Vol. VII. No. 23
*****
Wayne A. Holst, Editor
*****
Colleagues List Blog:
http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com/
My E-Mail Address:
waholst@telusplanet.net
New "Quicklinks" are now included
with many items. When no link appears,
scroll down to find your selection in
the body of the blog, as in the past.
*****
Special Item in this Issue -
Guest Conntribution from
Colleague Mathew Zachariah
"Faking Compassion?"
___
Other Colleague Contributions:
Doug Koop
http://tinyurl.com/7k7akem
Harry Winter
http://www.harrywinter.org.
Jim Taylor
http://tinyurl.com/73e2pbm
___
Net Notes:
The Lens of Dementia
http://tinyurl.com/6mnl5at
How MLK Changed Religion
http://tinyurl.com/7hor8c5
Interview With Bishop Spong
http://tinyurl.com/6rkp2lf
Taize Meetings in Berlin - Report
http://tinyurl.com/7bpxhf9
Spectacular Scenes from India
http://tinyurl.com/7oevltm
Broncos QB Inspires Toronto Pastor
http://tinyurl.com/7sfj7sc
Government Considers How Life Ends
http://tinyurl.com/6paj9xf
Marines Urinate on Taliban Corpses
Use Mozilla Foxfire to Open:
http://tinyurl.com/6qbwgdc
India RC Missionaries in 166 Countries
http://tinyurl.com/7e3wljk
Rome Pokes Canterbury in the Eye - Again
http://tinyurl.com/7zqo3pd
___
Global Faith Potpourri:
Eight ENI Geneva stories.
___
Wisdom of the Week:
Esther de Waal
Brennan Manning
The Dalai Lama
___
On This Day:
Roosevelt and Churchill hold wartime
conference in Casablanca (1943)
http://tinyurl.com/84zpefg
___
White House announces start of Operation
Desert Storm to drive Iraq from Kuwait (1991)
http://tinyurl.com/6sjxovo
___
Hawaii's monarchy overthrown; businessmen and
planters force native queen to abdicate (1893)
http://tinyurl.com/7r9yu28
___
Robert F. Scott reaches South Pole, only to
discover Roald Amundsen was there first (1912)
http://tinyurl.com/7hj4y22
___
Iran releases 52 American hostages, minutes after
the presidency had passed from Carter to Reagan (1981)
*****
Closing Thought - Julian of Norwich
(end)
******
Dear Friends:
Special Item in this Issue -
For the first time in seven years I
begin a Colleagues List issue with
a guest contributor. Colleague
Mathew Zachariah and I have worked
together on a special writing project
and here he shares his views about -
"Faking Compassion?"
___
Other Colleague Contributions:
Doug Koop (Winnipeg) - is interviewed
for his insights from 25 years as the
editor of Christian Week.
Harry Winter (Minneapolis) - comments
on the appearance of my Christmas
reflection by Oblate Rene Fumoleau
and related Oblate mission matters.
Jim Taylor (Okanagan) - reflects on
the meaning of heaven for many today.
___
Net Notes:
"The Lens of Dementia" - Dora Dueck
writes on her viewing of "Iron Lady"
the movie about Margaret Thatcher
(The Christian Century)
"How MLK Changed Religion" - January
means a celebration of the life of
Martin Luther King Jr. Here is an
article on his faith contributions.
(Huffington Post Canada)
"Interview With Bishop Spong" - the
bishop continues to offer controversial
and worthwhile challenges in the study
of scripture in this Catholic interview
(New Catholic Times)
"Taize Meetings in Berlin - Report" -
the annual European youth gathering
took place in Germany this year.
(Taize website)
"Spectacular Scenes from India" - no
magazine seems to offer better pictures
than these (The Atlantic Online)
"Broncos QB Inspires Toronto Pastor" -
football fans know of the prayer
witness of the Denver footballer,
Tim Tibow (Christianity.ca)
Also, comment on this by a New York Jesuit
(America Magazine)
"Government Considers How Life Ends" -
the Conservative government of Canada
is sponsoring hearings on end-of-life
issues like euthenasia (Christian Week)
"Marines Urinate on Taliban Corpses" -
one of the most disgusting stories of
the week from people who should know
better. A bad image for America
(National Catholic Reporter)
"India RC Missionaries in 166 Countries"
- more evidence of the growing numbers
of missionaries eminating from Asia
(Zenit News)
"Rome Pokes Canterbury in the Eye - Again"
- we continue to reflect on the rather shaky
ecumenism behind Rome's reception of Anglican
converts (Sightings)
___
Global Faith Potpourri:
Eight Ecumenical News International
stories from Geneva appear this week.
