Vol. VII. No. 30
*****
Wayne A. Holst, Editor
*****
Colleagues List Blog:
http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com/
Canadian Anglican Google Groups:
http://tinyurl.com/7sepky3
My E-Mail Address:
waholst@telusplanet.net
New "Quicklinks" are now included
with many items. Otherwise, scroll
down to find your selection in the
body of the blog, as in the past.
*****
Special Item in this Issue -
"Spiritual Travel"
(revised)
___
Colleague Contributions:
Martin Marty
Erich Weingartner
Ron Rolheiser
Doug Shantz
___
Net Notes:
Are We Depraved?
Free Will Versus Fate
Boston College Sacks John Shae
Best Church Newsletter Bloopers
Kasmiris Do Not Trust Christians
Saint's Heart Stolen from Cathedral
A Hopeful International Women's Day
Westminster, Sistine Choirs Collaborate
Christchurch Cathedral to be Demolished
Vatican Added to US Money Laundering List
Jewish Survivor - Baptism for Dead Must Stop
_____
Global Faith Potpourri:
Nineteen ENI Geneva stories.
___
Wisdom of the Week:
Joan Chittister
Raïsa Maritain
Thomas Merton
Evelyn Underhill
___
On This Day:
Provided from the archives
of the New York Times
Churchill delivers famous "Iron Curtain" speech
at Westminster College in Fulton, Mo. (1946)
Russia's February Revolution began with rioting
and strikes in St. Petersburg (1917)
___
Closing Thought - Clarissa Pinkola Estes
***********
Dear Friends:
This week, I am sharing with you an
update on the article "Sacred Sites -
Thoughts on Tourism as Spiritual
Enrichment" which first appeared here
last July -
http://tinyurl.com/6pndw5a
As we begin to plan a St. David's
Travelers Tour to Turkey in April
and May of 2013, I continue to refine
what I believe makes spiritual travel
unique from other kinds of tourism.
"Spiritual Travel" (revised) appears
as my Special Item this week.
I am always happy to hear constructive
feedback to help make this piece better.
___
Colleague Contributions:
This week, we hear from -
Martin Marty (Chicago, IL) - who picks
up on the Colleagues List piece on
"Revelation" by Elaine Pagels last week
and brings more depth to the story.
http://tinyurl.com/8xlow9k
Erich Weingartner (Callender, ON)
- provides us with an update on North Korea
and we always appreciate the people he
selects to interpret the story for us.
http://tinyurl.com/6ug5akr
Ron Rolheiser (San Antonio, TX) - shares
his thoughts on how we suspend our freedom
in order to focus on what must be done -
a piece on consecration in everyday life -
entitled: "Consecrated by Circumstance
and Need."
http://tinyurl.com/78qut77
Doug Shantz (Calgary, AB) - announces
a special set of lectures next week
given by a Coptic scholar who visits
Calgary and area. Hopefully, I can share
some of his insights in a future issue
of Colleagues List.
