Saturday, February 19, 2011

Colleagues List, February 19th, 2011

Vol. VI. No. 23

*****

Wayne A. Holst, Editor

*****

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

*****

In this Issue:

Special Item This Week -

Book Notice:

"Beyond the Gods and Back:
 Religion's Demise and Rise
 and Why it Matters",
 by Reginald Bibby
_____

Colleague Contributions:

Doug Shantz
Lorna Dueck/Michael Higgins
Donald Grayston
Susan C. Johnson
Margaret Somerville

___

Net Notes:

Oscar Race 2010
The Man who Saw Too Much
Religion in a Changing Egypt
George Beverley Shae Gets Grammy
UK Gay Wedding Ban May Be Lifted
144 Theologians Confront Hierarchy
Primate Sees Hope for Cuban Church
China Has More Catholics than Italy
World-wide Priestly Numbers Increase
More Transparent Talk Needed on Kairos
Is Christian America Becoming Like Europe?

_____

Global Faith Potpourri:

Fourteen ENI Stories This Week

_____

Quotes of the Week:

Paul Tillich
Penny Lernoux
Wendell Berry
Simone Weil
Frederick Douglass

_____

On This Day: (Feb 14th - Feb 18th)

Feb. 14, 1929 - St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago
Feb. 16, 1923 - Burial chamber of King Tut's tomb opened
Feb. 17, 1972 - Nixon departs on historic trip to China
Feb. 18, 1861 - Jefferson Davis new president of Confederacy
Feb. 19, 1945 - US Marines take Iwo Jima after month's fight

_____

Closing Thought - Billy Graham

(end)

*****

Dear Friends:

In this Issue -

I provide for you a first look at colleague
Reginald Bibby's fourth and most recent book
in his "god" series - describing the nature
of religion in Canada. It appears that about
every decade since the 1980's Reg. has given
us an update that is unchallenged in this
country for breadth, depth and general insight
into a most intriguing subject.

His latest title is: "Beyond the Gods and Back:
Religion's Demise and Rise and Why it Matters."
It is due to be released on February 26th.

I am pleased to share the notice of his book
with you, a full week before the title appears
on the shelves or online for purchase.

_____

Colleague Contributions:

Doug Shantz - offers the text of the paper he
gave to the Calgary community, February 7th,
on the contribution of academics to the church
as well as an update on his own current research.
Thanks, Doug.

Lorna Dueck/Michael Higgins - two colleagues sit
on a current Globe and Mail panel that deals
with faith and culture matters. Lorna is an
evangelical Protestant, and Michael, a Catholic.
Thanks to you both for attempting to represent us
on an inter-faith body for the popular press!

Donald Grayston - re-introduces the topic of the
Kairos funding scandal currently challenging the
Conservative government of Stephen Harper. On
the subject of attempting to mislead parliament,
few Canadian Christians support Ms Oda, the
minister responsible for the current upset.
Thanks, Don.

Susan C. Johnson - national bishop of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Canada shares official views on the
matter with the prime minister later in this issue.
(see under "More Transparent Talk Needed on Foreign
Aid" below.) Thank you Susan for your leadership.

Margaret Somerville - ethicist from McGill, writes
about surrogate parenthood by grandparents or when
grandparents donate sperm or ova to the next
(infertile) generation. She writes: "If for no other
reason, the confusion of family structures and roles
these possibilities would cause them to be unethical."

___

Net Notes:

"Oscar Race 2010" - Interested in a Catholic take
on some of the best films?" (America Magazine)

"The Man who Saw Too Much" - Galileo was a man
before his time, and like many of his kind, he
paid a big price. Book eview (The Tablet, UK)

"Religion in a Changing Egypt" - After the
revolution, some insight into the role of religion
in that country (PBS Religion and Ethics)

"George Beverley Shae Gets Grammy" - the partner
to Billy Graham on most of his crusades, Shae
was finally, publicly honoured in his own right
(PBS Religion and Culture)

"UK Gay Wedding Ban May Be Lifted" - here is a
signal that Britain is going the way of Canada
in terms of honouring human rights for gay couples
(The Guardian, UK)