___
Wisdom of the Week:
Esther de Waal, Brennan Manning and
The Dalai Lama offer insights.
___
On This Day:
Provided from the archives of
the New York Times -
Roosevelt and Churchill hold wartime
conference in Casablanca (1943)
___
White House announces start of Operation
Desert Storm to drive Iraq from Kuwait (1991)
___
Hawaii's monarchy overthrown; businessmen and
planters force native queen to abdicate (1893)
___
Robert F. Scott reaches South Pole, only to
discover Roald Amundsen was there first (1912)
___
Iran releases 52 American hostages, minutes after
the presidency had passed from Carter to Reagan (1981)
*****
Closing Thought - Julian of Norwich
Our final insights of this Colleagues List issue
come to us from the first woman to write in the
English language, whose wisdom continues to
inform and inspire us.
Blessings on your week!
Wayne
************************
SPECIAL WINTER STUDY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Introducing the Full Program
ST. DAVID'S MONDAY NIGHT STUDY
WINTER 2012
"The Other Face of God:
When the Stranger Calls Us Home"
by Mary Jo Leddy
Ten Monday Nights -
January 16th - March 26th, 2012
(except February Family Weekend Monday)
Information about the book from Amazon.ca:
http://tinyurl.com/c6aror6
Visit Romero House, Toronto on the web:
http://tinyurl.com/7c9dsb4
NOTE: Mary Jo Leddy is coming to St. David's
for a weekend this spring. Watch for new
information as it becomes available.
*****
ST. DAVID'S ACTS MINISTRY AND
THE FAITH AND SPIRITUALITY CENTRE
ON THE UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY CAMPUS
Welcome to our -
LENTEN STUDIES 2012
Noon Hour Book Discussions for Faculty,
Staff and Students Winter Series for 2012:
"An Altar in the World" by Barbara Brown Taylor
Discovering God in the ordinary experiences of life
March 2nd - March 30th - five Friday noon sessions
Time and Location for all sessions:
12:00 to 1:00PM in the Native Centre Board Room
Located above the Dairy Queen, Mac Hall Student's
Centre
Led by: Wayne Holst,
Coordinator of the ACTS Ministry, St. David's United
and a Faith and Spirituality Centre Liaison.
Cost of the book: $15.00 each
*****
Join us this year for stiumlating campus discussions!
For more information: Adriana Tulissi 403-220-5451
Co-ordinator, Faith and Spirituality Centre, U. of
C. - artuliss@ucalgary,ca
*****
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
*****
STUDY ARCHIVES
An accumulation of twenty-five+ studies conducted
since 2000 can quickly be found at:
http://bookstudies.stdavidscalgary.net/
This collection of study resources represents
more than 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
GUEST CONTRIBUTION
From Colleague -
MATHEW ZACHARIAH
Calgary, AB.
Faking Compassion?
In 2011, in the days preceding the tenth
anniversary of the horrible, tragic events
in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania
on September 11, 2001, the media (print,
television, audio, etc) inundated us with
verbal and pictorial images of that fateful
day. Commentators outdid each other in
evoking in the reader or listener the horror
of events that day trying very hard to have
us, who are removed from those events by time
and place, to identify with the victims and
the victims' families and close friends.
The lessons we must learn from it, it was
often said or implied, was that we must be
ever vigilant in protecting our life, liberty
and happiness from “them” - the enemies within
and without our societies.
I was unmoved by these messages. Why? Because
I agreed with author Patrick West who, in his
2004 book Conspicuous Compassion, argues that
“Wearing coloured ribbons, strapping red noses
onto the front of your car, signing petitions,
and carrying banners saying 'Not In My Name'
are part of a culture of ostentatious caring
which is about feeling good, not doing good.
The three C's of modern life – compassion,
caring and crying in public – show not how
altruistic we have become, but how selfish.”
- taken from the journal Civitas,
http://www.Civitas.org.uk/hwu/prcs34.php).
West points out that compassion inflation
occurred most prominently in recent times
with the outpouring of ersatz grief following
Princess Diana's tragic death in a car crash
in Paris on 31 August 1997. It happens again
and again when people who have no personal
connection to a celebrity create temporary
shrines with candles, teddy bears and flower
bunches at his or her death.
The media learned in the days following
Diana's death how to capitalize on our
superficial feelings of grief and compel us
to listen to, watch and express grief-lite
with our crocodile tears and manufactured
emotions. The hallmark of this type of
compassion is that, apart from the price
of a ribbon or a teddy bear or some flowers,
there is no cost to us. It is another
manifestation of the lonely crowd feeling
we experience in our mass society that
prefers tweeting and blogging to real human
connectedness. (See also David Riesman's
characterization of the other-directed
individual in his classic 1950 book,
The Lonely Crowd).