http://tinyurl.com/6qfp3mh
___
Net Notes:
"Are We Depraved?" - several weeks ago, I
wrote about the problems that traditional
scriptural language can cause us. Here is
an article that seems not to consider it
a problem (Christianweek.org)
http://tinyurl.com/7pdd68a
"Free Will Versus Fate" - the modern
science and religion discussions have
brought the issue of free will to the
surface (Huffington Post Canada)
http://tinyurl.com/7glvoa5
"Boston College Sacks John Shae" -
BC is one of America's leading Catholic
schools of higher learning. This week,
it made a decision to fire one of its
professors because of his commitment
to women's ordination (Boston Media)
http://tinyurl.com/6vvusmu
"Best Church Newsletter Bloopers" -
these worship bulletin jokes are
always favorites (Book Browse Blog)
"Kasmiris Do Not Trust Christians" -
the people of Kasmir are unhappy with
attempts by Christian missionaries to
convert them (Uca News)
http://tinyurl.com/6rh8hcr
"Saint's Heart Stolen from Cathedral" -
Christ Church Cathedral (Anglican),
Dublin, contains the relics of pre-
Reformation Irish saints, and one such
relic was stolen this past week
(The Guardian, UK)
http://tinyurl.com/7gyc3sv
"A Hopeful International Women's Day" -
A Thai woman shares her vision for her
grand-daughters during the week of
International Women's Day (Uca News)
http://tinyurl.com/6qr2mwv
"Westminster, Sistine Choirs Collaborate"
- read of an historic event as two great
choirs work together for the first time
(Zenit News from Rome)
http://tinyurl.com/7o5uct7
"New Zealand's Cathedral to be Demolished"
- several earthquakes have caused the
destruction of the Anglican Cathedral
in Christchurch, South Island, and a new
one will have to be built (Anglican News)
http://tinyurl.com/6rqxbcw
"Vatican Added to US Money Laundering List"
- a classification that the Catholic Church
will not celebrate and will work to eradicate
(Canoe.ca) http://tinyurl.com/8yonvsv
"Jewish Survivor - Baptism for Dead Must Stop"
- last week, we reported on the Mormon baptism
of Anne Frank. The backlash and Mormon response
was not long in coming (ENI, Anglican Journal)
http://tinyurl.com/7y4hsav
_____
Global Faith Potpourri:
This week, we have nineteen stories from
around the world provided by Ecumenical
News International, Geneva.
___
Wisdom of the Week:
Joan Chittister, Raïsa Maritain,
Thomas Merton and Evelyn Underhill
share their insights this week.
___
On This Day:
The New York Times offers stories written
as the news was breaking:
Churchill delivers famous "Iron Curtain" speech
at Westminster College in Fulton, Mo. (1946)
http://tinyurl.com/4ozywfm
Russia's February Revolution began with rioting
and strikes in St. Petersburg (1917)
http://tinyurl.com/79od4xp
___
Closing Thought
This week, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, famed
writer of "Women Who Run With the Wolves"
fittingly concludes our edition written
during International Women's Day.
Continuing lenten blessings,
Wayne
********************************
St. David's and ACTS Ministry Announce:
OUR SPIRITUAL TRAVELERS TOUR FOR 2013
TURKEY AND THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH
April 22nd - May 8th, 2013
Tour sale begins with deposit starting June, 2012
Full payment due, January, 2013
More details such as costs to be made available
in the Sunday worship guide and the St. David's
Spiritual Travelers Discussion List Group as they
become available.
To join the list discussion contact:
Deb. Charnusaki - debcharnuski@hotmail.com
Your tour hosts:
Marlene and Wayne Holst
waholst@telusplanet.net (or) marleneaholst@gmail.com
403-286-7416
*****
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
See the study schedule:
http://tinyurl.com/78f2ll2
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
the weekend of April 20th-22nd. 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
http://tinyurl.com/7qpxcmw
http://www.ucalgary.ca/faithandspirituality/
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/St_Davids_United_Church/Audio.html
*****
STUDY ARCHIVES
An accumulation of thirty-five books studied
since 2000 can quickly be found at:
http://tinyurl.com/6oxmyj4
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.
******************************************
SPIRITUAL TRAVEL
(revised)
Spiritual tourism is more than traveling as a
group to visit, for example, Holy Land sites
that purport to be the places where Jesus spent
his time on earth.
We are appealing to intelligent and
discriminating participants who will see
the tour we offer as an opportunity to grow
in faith and life understanding – in other
words, to mature spiritually in the broadest
sense.
Spiritual growth can involve us in many
experiences within and beyond our familiar
traditions.
All meaningful travel involves planning,
engagement and retrospective reflection.
The cumulative benefits of such travel
are considerable.
---
WHAT SPIRITUAL TRAVEL CAN MEAN
Spiritual travel is committed to a quality
experience. It builds upon our past
understanding and awareness.
It attempts to integrate the particular and
universal, the personal and communal. It is
grounded in Christian awareness, but open to
other faith and meaning systems.
---
AN OPPORTUNITY TO LINK EXPERIENCE,
ENERGY AND ECONOMICS
Many spiritual travelers are hard-working
people who have invested in their lives and
would like to venture into new areas that
havenot been possible for them to engage
in previously.
