Saturday, August 30, 2014

Colleagues List, August 31st, 2014

Vol. X.  No. 5

CANADIAN LABOUR DAY WEEKEND EDITION

*****

GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE

Wayne A. Holst, Editor
My E-Mail Address:
waholst@telus.net

Colleagues List Web Site:

http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com

"Quicklinks" are included with many items
at the beginning of this issue. To get a more
complete picture, however, scroll down to
find your special selection in the body of
the blog. 

Note that not all items here have links.


*****


Dear Friends:

I now begin my fall schedule of weekly
Colleagues List mailings and hope you
will enjoy them.

My Special Item this week is a book notice
for the two volumes we will be using for
our Monday Night Study Series at St. David's
Calgary this fall.

Our focus will be on Native Spirituality -

"A Fair Country" by John Ralston Saul
  http://tinyurl.com/pvs5e3w (and)

"Medicine Walk" by Richard Wagamese
   http://tinyurl.com/o95nho4

Scroll down to read my thoughts on these books

--

Colleague Contributions - this week are from:

Lorna Dueck (Toronto ON)
"Christianity and the Good Death"
  http://tinyurl.com/mddjvv9

Jim Taylor (Okanagan BC)
"Old Prejudices Die Hard"
  http://tinyurl.com/n46q537

Ron Rolheiser (San Antonio TX)
"Fearing Our Own Maturity"
   http://tinyurl.com/lp7su8j

--

Net Notes -

"Evangelical Essentials" - what does
an evangelical Christian believe?
Here are the basics (Evangelical
Fellowship of Canada website)
http://tinyurl.com/mequ7lz

"Seamus Heaney Reads Poetry" -
a year ago this week, the famous
Irish poet died, and we missed noting
that then - now we compensate
(Englewood Review of Books)
http://tinyurl.com/qhh3em7

"Dominicans Want Local Justice" -
the papal ambassador (nuncio) to
the Dominican Republic has been
charged with sexual abuse, but will
the Vatican move go protect him?
(New York Times, Global Catholic News)
http://tinyurl.com/kngopak
http://tinyurl.com/ktsoj8a

"Photos of the Week August 24-29" -
an interesting potpourri of global news
and human interest events this week
(The Atlantic Online)
http://tinyurl.com/q2jh9hg

"Where Do the World Religions Live?" -
a helpful comparison of where each of 
the great faiths have their centres
(Pew Research Center)
http://tinyurl.com/mqw36d4

"Seen on the Ground in Israel and Gaza" -
a helpful exposure to what is actually
happening now in the Holy Land
(New York Times text and photos)
http://tinyurl.com/nn7k2fg

"Seattle Megachurch Pastor Steps Aside" -
another story in the continuing saga
of the hubris and demise of big box
church leaders (Religion News Service)
http://tinyurl.com/lr5cuwb

"Anti-Gay Law is Struck Down in Uganda" -
perhaps second thoughts on the gay issue
are indeed possible on the African continent
(America Magazine)
http://tinyurl.com/o24v6ta

"Jordan's Christians, Muslims Stand Together"
- a good news story of interfaith solidarity
in the Middle East (The Tablet, UK)
http://tinyurl.com/l5e3yff

"China Broadens Crackdown on Missionaries"
- an extensive and well-documented story
on the current persecution of Christians in
China from the secular press perspective
(The Globe and Mail)
http://tinyurl.com/mr299y4

--

Wisdom of the Week - comes to us courtesy
of Sojourners and the Bruderhof online:

Oscar Arias Sánchez, Jane Addams,
Anne Lamott, Mairead Corrigan,
Oscar Romero and Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Scroll down to read these quotes.

--

On This Day -

from the archives of the
New York Times -

"Allies Liberate Paris from Nazis"
  http://tinyurl.com/kqnkjv

"MLK Gives "I Have a Dream" Speech"

  http://tinyurl.com/lnac6d3

"Communist Party Suspended in Russia"

  http://tinyurl.com/o77sjun

--

Closing Thought - Eleanor Roosevelt

To read this, please scroll down.