I am sure West had in mind Thorsten Veblen’s
phrase, conspicuous consumption, from his 1899
book, The Theory of the Leisure Class which
referred to ostentatious display of wealth and
high status. The Civitas article cited above
also says: “Instead of piling up damp teddies
and rotting flowers to show what nice people
[we] are, it would be better to try to do some
genuine, unostentatious good.” Try talking to
the poor and homeless to understand their
difficulties; give money to worthy charitable
organizations that are supporting imprisoned
and oppressed men, women and children who
cannot speak for themselves. Support
organizations that are trying to cure life-
threatening diseases or give that precious
gift of time to support voluntary agencies
that are trying to make life more bearable
for the poor, the homeless and the victims
of prejudice.
This line of thought led me to reconsider
the similarities and differences between two
words: sympathy and empathy. There are
differences and similarities. There is much
overlap in the way these two words are felt
and expressed. Perhaps, the most important
difference is that empathy is the ability to
experience with another person or persons the
thoughts and experience that person is going
hrough without necessarily intentionally
ommunicating with that person. Sympathy is
the ability to understand and support the
situation or experience of another with
compassion and sensitivity. An empathetic
person who recently lost his spouse might,
mostly in silence, spend time with a bereaved
friend who has just a lost a loved one. A
sympathetic person might say to the bereaved
friend: "I feel very sorry for the loss of
your wife." There is much more identification
with the sufferer in empathy while there is a
touch of distance and pity in sympathy. Either
is preferable to conspicuous compassion.
When Jesus summarized all the law and the
prophets with "love your neighbour as [you love]
yourself" was he asking us to sympathise or
empathise? When we read about the famine in
the horn of Africa that is killing tens of
thousands, is it empathy or sympathy that
moves us? Consider the empathy the great
American poet Walt Whitman (1819-1892) showed
in his poem, Reconciliation:
Word over all, beautiful as the sky
Beautiful that war, and all its deeds
of carnage must in time be utterly lost,
That the hands of the sisters,
Death and Night incessantly Softly wash again,
and ever again, this soil'd world
For my enemy is dead,
a man divine as myself is dead;
I look where he lies, white-faced and still,
in the coffin – I draw near
Bend down, and touch lightly with my lips
the white face in the coffin.
Are we wrong to wear poppies in the days leading
up to Remembrance Day every November or honour
the men and women who gave their lives in 20th
and 21st century wars at our Sunday services?
Of course not! But let us do what we can to help
veterans and their families and spare a thought,
a feeling for the person in the enemy.
In our churches, when we give as often as we
can to the Calgary Inter-faith Food Bank or
serve lunch once a month at the Drop-in Centre
or faithfully support with our donations Anglican
mission activities such as the PWRDF or do a number
of voluntary things like praying for those in need
or visiting friends who are sick, we are, indeed,
doing our small bit to fulfill Christ`s second
commandment.
- this article appeared in Mathew's local Anglican
parish newsletter and his diocesan newspaper "The
Sower." It will also appear in the award-winning
magazine "Alberta Views."
*****
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS
DOUG KOOP
Winnipeg, MB
DashHouse.com Blog
Friday Questions
January 13th, 2012
"An Interview With Doug Koop"
http://tinyurl.com/7k7akem
___
HARRY WINTER OMI
Minneapolis, MN
January 14th, 2012
Subject: "Harry Winter, Fumoleau and Maryknoll"
Dear Wayne,
Back in 1997, when I edited the booklet Oblate
Missiologists, I included an appendix "Survey of
Oblate Writings About the Arctic," and you were
most gracious with a quote about Rene Fumoleau
(pp. 66-67). Thanks to the marvel of the internet,
it's been possible to put the booklet on the
Oblate Ecumenism website, and expand the Fumoleau
material (p. 68) with your item of Dec. 30 "Rene
Fumoleau's Dene Christmas: A perennial Favourite."
Many, many thanks for reminding Oblates and others
about Fumoleau's work.
You may be interested in the great statement on
missionary activity which several Maryknoll
theologians have written for their centennial year.
That too is posted on the Oblate Ecumenism website,
which may be accessed through the USA Oblate website
http://www.omiusa.org., click on "useful links" or
directly http://www.harrywinter.org
Keep up the great work in bringing us all up to date
on what is happening, and stimulating us to think
and act about it.
