Friday, March 16, 2012

Colleagues List, March 17th, 2012

Vol. VII. No. 31

*****

ST. PATRICK'S DAY EDITION

*****

Wayne A. Holst, Editor

*****


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

Canadian Anglican Google Groups:
http://tinyurl.com/86r2s38 


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 -

Book Notice:

"When God Talks Back"

Understanding American Evangelicals
by T.M. Luhrmann
___

Colleague Contributions:

Michael Higgins
Jim Taylor
Philip Jenkins
___

Net Notes:

Why Good Men Go Bad
Priest Placed on Leave
Prayers Bring Japanese Together
We Need a Better Understanding of Iran
Archbishop Williams to Quit at Year End
German Guidelines - Interfaith Marriages
Exceptional Woman Honored at the U. of C.
Do Christians Have Right to Wear Crosses?
Christianity Not an Alien Religion in China
'Little Mosque on the Prairie' - US Assessment
Calgary Students Help Design a New Christchurch
___

Global Faith Potpourri:

Eighteen ENI Geneva stories.
___

Wisdom of the Week:

Walker Percy
Martin Buber
Anaïs Nin
James Nayler
Evelyn Underhill

___

On This Day:

K.U. Chernenko, died at age 73. 
Politburo member M. S. Gorbachev 
was chosen to succeed him (1985)

Truman established the Truman 
Doctrine to help Greece and Turkey 
resist Communism (1947)
___

Closing Thought - 
Clarissa Pinkola Estes 

***********

Dear Friends:

For those 'lovers of the green' in
my readership, I share several articles
related to St. Patrick and his kind.
I hope you enjoy them.

This week I attended a very interesting
lecture by Dr. Ramez Boutrez of the 
University of Toronto. He gave the
University of Calgary Chair of
Christian Thought Lebel Lecture on
"Early Women's Monasticism in Egypt"
that I would like give more thought
to, so that I might better share 
insights I think would be helpful.

'Early church monasticism' might seem
like esoteric stuff, but just as we have
learned much in modern times from
women like Julian of Norwich and
Mechthild of Magdeburg - medieval
European women mystics - I sense the
same might be the case with these
previously 'hidden' mentors from 
very early Christianity.

---

This week, I provide a book notice for
"When God Talks Back" - a new study on
American Evangelicalism and Pentecostalism
that should cause those of us in the older
established churches to take a second look.

T.M. Luhrmann, a psychological anthropologist
at Stanford and Fellow of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences, writes a book
that I think will be quoted many years from
now.

http://tinyurl.com/87f78v6
___

Colleague Contributions:

Michael Higgins (Fairfield, CT) tells us
how Irish Catholicism in the old country
and America is changing dramatically.

http://tinyurl.com/6t7x2mg

Jim Taylor (Okanagan, BC) brings St. Patrick
into modern times as only Jim can.


http://tinyurl.com/7hdo8pk

Philip Jenkins (University Park, PA) writes
of holy places that have been 'claimed' by
a series of spiritual traditions over the
centuries.

http://tinyurl.com/7hx433g
___

Net Notes:

"Why Good Men Go Bad" - here is a reflection
on the tragedy of Afghan deaths by a crazed
American soldier this week (The Tablet, UK)

http://tinyurl.com/7alo9gr

"Priest Placed on Leave" - an American priest
who refused communion to one he knew as a
lesbian has been disciplined (Washington Post)

http://tinyurl.com/88l526x

"Prayers Bring Japanese Together" - as we 
acknowledge the first anniversary of the
devastating tsunami disaster in Japan, here
is a report of developments there (Una News)

http://tinyurl.com/86p6pdv

"We Need a Better Understanding of Iran"
- a timely article that attempts to get
below the surface of Western media hype
(The Guardian, UK)

http://tinyurl.com/7zndp6m

"Archbishop Williams to Quit at Year End"
- Rowan Williams will step down after a
decade that challenged his leadership
both in the UK and around the world
(ENI, Globe and Mail)

http://tinyurl.com/74ur8jj

"German Guidelines - Interfaith Marriages"
- a sign that Germany is responding to the
reality of Islamic presence in the country 
was reflected in this news (Anglican Journal)

http://tinyurl.com/83llc98

"Exceptional Woman Honored at the U. of C."
- I had the privilege of being invited to
a special event last week. A Muslim student
wanted me to attend an event to honor her
accomplishments (UToday - U. of Calgary)