--

If you celebrate Labour Day in your part
of the world, I hope you will reflect on
the spiritual value and meaning of human
labour as I will here in Canada.

Wayne

(end)

Fall 2014 Adult Spiritual Development
ACTS Ministry Programs at St. David's
Church with university studies to come.

*****

SPECIAL ITEM
Book Notices

A FAIR COUNTRY 
by John Ralston Saul
Penguin Canada, 2009
Paper. 342 pages. $20. CAD
ISBN #978-0-14-316842-3

Publisher's Promo:

In this startlingly original vision of Canada,
renowned thinker John Ralston Saul argues
that Canada is a Métis nation, heavily

influenced and shaped by Aboriginal ideas:
Egalitarianism, proper balance between
individual and group, and a penchant for
negotiation over violence are all Aboriginal
values that Canada absorbed. An obstacle
to our progress, Saul argues, is that Canada
has an increasingly ineffective elite, a colonial
non-intellectual business elite that doesn't
believe in Canada. It is critical that we
recognize these aspects of the country
in order to rethink it's future.

--

Review Comment:

In the first of three sections of this book,
"A Metis Civilization" Saul makes a strong,
if counterintuitive case that Canadian culture
owes more to its native roots than to the
European settlers and their Judeo-Christian
belief system. He even says that the idea of
multi-culturalism was alive and well centuries
ago among the First Nations, where communities
with different languages and traditions
co-operated with one another and lived
side-by-side.

- Quill and Quire Literary Journal
   Dan Rowe

The goal of this book is to show that we are
not just different from the Americans, but
different in a way that matters, that makes
Canada distinct, coherent, necessary and
good... He claims we are far more aboriginal
than European, and our failure to recognize
this is what prevents us from becoming the
strong, confident and progressive country
that is our birthright... the First Nations
(are indeed) the founding pillar of our
civilization...

We may disagree fundamentally with a lot
of what Saul is saying, but we have to admit
that he is saying it better than anyone else
in the country.

- Literary Review of Canada
   Andrew Potter

--

My Thoughts:

After several centuries of interpretation 
of our history and identity through both
Euro-Canadian and American lenses we
have something unique here - a book
that tells our story from the perspective
of our First Nations. Of course, we still
have a Euro-Canadian telling it, but the
time when native Canadians start writing
their perspectives for all to discover is
not far off. In fact, that time has come.

This is an important book to help
create for us (what we used to call) a
paradigm shift, or way of seeing things.

Saul is a public intellectual, and not one
with a mass following in Canada. Still,
he has gained a lot of respect for his
writing and more needs to be done to
translate his creative ideas into a
language that more of us understand.

Buy the book from Amazon.ca:
http://tinyurl.com/pvs5e3w

--

MEDICINE WALK 
by Richard Wagamese
McClelland & Stewart, 2014.
Hardcover. 246 pages. $29.95 CAD
ISBN #978-0-7710-8918-3

Publisher's Promo:

A stunning new novel that has all the

timeless qualities of a classic, as it tells
the universal story of a father/son struggle
in a fresh, utterly memorable way, set in
dramatic landscape of the BC Interior.
For male and female readers equally, for
readers of Joseph Boyden, Cormac McCarthy,
Thomas King, Russell Banks and the general
public.

Franklin Starlight is called to visit his father,
Eldon. He's sixteen years old and has had
the most fleeting of relationships with the
man. The rare moments they've shared
haunt and trouble Frank, but he answers
the call, a son's duty to a father. He finds
Eldon decimated after years of drinking,
dying of liver failure in a small town
flophouse. Eldon asks his son to take him
into the mountains, so he may be buried
in the traditional Ojibway manner.

What ensues is a journey through the rugged
and beautiful backcountry, and a journey into
the past, as the two men push forward to
Eldon's end. From a poverty-stricken
childhood, to the Korean War, and later the
derelict houses of mill towns, Eldon relates
both the desolate moments of his life and
a time of redemption and love and in doing
so offers Frank a history he has never known,
the father he has never had, and a connection
to himself he never expected.

