Vol. VI. No. 17
*****
Wayne A. Holst, Editor
Colleagues List Blog:
http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com/
************
CHRISTMAS WEEK
END-OF-THE-YEAR
EDITION
************
In this Issue -
"Why I am Committed to
Colleagues List"
---
Annual Summary of Articles
Appearing in Colleagues List
___
Colleague Contributions:
Ed and Marie Schroeder - Digital Nativity
Pauline Miller - Seaway Mall Celebration
Angelina Waldon - Evolutionary Christianity
Philip Jenkins - Liberation Theology Survives
Jim Taylor - "Gifts of Life" Christmas column
Lorna Dueck - "Greatest Christmas Gift"
Jerry Bowler Interview
___
Net Notes:
Blue Christmas Services
Saskatoon Does Christmas Best
My Name is Peter and I'm a Believer
Anne Rice's Christmas Eve Confession
On Palin's Reading List - C.S. Lewis
Iraqi Christians Exercise Christmas Caution
Christmas Tree Becomes New Korean Flashpoint
In 500 Billion Words a New Window on Culture
Catholic Hospital is Suspended after Abortion
Hindu Radicals Spread Christmas Fear in Orissa
What if It's Not Men that Men are Looking For?
Canada Gives Sanctuary to Iraqi Christian Victims
History of Evangelicals in United Church of Canada
Christ's Endangered Language Gets New Oxford Boost
Pope: Church Must Assess What's Wrong with Message
Beneath Dead Sea Scientists Dig for Natural History
Winchester: System Discriminates Against Christians
___
Global Faith Potpourri
5 stories from Ecumenical News International
___
Quotes of the Week:
Augustine of Hippo
St. Therese of Lisieux
William Booth
Hildegard of Bingen
Mother Theresa
___
On This Day (Dec. 21st - Dec. 29th)
Dec. 21, 1988 - Pan Am plane explodes over
Lockerbie, Scotland
Dec. 22, 1864 - Sherman tells Lincoln "I beg to
present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah"
Dec. 23, 1986 - experimental airplane Voyager,
completes first non-stop, around-the-world flight
without refueling
Dec. 25, 1991 - Soviet President Gorbachev announces
his resignation
Dec. 26, 1941 - Winston Churchill becomes first
British prime minister to address a joint meeting
of the US Congress
Dec. 28, 1981 - Elizabeth Jordan Carr, first
American test-tube baby, born in Norfolk, Va.
Dec. 29, 1940 - Germany begins dropping
incendiary bombs on London
___
Closing Thought -
Christmas Trees, by Robert Frost (1920)
(end)
***************
Dear Friends:
Welcome to the final Colleagues List issue of 2010!
This edition represents the first full year of
publication on my Colleagues List blog site:
http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com/
To recognize this occasion I write a brief
reflection on five reasons why I produce this blog
- for free - and for more than 600 readers around
the world - on a regular basis. I call the article:
"Why I am Committed to Colleagues List"
---
As usual, I review the past 12 months and provide
you with:
"A Summary of Articles Appearing in Colleagues List."
This year, I authored 31 book and movie reviews/
notices; 14 personal reflections on various themes;
and 1 book chapter which is scheduled to appear in
a forthcoming publication.
If you missed a piece you would like to read, just
go to the main page of my Colleagues List blog,
check the left side-bar for the month and date of
its appearance, and find the article in the issue
that turns up on your screen.
___
Colleague Contributions:
Here are six items that I have discovered from
fellow-colleagues. These came to me a few days
prior, and subsequent to Christmas.
Ed and Marie Schroeder - provide a digital nativity
scene from Youtube which they hope we can still enjoy.
Pauline Miller - offers "Seaway Mall Celebration"
with her own introduction. Again, a Youtube
presentation.