A time comes when accumulating more gives way
to wanting to enhance the quality of experience.
Spiritual travel helps people define and
integrate what is really important to them,
and especially while they still have the
inclination, enthusiasm and financial
resources to enlarge their horizons.
Spiritual travel can help people to build
a new dimension to their lives.
---
AN OCCASION TO BUILD
ON OUR EXPERIENCE AND AWARENESS
We all have hopes and expectations when
undertaking a venture of quality spiritual
travel. Most people will plan with
considerable care.
This kind of venture is a special reward we
give ourselves. But it is much more than a
holiday. It provides us with "aha" moments
that forever change and enrich us.
A trip of high quality requires the teamwork
of professional travel companies (at home and
abroad) competent tour hosts, guides, and bus
drivers - as well as accommodation and food
specialists. This quality does not come cheap,
but the price does not have to be exorbitant.
Even the best destinations can be disappointing
if good preparation and teamwork is not in place.
It pays to invest well in people. Our Rostad
Travel advisors taught us that generosity breeds
generosity.
We have learned that those who benefit most from
a good spiritual tour have worked their way through
a healthy 'process of discernment' before, during
and following the actual trip.
Not everyone who wants to travel can do so at
any given time. Health, frame of mind, financial
viability - these and other factors are variables
we need to recognize. A sincere intention to travel,
however, can reward us in due course!
The good news is that there is always another
opportunity for many of us. We discover places
we'd like to revisit with more depth. There are
also new places to be visited around the globe!
Experience and awareness teaches us much about
how to enjoy and improve spiritual travel.
---
A CHANCE TO LINK PARTICULAR AND UNIVERSAL,
PERSONAL AND COMMUNAL MEANINGS
Our generation of Canadians is the most
privileged and globally sophisticated in
history. University students now consider
it normal to take at least some of their
studies in at least one other foreign school
where they learn to live and work in
circumstances quite different from home.
This results in worldview expansion. We
encounter people from other races, cultures,
politics, and faith traditions that are
different from our own formative experiences.
Spiritual travel offers new perspectives and ways
of living for those with eyes to see. We learn that,
as at home, genuine people (as well as their
opposites) can be found in different settings from
our own. We realize our common humanity. Such
discoveries help us refine our basic human values
and the better understand the causes of human
misunderstandings.
These epiphanies engage and open us to other ways
of seeing and doing things. They can also help us
to clarify, define and arrive at a better sense of
who we are, personally and communally.
Some people like to travel alone, or in couples.
Others need to do so in groups. There are strengths
and weaknesses to engaging in various configurations.
The dynamic of traveling in a group of people we
come to know better can be one of the most
significant learning experiences in life.
---
AN EXPOSURE TO OTHER PHILOSOPHIES
OF LIFE IN THEIR CONTEXT
Some generations ago our great enemy in the West
was Soviet Russia and Communist China. Today, we
seem locked in a huge struggle with Islam.
We are becoming aware that there are other great
religious and cultural philosophies beyond the
Judeo-Christianity from which we have come.
We are also learning that it is one thing to
discover and relate to Animist, Hindu, Buddhist
and Muslim neighbors next door. It is quite
another thing to encounter the same faith
traditions in the contexts from which they
haveemerged. Increasingly, it is important
understand the cultures that nourish and
influence their worldviews.
We can better know and appreciate others by
visiting the places from which other humans
have come to engage us. Inter-faith understanding
is also one of the best ways to envision and work
for world peace.
March, 2012
Wayne A. Holst
*****
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS
Martin Marty
Chicago, IL
"More on Revelation"
Sightings
March 5th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/8xlow9k
---
ERICH/MIRANDA WEINGARTNER
Callander,ON
CanKor Website
"A Glimmer of Hope
in US-North Korea Relations"
http://tinyurl.com/7kgrrvz
---
"Progress in Korean Peace Process"
America Magazine
March 19th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/6ug5akr
*****
RON ROLHEISER
San Antonio, TX
"Consecrated by Circumstance and Need"
http://tinyurl.com/78qut77
*****
DOUG SHANTZ
Calgary, AB.
