Top police, the
government and Catholic Church officials in N. Ireland
conspired to protect a priest suspected over 1972 bombings
during "The Troubles" (reports the Sydney Morning Herald)

"Why Christianity is 'Foreign' to Japan" - it has long
been an enigma that Christian faith has never really
"caught on" in Japan. This article attempts to explain
why (Cathnews Asia)

"Belgian Police Raid on Churches 'Unlawful'" - controversy
continues to dog the Catholic hierarchy of Belgium, and
especially retired archbishop Cardinal Godfried Danneels
for his suspected role in sex abuse cover up activity.
(National Catholic Reporter),

"Should the Catholic Church Scrap Celibacy?" - this
issue has long been debated in church circles. Here is
a view from the popular British press where matters
Catholic are being given more attention with the upcoming
visit of the pope to the UK (The Guardian, UK)

"Canadian Bishop Wants Compassion for Tamils" - amid
all the discussion about the Tamil political refugee
ship that recently arrived in British Columbia, there
has been little comment by the church. Here is one
exception (Cathnews Asia)

"CLAY Brings Anglican/Lutheran Youth Together" -
This summer, 1,000 Lutheran and Anglican youth met
in London, Ontario for a special celebration
(Anglican Journal News)

"Interfaith Apostle Raimon Pannikar Dead at 91" -
anyone interested in the dialogue between the great
faiths is familiar with the name Raimon Pannikar, a
true pioneer and trend-setter in the field
(National Catholic Reporter)

"Religious Groups Concerned About Census Reform" -
more on the Canadian census issue - this time,
comment is by Mags Storey who believes Christians
and various minorities will be underrepresented
if proposed changes go through (ChristianWeek.org)

"A Thousand Miles in the Footsteps of Martin Luther" -
Sarah Hinnicky Wilson, a Lutheran, encourages us
to begin thinking about the Reformation and what it
means as the 500th anniversary draws near in 2017.
(Wall Street Journal)

"Medic's Faith Affects Care of the Terminally Ill" -
a study out of the UK suggests that the faith - or
lack thereof - of medical practitioners can have a
marked affect on patients (The Guardian UK)

_____


Global Faith Potpourri:

25 stories from Ecumenical News International

___


Quotes of the Month:

Providing us with their wisdome this week are:

Maya Angelou, W.H. Auden, Esther de Waal,
John E. Biersdorf, Norman Borlaug,
Julian of Norwich, Richard Forster & Lech Walesa

___


On This Day (August 15th - September 4th, 2010)

Read these news articles as the stories broke,
provided from the archives of the New York Times:

India & Pakistan become independent of Britain (1947)
Singer Elvis Presley dies at Graceland, age 42 (1972)
Plebiscite gives sole executive power to Hitler (1934)
Martin Luther King gives "I Have a Dream" speech (1963)
Unmanned spacecraft Viking 2 lands on Mars (1976)
Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus calls up National Guard (1957)

___


Closing Thoughts - on future issues of Colleagues List.

With summer sadly drawing to a close, this weekend suggests
a return to schedules related to autumn. Colleagues List
will more frequently appear - a signal of the changing of
the seasons.

Blessings as you begin a new period of the year!

Wayne


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


SPECIAL ST. DAVID'S LINKS

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

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


___


ST DAVID'S ACTS WEB PAGE

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

__


ANNOUNCING:

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

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

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

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

We are also planning to sing while visiting
Iona, Scotland and Dublin, Ireland.

ALL 36 PLACES ON THE TOUR ARE SOLD OUT

We are starting a waiting list for this trip;
also an interest list for a second tour in 2012!


*****


Announcing our New Fall Study at St. David's:

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

Including background material from the book:

THE CELTIC WAY (Ian Bradley)

Plus:

INTROS TO CELTIC SAINTS PATRICK, COLUMBA & DAVID

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

Special Guest:

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

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

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

___


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

AGAINST MY WILL:
LIKE CLAY IN THE POTTER'S HANDS

My sermon at St. David's United Church,
Sunday, September 5th, 2010

AGAINST MY WILL - LIKE CLAY IN THE POTTER'S HANDS

A Sermon Preached at St. David's United Church, Calgary
Sunday, September 5th, 2010.

___


Introductory Blessing and the Texts:

Hear again these words from today's readings -

Text:

Jeremiah 18:6 - "House of Israel,  can I not do to you
what this potter does? Yes, like clay in the potter's hands,
so you are in mine."

Supportive Texts:

Luke 14:7 - "No one who does not carry
his cross and come after me can be my disciple."

Philemon verses 12, 16 - "I am sending Onesimus back to you
... no longer as a slave,  but as something much better."

___


Prayer of Dedication:

Lord, Guide us by your Word. Your Word is truth. Amen.


___


Thoughts on Autobiographical Preaching

When I began my theological studies for ministry 46 years
ago this fall, I was taught that when I preached it was
wrong to focus on myself.

"Self-focus" was considered "self-centered." The most
important purpose of preaching was the proclamation of the
Gospel not the person of the preacher.

Almost half a century later, I have had to reconsider that
advice. We live in times when Oprah and internet blogs are
very much a part of our culture. Oprah and the blog emphasize
the "centrality of the person" as a way to rivet attention on
what the messenger wants to convey to an audience

"Self-focus"  has lost its negative connotation. It has
become so common that we hardly think about it.

"Self-focus" is an important way to communicate meaning
today.

My reflection therefore will use "self-focus" in a
transparent way to help you adapt and transfer aspects of
my life to your's, and - in the process - I hope that the
Gospel will be well-served.

If a good connection happens, I will not have betrayed my
early mentors' commitment to preaching. I hope you will
sense that the Gospel has been at work in my life and that
it can be readily applied to your life too.

___


Autobiography:

My sermon theme this morning is entitled "Against My Will -
Like Clay in the Potter's Hands." I want to focus on how
God works with us to bring about positive personal change.
Sometimes that happens against  our will and even in spite
of ourselves.

During the summer of 1964 I was married and my new bride
and I began the month of September of that year with much
hope and anticipation. I was commencing graduate studies
in theology at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary in Ontario and
our desire was that when I had attained my master's degree
in divinity - three to four years thereafter - I would
become eligible for ordination as a pastor. We were serious,
hard-working young men in those days. Also, we were  a bit
naive and inexperienced. (There were no women in my class;
all of us were in our 20's and had recently completed
undergraduate degrees in preparation for further study.)

I was enthusiastic and energetic - even though my idea of
what constituted ministry at the time was quite narrow.
The career path for most of us would normally involve a
call to a small or isolated parish somewhere in Central
Canada. After some years I would then perhaps receive a
call from a larger church in a more urbanized area. Then,
if my work proved faithful and effective, I might have a
chance at a major church in a recognized centre. Here I
would likely remain until retirement at 65. I would
conclude my ministry career and enjoy the benefits of
an "emeritus" title.  In retrospect, I possessed a rather
limited idea of what a pastoral vocation was all about.
Nevertheless, from what I knew about it, I expected to be
successful (whatever that might mean!)

A first signal that my career might take a different track
from many of my peers came when I had an opportunity to do
graduate work at the University of Geneva in Switzerland.
Today, that would not be considered unusual and I marvel at
how so many young students get to study overseas as part of
their basic training. Back then, however, it was unique.
I believe I was the first Canadian of my denomination to
do graduate ecumenical studies at Bossey, an institution
sponsored by the World Council of Churches. During the two
years we spent in Europe, I recall that we had one
opportunity to telephone my parents back in Canada. Phone
calls were difficult and costly. How different things are
today!

On returning home, I was ready for ordination. My ministry
began in a small but very supportive rural parish in Grey
County, near Georgian Bay. Within two years, however, I
left to do missionary work in the West Indies. Then, it
was synod staff work in Winnipeg; then, international church
staff work in New York City; then, new church development
work in Calgary - a city we knew very little about but
accepted because we wanted to returnto Canada. That was
31 years ago this month.

Within twelve years of my ordination I had garnered a
wide range of ministry experience. Then, for eight more
years in Calgary I labored to develop a new congregation
- Advent Lutheran Church - in Scenic Acres and in what
was then the north-western-most tier of our city.

As my ministry at Advent was winding down, I began to
ask myself the question "what next?" Frankly I really
did  not know what "what next" would be for I seemed
to be running out of options. This was a difficult
place to be, given my limited understanding of vocation
at the time.

Other factors would begin to influence my life -
unexpected factors that had a marked effect on me.
My  marriage crumbled. My call at Advent abruptly ended.
My status as a pastor in the denomination I had called
home from the time I was a child was in jeopardy. I
suppose that if I  had not been so wrapped up in my
career I might have anticipated some  of this; but
I did not.

The triple whammy of losses I faced in 1987 would change
my life forever. I had always assumed I would be a pastor;
gainfully employed; and socially accepted as well. All of
a sudden, all three assumptions shriveled and I went
through a lengthy period of wrenching pain and agony.

Leading up to this period in my life I considered myself
intelligent and relatively successful. But I realize now that
God saw some major blind spots in my self-understanding. I
know now that I had a great deal more to learn. Of all my
losses, the ending of ministry as I had known it was the
worst to accept.

It took some years for much of this confusion to sort itself
out; but now in retrospect, I realize that I needed to go
through that refiner's fire - or, in the language of today's
Jeremiah text - "a significant reshaping  by the potter."
The old vessel that was Wayne was no longer adequate.

Fortunately, over some years, I was reshaped by God, the
"Master Potter," as well as through the support of many
good people, and my own efforts to create a new life for
myself.

I moved from seeing myself as a "pastor" to being in a
"pastoral vocation." From a title to a way of life.

This has proven to be a much better way for me. That is
when my life at St. David's began - two decades ago. It
was during my early years here, in a loving, supportive
community, that I began to learn about losing my life in
order to find it again.

I went kicking and screaming from what I had always
envisioned myself to be - what I expected to become -
into what the "Master Potter" was co-creating with me.

In time - family, work, and pastoral vocation - were
restored to me in glorious measure; but back then, very
little of what I now understand of myself was at all
clear to me. When I first became part of the community
of St. David's almost 20 years ago I was a very lost
soul.

I know from experience how important Christian community
can be, and on that point many of you will concur.

___


Briefly Unpacking the Texts:

Jeremiah, Luke and Philemon

"The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh as follows,
"Get up and make your way down to the potter's house,
and there I will tell you what I have to say.

So, I went down to the potter's house, and there he
was, working at the wheel. But the vessel he was working
at came out wrong, as may happen with clay when a potter
is at work. So he began again and shaped it into another
vessel, as he thought fit."

Jeremiah concludes - "House of Israel, can I not do to you
what this potter does? Yes, like clay in the potter's hands,
so you are in mine." (18:1-6 NJB)

___


"Great crowds accompanied Jesus on his way, and he turned
and spoke to them. Anyone who comes to me without hating
father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes
and his own life too, cannot be my disciple.

No one who does not carry his cross and come after me
can be my disciple." (14:25-27 NJB)

___


"I am appealing to you (Philemon) for a child of mine,
whose father I became while wearing these chains: I mean
Onesimus. He was of no use to you before, but now he is
useful to both you and to me. I am sending him back to
you, sending you my own heart...I suppose you have been
deprived of Onesimus for a time, merely so that you
could have him back forever, not merely as a slave, but
something much better than a slave, a dear brother."
(vss 10,11,15,16 NJB)

___


I see a thread running through all three of these
passages which serve as today's lections. The prophet
Jeremiah tells his fellow Israelites that God is so
concerned about them that, when he sees them heading
in a wrong direction he will try to stop this from
happening, just as a potter destroys a faulty piece
of pottery. God reworks the clay, and recreates it
into a worthy vessel - a much better piece than it
was before.

Paul writes to Philemon, the owner of Onesimus, and
advises Philemon totake back his escaped slave since
the experience has taught all three of them a lesson.
Onesimus is no longer a mere slave, says Paul, but
a mutual brother. Let's celebrate this! Let's
recognize that good things can come from facing up
to our inadequacies and moving in new directions.


Jesus tells those who would follow him that to do
so is not easy - in fact, it is like carrying a cross -
but the end result of being reshaped by God can bring
a significant change for good in one's life. That I
believe is what happened to me, and it can happen
to anyone.

___


In Spite of Ourselves:

Often, as I have looked back on some of the challenges
I once faced, I wonder how I survived. Obviously, God
saw good in me and in my future even when I could not.

When people come to me today with problems that seem
overwhelming, I will always encourage them not to give
up, but to persist, to keep trying to find their way
forward, in spite of the obstacles in their path. The
process of that struggle, it seems to me, is nothing
lessthan the Potter doing his thing, shaping something
new out of what is no longer workable.

To say that the Potter is at work, however, does not
mean that he is doing "all" the work. We too must
co-operate in our own remaking.Sometimes, the biggest
obstacle to progress resides in our unwillingness to
let go of old patterns and our resistance to change.

Everyone has his or her challenges, and we all
approach them differently. But let me suggest something
I have learned from my own experience with facing the
abyss of hopelessness in my life, and then finding I
was not not alone. Indeed, it is possible to find a
way ahead. When all was said and done, I knew that
God loved me. I discovered that the Potter was there,
waiting to work with me. I just needed to recognize
that.

___


My Recent Cancer Experience:

Early this year I learned that I had a malignant
tumor in my colon. I was immediately confronted with
a battery of tests and treatments to determine the
extent of the damage and to try to control and remove
the problem.

In June, I underwent surgery at Foothills Hospital.
For the past ten weeks or so, I have been in the process
of recuperation. My presence at worship this morning can
be read as a sign that my cancer has not only been
controlled, but cured. For that I thank God and many
of you for the wonderful support I have received here.

I recognize that not all cancers are like mine, but
there are good things to be learned from any kind cancer
if we are open to learning.

During these months I believe I have evolved spiritually
because of this new and frightening development in my life.
What am I to make of what happened? How might I change my
lifestyle to avoid similar problems in the future? What
new thing is God calling me to be and to do as a result
of this experience? These are the questions presently
occupying my mind.

The work of The Potter continues in me and each one of us.

___


Summary and Conclusion:

To say that I am a completely changed person as a
result of my experience would be to exaggerate. I
know that for some time before my cancer was detected,
I was in a state of denial. I can still be in some
denial and continue to face a learning curve.

Sharing these things with you this morning and getting
your feedback from your personal experience is one way
I can continue learning and growing.

Yet this I do know. The Potter continues to make
himself and his skills available to us. Sometimes
he works, even against our will, and perhaps in spite
of ourselves, to let his purposes be known.

Amen.


*****

COLLEAGUE RESPONSE

A friend from Ontario wrote:

Particularly enjoyed a number of things in this issue
of Colleagues List:

"Has Hate Corrupted the Church?" is so, so timely. The
"new evangelization" had better fix its sights on the basics
of Christianity because there are seemingly-huge numbers of
people who consider themselves Christians who have so
obviously missed that basic message! Makes one wonder what
kind of real relationship they have with Jesus Christ!

You Protestants don't need more saints. You already have them.
You are just so very reticent about acknowledging them. I've
often wondered over the years if it's somehow related to an
unease with "God-becoming-flesh," with the incarnational
aspect of Christianity. History, of course, and the history
of the growth and development of Christianity play the usual
huge part in this.

I did get a chuckle out of the headline "St. Peter's Prison
Discovered in Rome." I wasn't aware that it had been lost!
I knew that it had been closed for archaeological work - and
am and delighted that it's once again open to the public.

I'm delighted to see Mother Teresa honoured by the "Peace
Bridge" that links Buffalo, New York and Fort Erie, Ontario -
which someone seems to have been confused with the "Honeymoon
Bridge" - that linked Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara
Falls, New York, that collapsed into the Niagara River gorge
in 1938 and was replaced by the current "Rainbow Bridge" just
a few metres from where the older bridge once stood.