Sincerely in Christ,
Harry
___
JIM TAYLOR
Okanagan, BC
Personal Web Log
January 18th, 2012
"Retirement for Ever and Ever"
http://tinyurl.com/73e2pbm
*****
NET NOTES
THE LENS OF DEMENTIA
Review of "Iron Lady"
by Dora Dueck
Christian Century Blog
January 17th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/6mnl5at
*****
HOW MLK CHANGED RELIGION
Black Leader Recognized
Huffington Post
January 15th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/7hor8c5
*****
INTERVIEW WITH BISHOP SPONG
"The Bible is a good book,
But God Didn't Write It"
New Catholic Times
January 16th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/6rkp2lf
*****
TAIZE MEETINGS IN BERLIN - REPORT
Youth Gathering Alive and Well
News From Taize
January 16th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/7bpxhf9
*****
SPECTACULAR SCENES FROM INDIA
Diversity is Everywhere Today
The Atlantic Online
January 19th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/7oevltm
*****
BRONCOS QB INSPIRES TORONTO PASTOR
Praying Star a Hit in Canada Too
Christianity.ca
January 17th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/7sfj7sc
---
"Does God Listen to Tim Tibow?"
America Magazine
January 13th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/72475vs
*****
GOVERNMENT CONSIDERS HOW
LIFE SHOULD END
An Evangelical Perspective
Christianweek.org
January 16th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/6paj9xf
*****
US MARINES URINATE
ON TALIBAN CORPSES
National Catholic Reporter
January 18th, 2012
Use Mozilla to Open:
http://tinyurl.com/6qbwgdc
*****
INDIA MISSIONARIES SERVING
IN 166 COUNTRIES
Zenit News, Rome
January 18th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/7e3wljk
*****
ROME POKES CANTERBURY
IN THE EYE - AGAIN
Sightings 1/19/2012
by Peter W. Williams
http://tinyurl.com/7zqo3pd
*****
GLOBAL FAITH POTPOURRI
Ecumenical News International
News Highlights
16 January 2012
In south India, churches aid victims
of devastating cyclone
Bangalore, India, 16 January (ENI news)
-Following the devastating cyclone that
wrecked havoc in India's southern Tamil
Nadu state at yearend, church charities
are getting aid to affected families.
"People are still struggling without
electricity, [with] roofless houses and
roads blocked by fallen trees," said
Florina Benoit, chief zonal officer of
Churches Auxiliary for Social Action
(CASA). Benoit was speaking to ENI news
on 16 January from Chennai, the capital
of Tamil Nadu, after a weekend visit to
the worst-hit remote villages around
Cuddalore.
_____
Paul Simon's long
meandering spiritual journey
(ENI news) - In a career that has spanned
half a century, American musician Paul
Simon says there's always been a spiritual
dimension to his work. But the overt
religious references in his most recent
album, "So Beautiful or So What,
"surprised even him. There are songs about
God, angels, creation, pilgrimage, prayer
and the afterlife, reports Religion News
Service. Simon says the religious themes
were not intentional - he does not describe
himself as religious. But in an interview
with the U.S. Public Broadcasting Service
program "Religion and Ethics NewsWeekly,"
he said the spiritual realm fascinates him.
_____
17 January 2012
In South Sudan, agencies aid victims
of inter-ethnic fighting
(ENI news) - Christian humanitarian agencies
are delivering relief aid to thousands of
people displaced in inter-tribal conflict in
South Sudan, the world's newest nation. The
assistance is targeting nearly 60,000 people
in Jonglei State where a cycle of violence
between two pastoralist communities is
continuing. The Lou-Nuer and the Murle have
a history of raiding each other's cattle,
women and children, but Christian leaders
want the communities to give up arms. "I
urge the government to disarm the two
communities (whose members posses illegal
arms), simultaneously. The action should
also be extended to other armed communities
in the state," Anglican Bishop Alapayo
Manyang Kuctiel of Rumbek told ENInews
in a telephone interview from South
Sudan on 16 January.
_____
Nicaraguan bishops seek better
communication with government
Managua, Nicaragua (ENI news) - The
Catholic Church is hoping to improve
its frosty relationship with Nicaraguan
President Daniel Ortega, now that Ortega
has begun a third term of office. Bishop
Jorge Solorzano of the Diocese of Granada
said on 15 January that the church has
communicated with the Ortega administration
through intermediaries but has not had direct
contact, according to a report from the Latin
America and Caribbean Communication Agency
(ALC). The church has been pressuring the
government to tackle issues including
unemployment, public safety and access to
health care and education.