"144 Theologians Confront Hierarchy" - Growing
pressure is being exerted on already one of the
most open Catholic establishments in Europe
(National Catholic Reporter)

"Primate Sees Hope for Cuban Church" - Canadian
Anglican Primate Fred Hiltz learned some very
interesting things about the church on a recent
fraternal pastoral visitation to Anglicans in
Cuba (Anglican Journal, Toronto)

"China Has More Catholics than Italy" - at
about the same time, former UK prime minister
Tony Blair was visiting China. He drew some
interesting comparisons between Christianity
there and in the West (Uccan News, Asia)

"World-wide Priestly Numbers Increase" - while
priestly vocational statistics show a plunge
in Europe and North America, the global picture
is more optimistic (Zenit News from Rome)

"More Transparent Talk Needed on Kairos" -
More sad news about the government's handling
of the Kairos funding application emerged
this week. The churches are taking a positive,
rather that critical, official approach to this
story, while much of the public press is negative
in its assessment of Harper and his colleagues.

Here is where I also include the letter to
Harper from National Lutheran Bishop Susan
Johnson (Anglican Journal, ELCIC News)

"Is Christian America Becoming Like Europe?" -
Philip Yancey, one of our favourite writers,
takes up the subject of secularization.
(Christianity Today)

_____

Global Faith Potpourri:

There are fourteen ENI Stories This Week

_____

Quotes of the Week:

Paul Tillich, Penny Lernoux, Wendell Berry,
Simone Weil and Frederick Douglass provide
their insights for us courtesy of Sojourners.

_____

On This Day: (Feb 14th - Feb 18th)

Contextual news stories as they occurred,
from the archives of the New York Times:

St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago (1929)
Burial chamber of King Tut's tomb opened (1923)
Nixon departs on historic trip to China (1972)
Jefferson Davis new president of Confederacy (1861)
US Marines take Iwo Jima after month's fight (1945)

_____

Closing Thought - Billy Graham

Thanks for the opportunity to share this
electronic newsletter with you once more.


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/

__

INTRODUCING OUR
ST.DAVID'S WINTER STUDY FOR 2011

Books Considered:

"An Altar in the World"
 by Barbara Brown Taylor

(and)

"I Shall Not Hate -
 A Gaza Doctor's Journey"
 by Izzeldin Abuelaish

More study and website particulars will
be posted as they become available.

Classes are well underway!

Here is the link to the sessions:
http://tinyurl.com/46eyn5j

*****

INTRODUCING MY UNIVERSITY
WINTER COURSE FOR 2011

GOD, ATHEISM, AND MORALITY

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

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

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

Supplementary text:

"Godless Morality" by Richard Holloway
 (Canongate (new edition) 2009)

Course description and registration
information:

http://tinyurl.com/2fc7xr4

Classes going well. A great group
representing a gamut of believers
through atheists. I hope to learn
much from them and will post insights
as they emerge.

*****

UNIVERSITY LENTEN STUDY FOR 2011
A Joint Project of the Multi-Faith
Chaplains and St. David's ACTS Ministry

This Year's Subject:

"Community and Growth" by Jean Vanier.

The book first appeared in 1989 and
continues to be widely read.

Learn from Vanier's years of experience
in L'Arche communities around the world.

This book will be of interest to those
who seek insights for living and
working together in a pluralistic
society such as our own.

This study is for university faculty,
staff and interested students. It runs
runs for six weeks, beginning March 3rd.

Time: Thursdays, 12 noon to 1:00PM

Cost: Free. Copies of the book available
      for purchase, courtesy of the
      Christian Reformed Chaplaincy
      and thanks to Paul Verhoef

Location: Small Board Room, Native Centre,
          McEwan Student Centre.

Buy the book from Amazon.ca:
http://tinyurl.com/4tfkd25

*****

REMINDER:

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 Evening Prayers on Saturday, May 7th!

We have 25 choristers signed up as part of
the tour group. This special choir began
rehearsals in late January - led by our
congregation's music director, Brent Tucker.

