Friday, April 27, 2012

Colleagues List, April 28th, 2012

Vol. VII. No. 37

*****

Wayne A. Holst, Editor

*****

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

Canadian Anglican Google Groups:
http://tinyurl.com/74orgcx

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.

*****

Dear Friends:

This is my last issue of Colleagues List
until the June 2nd edition - five weeks
from now.

Marlene and I depart for Newark, NJ on
Tuesday. We plan to spend four weeks
visiting New England/Boston, New York City,
Philadelphia and Washington, DC. It is
our way of coming to a new appreciation
for formative American history. As well,
we hope to take in the culture and beauty
of that part of our North American
continent. It is 33 years since I lived
in New Jersey and worked in Manhattan,
and I suspect a lot has changed.

We should have things to report.

---

This week, let me introduce an exciting
new book on biblical apocalyptic literature:

"Revelations - Visions, Prophecy, Politics
 in the Book of Revelation," by Elaine Pagels

Ms Pagels has has a significant influence on
biblical studies for the past three decades
due mainly to her expertise in Gnosticism.

I very much enjoyed reading this book.
Colleague Shona Cook provided it for me.

As colleague Martin Marty has written of
the author:

"Pagels writes with the instincts of a
novelist, the skill of a scholar, and the
ability to sort out significances that many
scholars lack."

http://tinyurl.com/83v63f4
http://tinyurl.com/88kbckn
___

Colleague Contributions:

Martin Marty (Chicago, IL) - introduces us to
the results of a new poll on religion and media
http://tinyurl.com/7pekath

Gary Nickle (Ft. Saskatchewan, AB) - shares
an article from Truthout that I have been
working to get approved for publication.
It concerns four American fundamentalisms
and is a critique of modern US culture.
http://tinyurl.com/cpkjs6c

James Wall (Chicago, IL) - the former editor
of the Christian Century writes about
John Newton and some modern implications
of his life. http://tinyurl.com/6re2858

Jim Taylor (Okanagan, BC) - reflects with us
on how children assess their losses.
http://tinyurl.com/d8j9x9c

Phil Callaway (Three Hills, AB) - always
brings good humor to Colleagues List.
Thanks, Phil! (see text below)
___

Net Notes:

"The Lure of Books" - are you interested
in the difference between electronic and
traditional books? (Christian Century)
http://tinyurl.com/bqs36sx

"Ethiopian Orthodoxy" - an intriguing
exploration of early African Christianity
and the rich legacy it continues to offer
(New York Times) http://tinyurl.com/6m4sxjb

"Charles Colson has Died" - this man
worked for Richard Nixon and was sent
to jail for what he did. His conversion
was influential (Christianity Today)
http://tinyurl.com/6pktsxe

"Battle Over the Contemporary Church" -
Vatican Two began a process that has
divided modern Catholicism in many ways.
Read how this happened (First Things)
http://tinyurl.com/73z76c5

"Irish Defend Colleague Against Rome" -
Rome has been pressuring an Irish priest
who supports women's ordination and gays.
The number of his supporters grow...
(America, National Catholic Reporter)
http://tinyurl.com/89mp8dh

"Seeking New Ways to be Religious Today"
- an interesting article on how moderns
seem both non-conformist yet concerned with
faith matters (Huffington Post Canada
http://tinyurl.com/86222uk

"Baptist Couple Edits Muslim-Friendly Bible"
- after years of work among Muslims, this
missionary couple has come up with a most
intriguing method for inter-faith dialogue
(Anglican Journal) http://tinyurl.com/6p8zzey

"How Much do Internet Giants Know About You?"
- a helpful article on how the internet has
invaded our private lives most significantly
(The Guardian, UK) http://tinyurl.com/6usjqdx

"Girls Ready for Marriage by Age 10 - Cleric"
- an Islamic cleric advocates things that are
quite repulsive to many in the West - and that
includes many Muslims (Uca News)
http://tinyurl.com/8y6l2ez

"After Crackdown - More Support for US Women"
- a second article this week on Vatican pressure
to force change - but history suggests these
tactics are fruitless (Uca News)
http://tinyurl.com/bmh8zl5

___

Global Faith Potpourri:

Fourteen religion stories come to us this
week from around the world, provided by
Ecumenical News International
___

Wisdom of the Week:

Robert Corin Morris, Henri J.M. Nouwen,
Thich Nhat Hanh and Kathleen Norris
offer us insights worth considering.
___

On This Day:

Provided from the archives
of the New York Times:

Sirhan Sirhan was sentenced to death for
assassinating NY Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.
(1969) http://tinyurl.com/7xdroe5

Author Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better
known as Mark Twain, died in Redding, CT.
(1906) http://tinyurl.com/7s5omem

World's worst nuclear accident occurred at
Chernobyl, USSR. An explosion and fire sent
radioactivity into the atmosphere, killing 31.
(1986) http://tinyurl.com/6rgd9wv

___

Closing Thought: Julian of Norwich

Blessings to you during the month of May!
Pray for our safe travels.

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 summer 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

---

NOTE: David Rostad will visit St. David's
for a Special Turkey Tour Information Night
Monday, September 10th, 2012

All are welcome!

*****

MARY JO LEDDY WEEKEND AT ST.DAVID'S
September 21st-23rd, 2012

Watch for new information as it
becomes available.

Theme:

"Welcoming the Stranger -
 From Neighbors to Friends"

*****

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:

REVELATIONS
Visions, Prophecy and Politics
in the Book of Revelation
by Elaine Pagels. Viking Canada.
$29.50 CAD. 246 pages
ISBN #978-0-670-02334-9.

Publisher's Promo:

Through the bestselling books of Elaine
Pagels, thousands of readers have come to
know and treasure the suppressed biblical
texts known as the Gnostic Gospels. As one
of the world's foremost religion scholars,
she has been a pioneer in interpreting these
books and illuminating their place in the
early history of Christianity. Her new book,
however, tackles a text that is firmly,
dramatically within the New Testament canon:
The Book of Revelation, the surreal
apocalyptic vision of the end of the
world... or is it?

In this startling and timely book, Pagels
returns The Book of Revelation to its
historical origin, written as its author
John of Patmos took aim at the Roman Empire
after what is now known as "the Jewish War,"
in 66 CE. Militant Jews in Jerusalem, fired
with religious fervor, waged an all-out war
against Rome's occupation of Judea and
their defeat resulted in the desecration
of Jerusalem and its Great Temple. Pagels
persuasively interprets Revelation as a
scathing attack on the decadence of Rome.
Soon after, however, a new sect known as
"Christians" seized on John's text as a
weapon against heresy and infidels of all
kinds - Jews, even Christians - who dissented
from their increasingly rigid doctrines and
hierarchies.