Safe travels, Wayne, and continued good health.

*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

LORNA DUECK

Even God Ordered a Census
August 16th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/29vupur

*****

DOUG KOOP

Christianitytoday.direct
August 17th, 2010

CLARK PINNOCK DIES

http://tinyurl.com/25ykm53

*****

JOHN STACKHOUSE JR.

"Ground Zero Mosque: It's a Simple Question"

Read two articles appearing on his blog:

http://tinyurl.com/297f2tm


*****

MIROSLAV VOLF

"Against the Tide"

Paperback edition released recently by Eerdmans

A collection of his short articles, many of
which appreared in The Christian Century.

Read a short review by Englewood Review of Books

http://tinyurl.com/2b4jjhe


*****

JOHN GRIFFITH

Important Sustainability Conference
Sponsored by "Spiritual Directions"
Coming this Fall

http://spiritualdirections.wordpress.com/


*****

IRVING HEXHAM

Colleague Elected to Royal Society

Congratulations, Irving!

http://www.ucalgary.ca/news/utoday/august31-2010/hexham


*****

NET NOTES

TAIZE CELEBRATES SEVENTY

News from Taize
August 16, 2010

http://www.taize.fr/en_article11166.html


*****

FAITHS FACE TURMOIL IN CHINA SAYS REPORT

Cathnews Asia
August 15th, 2010

http://www.cathnewsasia.com/?p=17183


*****


ITALY BATTLES FLORENCE FOR DAVID

The Guardian
August 16th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/36v4a7t


*****

ROGER EBERT ON CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS

The Atlantic
August 13th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2u5l4cg


*****

IRA CAR-BOMBER PRIEST WAS PROTECTED

Sydney Morning Herald
August 25th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/34f87p8


*****

WHY CHRISTIANITY IS 'FOREIGN' TO JAPAN

Catnews Asia
August 27th, 2010

http://www.cathnewsasia.com/?p=17549


*****

BELGIAN POLICE RAID ON CHURCHES 'UNLAWFUL'

National Catholic Reporter
August 17th, 2010

http://www.cathnewsasia.com/?p=17245

___


Newspaper 'Defamed' Danneels, Says Lawyer

Cathnews Asia
Sept. 1st, 2010

http://www.cathnewsasia.com/?p=17694


*****

SHOULD THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
SCRAP ITS CELIBACY RULE?

The Guardian (UK)
August 17th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/26l64pq


*****

CANADIAN BISHOP CALLS FOR COMPASSION RE TAMILS

Cathnews Asia
August 31st, 2010

http://www.cathnewsasia.com/?p=17559


*****

CLAY BRINGS ANGLICAN AND
LUTHERAN YOUTH TOGETHER

Anglican Journal News
August 24th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2b54oea


*****

INTERFAITH APOSTLE RAIMON PANNIKAR DEAD AT 91

Cathnews Asia

August 31st, 2010

http://www.cathnewsasia.com/?p=17641


*****


RELIGIOUS GROUPS CONCERNED ABOUT CENSUS REFORM

Christianweek.org
August 17th, 2010

http://www.christianweek.org/stories.php?id=1028


*****

A THOUSAND MILES IN THE FOOTSTEPS
OF MARTIN LUTHER

Wall Street Journal
August 20th, 2010

by Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

http://tinyurl.com/2cdydhc


*****

STUDY FINDS MEDICS FAITH AFFECTS
THEIR CARE OF THE TERMINALLY ILL

The Guardian
August 26th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2dxkzrm


*****

GLOBAL FAITH POTPOURRI
Ecumenical News International

16 August 2010

Church bells to ring out in September
for species protection

London (ENI). Support for United Nations talks on
biodiversity will be marked in Britain by the biggest
nationwide peal of bells since celebrations to mark
the eve of the third millennium, organizers say.
"Ringing the church bells is a great way for the
wider community to be reminded and to celebrate the
beauty of creation," said Jill Hopkinson, the
(Anglican) Church of England's national rural
officer, in a 10 August statement. The denomination
is urging cathedrals and several thousand parish
churches to ring their bells to mark the talks at
the U.N. general assembly on 22 September in New
York that will address the international failure
to meet targets on species conservation.

_____


Churches come up short as delegates' US visas denied

Washington (ENI/RNS). When the Baptist World Alliance
held its global conference in Hawaii earlier in August,
it was missing about 1000 attendees from around the
world. In June, the inaugural meeting of the World
Communion of Reformed Churches in Grand Rapids, in
the U.S. state of Michigan, was missing 74, and the
Seventh-day Adventists' general conference in Atlanta
was missing about 200, Religion News Service reports.
The three church groups said foreign delegates' visas
were denied by U.S. officials, meaning some nations
lacked representation at the global assemblies that
occur only once every several years.

*****

17 August 2010

Obama's remarks on Islamic centre
near 9/11 site draw flak

New York (ENI). U.S. President Barack Obama's remarks
that Muslims have the right to build a proposed Islamic
cultural centre near the site of the 11 September 2001
attacks in New York City have triggered strong
condemnation from his political opponents. Former U.S.
House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is being touted as a
2012 Republican Party presidential candidate, said
Obama was, "pandering to radical Islam". Gingrich added,
"Nazis don't have the right to put up a sign next to the
holocaust museum in Washington." Obama's comments were
made at a 13 August presidential White House dinner to
mark the celebration of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan.
In his address, the president praised the "unshakeable"
commitment the United States has shown to the protection
of religious liberty.

_____


Baha'i community 'stunned' by 'harsh' sentences in Iran

Geneva (ENI). The Baha'i International Community says
harsh prison sentences meted out by the Iranian
authorities to seven Iranian Baha'i leaders have been
imposed on innocent people, and represent a punishment
against an entire religious community. The five men and
two women imprisoned, who constantly protested their
innocence, were arrested in May 2008 and later charged
with, "spying for foreigners," as well as, "spreading
corruption on Earth," and "cooperating with Israel".
Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi, whose Defenders of Human
Rights Centre represented the Baha'i defendants, said
she was "stunned" by the seven- to 20-year jail terms.

_____


US study says religious hospitals more efficient,
provide better care

New York (ENI/RNS). Roman Catholic and other church-run
health care systems in the U.S. are more efficient and
provide higher quality care than their secular
counterparts, according to a new Thomson Reuters study.
The study looked at 255 health care systems and found
that Catholic and other church-owned systems are
"significantly more likely to provide higher quality
care and efficiency" than both investor-owned and
nonprofit health systems, Religion News Service reports.

_____


August 18th, 2010

US atheist group to raise funds for religious charity

Washington DC (ENI/RNS). An atheist foundation that
seeks to foster charitable giving among nonbelievers is
encouraging members to donate to a religious charity -
and the move is stirring mixed feelings among members.
Foundation Beyond Belief, a nonprofit organization
headquartered in Georgia, has designated London-based
Quaker Peace & Social Witness as one of 10 charities
its members will support during the current three months
of the year, Religion News Service reports. "Reactions
in the nontheist community have ranged from applause to
gasps of dismay," said secular humanist Dale McGowan,
executive director of the foundation, in a statement.

_____


August 19th, 2010

Aid group laments response to Pakistan's
'heart-wrenching' floods

Bangalore, India (ENI). Church-backed aid groups are
calling for people around the world to step up to the
plate and help those suffering the worst floods in the
history of Pakistan, with one agency describing the
international response as, "far from adequate". "The
majority of them [those affected by the floods] still
remain without food, drinking water, shelter and
medication, [and] more damage is expected in Sindh
Province as the second wave of floods is approaching,"
cautioned U.S.-based Church World Service on 16 August.

At the same time the Geneva-based Lutheran World
Federation announced on 19 August that two of its
disaster relief specialists have been sent to Pakistan
to assist the church-based ACT Alliance in providing
emergency assistance to the victims of the flooding.


*****

21 August 2010

Tutu, cardinal urge S Africans
to oppose new media law

Cape Town (ENI). Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Archbishop
Desmond Tutu and Roman Catholic Cardinal Wilfrid Napier
are among hundreds of high-profile South Africans calling
on their compatriots to oppose a proposed media law that
critics say resembles apartheid legislation. In an
unscriptedspeech on 18 August at the Institute for
Democracy in Cape Town, Tutu,who is due to retire from
public life in October, challenged South Africans to
fight for press freedom by mobilising the spirit that
made the 2010 soccer World Cup a success. Referring to
the FIFA soccer competition, that South Africa hosted,
and which ended in July, Tutu said, Tutu challenged
opponents of the new media control proposals that the
ruling African National Congress has put forward, to
fight back. He said, "This is your country, and it is
going to become what you allow it to be."

_____


South Korean pastor arrested after
breaking ban to visit North

Tokyo (ENI). The Rev. Han Sang-ryeol, a Presbyterian
pastor, who campaigns or the reunification of his
divided country, and defied a South Korean law by
visiting North Korea, has been arrested on his return.
South Korean police detained Han on 19 August, when the
60-year-old activist returned from a 70-day unauthorised
trip to the North, where he was feted according to
reports. Han was, "taken into custody" after setting
foot on South Korean soil as he returned home through
the Panmunjom crossing on the North-South Korean border,
South Korea's Yonhap News agency reported. "Hisvisit was
purely based on his faith, and his conviction to break
the deadlock of North-South relations, and to open the
way to reconciliation,"the Rev.Shin Seung-Min, executive
secretary for ecumenical relations and overseas
mission of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic
of Korea, told ENI news.

______


British religious leaders concerned as
asylum seekers face axe

London (ENI). African and British church leaders say
they are angered by plans by Britain to deport failed ]a
sylum seekers. Britain's justice minister, Kenneth Clake,
wants to end repeated challenges to decisions to turn
down claims for asylum seekers and last-minute deportation
orders. Criticsof the action argue it could mean tens of
thousands of asylum seekers and immigrants will no longer
receive legal aid. "Cutting the legal aid budget puts
already vulnerable people at greater risk of being
returned to dangerous situations," Rachel Lampard, the
public issues head at the Methodist Church, told ENI news.
"We recognise that the government wants to make budget
savings, but this should only be done once we are
confident that people will not be denied justice as
a result."


*****


24 August 2010


Discontented U.S. Lutherans to form new church body

New York (ENI). Dissatisfied members of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America are forming a new church body
they say will "uphold confessional principles" after
disagreements on issues such as the ordination of clergy
in committed same-sex relationships. The new body is to
be called the North American Lutheran Church and is
scheduled to be formed at a 26-27 August meeting in Grove
City, Ohio. In 2009, the ELCA agreed to change its
denominational rules to "open the ministry of the church
to gay and lesbian pastors and other professional workers
living in committed relationships".

_____


Cross at Warsaw palace divides church and nation

Warsaw (ENI). A huge makeshift wooden cross in front of
Warsaw's presidential palace honouring former president
Lech Kaczynski, who was killed in a 10 April air crash,
continues to cause tension in Poland. The dispute over
the cross has led the primate of the Roman Catholic Church
in Poland, Archbishop Jozef Kowalczyk, to criticise Catholic
protesters who had been refusing to allow the cross to be
removed. "None of this has anything to do with a true
Catholic conscience or the genuine attitude of a Christian,
of a believing person who loves the cross and finds
inspiration in it," said Kowalczyk, who was installed as
archbishop of Gniezno and the church's primate on 26 June.
"What we are seeing is an unedifying, shameful manipulation
of the cross. I ask everyone involved in any way to stop."

______


Religion root of homophobia says Latin American academic

San José (ENI/ALC). The aversion to homosexuality, and
the violence that can accompany it, appears to originate
less in political ideologies than it does in, "religious
doctrines of power transformed into cultural sensitivity",
says Latin American political scientist Helio Gallardo.


*****


25 August 2010

French Protestants criticise government
over Roma repatriation

Geneva/Paris (ENI). France's main Protestant grouping
has added its voice to criticism of a government
programme aimed at repatriating Roma migrants and
demolishing unauthorised Roma camps. The Protestant
Federation of France (FPF) said it was "concerned
about the new direction of policies concerning the
Roma population, one of Europe's most impoverished
populations". The French government began a crackdown
on Roma and Traveller communities at the end of July,
after outbreaks of violence between Roma communities
and police following an incident in which a Traveller
was killed by security forces. The statement by the
Protestant grouping follows criticism by Roman Catholic
leaders of the government policy.

_____


Indian forum says state agencies colluded
in anti-Christian violence

New Delhi (ENI). A "people's tribunal" that heard
testimonies from victims of anti-Christian violence
in India's eastern Orissa state in 2008 has criticised
state agencies for aggravating the suffering of those
caught up in the attacks. "There is a shocking level
of institutional bias on the part of state agencies
(including police) leading to their collusion in the
violence, connivance in efforts to block the
subsequent process of justice and accountability,"
declared the jury in New Delhi at the end of the u
nofficial 22-24 August National People's Tribunal
on the violence in Orissa's Kandhamal jungles.

_____


Future of destroyed Ground Zero
Orthodox church in doubt

New York (ENI/RNS). Buried by falling rubble from the
World Trade Center towers after the 11 September 2001
terrorist attacks, all that remained of the tiny St.
Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church were some candles, two
icons and a bell clapper. These artefacts are being
kept at the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox
Archdiocese of America while the church's 70 member
families worship at a cathedral in Brooklyn, praying
for the day they can return to a new sanctuary in
lower Manhattan, Religion News Service reports.

_____


Religion now among top 10 exam subjects
says Church of England

London (ENI). Religious studies has entered the top
10 league of subjects in exams taken by most 16-year-
old school students in Britain, the (Anglican) Church
of England said in a statement marking the publication
of examination results. The results published on 24
August also showed the number of school students taking
religious studies for the General Certificate of School
Education increasing for the 12th year running, said
Nick McKemey, the church's head of school improvement.
"This is a phenomenon that indicates students'
appreciation that exploring faith and belief help them
to understand the world and become better global
citizens," said McKemey.


*****

26 August 2010

Five years after Katrina, US mourns dead,
survivors remember

New York (ENI). Faith groups are joining survivors
in marking the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina,
considered the costliest natural disaster in the
history of the United States. The hurricane, which
struck the U.S. coast on 29 August 2005, caused
US$81 million damage and killed 1836 persons. It
destroyed large sections of the city of New Orleans
and the Gulf Coast region of several U.S. states.
It also prompted wide condemnation of the initial
response by the U.S. government, which critics
said was shockingly inadequate.

___


Catholic Church in Ireland denies cover-up
on 'paramilitary priest'

Dublin (ENI). The Roman Catholic Church in Ireland
has denied engaging in a cover-up of the alleged
involvement of a priest in a bombing in Northern
Ireland that killed nine people in 1972. A 24 August
report of the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman into
a 1972 car bomb in Claudy, County Derry, in July 1972
found that talks between representatives of the
government, the police and the church resulted in
the Rev. James Chesney, a suspect in the bombing,
being transferred to a parish in the Republic of
Ireland.


*****

30 August 2010

South Korean church council says
rice needed for flooded North

Tokyo (ENI). South Korea's national church council has
urged humanitarian assistance for people in the isolated
north of the divided Asian country so they can try and
cope with recent floods that have hit the peninsula. In
a 26 August statement, the National Council of Churches
in Korea said August that in the North Korean city of
Sinuiju, northwest of the capital Pyongyang and near the
Yalu River, houses have collapsed, and 2458 hectares of
farmland are flooded. The council, which is based in the
South Korea capital of Seoul, said that there had already
been an acute shortage of food in the north and it called
for rice to be provided to victims. "If your enemies are
hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, let them drink,"
the council said citing a verse in St Paul's letter to
the Romans (12:20) in the Bible. More than 5000 people
were evacuated as floods hit the northwestern part of
the country, news agencies have reported.