 A novel about love, friendship, courage,
and the idea that the land has within it
powers of healing, Medicine Walk reveals
the ultimate goodness of its characters
and offers a deeply moving and redemptive
conclusion. 

Wagamese's writing soars and his insight and
compassion are matched by his special gift of
communicating these to the reader.

--

Review Comment:

In a recent conversation with Shelagh Rogers
and Joseph Boyden about storytelling as
redemption, Richard Wagamese spoke about
the role of stories in his life. Throughout his
writing career, first as a journalist and then
as a novelist, he said he’d sought clarity and
connection between native people and settlers.

"The story of Canada is the story of her

relationship with native people,” he said.
“If we lean over the back fence and share
part of that story with the person on the
other side of the fence, we bring each other
closer.”

- Globe and Mail
   Christine Fischer Guy


Wagamese artfully blends North American
indigenous and Judeo-Christian religious
imagery to enrich a moving story about a
dying man's confession to his teenage son...

Wagamese transforms the dying father
into a kind of spiritual pilgrim, awakening to
his personal failures before death claims him...

The son plays the role of reluctant, skeptical
witness to this final act of conscience, and in
turn is forced to face his own bitterness at
his father's betrayal of him and (the others
who were forced to raise him when he
abandoned them.)

- Toronto Star
  James Grainger

--

My Thoughts:

Wagamese is an emerging Canadian writer
who speaks to all Canadians, and not only
those who have a particular interest in
native culture and spirituality.

He stands on the shoulders of several
First Nations and other Canadian writers
who have been part of a movement during 
the last half century to bring a sense
of universality to the field of Canadian
literature.

Wagamese's books reflect a high-
water mark in our nation's literary
accomplishments and he certainly
deserves an important place in any
future edition of such respected
resources as The Oxford Companion
to Canadian Literature.

But even more importantly, he deserves
an honoured place on the bookshelves
of many ordinary Canadians who are
just struggling to find their way in
an age of moral and spiritual confusion.

Here is native spirituality that connects
to all of us.

Buy the book from Amazon.ca:
http://tinyurl.com/o95nho4

*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

LORNA DUECK
Toronto, ON

Globe and Mail
August 28th, 2014

"Christianity and the Good Death"
  http://tinyurl.com/mddjvv9

--

JIM TAYLOR
Okanagan, BC

Personal Web Log
August 24th, 2014

"Old Prejudices Die Hard"
  http://tinyurl.com/n46q537

--

RON ROLHEISER
San Antonio, TX

Personal Web Site
August 25th, 2014

"Fearing Our Own Maturity"
   http://tinyurl.com/lp7su8j


*****

NET NOTES

EVANGELICAL ESSENTIALS
Basic Themes Reposted

Evangelical Fellowship
of Canada Website
August, 2014

http://tinyurl.com/mequ7lz

--

SEAMUS HEANEY READS POETRY
We Note One Year Since His Death

Englewood Review of Books
August 29th, 2014

http://tinyurl.com/qhh3em7

--

DOMINICANS WANT LOCAL JUSTICE
West Indian Island Nation Claims
Rome Protecting Vatican Ambassador

New York Times
August 23rd 2014

http://tinyurl.com/kngopak

"Vatican Declares Nuncio Not Immune"

EWTN Global Catholic News Network
August 24th, 2014

http://tinyurl.com/ktsoj8a

--

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK 08/24-08/29
Unique Pix from Around the World


The Atlantic Online
August 29th, 2014


http://tinyurl.com/q2jh9hg

--

WHERE DO WORLD RELIGIONS LIVE?
Majorities of Each Exist in a Few Countries


Pew Research Center
August 27th, 2014


http://tinyurl.com/mqw36d4

--

SEEN ON THE GROUND IN ISRAEL AND GAZA
As Yet Another Ceasefire is Called


New York Times
August 29th, 2014
(Text and Photos)


http://tinyurl.com/nn7k2fg

--

SEATTLE MEGACHURCH PASTOR
STEPS ASIDE
Claims He Has Character,

Not Sexual, Problems

Religion News Service
August 24th, 2014


http://tinyurl.com/lr5cuwb

--

ANTI-GAY LAW IS STRUCK DOWN
IN UGANDA
Nation Takes Steps to
Guarantee Human Rights

