Saturday, October 23, 2010

Colleagues List, October 23rd, 2010

Vol. VI. No. 8

*****

Edited by Wayne A. Holst

*****

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

*****

Personal Book Review:

"Going Missional"
 Conversations with 13 Canadian Churches
 Who Have Embraced Missional Life
 By Karen Stiller and Willard Metzger

---

Book Notice:

"Conversations With Myself"
 By Nelson Mandela

___

Colleague Contribution:

Jim Taylor

___

Net Notes:

City of Tranquil Light
Pope Names Six New Saints
Christian Unity a Dream in Progress
Atheists Split at Annual Conference
World Falling Short of Millennial Goals
Google to Publish Dead Sea Scrolls Online
Nenshi - Canada's First Big City Muslim Mayor
Crystal Cathedral Files for Bankruptcy Protection
Scouts Remove Mormon Leaders Over Religious Beliefs
Altar Boy, Seminarian and Penthouse Founder Dead at 79

_____


Global Faith Potpourri:

14 stories from Ecumenical News International

___


Quotes of the Week:

Christina Baldwin
Mother Teresa
Abraham Lincoln
African Proverb
St. Augustine

___


On This Day (Oct. 19th - 22nd)

Oct. 19, 1987 - Stock Market Takes Big Plunge
Oct. 21, 1879 - Edison invented a workable electric light
Oct. 22, 1962 - JFK announces air/naval blockade of Cuba

___


Closing Thought -

Falling asleep during your church's "quiet time..."

(end)

*****

Dear Friends:

Lots of interesting things have been happening
this past week, and Colleagues List has tried
to tap into some of these developments for you.

---

Book Review:

Colleague Bill Fledderus asked me to review a new
book on the meaning of the term "missional" in a
Canadian context. He has granted permission that
you can read my pre-edited review for "Faith Today" -
the bi-monthly journal of the Evangelical Fellowship
of Canada.

I hope you enjoy -

"Going Missional"
 Conversations with 13 Canadian Churches
 Who Have Embraced Missional Life
 By Karen Stiller and Willard Metzger

---

Book Notice:

I am thoroughly enjoying my reading of the new memoir
"Conversations With Myself" by Nelson Mandela. It has a
foreword written by President Barack Obama. I introduce
this title and encourage you to get hold of a copy too.

___


Colleague Contribution:

This week, our sole colleague contribution is by long-time
friend and frequent writer on these pages, Jim Taylor, who
worked for the United Church Observer, became a free-lance
writer, and then moved to the Okanagan Valley a lifetime
ago to become a book publisher and editor.

Read his comments on how he views same-sex marriage, a
helpful followup to my own reflections on attending
the religious vows of a lesbian couple this past summer.

___


Net Notes:

"City of Tranquil Light" - here is a book about early
Mennonite missionaries in China, a delightful story
(Books and Culture)

"Pope Names Six New Saints" - Benedict XVI named a Canadian
and an Australian, among a half dozen honoured last week
(Voice of America)

"Christian Unity a Dream in Progress" - Many of us
continue to harbour hopes for a more united Christianity
as well as more co-operation between the great faiths.
Canadians are at work making this dream into a reality.
(Christian Week)

"Atheists Split at Annual Conference" - While it has
been easy to pin point the flaws of religion, atheists
are finding it difficult to find their own consensus.
(Christianity Today)

"World Falling Short of Millennial Goals" - universal
standards are never easy to attain. Still, we try.
Read about the challenges faced by those seeking to
attain the Millennial Goals established by the UN.
(Christian Week)

"Google to Publish Dead Sea Scrolls Online" - Electronic
media continue to dazzle us with breakthrough developments.
The Dead Sea Scrolls are about to be opened to the masses.
(CathnewsAsia)

"Nenshi - Canada's First Big City Muslim Mayor" -
Calgarians made history this week by electing Canada's
first Muslim mayor and leaving the old establishment
(as well as many eastern naysayers) confounded!
(Backofthebook.ca)

"Crystal Cathedral Files for Bankruptcy Protection" -
While the demise of Robert Schuller's church has been
predicted for some time, it is bittersweat to read these
developments this week (Assist News)