In a time when global religious violence
surges, Revelations explores how often
those in power throughout history have
sought to force "God's enemies" to submit
or be killed. It is sure to appeal to
Pagels' committed readers and bring her
a whole new audience who want to understand
the roots of dissent, violence, and division
in the world's religions, and to appreciate
the lasting appeal of this extraordinary text.
___

Author's Words:

The Book of Revelation is the strangest book
in the Bible, and the most controversial.
Instead of stories and moral teaching, it
offers only visions — dreams and nightmares,
the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse,
earthquakes, plagues and war. In the
climactic battle scene, Jesus appears
as a divine warrior, Satan is thrown
into a pit, and all humans who had died
faithful to God reign over the earth for
1,000 years.

The author, John of Patmos, was a Jewish
prophet and a follower of Jesus who probably
began to write around the year 90 after
fleeing a war that had ravaged his homeland,
Judea. But his Book of Revelation wasn't
unique. At the time, countless others —
Jews, pagans and Christians — produced a
flood of "books of revelation," claiming
to reveal divine secrets. Some have been
known for centuries; about 20 others were
found in Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in 1945.

So what do the other revelations tell us,
and how did John's come to trump the others?
Unlike the Book of Revelation, the great
majority of the others weren't about the
end of the world, but about finding the
divine in it now. Many offered encouragement
to seek direct contact with God — a message
that some early Christian leaders ultimately
chose to suppress...

These... revelations, written several
generations after Jesus' death, were often
written by anonymous followers of Jesus
under the names of disciples — not to
deceive their readers but to show that
they were writing "in the spirit" of those
whose names they borrowed. Many were probably
not written by Christians at all. Some of
the revelations drew upon sacred traditions
of Egypt and Greece and, in some cases, on
the Hebrew Bible. Others included practices
similar to Buddhist meditation techniques...

In the fourth century, bishops intent on
establishing "orthodoxy" labored to suppress
writings like the Secret Revelation. Although
they didn't deny that Jesus was human, they
tended to place Jesus on the divine side of
the equation — not only divine but, in the
words of the Nicene Creed, "God from God…
essentially the same as God." Orthodox
theologians insisted that the rest of
humankind were only transitory creatures,
lost in sin — a view that would support what
would become their dominant teaching about
salvation, offered only through Christ,
and, in particular, through the church
they claimed to represent.

From the second century, Christian leaders,
who saw their close groups torn apart as Roman
magistrates arrested and executed their most
outspoken members, felt that John's Book of
Revelation spoke directly to these crises
because it prophesied God's victory over Rome.
Such Christians championed this book above the
rest. Some challenged other books of revelation,
with their more universal visions, calling them
illegitimate and heretical.

Throughout the ages, Christians have adapted
John of Patmos's visions to changing times,
reading their own social, political and
religious conflicts into the cosmic war
he so powerfully evokes. Yet his Book of
Revelation appeals not only to fear and
desires for vengeance but also to hope.
As John tells how the chaotic events of
the world are finally set right by divine
judgment, those who engage his visions often
see them offering moral meaning in times of
suffering or apparently random catastrophe.
Many poets, artists and preachers have
claimed to find in these prophecies the
promise, famously repeated by Martin Luther
King Jr., that "the arc of the moral universe
is long, but it bends toward justice."

The Book of Revelation reads as if John had
wrapped up all our worst fears — fears of
violence, plague, wild animals, unimaginable
horrors from the abyss below the earth,
lightning, hail, earthquakes and the
atrocities or torture and war — into one
gigantic nightmare.

Yet this worst of all nightmares ends not in
terror but in a glorious new world. Whether
one sees in John's visions the destruction
of the whole world or the dark tunnel that
propels each of us toward our own death, his
final vision suggests that even after the worst
we can imagine has happened, we may find the
astonishing gift of new life. Whether or not
one shares that conviction, few readers miss
seeing how these visions offer consolation
and that most necessary of divine gifts — hope.

- from Chapter One
___

My Thoughts:

Elaine Pagels has been a favourite biblical
scholar of mine for more than thirty years.
Her first book "The Gnostic Gospels" came out
in 1981 and took the religious world by storm.
In it, this amazingly thorough and aware woman
introduced a whole new world of Christian
scriptures (Gnostic Nag Hammadi texts, unearthed
in 1945) to readers that had been unaware of the
existence of material that had been lost for
almost 2,000 years.

For thirty years, Pagels has been challenging
common wisdom with books on "The Gospel of
Thomas," "The Origin of Satan," "Sex and
Politics in Early Christianity" and, recently,
"The Gospel of Judas." The author makes her
contribution (it seems to me) not by putting
down but by raising poignant questions of
the orthodox Christian tradition. She does
this by means of her easy familiarity with
the Gnostic and other early religious texts.

She helps us to see that the primitive Christian
community was by no means uniform in its
beliefs, and that what we have come to know
as "the orthodox Christian tradition" was
shaped by a combination of factors - expediency,
political pressure, human arrogance - as well
as the divine workings of the Holy Spirit.

While she has presented the Gospel of John
in a previous work, this is the first time
Pagels has written exclusively about an
existing canonical text of the New Testament.

"Revelations" - suggests that the Book of
Revelation constitutes a combination of
visions, prophecies and politics. Originally,
it was the testament of a "John of Patmos"
(not the apostle or the writer of the letters
of John in the New Testament.) John's main
agenda was to portray the Roman empire as
the supreme enemy of God and of the followers
of Jesus. In time, the book was used as a
criteria for measuring "true" biblical
teachings.

Christians have responded to the book of
Revelation in many ways. Luther, for example,
did not consider it a fit canonical text.
Black Americans, and other persecuted peoples,
have seen in its imagery meaningful signs of
their own worthiness before God in the face
of their enemies.

---

I gain considerable help from the author who
puts apocalyptic literature of various kinds -
within and beyond Christianity - into a
useful context.

Confusion is the first reaction of many
Revelation readers. Apocalyptical material
was ubiquitous in John's era, but Pagels
gives Revelation meaning and perspective by
setting it within a wider body of literature.

