*****
Wayne A. Holst, Editor
My E-Mail Address:
waholst@telusplanet.net
*****
Colleagues List Web Site:
http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com
Canadian Anglicans Google Groups Website:
http://tinyurl.com/bv4osz7
"Quicklinks" are included with many items.
Otherwise, scroll down to find your selection
in the body of the blog, as in the past.
*****
Dear Friends:
Religious news this week was dominated by
the announcement that the pope will resign at
the end of February. This issue of Colleagues
List reflects this global story, and I attempt
to bring a Canadian perspective to it.
I acknowledge the dominantly "Catholic"
nature of this issue, but will return to a more
ecumenical balance next week.
My special item this week is a book notice of
"Genius Born of Anguish - The Life and Legacy
of Henri Nouwen" - which appeared last fall.
http://tinyurl.com/cquu5os
It was co-written by colleague Michael Higgins
with Kevin Burns - both Canadians and appears
with Part III of the CBC Ideas Series on that
famous priest who died more than 15 years ago.
That series was aired a few weeks ago, and I
include links to it.
--
Colleague Contributions: this week are by
U. of Calgary religious studies professor
Irving Hexham who was interviewed by the
Calgary press along with RC bishop Fred Henry
on the announcement of the papal resignation.
http://tinyurl.com/d7q57o9
Jim Taylor adds his special flair to a
"spring-anticipating" article on the return
of the sun to our northern climes.
http://edges.canadahomepage.net/
--
Net Notes:
"The Popes Who Have Quit" - here is a
helpful articles on two other popes who
resigned (America Magazine podcast)
http://tinyurl.com/ctpqjft
"Benedict's Post Papacy Plans" - Benedict
says that he is removing himself from the
limelight (Catholic News Service)
http://tinyurl.com/bkjrvjs
"Benedict's Reflections on Ageing" - the
pope was right hand man to his predecessor
John Paul II and saw him go through the
torment of ageing (The Tablet, UK)
http://www.thetablet.co.uk/blogs/483/18
"Why the Next Pope Should be African" -
there is lots of speculation on from where
the next pope should come (CNN)
http://tinyurl.com/cqhksmu
"Canadian Considered Papal Front Runner" -
Canada is not without an able papal
candidate from Quebec (Ottawa Citizen)
http://tinyurl.com/b7mdcag
"New Pope? I've Given Up Hope" - the
prolific and well-situated writer Gary
Wills says he is not optimistic about
the papacy (New York Times)
http://tinyurl.com/av2cpya
"Solving the Priesthood Shortage" -
Wills has his views on how to resolve
the chronic shortage of priests.
(Huffington Post Canada)
http://tinyurl.com/c9kqdkn
"Why Priests?" by Gary Wills (Review)" -
No doubt the papal resignation provides
a good opportunity for the release of
Gary Wills new book (New York Times)
http://tinyurl.com/a4fo23y
"Scientific Literacy" - the on-going
debate on the relationship between
religion and science is covered here
(The Christian Century)
http://tinyurl.com/clkg3b8
"Welby in Opening Battle With Bishops"
- the new Archbishop of Canterbury is
known for his anti-gay views and he
is taking the initiative early
(The Telegraph, UK)
http://tinyurl.com/cq3neb2
--
Wisdom of the Week is offered from an
eclectic collection as usual:
N.T. Wright, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Albert Einstein, Rosa Parks and Plato
--
On this Day:
The archives of the New York Times offers the
following stories, written as the happened:
Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin sign
Yalta Agreement during World War II
http://tinyurl.com/bpv3pbh
King Tut's Tomb Opened in Egypt
http://tinyurl.com/y8lg4zy
--
Closing Thought - is again offered by colleague
Isabel Gibson of Ottawa, who continues her series
of twelve start-of-the-year short takes on the
gifts we possess
http://tinyurl.com/ctt63qz
Wayne
******
My Study Programs:
ST. DAVID'S AND UNIVERSITY ACTIVITIES
St. David's and ACTS Ministry -
Our Spiritual Travelers Tour for 2013
TURKEY AND THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH
DEADLINE FOR SIGN-UP HAS PAST! -
January 23rd, 2013
26 people have paid to take the tour.
April 23rd - May 9th, 2013
Our major tour themes are: Classic Greek and Roman,
Early Christian, Muslim-Christian and the beautiful
scenery of the Mediterranean coast of SW Turkey.