http://tinyurl.com/73f564a

"Do Christians Have Right to Wear Crosses?"
- an issue in the UK right now has to do
with the right Christians to wear religious
symbols at work (The Telegraph, UK)

http://tinyurl.com/7aukara
http://tinyurl.com/6rh68a8

"Christianity Not an Alien Religion in China"
- a sign that Christian faith is emerging as
an indigenous expression occurred this week
(Anglican Journal)

http://tinyurl.com/7lns7yr

"'Little Mosque on the Prairie' - US Assessment"
- originally a Canadian (CBC) drama, a series
that employs humor to engage interfaith issues
is now reviewed in the USA (Sightings)

http://tinyurl.com/7ozftwl

"Calgary Students Help Design a New Christchurch"
- it is now a year since the earthquakes began
impacting New Zealand. Calgary students are
contributing to a major rebuilding project there
(UToday, U. of Calgary)

http://tinyurl.com/6oheusr
___

Global Faith Potpourri:

Eighteen world-wide religious stories are
provided this week from Ecumenical News
International, Geneva.
___

Wisdom of the Week:

Walker Percy, Martin Buber, Anaïs Nin,
James Nayler and Evelyn Underhill share
their insights with us.

___

On This Day:

K.U. Chernenko, died at age 73. 
Politburo member M. S. Gorbachev 
was chosen to succeed him (1985)

http://tinyurl.com/7wgwydd

Truman established the Truman 
Doctrine to help Greece and Turkey 
resist Communism (1947)

http://tinyurl.com/85sl9pz
___

Closing Thought - on women's 
spirituality is provided again 
this week by Clarissa Pinkola Estes 
___

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.

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

SPECIAL ITEM

Book Notice -

WHEN GOD TALKS BACK
Understanding the American
Evangelical Relationship with God,
by T. M. Luhrmann. March 27th, 2012.
Random House of Canada, 434 pages.
$34.00 CAD. ISBN #978-0-307-26479-4.

Colleague Phyliss Tickle writes:
"Not since Robert Bellah's 'Habits
of the Heart' a quarter century ago,
has there been so readable, so informing, 
so scholarly, and yet so winsome a report
about any group of American believers as
Luhrmann's "When God Talks Back." 

"This is religion writing at its best - a 
masterful examination that is a candid,
humble, clear-eyed, and affirming record
of what faith looks like and how it operates." 

---

Publisher's Promo:

How does God become and remain real for modern 
evangelicals? How are rational, sensible people 
of faith able to experience the presence of a 
powerful yet invisible being and sustain that 
belief in an environment of overwhelming 
skepticism? 

T. M. Luhrmann, an anthropologist trained in 
psychology and the acclaimed author of Of Two
Minds, explores the extraordinary process that 
leads some believers to a place where God is 
profoundly real and his voice can be heard amid 
the clutter of everyday thoughts.

While attending services and various small group 
meetings at her local branch of the Vineyard, an 
evangelical church with hundreds of congregations 
across the country, Luhrmann sought to understand 
how some members were able to communicate with 
God, not just through one-sided prayers but with 
discernable feedback. Some saw visions, while 
others claimed to hear the voice of God himself. 
For these congregants and many other Christians, 
God was intensely alive. After holding a series 
of honest, personal interviews with Vineyard 
members who claimed to have had isolated or 
ongoing supernatural experiences with God, 
Luhrmann hypothesized that the practice of 
prayer could train a person to hear God’s 
voice—to use one’s mind differently and focus 
on God’s voice until it became clear. 

A subsequent experiment conducted between people 
who were and weren’t practiced in prayer further 
illuminated her conclusion. For those who have 
trained themselves to concentrate on their inner 
experiences, God is experienced in the brain as 
an actual social relationship: his voice was 
identified, and that identification was trusted 
and regarded as real and interactive. 

Astute, deeply intelligent, and sensitive, When 
God Talks Back is a remarkable approach to the 
intersection of religion, psychology, and science, 
and the effect it has on the daily practices of 
the faithful.
___

Author's Words:

Many Americans not only believe in God in some
general way but experience God directly and 
report repeated contact with the supernatural.

Many (of these) Christians come to their
religious commitments slowly, carefully and
deliberately... and they doubt.

Faith is hard because it is a decision to live 
as if a set of claims are real, even when one 
doubts...

This book does not answer the question of 
whether God exists... I am a social scientist
and I do not believe that social science can
answer these questions.