Apocalytic writings like Daniel (from the
Hebrew scriptures) and Revelation (from
the Christian tradition) continue to have
a life of their own. Different times call
different people to come up with different
interpretations of these texts. This can
create chagrin in the hearts of many who
are confused by a plethora of applications
as well as literalist ones.

At the same time, the imagery is timeless,
and allows people of various eras to find
meaning in them.

Even though creating fear in the hearts
of readers is a significant intention of
the writer, hope also emerges. In Revelation
21 for example, John dreams majestically of
"a new heaven and a new earth" where all the
evil and confusion of ths past is gone, and
a new world is offered to those who endure
faithfully.

As the New York Times reviewer of this
book states: "The meaning of the Apocalypse
is ever malleable and ready to hand for
whatever crisis one confronts." (see
"The Last Trumpet" by Dale G. Martin.
Apr. 6th, 2012) http://tinyurl.com/83v63f4

That is one lesson to be leared from Pagel's
book. Another is that we all should be
vigilant to keep some of us from using the
vision for violence against others.
___

Buy the book from Amazon.ca:
http://tinyurl.com/88kbckn

*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRITUBUTIONS

MARTIN MARTY
Chicago, IL

Sightings
April 23rd, 2012

"Annenberg Poll on Religion in the Media"

http://tinyurl.com/7pekath

---

GARY NICKEL
Fort Saskatchewan, AB

April 8th, 2012

Dear Wayne:

Most Truthout articles are re-printed from
other sources and some are of course opinion
or research pieces from their affiliated
writers.

Gary

Truthout
March 6th, 2012

"America's Four Fundamentalisms"

http://tinyurl.com/cpkjs6c

---

JAMES WALL
Chicago. IL

Wall Writings Website
April 21st, 2012

A Reflection on John Newton
With Contemporary Implications

"Throw Their Filthy Ships
 Out of the Water!

http://tinyurl.com/6re2858

---

JIM TAYLOR
Okanagan, BC

Personal Blog
April 25th, 2012

"How Children Process Their Losses"

http://tinyurl.com/d8j9x9c

---

PHIL CALLAWAY
Three Hills, AB

Phil Callaway’s Laughlines
April 24th, 2012

Thirty years ago this month I asked Ramona
to marry me. Clearly medicated, she said,
“Yes.” How has it lasted so long?

Laughter helps. Even when she says, “You
want breakfast in bed? Sleep in the kitchen!”

Today’s Laugh: When the Moscow Circus came to
Calgary, a beautiful lion tamer walked into the
cage and headed straight for a fierce lion.
The lion humbly wrapped its paws around her and
nuzzled her with affection as the crowd thundered
its approval. All except for one farmer who
hollered, “What’s so great about that? Anyone
can do that!” The ringmaster laughed. “You
wanna try? Step into the cage!” The farmer yelled,
“Sure. But first get that lion outa there.”

*****

NET NOTES

THE LURE OF BOOKS
In an Electronic World

The Christian Century
April 24th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/bqs36sx

*****

ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOXY
Bedrock of Art and Faith

New York Times
April 22nd, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/6m4sxjb

*****

CHARLES COLSON HAS DIED
Aide to Nixon had Remarkable Conversion

Christianity Today
April 22nd, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/7sfa89d

*****

THE BATTLE OVER THE
CONTEMPORARY CHURCH
Vatican II Watershed

First Things,
April 22nd, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/73z76c5

*****

IRISH PRIESTS DEFEND
COLLEAGUE AGAINST ROME

America Magazine
April 30th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/89mp8dh

"A Growing Disconnect:

National Catholic Reporter
April 26th, 2012

(open with Mozilla Firefox)
http://tinyurl.com/ckp7pdw

*****

SEEKING A NEW WAY TO BE
RELIGIOUS IN AMERICA TODAY

Huffington Post Canada
April 24th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/86222uk

*****

BAPTIST COUPLE PRODUCES
MUSLIM-FRIENDLY NEW TESTAMENT
Project of Lifelong Devotion

Anglican Journal
April 20th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/6p8zzey

*****

HOW MUCH DO THE INTERNET
GIANTS KNOW ABOUT YOU?
Invasion of Privacy?

The Guardian, UK
April 22nd, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/6usjqdx

*****

GIRLS READY FOR MARRIAGE
AT AGE 10 SAYS SAUDI CLERIC
Prompts Resentment in West

Uca News
April 25th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/8y6l2ez

*****

GROWING SUPPORT FOR AMERICAN WOMEN
RELIGIOUS AFTER VATICAN CRACKDOWN
An old tactic with less clout today

Uca News
April 26th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/bmh8zl5

*****

GLOBAL FAITH POTPOURRI

Ecumenical News International
News Highlights
20 April 2012

United Church of Canada Marks
Earth Day with webcast

(ENI news) - The United Church of Canada will
mark Earth Day on 22 April in a high-tech but
low impact way: by going online. The church
will host a live, interactive webcast starting
3:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time that will focus
on "healing soul, community and creation," UCC
moderator Mardi Tindal told ENI News.
_____

Radiation protection standards are skewed
towards industry, says Japanese group

Fukushima, Japan (ENI news) - International
radiation protection standards historically
weighed radiation risks and cost-benefit
considerations in such as way as to protect
the nuclear power industry at the expense of
radiation victims, a Japanese interfaith network
has said. The Interfaith Forum for Review of
National Nuclear Policy held a meeting from
17-19 April in Fukushima to debate claims by
the Japanese government regarding the effects
of radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
accident, which took place in March 2011.
_____

Philosopher and theologian Emanuel
Swedenborg gets fresh look in new book

Washington (ENI news) - William Blake, Ralph Waldo
Emerson, Martin Luther King Jr. and even Helen Keller
all found something to like in Emanuel Swedenborg.
Emanuel who? A new book, "Swedenborg," by author
and former Blondie bassist Gary Lachman, attempts
to uncover the little-known Swedish scientist,
philosopher and theologian, reports Religion
News Service.