The Lebel Lectures in Christian Ethics
with Dr. Ramez Boutros, University of Toronto
"The Flight of the Holy Family into Egypt:
Literary & Archaeological Sources"
Monday, March 12, 2012 at 7:30 pm
St. Mina Coptic Orthodox Church
292120 Wagon Wheel Blvd, Balzac
A mile north of Cross Iron Mills Mall;
the blue dome past Costco
http://www.stmina.ab.ca/contact.php
---
"Early Women’s Monasticism in Egypt"
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Evans Room, Rozsa Centre
University of Calgary
*****
NET NOTES
ARE WE DEPRAVED?
Another Take on Old Language
Christianweek.org
March 8th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/7pdd68a
*****
FREE WILL VERSUS FATE
Current Ethical Issue -
Am I My Genes?
Huffington Post Canada
March 7th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/7glvoa5
*****
BOSTON COLLEGE SACKS JOHN SHAE
Progressive College "Toes Line"
Boston Media
March 7th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/6vvusmu
*****
BEST CHURCH NEWSLETTER BLOOPERS
Book Browse Blog
March 7th, 2012
Blog: Church Bloopers
For all of us who find humor in grammatical
errors and are tickled by double entendres,
here's our Top 30 countdown of church
newsletter blunders:
#30: Eight new choir robes are currently
needed due to the addition of several new
members and to the deterioration of some
older ones.
#29: Next Sunday a special collection will
be taken to defray the cost of the new carpet.
All those wishing to do something on the
carpet should come forward and do so.
#28: This evening there will be a hymn singing
in the park across from the Church. Bring a
blanket and come prepared to sin.
#27: The class on prophecy has been cancelled
due to unforeseen circumstances.
#26: On behalf of Barbara Rutledge and her
family, our sincere thanks to all those
sending cards and flowers and contributing
to the death of her husband.
#25: A bean supper will be held on Tuesday
evening in the church hall. Music to follow.
#24: The Fasting & Prayer Conference
includes meals.
#23: Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM ...
Please use large double door at the side
entrance.
#22: It's Drug Awareness Week: Get involved
in drugs before your children do.
#21: Don't let worry kill you off - let the
Church help.
To be continued...
*****
KASMIRIS 'DO NOT TRUST' CHRISTIANS
Proselytism Not Appreciated
Uca News
March 6th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/6rh8hcr
****
SAINT'S HEART STOLEN FROM CATHEDRAL
Relic Removed from Christ Church, Dublin
The Guardian
March 4th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/7gyc3sv
*****
A HOPEFUL INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY
Thai Woman Shares New Vision
Uca News
March 8th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/6qr2mwv
*****
WESTMINSTER, SISTINE CHOIRS COLLABORATE
Ecumenical Event Links RC/Anglican Choirs
Zenit News from Rome
March 8th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/7o5uct7
*****
NEW ZEALAND'S CHRISTCHURCH ANGLICAN
CATHEDRAL TO BE DEMOLISHED
Earthquakes Take Toll
Anglican Journal
March 2nd, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/6rqxbcw
*****
VATICAN ADDED TO U.S. MONEY
LAUNDERING CONCERN LIST
Canoe.ca
March 8th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/8yonvsv
*****
BAPTISM FOR DEAD MUST STOP
SAYS HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR
Ecumenical News International
Monday, March 5th, 2012
Mormons warned against baptizing
Holocaust victims, celebrities
Salt Lake City, Utah (ENI news) -
Anne Frank, Simon Wiesenthal's parents,
Gandhi, Daniel Pearl, Elvis. Mormon leaders
are fed up. On 2 March, the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints' (LDS) governing
First Presidency issued an unequivocal mandate
to its members: Do not submit names of Jewish
Holocaust victims or celebrities for proxy
baptism. Doing so could cost Mormons access
to their church's genealogical data or even
their good standing in the faith, reports
Religion News Service via the Salt Lake
Tribune. "Without exception, church members
must not submit for proxy temple ordinances
any names from unauthorized groups, such as
celebrities and Jewish Holocaust victims,"
LDS President Thomas S. Monson and his
counselors wrote in a letter to all Mormon
bishops.