Details are presently being finalized with
the St. David's cathedral dean, Fr. Jonathan
Lean and their music director, Alex Mason.

We are also planning to sing while visiting
other locations on our tour.

36 PLACES HAVE BEEN FULLY REGISTERED AND
PAID, AN IDEAL SIZE FOR THE TOUR

January 26th was the deadline for all
trip payments - 90 days before departure.

We have started an interest list for more
and future tours!

Let me know if you are interested in knowing
more about exciting, spiritual tourism! This
is a cutting edge ministry at St. David's.
We hope to do many more tours in future!

*****

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.

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

In This Issue:

SPECIAL ITEM

Book Notice -

BEYOND THE GODS AND BACK
Religion's Demise and Rise
and Why it Matters,
by Reginald Bibby

Release date: Feb. 26th, 2011.
Project Canada Books: Lethbridge AB
$24.95 CAD. 256 pages. Softcover
and E-Book. ISBN #978-0-98-106142-9

---

Publisher's Promo:

Professor Bibby has conducted research and
analyzes in Canada for the CBC, the Solicitor
General of Canada, the federal Social Trends
Directorate, Syncrude, Alberta Children's
Services, the Presbyterian, Anglican, United,
and Alliance churches, along with the
Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. His work
in the United States has included a mammoth
study of the ministry priorities of some
thirty American denominations and close to
2,500 congregations carried out for a
consortium of U.S. Protestant publishers
(1998). In 2004 he carried out a major
national study of what Canadians want from
family life for the Vanier Institute of
the Family.

Dr. Bibby is one of Canada’s better known
academics. His work has been covered in
virtually all of Canada’s major dailies
and magazines, including Maclean’s cover
treatment of Canada’s Teens in 2001, The
Boomer Factor  in 2006, and The Emerging
Millennials in April of 2009. His
extensive national and regional television
and appearances over the years have included
Canada AM, The National, Question Period,
The CTV National News, As It Happens,
Morningside, Cross Country Check Up,
Sunday Edition, Off the Record, Midday,
Pamela Wallin Live, Andy Barry, Dave
Rutherford, Ron Collister, and Bill Good.

In the United States, his work has been
given exposure by such news outlets as
CNN, The New York Times, the USA Today,
The Wall Street Journal, the Christian
Science Monitor, the Chicago Tribune,
The Los Angeles Times, and Christianity
Today.

Professor Bibby's efforts to interpret
his findings have taken him into a wide
variety of additional settings across
North America. He is routinely sought
after for comment, data, and presentations.

In February of this year, his latest book
is being released. It provides an update
on the religious situation in Canada, and
examines some of the possible consequences
of the growing religious polarization in
the country with respect to personal and
social well-being, spirituality, and
responses to death. The findings for
Canada are put into global perspective,
making use of unprecedented global survey
findings that are now available.

*****

Author's Words:

The current times require a careful reading.
With the help of extensive trend data at my
disposal, my appreciation for the importance
of a wider range of possible sources of
beliefs and behaviour, and the global sources
of information that can be accessed, I think
you will find this book to be considerably
richer than its three predecessors -
"Fragmented Gods" (1987), "Unknown Gods"
(1993) and "Restless Gods" (2002). It
simply has had much more material, resources
and life experience at its disposal.

- from the Preface

---

A woman asked me:

"... do you know anything about what's going
on with all the atheist talk that seems to
be popping up a lot in the media? Some of
these people like Dawkins and Hitchens seem
to think we'd all be better off without
religion."

"What do you make of it?"

These are not just questions about religion.
They are questions about life... and if
religion is slipping into the background
in Canada - what, if anything does it mean
for Canadian life and Canadian lives? ...

As I write these words today, it is as if
the current Canadian religious situation
has come into focus - where a discernible
reality is emerging that makes sense of
the disparate information at hand.

It is the reality of religious polarization.

What is invaluable about this information
that is being generated is that, for the
first time in history, we have data that
allow us to look at religious developments
in Canada in global perspective...

... the book provides good news and bad
news for people who value faith and those
who do not. As such, I have little doubt
it will be received with the proverbial
cheers and jeers.