*****

23 April 2012

Philippine diocese takes strong stance
against "corporate greed"

Baguio City, Philippines (ENI news) - A Philippine
Catholic diocese is protesting what parishioners
and environmentalists describe as the "corporate
greed" of the country's largest mall owner, Henry
Sy, one of the world's wealthiest people. The
Baguio diocese plans to halt the celebration of
mass and the performance of other religious rites
at a Sy-owned mall to express its disappointment
about an expansion project. Leaders hope it will
convince the Sy family to listen to critics'
concerns, according to Bishop Carlito Cenzon.
_____

Conference in Dominican Republic to discuss
emerging threats to religious freedom

(ENI news) - More than 800 scholars, government
officials, legal experts, and religious liberty
advocates from some 60 countries will partake
in the 7th World Congress for Religious Freedom
in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The event
runs from 24-26 April, according to a news
release from the Latin American and Caribbean
Communication Agency. The conference seeks to
keep religious liberty advocates "ahead of
the curve" by exploring emerging threats to
religious freedom around the world, notes
the release.
_____

German theologian discusses
challenges faced by Protestants

Paris (ENI news) - The Protestant church
faces three main challenges as it gears up
to celebrate the 500th anniversary in 2017
of Martin Luther's Reformation, according
to a leading theologian. Margot Kässmann,
former head of the Protestant Church of
Germany (EKD) and ambassador for the
anniversary, told ENI news that Protestants
need to examine their role in an increasingly
secular society.
_____

Russian patriarch calls priests
who opposed prayer service 'traitors'

Moscow (ENI news) - Patriarch Kirill I
called clergy who opposed the holding of
mass prayer meeting held in Moscow on 22
April "traitors in cassocks," in a sign
of continuing division within the Russian
Orthodox Church over political and social
issues. Moscow police said the nearly
65,000 people participated in the service
of supplication, or moleben as it is known
in Russian, held in front of Christ the
Savior Cathedral.

_____

24 April 2012

France hears the gospel,
or at least the music

Paris (ENI news) - As pedestrians walked
along the river Seine in Paris on a recent
balmy Sunday, they could hear soaring music
coming from a boat moored quayside in the
Bercy neighborhood. The curious who crossed
the metal gangplank to peek inside the vessel
saw an energetic singer and a pianist, both
dressed in white, and a bass player and
saxophonist dressed in black. The quartet
were performers at a "Gospel brunch," the
latest example of the popularity of gospel
music in France.
_____

More churches are turning
to high-tech outreach

(ENI news) - No matter where you live, you
can go to church, so to speak, with Christ
Fellowship in McKinney, Texas, which is on
board with almost every high-tech gambit
under heaven, reports Religion News Service.
Find the church by going online--the 21st-
century version of sighting a steeple on
the horizon. Beyond its website, Christ
Fellowship has a Facebook page to give it
a friendly presence in social media.

*****

25 April 2012

Armenian archbishop commemorates
genocide with Israeli Jews

Jerusalem (ENI news) - Nations who commit
genocide must be brought to justice by a
world tribunal, said Armenian Archbishop
Aris Shirvanian on the eve of the Memorial
Day of the Armenian Genocide, commemorated
by Armenians worldwide on 24 April. "The
Convention on the Punishment and Prevention
of Genocide was signed in 1948 but so far
no country has (been held accountable) for
committing genocide," he said. "Since the
Armenian genocide and the Holocaust there
have been other genocides in Cambodia,
Rwanda, Darfur, Sudan." Shirvanian spoke
to a small group of Israeli Jews, many of
them immigrants from English-speaking
countries, in the Yedidya modern Orthodox
synagogue.
_____

Global Christian leaders denounce
attack on Sudan Presbyterian Church

(ENI news) Global Christian leaders are
condemning the destruction on 21 April of
the Sudan Evangelical Presbyterian Church
Bible School in Khartoum, an incident that
occurred amidst escalating hostilities
between Sudan and South Sudan. Nearly 500
people, said to be members of a fundamentalist
Islamic group, attacked the church compound
in the West Gerief district of the Sudanese
capital, burning Bibles and destroying and
looting property. The attack has since
increased fear among Christians in the
north.
_____

National assembly of Indian churches
begins with political statements

Bangalore, India (ENI news) - The quadrennial
general assembly of the National Council of
Churches in India (NCCI) began on 25 April with
an opening worship that contained unusually
strong expressions of opinion on current issues
such as the Koodankulam nuclear power plant.
Opening worship at the assembly, which ends on
28 April, featured statements opposed to the
nuclear plant (in southern Tamil Nadu state),
to what is seen as the undemocratic acquisition
of land in Orissa state for a steel plant and
to what was called abuse of special army powers
in Kashmir and northeast India. Three delegates
from the affected regions read the statements.
They were followed by Bible readings relating
to the issues.

*****

27 April 2012

Gospel calls for solidarity
with the oppressed, says WCC leader

Bangalore, India (ENI news) - The Rev. Olav
Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World
Council of Churches (WCC), on 26 April called
for solidarity from churches with those
"groaning" under pain, suffering and
oppression, in an address to the National
Council of Churches in India (NCCI).
Referring to the theme of the 27th general
assembly -- "The Gospel in a Groaning World"
-- Tveit said the church is called upon
"to share the groaning and suffering of
the world" and "to share in the hope that
change is possible, that redemption can
become reality and injustice and conflicts
shall not have the last word."
_____

Listen to the most vulnerable,
church alliance urges World Bank head

(ENI news) - The Geneva-based Ecumenical
Advocacy Alliance (EAA) on 25 April urged
the World Bank, under newly-appointed
president Jim Yong Kim, to include faith-
based organizations in its decisions and
listen to "those most affected by poverty,
hunger, disease and injustice." In a letter
of congratulations to Kim, who takes office
on 1 July, EAA Executive Director Peter
Prove noted that the alliance supported
an initiative while Kim was director of
the World Health Organization's HIV/AIDS
department that pledged to treat three
million people with anti-retroviral drugs
by 2005.

*****

WISDOM OF THE WEEK

April 23rd, 2012

"What we cultivate and care about inwardly
either freshens or poisons the bloodstream
of humanity."

- Robert Corin Morris

---

April 24th, 2012

"Patience is not waiting passively until
someone else does something. Patience asks
us to live the moment to the fullest, to be
completely present to the moment, to taste
the here and now, to be where we are. When
we are impatient, we try to get away from
where we are. We behave as if the real thing
will happen tomorrow, later, and somewhere
else. LetÂ’s be patient and trust that the
treasure we look for is hidden in the ground
on which we stand."

- Henri J.M. Nouwen

---

April 25th, 2012

"In everyone there is the capacity to wake up,
to understand, and to love."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

---

April 26th, 2012

“We shortchange ourselves by regarding religious
faith as a matter of intellectual assent. This
is a modern aberration; the traditional Christian
view is far more holistic, regarding faith as a
whole-body experience. Sometimes it is, as W.H.
Auden described it, 'a matter of choosing what
is difficult all one's days as if it were easy.”