"Scouts Remove Mormon Leaders Over Religious Beliefs" -
In the UK, Mormon scout leaders were removed from office
because they were deemed un-Christian. Is this for real?
(Christian Science Monitor)

"Altar Boy, Seminarian and Penthouse Founder Dead at 79" -
For many of us who grew up during the 1960's the names
Bob Guccione and Hugh Hefner were "pioneers of porn."
Alas, the time has come when even such icons pass on.
(Cathnews Asia)

_____


Global Faith Potpourri:

14 stories appear this week from Ecumenical News International

___


Quotes of the Week:

Christina Baldwin, Mother Teresa, Abraham Lincoln,
African Proverb and St. Augustine are specially noted.

___


On This Day (Oct. 19th - 22nd)

The New York Times offers these stories:

Stock Market Takes Big Plunge (1987)
Edison invented a workable electric light (1879)
JFK announces air/naval blockade of Cuba (1962)

___


Here is my closing thought:

Falling asleep during your church's "quiet time..."

___


The last of the leaves and plants are collected from
our yard. Here in foothills Calgary the first snowfall
(likely to melt, we hope) could happen anytime.

It has been a lovely autumn here!

I hope you can still enjoy the weather where you live.


Wayne


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

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/services.htm

___


ST DAVID'S ACTS WEB PAGE

Created and maintained by Colleague Jock McTavish
http://stdavidscalgary.net/

__


ANNOUNCING:

ST. DAVID'S 50th ANNIVERSARY
TOUR OF CELTIC LANDS - 2011

We plan a 15-day tour of special Celtic sites
in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England -
April 26th - May 10th, 2011.

A highlight of the tour will be a visit to
St. David's Cathedral, Pembrokeshire. Choir
members from our group will sing at various
informal cathedral events through the day
and at Evensong, on Saturday, May 7th!

Details are presently being finalized with
the cathedral dean, Jonathan Lean.

We are also planning to sing while visiting
Iona, Scotland and the Church of Mary Immaculate
in Inchicore, Dublin, Ireland.

THE 38 PLACES ON THE TOUR ARE NOW SOLD OUT

We have a waiting list for this trip; also an
interest list for other, future tours!

Let me know if you have an interest in exciting
spiritual tourism!


*****

MONDAY NIGHT STUDY

Introducing our New Fall Program at St. David's:

Follow this series by clicking:
http://www.1journey.net/stdavids/SD/BookStudy/25/25.htm

LISTENING FOR THE HEARTBEAT OF GOD:
A Celtic Spirituality (Philip Newell)

Including background material from the book:

THE CELTIC WAY (Ian Bradley)

Plus:

INTROS TO CELTIC SAINTS PATRICK, COLUMBA & DAVID

Join our ten week Monday Night Study, which will run
from September 20th through November 29th

Special Guest:

Dr. Wayne Davies, Department of Geography, U of C.
is a native of Wales. He will speak with us at one
session, introducing us to his homeland, and explaining
some of the important sites we plan to visit to maximize
our appreciation of the tour.

This program is being made available for regular
Monday Night study-folk plus those planning to
take the tour of Celtic Lands next spring.

36 persons, representing tour and non-tour participants
are registered for this ten-week series.

This study series is part of our St. David's fiftieth
anniversary celebrations and is available to all!

___


WEDNESDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY

Announcing our Autumn Series:

"The Book of Genesis"

Primeval and Patriarchal Stories -
Creation, Fall, Flood, Babel
Abraham, Covenant, Ishmael & Sodom.