... some groups, led by the Roman Catholic
Church outside Quebec, continue to flourish.
Other groups, led by the United Church of
Canada, may soon be on life support...

The dominant story is the emergence of
unprecedented polarization between those
who are religious and those who are not,
and what it means for personal and social
life.

- from the Introduction

****

My Thoughts:

"People remain vaguely intrigued with
the traditional religions, but not with
conventional churches." - Harvey Cox

"People may say goodbye to many forms of
organized religion, but few will say
goodbye to the gods." - Reginald Bibby

---

I have been actively involved with faith
and religion since the 1940's and have
to concur with Bibby from my own experience
that while Canada used to be a "religious"
country, and while church attendance was at
an all time high in 1945, (65% of the
population attended services weekly back then)
- things have changed.

25% attended regularly in 2005 and those
numbers may continue to decline.

What has happened? Some would say that
during the second half of the 20th century,
Canadians grew up.

We were a people who believed in
"obligations" but we have become a people
who seek "gratification." We used to act
with "deference" to institutions and
those who ran them. Now we have become
much more "critically discerning."

For example, I used to respect religious
leaders automatically, because - as my mother
taught me - "they were men of God" (and they
were all men!) Experience has taught me to
be very careful about those in whom I place
my spiritual trust.

Many in our society have simply thrown up
their hands at the stories of religious
abuse of power, deceit and corruption
(where there is a disconnect between the
walk and the talk.)

Still, I did not give up on God, because
I believe that God did not give up on me.
In a true sense, I agree with both Cox
and Bibby (above) in that I remain quite
intrigued by traditional religion and
keep looking for good in it, and I am not
about to jettison my belief in a loving
God.

I believe there are many in this country
like me, even as there seem to be growing
numbers who need neither religion nor God.

I deal with a some atheists weekly in
the classes I teach. On the whole I am very
impressed with their civility, maturity
and openness, and I am always available to
give them what I hope is a winsome account
of the "faith that lies within me" when
they ask about it.

----

In a remarkable way, and with a style that
is distinctly Bibby, the author traces the
development of Canadian religion and culture
over the past half century.

He adds an important caveat in the process.
We need to stop comparing ourselves with
the United States. We need to see developments
in our country in a global context, because
we are indeed becoming a nation strongly
influenced by people from around the world.
They live as part of us, and beyond us.

---

Bibby is of the mind that the process of
secularization is not a one-way street.
While God may be 'slipping at the polls'
a process of religious revitalization is
also taking place. It is being influenced
by our immigration patterns from without
and regrouping of faithful religious
communities from within.

Religion has a great capacity to rebound,
to be resilient, he says, and he backs
up that statement with solid evidence.

The question then is - "Will we polarize
or co-exist?" as these new configurations
of belief and unbelief try to work out
their differences here, and in a new day.

Bibby discusses the potential for
polarization and co-existence in chapters
about pluralism, personal and social well-
being, spirituality and the reality of
death.

In many ways, people without a claimed
faith lead as decent, productive and happy
lives as those who claim faith. This should
startle some who like to think that being
religious makes you a 'better person.'
The facts tend to prove it does not.

However, there are two areas where Bibby
suggests religion has an edge. He says that
while individuals can be 'good without God'
many of our cherished social values - honesty,
politeness, generosity, for example - will
lose their bearings as religious/societal
values. The decline of religion may cause
a negative change in our national character,
unless these can be replicated through social
institutions committed to social well-being.

Religion, Bibby says, is best when associated
with other institutions that value inter-
personal relations positively. Also, bad
social values (violence, disrespect, etc.)
can emerge from both secular and religious
sources.

On the subject of death, and life after
death, many Canadians - and the mainline
Protestant churches - tend to be mum on
the subject. Most of us try to deny
death, and a number of our churches
find the subject to be profoundly
difficult to deal with.

The United Church of Canada, says Bibby,
celebrates life, and tends to ignore death.

I agree.

I think this is a mistake, because the
time comes when people seek help with
these questions. The Catholics and
conservative Protestants provide their
rituals and answers - and rightly or
wrongly - they tend to help people.