*Enjoy Istanbul (Constantinople) - long a link
between East and West.
*Classical cities like Troy will be visited and
intriguing ancient sites will be revealed.
*Pilgrims from many of the regions we will visit
were present in Jerusalem at Pentecost - people
from "Mesopotamia, Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia" -
(Acts 2.)
*Saint Paul founded churches in many of the centers
of central and western Turkey and we will spend
quality time in places like Ephesus.
*We will come to know cities mentioned in the
Book of Revelation (chapters 1-3) by Jobn.
Cities like Pergamon, Thyatira, Philadelphia,
Sardis and Smyrna
---
The tour book will include reflection pages
with the itinerary as well as answers to many
traveller's questions.
Your tour hosts:
Marlene and Wayne Holst
waholst@telusplanet.net (or)
marleneaholst@gmail.com
403-286-7416
*****
OUR WINTER AND SPRING STUDY PROGRAMS
2013
With more to be announced -
AT ST.DAVID'S UNITED CHURCH
"WELCOMING THE STRANGER" WEEKEND AT ST. DAVID'S
Friday March 1st - Sunday, March 3rd (confirmed)
Special Guest:
Mary Jo Leddy, Romero House, Toronto.
Mary Jo's presentations will take place
at St. David's church.
Other guests are presently being secured for
panels, workshop and as seminar leaders. These
activities will be held on the university
campus.
Watch for new information on this
special weekend focused on Canada's
policy for welcoming new Canadians
and how Christians might respond.
*****
MONDAY NIGHT STUDY
THIS STUDY HAS BEGUN!!
From Monday, January 14th
through Monday, March 26th.
7:00 -9:00 PM TM Room.
Study Book:
"Radical Gratitude" by Mary Jo Leddy
Review of book links:
http://tinyurl.com/bemfdms
(Western Catholic Reporter)
http://tinyurl.com/awu94eq
(Gospel and our Culture)
Cost of the course: $50.00
Buy only the book: $20.00
The course and books are now
on sale at the church lobby.
*****
THURSDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY
"Wisdom in the Book of Proverbs"
Thursday, January 17th - March 28th, 2013
THIS SERIES HAS BEGUN!!
Drop-ins welcome.
All welcome. No cost.
*****
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY
THIS COURSE HAS BEGUN!!
Tuesday Night University Study sponsored
by the Faculty of Continuing Education:
HERESIES AND HERETICS - The Real Story of
Early Christianity. Cont Ed Course 198-001
Ten Sessions - Jan. 22nd - Mar. 26th, 2013
Click this link for books, costs and details:
http://tinyurl.com/77xuwnu
---
Faith and Spirituality Centre Winter Study
Sponsored by the Christian chaplains of
the University of Calgary
TWELVE STEPS TO A COMPASSIONATE LIFE
A Study of Karen Armstrong's latest book.
Fridays - March 1st - April 5th
12 noon - 1:00 PM
Six Weeks - Native Centre Board Room,
McEwan Student Centre, University of Calgary.
12 noon to 1:00 PM: Cost of the book: $15.
*****
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 -
GENIUS BORN OF ANGUISH
The Life and Legacy of Henri Nouwen
by Michael W. Higgins and Kevin Burns
Novalis, Toronto. $18.95 CAD. 160 pages.
ISBN #978-2-89646-472-2.
Publisher's Promo:
An illustrated biography and companion guide to the
CBC Ideas program about the life of Henri Nouwen.
Marking the anniversary of the death of Henri Nouwen,
this illustrated biography presents his story and
legacy. As a companion volume to CBC Radio’s program
Genius Born of Anguish, this biography will captivate
you with a fascinating exploration of the life of a
deeply spiritual and compassionate man.
Numerous friends and close companions of Nouwen’s
offer insights in this broad overview of his life,
including Sue Mosteller, friend and literary executrix,
his brother Laurent, as well as Robert Ellsberg and
Jean Vanier. Discover his extraordinary life and be
moved by his outstanding commitment to walking with
others on their spiritual journeys.
--
About the Author Michael Higgins:
Michael W. Higgins is the official biographer of
Henri Nouwen and the presenter of the CBC Ideas
radio program Genius Born of Anguish: The Life
and Legacy of Henri Nouwen. Dr. Higgins is a
professor of Religious Studies and the past-president
of St. Jermose’s University (Waterloo) and St. Thomas
University (Fredericton). He has written over a dozen
books, including Suffer the Children Unto Me (Novalis,
2010), and is a contributor to the The Globe and Mail,
The Literary Review of Canada, and Commonweal.