Join us Wednesday mornings, 9-10 AM
October 6th through December 1st

*****

THURSDAY UNIVERSITY STUDY
Students, faculty and staff

"Becoming Human" by Jean Vanier
 (the 1998 CBC Massey Lecture Series)

Thursdays, Oct 21 through Nov 25, Noon-1 PM
Native Centre, Small Boardroom (MSC 390)

http://www.ucalgary.ca/chaplain/node/87

Oct 21 – Loneliness, Chapter 1
Oct 28 – Belonging, Chapter 2
Nov 4  – From Exclusion to Inclusion, Chapter 3

[skipping Remembrance Day]

Nov 18 – The Path to Freedom, Chapter 4
Nov 25 – Forgiveness, Chapter 5

*****

STUDY ARCHIVES

A collection of twenty-five+ studies conducted since 2000 can
quickly be found at: http://bookstudies.stdavidscalgary.net/

This collection of study resources represents 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 ITEMS

Book Review:

Prepared for Faith Today
Magazine of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada

GOING MISSIONAL
Conversations with 13 Canadian Churches
Who Have Embraced Missional Life
By Karen Stiller and Willard Metzger
Word Alive Press, 2010
161 pages. $16.45 (paper)

Canadian evangelicalism is maturing.

Why? Because qualitative growth, organic development,
a desire for excellence and a humble spirit are
obvious in this distillation from 46 interviews with
13 congregations involving communities ranging from
Duncan BC to Halifax, NS. Those interviewed responded
to the question – “What does it mean for you to be a
missional church?” - producing a rich variety of
definitions.

Several pivotal insights dominate. To be missional
is to be open and aware to what God is doing in the
community (within and beyond the congregation itself)
and to connect people to this. Join with where God is
already at work. The responsibility to do this belongs
to everyone - not just the formal leadership -since all
have unique gifts to offer. Focus on serving the wider
community by discovering its real needs through careful
listening. Fill a niche needing attention. Refocus from
merely “filling pews” and “counting heads.” Move past
spiritual consumerism to authentic servanthood.

Many responses reflect a serious desire to be more
fully the church. People are called to a heightened
consciousness of what God is doing outside the
congregation so that all can join in that activity.
Quantitative growth, while important, is intentionally
complemented by a strong commitment to qualitative
member formation. People stop “coming to church” and
start “being the church.”

Some weaknesses in this generally healthy collage are
detected. Attention is so often fixed on present and
future that there seems to be little consideration
for Christian tradition and its lessons for moderns.
Busyness, a common evangelical characteristic, is
strongly evident. The quiet, contemplative life can
be a worthy ally in efforts to be effectively missional.

Still, this book provides valuable sketches of some very
creative ministry taking place in Canada today.
                                                                                ____

Book Notice:

NELSON MANDELA
Conversations With Myself
Forward by President Barack Obama

Publisher's Promo:

Nelson Mandela is one of the most inspiring and iconic
figures of our age. Now, he has opened his personal
archive, which offers unprecedented insight into his
remarkable life.

From letters written during the darkest hours of his
twenty-seven years of imprisonment to the draft of an
unfinished sequel to his "Long Walk to Freedom" this
book "Conversations With Myself" gives readers access
to the private man behind the public figure.

An intimate journey from the first stirrings of his
political conscience to his galvanizing role on the
world's stage, "Conversations With Myself" is a rare
chance to spend time with Nelson Mandela the man, in
his own voice: direct, clear, private.

---

Author's Comment:

"... the cell is an ideal place to learn to know oneself,
to search realistically and regularly the process of
your own mind and feelings. In judging our progress as
individuals we need to concentrate on external factors
such as one's social position, influence and popularity,
wealth and standard of education. These are, of course,
important in measuring one's success in material matters
and it is perfectly understandable if many people exert
themselves mainly to achieve all these. But internal
factors may be even more crucial in assessing one's
development as a human being. Honesty, sincerity,
simplicity, humility, pure generosity, absence of vanity,
readiness to serve others - qualities which are within
easy reach of every soul - are the foundation of one's
spiritual life. Development in matters of this nature
is inconceivable without serious introspection, without
knowing yourself, your weaknesses and mistakes. At least,
if for nothing else, the cell gives you the opportunity
to look daily into your entire conduct, to overcome the
bad develop whatever is good in you. Regular meditation,
say about 15 minutes a day before you turn in, can be
very fruitful in this regard. You may find it difficult
at first to pinpoint the negative features in your life,
but the 10th attempt may yield rich rewards. Never forget
that a saint is a sinner who keeps on trying.