"Life after death in some form" is a
major belief of a vast majority of the
world's population. Those who may think
they are enlightened in their Canadian
insularity may be missing something
important, and just don't get it.

Bibby believes that humans have a way
of bypassing religion that has lost
its meaning for them and will work to
create churches that do have meaning.

The mainline Protestant church in Canada
may go the way of all flesh, but people
are not going to stop questing for faith.

---

Religion will have a place in Canada's
future, concludes Bibby, who remains
the ever-optimistic sociologist.

"What will change is not the demand for
religion, but the suppliers."

Even the mainline, he adds, has those
who are devoted to its renewal. While
its future shape may be quite different
from what we now know, it will continue
to serve those who seek to benefit from
its ministrations.

---

Thanks, Reg. for a very thoughtful
and substantive book. I believe it
is your best one so far!

*****

Buy the Book:
http://projectcanadabooks.com/

Also buy from Wood Lake and Novalis
www.woodlakebooks.com
www.novalis.ca

*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

DOUG SHANTZ
Calgary, AB.

"The Church and the Academy"

http://tinyurl.com/4l9od3e

*****

LORNA DUECK/MICHAEL HIGGINS
Burlington, ON/CT and ON.

FROM THEORY TO THEOCRACY
Globe and Mail Interview

http://tinyurl.com/6jfhels

*****

DON GRAYSTON
Vancouver, BC

"Government Doctors CIDA File"

http://tinyurl.com/4rtg6t9



*****

(See Susan Johnson letter, below)

*****

MARGARET SOMERVILLE

The Globe and Mail
February 19th, 2011

"When Granny is Mom,
 Something is Wrong"

http://tinyurl.com/6hjqd7w

*****

NET NOTES

OSCAR RACE 2010
Reviews of Six Best Movie Nominees

America Magazine
February 16th, 2011

http://tinyurl.com/yl6k9qa

*****

THE MAN WHO SAW TOO MUCH
Galileo Challenges the Church
(review)

The Tablet
Feb. 18th, 2011

http://tinyurl.com/64hso9x

*****

RELIGION IN A CHANGING EGYPT
New Struggles Emerge after Revolution

PBS Religion and Ethics
February 11th, 2011

http://tinyurl.com/4jvyftl

*****

GEORGE BEVERLEY SHEA GRAMMY
Singer Recognized for Contribution

PBS Religion and Ethics
February 11th, 2011

http://tinyurl.com/4cqmkbp

*****

GAY WEDDING BAN MAY BE LIFTED
UK Government Set to Change Laws

The Guardian UK
February 14th, 2011

http://tinyurl.com/4oul2cr

*****

144 THEOLOGIANS CONFRONT HIERARCHY
German Professors Challenge Bishops

National Catholic Reporter
February 14th, 2011

http://tinyurl.com/48p7hsv

*****

PRIMATE SEES GREAT HOPE
IN CUBAN CHURCH
Pastoral Visit Yields Benefits

Anglican Journal News
February 16th, 2011

http://tinyurl.com/4z67qvs

*****

CHINA HAS MORE PRACTICING
CATHOLICS THAN DOES ITALY
Former British Prime Minister says
it is also a nation with many Muslims

Uccan News
Feb. 18th, 2011

http://tinyurl.com/4e398ku

*****

WORLD-WIDE PRIESTLY
NUMBERS ARE INCREASING
The Global Picture is Brighter

Zenit News from Rome
February 16th, 2011

http://tinyurl.com/4qvxmgl

*****

"MORE TRANSPARENT DISCUSSION
NEEDED" ON FOREIGN AID
Harper Government Fudged
Facts on Kairos Program

Anglican Journal News
February 16th, 2011

http://tinyurl.com/49nom24

---

Why Lying to Parliament Still Matters

The Ottawa Citizen
February 18th, 2011

http://tinyurl.com/63q4r8e

---

SUSAN C. JOHNSON
Winnipeg, MB

ELCIC National Bishop Calls for Fair
Consideration of KAIROS' New CIDA
Application

A Letter from the National Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
Colleague Susan C. Johnson

(this letter is one of a number from
Canadian church leaders to the prime
minister in light of the government
minister's inappropriate action)

--

From the National Office of the ELCIC

Winnipeg, 17 February 2011 - Evangelical Lutheran
Church in Canada's (ELCIC) National Bishop Susan
C. Johnson wrote to The Right Honourable Stephen
Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, urging that
KAIROS' reapplication for CIDA funding "receive
fair consideration so that the gifts of KAIROS
are seen in the light of their potential to
promote a safe, well-fed and just world."