Angelina Waldon - shares a special site entitled:
"Evolutionary Christianity" for those looking for
good lectures on the relationship between science
and faith (evolutionarychristianity.com)
Philip Jenkins - writes his regular column and
offers a perspective on how liberation theology
is surviving and creatively mutating in a number
of Latin American countries like Brazil and
Bolivia (Christian Century)
Jim Taylor - "Gifts of Life" is Jim's Christmas
column from his personal website
(personal correspondence)
Lorna Dueck - "The Greatest Christmas Gift" here
is an interview Lorna undertakes with a Christmas
"specialist" living in Winnipeg - Dr. Jerry Bowler
(ListenUp TV)
___
End-of-Year Specials:
Looking Back on 2010 - National Public Radio
provides a summary of news stories from an American
perspective.
Ten Top News Stories - Christianity Today offers
its take on religious news in 2010 from an American
evangelical Protestant perspective.
Christmas in the Middle East - The Guardian (UK)
offers a slide show on how minority Christians are
celebrating this year.
The Twelve Books of Christmas - from the Telegraph
(UK) here is a surprizing list of Christmas books
appearing in the secular/popular press.
The Best Spiritual Books of 2010 - Spirituality
and Practice (one of our favourite resource sites)
offers its take on "the best books" of the past
twelve months.
___
Net Notes:
"Blue Christmas Services" - an interesting article on
a Christmas season service that is gaining attention
in many places - it focuses on those who are unhappy
in the midst of so much festivity
(National Public Radio)
"Saskatoon Does Christmas Best" - Kids seem to get
the best Canadian Christmas experience in Saskatoon!
(Toronto Sun)
"My Name is Peter and I'm a Believer" - the personal
Christian testimony of a writer in the British press
(The Independent, UK)
"Anne Rice's Christmas Eve Confession" - apparently,
the popular author is still a Christian believer,
though not a church member (Wall Street Journal)
"On Palin's Reading List - C.S. Lewis" - the
would-be Republican presidential candidate has
a favourite author (Wall Street Journal)
"Iraqi Christans Exercise Christmas Caution" -
It's a difficult time to openly practice the
Christian faith in Iraq right now, as we have
already discovered (New York Times)
"Christmas Tree Becomes New Korean Flashpoint" -
tensions between North and South Korea are
apparent in how each side approaches symbols
of the Christmas season (ABC News)
"In 500 Billion Words a New Window on Culture" -
an interesting article on the amazing changes
taking place in media today (New York Times)
"Catholic Hospital is Suspended after Abortion" -
Phoenix hospital is dumped by the local bishop
for performing an abortion to save a mother's life
(The Guardian, UK)
"Hindu Radicals Spread Christmas Fear in Orissa" -
Another difficult place to be a Christian at this
time of year is in the Indian state of Orissa
(Cathnews Asia)
"What if It's Not Men that Men are Looking For?" -
A woman pastor takes exception to the argument
that men stay away from church today because of
the growing prominence of female clergy and
worship leaders (Christian Century)
"Canada Offers Sanctuary to Iraqi Christian
Victims" - Canadians are not unaware of
persecution presently taking place in Iraq
and are trying to do something about it
(ChristianWeek.org)
"History of Evangelicals in United Church of
Canada" - Here is an interesting study produced
by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada on the
long-standing evangelical presence in the United
Church of Canada (Faith/Culture Trends,
Evangelical Fellowship of Canada)
"Christ's Endangered Language Gets New Lease
at Oxford" - The language spoken by Jesus,
Aramaic, is being studied in new ways at a
famous British university these days
(The Guardian, UK)
"Pope: Church Must Assess What's Wrong with
its Message" - Benedict seems growingly aware
that there is a disconnect between what his
church claims to stand for, and what it
conveys to the general public
(The Telegraph, UK)
"Beneath Dead Sea Scientists Drilling for
Natural History" - this ancient body of water
in the Holy Land is becoming a hotbed of
scientific study (New York Times)
"Winchester: Legal System Discriminates Against
Christians" - the bishop of Winchester is on
record as stating that when it comes to human
rights in the UK, some religious groups are more
equal than others - and that does not include
Christians (The Telegraph, UK)
___
Global Faith Potpourri
5 stories are provided this week from Ecumenical
News International, Geneva. Come the new year,
ENI is being reorganized and a new central news
team is being formed.