America Magazine
September 1st, 2014

http://tinyurl.com/o24v6ta

--

JORDAN'S CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS
MARCH SIDE BY SIDE
Public Demonstration

of Mutual Support

The Tablet, UK
August 28th, 2014

http://tinyurl.com/l5e3yff

--

CHINA BROADENS CRACKDOWN
ON FOREIGN MISSIONARIES
Growing Efforts to Locate and

Remove Foreign Religious Influence

Globe and Mail
August 24th, 2014


http://tinyurl.com/mr299y4

*****

WISDOM OF THE WEEK

"Peace is a never ending process...
It cannot ignore our differences or

overlook our common interests.

It requires us to work and live together."

- Oscar Arias Sánchez

--

"Social advance depends as much upon
the process through which it is secured
as upon the result itself."


- Jane Addams

--

It’s funny: I always imagined when I was
a kid that adults had some kind of inner
toolbox full of shiny tools: the saw of
discernment, the hammer of wisdom, the
sandpaper of patience. But then when I
grew up I found that life handed you these
rusty bent old tools – friendships, prayer,
conscience, honesty – and said “do the best
you can with these, they will have to do”.

And mostly, against all odds, they do.

- Anne Lamott


--

"Every day there are people in our world
that do absolutely amazing things. People
of all ages are very capable of doing
tremendous, courageous things in spite
of their fear."

- Mairead Corrigan

--

I don’t want to be an anti, against anybody.
I simply want to be the builder of a great
affirmation: the affirmation of God, who
loves us and who wants to save us.

- Oscar Romero


--

It is really so simple! The main thing is to
love your neighbor as yourself. Once you
do that, you will discover at once how
everything shall fall into place.

- Fyodor Dostoyevsky


*****

ON THIS DAY

From the archives of
the New York Times

August 24th-31st

Allies Liberate Paris from Nazis
http://tinyurl.com/kqnkjv

MLK Gives "I Have a Dream" Speech

http://tinyurl.com/lnac6d3

Communist Party Suspended in Russia

http://tinyurl.com/o77sjun

*****

CLOSING THOUGHT -
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT

"The future belongs to those who
  believe in the beauty of their dreams."

 

(end)

*******

Fall 2014 Adult Spiritual Development
ACTS Ministry Programs at St. David's:

MONDAY NIGHT STUDY (Ten Weeks)
September 15th - November 24th
7-00-9:00PM TM Room
(Thanksgiving Day exempted)

"A Fair Country" by John Ralston Saul
   http://tinyurl.com/pvs5e3w

"Medicine Walk" by  Richard Wagamese
  http://tinyurl.com/o95nho4


Led by Jock McTavish and Wayne Holst

Registration, Books, Hospitality - $60.00
Books Only - $40.00

(now on sale in church lobby)

--

MONDAY NIGHT 'BOOKENDS EVENTS'
September 8th and December 1st
7:00-9:15PM TM Room
Sponsored by the Bible Study Group

"From Jesus to Christ" -
  How Jesus Became God
  A PBS Video Series
  (total of four hours in length)

  Hospitality and discussion

Led by Jock McTavish and Wayne Holst

All welcome. Hospitality donation only

--

THURSDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY
(Twelve Weeks)

September 18th - December 4th
10:00-11:00AM TM Room

"From Jesus to Christ II -
  A Study of the Book of Acts"

Led by Wayne Holst
 
No charge.

--

(Fall university studies to be announced)

*******


 



Sunday, August 17, 2014

Colleagues List, August 24th, 2014

Vol. X.  No. 4

*****

GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE

Wayne A. Holst, Editor
My E-Mail Address:
waholst@telus.net

Colleagues List Web Site:

http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com

"Quicklinks" are included with many items
at the beginning of this issue. To get a more
complete picture, however, scroll down to
find your special selection in the body of
the blog. 