The text of the letter follows:

Dear Prime Minister:

I continue to be concerned about the process by
which KAIROS was defunded by CIDA.

The work of KAIROS is very valuable and important
to our church, our country and our world. For
over 35 years, KAIROS has worked faithfully in
partnership with the government of Canada to
promote development and human rights. CIDA's own
assessments indicate that this work has been
effective, accountable and recommended. It
remains unclear on what basis the government
decided to end this partnership.

KAIROS has reapplied for funding. What is most
important to us is that this new application
receive fair consideration so that the gifts
of KAIROS are seen in the light of their
potential to promote a safe, well-fed and
just world. Our church remains convinced that
KAIROS has much to offer as a partner in
promoting the values that Canadians cherish.

You, your ministers, and the whole of parliament
are in our prayers as you seek to serve
Canadians with good leadership.

Yours in Christ,

The Rev. Susan C. Johnson
National Bishop,
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada


*****

IS CHRISTIAN AMERICA
BECOMING LIKE EUROPE?
Thoughts by Philip Yancey

Christianity Today
February 15th, 2011

http://tinyurl.com/4vjsu7y

*****

GLOBAL FAITH POTPOURRI

Ecumenical News International
News Highlights
14 February 2011

Anti-Semitic incidents last year
in Britain were second-highest

London (ENI news)--Anti-Semitic incidents in Britain
last year fell by 31 percent from the all-time high
of 926 in 2009, but were the second-highest ever
amid a generally increasing trend, according to a
report by a Jewish community organization.

_____

Ugandan faith leaders welcome pledges
for peaceful election

Nairobi (ENI news)--Religious leaders in Uganda
have welcomed pledges from presidential candidates
for a violence-free election, due to take place 18
February. The candidates made the commitment at
national prayer rally held at the Kololo
independence grounds in Kampala on 13 February.

_____

Membership trends for U.S. churches
reported to be "stable"

New York (ENI news)--Trends in church membership
in the United States remain stable, with churches
that have grown in recent years showing continued
growth and those with declining memberships
experiencing continued drops, according to an
annual publication that tracks church membership.

_____

Russian Orthodox Christians debate
Valentine's Day, but others celebrate

Moscow (ENI news)--As shoppers snapped up heart-
shaped goods, restaurants advertised romantic
dinners and many Russians planned to celebrate
Valentine's Day, Russian Orthodox Christians
debated the morality of the holiday, which
some denounce as a commercial imposition
from the West.

_____

Episcopalians, Moravians inaugurate
full communion relationship

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 14 February (ENI news) -
Representatives of the Episcopal Church and the
two provinces of the Moravian Church in North
America on 10 February formally inaugurated a
full-communion relationship with a service that
blended elements of the liturgical and musical
practices of both traditions.

*****

16 February 2011

Kenyan church leaders hail
pneumoccal vaccine rollout

Nairobi (ENI news)--A global rollout
of pneumococcal vaccine aimed at treating
pneumonia in infants has come as a welcome
development for faith groups who are
significant deliverers of health services
in Africa.
_____

Lutheran churches urged to pray
for Honduras

San Pedro Sula, Honduras(ENI news) - The
Christian Lutheran Church of Honduras
(ICLH) has urged sister churches around
the world to pray for an end to the wave
of violence that continues to plague the
Central American country.

_____

17 February 2011

World Council of Churches
leaders stress unity

Geneva (ENI news)--In opening addresses to the
World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee
today, leaders of the world's largest ecumenical
body cited Jesus' prayer for unity in the Gospel
of John, chapter 17 -- "that they all may be one."