___
Quotes of the Week:
The following insights come via Sojourners Online
and are issued by -
Augustine of Hippo, St. Therese of Lisieux,
William Booth, Hildegard of Bingen and
Mother Theresa
___
On This Day (Dec. 21st - Dec. 29th)
Significant events in human history are provided
from the archives of the New York Times:
Pan Am plane explodes over Lockerbie, Scotland (1988)
Sherman tells Lincoln "I beg to present you as a
Christmas gift the city of Savannah" (1864)
Experimental airplane Voyager, completes first non-
stop, around-the-world flight without refueling (1986)
Soviet President Gorbachev announces his resignation
(1991)
Winston Churchill becomes first British prime
minister to address a joint meeting of the US
Congress (1941)
Elizabeth Jordan Carr, first American test-tube
baby, born in Norfolk, Va. (1981)
Dec. 29, 1940 - Germany begins dropping incendiary
bombs on London (1940)
___
Closing Thought -
The poet is one of our favourites and his poem
"Christmas Trees" (Robert Frost, 1920) is
timely and beautiful.
___
Christmas and New Year blessings to all!
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/
__
INTRODUCING OUR ST.DAVID'S WINTER STUDY FOR 2011
Books Considered:
"An Altar in the World" by Barbara Brown Taylor (and)
"I Shall Not Hate - A Gaza Doctor's Journey"
by Izzeldin Abuelaish
Books on sale since Sunday, December 12th, 2010
More study and website particulars will be posted
as they become available
*****
INTRODUCING MY UNIVERSITY WINTER COURSE FOR 2011
GOD, ATHEISM, AND MORALITY
We continue our investigation of the New Atheists and
consider the question: "Can we be good without God?"
Text for the course will be Sam Harris' new book:
"The Moral Landscape:
How Science Can Determine Human Values"
(Free Press, October, 2010)
Course description and registration information:
http://tinyurl.com/2fc7xr4
*****
REMINDER:
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!
We have 26 choristers signed up as part of the
tour group. This special choir begins rehearsals
in early January - led by our congregation's
music director, Brent Tucker.
Details are presently being finalized with
the St. David's cathedral dean, Fr. Jonathan Lean.
We are also planning to sing while visiting Iona,
Scotland and the Church of Mary Immaculate in
Inchicore, Dublin, Ireland. Fr. Ned Carolan, host.
ALL 38 PLACES ON THE TOUR ARE NOW SOLD OUT
We continue to gather a waiting list for this trip,
as they may be some drop-outs as we near deadlines.
We have started an interest list for future tours!
Let me know if you are interested in knowing more
about exciting, spiritual tourism!
*****
SUMMARY OF OUR AUTUMN MONDAY NIGHT STUDY
We are introducing live videos of our sessions,
edited by Jock McTavish:
Review Our Fall Program at St. David's by clicking:
http://www.1journey.net/stdavids/SD/BookStudy/25/25.htm
New material will continue to be added to this page
as it becomes available.
*****
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 ITEM
WHY I AM COMMITTED TO COLLEAGUES LIST
A Short, Personal, Year-end Reflection
I have now completed a full complement of Colleagues
List web log mailings during the year 2010. That
amounts to 41 issues provided for readers of my blog
this year. I usually write more infrequently during
the months of June, July and August; and sometimes
when my schedule is too crowded to produce a quality
edition.
This is a good time to carefully assess why I do,
in fact, produce this blog. It involves a
significant part of my week, and I need to be
mindful of my life priorities.
Here then are five reasons why I am committed to
creating Colleagues List on a regular basis for
you my readers:
Colleages List -
1. Exposes me to a wide range of faith/culture
developments -
Every week, I peruse hundreds of online and
hardcopy articles. I need to be discriminating
about what is truly helpful to my awareness and
growth. What you read is a culling from a much
broader information base which I hope is helpful
to you also.