Note that not all items here have links.


*****


Dear Friends:

Summer in our northern climes is moving
toward an end, and with that comes planning
for our fall and winter programs.

Next week, I will return to weekly Colleagues
List mailings and information, including upcoming
courses and studies at the church and university.

This week, I want to share with you a book
notice on the theme - "A Good Ending" - published
by the United Church of Canada. It is "A
Compassionate Guide to Funerals, Pastoral
Care, and Life Celebrations."

http://tinyurl.com/mmloang
http://tinyurl.com/lt3rnx3

This continues my interest in how we might deal
with death and dying in our modern secular
societies.

Please scroll down to read this book notice.

--

Colleague Contributions - this week are from:

Dennis Greunding of Ottawa who writes on
"Our Fragile Democracy" in Canada
  http://tinyurl.com/ojymwy7

Jim Taylor of Okanagan, BC who offers articles
on "Fundamentalism" and "Polygamy"
 http://tinyurl.com/ln6dspm
 http://tinyurl.com/nehm5pw

Ron Rolheiser of San Antonio who provides
"Ten Secrets to Happiness."
  http://tinyurl.com/kst2obo

All four pieces are well worth reading.

--

Net Notes -

"Taize at 75" - the venerable ecumenical
community in Burgundy, France now
celebrates three quarters of a century
of existence (Taize Community website)
http://tinyurl.com/m3mqw8p

"Theology and Misconduct" - a sad but
important article on how powerful but
human leaders can dramatically contradict
the Gospel they advocate - in this case,
John Howard Yoder, famous Mennonite
writer on peace (The Christian Century)
http://tinyurl.com/mas62zk

"John Mogabgab Dies at 67" - Henri
Nouwen's friend and spiritual editor
died recently (Henri Nouwen Society)
http://tinyurl.com/n9k63nm

"Rising Tide of Anti-Semitism" - while we
all have views on the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict something insidious is taking place
(Anglican Journal)
http://tinyurl.com/mdss8w7


"Pope Francis in Korea Assessment" - two
articles with a common theme on the pope's
recently concluded successful visit to Korea
(National Catholic Reporter)
http://tinyurl.com/pv9xl3h
http://tinyurl.com/kvutrwy

"Vatican Seeks Peace with US Nuns" - after
some years of open conflict, the Vatican
seems to be changing its approach
(National Catholic Reporter)
http://tinyurl.com/n5rlz48

"Some Young Mormons Question Faith" -
an interesting report on the lives of at
least some youthful LDS missionaries
(The Atlantic online)
http://tinyurl.com/o9d7dzm

"Canadian Pentecostals Adopt 2020 Vision" -
while some denominations seem to be
winding down, this one is heading boldly
in another direction (Christian Week online)
http://tinyurl.com/loa3xgx

"Abducted Amish Girls Returned to Parents" -
here is a tragic story that turned out happily
(CBC News) http://tinyurl.com/llm9ec7

"Top Muslims Condemn ISIS Christian Attacks" - 
the voice of World Muslim leaders is starting to 
be heard on the tragedy that is ISIS in Iraq
and Syria (Vatican Radio)
http://tinyurl.com/lq9gohp

"British Hotel Chain Removes Bibles from Rooms"
-  in a not surprising report from Great Britain
we read of a move to stop the distribution of
Bibles in UK establishments (The Christian Post)
http://tinyurl.com/p36nmcf

--

Wisdom of the Past Two Weeks - includes reflections
by James Foley, Mother Teresa, Craig Kielburger,
Daw Nyein Tha, Alva Myrdal, Mairead Corrigan,
Emily Greene Balch, Bertha von Suttner and
Madeleine L’Engle.

These quotes come to us thanks to Sojourners
and the Bruderhof online.

Please scroll down.