_____


Italian Protestant denominations approve
same-sex blessings

Rome (ENI). The joint synod of Italy's Waldensian and
Methodist Protestant churches has, as the denominations'
highest governing body, agreed to authorise the blessing
of same-sex couples in church under certain conditions.
Synod president Marco Bouchard described the 26 August
decision as "a clear and firm step forward that needs to
be placed into a context that will be better defined,
especially the relationship between churches and
homosexual couples". The synod statement said, "The words
and practice of Jesus, as seen in the Gospel, call us to
welcome each experience and each choice marked by God's
love, freely and consciously chosen." Before the synod,
a group of Waldensians including a member of the Italian
parliament, Lucio Malan, took out a paid advertisement
in the Protestant weekly newspaper Riforma, warning that
same-sex blessings risked splitting the churches, and
affecting ecumenical relationships.

_____


US Presbyterian cleric plans to appeal
same-sex marriage ruling

New York (ENI). A retired California Presbyterian minister,
rebuked on charges that she violated her ordination vows by
marrying same-sex couples, plans to appeal against a ruling
that she said sent contradictory messages about the church's
support of gay rights. "Who does the Presbyterian Church
think we are?" said the Rev. Jane Adams Spahr, who is a
lesbian. "We are they, they are us." The 27 August ruling
by a court of the Redwoods Presbytery, a church district
of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Napa, California,
rebuked Spahr for violating church policy on same-sex
marriage by conducting marriage ceremonies for couples
between June and November 2008. Same-sex marriage was
already legal in California then. Still, the court
commended Spahr for "her prophetic ministry that for
35 years has extended support to 'people who seek the
dignity, freedom and respect that they have been denied'".
The court called upon the Presbyterian Church "to
re-examine our own fear and ignorance that continues
to reject Â… inclusiveness" and it noted that the
denomination's own rules offer "conflicting and even
contradictory rules and regulations that are against
the Gospel".

_____


First US Muslim college opens in California

Berkeley, California (ENI/RNS). Faatimah Knight's
college decision came down to eight schools where she
would have majored in English, or Zaytuna College,
where she could study Islamic classical teachings in
an environment that embraces all aspects of her Muslim
faith. The Brooklyn native is part of the inaugural
class of what Zaytuna's founders hope will be the
country's first accredited, four-year Muslim liberal
arts college - a flagship of higher learning with an
Islamic identity yet open to all faiths, Religion
News Service reports. Knight, 18, chose Zaytuna, she
said, because she wants to grow in her faith, learn
more about the religion that inspired her parents to
convert from Christianity and be able to defend Islam
during a time of stepped-up suspicion. "I want to feel
like I'm improving as a person. I want to feel like I'm
improving in terms of my character," said Knight. "I'm
almost positive that I can only get that here." An
aspiring writer, Knight is one of 15 Zaytuna students
who started classes on 24 August. Zaytuna College grew
out of a pilot seminary programme at the Zaytuna
Institute, which graduated a handful of students in
2008.

*****

31 August 2010

Russian Patriarch unveils Kremlin icon
hidden since 1917

Moscow (ENI). A fresco of Christ on the Kremlin Wall
in Moscow rediscovered after being plastered over during
the 1917 Bolshevik revolution has been presented in a
ceremony attended by Patriarch Kirill I of the Russian
Orthodox Church and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev.
"The history of these icons is a symbol of what happened
with our people in the 20th century," said Kirill at the
28 August ceremony. "It was claimed that true goals and
values and genuine shrines were destroyed, and that faith
had disappeared from the lives of our people." The fresco
of Christ is located over the Spasskaya, or Saviour, tower
of the Kremlin, near St Basil's Cathedral on Red Square.
Experts say it dates to the middle or second half of the
17th century.

*****

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

Sojourners Online

August 16th, 2010

Each of us, famous or infamous, is a role model
for somebody, and if we aren't, we should behave
as though we are -- cheerful, kind, loving,
courteous. Because you can be sure someone is
watching and taking deliberate and diligent notes.

- Maya Angelou

___


August 17th, 2010

To choose what is difficult all oneÂ’s days, as if
it were easy, that is faith.

- W.H. Auden from "For the Time Being"

___


August 16th, 2010

The journey by which we discover God is also the
journey by which we discover, or uncover, our true
self hidden in God. It is a journey that we all
have to make.

- Esther de Waal from "Living with Contradiction"

___


August 18th

Compassion is expressed in gentleness. When I think of
the persons I know who model for me the depths of the
spiritual life, I am struck by their gentleness ...
They are gentle because they have honestly faced the
struggles given to them and have learned the hard way
that personal survival is not the point. Their caring
is gentle because their self-aggrandizement is no
longer at stake. There is nothing in it for them.
Their vulnerability has been stretched to clear-eyed
sensitivity to others and truly selfless love.

- John E. Biersdorf from "Healing of Purpose"

___


August 26th, 2010

If you desire peace, cultivate justice, but at the
same time cultivate the field to produce more bread;
otherwise there will be no peace.

- Norman Borlaug from his Nobel Lecture

___


August 23rd, 2010

God, of your goodness give me yourself for you are
sufficient for me. I cannot properly ask anything less,
to be worthy of you. If I were to ask less, I should
always be in want. In you alone do I have all.

- Julian of Norwich

___


August 31st, 2010

There is a power that destroys. There is also a power
that creates. The power that creates gives life and
joy and peace. It is freedom and not bondage, life and
not death, transformation and not coercion. The power
that creates restores relationship and gives the gift
of wholeness to all. The power that creates is
spiritual power, the power that proceeds from God.

- Richard Foster from "Money, Sex and Power"

___


September 1st, 2010

In many parts of the world the people are searching
for a solution which would link the two basic values:
peace and justice. The two are like bread and salt
for mankind.

- Lech Walesa from his Nobel Lecture


*****

ON THIS DAY

On Aug. 15, 1947, India and Pakistan became independent
after some 200 years of British rule.

http://tinyurl.com/2eveszf

_____


Aug. 16, 1977, singer Elvis Presley died at Graceland
Mansion in Memphis, Tenn., at age 42.

http://tinyurl.com/24xx4qm

_____


Aug. 19, 1934, a plebiscite in Germany approved the
vesting of sole executive power in Adolf Hitler as Fuhrer.

http://tinyurl.com/2g98vd7


_____


August 28th, 1963, 200,000 people participated in a peaceful
civil rights rally in Washington, D.C., where Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech in front of the
Lincoln Memorial.

http://tinyurl.com/2fk3m7h

_____


Sept. 2, 1945, Japan formally surrendered in ceremonies aboard
the USS Missouri, ending World War II.

http://tinyurl.com/2amphxa

_____


Sept. 3, 1976, the unmanned U.S. spacecraft Viking 2 landed
on Mars to take the first close-up, color photographs of the
planet's surface.

http://tinyurl.com/29kt6um

_____


Sept. 4, 1957, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus called out the
National Guard to prevent nine black students from entering
Central High School in Little Rock.

http://tinyurl.com/2blno5x

_____


CLOSING THOUGHT

With this issue, we complete our summer schedule for
Colleagues List. Expect the first weekly autumn edition
on September 18th and most every Saturday thereafter.

(end)

COLLEAGUES LIST
Vol VI,   No. 3
Sept. 4th, 2010

*****

Edited by Wayne A. Holst

*****

Blogsite:

http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com/


*****

Special Item in this Issue:

"Against My Will -
 Like Clay in the Potter's Hands"

Sermon preached at:
St. David's United Church, Calgary
Sunday, September 5th, 2010

___


Colleague Communication:

Ontario friend comments on last issue

___


Colleague Contributions:

Lorna Dueck
Doug Koop
John Stackhouse
Miroslav Volf
John Griffith
Irving Hexham

___


Net Notes:

Taize Celebrates Seventy
Faiths Face Turmoil in China
Italy Battles Florence for David
Roger Ebert on Christopher Hitchens
IRA Car-Bomber Priest was Protected
Why Christianity is 'Foreign' to Japan
Belgian Police Raid on Churches'Unlawful'
Should the Catholic Church Scrap Celibacy?
Canadian Bishop Wants Compassion for Tamils
CLAY Brings Anglican/Lutheran Youth Together
Interfaith Apostle Raimon Pannikar Dead at 91
Religious Groups Concerned About Census Reform
A Thousand Miles in the Footsteps of M. Luther
Medic's Faith Affects Care of the Terminally Ill


_____


Global Faith Potpourri:

25 stories from Ecumenical News International

___


Quotes of the Month:

Maya Angelou
W.H. Auden
Esther de Waal
John E. Biersdorf
Norman Borlaug
Julian of Norwich
Richard Forster
Lech Walesa

___


On This Day (August 15th - September 4th, 2010)

Aug. 15, 1947 - India & Pakistan become independent of Britain
Aug. 16, 1977 - Singer Elvis Presley dies at Graceland, age 42
Aug. 19, 1934 - Plebiscite gives sole executive power to Hitler
Aug. 28, 1963 - Martin Luther King gives "I Have a Dream" speech
Sept. 3, 1976 - Unmanned spacecraft Viking 2 lands on Mars
Sept. 4, 1957 - Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus calls up National Guard

___


Closing Thoughts - on future issues of Colleagues List


(end)


*****


Dear Friends:

It is Labour Day weekend and I have been able to
create an early September issue of Colleagues List
between travels to Vancouver Island and Ontario!

I begin with a strongly autobiographical sermon
that I preached yesterday at St. David's United,
Calgary - my home congregation in this city. I
give a defense of autobiographical preaching, and
leave it to you to decide the value of my effort.

The sermon uses the lections for this past Sunday
and my title was:"Against My Will - Like Clay in the
Potter's Hands" based on the Hebrew Bible lection
but with an attempt to weave two others into the mix.

___


Colleague Communication:

After my mid-August issue of Colleagues List, I
received a helpful note of clarification and correction
from an old friend in Ontario. I share his thoughts
here.

___


Colleague Contributions:

Lorna Dueck - comments on the census issue that got
a fair amount of press in Canada this past month.

Doug Koop - provides an obituary, gleaned from
Christianity Today, at the death of Clack Pinnock,
noted Canadian evangelical scholar.

John Stackhouse - wades into the "Ground Zero Mosque"
issue roiling many Americans during the summer months.
It seems much less an bone of contention here in Canada.

Miroslav Volf - came out with a new book about six months
ago, and we missed commenting on it. "Against the Tide"
is a collection of his short pieces, first published in
the Christian Century and other journals, over the past
decade. Enjoy the review which I located, and hopefully
we can say more about this book in future.

John Griffith - still involved with "Spiritual Directions"
here in Calgary and still focused on cutting edge issues
where faith and secularity meet. Read up on the sustainability
conference planned for this autumn. Thanks, John.

Irving Hexham - was recently elected a fellow of Britain's
Royal Historical Society (RHS) a prestigious honour. We
applaud colleague Hexham! Irving was born in the UK but has
spent most of his career teaching in Canada, at the
University of Calgary.

___


Net Notes:

"Taize Celebrates Seventy"- The Taize Community is now
seven decades old since it was founded by Brother Roger
in France, during World War Two (Taize News)

"Faiths Face Turmoil in China"- A recent study by the
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences says that all five
government-recognized religions in that country -
Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism -
face unprecedented challenges and change in the days
ahead (Cathnews Asia)

"Italy Battles Florence for David" - Italians take their
art seriously. Here is a story of the fight between
the Italian government and the city of Florence over the
famous statue of David by Leonardo (The Guardian UK)

"Roger Ebert on Christopher Hitchens" - after Hitchens,
the famous atheist, spoke recently about his cancer with
epithets leveled against religion - Roger Ebert, the
famous Chicago Sun movie critic responds (The Atlantic)

"IRA Car-Bomber Priest was Protected" - Top police, the
government and Catholic Church officials in N. Ireland
conspired to protect a priest suspected over 1972 bombings
during "The Troubles" (reports the Sydney Morning Herald)

"Why Christianity is 'Foreign' to Japan" - it has long
been an enigma that Christian faith has never really
"caught on" in Japan. This article attempts to explain
why (Cathnews Asia)

"Belgian Police Raid on Churches 'Unlawful'" - controversy
continues to dog the Catholic hierarchy of Belgium, and
especially retired archbishop Cardinal Godfried Danneels
for his suspected role in sex abuse cover up activity.
(National Catholic Reporter),

"Should the Catholic Church Scrap Celibacy?" - this
issue has long been debated in church circles. Here is
a view from the popular British press where matters
Catholic are being given more attention with the upcoming
visit of the pope to the UK (The Guardian, UK)

"Canadian Bishop Wants Compassion for Tamils" - amid
all the discussion about the Tamil political refugee
ship that recently arrived in British Columbia, there
has been little comment by the church. Here is one
exception (Cathnews Asia)

"CLAY Brings Anglican/Lutheran Youth Together" -
This summer, 1,000 Lutheran and Anglican youth met
in London, Ontario for a special celebration
(Anglican Journal News)

"Interfaith Apostle Raimon Pannikar Dead at 91" -
anyone interested in the dialogue between the great
faiths is familiar with the name Raimon Pannikar, a
true pioneer and trend-setter in the field
(National Catholic Reporter)

"Religious Groups Concerned About Census Reform" -
more on the Canadian census issue - this time,
comment is by Mags Storey who believes Christians
and various minorities will be underrepresented
if proposed changes go through (ChristianWeek.org)

"A Thousand Miles in the Footsteps of Martin Luther" -
Sarah Hinnicky Wilson, a Lutheran, encourages us
to begin thinking about the Reformation and what it
means as the 500th anniversary draws near in 2017.
(Wall Street Journal)

"Medic's Faith Affects Care of the Terminally Ill" -
a study out of the UK suggests that the faith - or
lack thereof - of medical practitioners can have a
marked affect on patients (The Guardian UK)

_____


Global Faith Potpourri:

25 stories from Ecumenical News International

___


Quotes of the Month:

Providing us with their wisdome this week are:

Maya Angelou, W.H. Auden, Esther de Waal,
John E. Biersdorf, Norman Borlaug,
Julian of Norwich, Richard Forster & Lech Walesa

___


On This Day (August 15th - September 4th, 2010)

Read these news articles as the stories broke,
provided from the archives of the New York Times:

India & Pakistan become independent of Britain (1947)
Singer Elvis Presley dies at Graceland, age 42 (1972)
Plebiscite gives sole executive power to Hitler (1934)
Martin Luther King gives "I Have a Dream" speech (1963)
Unmanned spacecraft Viking 2 lands on Mars (1976)
Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus calls up National Guard (1957)

___


Closing Thoughts - on future issues of Colleagues List.

With summer sadly drawing to a close, this weekend suggests
a return to schedules related to autumn. Colleagues List
will more frequently appear - a signal of the changing of
the seasons.

Blessings as you begin a new period of the year!

Wayne


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


SPECIAL ST. DAVID'S LINKS

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

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


___


ST DAVID'S ACTS WEB PAGE

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

__


ANNOUNCING:

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

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

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

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

We are also planning to sing while visiting
Iona, Scotland and Dublin, Ireland.

ALL 36 PLACES ON THE TOUR ARE SOLD OUT

We are starting a waiting list for this trip;
also an interest list for a second tour in 2012!