---
"Baptisms" Not Appreciated by Jews
Anglican Journal
March 6th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/7y4hsav
*****
GLOBAL FAITH POTPOURRI
Ecumenical News International
News Highlights
5 March 2012
Christians, activists remember
slain Pakistani minister
(ENI news) - Christians and human rights
activists paid tribute on the 3-4 March
weekend to Shahbaz Bhatti, former minister
for religious minority affairs in Pakistan's
federal cabinet, who was assassinated a year
ago. Churches across Pakistan held special
prayers in remembrance of Bhatti who was
ambushed in his car and sprayed with bullets
on 2 March in Islamabad, and secular groups
such as Citizens for Democracy organized
candlelight vigils and public observances
in several cities. The 42-year old federal
minister, who was Catholic, became a target
for Islamic fundamentalists after he
criticized Pakistan's blasphemy law, which
carries harsh penalties for insulting Islam
or the Prophet Muhammad.
_____
Congo explosion kills 200,
destroys church
(ENI news) - A series of ammunition
explosions in the city of Brazzaville,
capital of the Republic of Congo, on 4
March killed more than 200 people and
destroyed a Roman Catholic Church. The
explosions originating from the national
arms depot tore though a densely populated
neighborhood in the outskirts of the city,
flattening houses, bringing down roofs and
shattering windows. More than 1,500 people
were injured. Government officials said the
explosion was caused by a fault in an
electrical system.
_____
6 March 2012
Latin American theologian
Milton Schwantes dies at 65
Brasilia, Brazil (ENI news) - Prominent
Brazilian biblical scholar and author
Milton Schwantes died on 1 March after
a long illness. He was 65. A pastor in
the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran
Confession in Brazil, and a professor
of the Old Testament at the Superior
School of Theology (EST) in São Leopoldo
in the 1970s and early 1980s, Schwantes'
ecumenical witness influenced a generation
of Brazilian and Latin American scholars,
according to a report by the Latin America
and Caribbean Communication Agency (ALC).
_____
Christian Aid to join rapid
disaster-response network in United Kingdom
London (ENI news) - Christian Aid, a London-
based organization that works to end poverty
in nearly 50 countries, will be part of a new
rapid-response network in the United Kingdom.
The group of U.K.-based businesses and
charities will respond to major international
crises such as famine, floods, and earthquakes,
according to a Christian Aid news release. The
network, called the Rapid Response Facility
(RRF), will mobilize life-saving support in
the critical 72 hours following a humanitarian
disaster by allowing quick access to funding.
_____
Don't lose sight of Middle East peace,
U.S. religious leaders say
New York (ENI news) - With world attention
focused on tensions between Iran and Israel,
a coalition of Jewish, Christian and Muslim
leaders reminded U.S. presidential candidates
not to lose sight of the need for a peace
agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
Citing the "core teachings of our traditions,"
the leaders affirmed on 1 March "with urgency
that Arab-Israeli-Palestinian peace is more
vital than ever." The statement from the
National Inter-religious Leadership Initiative
for Peace in the Middle East, an advocacy group,
came as U.S. President Barack Obama met with
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over
ways to deal with Iran's nuclear capability.
The statement was distributed more widely by
the National Council of Churches (USA) on
5 March.
_____
Italy considers taxing
some church properties
Rome (ENI news) - Strapped for cash as it
seeks to avoid falling victim to the European
debt crisis, Italy's parliament is debating a
controversial measure that will force church-
owned properties to pay property taxes. Prime
Minister Mario Monti is under pressure to
increase tax revenue, reduce government
spending,and jump start growth. The proposed
measure would tax church-owned properties that
are used for a profit-making venture, such as
a hotel, restaurant or store.
*****
7 March 2012
Head of Episcopal school in U.S.
killed in murder-suicide
(ENI news) A Spanish teacher who had been
fired earlier in the day on 6 March shot
and killed Dale D. Regan, the head of
Episcopal School in Jacksonville, Florida,
on the school’s campus and then turned the
gun on himself. No students were injured
at the grades 6-12 (ages 11-18) school,
Episcopal News Service reports. Police
said Shane Schumerth, 28, carrying an
AK-47 rifle in a guitar case, went to
the administrative office and shot Regan
several times before killing himself,
according to a report from News4
television station.