---

My Thoughts:

On page 39 of "Conversations" we note a letter to Zindzi
Mandela, a daughter, dated December 9th, 1979. It never
reached her because it was confiscated by prison censors.
Neither sender nor the anticipated recipient knew it had
been removed from the card.

The letter was discovered in 2010 in the South African
National Archives with a written note in Afrikaans by a
prison censor which read: 'The attached piece that
prisoner Mandela included with his Christmas card will
not be sent. The card will be sent. The prisoner has not
been informed that this piece has been rejected. He does
not have permission to include it with the card... Keep
it in his file.'

During his years in prison, Nelson Mandela experienced
many indignities and disappointments - he was fully aware
of some of them and of some he was not. Exposure to this
book helps us better understand the profound truth that
it is not what life presents, but how we handle what
comes our way.

Mandela - whose flaws are also visible in places
throughout the text - struggled to make the most of
his situation, and in doing so he developed a sense
of personal freedom that his jailers could not touch.
That is a great discovery that happens time and again
through a reflective reading.

Those who read "Long Walk," Mandela's first book of
memoirs, will discover a different type of memoir in
these "Conversations." This book, while retaining
its public and political side, focuses much more
on Mandela the human; the family man. As he says in his
opening thoughts to the book, "the cell is an ideal place
to learn to know yourself, to search realistically and
regularly the process of your own mind and feelings..."

Periods of solitude in our lives can be challenging,
because so much makes us feel cut off and alone. But
these times also offer the possibility of the rich gift
of insight into the self that is not so available when
our worlds are full of activity and interchange.

What was it that transformed Mandela the young radical
into the mature freedom fighter? The angry black man
into the global diplomatic icon? It was, to a large
extent, the time he spent alone with his thoughts,
and the personal "conversations with myself" that
resulted.

Mandela could have died in his cell, an embittered
old man. Instead, without planning it, he became an
inspiration to his people and to the world.

Here is a book that opens a window on how and why
that great human being was formed.

"Conversations" should be in the personal library of
anyone who "wants to overcome the bad and develop
whatever is good in you."

---

Buy the book from Amazon.ca:
http://tinyurl.com/25c47l6

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

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

JIM TAYLOR

Weblog
Oct. 20th, 2010

A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING

By Jim Taylor

As I read the newspapers, preachers and columnists seem
to be fulminating for and against same-sex marriage almost
everywhere. It’s legal across Canada. Mexico City not only
allows it, it encourages same-sex couples to adopt children.
California first allowed same-sex marriages, then banned them,
then overturned the ban.... Same-sex conflicts threaten to
gut the worldwide Anglican communion.
        
Typically, the cry is that same-sex unions will destroy
traditional family patterns.

It seems taken for granted that we have always had
heterosexual monogamy...

Read the article: http://edges.canadahomepage.net/2010/10/


*****

NET NOTES

CITY OF TRANQUIL LIGHT
A Story of Early Mennonite Missions in China

Books and Culture (Nov/Dec. Issue)

http://tinyurl.com/26tkfb6


*****

POPE NAMES SIX NEW SAINTS
Canadian & Australian Among Those Honoured

Voice of America
Oct. 17th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2ag736d

*****

CHRISTIAN UNITY A DREAM IN PROGRESS
The Canadian Centre for Ecumenism in Montreal

Christianweek.org
October 19th, 2010

http://www.christianweek.org/stories.php?id=1238

*****

ATHEISTS SPLIT AT ANNUAL CONFERENCE
New Atheists and Moderates Fall Out

Christianity Today
October 13th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/3yvkntu

*****

WORLD FALLING SHORT OF MEETING MILLENNIAL GOALS
Time is running out on meeting some pretty big hopes

Christianweek.org
October 19th, 2010

http://www.christianweek.org/stories.php?id=1230

*****

GOOGLE TO PUBLISH DEAD SEA SCROLLS ONLINE
Electronic media make treasures available to all

Cathnews Asia
October 19th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2efrfb5

*****

NENSHI: CANADA'S FIRST BIG CITY MUSLIM MAYOR
Calgary has it week in the sun and wants to stay there!