*****


Announcing our New Fall Study at St. David's:

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

Including background material from the book:

THE CELTIC WAY (Ian Bradley)

Plus:

INTROS TO CELTIC SAINTS PATRICK, COLUMBA & DAVID

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

Special Guest:

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

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

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

___


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

AGAINST MY WILL:
LIKE CLAY IN THE POTTER'S HANDS

My sermon at St. David's United Church,
Sunday, September 5th, 2010

AGAINST MY WILL - LIKE CLAY IN THE POTTER'S HANDS

A Sermon Preached at St. David's United Church, Calgary
Sunday, September 5th, 2010.

___


Introductory Blessing and the Texts:

Hear again these words from today's readings -

Text:

Jeremiah 18:6 - "House of Israel,  can I not do to you
what this potter does? Yes, like clay in the potter's hands,
so you are in mine."

Supportive Texts:

Luke 14:7 - "No one who does not carry
his cross and come after me can be my disciple."

Philemon verses 12, 16 - "I am sending Onesimus back to you
... no longer as a slave,  but as something much better."

___


Prayer of Dedication:

Lord, Guide us by your Word. Your Word is truth. Amen.


___


Thoughts on Autobiographical Preaching

When I began my theological studies for ministry 46 years
ago this fall, I was taught that when I preached it was
wrong to focus on myself.

"Self-focus" was considered "self-centered." The most
important purpose of preaching was the proclamation of the
Gospel not the person of the preacher.

Almost half a century later, I have had to reconsider that
advice. We live in times when Oprah and internet blogs are
very much a part of our culture. Oprah and the blog emphasize
the "centrality of the person" as a way to rivet attention on
what the messenger wants to convey to an audience

"Self-focus"  has lost its negative connotation. It has
become so common that we hardly think about it.

"Self-focus" is an important way to communicate meaning
today.

My reflection therefore will use "self-focus" in a
transparent way to help you adapt and transfer aspects of
my life to your's, and - in the process - I hope that the
Gospel will be well-served.

If a good connection happens, I will not have betrayed my
early mentors' commitment to preaching. I hope you will
sense that the Gospel has been at work in my life and that
it can be readily applied to your life too.

___


Autobiography:

My sermon theme this morning is entitled "Against My Will -
Like Clay in the Potter's Hands." I want to focus on how
God works with us to bring about positive personal change.
Sometimes that happens against  our will and even in spite
of ourselves.

During the summer of 1964 I was married and my new bride
and I began the month of September of that year with much
hope and anticipation. I was commencing graduate studies
in theology at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary in Ontario and
our desire was that when I had attained my master's degree
in divinity - three to four years thereafter - I would
become eligible for ordination as a pastor. We were serious,
hard-working young men in those days. Also, we were  a bit
naive and inexperienced. (There were no women in my class;
all of us were in our 20's and had recently completed
undergraduate degrees in preparation for further study.)

I was enthusiastic and energetic - even though my idea of
what constituted ministry at the time was quite narrow.
The career path for most of us would normally involve a
call to a small or isolated parish somewhere in Central
Canada. After some years I would then perhaps receive a
call from a larger church in a more urbanized area. Then,
if my work proved faithful and effective, I might have a
chance at a major church in a recognized centre. Here I
would likely remain until retirement at 65. I would
conclude my ministry career and enjoy the benefits of
an "emeritus" title.  In retrospect, I possessed a rather
limited idea of what a pastoral vocation was all about.
Nevertheless, from what I knew about it, I expected to be
successful (whatever that might mean!)

A first signal that my career might take a different track
from many of my peers came when I had an opportunity to do
graduate work at the University of Geneva in Switzerland.
Today, that would not be considered unusual and I marvel at
how so many young students get to study overseas as part of
their basic training. Back then, however, it was unique.
I believe I was the first Canadian of my denomination to
do graduate ecumenical studies at Bossey, an institution
sponsored by the World Council of Churches. During the two
years we spent in Europe, I recall that we had one
opportunity to telephone my parents back in Canada. Phone
calls were difficult and costly. How different things are
today!

On returning home, I was ready for ordination. My ministry
began in a small but very supportive rural parish in Grey
County, near Georgian Bay. Within two years, however, I
left to do missionary work in the West Indies. Then, it
was synod staff work in Winnipeg; then, international church
staff work in New York City; then, new church development
work in Calgary - a city we knew very little about but
accepted because we wanted to returnto Canada. That was
31 years ago this month.

Within twelve years of my ordination I had garnered a
wide range of ministry experience. Then, for eight more
years in Calgary I labored to develop a new congregation
- Advent Lutheran Church - in Scenic Acres and in what
was then the north-western-most tier of our city.

As my ministry at Advent was winding down, I began to
ask myself the question "what next?" Frankly I really
did  not know what "what next" would be for I seemed
to be running out of options. This was a difficult
place to be, given my limited understanding of vocation
at the time.

Other factors would begin to influence my life -
unexpected factors that had a marked effect on me.
My  marriage crumbled. My call at Advent abruptly ended.
My status as a pastor in the denomination I had called
home from the time I was a child was in jeopardy. I
suppose that if I  had not been so wrapped up in my
career I might have anticipated some  of this; but
I did not.

The triple whammy of losses I faced in 1987 would change
my life forever. I had always assumed I would be a pastor;
gainfully employed; and socially accepted as well. All of
a sudden, all three assumptions shriveled and I went
through a lengthy period of wrenching pain and agony.

Leading up to this period in my life I considered myself
intelligent and relatively successful. But I realize now that
God saw some major blind spots in my self-understanding. I
know now that I had a great deal more to learn. Of all my
losses, the ending of ministry as I had known it was the
worst to accept.

It took some years for much of this confusion to sort itself
out; but now in retrospect, I realize that I needed to go
through that refiner's fire - or, in the language of today's
Jeremiah text - "a significant reshaping  by the potter."
The old vessel that was Wayne was no longer adequate.

Fortunately, over some years, I was reshaped by God, the
"Master Potter," as well as through the support of many
good people, and my own efforts to create a new life for
myself.

I moved from seeing myself as a "pastor" to being in a
"pastoral vocation." From a title to a way of life.

This has proven to be a much better way for me. That is
when my life at St. David's began - two decades ago. It
was during my early years here, in a loving, supportive
community, that I began to learn about losing my life in
order to find it again.

I went kicking and screaming from what I had always
envisioned myself to be - what I expected to become -
into what the "Master Potter" was co-creating with me.

In time - family, work, and pastoral vocation - were
restored to me in glorious measure; but back then, very
little of what I now understand of myself was at all
clear to me. When I first became part of the community
of St. David's almost 20 years ago I was a very lost
soul.

I know from experience how important Christian community
can be, and on that point many of you will concur.

___


Briefly Unpacking the Texts:

Jeremiah, Luke and Philemon

"The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh as follows,
"Get up and make your way down to the potter's house,
and there I will tell you what I have to say.

So, I went down to the potter's house, and there he
was, working at the wheel. But the vessel he was working
at came out wrong, as may happen with clay when a potter
is at work. So he began again and shaped it into another
vessel, as he thought fit."

Jeremiah concludes - "House of Israel, can I not do to you
what this potter does? Yes, like clay in the potter's hands,
so you are in mine." (18:1-6 NJB)

___


"Great crowds accompanied Jesus on his way, and he turned
and spoke to them. Anyone who comes to me without hating
father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes
and his own life too, cannot be my disciple.

No one who does not carry his cross and come after me
can be my disciple." (14:25-27 NJB)

___


"I am appealing to you (Philemon) for a child of mine,
whose father I became while wearing these chains: I mean
Onesimus. He was of no use to you before, but now he is
useful to both you and to me. I am sending him back to
you, sending you my own heart...I suppose you have been
deprived of Onesimus for a time, merely so that you
could have him back forever, not merely as a slave, but
something much better than a slave, a dear brother."
(vss 10,11,15,16 NJB)

___


I see a thread running through all three of these
passages which serve as today's lections. The prophet
Jeremiah tells his fellow Israelites that God is so
concerned about them that, when he sees them heading
in a wrong direction he will try to stop this from
happening, just as a potter destroys a faulty piece
of pottery. God reworks the clay, and recreates it
into a worthy vessel - a much better piece than it
was before.

Paul writes to Philemon, the owner of Onesimus, and
advises Philemon totake back his escaped slave since
the experience has taught all three of them a lesson.
Onesimus is no longer a mere slave, says Paul, but
a mutual brother. Let's celebrate this! Let's
recognize that good things can come from facing up
to our inadequacies and moving in new directions.


Jesus tells those who would follow him that to do
so is not easy - in fact, it is like carrying a cross -
but the end result of being reshaped by God can bring
a significant change for good in one's life. That I
believe is what happened to me, and it can happen
to anyone.

___


In Spite of Ourselves:

Often, as I have looked back on some of the challenges
I once faced, I wonder how I survived. Obviously, God
saw good in me and in my future even when I could not.

When people come to me today with problems that seem
overwhelming, I will always encourage them not to give
up, but to persist, to keep trying to find their way
forward, in spite of the obstacles in their path. The
process of that struggle, it seems to me, is nothing
lessthan the Potter doing his thing, shaping something
new out of what is no longer workable.

To say that the Potter is at work, however, does not
mean that he is doing "all" the work. We too must
co-operate in our own remaking.Sometimes, the biggest
obstacle to progress resides in our unwillingness to
let go of old patterns and our resistance to change.

Everyone has his or her challenges, and we all
approach them differently. But let me suggest something
I have learned from my own experience with facing the
abyss of hopelessness in my life, and then finding I
was not not alone. Indeed, it is possible to find a
way ahead. When all was said and done, I knew that
God loved me. I discovered that the Potter was there,
waiting to work with me. I just needed to recognize
that.

___


My Recent Cancer Experience:

Early this year I learned that I had a malignant
tumor in my colon. I was immediately confronted with
a battery of tests and treatments to determine the
extent of the damage and to try to control and remove
the problem.

In June, I underwent surgery at Foothills Hospital.
For the past ten weeks or so, I have been in the process
of recuperation. My presence at worship this morning can
be read as a sign that my cancer has not only been
controlled, but cured. For that I thank God and many
of you for the wonderful support I have received here.

I recognize that not all cancers are like mine, but
there are good things to be learned from any kind cancer
if we are open to learning.

During these months I believe I have evolved spiritually
because of this new and frightening development in my life.
What am I to make of what happened? How might I change my
lifestyle to avoid similar problems in the future? What
new thing is God calling me to be and to do as a result
of this experience? These are the questions presently
occupying my mind.

The work of The Potter continues in me and each one of us.

___


Summary and Conclusion:

To say that I am a completely changed person as a
result of my experience would be to exaggerate. I
know that for some time before my cancer was detected,
I was in a state of denial. I can still be in some
denial and continue to face a learning curve.

Sharing these things with you this morning and getting
your feedback from your personal experience is one way
I can continue learning and growing.

Yet this I do know. The Potter continues to make
himself and his skills available to us. Sometimes
he works, even against our will, and perhaps in spite
of ourselves, to let his purposes be known.

Amen.


*****

COLLEAGUE RESPONSE

A friend from Ontario wrote:

Particularly enjoyed a number of things in this issue
of Colleagues List:

"Has Hate Corrupted the Church?" is so, so timely. The
"new evangelization" had better fix its sights on the basics
of Christianity because there are seemingly-huge numbers of
people who consider themselves Christians who have so
obviously missed that basic message! Makes one wonder what
kind of real relationship they have with Jesus Christ!

You Protestants don't need more saints. You already have them.
You are just so very reticent about acknowledging them. I've
often wondered over the years if it's somehow related to an
unease with "God-becoming-flesh," with the incarnational
aspect of Christianity. History, of course, and the history
of the growth and development of Christianity play the usual
huge part in this.

I did get a chuckle out of the headline "St. Peter's Prison
Discovered in Rome." I wasn't aware that it had been lost!
I knew that it had been closed for archaeological work - and
am and delighted that it's once again open to the public.

I'm delighted to see Mother Teresa honoured by the "Peace
Bridge" that links Buffalo, New York and Fort Erie, Ontario -
which someone seems to have been confused with the "Honeymoon
Bridge" - that linked Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara
Falls, New York, that collapsed into the Niagara River gorge
in 1938 and was replaced by the current "Rainbow Bridge" just
a few metres from where the older bridge once stood.

Safe travels, Wayne, and continued good health.

*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

LORNA DUECK

Even God Ordered a Census
August 16th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/29vupur

*****

DOUG KOOP

Christianitytoday.direct
August 17th, 2010

CLARK PINNOCK DIES

http://tinyurl.com/25ykm53

*****

JOHN STACKHOUSE JR.

"Ground Zero Mosque: It's a Simple Question"

Read two articles appearing on his blog:

http://tinyurl.com/297f2tm


*****

MIROSLAV VOLF

"Against the Tide"

Paperback edition released recently by Eerdmans

A collection of his short articles, many of
which appreared in The Christian Century.

Read a short review by Englewood Review of Books

http://tinyurl.com/2b4jjhe


*****

JOHN GRIFFITH

Important Sustainability Conference
Sponsored by "Spiritual Directions"
Coming this Fall

http://spiritualdirections.wordpress.com/


*****

IRVING HEXHAM

Colleague Elected to Royal Society

Congratulations, Irving!

http://www.ucalgary.ca/news/utoday/august31-2010/hexham


*****

NET NOTES

TAIZE CELEBRATES SEVENTY

News from Taize
August 16, 2010

http://www.taize.fr/en_article11166.html


*****

FAITHS FACE TURMOIL IN CHINA SAYS REPORT

Cathnews Asia
August 15th, 2010

http://www.cathnewsasia.com/?p=17183


*****


ITALY BATTLES FLORENCE FOR DAVID

The Guardian
August 16th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/36v4a7t


*****

ROGER EBERT ON CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS

The Atlantic
August 13th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2u5l4cg


*****

IRA CAR-BOMBER PRIEST WAS PROTECTED

Sydney Morning Herald
August 25th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/34f87p8


*****

WHY CHRISTIANITY IS 'FOREIGN' TO JAPAN

Catnews Asia
August 27th, 2010

http://www.cathnewsasia.com/?p=17549


*****

BELGIAN POLICE RAID ON CHURCHES 'UNLAWFUL'

National Catholic Reporter
August 17th, 2010

http://www.cathnewsasia.com/?p=17245

___


Newspaper 'Defamed' Danneels, Says Lawyer

Cathnews Asia
Sept. 1st, 2010

http://www.cathnewsasia.com/?p=17694


*****

SHOULD THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
SCRAP ITS CELIBACY RULE?

The Guardian (UK)
August 17th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/26l64pq


*****

CANADIAN BISHOP CALLS FOR COMPASSION RE TAMILS

Cathnews Asia
August 31st, 2010

http://www.cathnewsasia.com/?p=17559


*****

CLAY BRINGS ANGLICAN AND
LUTHERAN YOUTH TOGETHER

Anglican Journal News
August 24th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2b54oea


*****

INTERFAITH APOSTLE RAIMON PANNIKAR DEAD AT 91

Cathnews Asia

August 31st, 2010

http://www.cathnewsasia.com/?p=17641


*****


RELIGIOUS GROUPS CONCERNED ABOUT CENSUS REFORM

Christianweek.org
August 17th, 2010

http://www.christianweek.org/stories.php?id=1028


*****

A THOUSAND MILES IN THE FOOTSTEPS
OF MARTIN LUTHER

Wall Street Journal
August 20th, 2010

by Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

http://tinyurl.com/2cdydhc


*****

STUDY FINDS MEDICS FAITH AFFECTS
THEIR CARE OF THE TERMINALLY ILL

The Guardian
August 26th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2dxkzrm


*****

GLOBAL FAITH POTPOURRI
Ecumenical News International

16 August 2010

Church bells to ring out in September
for species protection

London (ENI). Support for United Nations talks on
biodiversity will be marked in Britain by the biggest
nationwide peal of bells since celebrations to mark
the eve of the third millennium, organizers say.
"Ringing the church bells is a great way for the
wider community to be reminded and to celebrate the
beauty of creation," said Jill Hopkinson, the
(Anglican) Church of England's national rural
officer, in a 10 August statement. The denomination
is urging cathedrals and several thousand parish
churches to ring their bells to mark the talks at
the U.N. general assembly on 22 September in New
York that will address the international failure
to meet targets on species conservation.