_____
Panama churches seek end
to violence in mining dispute
Panama City, Panama (ENI news) - Church
leaders in Panama are calling for cooler
heads to prevail after new violence erupted
during protests over government-approved
copper mining and dam projects on land
inhabited by Panama's indigenous Ngabe-
Bugle people. Negotiations between the two
sides have been suspended, so officials
can investigate the effects of the Barro
Blanco dam project on the Tabasara River,
the Latin America and Caribbean Communication
Agency (ALC) reported. Talks are set to resume
12 March.
_____
Religious minorities subject
to cruel treatment, UN expert says
Geneva (ENI news) - Religious minorities
imprisoned for their beliefs have been
subject to torture and other cruel treatment
in Iran, Afghanistan, China, Egypt among
other countries, according to a report by
the U.N. independent expert on torture.
"We receive many complaints where the
underlying factor is religious persecution,"
Juan Mendez, the U.N. special rapporteur on
torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment, told reporters in
Geneva on 7 March. Mendez said that some
complaints also involve people being
subjected to cruel forms of punishment
for apostasy, or abandonment of a religion.
_____
South Sudanese face
deadline to leave the north
(ENI news) - Sudanese Christians who have
barely a month to leave the north or risk
being treated as foreigners are starting
to move, but Christian leaders are concerned
that the 8 April deadline set by Islamic-
majority Sudan is unrealistic. Sudan in
February announced the deadline for the
former citizens it had stripped of
nationality after South Sudan's January
2011 vote to secede. The ultimatum will
affect an estimated 500,000-700,000 people,
mainly Christians of southern origin who
still live in the north.
_____
Pakistan vows to support
rights of religious minorities
(ENI news) - The government of Pakistan vowed
to uphold the rights of religious minorities
in the Muslim-majority nation at a conference
in Islamabad that marked the first anniversary
of the assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti, former
federal minister for minority affairs. "We are
making all-out efforts to impart the sense of
equal citizenship so far as fundamental rights
pertaining to safety, security, honor, life,
liberty and properties of the (religious)
minorities are concerned," declared Prime
Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on 6 March
at the conference. It was organized by the
All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, which
Bhatti helped found.
*****
8 March 2012
Female Lutheran pastors in Mexico
see gender as a strength
Mexico City (ENI news) - As the world marks
International Womens Day on 8 March, the women
pastors of the Mexican Lutheran Church - there
are only three -- took time to reflect on their
calling since being ordained in 2009, Lutheran
World Information (LWI) reports. For the Rev.
Sofia Deyanira Tenorio May, pastor of Grace
Lutheran Church in Mexico City, being an
ordained woman has been an experience
reaffirming the unmistakable presence of
God in her life.
_____
Pope Benedict XVI,
Archbishop of Canterbury to meet
Vatican City (ENI news) - Despite differences
over women's ordination and a controversial
Vatican initiative to woo back disgruntled
Anglicans, Pope Benedict XVI and Archbishop of
Canterbury Rowan Williams will pray together in
Rome on 10 March. The heads of the Roman Catholic
Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion will
celebrate vespers to mark the 1,000th anniversary
of the Camaldoli monastery in Italy, which is
revered by both Catholics and Anglicans, Religion
News Service reports.
_____
Report: Christians are half of world's migrants
New York (ENI news) - Christians comprise half
of the world's 214 million migrants, those who
have moved from their country of birth and are
now living permanently in a different country,
a new study has concluded. The study, "Faith on
the Move: The Religious Affiliation of
International Migrants," by the Washington, D.C.
- based Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion
and Public Life, released 8 March, concluded 106
million Christians constitute 49 percent of the
world's migrants.
_____
ACT Alliance report looks at successful
gender equality programs in 13 countries
Geneva (ENI news) - Gender equality is central
to meeting the needs of the world's poorest and
most vulnerable people, says a report released
on 8 March by the Geneva-based ACT Alliance, a
global network of more than 125 organizations
working in long-term development, humanitarian
assistance and advocacy. The release of the
report coincides with International Women's Day.