2. Regularly disciplines me to form/consolidate
my thinking -
I need constantly to be exposed to many new
discoveries if I hope to grow and mature as a
person. Often this causes me to 'stretch' in ways
I might not always prefer. I try to refine my
thoughts with you from a 'big tent' of ideas.
3. Keeps me connected globally to many people and
places -
I have continued to keep in touch with friends from
every stage of my life since childhood. This
involves people from around the world, as well
as closer to my home base in Canada. I try to
offer you a universal tapestry from a Canadian
perspective. Wherever feasible, I seek to include
input from you my readers. Don't hesitate to submit
your thoughts. They may get published!
4. Helps me to live with a greater awareness of
real life -
Working extensively in the field of 'religion and
culture' means that I am constantly exposed to ideas
and situations that challenge and sometimes upset
me. I penetrate areas of living with which I am
often quite unfamiliar. That should make things
interesting for all of us since you are a very
'diverse' group of readers and writers.
5.Gives me an opportunity to share my gifts and
discoveries
At a more difficult time, I promised God that -
if given the opportunity - I would share my life
generously with others since I was learning that
generosity is what gave meaning to my continued
existence. At base, that is my reason for creating
each free issue of Colleagues List.
Thanks for reading and contributing!
*****
ANNUAL SUMMARY OF ARTICLES
APPEARING IN COLLEAGUES LIST
All items can be retrieved from my Colleagues List
Blog Archives, links to which are found on the left
sidebar of the blogsite. Go to "month" and "date" as
shown to locate your desired selection.
Book Notices and Reviews:
1. Beyond Words: Daily Readings in the ABC's of
Faith (Bueckner) - January 9/2010
2. A Case for the Divinity of Jesus: Examining the
Earliest Evidence (Overman) - January 23/10
3. Cultural Intelligence: Improving Your CQ to
Engage Our Multicultural World (Livermore)
- January 30/10
4. Thieves in the Temple: The Christian Church
and the Selling of the American Soul
(MacDonald) - February 13/10
5. The Grasshopper (Lothian) - March 6/10
6. Common Ground: Islam, Christianity and Religious
Pluralism (Heck) - March 13/10
7. Jesus Wars: How Four Patriarchs, Three Queens and
Two Emperors Decided What Christians Should
Believe for the Next 1,500 Years (Jenkins)
- March 13/10
8. The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ
(Pulman) - April 10/10
9. Toward a Hopeful Future: Why the Emergent Church
is Good News for Mainline Congregations
(Snider and Bowen) - April 17/10
10. The Emerging Church: A Model for Change and a
Map for Renewal (Sanguin) - April 24/10
11. Compassion: Loving Our Neighbour in an Age of
Globalization (O'Connell) - May 1/10
12. Letters from India: 1932-1945 (Puxley and Titus)
- May 8/10
13. The Language God Talks: On Science and Religion
(Wouk) - May 15/10
14. The Armageddon Factor: The Rise of Christian
Nationalism in Canada (McDonald) - May 29/10
15. And Babies Make Seven (Self-Published) (Koning)
- July 10/10
16. Putting Away Childish Things: A Tale of Modern
Faith (Borg) July 31/10
17. Absence of Mind: The Dispelling of Inwardness
from the Modern Myth of the Self (Robinson)
- August 14/10
18. More Everyday Parables: Simple Stories for
Spiritual Reflection (Taylor) - October 2/10
19. The Masque of Africa: Glimpses of African
Belief (Naipaul) - October 9/10
20. The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine
Human Values (Harris) - October 16/10
21. Going Missional: Conversations with 13 Canadian
Churches Who Have Embraced Missional Life
(Stiller and Metzger) - October 23/10
22. Nelson Mandela: Conversations With Myself