_____


Churches come up short as delegates' US visas denied

Washington (ENI/RNS). When the Baptist World Alliance
held its global conference in Hawaii earlier in August,
it was missing about 1000 attendees from around the
world. In June, the inaugural meeting of the World
Communion of Reformed Churches in Grand Rapids, in
the U.S. state of Michigan, was missing 74, and the
Seventh-day Adventists' general conference in Atlanta
was missing about 200, Religion News Service reports.
The three church groups said foreign delegates' visas
were denied by U.S. officials, meaning some nations
lacked representation at the global assemblies that
occur only once every several years.

*****

17 August 2010

Obama's remarks on Islamic centre
near 9/11 site draw flak

New York (ENI). U.S. President Barack Obama's remarks
that Muslims have the right to build a proposed Islamic
cultural centre near the site of the 11 September 2001
attacks in New York City have triggered strong
condemnation from his political opponents. Former U.S.
House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is being touted as a
2012 Republican Party presidential candidate, said
Obama was, "pandering to radical Islam". Gingrich added,
"Nazis don't have the right to put up a sign next to the
holocaust museum in Washington." Obama's comments were
made at a 13 August presidential White House dinner to
mark the celebration of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan.
In his address, the president praised the "unshakeable"
commitment the United States has shown to the protection
of religious liberty.

_____


Baha'i community 'stunned' by 'harsh' sentences in Iran

Geneva (ENI). The Baha'i International Community says
harsh prison sentences meted out by the Iranian
authorities to seven Iranian Baha'i leaders have been
imposed on innocent people, and represent a punishment
against an entire religious community. The five men and
two women imprisoned, who constantly protested their
innocence, were arrested in May 2008 and later charged
with, "spying for foreigners," as well as, "spreading
corruption on Earth," and "cooperating with Israel".
Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi, whose Defenders of Human
Rights Centre represented the Baha'i defendants, said
she was "stunned" by the seven- to 20-year jail terms.

_____


US study says religious hospitals more efficient,
provide better care

New York (ENI/RNS). Roman Catholic and other church-run
health care systems in the U.S. are more efficient and
provide higher quality care than their secular
counterparts, according to a new Thomson Reuters study.
The study looked at 255 health care systems and found
that Catholic and other church-owned systems are
"significantly more likely to provide higher quality
care and efficiency" than both investor-owned and
nonprofit health systems, Religion News Service reports.

_____


August 18th, 2010

US atheist group to raise funds for religious charity

Washington DC (ENI/RNS). An atheist foundation that
seeks to foster charitable giving among nonbelievers is
encouraging members to donate to a religious charity -
and the move is stirring mixed feelings among members.
Foundation Beyond Belief, a nonprofit organization
headquartered in Georgia, has designated London-based
Quaker Peace & Social Witness as one of 10 charities
its members will support during the current three months
of the year, Religion News Service reports. "Reactions
in the nontheist community have ranged from applause to
gasps of dismay," said secular humanist Dale McGowan,
executive director of the foundation, in a statement.

_____


August 19th, 2010

Aid group laments response to Pakistan's
'heart-wrenching' floods

Bangalore, India (ENI). Church-backed aid groups are
calling for people around the world to step up to the
plate and help those suffering the worst floods in the
history of Pakistan, with one agency describing the
international response as, "far from adequate". "The
majority of them [those affected by the floods] still
remain without food, drinking water, shelter and
medication, [and] more damage is expected in Sindh
Province as the second wave of floods is approaching,"
cautioned U.S.-based Church World Service on 16 August.

At the same time the Geneva-based Lutheran World
Federation announced on 19 August that two of its
disaster relief specialists have been sent to Pakistan
to assist the church-based ACT Alliance in providing
emergency assistance to the victims of the flooding.


*****

21 August 2010

Tutu, cardinal urge S Africans
to oppose new media law

Cape Town (ENI). Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Archbishop
Desmond Tutu and Roman Catholic Cardinal Wilfrid Napier
are among hundreds of high-profile South Africans calling
on their compatriots to oppose a proposed media law that
critics say resembles apartheid legislation. In an
unscriptedspeech on 18 August at the Institute for
Democracy in Cape Town, Tutu,who is due to retire from
public life in October, challenged South Africans to
fight for press freedom by mobilising the spirit that
made the 2010 soccer World Cup a success. Referring to
the FIFA soccer competition, that South Africa hosted,
and which ended in July, Tutu said, Tutu challenged
opponents of the new media control proposals that the
ruling African National Congress has put forward, to
fight back. He said, "This is your country, and it is
going to become what you allow it to be."

_____


South Korean pastor arrested after
breaking ban to visit North

Tokyo (ENI). The Rev. Han Sang-ryeol, a Presbyterian
pastor, who campaigns or the reunification of his
divided country, and defied a South Korean law by
visiting North Korea, has been arrested on his return.
South Korean police detained Han on 19 August, when the
60-year-old activist returned from a 70-day unauthorised
trip to the North, where he was feted according to
reports. Han was, "taken into custody" after setting
foot on South Korean soil as he returned home through
the Panmunjom crossing on the North-South Korean border,
South Korea's Yonhap News agency reported. "Hisvisit was
purely based on his faith, and his conviction to break
the deadlock of North-South relations, and to open the
way to reconciliation,"the Rev.Shin Seung-Min, executive
secretary for ecumenical relations and overseas
mission of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic
of Korea, told ENI news.

______


British religious leaders concerned as
asylum seekers face axe

London (ENI). African and British church leaders say
they are angered by plans by Britain to deport failed ]a
sylum seekers. Britain's justice minister, Kenneth Clake,
wants to end repeated challenges to decisions to turn
down claims for asylum seekers and last-minute deportation
orders. Criticsof the action argue it could mean tens of
thousands of asylum seekers and immigrants will no longer
receive legal aid. "Cutting the legal aid budget puts
already vulnerable people at greater risk of being
returned to dangerous situations," Rachel Lampard, the
public issues head at the Methodist Church, told ENI news.
"We recognise that the government wants to make budget
savings, but this should only be done once we are
confident that people will not be denied justice as
a result."


*****


24 August 2010


Discontented U.S. Lutherans to form new church body

New York (ENI). Dissatisfied members of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America are forming a new church body
they say will "uphold confessional principles" after
disagreements on issues such as the ordination of clergy
in committed same-sex relationships. The new body is to
be called the North American Lutheran Church and is
scheduled to be formed at a 26-27 August meeting in Grove
City, Ohio. In 2009, the ELCA agreed to change its
denominational rules to "open the ministry of the church
to gay and lesbian pastors and other professional workers
living in committed relationships".

_____


Cross at Warsaw palace divides church and nation

Warsaw (ENI). A huge makeshift wooden cross in front of
Warsaw's presidential palace honouring former president
Lech Kaczynski, who was killed in a 10 April air crash,
continues to cause tension in Poland. The dispute over
the cross has led the primate of the Roman Catholic Church
in Poland, Archbishop Jozef Kowalczyk, to criticise Catholic
protesters who had been refusing to allow the cross to be
removed. "None of this has anything to do with a true
Catholic conscience or the genuine attitude of a Christian,
of a believing person who loves the cross and finds
inspiration in it," said Kowalczyk, who was installed as
archbishop of Gniezno and the church's primate on 26 June.
"What we are seeing is an unedifying, shameful manipulation
of the cross. I ask everyone involved in any way to stop."

______


Religion root of homophobia says Latin American academic

San José (ENI/ALC). The aversion to homosexuality, and
the violence that can accompany it, appears to originate
less in political ideologies than it does in, "religious
doctrines of power transformed into cultural sensitivity",
says Latin American political scientist Helio Gallardo.


*****


25 August 2010

French Protestants criticise government
over Roma repatriation

Geneva/Paris (ENI). France's main Protestant grouping
has added its voice to criticism of a government
programme aimed at repatriating Roma migrants and
demolishing unauthorised Roma camps. The Protestant
Federation of France (FPF) said it was "concerned
about the new direction of policies concerning the
Roma population, one of Europe's most impoverished
populations". The French government began a crackdown
on Roma and Traveller communities at the end of July,
after outbreaks of violence between Roma communities
and police following an incident in which a Traveller
was killed by security forces. The statement by the
Protestant grouping follows criticism by Roman Catholic
leaders of the government policy.

_____


Indian forum says state agencies colluded
in anti-Christian violence

New Delhi (ENI). A "people's tribunal" that heard
testimonies from victims of anti-Christian violence
in India's eastern Orissa state in 2008 has criticised
state agencies for aggravating the suffering of those
caught up in the attacks. "There is a shocking level
of institutional bias on the part of state agencies
(including police) leading to their collusion in the
violence, connivance in efforts to block the
subsequent process of justice and accountability,"
declared the jury in New Delhi at the end of the u
nofficial 22-24 August National People's Tribunal
on the violence in Orissa's Kandhamal jungles.

_____


Future of destroyed Ground Zero
Orthodox church in doubt

New York (ENI/RNS). Buried by falling rubble from the
World Trade Center towers after the 11 September 2001
terrorist attacks, all that remained of the tiny St.
Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church were some candles, two
icons and a bell clapper. These artefacts are being
kept at the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox
Archdiocese of America while the church's 70 member
families worship at a cathedral in Brooklyn, praying
for the day they can return to a new sanctuary in
lower Manhattan, Religion News Service reports.

_____


Religion now among top 10 exam subjects
says Church of England

London (ENI). Religious studies has entered the top
10 league of subjects in exams taken by most 16-year-
old school students in Britain, the (Anglican) Church
of England said in a statement marking the publication
of examination results. The results published on 24
August also showed the number of school students taking
religious studies for the General Certificate of School
Education increasing for the 12th year running, said
Nick McKemey, the church's head of school improvement.
"This is a phenomenon that indicates students'
appreciation that exploring faith and belief help them
to understand the world and become better global
citizens," said McKemey.


*****

26 August 2010

Five years after Katrina, US mourns dead,
survivors remember

New York (ENI). Faith groups are joining survivors
in marking the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina,
considered the costliest natural disaster in the
history of the United States. The hurricane, which
struck the U.S. coast on 29 August 2005, caused
US$81 million damage and killed 1836 persons. It
destroyed large sections of the city of New Orleans
and the Gulf Coast region of several U.S. states.
It also prompted wide condemnation of the initial
response by the U.S. government, which critics
said was shockingly inadequate.

___


Catholic Church in Ireland denies cover-up
on 'paramilitary priest'

Dublin (ENI). The Roman Catholic Church in Ireland
has denied engaging in a cover-up of the alleged
involvement of a priest in a bombing in Northern
Ireland that killed nine people in 1972. A 24 August
report of the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman into
a 1972 car bomb in Claudy, County Derry, in July 1972
found that talks between representatives of the
government, the police and the church resulted in
the Rev. James Chesney, a suspect in the bombing,
being transferred to a parish in the Republic of
Ireland.


*****

30 August 2010

South Korean church council says
rice needed for flooded North

Tokyo (ENI). South Korea's national church council has
urged humanitarian assistance for people in the isolated
north of the divided Asian country so they can try and
cope with recent floods that have hit the peninsula. In
a 26 August statement, the National Council of Churches
in Korea said August that in the North Korean city of
Sinuiju, northwest of the capital Pyongyang and near the
Yalu River, houses have collapsed, and 2458 hectares of
farmland are flooded. The council, which is based in the
South Korea capital of Seoul, said that there had already
been an acute shortage of food in the north and it called
for rice to be provided to victims. "If your enemies are
hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, let them drink,"
the council said citing a verse in St Paul's letter to
the Romans (12:20) in the Bible. More than 5000 people
were evacuated as floods hit the northwestern part of
the country, news agencies have reported.

_____


Italian Protestant denominations approve
same-sex blessings

Rome (ENI). The joint synod of Italy's Waldensian and
Methodist Protestant churches has, as the denominations'
highest governing body, agreed to authorise the blessing
of same-sex couples in church under certain conditions.
Synod president Marco Bouchard described the 26 August
decision as "a clear and firm step forward that needs to
be placed into a context that will be better defined,
especially the relationship between churches and
homosexual couples". The synod statement said, "The words
and practice of Jesus, as seen in the Gospel, call us to
welcome each experience and each choice marked by God's
love, freely and consciously chosen." Before the synod,
a group of Waldensians including a member of the Italian
parliament, Lucio Malan, took out a paid advertisement
in the Protestant weekly newspaper Riforma, warning that
same-sex blessings risked splitting the churches, and
affecting ecumenical relationships.

_____


US Presbyterian cleric plans to appeal
same-sex marriage ruling

New York (ENI). A retired California Presbyterian minister,
rebuked on charges that she violated her ordination vows by
marrying same-sex couples, plans to appeal against a ruling
that she said sent contradictory messages about the church's
support of gay rights. "Who does the Presbyterian Church
think we are?" said the Rev. Jane Adams Spahr, who is a
lesbian. "We are they, they are us." The 27 August ruling
by a court of the Redwoods Presbytery, a church district
of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Napa, California,
rebuked Spahr for violating church policy on same-sex
marriage by conducting marriage ceremonies for couples
between June and November 2008. Same-sex marriage was
already legal in California then. Still, the court
commended Spahr for "her prophetic ministry that for
35 years has extended support to 'people who seek the
dignity, freedom and respect that they have been denied'".
The court called upon the Presbyterian Church "to
re-examine our own fear and ignorance that continues
to reject Â… inclusiveness" and it noted that the
denomination's own rules offer "conflicting and even
contradictory rules and regulations that are against
the Gospel".

_____


First US Muslim college opens in California

Berkeley, California (ENI/RNS). Faatimah Knight's
college decision came down to eight schools where she
would have majored in English, or Zaytuna College,
where she could study Islamic classical teachings in
an environment that embraces all aspects of her Muslim
faith. The Brooklyn native is part of the inaugural
class of what Zaytuna's founders hope will be the
country's first accredited, four-year Muslim liberal
arts college - a flagship of higher learning with an
Islamic identity yet open to all faiths, Religion
News Service reports. Knight, 18, chose Zaytuna, she
said, because she wants to grow in her faith, learn
more about the religion that inspired her parents to
convert from Christianity and be able to defend Islam
during a time of stepped-up suspicion. "I want to feel
like I'm improving as a person. I want to feel like I'm
improving in terms of my character," said Knight. "I'm
almost positive that I can only get that here." An
aspiring writer, Knight is one of 15 Zaytuna students
who started classes on 24 August. Zaytuna College grew
out of a pilot seminary programme at the Zaytuna
Institute, which graduated a handful of students in
2008.

*****

31 August 2010

Russian Patriarch unveils Kremlin icon
hidden since 1917

Moscow (ENI). A fresco of Christ on the Kremlin Wall
in Moscow rediscovered after being plastered over during
the 1917 Bolshevik revolution has been presented in a
ceremony attended by Patriarch Kirill I of the Russian
Orthodox Church and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev.
"The history of these icons is a symbol of what happened
with our people in the 20th century," said Kirill at the
28 August ceremony. "It was claimed that true goals and
values and genuine shrines were destroyed, and that faith
had disappeared from the lives of our people." The fresco
of Christ is located over the Spasskaya, or Saviour, tower
of the Kremlin, near St Basil's Cathedral on Red Square.
Experts say it dates to the middle or second half of the
17th century.