I wrote this book because I think I can explain
to nonbelievers how people come to experience
God as real.

... the feature that most deeply characterizes
American evangelicals is that the God they seek
is more personally intimate, and more intimately
experienced, than the God most Americans grew
up with...

Ordinary Americans are now embracing a spirituality
that mid-twentieth-century generations had regarded
as vulgar, overemotional, or even psychotic...
What enables them to sustain their commitment is a
learning process that changes their experience of
mind.

This book explains how this new use of the mind
allows God to come alive for people. It explains 
what people learn, how deep the learning goes,
and how powerful it is. This will not change a
skeptic into a believer, but it will help explain
how a reasonable person could choose to become
and remain this kind of Christian. Perhaps that
will serve as a bridge across the divide, and
help us to respect one another...

The major shift in American spirituality over the
past half century has been toward a God who is
not only vividly present but also deeply kind. He
is no longer the benign sovereign of the old
mainstream church, nor is he the harsh tyrant of
the Hebrew Bible. He is personal and intimate.
This new, modern God is eager for the tiniest
details of a worshiper's life.

The evidence for (the divinity of this God) does
not come directly from the senses. It usually
comes indirectly, from other, more unreliable 
sources.

I set out many years ago to understand how God 
becomes real for modern people... The Vineyard
Fellowship is a new denomination, a few decades
old, and it represents this shift in American
imagination of God.

The Americans in this church are ordinary
Americans... The Vineyard is arguably the most
successful example of what one sociologist has 
called 'new paradigm' Protestantism, the infusion 
of a more intensely expressive spirituality into
white middle-class Christianity.

(A Pew Research survey (2006) reports that nearly 
one quarter of all Americans embrace this kind of 
spirituality and Vineyard typifies this powerful, 
new impulse.)

In effect, people train the mind in such a way
that they experience part of their mind as the
presence of God... They experience the mind
differently and they give significance to thoughts
and feelings in new ways...

These practices work. They change people. That is,
they change mental experience, and how these
changes help people to experience God as more real.

Anthropologists are taught as students to seek to
understand before we judge. We want to understand
how people interpret their worlds before passing
judgement on whether their interpretation is
right or wrong...

The goal of this book is simply to help readers
understand the problem of (God's) presence more
deeply... and to explain how, in this day and age,
people are nonetheless able to identify that
presence and to experience it as real.

---

My Thoughts:

This is a sympathetic and intelligent book
about modern American evangelicalism that was 
written by a social scientist with good
credentials, who appears to be personally
supportive of the faith community she describes.

An important characteristic of this book is 
that the author writes as an academician of 
quality who has a high regard for faith, the
mind and honest doubt. At the same time, 
she believes - as many of us who teach religion 
in secular environments - that one has to draw 
the line between matters of faith and reason when 
necessary. This is what she sees as an important 
quality of modern American evangelicalism that is
reflected in the Vineyard Fellowship expression 
of that tradition.


Thus, the old anti-intellectualism of traditional
evangelicalism is rejected and, in its place, 
a serious faith struggle emerges. The 'personal God' 
of traditional evangelicalism becomes a reality that 
must never be taken for granted.


---

In the end, you can't convince a skeptic about
the existence of God, but it is possible to 
share something of the profound meaning God 
brings to your life.


I have often found myself in the situation
she describes. When thoughtful, non-believing
students ask me why I am a Christian, I have
to admit to them that I agree with much of
what turns them off to the traditional church.

Still, I remain a believing member of a faith 
community. I do this because I consider community
an important component  of my faith experience.


Interestingly as well, the church to which
I belong is part of mainline Protestantism.
This reminds me that there are many authentic
and active Christians who are not 'evangelicals' 
of the kind this author assesses.

---

I see the kind of evangelicalism Luhrmann
describes as a kind of 'third-way' option -
capable of bridging chasms that have developed
between traditional mainstream Christianity,
and classic forms of evangelical Protestantism.

The fact that faith is described here as a 
journey, not a destination; an on-going 
spiritual quest, not a fait accompli, and 
something grounded in a living community, 
not an institution - are appealing realities
deeply probed this book.

Recorded in the almost 400 pages of this
substantive but accessible study is quality
anecdotal evidence to support the author's
resulting conclusions. It is satisfying to 
recognize - as she draws her current research 
project to a close - that living streams can
emerge from old sources.