- Kathleen Norris

*****

ON THIS DAY

Provided from the archives
of the New York Times

On April 23, 1969 - Sirhan Sirhan was sentenced
todeath for assassinating New York Sen. Robert
F. Kennedy. The sentence was later reduced to
life imprisonment.

http://tinyurl.com/7xdroe5

---

On April 21, 1910 - author Samuel Langhorne
Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, died
in Redding, CT

http://tinyurl.com/7s5omem

---

On April 26, 1986, the world's worst nuclear
accident occurred at the Chernobyl plant in
the Soviet Union. An explosion and fire in
the No. 4 reactor sent radioactivity into
the atmosphere; at least 31 Soviets died
immediately.

http://tinyurl.com/6rgd9wv

*****

CLOSING THOUGHT

Some of us believe that God is All-Power
and can do all, and that God is All-Wisdom
and knows how to do all. But that God is
All-Love and wants to love all, here we
restrain ourselves. And this ignorance
hinders most of God's lovers, (but) as I see
it God wants to be thought of as our Lover.

- Julian and Norwich

For Julian, God is not just love but
"All-Love." What are the implications of
that awareness in our lives? Do you agree
with Julian that we hinder ourselves by
denying that God is All Love? What can we
do to lessen that obstacle in our self-
understanding and God-understanding?

Do you agree that God want's to be
considered our lover? How real is
this for you?

(end)

Friday, April 20, 2012

Colleagues List, April 21st, 2012

Vol. VII. No. 36

*****

Wayne A. Holst, Editor

*****

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

Canadian Anglican Google Groups:
http://tinyurl.com/74orgcx

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.

*****

Dear Friends:

This is the 100th issue of Colleagues List
using the current blogger format. I have
always wanted to adapt this weekly contact
with friends around the world to reasonable
web developments.  

I will continue to provide Colleagues
List in the best format I can muster, 
so long as it meets a need.

Your helpful critique is always welcome! 

---

My Special Item this week is a new book that 
has been edited, in part, by Doug Shantz. Both 
of us grew up in Waterloo County Ontario, and 
both of us eventually found ourselves at the 
University of Calgary!

Doug offers:

"Christian Thought in the Twenty-First Century"

It provides contributions from many scholars 
in a wide variety of disciplines that relate 
religion and culture and, I believe, it is a 
"natural read" for many of the followers of
Colleagues List. http://tinyurl.com/6stzm4f
___

Colleague Comment:

Ian MacDonald (Calgary) - suggests that Greg
Mortensen and his mission to build schools
and other life-enhancing centres for people in 
rural parts of Afghanistan is far from ended.
http://www.ikat.org/ag/

Isabel Gibson (Ottawa) - thanks me for sharing
her material from her blog "Traditional Iconoclast" 
and expresses appreciation for Thomas Aquinas.

Arthur Bauer (Pompton Plains NJ) - shares
thoughts on reading my reflection last week
on the sinking of the Titanic.

Monica Kilburn Smith (Calgary) - writes to
say thanks for promoting the story of her
parish, St. Brigit of Kildare.
___

Colleague Contributions:

Jim Taylor (Okanagan, BC) - always interesting,
writes this week about "war wounds."
http://tinyurl.com/7skf32f

Ron Rolheiser (San Antonio, TX) offers ten 
struggles for people of faith in our world today.
http://tinyurl.com/7mj7t7v 
___

Net Notes:

"Shameful Acts of Empire" - colonial
stories are sometimes sad to discover, 
and here is an example (The Guardian, UK)
http://tinyurl.com/cf9d93t

"Why Religion is Good for You" - while
some moderns - "new atheists" for example -
like to say that religion is bad for you, 
here is a counter-argument (The Tablet, UK)
http://tinyurl.com/8yk2jau

"David Mainse is Seriously Ill" - the veteran
Canadian Christian broadcaster seems to be in
poor health according to family (Assist News)
http://tinyurl.com/7x4b6dh

"Web Freedom Faces Greatest Threat" - the
founder of Google spoke out this week against
threats to web freedom (The Guardian, UK)
http://tinyurl.com/6vb2bch

"Vatican Cracks Down on Feminist Nuns" - it was 
predictable that Rome would act - not if, but when 
(Anglican Journal) http://tinyurl.com/7v8lxf8

"Charitable Church Work Threatened in India" 
- the current mood in India is that proselytism
is bad. This puts a lot of Christian work at risk 
there (Uca News) http://tinyurl.com/6mm8yfg

"Man Experienced Twelve Faiths in Twelve Months"
- a personal/family crisis sent this person on a 
year long faith quest and he reports on it
(Religious News Service) http://tinyurl.com/6v6v3kp

"German Churches Seek Ethics in Fashion Industry"
- Christian concern for how the world of dress 
affects the vulnerable young has prompted joint
action in Germany (ENI, Anglican Journal)
http://tinyurl.com/7o4wwxn

"Bangladeshi Catholics/Protestants Have One Voice"
- Christians are a minority in Bangladesh, but
this seems to encourage common action (Uca News)
http://tinyurl.com/7hl6cm5

"Alumni Reject Tutu as Gonzaga University Speaker"
- the Jesuit university in Washington state is the 
scene of conflict this week over an invitation to 
Desmond Tutu. Alumni dislike his abortion stance. 
(Religious News Service) http://tinyurl.com/7mwbmdf
___

Global Faith Potpourri:

Eleven faith stories from around the 
world appear this week. They are again
provided by Ecumenical News International
___

Wisdom of the Week:

Rene Bazin, Meister Eckhart, Annie Dillard,
Catherine of Siena and Emmet Fox present 
wisdom for our reflection.
___

On This Day:

The luxury liner Titanic sank in the North 
Atlantic off Newfoundland, after striking 
an iceberg. About 1,500 people died (1912)

A major earthquake struck San Francisco 
and set off raging fires. More than 3,000 
people died (1906)
___

Closing Thought: 

Thomas Aquinas - continues his insights
into God which were begun last week.

I will send one more issue of Colleagues
List next week, and then break for a month.

Marlene and I will be vacationing in the
Northeastern USA (Boston, New York,
Philadelphia and Washington DC) during 
the month of May.

After next week, Colleagues List will 
return in early June.

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

---

NOTE: David Rostad will visit St. David's
for a Special Turkey Tour Information Night
Monday, September 10th, 2012

All are welcome!