*****

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

Sojourners Online

August 16th, 2010

Each of us, famous or infamous, is a role model
for somebody, and if we aren't, we should behave
as though we are -- cheerful, kind, loving,
courteous. Because you can be sure someone is
watching and taking deliberate and diligent notes.

- Maya Angelou

___


August 17th, 2010

To choose what is difficult all oneÂ’s days, as if
it were easy, that is faith.

- W.H. Auden from "For the Time Being"

___


August 16th, 2010

The journey by which we discover God is also the
journey by which we discover, or uncover, our true
self hidden in God. It is a journey that we all
have to make.

- Esther de Waal from "Living with Contradiction"

___


August 18th

Compassion is expressed in gentleness. When I think of
the persons I know who model for me the depths of the
spiritual life, I am struck by their gentleness ...
They are gentle because they have honestly faced the
struggles given to them and have learned the hard way
that personal survival is not the point. Their caring
is gentle because their self-aggrandizement is no
longer at stake. There is nothing in it for them.
Their vulnerability has been stretched to clear-eyed
sensitivity to others and truly selfless love.

- John E. Biersdorf from "Healing of Purpose"

___


August 26th, 2010

If you desire peace, cultivate justice, but at the
same time cultivate the field to produce more bread;
otherwise there will be no peace.

- Norman Borlaug from his Nobel Lecture

___


August 23rd, 2010

God, of your goodness give me yourself for you are
sufficient for me. I cannot properly ask anything less,
to be worthy of you. If I were to ask less, I should
always be in want. In you alone do I have all.

- Julian of Norwich

___


August 31st, 2010

There is a power that destroys. There is also a power
that creates. The power that creates gives life and
joy and peace. It is freedom and not bondage, life and
not death, transformation and not coercion. The power
that creates restores relationship and gives the gift
of wholeness to all. The power that creates is
spiritual power, the power that proceeds from God.

- Richard Foster from "Money, Sex and Power"

___


September 1st, 2010

In many parts of the world the people are searching
for a solution which would link the two basic values:
peace and justice. The two are like bread and salt
for mankind.

- Lech Walesa from his Nobel Lecture


*****

ON THIS DAY

On Aug. 15, 1947, India and Pakistan became independent
after some 200 years of British rule.

http://tinyurl.com/2eveszf

_____


Aug. 16, 1977, singer Elvis Presley died at Graceland
Mansion in Memphis, Tenn., at age 42.

http://tinyurl.com/24xx4qm

_____


Aug. 19, 1934, a plebiscite in Germany approved the
vesting of sole executive power in Adolf Hitler as Fuhrer.

http://tinyurl.com/2g98vd7


_____


August 28th, 1963, 200,000 people participated in a peaceful
civil rights rally in Washington, D.C., where Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech in front of the
Lincoln Memorial.

http://tinyurl.com/2fk3m7h

_____


Sept. 2, 1945, Japan formally surrendered in ceremonies aboard
the USS Missouri, ending World War II.

http://tinyurl.com/2amphxa

_____


Sept. 3, 1976, the unmanned U.S. spacecraft Viking 2 landed
on Mars to take the first close-up, color photographs of the
planet's surface.

http://tinyurl.com/29kt6um

_____


Sept. 4, 1957, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus called out the
National Guard to prevent nine black students from entering
Central High School in Little Rock.

http://tinyurl.com/2blno5x

_____


CLOSING THOUGHT

With this issue, we complete our summer schedule for
Colleagues List. Expect the first weekly autumn edition
on September 18th and most every Saturday thereafter.

(end)

COLLEAGUES LIST
Vol VI,   No. 3
Sept. 4th, 2010

*****

Edited by Wayne A. Holst

*****

Blogsite:

http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com/


*****

Special Item in this Issue:

"Against My Will -
 Like Clay in the Potter's Hands"

Sermon preached at:
St. David's United Church, Calgary
Sunday, September 5th, 2010

___


Colleague Communication:

Ontario friend comments on last issue

___


Colleague Contributions:

Lorna Dueck
Doug Koop
John Stackhouse
Miroslav Volf
John Griffith
Irving Hexham

___


Net Notes:

Taize Celebrates Seventy
Faiths Face Turmoil in China
Italy Battles Florence for David
Roger Ebert on Christopher Hitchens
IRA Car-Bomber Priest was Protected
Why Christianity is 'Foreign' to Japan
Belgian Police Raid on Churches'Unlawful'
Should the Catholic Church Scrap Celibacy?
Canadian Bishop Wants Compassion for Tamils
CLAY Brings Anglican/Lutheran Youth Together
Interfaith Apostle Raimon Pannikar Dead at 91
Religious Groups Concerned About Census Reform
A Thousand Miles in the Footsteps of M. Luther
Medic's Faith Affects Care of the Terminally Ill


_____


Global Faith Potpourri:

25 stories from Ecumenical News International

___


Quotes of the Month:

Maya Angelou
W.H. Auden
Esther de Waal
John E. Biersdorf
Norman Borlaug
Julian of Norwich
Richard Forster
Lech Walesa

___


On This Day (August 15th - September 4th, 2010)

Aug. 15, 1947 - India & Pakistan become independent of Britain
Aug. 16, 1977 - Singer Elvis Presley dies at Graceland, age 42
Aug. 19, 1934 - Plebiscite gives sole executive power to Hitler
Aug. 28, 1963 - Martin Luther King gives "I Have a Dream" speech
Sept. 3, 1976 - Unmanned spacecraft Viking 2 lands on Mars
Sept. 4, 1957 - Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus calls up National Guard

___


Closing Thoughts - on future issues of Colleagues List


(end)


*****


Dear Friends:

It is Labour Day weekend and I have been able to
create an early September issue of Colleagues List
between travels to Vancouver Island and Ontario!

I begin with a strongly autobiographical sermon
that I preached yesterday at St. David's United,
Calgary - my home congregation in this city. I
give a defense of autobiographical preaching, and
leave it to you to decide the value of my effort.

The sermon uses the lections for this past Sunday
and my title was:"Against My Will - Like Clay in the
Potter's Hands" based on the Hebrew Bible lection
but with an attempt to weave two others into the mix.

___


Colleague Communication:

After my mid-August issue of Colleagues List, I
received a helpful note of clarification and correction
from an old friend in Ontario. I share his thoughts
here.

___


Colleague Contributions:

Lorna Dueck - comments on the census issue that got
a fair amount of press in Canada this past month.

Doug Koop - provides an obituary, gleaned from
Christianity Today, at the death of Clack Pinnock,
noted Canadian evangelical scholar.

John Stackhouse - wades into the "Ground Zero Mosque"
issue roiling many Americans during the summer months.
It seems much less an bone of contention here in Canada.

Miroslav Volf - came out with a new book about six months
ago, and we missed commenting on it. "Against the Tide"
is a collection of his short pieces, first published in
the Christian Century and other journals, over the past
decade. Enjoy the review which I located, and hopefully
we can say more about this book in future.

John Griffith - still involved with "Spiritual Directions"
here in Calgary and still focused on cutting edge issues
where faith and secularity meet. Read up on the sustainability
conference planned for this autumn. Thanks, John.

Irving Hexham - was recently elected a fellow of Britain's
Royal Historical Society (RHS) a prestigious honour. We
applaud colleague Hexham! Irving was born in the UK but has
spent most of his career teaching in Canada, at the
University of Calgary.

___


Net Notes:

"Taize Celebrates Seventy"- The Taize Community is now
seven decades old since it was founded by Brother Roger
in France, during World War Two (Taize News)

"Faiths Face Turmoil in China"- A recent study by the
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences says that all five
government-recognized religions in that country -
Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism -
face unprecedented challenges and change in the days
ahead (Cathnews Asia)

"Italy Battles Florence for David" - Italians take their
art seriously. Here is a story of the fight between
the Italian government and the city of Florence over the
famous statue of David by Leonardo (The Guardian UK)

"Roger Ebert on Christopher Hitchens" - after Hitchens,
the famous atheist, spoke recently about his cancer with
epithets leveled against religion - Roger Ebert, the
famous Chicago Sun movie critic responds (The Atlantic)

"IRA Car-Bomber Priest was Protected" - Top police, the
government and Catholic Church officials in N. Ireland
conspired to protect a priest suspected over 1972 bombings
during "The Troubles" (reports the Sydney Morning Herald)

"Why Christianity is 'Foreign' to Japan" - it has long
been an enigma that Christian faith has never really
"caught on" in Japan. This article attempts to explain
why (Cathnews Asia)

"Belgian Police Raid on Churches 'Unlawful'" - controversy
continues to dog the Catholic hierarchy of Belgium, and
especially retired archbishop Cardinal Godfried Danneels
for his suspected role in sex abuse cover up activity.
(National Catholic Reporter),

"Should the Catholic Church Scrap Celibacy?" - this
issue has long been debated in church circles. Here is
a view from the popular British press where matters
Catholic are being given more attention with the upcoming
visit of the pope to the UK (The Guardian, UK)

"Canadian Bishop Wants Compassion for Tamils" - amid
all the discussion about the Tamil political refugee
ship that recently arrived in British Columbia, there
has been little comment by the church. Here is one
exception (Cathnews Asia)

"CLAY Brings Anglican/Lutheran Youth Together" -
This summer, 1,000 Lutheran and Anglican youth met
in London, Ontario for a special celebration
(Anglican Journal News)

"Interfaith Apostle Raimon Pannikar Dead at 91" -
anyone interested in the dialogue between the great
faiths is familiar with the name Raimon Pannikar, a
true pioneer and trend-setter in the field
(National Catholic Reporter)

"Religious Groups Concerned About Census Reform" -
more on the Canadian census issue - this time,
comment is by Mags Storey who believes Christians
and various minorities will be underrepresented
if proposed changes go through (ChristianWeek.org)

"A Thousand Miles in the Footsteps of Martin Luther" -
Sarah Hinnicky Wilson, a Lutheran, encourages us
to begin thinking about the Reformation and what it
means as the 500th anniversary draws near in 2017.
(Wall Street Journal)

"Medic's Faith Affects Care of the Terminally Ill" -
a study out of the UK suggests that the faith - or
lack thereof - of medical practitioners can have a
marked affect on patients (The Guardian UK)

_____


Global Faith Potpourri:

25 stories from Ecumenical News International

___


Quotes of the Month:

Providing us with their wisdome this week are:

Maya Angelou, W.H. Auden, Esther de Waal,
John E. Biersdorf, Norman Borlaug,
Julian of Norwich, Richard Forster & Lech Walesa

___


On This Day (August 15th - September 4th, 2010)

Read these news articles as the stories broke,
provided from the archives of the New York Times:

India & Pakistan become independent of Britain (1947)
Singer Elvis Presley dies at Graceland, age 42 (1972)
Plebiscite gives sole executive power to Hitler (1934)
Martin Luther King gives "I Have a Dream" speech (1963)
Unmanned spacecraft Viking 2 lands on Mars (1976)
Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus calls up National Guard (1957)

___


Closing Thoughts - on future issues of Colleagues List.

With summer sadly drawing to a close, this weekend suggests
a return to schedules related to autumn. Colleagues List
will more frequently appear - a signal of the changing of
the seasons.

Blessings as you begin a new period of the year!

Wayne


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


SPECIAL ST. DAVID'S LINKS

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

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


___


ST DAVID'S ACTS WEB PAGE

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

__


ANNOUNCING:

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

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

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

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

We are also planning to sing while visiting
Iona, Scotland and Dublin, Ireland.

ALL 36 PLACES ON THE TOUR ARE SOLD OUT

We are starting a waiting list for this trip;
also an interest list for a second tour in 2012!


*****


Announcing our New Fall Study at St. David's:

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

Including background material from the book:

THE CELTIC WAY (Ian Bradley)

Plus:

INTROS TO CELTIC SAINTS PATRICK, COLUMBA & DAVID

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

Special Guest:

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

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

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

___


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

AGAINST MY WILL:
LIKE CLAY IN THE POTTER'S HANDS

My sermon at St. David's United Church,
Sunday, September 5th, 2010

AGAINST MY WILL - LIKE CLAY IN THE POTTER'S HANDS

A Sermon Preached at St. David's United Church, Calgary
Sunday, September 5th, 2010.

___


Introductory Blessing and the Texts:

Hear again these words from today's readings -

Text:

Jeremiah 18:6 - "House of Israel,  can I not do to you
what this potter does? Yes, like clay in the potter's hands,
so you are in mine."

Supportive Texts:

Luke 14:7 - "No one who does not carry
his cross and come after me can be my disciple."

Philemon verses 12, 16 - "I am sending Onesimus back to you
... no longer as a slave,  but as something much better."

___


Prayer of Dedication:

Lord, Guide us by your Word. Your Word is truth. Amen.


___


Thoughts on Autobiographical Preaching

When I began my theological studies for ministry 46 years
ago this fall, I was taught that when I preached it was
wrong to focus on myself.

"Self-focus" was considered "self-centered." The most
important purpose of preaching was the proclamation of the
Gospel not the person of the preacher.

Almost half a century later, I have had to reconsider that
advice. We live in times when Oprah and internet blogs are
very much a part of our culture. Oprah and the blog emphasize
the "centrality of the person" as a way to rivet attention on
what the messenger wants to convey to an audience

"Self-focus"  has lost its negative connotation. It has
become so common that we hardly think about it.

"Self-focus" is an important way to communicate meaning
today.

My reflection therefore will use "self-focus" in a
transparent way to help you adapt and transfer aspects of
my life to your's, and - in the process - I hope that the
Gospel will be well-served.

If a good connection happens, I will not have betrayed my
early mentors' commitment to preaching. I hope you will
sense that the Gospel has been at work in my life and that
it can be readily applied to your life too.

___


Autobiography:

My sermon theme this morning is entitled "Against My Will -
Like Clay in the Potter's Hands." I want to focus on how
God works with us to bring about positive personal change.
Sometimes that happens against  our will and even in spite
of ourselves.

During the summer of 1964 I was married and my new bride
and I began the month of September of that year with much
hope and anticipation. I was commencing graduate studies
in theology at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary in Ontario and
our desire was that when I had attained my master's degree
in divinity - three to four years thereafter - I would
become eligible for ordination as a pastor. We were serious,
hard-working young men in those days. Also, we were  a bit
naive and inexperienced. (There were no women in my class;
all of us were in our 20's and had recently completed
undergraduate degrees in preparation for further study.)

I was enthusiastic and energetic - even though my idea of
what constituted ministry at the time was quite narrow.
The career path for most of us would normally involve a
call to a small or isolated parish somewhere in Central
Canada. After some years I would then perhaps receive a
call from a larger church in a more urbanized area. Then,
if my work proved faithful and effective, I might have a
chance at a major church in a recognized centre. Here I
would likely remain until retirement at 65. I would
conclude my ministry career and enjoy the benefits of
an "emeritus" title.  In retrospect, I possessed a rather
limited idea of what a pastoral vocation was all about.
Nevertheless, from what I knew about it, I expected to be
successful (whatever that might mean!)

A first signal that my career might take a different track
from many of my peers came when I had an opportunity to do
graduate work at the University of Geneva in Switzerland.
Today, that would not be considered unusual and I marvel at
how so many young students get to study overseas as part of
their basic training. Back then, however, it was unique.
I believe I was the first Canadian of my denomination to
do graduate ecumenical studies at Bossey, an institution
sponsored by the World Council of Churches. During the two
years we spent in Europe, I recall that we had one
opportunity to telephone my parents back in Canada. Phone
calls were difficult and costly. How different things are
today!