*****
18 January 2012
Photographic exhibition celebrates
Germany's religious diversity
Nuremburg, Germany (ENI news) - A
photography exhibition taking place
this month at a historic monastery
near the German city of Nuremburg takes
visitors on a journey through the intimate
spaces where the country's many faiths are
practiced.
Regina Maria Suchy, the photographer
responsible for the images, collaborated
with Franciscan priest Cornelius Bohl, who
provided explanatory texts. "The need for
religious practice seemed to us, despite
the differences between religions, to be
something unifying," Suchy said in an
interview.
_____
In London, court says occupiers
must leave St. Paul's Cathedral
London (ENI news) - Britain's High Court
on 18 January ordered anti-corporate
protesters evicted from a camp they have
occupied for three months outside London's
iconic St. Paul's Cathedral.
The demonstrators, identifying themselves
as the Occupy London Stock Exchange movement,
set up their camp on 15 October as part of
a global "Occupy" campaign targeting corporate
greed, Religion News Service reports. But after
a lengthy legal battle, High Court Justice
Keith Lindblom granted possession orders and
injunctions against the protesters to the
City of London Corporation, which owns the
land, calling the action "entirely lawful
and justified."
*****
19 January 2012
El Salvadoran president officially
apologizes for 1981 massacre
El Mozote, El Salvador (ENI news) - On
the 20th anniversary of the end of civil
war in El Salvador, President Mauricio
Funes issued an emotional public apology
for an infamous 1981 massacre of civilians
by army troops. Under its program
Communication for Peace, the Toronto-based
World Association for Christian Communication
(WACC) supported several film documentary
projects and workshops in El Salvador in the
past few years to gain public acceptance of
the need to come to terms with the country's
violent past.
_____
During week of prayer, Philippine
churches set aside differences
Baguio City, Philippines (ENI news) -
In the midst of a governance crisis
that threatens to divide the Philippines,
several churches say they are marking the
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity by
setting aside doctrinal differences,
praying and working for change. The week
usually takes place between 18 and 25
January. Resources such as texts for
ecumenical services are sponsored jointly
by the Geneva-based World Council of
Churches (WCC) and the Roman Catholic
Church's Pontifical Council for the
Promotion of Christian Unity.
*****
WISDOM OF THE WEEK
January 17th, 2012
"Anyone who loves words will tend to let
themselves be satisfied by them, and as
a result stop short of true satisfaction.
For true satisfaction...comes when I am
silent and listen.... When GodÂ’s voice is
drowned out by incessant clamor, whether
inner or outer, in whatever shape or form,
then continuous dialogue with God becomes
impossible."
- Esther de Waal, "A Life-Giving Way"
---
January 18th, 2012
"Christianity doesn't deny the reality of
suffering and evil... Our hope... is not
based on the idea that we are going to be
free of pain and suffering. Rather, it is
based on the conviction that we will
triumph over suffering."
- Brennan Manning
---
January 19th, 2012
"Peace starts within each one of us. When
we have inner peace, we can be at peace
with those around us. When our community
is in a state of peace, it can share that
peace with neighboring communities, and so
on. When we feel love and kindness toward
others, it not only makes others feel
loved and cared for, but it helps us also
to develop inner happiness and peace."
- The Dalai Lama
*****
ON THIS DAY
On Jan. 14, 1943 - President Roosevelt
and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
opened a wartime conference in Casablanca.
http://tinyurl.com/84zpefg
___
On Jan. 16, 1991 - the White House announced
the start of Operation Desert Storm to drive
Iraqi forces out of Kuwait.
http://tinyurl.com/6sjxovo
___
On Jan. 17, 1893 - Hawaii's monarchy was
overthrown as a group of businessmen and
sugar planters forced Queen Liliuokalani
to abdicate.
http://tinyurl.com/7r9yu28
___
On Jan. 18, 1912 - English explorer Robert
F. Scott and his expedition reached the South
Pole, only to discover that Roald Amundsen
had gotten there first.
http://tinyurl.com/7hj4y22
___
On Jan. 20, 1981 - Iran released 52 Americans
held hostage for 444 days, minutes after the
presidency had passed from Jimmy Carter to
Ronald Reagan.
http://tinyurl.com/86x97mx
*****
CLOSING THOUGHT
Julian of Norwich -
"I saw that God never began to love us...
We have always been in God's foreknowledge,
known and loved from without beginning...
Wee were made for love.
---
Matthew Fox -
To say that we have been "loved from the
beginning" is to speak of original blessing
rather than original sin. Julian breaks with
Augustine and others who have preached about
an original sin, and she sides with all those
who know we have been loved before the beginning.
- from his book "Christian Mystics"
(end)
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