*****

MARY JO LEDDY WEEKEND AT ST.DAVID'S
September 21st-23rd, 2012

Watch for new information as it 
becomes available.

*****

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:

CHRISTIAN THOUGHT IN 
THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
Agenda for the Future,
Edited by Douglas H. Shantz
and Tinu Ruparell. March 2012.
Cascade Books, Wipf and Stock.
212 pages. $26.00 CAD.
ISBN #978-1-61097-575-9.

Publisher's Promo:

In this volume some of the outstanding Christian 
scholars of our day reflect on how their minds
have changed, how their academic fields have
changed over the course of their careers, and 
the pressing issues that Christian scholars will
need to address in the twenty-first century. This
volume offers an accessible portrait of key trends 
in the world of Christian scholarship today.

(This book) features scholars from Great Britain,
Canada, the United States and Switzerland. The
contributors represent a wide variety of academic
backgrounds - from biblical studies to theology to
religious studies to history, English literature,
philosophy, law and ethics.

(It) offers a personal glimpse of Christian
scholars in a self-reflective mode, capturing
their honest reflections on the changing state
of the academy and on changes in their own
minds and outlooks. The breadth and depth of
insight afforded by these contributions provide
rich soil for a reader's own reflections, and
an agenda that will occupy Christian thinkers
well into the twenty-first century.
___

Editors' Words:

(At the University of Calgary) the chair holder of 
Christian Thought in the faculty of Religious Studies
is responsible for organizing and hosting a program
of four endowed public lecture events each year. The
lectures are designed to expose people of faith in
Calgary to the fruits of the latest Christian
scholarship and to do so in an interesting and
accessible way...

(Some our guests have been) John Polkinghorne of
Cambridge University; Margaret A. Somerville,
McGill; Keith Ward, Oxford; Lamin Sanneh, Yale and 
Craig Evans, Acadia - who are regularly consulted by 
the news media for their insights into the pressing 
issues of our day...

Many of the Christian Thought lectures of the past
ten years are available at the Chair's website:
http://www.ucalgary.ca/christchair/

(For this book) the editors invited past Christian
Thought lecturers to reflect on how their mind has
changed over the course of their careers, especially
in the last twenty-five years. They were also 
invited to reflect on the pressing issues in their
field of study that will need to be addressed in
the twenty-first century.

The intention of this book is to offer readers
the mature reflections of these Christian thinkers
rather than original scholarly research. Our
invitation was met with an overwhelmingly positive
response, with some twenty-five individuals
agreeing to contribute to this book....

Other contributors include Dennis D. Martin, Denis 
Renevey, Margaret R. Miles, James R. Payton Jr., 
Terrence Penelhum, Clark H. Pinnock, John B. Cobb
Jr., Douglas John Hall, Paul F. Knitter, Margarite
Van Die, Charles Nienkirchen, Peter C. Erb, Alan
P.E. Sell, Wesley A. Kort, Susan Felch, Arlette
Zinck, Bonnie Thurston, Lynn R. Szabo, Anne Moore
and Douglas H. Shantz. 

(One area of new insight brought to us through
Pinnock and Polkinghorne, for example, is the
modern dialogue between religion and science): 

"A stunning new world has been opened up in the
big bang cosmology and in evolutionary biology."
A new model for God will be explored in terms
of "a trinitarian panentheism" which sees God
and the world exist in close inter-relationships
and interactions. In this picture, God is
"other" than creatures but also interior to
them. Transcendence and immanence are not polar
opposites but are somehow connected...

This book offers a uniquely personal glimpse
of Christian scholars in a self-reflective mode,
capturing their honest reflections on the
changing state of the academy and on changes
in their own mind and outlook. The breadth and
depth of insight afforded by these contributions
provide rich soil for a reader's own reflections
and an agenda that will occupy Christian
thinkers well into the twenty-first century.
___

My Thoughts:

As I saw the names of those contributing to
this intriguing, and in some ways unparalleled,
collection of essays, I was naturally drawn
to names of colleagues with whom I have more
than a passing association.

Margaret Somerville, a leading voice in 
bioethics research, highlights the way in
which developments in medicine and biological
science have raised previously unimaginable 
questions about the nature of human beings
and human flourishing. Such questions, says
Somerville, must inevitably overlap with
religious concerns and include wisdom found 
in theological and religious traditions.

Lamin Sanneh, a fellow missiologist, who 
teaches at Yale, writes about the premature 
pronouncements of the death of religion. 
Christianity and the other religions are far 
from moribund. He notes the rise of religious 
adherents worldwide. While secularism seemed 
to be on a triumphant march from Europe to 
the rest of the world, religion has proven 
to be an abiding presence, something that 
should be neither feared nor regretted.

Douglas John Hall, who like Somerville is
associated with McGill University in Canada,
suggests that in the last few decades many
scholars have been reacting to the tumultuous
history since World War II. Halls calls for
a strong dose of humility in facing today's
issues. Halls suggests we revisit our own
traditions' orthodoxies and orthodpraxies 
with the intent of reinvigorating them.
There is also a need, he says, for a humble,
authentic response to the issues of the
environment, religious pluralism, and the
place of Christian thought in civil society.

---

As I reflect on the contributions of even
these three colleagues, I realize how much
I have been challenged and influenced by
their thinking over the years. With this book
I am able to treasure personal memories and 
good intellectual exchanges that are on-going.

Whether your association with some or all
of these names is direct or indirect, you
too will find their insights stimulating.

Indeed, we have in this book a worthwhile 
resource to keep us thinking and acting 
wisely in the days ahead.

I encourage those who want to keep current
with contemporary theological thought to
secure and keep this book close at hand.

---

My book cover endorsement states:

"I heard many of the lecturers whose essays appear 
in this book when they were guests of the Chair of 
Christian Thought at the University of Calgary. 
Now they reappear to reflect personally on how 
their minds and academic fields have changed over 
the course of their careers. They tackle key issues 
in their disciplines and present the views of 
authentic humans, not only of respected academics."
___

Purchase the book from Amazon.ca:
http://tinyurl.com/6stzm4f

*****

COLLEAGUE COMMUNICATIONS

IAN MACDONALD
Calgary, AB

April 12th, 2012

Wayne:

I don't know if you've seen this but 
thought I'd pass it along.

Ian

Central Asia Institute Website
Reports Renewal of Mortensen Mission

http://www.ikat.org/ag/

___

ISABEL GIBSON
Ottawa, ON

April 14th, 2012

Wayne:

Thanks for linking to my "death at the ballpark" 
piece this week (April 14th)

I liked your closing thought this week - 
of supersubstantial beauty.