Modern pentecostalism is portrayed as part
of the evangelical phenomenon the author 
describes. But it is portrayed as something 
much more substantive and intellectually 
respectable than was often seen to be true
in the past.

---

This is a book that is both groundbreaking
and trendsetting. It should have a long 
shelf-life, so if you are interested in 
collecting and immersing yourself in studies 
that could be relevant decades from now, 
seriously recommend this title to you.

*****

Buy the book from Amazon.ca:
http://tinyurl.com/87f78v6

*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

MICHAEL HIGGINS
Fairfield, CT

Globe and Mail
March 16th, 2012

St. Patrick's Day:
For Irish and US Catholics
How Things Change

http://tinyurl.com/6t7x2mg

***

JIM TAYLOR
Okanagan, BC

Personal Blog
March 13th, 2012

"On a Pilgrimage with St. Patrick"


http://tinyurl.com/7hdo8pk

March 11th, 2012

"Robocalls"

http://tinyurl.com/7lw3ups

***

PHILIP JENKINS

Christian Century
March 8th, 2012

"Whose Holy Ground?"

http://tinyurl.com/7hx433g

*****

NET NOTES

WHY GOOD MEN GO BAD
The Afghanistan Murders

The Tablet, UK
March 17th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/7alo9gr

*****

PRIEST PLACED ON LEAVE
Refused Lesbian Communion

Washington Post
March 11th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/88l526x

*****

PRAYERS BRING JAPANESE TOGETHER
One Year After Fatal Tsumami

Una News
March 12th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/86p6pdv

*****

WE NEED A BETTER 
UNDERSTANDING OF IRAN

The Guardian
March 12th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/7zndp6m

*****

ARCHBISHOP WILLIAMS 
TO QUIT AS OF YEAR END

ENI Geneva
March 16th, 2012

Archbishop of Canterbury to step down, 
accepts position at Cambridge  

(ENI news) - The Archbishop of Canterbury, 
Rowan Williams, announced on 16 March that 
he will step down from the post at the end 
of 2012 and has accepted the position of 
Master of Magdalene College at Cambridge 
University. Williams, 61, was appointed in 
2002 and will take up the academic post as 
of January, 2013, according to a news 
release from Lambeth Palace in London. 
He will continue to carry out all the 
duties and responsibilities of his office 
until yearend, the news release said.

---

The Globe and Mail
March 16th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/74ur8jj

*****

GERMAN CHURCH GUIDELINES
FOR INTER-FAITH MARRIAGES

Anglican Journal
March 12th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/83llc98

*****

RESOURCE CENTRE CELEBRATES 
EXCEPTIONAL WOMEN AT THE U. of C.
Muslim Ola Mahojer Wins Top Award

UToday
March 15th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/73f564a

*****

DO CHRISTIANS HAVE RIGHT 
TO WEAR CROSSES TO WORK?

UK Court to Rule

The Telegraph, UK
March 10th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/7aukara

---

Rowan Williams:

"Wearing a Cross Does Not
 Offend Non-Christians"

The Telegraph, UK
March 16th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/6rh68a8

*****

CHRISTIANITY NO LONGER AN
'ALIEN RELIGION' IN CHINA

Anglican Journal
March15th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/7lns7yr

*****

BELIEVING, BELONGING AND LAUGHTING
IN 'LITTLE MOSQUE ON THE PRAIRIE'

Sightings
March 15th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/7ozftwl

*****

CALGARY UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
HELP DESIGN NEW CHRISTCHURCH

UToday
March 12th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/6oheusr

*****

GLOBAL FAITH POTPOURRI

Ecumenical News International
News Highlights
12 March 2012

A grieving Japan marks disaster anniversary

Tokyo (ENI news) - A nation paused in grief 
on 11 March as Japan marked the one-year 
anniversary of the magnitude-9.0 earthquake, 
tsunami and nuclear accident that took 19,000 
lives and triggered a continuing reconstruction 
crisis. As Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda 
reminded the Japanese people that their 
predecessors "have repeatedly risen up from 
crises," faith communities throughout the 
country remembered the victims through prayer 
and acts of worship.
_____