*****

18 February 2011

Pope, Russian president vow
to strengthen relationship

Rome (ENI news) - In their first meeting after
the establishment of full diplomatic relations
between the Vatican and Russia, Pope Benedict XVI
and President Dmitry Medvedev expressed their
desire to strengthen bilateral relations.

_____


Are American clothing donations really needed?

Washington, D.C., 17 February (ENI news) - On a
recent family trip to Africa, spotting locals
wearing T-shirts and baseball caps bearing
American brands or slogans became something of
a parlor game -- a way to pass long hours in
the Land Rover driving from place to place.
But is this kind of help a good thing?

*****

18 February 2011

WCC explores how to adapt
to changing religious world

Geneva (ENI news)--The World Council of Churches
(WCC) Central Committee on 17 February took a
hard look at whether it can adapt quickly enough
to the rapidly changing ecumenical and inter
religious realities in the world. If it cannot,
one delegate noted, fixation on internal
governance and institutional survival may
"suck the life out of the ecumenical movement."

_____

Anglicans and Methodists
see "significant work" ahead

Toronto, Canada (ENI news)--Anglicans and
Methodists must do "significant work" on
issues of the interchangeability of ordained
ministries and the ministry of oversight if
they are to reach the goal of fuller communion,
according to a communique issued following a
meeting of representatives of the two churches.

_____

Flight of Iraqi Christians cannot dim
churches' witness, leaders say

Geneva (ENI news)-- Declarations of "mission
accomplished" and U.S. troop withdrawals
notwithstanding, Iraqi Christians continue
to flee because their safety cannot be
guaranteed and there is little hope their
lives will improve soon, six Iraqi church
leaders said on 18 February during the
meeting of the World Council of Churches
Central Committee.

_____

Polish Catholic publisher
defends Holocaust book

Warsaw (ENI news)--Poland's largest Roman
Catholic publishing house has defended its
decision to issue a controversial book,
which accuses Poles of profiting from the
Holocaust by betraying Jews to the Nazis
and stealing their possessions.

*****

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

February 14th, 2011

"The first duty of love is to listen."

- Paul Tillich

---

February 15th, 2011

"You can look at a slum or a peasant
village, but it is only by entering
into the world - by living in it -
that you begin to understand what
it is like to be powerless, to be
like Christ."

- Penny Lernoux

---

February 16th, 2011

"The care of the Earth is our most
ancient and most worthy, and after all,
our most pleasing responsibility. To
cherish what remains of it and to
foster its renewal is our only hope."

- Wendell Berry

---

February 17t, 2011

"Humility is attentive patience."

- Simone Weil

---

February 18th, 2011

"If there is no struggle, there
is no progress. Those who profess
to favor freedom yet deprecate
agitation are men who want crops
without plowing up the ground;
they want rain without thunder
or lightning."

- Frederick Douglass

*****

ON THIS DAY

Feb. 14, 1929, the St. Valentine's Day Massacre
took place in a Chicago garage as seven rivals
of Al Capone's gang were gunned down.

http://tinyurl.com/4zqwkkw

_____

Feb. 16, 1923 - the burial chamber of King
Tutankhamen's recently unearthed tomb was
unsealed in Egypt.

http://tinyurl.com/4crn3ro

_____

Feb. 17, 1972, President Nixon departed on
his historic trip to China.

http://tinyurl.com/4hh8pgy

_____

Feb. 18, 1861, Jefferson Davis was sworn in
as president of the Confederate States of
America in Montgomery, Ala.

http://tinyurl.com/4cv3snj

_____

Feb. 19, 1945, during World War II, some
30,000 United States Marines landed on the
Western Pacific island of Iwo Jima, where
they encountered ferocious resistance from
Japanese forces. The Americans took control
of the strategically important island after
a month-long battle.

http://tinyurl.com/4uren2k

*****

CLOSING THOUGHT -

"Prayer never seems to work for me on the
golf course. I think this has something to
do with my being a terrible putter."

- Billy Graham

(end)

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