--

On This Day - covers a period of August 10th
to 24th with articles from history appearing in
the New York Times as events were taking place:

"India and Pakistan Freed from British Rule"
  http://tinyurl.com/ghyu3

"Japan Surrenders Unconditionally, Ending WWII"
  http://tinyurl.com/8qalxy7

"East Germany Builds Wall in Berlin"
  http://tinyurl.com/l83pfxw

"Woodstock Music and Art Fair Concludes"
   http://tinyurl.com/3xlysla

"Czechoslovakia Invaded by Russia"
   http://tinyurl.com/pgrq97s

--

Closing Thoughts - come from two sources
this week -

F. William Sunderman
and Mahatma Gandhi
 
To read scroll down.

Blessings to you until we meet again
next week - August 31st!

Wayne

(end)

**********

SPECIAL ITEM

Book Notice:

A GOOD ENDING
A Compassionate Guide to Funerals,
Pastoral Care and Life Celebrations
by David Sparks, 
United Church Publishing House,
Toronto. 2014. $19.95 CAD. 
$10.95 Download. E-book $4.95
277 pp. ISBN # 978-1-55134-216-0.

Publisher's Promo:

Wow, that was a good funeral...

Comments like this are not an accident, but
the result of care and planning, contends
David Sparks in A Good Ending. This practical
book gives advice and ideas for every step
along the way, from supporting the dying
person, to planning a funeral, life celebration,
or memorial, and to being with those left to
mourn. Whether you're a new or seasoned
worship leader looking for fresh insights or
ideas or someone looking for guidance to
support a dying loved one, you'll find this
an indispensable resource. Practical helps
include suggested prayers, sample meditations
and service outlines, and detailed check lists
also available as downloadable file and e-book.

--

About the Author:

David Sparks has served as a minister for 38
years in The United Church of Canada and the
United Reformed Church of England and Wales.
He has written six books of lectionary-based
prayers in the Prayers to Share and Pastoral 
Prayers to Share series (Wood Lake Books)
and his hymns have been published in hymn
books in Canada and USA. Sparks has led
workshops on various aspects of public
prayer.

Now retired, he lives with his wife in
British Columbia.

--

From the Foreword:

During a funeral or celebration of life service,
worship leaders have the potential to be either
great help or great harm to the people who are
saying their goodbyes... every so often we need
a little help to do our best, because funerals are
hard work... it is hard work because often we
are grieving with the people whom we are
attempting to comfort.

Sometimes we are thrown into situations
(suicides, murders, tragic accidents) that
are hard to imagine and seemingly impossible
to prepare for. At all such times, David, the
author can help you toward a very good ending.

This book is filled with useful advice from a
variety of different people, sound instruction
and powerful liturgies that walk the worship
leader through everything needed for them
to help them do their best. When you do not
know where to start, but want to do your best,
this book will help you get there.

Reading this book feels like consulting with a
trusted friend or mentor. For people starting
out in worship leadership this book will help
to alleviate any anxieties you might have about
leading a service. For seasoned worship leaders,
this book will act like a refresher course, offering
new ideas, new perspectives and new liturgies.
(Alydia Smith)

Author's Words:

In this book, I deliberately paint a broad
canvas.  The areas covered range from a
theological basis of bereavement through
a consideration of secular celebrations and
their component parts, to meditations.

(The author attempts to cover the field well
but does not assume to deal with specific
areas like childhood grief or purely secular
celebrations as other books are available.)

A Good Ending arose from my pastoral
experience as a minister. (I have worked
with dedicated church families, those with
no church connection whatsoever, and many
in-between.)

(This is not a "handbook" so much as it is
a means to help you find your own path
and your own words.)

I hope this book will challenge you to think
about the meaning of death and what happens
after a person dies; and I hope it opens you
up to concepts and ideas that are new and
surprizing...

You only have one opportunity to celebrate
and mourn the end of a person's life and
each opportunity is unique and challenging.