Church council pays tribute to Japanese 
nuclear accident survivors

Geneva (ENI news) - On the first anniversary 
of the 11 March nuclear accident in Japan, 
the World Council of Churches (WCC) expressed 
solidarity with the victims and encouraged 
governments to take steps to avoid such 
tragedies in future. The magnitude-9.0 
earthquake and tsunami on 11 March last 
year crippled the Daiichi nuclear power 
station at Fukushima, exposing people in 
the area to radiation, killing workers at 
the plant and forcing more than 100,000 
people to abandon their homes, the Geneva-
based WCC said in a news release.
_____

Germany celebrates 60th annual 
Christian-Jewish Brotherhood Week

Berlin (ENI news) - Germany's 60th annual 
Brotherhood Week, celebrating cooperation 
between Christians and Jews, opened on 11 
March with organizers recalling the event's 
founding in the years after the Holocaust. 
In 1952, "the aim was to focus for one week 
on tolerance, understanding and acceptance 
of the other without trying to convince him 
of your religion or values," said Eva Schulz-
Jander, one of three presidents of the German 
Coordinating Council of Societies for 
Christian-Jewish Cooperation. 
_____

Nigeria seeing expansion 
of religious-based attacks 

(ENI news) - Christian leaders in Nigeria 
were urging calm on 12 March as reprisals 
attacks continued to rock central Plateau 
State a day after suicide bombers attacked 
a Roman Catholic church in the state's city 
of Jos. Since the blasts on St. Finbar Church 
on 11 March in which 11 people were killed, 
several reprisal attacks followed the blasts, 
resulting in the deaths of 20 people, 
according to reports. Since 2009, the 
militant Islamist group called Boko Haram 
has concentrated attacks in northern Nigeria, 
but in the past six months the sect has 
expanded attacks in 10 other states. 
13 March 2012
_____

U.S. Christians hope for 
an 'ecumenical spring'

(ENI news) - For years, advocates for greater 
unity among Christian churches have wrung their 
hands amid talk of an "ecumenical winter." But 
now, 10 years after leaders took the first 
steps toward forming the broad-based group 
Christian Churches Together in the USA (CCT), 
some have hopes that U.S. churches may be 
entering a new season of closer relations. 
At a recent CCT meeting in Memphis, Tennessee, 
85 Christians - Catholic, Protestant and 
Orthodox, white and nonwhite - made pilgrimages 
to historic sites of the civil rights movement, 
Religion News Service reports. They also made 
plans to pursue anti-poverty projects with 
houses of worship unlike their own. "I would 
like to think of it as an ecumenical spring 
and that we do not yet know what will break 
forth," said the Rev. Stephen J. Sidorak Jr., 
Ecumenical staff officer of the United 
Methodist Church. "I think that there's 
the potential for the ecumenical movement
to be more alive than it's ever been because 
it will be more inclusive." 
_____

Australian Aboriginal archdeacon 
supports reconciliation 

(ENI news) - The Anglican Church in 
Australia's first female indigenous 
archdeacon, Karen Kime, said she sees 
her role as improving communication 
with the nation's aboriginal communities 
and supporting reconciliation with the 
church and the wider society. "All clergy 
have a responsibility to indigenous people," 
Kime said in an interview with the Australian 
Broadcasting Corp. (ABC). "It's about teaching 
our people that there's a role for them to
play in the church ... and helping other 
people to see that." Canberra-Goulburn
Bishop Stuart Robinson, who conducted Kime's 
ordination service on 25 February, told the 
Daily Advertiser that this sends a strong 
signal that indigenous ministry is now on 
the church's agenda.
_____

14 March 2012

In Pakistan, minority Hindus 
see court ruling as a victory

(ENI news) - The minority Hindu community 
in Pakistan is seeing a recent Supreme Court 
decision as a victory in an onging fight 
against the kidnapping of Hindu women and 
forced conversions to Islam and marriages 
to Muslims. The Supreme Court ruled on 8 
March that police in the southern Sindh 
province should trace and produce in court 
three allegedly abducted Hindu women. The 
order was issued in response to a 
constitutional petition filed by the 
Pakistan Hindu Council (PHC). Attorney 
general Anwar-ul-Haq, appearing on behalf 
of the government, requested the court to 
give him time to seek instructions from 
authorities. The court subsequently 
adjourned the case till 26 March, 
according to a report in the Times of 
India. 
_____