Backofthebook.ca
October 19th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/28jmhun

*****

CRYSTAL CATHEDRAL FILES
FOR BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION
Pioneer Megachurch faced with reality

Assist News
October 18th, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/25fndwv

*****

BOY SCOUTS REMOVE MORMON LEADERS
OVER RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
Can this be for real?

Christian Science Monitor
October 21st, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2agflpw

*****

ALTAR BOY, SEMINARIAN AND
PENTHOUSE FOUNDER DEAD AT 79
Pioneer of porn meets his end

Cathnews Asia
October 22nd, 2010

http://tinyurl.com/2fpsp5l


*****


GLOBAL FAITH POTPOURRI

Ecumenical News International
News Highlights
18 October 2010

Evangelical group regrets no show of
China's Christians in Cape

Cape Town (ENI). The World Evangelical Alliance has
expressed disappointment at the failure of a Christian
delegation from China to attend its third world gathering
in South Africa. "The presence and contribution of Chinese
delegates would have enriched all the Congress participants
and contributed to a more complete understanding of our
common humanity and the diversity of ethnicity and cultural
expression that enriches us all," said the grouping in a
17 October statement made available to ENI news. Up to 4500
participants from around the globe are gathering in Cape
Town from 16-25 October for the 3rd Lausanne Congress for
World Evangelization. At least 200 Protestant Christians
were barred from travelling to Cape Town by authorities
in Beijing says a report carried by the Roman Catholic
news agency AsiaNews.it. The churches are said to oppose
membership of China's Three-Self Patriotic Movement, a
group gathering state-approved Protestant denominations.

_____


In India, Archbishop of Canterbury criticises European
burqa bans

Nagpur, India (ENI). The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan
Williams has deplored attempts by governments in Europe
to prohibit Muslim women from publicly wearing the burqa,
a garment that covers the entire body. "Governments should
have better things to do than ban the burqa," Williams,
the leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, told an
interfaith meeting organized by the National Council of
Churches in India at its headquarters in Nagpur, during
a visit to India. "I believe that the State ought not
to be addressing issues like these. Instead, it should
leave such concerns to the religious communities,"
stated Williams at the 14 October meeting in Nagpur.
He described a French ban as, "a sign of being
overanxious".

_____


World churches' leader's speech reaches
to evangelical Christians

Cape Town (ENI). The head of the World Council of
Churches has reached out to a global gathering of
Evangelicals saying Christians of different
traditions need to learn from each other to
participate together in God's mission. "We
are called to be one, to be reconciled, so
that the world may believe that God reconciles
the world to himself in Christ," the WCC general
secretary, the Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit, said in
a 17 October address on the opening day of the
3rd Lausanne Congress for World Evangelization.
It is the first time a WCC general secretary has
addressed a congress of the Lausanne Movement,
which takes its name from the Swiss city where
the first such gathering was held in 1974. "This
historic invitation is a sign that God has called
all of us to the ministry of reconciliation and
to evangelism," said Tveit at the Cape Town
meeting which has gathered more than 4000
participants and runs until 25 October.

*****

19 October 2010

Anglican head concerned for failed Zimbabwe
asylum seekers

London (ENI). Human rights activists have praised the
Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, for showing
concern about the safety problems failed Zimbabwean
asylum seekers face if they are forced to return and
live under the regime of President Robert Mugabe. "I
would love to see more and more Christians and church
leaders follow his example and warn the British
government that there must be checks and monitoring
systems in place before these people are sent home,"
Sarah Harland, co-coordinator of the Zimbabwe Association
told ENInews. "This is not the time for enforced returns."

_____


Tanzanian theologian says 'Saint Nyerere'
is important for Africa

Nairobi (ENI). Some Roman Catholics are making a new
push for the  beatification of the former Tanzanian
president, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, describing
this as important for Africa due to his example of good
leadership. The Rev. Laurent Magesa from Tanzania's
Musoma diocese, where the leader came from, said that
in today's political context where many African leaders
have been criticised for embezzling public funds,
Nyerere is remembered for his honesty. The process
of beatification in the Catholic Church is often seen
as a step towards making a person a saint. A person
who is beatified is given the title "Blessed".