(Mandela, with a Preface by Barak Obama)
- October 23/10
23. A New Kind of Christianity: Ten Questions
that are Transforming the Faith (McLaren)
- October 30/10
24. Pastoral Prayers to Share - Year A; Prayers
of the People for Each Sunday of the Church Year
(Sparks) - November 6/20
25. The Great Emergence: How Christianity is
Changing and Why (Tickle) November 13th, 2010
26. My Search for My Great-Grandfather:
The Venerable Oommen Mamen, Archdeacon of
Mavelikara of the CMS Anglican Church of India
(1830-1904) (Zachariah) - November 20/10
27. Christmas - Festival of Incarnation (Heinz)
- November 27/10
28. Listening for the Heartbeat of God: A Celtic
Spirituality (Newell) - December 4/10
29. The Celtic Way - New Edition (Bradley)
- December 4/10
30. What Good Is God? In Search of a Faith that
Matters (Yancey) - December 11/20
---
Movie Review:
1. The Most Dangerous Man in America -
Daniel Ellsberg Documentary and Academy Award
Nominee - March 6/10
---
Lecture Notes and Personal Thoughts:
1. A Reflection on the Changing Seasons:
Walking the Banff Fenland Trail
- January 23/10
2. Background Reflection on Thomas Aquinas -
"Jesus as True Human" (Wawrykow) -
February 6/10
3. Spiritual Leaders Who Changed the World
(Part 1) Joseph Campbell, Thomas Berry,
Huston Smith - February 20/10
4. Spiritual Leaders Who Changed the Word
(Part 2) Simon Weil, Dorothy Day, Albert
Schweitzer - February 27/10
5. Notes on "Cross-Pressured Authenticity:
Charles Taylor on Religious Identity in
a Secular Age" (Kuipers) - March 20/10
6. Notes on "God is Dead and I Don't Feel
So Well Myself - A Reflection on Charles
Taylor's book, A Secular Age" (Kuipers)
- March 20/10
7. Notes on "Jahid of the West: Alienation,
Integration and Identity (Tariq Ramadan)
- March 20/10
8. When Pentecostals Visited a United Church:
Learning to Encounter Each Other Openly
(Johnson, Ryland and Webster)
- March 27/10
9. Claiming the Passion and Hope of Holy Week
and Easter in My Own Life - A Personal
Reflection on My Cancer - April 3/10
10. Notes on "Christian Nationalism and
Business Propaganda: Do They Threaten
Democracy?" (McDonald and Gutstein)
- May 22/10
11. "Against My Will:
Like Clay in the Potter's Hands"
(a sermon on my cancer experience preached
at St. David's United Church, Calgary)
- September 5/10
12. "Roots and Wings: A Reflection on Summer
Travels in BC and Ontario"
- September 18/10
13. Holst Family Christmas Letter
- December 18/10
13. "Why I Am Committed to Colleagues List" -
A summary reflection on the first year
of the Colleagues List Blog, 2010
- December 31/10
---
Book Chapter:
1. "The Mill Experience: Five Vignettes from
Impressionabl Years" produced for Jane Snider Epp
who is writing a history of the Snider Flour and
Feed Mill, St. Jacobs, ON. - June 12/10
---
I composed a total of 46 presentations during 2010.
*****
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS
ED AND MARIE SCHROEDER
St. Louis, MO.
A DIGITAL NATIVITY (Youtube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkHNNPM7pJA
_____
PAULINE MILLER
St. Jacobs, ON.
A friend sent "Seaway Mall" to me. It is absolutely
amazing. I will not attempt to forward his message.
You can find it easily by going on the Internet.
Pauline
Seaway Mall - Christmas Food Court Flash Mob Hallelujah:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXh7JR9oKVE
*****
ANGELINA WALDON
Calgary, AB
Wayne:
While I was reading your newsletter it occurred
to me that you could be interested in this series.
Just in case you did not get the link earlier in
December I forward it to you as it is so easy to
register and listen to it. It's a fantastic idea,
so many good speakers (writers) coming all together.
I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and
the Best in the New Year.