Kevin Burns is the freelance producer of the CBC Ideas
radio series Genius Born of Anguish: The Life and
Legacy of Henri Nouwen.
--
Kevin's Words:
Back in th 1980's when I lived in Western Canada...
I remember seeing posters, year after year, telling
me that Henri would be giving the keynote address at
this or that big conference. All I knew then of
Henri Nouwen was the external public image; a Dutch
priest/psychologist, a charismatic and theatrical
speaker who lived in L'Arche Daybreak, north of
Toronto, and who raced all over the continent giving
talks and retreats. He was (more or less) a Canadian
celebrity who was also a Catholic who increasingly
found audiences beyond the loose perimeters of the
Canadian Catholic world. He was a rare thing at the
time: an influential priest in the media and not in
the cross hairs of controversy.
Naturally, these limited perceptions changed the
moment I began the serious work of preparing for
and assembling a radio documentary about him about
a decade after his death...
As I listened through the hiss and crackle of
archival recordings of his talks and interviews,
I heard his remarkable energy and, at times, his
exhaustion, the more I tried to understand the
heart and mind of this complex and compelling
individual...
No matter who asks the questions in our interviews
of people who knew Henri, our subjects had entered
a place of deep and personal reflection. Henri
seems to do that a lot, with people who knew him
and with those who met him only through his books...
We tell a mostly chronological story, one that
begins in 1932 in the Netherlands, on January 24th.
.. We end with Henri Nouwen's death, alone in a
hospital, on September 21st, 1996, also in the
Netherlands where this prodigal son had stopped
for a visit en route to Russia, where he was to
make a documentary film on one of his favorite
compatriot artists, Rembrandt. In between these
chronological markers we hear how people
remember Henri...
Listening to Henri surfaced all manner of
complementary and sometimes conflicting ideas
about the paths of spirituality and mental health,
about healing and woundedness, and about the
difference between biography and hagiography...
Listening to Henri I have learned this:
- if I really want to listen, I need to invite
silence so that I can hear what is being said,
not only what I want or expect to hear.
- if I really want to listen, I have to slow
things down and turn things off, metaphorically,
not just literally.
- I've learned over and over that somewhere in
all of this is the conviction that to recognize
a wound is to take a step in the direction of
healing it.
- I've also learned that to listen is another
form of prayer.
--
My Thoughts:
All those interviewed in this helpful retrospective
on the life of Henri Nouwen shared some things in
common - s special moment of human closeness when
he made you feel you counted and were important
to him. From this also came another special moment
- a heightened sense of spiritual awareness.
I can say that I too had such an experience with
Henri when those gifts were given to me.
Only a year or so before his death, I was going
though the difficult experiences of divorce and
job loss. Because I was serving as board president
of L'Arche Calgary, I had the opportunity to
attend a national conference of L'Arche leaders
in Toronto. It was at that event that Henri spoke.
I got up the courage to ask him if I could take
some of his time for reflection and counsel. He
obliged, but it took some doing because he was
probably trying to accommodate a number of
others with the same request.
Several days later at L'Arche Daybreak in
Richmond Hill, my mother Marieta and I
joined Henri for a special half hour.
We discussed my situation, my hurts and my
hopes. We prayed together.
I realize that at that point I was still
rather caught up in what might be called
'Nouwen-mania' - but the eighteen years
since then have proven the substance of
the experience in my life story. Truly,
his gift of himself at that time, and the
letters, books and calls that came to me
in the months following were evidence that
Henri Nouwen was a man of deep humanity
and spiritual awareness.
--
As I read the testimonial interviews and
listen to the CBC Ideas program featuring
Henri Nouwen, I continue to remember my
special time with him, and am so happy
that my mother was able to be present
as well.
I believe that many people could write
variations on this theme - either personally,
or through his speaking and writing. That
is why this book, coupled with a hearing
of "Genius Born of Anguish" on CBC Ideas
would be well worth the investment of your
time.
There is value in engaging all this with
the benefit of retrospect. Anything less
than continuing profound meaning would
suggest I was merely caught up in the
emotion of the time. But that is not
the case. If anything, the experience
is more profound for me, because I
am engaging it with twenty years of
time for maturation.
I believe the same opportunity could
be yours.