Ugandan faith leaders critique 
viral Internet video on Kony

(ENI news)- A film detailing atrocities 
committed by the Northern Uganda rebel 
leader Joseph Kony has become an Internet 
sensation, but faith leaders in the region 
said they fear the production will cause 
further trauma to the population who are 
recovering from a 23-year brutal war. 
The 30-minute film, titled "Kony 2012," 
was released on 5 March by Invisible 
Children, based in San Diego, California. 
It has put fresh attention on atrocities 
committed by the Ugandan rebel group 
called the Lord's Resistance Army, but 
also attracted praise and criticism from 
faith leaders, the conflict's victims and 
The public. "It should have been released 
in 2003, but now that it is drawing 
attention to the problem, we would like 
the international community to find ways
 of stopping Kony. He is still there," 
Anglican Bishop Johnson Gakumba of Northern 
Uganda diocese told ENInews. 
_____

Church council seeks to 
re-define mission and evangelism

(ENI news) - Some 300 church leaders from 
various parts worldwide will be gathering 
in Manila from 22 to 27 March for a pre-
assembly of the World Council of Churches' 
(WCC) Commission on World Mission and 
Evangelism. Hosted by the National Council 
of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), the 
gathering is expected to update the WCC's 
mission and evangelism statement, which was 
written in 1982. "The Philippines can help 
take a look at mission and evangelism from 
the side of the oppressed and not only from 
the traditional understanding of conversion,"
NCCP general secretary Fr. Rex Reyes told 
ENI news.

*****

15 March 2012

British government launches consultation 
on same-sex marriage

(ENI news) - The British government on 15 
March launched a 12-week consultation in 
England and Wales that is widely expected 
to lead to the legalization of same-sex 
marriage, despite strong opposition from 
the Roman Catholic Church and conservative 
elements within the Church of England. 
"Should two people who care deeply for 
each other, who love each other and who 
want to spend the rest of their lives 
together be allowed to marry?" Home 
Secretary Theresa May asked in The 
Times on 15 March. "That is the 
essential question behind the debate 
over the government's plans to extend 
civil marriage to same sex couples," 
she said. 
_____

French Protestants call for 'truth 
and solidarity' in political campaigns

Paris (ENI news) As the French election 
battle gets more fiery, religious groups 
have stepped into the fray, concerned 
that the various presidential candidates 
are damaging "social cohesion" by 
appealing to popular prejudices and 
fears. "When fear of the other as well 
as fear of the future motivates behavior, 
it becomes a matter of urgency to regain 
the path that leads to people as they 
are and not to their caricatures," said 
the president of the Protestant 
Federation of France, Pastor Claude 
Baty, in a message aimed at politicians 
and their supporters. 
_____

In French campaign, halal 
and kosher meat become key issue

Paris (ENI news) - French president Nicolas 
Sarkozy's call for labeling meat from animals 
slaughtered in line with religious rules has 
sparked outrage among France's Muslim and 
Jewish leaders, who say it would stigmatize 
their communities. Sarkozy, a moderate-right 
candidate for re-election, urged the mandatory 
labeling as concerns about immigration from 
North Africa took center stage as a campaign 
issue ahead of the two-stage vote in April 
and May. Opponents of immigration claim it 
is changing France's cultural values. 

*****

16 March 2012

Church leaders support Sri Lankan bishop 
seeking human rights probe

(ENI news) - A group of more than 60 church 
leaders and social activists in Sri Lanka has 
rallied behind a Catholic bishop, Rayappu 
Joseph, who has called for an international 
investigation into massive human rights 
violations in the closing stage of the war 
against Tamil rebels. The support came in 
response to the demand by the Sinhahala 
Urumaya Hela (Sinhala Heritage Party) and 
the National Freedom Front, coalition 
partners in the Sri Lankan government, 
for the arrest of Joseph on the grounds 
of "defaming" the government. 
_____

Williams' return to academia 
marks a career of scholarship

(ENI news) - Rowan Williams' decision to 
resign the post of Archbishop of Canterbury 
and accept a position at Cambridge University 
represents a departure from Anglican Communion 
controversies and a return to an academic 
environment that has embraced the noted 
theologian, scholar and poet throughout his 
career. Williams is a scholar of the early 
church theologians known as the Church Fathers 
and on the history of Christian spirituality. 
His doctoral studies focused on Vladimir 
Lossky, a prominent 20th century Russian 
Orthodox theologian. Williams has expressed 
liberal views on social issues, participating 
in anti-nuclear demonstrations and expressing 
progressive opinions on homosexuality and the 
Bible, while holding orthodox views on 
Christianity. 
_____

Amid protests in Tibet, Chinese government 
announces pensions for monks and nuns