Angelina
EVOLUTIONARY CHRISTIANITY WEBSITE:
http://evolutionarychristianity.com/
*****
PHILIP JENKINS
University Park, PA
NOTES FROM THE GLOBAL CHURCH -
A SECOND SPRING
The Christian Century
December 20th, 2010
http://tinyurl.com/27ogn3s
*****
JIM TAYLOR
Okanagan, BC
GIFTS OF LIFE
Earlier this week I sat at my computer wondering
what I could write about Christmas that might be
new and insightful. Far too often, the Christmas
message feels just like dusting off ornaments
exhumed once a year.
In desperation, I thumbed through some Decembers
of the journal I’ve kept -- more or less regularly
-- since 1964...
Read Jim's entire column:
http://edges.canadahomepage.net/2010/12/22/945/
*****
LORNA DUECK
Burlington, ON
THE GREATEST CHRISTMAS GIFT
With Winnipeg Author Jerry Bowler
Listen Up TV
Dec. 23rd, 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-ZTwDrgYuo
********************
END-OF-YEAR SPECIALS
LOOKING BACK ON 2010
From an American Perspective
Religion and Ethics -
National Public Radio
December 23rd, 2010
http://tinyurl.com/25xcqph
*****
THE TEN TOP NEWS STORIES FROM
CHRISTIANITY TODAY
December 28th, 2010
http://tinyurl.com/232zgsz
*****
CHRISTMAS IN THE MIDDLE EAST
A Slide Show of Christian Life
The Guardian, UK
Dec. 23rd, 2010
http://tinyurl.com/2bd4a4b
*****
THE TWELVE BOOKS OF CHRISTMAS
The Telegraph, UK
December 22nd, 2010
http://tinyurl.com/2eycc7n
*****
THE BEST SPIRITUAL BOOKS OF 2010
Compiled by the producers of
Spirituality and Practice
December 2010:
http://tinyurl.com/2eaghxx
***************
NET NOTES
BLUE CHRISTMAS SERVICES
NPR Religion and Ethics
December 17th, 2010
http://tinyurl.com/2elf928
*****
SASKATOON DOES CHRISTMAS BEST
FOR KIDS - SURVEY
Toronto Sun
December 25th, 2010
http://tinyurl.com/29g8z3v
*****
MY NAME IS PETER
AND I'M A BELIEVER
The Independent
December 21st, 2010
http://tinyurl.com/28k879h
*****
ANNE RICE'S CHRISTMAS CONFESSION
Vampire Author Declares Her Faith -
Dropped Out of Church but Still a Believer
Wall Street Journal
December 24th, 2010
http://tinyurl.com/2fee4pd
*****
ON PALIN'S READING LIST -
C.S. LEWIS
Wall Street Journal
December 21st, 2010
http://tinyurl.com/2vgsn8r
*****
IRAQI CHRISTIANS EXERCISE
CAUTION AT CHRISTMAS
New York Times
December 25th, 2010
http://tinyurl.com/24qdchd
*****
CHRISTMAS TREE BECOMES
NEW KOREAN FLASHPOINT
ABC News
Dec. 21st, 2010
http://tinyurl.com/2843778
*****
IN 500 BILLION WORDS
A NEW WINDOW ON CULTURE
The New York Times,
Dec. 17th, 2010
http://tinyurl.com/2aa6b5r
*****
CATHOLIC HOSPITAL TIES CUT AFTER
ABORTION THAT SAVED MOTHER'S LIFE
The Guardian, UK
Dec. 23rd, 2010
http://tinyurl.com/29erj6a
*****
HINDU RADICALS SPREAD
CHRISTMAS FEAR IN ORISSA
Cathnews Asia
Dec. 22nd, 2010
http://tinyurl.com/2bu78dx
*****
WHAT IF IT'S NOT MEN
THAT MEN ARE LOOKING FOR?