--

My Thoughts:

Earlier this past summer, I attended a
celebration of the life of an old friend and
former parishioner whose family extended
a special invitation that my wife Marlene
and I join with the congregation for the
special occasion. We felt deeply honored
by this, and were uplifted by what we
experienced.

After the service we had the opportunity
to hear the comments of both worship
leader and congregants as well as to
share our support for the family and to
express appreciation to many, including
the worship leader.

I was particularly appreciative of the way
the service reflected much thought and
spiritual preparation as well as being a
wonderful memorial to the deceased.

Truly, two important needs were being
addressed. First, was the pastoral need
of the mourners and all present. Second
- and equally important - was the sharing
of the Good News of the Gospel in a
winsome and hopeful manner. Both needs
were met, it seemed to me, in a way
that dealt specifically with this situation.

Our congregations are becoming increasingly
diverse. In a way, conducting a meaningful
funeral service is becoming more difficult
than ever. We need to balance the fact
that we are, indeed, a Christian congregation
and not simply involved in a public service -
with an awareness that many of those who
have gathered for the event have little or
no roots or exposure to the Christian faith.

Still, for whatever reason, those people
have gathered for a special and unique
purpose - the paying of respect to the
person who died and those who care
about that person

I am turned off by funerals that pay little
heed to the uniqueness of the moment
and are essentially liturgical blather.
I am equally turned off by funerals in
our churches that are simply memorials
to the deceased. Both extremes are
unfortunate because a wonderful
opportunity to pay tribute to the Gospel
and the dearly departed is being missed.

I think that a book like this one by
David Sparks can help us to find a
special creative balance that will
demonstrate the continuing value
of the church in our society today. 

Buy the book from UCPH:
http://tinyurl.com/mmloang

Amazon.ca:
http://tinyurl.com/lt3rnx3

*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

DENNIS GREUNDING
Ottawa, ON

United Church Observer Online
August 14th, 2014

"A Fragile Democracy"
  http://tinyurl.com/ojymwy7
  
--

JIM TAYLOR
Okanagan, BC

Personal Web Log
August 10th, 2014

"Fundamentalism"
  http://tinyurl.com/ln6dspm

"Polygamy"
  http://tinyurl.com/nehm5pw

--

RON ROLHEISER
San Antonio, TX

Personal Web Site
August 18th, 2014

"Ten Secrets to Happiness"
  http://tinyurl.com/kst2obo

*****

NET NOTES

TAIZE AT 75
Brother Roger Dead Nine Years
All Humanity Continues to Visit

Taize Community Website
August, 2014 -

http://tinyurl.com/m3mqw8p

--

THEOLOGY AND MISCONDUCT
The Case of John Howard Yoder


The Christian Century
August 4th, 2014


http://tinyurl.com/mas62zk

--

JOHN MOGABGAB DIES AT 67
Henri Nouwen's Editor and Friend

Henri Nouwen Society Website
August, 2014

http://tinyurl.com/n9k63nm

--

RISING TIDE OF ANTI-SEMITISM
We Need to be Alert to the Dangers


Anglican Journal
August 21st, 2014


http://tinyurl.com/mdss8w7

--

POPE FRANCIS IN KOREA - ASSESSMENT
Opening Message Focuses on Reconciliation

National Catholic Reporter
August 16th, 2014

http://tinyurl.com/pv9xl3h

"Reconciliation -
  Summary Focus of Francis' Korea Trip"

National Catholic Reporter
August 23rd, 2014


http://tinyurl.com/kvutrwy

--

VATICAN SEEKS PEACE WITH U.S. NUNS
After Decade of Threats and Confrontation

National Catholic Reporter
August 15th, 2014

http://tinyurl.com/n5rlz48

--

SOME YOUNG MORMONS
QUESTION THEIR FAITH
A Natural Outcome of

Being Out In the World

The Atlantic Online
August 20th, 2014


http://tinyurl.com/o9d7dzm

--

CANADIAN PENTECOSTALS 
ADOPT 2020 VISION
600 New Starts While Other 
Denominations Assume Cutbacks