(ENI news) - In a bid to defuse tension in Tibet 
amid public protests and self-immolations, the 
Chinese government announced pensions for Buddhist
monks and nuns. According to Xinhua, China's state
-run news agency, 37 monks in the Tibetan capital 
of Lhasa began receiving a basic monthly pension 
of 120 yuan (US$19) each on 12 March. A government 
official in Lhasa was quoted as saying that it was 
the "first time in the 1,300-year history of 
Tibetan Buddhism that its clergies have been 
given a pension from the local government." 
_____

As Williams' tenure assessed, 
attention turns to possible successor

Canterbury, England (ENI news) - Gender and 
sexuality issues defined Rowan Williams' decade 
as the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, leader 
of the Church of England and worldwide Anglican 
Communion. With the news that he will step down 
at the end of 2012, attention is focused on who 
will be his successor.

Appointed in 2002, Williams' decade-long 
tenure early faced controversy over whether 
homosexuality is contrary to biblical orthodoxy. 
Two names mentioned prominently as possible 
successors are the Archbishop of York, John 
Sentamu, who is from Uganda and would be the 
first black Archbishop of Canterbury, and the 
bishop of London, Richard Chartres. 

_____

Quebec parties challenge halal meat laws

(ENI news) - In Canada, two political parties 
in Quebec are speaking out against the ritual 
slaughter of meat, saying the practice runs 
counter to the province's secular "values." 
The opposition Parti Quebecois (PQ) on 14 
March declared concerns about halal meat, 
which is slaughtered according to Islamic 
law. A PQ legislator said halal slaughter 
is an affront to animal rights and "slams 
directly against Quebecois values." The 
pro-independence party said it is worried 
that mainstream companies are selling halal 
meat without proper labeling to unsuspecting 
consumers. It wants to know how many companies 
produce halal meat and how many animals are 
being slaughtered annually under Islamic 
rituals. 
_____

WISDOM OF THE WEEK

Provided by Sojourners Online

March 12th, 2012

"The search is what anyone would undertake 
if he were not sunk in the everydayness of 
his own life. To become aware of the 
possibility of the search is to be on to 
something. Not to be on to something is 
to be in despair."

- Walker Percy

---

March 13th, 2012

"That you need God more than anything, you know 
at all times in your heart. But don’t you know 
also that God needs you — in the fullness of 
[God's] eternity, you?"

- Martin Buber

---

March 14th, 2012

"There are very few human beings who receive
the truth, complete and staggering, by instant 
illumination. Most of them acquire it fragment 
by fragment, on a small scale, by successive 
developments, cellularly, like a laborious 
mosaic."

- Anaïs Nin

---

March 15th, 2012

“Can I, imprisoned, body-bounded, touch/
The starry robe of God, and from my soul,/ 
My tiny Part, reach forth to [God’s] great Whole,/ 
And spread my Little to the infinite Much,/ 
When Truth forever slips out of my clutch/ 
And what I take indeed, I do but dole,/ 
In cupfuls from a rimless ocean-bowl/ 
That holds a million million million such?”

- James Nayler

---

March 16th, 2012

"Love is creative. It does not flow along the 
easy paths, spending itself in the attractive. 
It cuts new channels, goes where it is needed."

- Evelyn Underhill

*****

ON THIS DAY

Provided from the archives
of the New York Times

On March 10, 1985 - Konstantin U. Chernenko, 
Soviet leader for just 13 months, died at 
age 73. His death was announced on March 11th. 
Politburo member Mikhail S. Gorbachev was 
chosen to succeed him.

http://tinyurl.com/7wgwydd

---

On March 12, 1947 -  Truman established what 
became known as the Truman Doctrine to help 
Greece and Turkey resist Communism.

http://tinyurl.com/85sl9pz

*****

CLOSING THOUGHT

"Negative complexes are banished or transformed -
your dreams will guide you the last part of the
way - by putting your foot down, once and for all,
and by saying "I love my creative life more than
I love cooperating with my own oppression."

- Clarissa Pinkola Estes

We have to stand up and put our foot down. We
have to take a stand. We have to declare: "I love
my creative life more than I love cooperating with
my own oppression." 

That is when creativity begins. How are we doing?
Have we chosen creativity yet? When was the last
time you put your foot down to resist cooperating
with your own oppression.?

Matthew Fox

(end)


No comments:

Post a Comment