Perspectives on Worship Leadership
The Christian Century Blog
December 14th, 2010
http://tinyurl.com/2g7l2nw
*****
CANADA OFFERS SANCTUARY TO VICTIMS
OF ETHNIC CLEANSING IN IRAQ
ChristianWeek.org
January 1st, 2010
http://tinyurl.com/34cwmzs
*****
A HISTORY OF EVANGELICALS
IN THE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA
Faith and Culture Trends -
Evangelical Fellowship of Canada
December, 2010
"The Loyal Opposition"
http://tinyurl.com/2cbooux
*****
CHRIST'S ENDANGERED LANGUAGE GETS
NEW LEASE ON LIFE AT OXFORD
The Guardian UK
Dec. 23rd, 2010
http://tinyurl.com/29hjxl3
*****
POPE SAYS CHURCH MUST REFLECT
ON WHAT IS WRONG WITH ITS MESSAGE
The Telegraph UK
December 21st, 2010
http://tinyurl.com/2wbpy6q
*****
BENEATH DEAD SEA SCIENTISTS
ARE DRILLING FOR NATURAL HISTORY
The New York Times
December 18th, 2010
http://tinyurl.com/2fe26ww
*****
BISHOP OF WINCHESTER: LEGAL SYSTEM
DISCRIMINATES AGAINST CHRISTIANS
The Telegraph, UK
December 27th, 2010
http://tinyurl.com/2vvdx55
*****
GLOBAL FAITH POTPOURRI
Ecumenical News International
News Highlights
20 December 2010
Bethlehem 'centre of Christian spirituality'
despite conflict
Bethlehem, West Bank (ENI news). Despite political
conflict involving Israelis and Palestinians in the
West Bank and Gaza, Bethlehem remains the centre of
Christian spirituality, especially at Christmas,
says the Palestinian minister of tourism Khouloud
Deibes. "Christmas is a source of joy and pride
for us Palestinians because here it happened,"
Deibes, a Christian resident of Bethlehem, said
during a press briefing on 14 December. She noted
that Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem include
those of the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and
Armenian Christians. "Here we have the time also
to celebrate our churches; they are living
monuments, not museums." Deibes added, "We are
still under occupation, people are still suffering.
Christmas is a good occasion to show how the
political situation is negatively impacting the
Christian presence in the Holy Land."
_____
Dublin archbishop apologises as former priest
jailed for sexual abuse
Dublin (ENI news). The Roman Catholic archbishop
of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, has apologised
"unreservedly" to the people of Ballyfermot, a
parish in Ireland's capital city, after a former
priest who had ministered there was sentenced to
16 years in prison for child abuse. The 57-year-
old former priest, Tony Walsh, was sentenced in
Dublin on 8 December to jail terms ranging from
four to 16 years on 12 counts of indecent assault
and homosexual assault on three boys, aged between
seven and their early teens, between 1978 and 1985.
In a 12 December homily at the Church of the
Assumption in Ballyfermot, Archbishop Martin said,
"I came here this morning to renew my apologies to
the people of this parish for the facts that this
week have emerged one step more clearly about the
abuse of children in Ballyfermot by the former
priest Tony Walsh and about the way this abuse was
hushed-up by people with responsibility in the
parish and in the diocese."
_____
Islam's 'special demands' a 21st century test,
says UK secular chief
Canterbury, England (ENI news). Accommodating
Islam's special demands on Britain will be one of
the greatest governmental challenges of the 21st
century, says the president of the UK's National
Secular Society. In an interview with ENI news,
Terry Sanderson warned that if the British
government continues to "bury its head in the sand"
and pretend that Islamic fundamentalists are not
running some faith schools there could be "two
societies" and "two cultures" in Britain.
"Naturally, I see secularism as a major factor
in permitting us all to live together without any
religion being able to take temporal power and then
preceding to persecute the others - which is the
usual path in theocracies."