Christian Week
August 11th, 2014

http://tinyurl.com/loa3xgx

--

ABDUCTED AMISH GIRLS 
RETURNED TO PARENTS
Suspects Identified - 
Community More Suspicious

CBC News
August 16th, 2014

http://tinyurl.com/llm9ec7

--

TOP MUSLIMS CONDEMN ISIS 
ATTACKS ON CHRISTIANS
Voices from Islamic Community
Reject Persecution in Iraq

Vatican Radio
July 27th, 2014

http://tinyurl.com/lq9gohp

--

BRITISH HOTEL CHAIN
REMOVES BIBLES FROM ROOMS
Claiming Diversity a Possible

Sign of More Policy Changes

The Christian Post
August 18th, 2014


http://tinyurl.com/p36nmcf

*****

WISDOM OF THE WEEK

Provided by Sojourners
and Bruderhof online

"If nothing else, prayer was the glue
that enabled my freedom, an inner
freedom first and later the miracle of
being released during a war in which
the regime had no real incentive to free

us. It didn’t make sense, but faith did."

- James Foley, journalist who was executed
by Islamic State jihadists this week, on his
captivity in Libya in 2011, as written in
Marquette Magazine.

Pope calls family of slain journalist
Catholic News Service, Aug. 21st, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/kzkr8mn

--

An empty heart God fills. Even Almighty God
will not fill a heart that is full – full of pride,
bitterness, jealousy – we must give these
things up. As long as we are holding these
things, God cannot fill it. Silence of the heart,
not only of the mouth – that too is necessary
– but more, that silence of the mind, silence
of the eyes, silence of the touch. Then you
can hear him everywhere: in the closing of
the door, in the person who needs you, in
the birds that sing, in the flowers, the animals –
that silence which is wonder and praise.

Why? Because God is everywhere and you
can see and hear him.

 - Mother Teresa


--

"It's easier to be ignorant and say I don't
know about the problem. But once you know,
once you've seen it in their eyes, then you
have a responsibility to do something. There
is strength in numbers, and if we all work
together as a team, we can be unstoppable."

- Craig Kielburger

--

Obedience through fear is reluctant and resentful.
Obedience through gratitude is joyful, instant, and
spontaneous. Gratitude is like an overflowing stream,
positive, outgoing. It is a powerful antiseptic, that

kills the germs of bitterness. Gratitude is the glue
that binds and unites you to your neighbor. It is
the salt that flavors all inspired relationships.
A grateful heart is a normal heart.

- Daw Nyein Tha

--


"The longing for peace is rooted in the hearts
of all [humans]."

- Alva Myrdal

--

"Our common humanity is more important than
all the things that divide us."

- Mairead Corrigan

--

"We speculate as to what is in store for us. 
But we not only undergo events, we in part 
cause them or at least influence their course. 
We have not only to study them but to act."

- Emily Greene Balch

--

"After the verb 'to love,' 'to help'
 is the most beautiful verb in the world."


- Bertha von Suttner

--

It is when things go wrong, when the good
things do not happen, when our prayers
seem to have been lost, that God is most
present. We do not need the sheltering wings
when things go smoothly. We are closest to
God in the darkness, stumbling along blindly.
There is no such thing as belief without
doubt or struggle.

- Madeleine L’Engle

*****

ON THIS DAY
August 11th - 23rd

"India and Pakistan Freed from British Rule"
  http://tinyurl.com/ghyu3

"Japan Surrenders Unconditionally, Ending WWII"
  http://tinyurl.com/8qalxy7

"East Germany Builds Wall in Berlin"
  http://tinyurl.com/l83pfxw

"Woodstock Music and Art Fair Concludes"
   http://tinyurl.com/3xlysla

"Czechoslovakia Invaded by Russia"
   http://tinyurl.com/pgrq97s

*****

CLOSING THOUGHTS -

"How infinitesimal is the importance
  of anything I do, but how infinitely
  important it is that I should do it."

- F. William Sunderman

"Simple truths are more powerful than empires."

- Mahatma Gandhi

(end)