_____


Church of North India turns 40,
with Archbishop of Canterbury

Nagpur, India (ENI). The Archbishop of Canterbury,
Rowan Williams, has led celebrations to mark the 40th
anniversary of the Church of North India, which was
formed by six Protestant denominations, including
Anglicans, in 1970. The six uniting churches in 1970
represented Anglican, Baptist, Brethren, Congregational,
Disciples, Methodist and Presbyterian traditions. The
visit by Williams visit comes as a time of tension in
the worldwide Anglican Communion after the 2003
consecration by the Episcopal (Anglican) Church in
the United States of a homosexual bishop who has a
male partner. The Episcopal Church has since
consecrated as a bishop an openly lesbian cleric,
who has lived with a female partner for 22 years.

*****

20 October 2010

Canadian court urges case-by-case decisions on face veils

Toronto (ENI).  A Canadian court has urged compromise when
considering whether Muslim women should be allowed to wear
veils while testifying in court. The Court of Appeal in the
province of Ontario was considering a Toronto case
involving an alleged sexual assault victim, identified
only as N.S., who wished to wear her niqab - a face veil
with a slit for the eyes - while testifying at a preliminary
hearing against two men accused of assaulting her. The woman,
who had worn a niqab for five years, asked the province's
Superior Court to overturn the ruling. That court affirmed
the judge's jurisdiction to order the woman to unveil but
suggested that similar cases should be decided by judges
on an individual basis.

_____


Kenya Christian leaders' stand
on terror suspects angers Muslims

Nairobi (ENI). Christian leaders in Kenya have cautiously
backed the extradition of terror suspects to Uganda,
expulsions that have enraged Muslims in the east African
country. More than 10 Kenyan Muslims, suspected to be
linked to the Kampala bombing attacks that took place
during the soccer World Cup, have been arrested and taken
to neighbouring Uganda for trial. "The crime was committed
in Uganda and if the extraditions are going to curb crime,
then I support it, " the Rev. David Gathanju, the moderator
of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa, told ENI news
on 19 October in Nairobi. "The exchange of suspects in
a case like this one sends a good signal to east African
countries and the international community of their
commitment to the war on terror. "

*****

21 October 2010

UK Christian groups say tax dodgers
cost developing world billions

Edinburgh (ENI). Tax dodging costs developing countries
more than the total they receive in aid and could be
as high as US$160 billion annually, says a report by
Britain-based Christian Aid Scotland and the Church of
Scotland.  The report's lead author, Christian Aid
Scotland's Kathy Galloway, said the two groups are
working together to highlight the "devastating effect
the tax dodging has on the global economy. In poor
countries, where the tax base is very small and millions
live on subsistence incomes, it is shameful that companies
which make large profits from the resources of these
countries should be dodging fair taxes." The report -
"Paying our dues: How tax dodging punishes the poor " -
calls on multinationals operating in developing countries
to report on their profits and provide other financial
details in each of the countries, or jurisdictions, in
which they operate.

_____


Israel halts El Al flights from Nigeria,
citing security concerns

Jerusalem (ENI). Security officials barred the Israeli
national airline from ferrying thousands of Nigerian
pilgrims to Israel later in October due to security
concerns. The Israeli daily Ha'aretz newspaper reported
that as a result of the decision, El Al cancelled some
20 flights which were to bring 28 000 pilgrims from
Nigeria over the coming months. The report said El Al
was to have removed its symbol from the planes and the
code for the Israeli airline would also be taken away
in an effort to provide extra security. Nevertheless,
media reports said that security agencies were concerned
that Israeli aircraft and crew members could become
targets for terrorist attacks in Africa's most populous
nation, where about 50 percent of the 149 million people
are Muslims.

_____


First woman to lead Church of Norway bishops

Oslo (ENI). The (Lutheran) Church of Norway has for
the first time elected a woman as its presiding bishop,
although her tenure is for an interim period, the
Norwegian News Agency (NTB)reports. Bishop Helga
Haugland Byfuglien of Borg is to succeed Bishop Olav
Skjaevesland of Agder, who has held the post since 2006,
the bishops' conference in Norway said. Byfuglien's term
will end in mid-2011,as the Church of Norway then will
have its first permanent presiding bishop based in the
country's ancient ecclesiastical capital of Nidaros or
Trondheim as it is known now.