*****
21 December 2010
Latvian Lutheran church wrestles with ecumenism,
female clergy
Riga (ENI news). Archbishop Janis Vanags, widely
known for his strong stand against the ordination
of women and opposition to homosexuality, is to
remain as the leader of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church of Latvia. Vanags, a dissident activist when
the Baltic country was under Soviet rule, was chosen
to lead the Lutheran church in his country after his
predecessor died in a car accident in 1992. Seventy
percent of the synod cast votes of confidence in
Vanags, who told ENI news that he called the
election because of his concern over the difficult
situation in the church.
_____
After 100 years, Japanese Protestant-run schools
face pressures
Tokyo (ENI news). The Association of Christian
Schools in Japan, a nationwide grouping of
Protestant-run schools in the country, has
marked its centennial anniversary amid
decreasing enrollment. The Christian schools'
association was founded in Kyoto in 1910 by
about 10 men's schools "to take actions together"
against the government's 1899 order to ban
religious education in the country. Many of the
member schools were founded with the help of
Western missions. "Our problems today include
'internal pressures' instead of external
pressures [from the government], such as the
decrease of candidates for the entrance
examinations, competitions with other schools,
and secularisation," said the Rev. Masanobu
Fukamachi, who chaired the association's board
of directors from 1999 to 2003.
*****
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
Provided by Sojourners Online:
December 20th, 2010
"The way to Christ is first through humility,
second through humility, third through humility."
- Augustine of Hippo
_____
December 21st, 2010
"My vocation is love! In the heart of the Church,
who is my Mother, I will be love. So I shall be
everything and so my dreams will be fulfilled --
to make Love loved."
- Saint Therese of Lisieu
_____
December 22nd, 2010
"While women weep, as they do now, I'll fight;
while children go hungry, as they do now, I'll
fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in
and out, as they do, I'll fight; while there
is one drunkard left, while there is a poor
girl upon the streets, while there remains
one dark soul without the light of God,
I'll fight -- I'll fight to the very end!"
- William Booth (founder of the Salvation Army)
_____
December 23rd, 2010
"We shall awaken from our dullness and rise
vigorously toward justice. If we fall in love
with creation deeper and deeper, we will respond
to its endangerment with passion."
- Hildegard of Bingen
_____
December 24th, 2010
"We are all called to be contemplatives in the
heart of the world -- by seeking the face of God
in everything, everyone, everywhere, all the time,
and [God's] hand in every happening; seeing and
adoring the presence of Jesus, especially in the
lowly appearance of bread, and in the distressing
disguise of the poor."
- Mother Teresa
*****
ON THIS DAY
Provided by the New York Times
Dec. 21, 1988 - a terrorist bomb exploded aboard
a Pan Am Boeing 747 over Lockerbie, Scotland,
killing 270 people.
http://tinyurl.com/2wtmvh2
---
Dec. 22, 1864 - during the Civil War, Union Gen.
William T. Sherman sent a message to President
Lincoln from Georgia, saying, "I beg to present
you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah.
http://tinyurl.com/28kj4jv
---
Dec. 23, 1986 - the experimental airplane
Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager,
completed the first non-stop, around-the-world
flight without refueling as it landed safely at
Edwards Air Force Base in California.
http://tinyurl.com/27wn6e3
---
Dec. 25, 1991 - Soviet President Mikhail S.
Gorbachev went on TV to announce his resignation
as the eighth and final leader of a Communist
superpower that had already gone out of existence.
http://tinyurl.com/22ovlmh
---
Dec. 26, 1941 - Winston Churchill became the
first British prime minister to address a joint
meeting of the United States Congress.
http://tinyurl.com/2dpxds6
---
Dec. 28, 1981 - Elizabeth Jordan Carr, the first
American test-tube baby, was born in Norfolk, Va.
http://tinyurl.com/3982kdx
---
Dec. 29, 1940 - during World War II, Germany
began dropping incendiary bombs on London.
http://tinyurl.com/39sbe2c
*****
CLOSING THOUGHT
CHRISTMAS TREES, by Robert Frost (1920)
http://tinyurl.com/29o86t9
(end)
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