On returning home, I was ready for ordination. My ministry
began in a small but very supportive rural parish in Grey
County, near Georgian Bay. Within two years, however, I
left to do missionary work in the West Indies. Then, it
was synod staff work in Winnipeg; then, international church
staff work in New York City; then, new church development
work in Calgary - a city we knew very little about but
accepted because we wanted to returnto Canada. That was
31 years ago this month.

Within twelve years of my ordination I had garnered a
wide range of ministry experience. Then, for eight more
years in Calgary I labored to develop a new congregation
- Advent Lutheran Church - in Scenic Acres and in what
was then the north-western-most tier of our city.

As my ministry at Advent was winding down, I began to
ask myself the question "what next?" Frankly I really
did  not know what "what next" would be for I seemed
to be running out of options. This was a difficult
place to be, given my limited understanding of vocation
at the time.

Other factors would begin to influence my life -
unexpected factors that had a marked effect on me.
My  marriage crumbled. My call at Advent abruptly ended.
My status as a pastor in the denomination I had called
home from the time I was a child was in jeopardy. I
suppose that if I  had not been so wrapped up in my
career I might have anticipated some  of this; but
I did not.

The triple whammy of losses I faced in 1987 would change
my life forever. I had always assumed I would be a pastor;
gainfully employed; and socially accepted as well. All of
a sudden, all three assumptions shriveled and I went
through a lengthy period of wrenching pain and agony.

Leading up to this period in my life I considered myself
intelligent and relatively successful. But I realize now that
God saw some major blind spots in my self-understanding. I
know now that I had a great deal more to learn. Of all my
losses, the ending of ministry as I had known it was the
worst to accept.

It took some years for much of this confusion to sort itself
out; but now in retrospect, I realize that I needed to go
through that refiner's fire - or, in the language of today's
Jeremiah text - "a significant reshaping  by the potter."
The old vessel that was Wayne was no longer adequate.

Fortunately, over some years, I was reshaped by God, the
"Master Potter," as well as through the support of many
good people, and my own efforts to create a new life for
myself.

I moved from seeing myself as a "pastor" to being in a
"pastoral vocation." From a title to a way of life.

This has proven to be a much better way for me. That is
when my life at St. David's began - two decades ago. It
was during my early years here, in a loving, supportive
community, that I began to learn about losing my life in
order to find it again.

I went kicking and screaming from what I had always
envisioned myself to be - what I expected to become -
into what the "Master Potter" was co-creating with me.

In time - family, work, and pastoral vocation - were
restored to me in glorious measure; but back then, very
little of what I now understand of myself was at all
clear to me. When I first became part of the community
of St. David's almost 20 years ago I was a very lost
soul.

I know from experience how important Christian community
can be, and on that point many of you will concur.

___


Briefly Unpacking the Texts:

Jeremiah, Luke and Philemon

"The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh as follows,
"Get up and make your way down to the potter's house,
and there I will tell you what I have to say.

So, I went down to the potter's house, and there he
was, working at the wheel. But the vessel he was working
at came out wrong, as may happen with clay when a potter
is at work. So he began again and shaped it into another
vessel, as he thought fit."

Jeremiah concludes - "House of Israel, can I not do to you
what this potter does? Yes, like clay in the potter's hands,
so you are in mine." (18:1-6 NJB)

___


"Great crowds accompanied Jesus on his way, and he turned
and spoke to them. Anyone who comes to me without hating
father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes
and his own life too, cannot be my disciple.

No one who does not carry his cross and come after me
can be my disciple." (14:25-27 NJB)

___


"I am appealing to you (Philemon) for a child of mine,
whose father I became while wearing these chains: I mean
Onesimus. He was of no use to you before, but now he is
useful to both you and to me. I am sending him back to
you, sending you my own heart...I suppose you have been
deprived of Onesimus for a time, merely so that you
could have him back forever, not merely as a slave, but
something much better than a slave, a dear brother."
(vss 10,11,15,16 NJB)

___


I see a thread running through all three of these
passages which serve as today's lections. The prophet
Jeremiah tells his fellow Israelites that God is so
concerned about them that, when he sees them heading
in a wrong direction he will try to stop this from
happening, just as a potter destroys a faulty piece
of pottery. God reworks the clay, and recreates it
into a worthy vessel - a much better piece than it
was before.

Paul writes to Philemon, the owner of Onesimus, and
advises Philemon totake back his escaped slave since
the experience has taught all three of them a lesson.
Onesimus is no longer a mere slave, says Paul, but
a mutual brother. Let's celebrate this! Let's
recognize that good things can come from facing up
to our inadequacies and moving in new directions.


Jesus tells those who would follow him that to do
so is not easy - in fact, it is like carrying a cross -
but the end result of being reshaped by God can bring
a significant change for good in one's life. That I
believe is what happened to me, and it can happen
to anyone.

___


In Spite of Ourselves:

Often, as I have looked back on some of the challenges
I once faced, I wonder how I survived. Obviously, God
saw good in me and in my future even when I could not.

When people come to me today with problems that seem
overwhelming, I will always encourage them not to give
up, but to persist, to keep trying to find their way
forward, in spite of the obstacles in their path. The
process of that struggle, it seems to me, is nothing
lessthan the Potter doing his thing, shaping something
new out of what is no longer workable.

To say that the Potter is at work, however, does not
mean that he is doing "all" the work. We too must
co-operate in our own remaking.Sometimes, the biggest
obstacle to progress resides in our unwillingness to
let go of old patterns and our resistance to change.

Everyone has his or her challenges, and we all
approach them differently. But let me suggest something
I have learned from my own experience with facing the
abyss of hopelessness in my life, and then finding I
was not not alone. Indeed, it is possible to find a
way ahead. When all was said and done, I knew that
God loved me. I discovered that the Potter was there,
waiting to work with me. I just needed to recognize
that.

___


My Recent Cancer Experience:

Early this year I learned that I had a malignant
tumor in my colon. I was immediately confronted with
a battery of tests and treatments to determine the
extent of the damage and to try to control and remove
the problem.

In June, I underwent surgery at Foothills Hospital.
For the past ten weeks or so, I have been in the process
of recuperation. My presence at worship this morning can
be read as a sign that my cancer has not only been
controlled, but cured. For that I thank God and many
of you for the wonderful support I have received here.

I recognize that not all cancers are like mine, but
there are good things to be learned from any kind cancer
if we are open to learning.

During these months I believe I have evolved spiritually
because of this new and frightening development in my life.
What am I to make of what happened? How might I change my
lifestyle to avoid similar problems in the future? What
new thing is God calling me to be and to do as a result
of this experience? These are the questions presently
occupying my mind.

The work of The Potter continues in me and each one of us.

___


Summary and Conclusion:

To say that I am a completely changed person as a
result of my experience would be to exaggerate. I
know that for some time before my cancer was detected,
I was in a state of denial. I can still be in some
denial and continue to face a learning curve.

Sharing these things with you this morning and getting
your feedback from your personal experience is one way
I can continue learning and growing.

Yet this I do know. The Potter continues to make
himself and his skills available to us. Sometimes
he works, even against our will, and perhaps in spite
of ourselves, to let his purposes be known.

Amen.


*****

COLLEAGUE RESPONSE

A friend from Ontario wrote:

Particularly enjoyed a number of things in this issue
of Colleagues List:

"Has Hate Corrupted the Church?" is so, so timely. The
"new evangelization" had better fix its sights on the basics
of Christianity because there are seemingly-huge numbers of
people who consider themselves Christians who have so
obviously missed that basic message! Makes one wonder what
kind of real relationship they have with Jesus Christ!

You Protestants don't need more saints. You already have them.
You are just so very reticent about acknowledging them. I've
often wondered over the years if it's somehow related to an
unease with "God-becoming-flesh," with the incarnational
aspect of Christianity. History, of course, and the history
of the growth and development of Christianity play the usual
huge part in this.

I did get a chuckle out of the headline "St. Peter's Prison
Discovered in Rome." I wasn't aware that it had been lost!
I knew that it had been closed for archaeological work - and
am and delighted that it's once again open to the public.

I'm delighted to see Mother Teresa honoured by the "Peace
Bridge" that links Buffalo, New York and Fort Erie, Ontario -
which someone seems to have been confused with the "Honeymoon
Bridge" - that linked Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara
Falls, New York, that collapsed into the Niagara River gorge
in 1938 and was replaced by the current "Rainbow Bridge" just
a few metres from where the older bridge once stood.

Safe travels, Wayne, and continued good health.

*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

LORNA DUECK

Even God Ordered a Census
August 16th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/29vupur

*****

DOUG KOOP

Christianitytoday.direct
August 17th, 2010

CLARK PINNOCK DIES

http://tinyurl.com/25ykm53

*****

JOHN STACKHOUSE JR.

"Ground Zero Mosque: It's a Simple Question"

Read two articles appearing on his blog:

http://tinyurl.com/297f2tm


*****

MIROSLAV VOLF

"Against the Tide"

Paperback edition released recently by Eerdmans

A collection of his short articles, many of
which appreared in The Christian Century.

Read a short review by Englewood Review of Books

http://tinyurl.com/2b4jjhe


*****

JOHN GRIFFITH

Important Sustainability Conference
Sponsored by "Spiritual Directions"
Coming this Fall

http://spiritualdirections.wordpress.com/


*****

IRVING HEXHAM

Colleague Elected to Royal Society

Congratulations, Irving!

http://www.ucalgary.ca/news/utoday/august31-2010/hexham


*****

NET NOTES

TAIZE CELEBRATES SEVENTY

News from Taize
August 16, 2010

http://www.taize.fr/en_article11166.html


*****

FAITHS FACE TURMOIL IN CHINA SAYS REPORT

Cathnews Asia
August 15th, 2010

http://www.cathnewsasia.com/?p=17183


*****


ITALY BATTLES FLORENCE FOR DAVID

The Guardian
August 16th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/36v4a7t


*****

ROGER EBERT ON CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS

The Atlantic
August 13th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2u5l4cg


*****

IRA CAR-BOMBER PRIEST WAS PROTECTED

Sydney Morning Herald
August 25th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/34f87p8


*****

WHY CHRISTIANITY IS 'FOREIGN' TO JAPAN

Catnews Asia
August 27th, 2010

http://www.cathnewsasia.com/?p=17549


*****

BELGIAN POLICE RAID ON CHURCHES 'UNLAWFUL'

National Catholic Reporter
August 17th, 2010

http://www.cathnewsasia.com/?p=17245

___


Newspaper 'Defamed' Danneels, Says Lawyer

Cathnews Asia
Sept. 1st, 2010

http://www.cathnewsasia.com/?p=17694


*****

SHOULD THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
SCRAP ITS CELIBACY RULE?

The Guardian (UK)
August 17th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/26l64pq


*****

CANADIAN BISHOP CALLS FOR COMPASSION RE TAMILS

Cathnews Asia
August 31st, 2010

http://www.cathnewsasia.com/?p=17559


*****

CLAY BRINGS ANGLICAN AND
LUTHERAN YOUTH TOGETHER

Anglican Journal News
August 24th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2b54oea


*****

INTERFAITH APOSTLE RAIMON PANNIKAR DEAD AT 91

Cathnews Asia

August 31st, 2010

http://www.cathnewsasia.com/?p=17641


*****


RELIGIOUS GROUPS CONCERNED ABOUT CENSUS REFORM

Christianweek.org
August 17th, 2010

http://www.christianweek.org/stories.php?id=1028


*****

A THOUSAND MILES IN THE FOOTSTEPS
OF MARTIN LUTHER

Wall Street Journal
August 20th, 2010

by Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

http://tinyurl.com/2cdydhc


*****

STUDY FINDS MEDICS FAITH AFFECTS
THEIR CARE OF THE TERMINALLY ILL

The Guardian
August 26th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2dxkzrm


*****

GLOBAL FAITH POTPOURRI
Ecumenical News International

16 August 2010

Church bells to ring out in September
for species protection

London (ENI). Support for United Nations talks on
biodiversity will be marked in Britain by the biggest
nationwide peal of bells since celebrations to mark
the eve of the third millennium, organizers say.
"Ringing the church bells is a great way for the
wider community to be reminded and to celebrate the
beauty of creation," said Jill Hopkinson, the
(Anglican) Church of England's national rural
officer, in a 10 August statement. The denomination
is urging cathedrals and several thousand parish
churches to ring their bells to mark the talks at
the U.N. general assembly on 22 September in New
York that will address the international failure
to meet targets on species conservation.

_____


Churches come up short as delegates' US visas denied

Washington (ENI/RNS). When the Baptist World Alliance
held its global conference in Hawaii earlier in August,
it was missing about 1000 attendees from around the
world. In June, the inaugural meeting of the World
Communion of Reformed Churches in Grand Rapids, in
the U.S. state of Michigan, was missing 74, and the
Seventh-day Adventists' general conference in Atlanta
was missing about 200, Religion News Service reports.
The three church groups said foreign delegates' visas
were denied by U.S. officials, meaning some nations
lacked representation at the global assemblies that
occur only once every several years.

*****

17 August 2010

Obama's remarks on Islamic centre
near 9/11 site draw flak

New York (ENI). U.S. President Barack Obama's remarks
that Muslims have the right to build a proposed Islamic
cultural centre near the site of the 11 September 2001
attacks in New York City have triggered strong
condemnation from his political opponents. Former U.S.
House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is being touted as a
2012 Republican Party presidential candidate, said
Obama was, "pandering to radical Islam". Gingrich added,
"Nazis don't have the right to put up a sign next to the
holocaust museum in Washington." Obama's comments were
made at a 13 August presidential White House dinner to
mark the celebration of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan.
In his address, the president praised the "unshakeable"
commitment the United States has shown to the protection
of religious liberty.

_____


Baha'i community 'stunned' by 'harsh' sentences in Iran

Geneva (ENI). The Baha'i International Community says
harsh prison sentences meted out by the Iranian
authorities to seven Iranian Baha'i leaders have been
imposed on innocent people, and represent a punishment
against an entire religious community. The five men and
two women imprisoned, who constantly protested their
innocence, were arrested in May 2008 and later charged
with, "spying for foreigners," as well as, "spreading
corruption on Earth," and "cooperating with Israel".
Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi, whose Defenders of Human
Rights Centre represented the Baha'i defendants, said
she was "stunned" by the seven- to 20-year jail terms.

_____


US study says religious hospitals more efficient,
provide better care

New York (ENI/RNS). Roman Catholic and other church-run
health care systems in the U.S. are more efficient and
provide higher quality care than their secular
counterparts, according to a new Thomson Reuters study.
The study looked at 255 health care systems and found
that Catholic and other church-owned systems are
"significantly more likely to provide higher quality
care and efficiency" than both investor-owned and
nonprofit health systems, Religion News Service reports.

_____


August 18th, 2010

US atheist group to raise funds for religious charity

Washington DC (ENI/RNS). An atheist foundation that
seeks to foster charitable giving among nonbelievers is
encouraging members to donate to a religious charity -
and the move is stirring mixed feelings among members.
Foundation Beyond Belief, a nonprofit organization
headquartered in Georgia, has designated London-based
Quaker Peace & Social Witness as one of 10 charities
its members will support during the current three months
of the year, Religion News Service reports. "Reactions
in the nontheist community have ranged from applause to
gasps of dismay," said secular humanist Dale McGowan,
executive director of the foundation, in a statement.