Best to Marlene.

Isabel
___

ARTHUR BAUER
Pompton Plains, NJ

April 14th, 2012

Thank you for the thoughtful reflection on 
the Titanic... an example of your guidance 
and support of those of us on your List.

April 15 is the date of my father's death...
78 years tomorrow. Interesting how dates and 
memories keep the past with us.

Regards,

Art
___

MONICA KILBURN SMITH
Calgary, AB.

April 19th, 2012

Dear Wayne,

I just wanted to say thank you for including 
the "Swerve" magazine article on the Calgary 
parish I serve) in your latest Colleagues List 
(April 14th issue.)

It is always an honour!

Monica

*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

JIM TAYLOR
Okanagan, BC

"War Wounds Take
 Generations to Heal"

Personal Blog
April 15th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/7skf32f

---

RON ROLHEISER
San Antonio, TX

"The Ten Major Faith 
 Struggles of Our Age"

Personal Website
April 15th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/7mj7t7v 

*****

NET NOTES

SHAMEFUL ACTS OF EMPIRE
Secrets Now Exposed

The Guardian, UK
April 18th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/cf9d93t

*****

WHY RELIGION IS GOOD FOR YOU
Some Would Say the Opposite

The Tablet, UK
April 21st, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/8yk2jau

*****

DAVID MAINSE REPORTED SERIOUSLY ILL
Veteran Canadian TV Broadcaster

Assist News
April 14th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/7x4b6dh
_____

WEB FREEDOM FACES GREATEST THREAT EVER
Google Founder Expresses Fears

The Guardian, UK
April 15th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/6vb2bch
_____

VATICAN CRACKS DOWN ON
'RADICAL FEMINIST NUNS'

Aimed at Groups Seeking
Women's Ordination, Gay Rights

Anglican Journal News
April 19th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/7v8lxf8
_____

CHURCH'S CHARITABLE WORK
UNDER THREAT IN INDIA
Cover for Proselytism?

Uca News
April 16th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/6mm8yfg
_____

MAN EXPERIENCES TWELVE
FAITHS IN TWELVE MONTHS
Finds Peace for His Efforts

Religious News Service
April 13th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/6v6v3kp
_____

GERMAN CHURCHES FOCUS ON
ETHICS IN FASHION INDUSTRY
Message to Young People

Ecumenical News 
International Geneva

16 April 2012

German Christians emphasize ethical 
issues in fashion industry

(ENI news) - German Catholic and Protestant 
organizations are working together to encourage 
young people to think beyond image and consider 
the backstory of the clothes they wear with an 
"Ethical Fashion Action Week" launching on 16 
April at Goethe University, Frankfurt. "Many 
students are very concerned about what they 
wear and which trends they follow. Many have 
their own fashion blogs where they regularly 
post new outfits. But no one asks where their 
clothes are produced," said Kathrin Schreivogl, 
of the Protestant Student Association, Frankfurt 
in an interview.

--

(Longer version) 

Anglican Journal News
April 17th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/7o4wwxn

*****

IN BANGLADESH, CATHOLICS AND 
PROTESTANTS SPEAK WITH ONE VOICE
Strength Gained in Cooperation

Uca News
April 19th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/7hl6cm5

*****

ALUMNI DON'T WANT TUTU
TO SPEAK AT GONZAGA U.
Stance on Abortion Opposed

Religious News Service
April 13th, 2012

http://tinyurl.com/7mwbmdf

*****

GLOBAL FAITH POTPOURRI

Ecumenical News International
News Highlights
16 April 2012

Pakistani churches mourn Cecil Chaudhry

(ENI news) - Churches in Pakistan are mourning 
a prominent leader and recognized voice following 
the death of retired Air Force Captain Cecil 
Chaudhry who died of lung cancer 13 April at 
the age of 71. Pakistani military officials 
led by Air Force chief Marshal Tahir Rafique 
Butt joined senior political leaders, secular 
activists and hundreds of Christians at the 
funeral at the Catholic Sacred Heart Cathedral 
in Lahore on 15 April. Following the church 
service, Chaudhry's coffin was draped in 
Pakistani national flag.

_____ 

Interim cathedral to be built 
in Christchurch, New Zealand

(ENI news) - An interim Anglican cathedral, 
made of timber, steel and cardboard, is 
scheduled to be built in Christchurch, New 
Zealand, as planning continues on a permanent 
replacement for the stone building destroyed 
in a February 2011 earthquake, according to 
Anglican Taonga, the news service for the 
Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and 
Polynesia. Called the "transitional cathedral," 
the building is projected to cost NZ$4.5 million 
(US$3.69 million) and has been designed by 
Japanese architect Shigeru Ban. It will be 
built in the city's Latimer Square, former 
site of St. John's Church and a few blocks 
from the cathedral's former site. St. John's 
was also demolished after the quake. 
_____

Guatemala churches supporting 
families opposed to mining

(ENI news) Member churches of the Christian 
Ecumenical Council of Guatemala are expressing 
support for rural indigenous families protesting 
mining activity in their territories. In a 
public statement, the Council decried the mining 
operations in the Polochic Valley, saying hundreds 
of people have been forcibly evicted from 14 
villages to make way for mining/oil exploration 
and the building of hydroelectric dams, the Latin 
America and Caribbean Communication Agency reported. 

*****

17 April 2012

Church groups express concern 
over escalating Sudan conflict

(ENI news) Reacting to some of the worst fighting 
between Sudan and South Sudan since the southern 
country achieved independence last July, two 
international church groups on 17 April expressed 
"grave concern" and called for an immediate 
ceasefire. Referring to the oil-well town of 
Heglig in Sudan, the World Council of Churches 
(WCC) and All African Conference of Churches 
(AACC) said they have followed the developments 
that led to the occupation of the town by South 
Sudan's armed forces. The area produces half 
Sudan's oil output but both countries claim the 
territory. It is not known how many have been 
killed during two weeks of fighting, but an 
Associated Press report on 17 April referred 
to "clusters of dead Sudanese soldiers" on the 
road to Heglig. 
_____

Bosnian cardinal laments 
Sarajevo's "disappearing Christians"

(ENI news) - The head of Bosnia's Roman Catholic 
church has warned of the "uncertain future" facing 
Christians in the capital, Sarajevo, after their 
numbers dwindled by a third in the past decade. 
"It isn't easy to say what has happened to Sarajevo, 
this ancient town of mutual coexistence, built up 
over history by Christians, Jews and Muslims," 
said Cardinal Vinko Puljic. Puljic, 66, assessed 
the current condition of Sarajevo's faith 
communities in a statement dated 6 April that 
commemorated the start of the city's four-year 
siege by Bosnian Serb force two decades ago. 