*****
9 March 2012
Russian election sparks debate
in Orthodox Church
Moscow (ENI news) - Vladimir Putin's election
to a third term as Russian president has spurred
debates about civil society and church-state
relations within the Russian Orthodox Church
since charges of vote fraud set off mass protests
following last December's parliamentary elections.
Andrei Desnitsky, a theologian who supports demands
for fair elections, said that growing political
activism among Orthodox Christians is a positive
outcome of the situation. "Politically active
Orthodox, who have finally begun to discuss with
each other how to connect their political position
with their faith, have gained from this," he wrote.
_____
Japan quake aftermath
includes supernatural visions
Tokyo (ENI news) - Japan marks on 11 March the
one-year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami
that devastated the northeastern coast and killed
up to 19,000 people. Many who lived through it say
the horror lives on in the form of supernatural
visions of those who died or are missing, and
faith communities are endeavoring to give comfort.
While 15,850 people are known to have died, an
additional 3,287 are still listed as missing,
according to the Japanese National Police Agency.
Some survivors claim to have seen and heard the
spirits of relatives and friends among the missing,
who implore the living to allow them to rest by
finding the bodies and giving them a proper funeral.
_____
German church publishes guidelines
on interfaith marriage
Berlin (ENI news)- The Protestant Church of
Hessen-Nassau in Germany has published
guidelines for interfaith ceremonies to help
clergy deal with the modern reality of communities
where Christians and Muslims live side-by-side.
"The number of mixed faith couples is increasing,"
said Susanna Faust Kallenberg, secretary for
interreligious affairs for the church in an
interview. "There is a challenge and a question
that you have to answer, you can't ignore it."
*****
WISDOM OF THE WEEK
Provided by Sojourners Online:
March 5th, 2012
"Dependence on God may be what is lacking in
a society where consumerism and accumulation
have become the root diseases of a world in
which everything is not enough and nothing
satisfies."
- Joan Chittister, from "The Rule of Benedict:
Insights for the Ages"
---
March 6th, 2012
"It is an error to isolate oneself.... If God
does not call one to solitude, one must live
with God in the multitude, make [God] known
there and make [God] loved."
- Raïsa Maritain
---
March 8th, 2012
"And the wounded are healing,/
though in a place of flame./
The sick in a great ship/
Are riding. They are riding home./
Suppose the dead could crown their wit/
With some intemperate exercise,/
Spring wine from their ivory,/
Or roses from their eyes?"
- Thomas Merton, from
"A Responsory, 1948" in Selected Poems
---
March 9th, 2012
"Many people feel unaware of any guidance,
unable to discern or understand the signals
of God; not because the signals are not given,
but because the mind is too troubled, clouded,
and hurried to receive them."
- Evelyn Underhill
*****
ON THIS DAY
Provided from the archives
of the New York Times
On March 5, 1946 - Winston Churchill delivered
his famous "Iron Curtain" speech at Westminster
College in Fulton, Mo.
http://tinyurl.com/4ozywfm
---
On March 8, 1917 - Russia's February Revolution
began with rioting and strikes in St. Petersburg.
http://tinyurl.com/79od4xp
*****
CLOSING THOUGHT
"Fairy tales, myths and stories provide
understandings which sharpen our sight so
we can pick out and pick up the path left
by the wildish nature. The instruction found
in every story reassures us that the path has
not run out, but still leads women deeper, and
more deeply still, into their own knowing...
No matter by which culture a woman is
influenced, she understands the words 'wild'
and 'woman' intuitively.
- Clarissa Pinkola Estes
Stories and myths - the poetic language of
the spirit - can lead to the inner knowledge
we seek. Indeed, women of all cultures, Estes
writes, recognize and understand "the words
'wild' and 'woman' intuitively."
When have you intuitively responded to
archetypes and myths? What stories have
instantaneously resonated in your soul?
What does the archetype of the Wild Woman
mean to you? Have you known women who
practiced or embodied the attributes and
talents you intuitively associate with it?
- Matthew Fox in "Christian Mystics"
(end)
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