*****

22 October 2010

Turkish aide wants Hagia restored for Muslim,
Christian worship

Warsaw (ENI). A Turkish government adviser says Christians
and Muslims should be allowed to worship again in Istanbul's
Hagia Sophia basilica, eight decades after it was turned into
a museum by the country's secularist authorities. "Hagia Sofia
was built as a place of worship. It served people this way as
a church and mosque for more than a thousand years," said
Mehmet Akif Aydın, an expert with the Presidency of Religious
Affairs, which monitors religious sites in Turkey, including
more than 80 000 mosques. "As a Muslim, I'd like it to become
a mosque. But if Hagia Sofia were opened to Muslim worshippers
on weekdays, it should also be opened to Christians on Sundays.
It disturbs me that it's become just a museum and tourist
destination." The expert was commenting on calls for the sixth
century landmark to be reopened for religious events. Turkey,
which has witnessed several attacks by Islamic militants on
Christian clergy, including the June killing of Bishop Luigi
Padovese, president of the country's Roman Catholic Bishops
Conference.

_____

Spanish Muslim, who advocated tolerance,
religious liberty, dies

Córdoba, Spain (ENI). The death of a Muslim leader, who had
converted to Islam and sought to build bridges between people
of different faiths, is being mourned in Spain and has been
especially praised in a Spanish newspaper article. Mansur
Escudero, 62,"was considered one of the most important
mediators between the Muslim community and the different
government administrations in Spain", the English-language
edition of the El País newspaper reported on 7 October. "He
was considered an excellent and creative orator, who defended
laity as well as freedom of religious practice.” In one of
his best known acts of interfaith activism, Escudero asked
the Vatican to allow Muslims - there are around 1.3 million
in Spain - to pray at the Cathedral of Córdoba, one of the
most unusual religious sites in the world.

_____


Anglican congregation's plan for Roman exit
not seen as exodus

London (ENI). The decision by an Anglican parish in south-east
England to leave the Church of England to become Roman Catholic
has taken some by surprise. The elected parochial church council
of St Peter's, Folkestone, south east England, which has taken
the unanimous decision to secede, is seeking a meeting with the
Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, to discuss procedure.
Earlier this year Pope Benedict XVI offered special provisions
for members of the Church of England unhappy with the prospect
of female bishops. The Rev. Stephen Bould, the parish vicar, and
the church council said they regretted having to take such action
and called for a smooth transition in the interest of both
parties. Bould said he was proud of the courage and faith of
the lay people concerned. He told journalists after the morning
service on 17 October he did not know how many of the
congregation would join the Catholic Church.


*****

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

Provided by Sojourners Online:

October 18th, 2010

"To work in the world lovingly means that we are
defining what we will be for, rather than reacting
to what we are against."

- Christina Baldwin

___


October 19th, 2010

“Today it is fashionable to talk about the poor.
Unfortunately, it is not fashionable to talk with them.”

- Mother Teresa

___


October 20th, 2010

"To sin by silence when they should protest
 makes cowards of men."

- Abraham Lincoln

___


October 21st, 2010

“When you pray, move your feet.”

- African Proverb

___


October 22nd, 2010

“Charity is no substitute for justice withheld.”

- Saint Augustine


*****

ON THIS DAY

Oct. 19, 1987 - Stock Market Takes Big Plunge

http://tinyurl.com/35dvh5f

*****

On Oct. 21, 1879, Thomas Edison invented a workable
electric light at his laboratory in Menlo Park, N.J.

http://tinyurl.com/24vjclw

*****

On Oct. 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy
announced an air and naval blockade of Cuba,
following the discovery of Soviet missile bases
on the island.

http://tinyurl.com/2b42fda


*****

CLOSING THOUGHT

Falling asleep during your church's "quiet time" is not
the biggest sin in the universe. The disciples did it,
for example. Any they had Jesus around. So don't beat
yourself up about nodding off as you are in good company.

(end)

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