*****

18 April 2012

New Bible translation called 
'The Voice' focuses on dialogue

Nashville, Tennessee (ENI news) - The name 
Jesus Christ doesn't appear in "The Voice," 
a new translation of the Bible. Nor do words 
such as angel or apostle. Instead, angel is 
rendered as "messenger" and apostle as 
"emissary." Jesus Christ is "Jesus the 
Anointed One" or the "liberating king." 
That's a more accurate translation for 
modern readers, said David Capes, lead 
scholar for "The Voice," a complete edition 
released this month by publishing company 
Thomas Nelson, reports Religion News Service 
via USA Today. Capes says that many people, 
even those who've gone to church for years, 
don't realize that the word "Christ" is a 
title. 
_____

Christian Aid helps Kenyan 
farmers adapt to climate change

Nairobi, Kenya (ENI news) - On the southern 
slopes of Mount Kenya, a Christian charity is 
helping small farmers adapt to climate change 
through the use of both traditional and modern 
forms of weather forecasting. In the Anglican 
diocese of Mbeere, U.K.-based Christian Aid 
and the Humanitarian Futures Project of King's 
College (London) are funding the pilot project. 
_____

Speakers at ecumenical conference in Assisi 
call for increased dialogue between faiths

(ENI news) On the opening day of an ecumenical 
conference in Assisi, the Umbrian hill town 
known as the home of Saint Francis, speakers 
discussed the need to increase interaction 
between faiths and cultures in order to nurture 
worldwide harmony. Assisi 2012: Where We Dwell 
in Common/Pathways for Dialogue in the 21st 
Century, running from 17-20 April, has drawn 
some 230 theologians and clergy from 54 nations. 
"The overall aim is to discern new ways, means 
and methods of advancing the ecumenical cause 
in the wake of the 'ecumenical winter' and with 
renewed energy for a new century," according to 
the event website.
_____

19 April 2012

Religious belief highest in 
developing and Catholic countries

(ENI news) - Belief in God is slowly declining 
in most countries around the world, according 
to a new poll, but the truest of the true 
believers can still be found in developing 
countries and Catholic societies. The "Beliefs 
about God Across Time and Countries" report, 
released 18 April by researchers at the 
University of Chicago, found the Philippines 
to be the country with the highest proportion 
of believers, where 94 percent of Filipinos 
said they were strong believers who had always 
believed. At the opposite end, at just 13 
percent, was the former East Germany, Religion 
News Service reports. 
_____

Turkish president, Dutch politician 
exchange sharp words about religion

(ENI news) - Turkish president Abdullah Gul 
on 19 April wrapped up a three-day visit to 
the Netherlands that was mainly about trade 
relations but was also marked by a pointed 
exchange of insults with a Dutch politician 
concerning religion. Referring to relations 
between Turkey's Islamist-led government and 
the country's religious and ethnic minorities, 
opposition Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders 
called Gul a "Christian-bullier," "friend of 
Hamas" (the militant Islamist movement in the 
Palestinian territories) and "Kurd-basher." 
(Ethnic Kurds within Turkey have accused the 
government of human rights violations.) 

_____

Argentine conference 
focuses on indigenous rights

Resistencia, Argentina (ENI news) - Bishop 
Emeritus Aldo Etchegoyen of the Evangelical 
Methodist Church of Argentina was the opening 
speaker on 19 April at the first International 
Congress of Indigenous Constitutional Law. The 
event runs from 19-20 April in Resistencia, 
1,023 kilometers from Buenos Aires, with the 
theme "Argentina, a Multicultural and 
Multi-ethnic State."

*****

WISDOM OF THE WEEK

Provided by Sojourners Online

April 16th, 2012

"There is no need to go searching for 
a remedy for the evils of the time. 
The remedy already exists – it is the 
gift of one’s self to those who have 
fallen so low that even hope fails them. 
Open wide your heart."

- Rene Bazin

---

April 17th, 2012

"Whether you like it or not, whether you 
know it or not, secretly all nature seeks 
God and works toward [God]."

- Meister Eckhart

---

April 18th, 2012

"If the landscape reveals one certainty, it 
is that the extravagant gesture is the very 
stuff of creation. After the one extravagant 
gesture of creation in the first place, the 
universe has continued to deal exclusively 
in extravagances, flinging intricacies and 
colossi down aeons of emptiness... The whole 
show has been on fire from the word go."

- Annie Dillard

---

April 19th, 2012

"I opened my hand and the Infinite ran to 
the edges of space – and all possibilities 
are contained therein, all possibilities, 
even sorrow. In the end, nothing that ever 
caused one pain will exist. No one will 
begrudge Me. The Absolute Innocence of all 
within my Creation takes a while to understand.”

- St. Catherine of Siena, from 
  “No One Will Begrudge Me”

---

April 20th, 2012

"Welcome any change that comes into any phase 
in your life; insist that it is going to turn 
out for the better – and it will. See the Angel 
of God in it, and the Angel of God will make 
all things new."

- Emmet Fox

*****

ON THIS DAY

From the archives of
the New York Times

April 15, 1912 - the British luxury liner Titanic 
sank in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland, less 
than three hours after striking an iceberg. About 
1,500 people died.

http://tinyurl.com/7jtfuca

---

April 18, 1906 - a major earthquake struck San 
Francisco and set off raging fires. More than 
3,000 people died.

http://tinyurl.com/c4t649q

*****

CLOSING THOUGHT

"God is supremely good and therefore supremely
generous. Sheer joy is God's and this demands
companionship.

- Thomas Aquinas

God's goodness is not limited. It is supreme.
It is also generous, indeed, supremely generous.
Generosity is a divine attribute. For us to
develop our generosity is for us to develop our
God-likeness. 

Moreover, the sheer joy of God is the very
cause of the universe, since joy demands
companionship. Joy seeks to be shared. There
lie Aquinas's thoughts on why the universe
exists - for the sake of joy.  To share joy,
God created others, an enlarged community.

Community is nothing if it is not a place/
space of shared joy.

- Matthew Fox

(end)