CBC Ideas:Link:
http://tinyurl.com/c72afhs
Buy the Book:
From Novalis: http://tinyurl.com/cquu5os
From Amazon.ca: http://tinyurl.com/cskd3fx
*****
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS
IRVING HEXHAM
Calgary, AB.
Commentary from Calgary
Bishop Henry Speaks of Technology
While Religious Studies Prof Hexham Says -
"Benedict Noted for Scholarship"
http://tinyurl.com/d7q57o9
--
JIM TAYLOR
Web Log
February 10th, 2013
"Here Comes the Sun"
http://edges.canadahomepage.net/
__
NET NOTES
THE POPES WHO HAVE QUIT
Two Who Resigned
America Magazine Podcast
March 4th, 2013
http://tinyurl.com/ctpqjft
--
BENEDICT'S POST-PAPACY PLANS
Wants to Stay Our of Limelight
Catholic News Service
February 13th, 2013
http://tinyurl.com/bkjrvjs
--
BENEDICT'S REFLECTIONS ON AGEING
Sees Frustrations and Joys There
The Tablet, UK
February 16th, 2013
http://www.thetablet.co.uk/blogs/483/18
--
WHY THE NEXT POPE SHOULD BE AFRICAN
CNN
Feb. 13, 2013
http://tinyurl.com/cqhksmu
--
CANADIAN CONSIDERED FRONT-RUNNER FOR POPE
Ottawa Citizen
February 12th, 2013
http://tinyurl.com/b7mdcag
--
NEW POPE? I'VE GIVEN UP HOPE
Commentary on Papacy by Wills
Author of "Why Priests?"
The New York Times
February 13th, 2013
http://tinyurl.com/av2cpya
--
SOLVING THE PRIEST SHORTAGE
Gary Wills Offers Radical Solution
in New Book "Why Priests?"
Huffington Post Canada
February 12th, 2013
http://tinyurl.com/c9kqdkn
--
"WHY PRIESTS?" by Gary Wills
New York Times Review
February 17th, 2013
http://tinyurl.com/a4fo23y
--
SCIENTIFIC LITERACY
Christian Century Editorial
February 13th, 2013
"Scientific Community, Religious Conservatives
Equally to Blame for Ignorance of Science"
http://tinyurl.com/clkg3b8
--
WELBY IN OPENING BATTLE WITH BISHOPS
New Archbishop Challenges Gay Roles
The Telegraph
February 10th, 2013
http://tinyurl.com/cq3neb2
*****
WISDOM OF THE WEEK
Provided by Sojourners Online
The work of salvation, in its full sense,
is (1) about whole human beings, not merely
souls; (2) about the present, not simply the
future; and (3) about what God does through
us, not merely what God does in and for us.
- N.T. Wright
--
Being a Christian is less about cautiously
avoiding sin than about courageously and
actively doing God's will.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
--
n matters of truth and justice, there is no
difference between large and small problems,
for issues concerning the treatment of people
are all the same.
- Albert Eintsein
--
People always say that I didn't give up my seat
because I was tired, but that isn't true. No,
the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.
- Rosa Parks
--
Justice in the life and conduct of the State
is possible only as first it resides in the
hearts and souls of the citizens.
- Plato
*****
ON THIS DAY
February 10th - February 17th
From the Archives of the New York Times:
Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin sign
Yalta Agreement during World War II
http://tinyurl.com/bpv3pbh
King Tut's Tomb Opened in Egypt
http://tinyurl.com/y8lg4zy
*****
CLOSING THOUGHT - Isabel Gibson
The Gift of Juxtaposition
From Harper’s Index to Small Dead Animals,
juxtaposition offers new ways of looking at
things, and enables us to comment while retaining
the ability to deny having done so.
What could be better?
An insightful yet passive-aggressive gift!
As we make our plans for the coming year, may we
use the gift of juxtaposition less to beak off
with impunity and more to make new connections,
as well as old connections, more vividly.
In this context, here’s one of my favourite
juxtapositions for strategic planning:
On the one hand:
No operation extends with any certainty beyond
the first encounter with the main body of the enemy.
(Huh? Maybe more familiar as its edited version
[what the Field Marshal meant to say....]:
No plan survives contact with the enemy.)
Helmuth von Moltke
And on the other hand:
We have met the enemy and he is us. Pogo
http://tinyurl.com/ctt63qz
Isabel's Blog:
http://www.traditionaliconoclast.com/
(end)