_____


August 19th, 2010

Aid group laments response to Pakistan's
'heart-wrenching' floods

Bangalore, India (ENI). Church-backed aid groups are
calling for people around the world to step up to the
plate and help those suffering the worst floods in the
history of Pakistan, with one agency describing the
international response as, "far from adequate". "The
majority of them [those affected by the floods] still
remain without food, drinking water, shelter and
medication, [and] more damage is expected in Sindh
Province as the second wave of floods is approaching,"
cautioned U.S.-based Church World Service on 16 August.

At the same time the Geneva-based Lutheran World
Federation announced on 19 August that two of its
disaster relief specialists have been sent to Pakistan
to assist the church-based ACT Alliance in providing
emergency assistance to the victims of the flooding.


*****

21 August 2010

Tutu, cardinal urge S Africans
to oppose new media law

Cape Town (ENI). Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Archbishop
Desmond Tutu and Roman Catholic Cardinal Wilfrid Napier
are among hundreds of high-profile South Africans calling
on their compatriots to oppose a proposed media law that
critics say resembles apartheid legislation. In an
unscriptedspeech on 18 August at the Institute for
Democracy in Cape Town, Tutu,who is due to retire from
public life in October, challenged South Africans to
fight for press freedom by mobilising the spirit that
made the 2010 soccer World Cup a success. Referring to
the FIFA soccer competition, that South Africa hosted,
and which ended in July, Tutu said, Tutu challenged
opponents of the new media control proposals that the
ruling African National Congress has put forward, to
fight back. He said, "This is your country, and it is
going to become what you allow it to be."

_____


South Korean pastor arrested after
breaking ban to visit North

Tokyo (ENI). The Rev. Han Sang-ryeol, a Presbyterian
pastor, who campaigns or the reunification of his
divided country, and defied a South Korean law by
visiting North Korea, has been arrested on his return.
South Korean police detained Han on 19 August, when the
60-year-old activist returned from a 70-day unauthorised
trip to the North, where he was feted according to
reports. Han was, "taken into custody" after setting
foot on South Korean soil as he returned home through
the Panmunjom crossing on the North-South Korean border,
South Korea's Yonhap News agency reported. "Hisvisit was
purely based on his faith, and his conviction to break
the deadlock of North-South relations, and to open the
way to reconciliation,"the Rev.Shin Seung-Min, executive
secretary for ecumenical relations and overseas
mission of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic
of Korea, told ENI news.

______


British religious leaders concerned as
asylum seekers face axe

London (ENI). African and British church leaders say
they are angered by plans by Britain to deport failed ]a
sylum seekers. Britain's justice minister, Kenneth Clake,
wants to end repeated challenges to decisions to turn
down claims for asylum seekers and last-minute deportation
orders. Criticsof the action argue it could mean tens of
thousands of asylum seekers and immigrants will no longer
receive legal aid. "Cutting the legal aid budget puts
already vulnerable people at greater risk of being
returned to dangerous situations," Rachel Lampard, the
public issues head at the Methodist Church, told ENI news.
"We recognise that the government wants to make budget
savings, but this should only be done once we are
confident that people will not be denied justice as
a result."


*****


24 August 2010


Discontented U.S. Lutherans to form new church body

New York (ENI). Dissatisfied members of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America are forming a new church body
they say will "uphold confessional principles" after
disagreements on issues such as the ordination of clergy
in committed same-sex relationships. The new body is to
be called the North American Lutheran Church and is
scheduled to be formed at a 26-27 August meeting in Grove
City, Ohio. In 2009, the ELCA agreed to change its
denominational rules to "open the ministry of the church
to gay and lesbian pastors and other professional workers
living in committed relationships".

_____


Cross at Warsaw palace divides church and nation

Warsaw (ENI). A huge makeshift wooden cross in front of
Warsaw's presidential palace honouring former president
Lech Kaczynski, who was killed in a 10 April air crash,
continues to cause tension in Poland. The dispute over
the cross has led the primate of the Roman Catholic Church
in Poland, Archbishop Jozef Kowalczyk, to criticise Catholic
protesters who had been refusing to allow the cross to be
removed. "None of this has anything to do with a true
Catholic conscience or the genuine attitude of a Christian,
of a believing person who loves the cross and finds
inspiration in it," said Kowalczyk, who was installed as
archbishop of Gniezno and the church's primate on 26 June.
"What we are seeing is an unedifying, shameful manipulation
of the cross. I ask everyone involved in any way to stop."

______


Religion root of homophobia says Latin American academic

San José (ENI/ALC). The aversion to homosexuality, and
the violence that can accompany it, appears to originate
less in political ideologies than it does in, "religious
doctrines of power transformed into cultural sensitivity",
says Latin American political scientist Helio Gallardo.


*****


25 August 2010

French Protestants criticise government
over Roma repatriation

Geneva/Paris (ENI). France's main Protestant grouping
has added its voice to criticism of a government
programme aimed at repatriating Roma migrants and
demolishing unauthorised Roma camps. The Protestant
Federation of France (FPF) said it was "concerned
about the new direction of policies concerning the
Roma population, one of Europe's most impoverished
populations". The French government began a crackdown
on Roma and Traveller communities at the end of July,
after outbreaks of violence between Roma communities
and police following an incident in which a Traveller
was killed by security forces. The statement by the
Protestant grouping follows criticism by Roman Catholic
leaders of the government policy.

_____


Indian forum says state agencies colluded
in anti-Christian violence

New Delhi (ENI). A "people's tribunal" that heard
testimonies from victims of anti-Christian violence
in India's eastern Orissa state in 2008 has criticised
state agencies for aggravating the suffering of those
caught up in the attacks. "There is a shocking level
of institutional bias on the part of state agencies
(including police) leading to their collusion in the
violence, connivance in efforts to block the
subsequent process of justice and accountability,"
declared the jury in New Delhi at the end of the u
nofficial 22-24 August National People's Tribunal
on the violence in Orissa's Kandhamal jungles.

_____


Future of destroyed Ground Zero
Orthodox church in doubt

New York (ENI/RNS). Buried by falling rubble from the
World Trade Center towers after the 11 September 2001
terrorist attacks, all that remained of the tiny St.
Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church were some candles, two
icons and a bell clapper. These artefacts are being
kept at the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox
Archdiocese of America while the church's 70 member
families worship at a cathedral in Brooklyn, praying
for the day they can return to a new sanctuary in
lower Manhattan, Religion News Service reports.

_____


Religion now among top 10 exam subjects
says Church of England

London (ENI). Religious studies has entered the top
10 league of subjects in exams taken by most 16-year-
old school students in Britain, the (Anglican) Church
of England said in a statement marking the publication
of examination results. The results published on 24
August also showed the number of school students taking
religious studies for the General Certificate of School
Education increasing for the 12th year running, said
Nick McKemey, the church's head of school improvement.
"This is a phenomenon that indicates students'
appreciation that exploring faith and belief help them
to understand the world and become better global
citizens," said McKemey.


*****

26 August 2010

Five years after Katrina, US mourns dead,
survivors remember

New York (ENI). Faith groups are joining survivors
in marking the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina,
considered the costliest natural disaster in the
history of the United States. The hurricane, which
struck the U.S. coast on 29 August 2005, caused
US$81 million damage and killed 1836 persons. It
destroyed large sections of the city of New Orleans
and the Gulf Coast region of several U.S. states.
It also prompted wide condemnation of the initial
response by the U.S. government, which critics
said was shockingly inadequate.

___


Catholic Church in Ireland denies cover-up
on 'paramilitary priest'

Dublin (ENI). The Roman Catholic Church in Ireland
has denied engaging in a cover-up of the alleged
involvement of a priest in a bombing in Northern
Ireland that killed nine people in 1972. A 24 August
report of the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman into
a 1972 car bomb in Claudy, County Derry, in July 1972
found that talks between representatives of the
government, the police and the church resulted in
the Rev. James Chesney, a suspect in the bombing,
being transferred to a parish in the Republic of
Ireland.


*****

30 August 2010

South Korean church council says
rice needed for flooded North

Tokyo (ENI). South Korea's national church council has
urged humanitarian assistance for people in the isolated
north of the divided Asian country so they can try and
cope with recent floods that have hit the peninsula. In
a 26 August statement, the National Council of Churches
in Korea said August that in the North Korean city of
Sinuiju, northwest of the capital Pyongyang and near the
Yalu River, houses have collapsed, and 2458 hectares of
farmland are flooded. The council, which is based in the
South Korea capital of Seoul, said that there had already
been an acute shortage of food in the north and it called
for rice to be provided to victims. "If your enemies are
hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, let them drink,"
the council said citing a verse in St Paul's letter to
the Romans (12:20) in the Bible. More than 5000 people
were evacuated as floods hit the northwestern part of
the country, news agencies have reported.

_____


Italian Protestant denominations approve
same-sex blessings

Rome (ENI). The joint synod of Italy's Waldensian and
Methodist Protestant churches has, as the denominations'
highest governing body, agreed to authorise the blessing
of same-sex couples in church under certain conditions.
Synod president Marco Bouchard described the 26 August
decision as "a clear and firm step forward that needs to
be placed into a context that will be better defined,
especially the relationship between churches and
homosexual couples". The synod statement said, "The words
and practice of Jesus, as seen in the Gospel, call us to
welcome each experience and each choice marked by God's
love, freely and consciously chosen." Before the synod,
a group of Waldensians including a member of the Italian
parliament, Lucio Malan, took out a paid advertisement
in the Protestant weekly newspaper Riforma, warning that
same-sex blessings risked splitting the churches, and
affecting ecumenical relationships.

_____


US Presbyterian cleric plans to appeal
same-sex marriage ruling

New York (ENI). A retired California Presbyterian minister,
rebuked on charges that she violated her ordination vows by
marrying same-sex couples, plans to appeal against a ruling
that she said sent contradictory messages about the church's
support of gay rights. "Who does the Presbyterian Church
think we are?" said the Rev. Jane Adams Spahr, who is a
lesbian. "We are they, they are us." The 27 August ruling
by a court of the Redwoods Presbytery, a church district
of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Napa, California,
rebuked Spahr for violating church policy on same-sex
marriage by conducting marriage ceremonies for couples
between June and November 2008. Same-sex marriage was
already legal in California then. Still, the court
commended Spahr for "her prophetic ministry that for
35 years has extended support to 'people who seek the
dignity, freedom and respect that they have been denied'".
The court called upon the Presbyterian Church "to
re-examine our own fear and ignorance that continues
to reject Â… inclusiveness" and it noted that the
denomination's own rules offer "conflicting and even
contradictory rules and regulations that are against
the Gospel".

_____


First US Muslim college opens in California

Berkeley, California (ENI/RNS). Faatimah Knight's
college decision came down to eight schools where she
would have majored in English, or Zaytuna College,
where she could study Islamic classical teachings in
an environment that embraces all aspects of her Muslim
faith. The Brooklyn native is part of the inaugural
class of what Zaytuna's founders hope will be the
country's first accredited, four-year Muslim liberal
arts college - a flagship of higher learning with an
Islamic identity yet open to all faiths, Religion
News Service reports. Knight, 18, chose Zaytuna, she
said, because she wants to grow in her faith, learn
more about the religion that inspired her parents to
convert from Christianity and be able to defend Islam
during a time of stepped-up suspicion. "I want to feel
like I'm improving as a person. I want to feel like I'm
improving in terms of my character," said Knight. "I'm
almost positive that I can only get that here." An
aspiring writer, Knight is one of 15 Zaytuna students
who started classes on 24 August. Zaytuna College grew
out of a pilot seminary programme at the Zaytuna
Institute, which graduated a handful of students in
2008.

*****

31 August 2010

Russian Patriarch unveils Kremlin icon
hidden since 1917

Moscow (ENI). A fresco of Christ on the Kremlin Wall
in Moscow rediscovered after being plastered over during
the 1917 Bolshevik revolution has been presented in a
ceremony attended by Patriarch Kirill I of the Russian
Orthodox Church and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev.
"The history of these icons is a symbol of what happened
with our people in the 20th century," said Kirill at the
28 August ceremony. "It was claimed that true goals and
values and genuine shrines were destroyed, and that faith
had disappeared from the lives of our people." The fresco
of Christ is located over the Spasskaya, or Saviour, tower
of the Kremlin, near St Basil's Cathedral on Red Square.
Experts say it dates to the middle or second half of the
17th century.

*****

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

Sojourners Online

August 16th, 2010

Each of us, famous or infamous, is a role model
for somebody, and if we aren't, we should behave
as though we are -- cheerful, kind, loving,
courteous. Because you can be sure someone is
watching and taking deliberate and diligent notes.

- Maya Angelou

___


August 17th, 2010

To choose what is difficult all oneÂ’s days, as if
it were easy, that is faith.

- W.H. Auden from "For the Time Being"

___


August 16th, 2010

The journey by which we discover God is also the
journey by which we discover, or uncover, our true
self hidden in God. It is a journey that we all
have to make.

- Esther de Waal from "Living with Contradiction"

___


August 18th

Compassion is expressed in gentleness. When I think of
the persons I know who model for me the depths of the
spiritual life, I am struck by their gentleness ...
They are gentle because they have honestly faced the
struggles given to them and have learned the hard way
that personal survival is not the point. Their caring
is gentle because their self-aggrandizement is no
longer at stake. There is nothing in it for them.
Their vulnerability has been stretched to clear-eyed
sensitivity to others and truly selfless love.

- John E. Biersdorf from "Healing of Purpose"

___


August 26th, 2010

If you desire peace, cultivate justice, but at the
same time cultivate the field to produce more bread;
otherwise there will be no peace.

- Norman Borlaug from his Nobel Lecture

___


August 23rd, 2010

God, of your goodness give me yourself for you are
sufficient for me. I cannot properly ask anything less,
to be worthy of you. If I were to ask less, I should
always be in want. In you alone do I have all.

- Julian of Norwich

___


August 31st, 2010

There is a power that destroys. There is also a power
that creates. The power that creates gives life and
joy and peace. It is freedom and not bondage, life and
not death, transformation and not coercion. The power
that creates restores relationship and gives the gift
of wholeness to all. The power that creates is
spiritual power, the power that proceeds from God.

- Richard Foster from "Money, Sex and Power"

___


September 1st, 2010

In many parts of the world the people are searching
for a solution which would link the two basic values:
peace and justice. The two are like bread and salt
for mankind.

- Lech Walesa from his Nobel Lecture


*****

ON THIS DAY

On Aug. 15, 1947, India and Pakistan became independent
after some 200 years of British rule.

http://tinyurl.com/2eveszf

_____


Aug. 16, 1977, singer Elvis Presley died at Graceland
Mansion in Memphis, Tenn., at age 42.

http://tinyurl.com/24xx4qm

_____


Aug. 19, 1934, a plebiscite in Germany approved the
vesting of sole executive power in Adolf Hitler as Fuhrer.

http://tinyurl.com/2g98vd7


_____


August 28th, 1963, 200,000 people participated in a peaceful
civil rights rally in Washington, D.C., where Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech in front of the
Lincoln Memorial.

http://tinyurl.com/2fk3m7h

_____


Sept. 2, 1945, Japan formally surrendered in ceremonies aboard
the USS Missouri, ending World War II.

http://tinyurl.com/2amphxa

_____


Sept. 3, 1976, the unmanned U.S. spacecraft Viking 2 landed
on Mars to take the first close-up, color photographs of the
planet's surface.

http://tinyurl.com/29kt6um

_____


Sept. 4, 1957, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus called out the
National Guard to prevent nine black students from entering
Central High School in Little Rock.

http://tinyurl.com/2blno5x

_____


CLOSING THOUGHT

With this issue, we complete our summer schedule for
Colleagues List. Expect the first weekly autumn edition
on September 18th and most every Saturday thereafter.

(end)