Vol. VI. No. 32
*****
Wayne A. Holst, Editor
*****
Colleagues List Blog:
http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com/
*****
HOLY WEEK - EASTER EDITION
In This Issue -
Special Item This Week
"Presentation by Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish
at Webber Academy, Calgary, April 18th"
___
Colleague Comment: An Ontario Friend
___
Colleague Contributions:
Ron Rolheiser
Jim Taylor
Jim Irwine
Michael Higgins
Martin Marty
___
Net Notes:
Common Korean Easter Prayers
Catholics Becoming Protestants
Anglicans 'OK' About Defections
Canada's Tar Sands Image in Tatters
Belgian Church Seeks the Pope's Help
The Flowering of a Strong UK Atheism
Residential School Staff to Tell Story
"Three Cups of Tea" Author is Challenged
Holy Land Tour Promotes Inter-faith Focus
Unmarried Pastors have Job Search Problems
___
Global Faith Potpourri:
Ten ENI Geneva stories appear this week.
___
Quotes of the Week:
Susan B. Anthony
T.S. Eliot
Margaret Walker
Thomas a Kempis
___
On This Day:
April 17, 1961 - disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion
April 18, 1906 - big earthquake hits San Francisco
April 21, 1910 - Mark Twain dies
___
Closing Thought - Teilhard de Chardin
(end)
*****
Dear Friends:
A blessed Holy Weekend and Easter to all of you!
This will be my last issue of Colleagues List
until the end of May. Marlene and I will be part
of a 35-member anniversary tour of the Celtic Lands
and then we spend two additional weeks in Devon/
Cornwall, Normandy/France and London.
A month from now I should be back with new ideas
and information to share with you my readers.
---
This week, Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, author of the
book "I Shall Not Hate" came to Calgary to speak
to students, staff and guests at the Webber
Academy, a private school in our city's southwest.
I was even more impressed with the doctor when
meeting and hearing him personally than I was
when I've read his book and watched his videos.
Hopefully, you will catch something of the
spirit of the man through my transcription
of his talk. This presentation was a positive
complement to the message shared two weeks
ago from Oren Steinitz - Jewish chaplain at the
U. of C. - when he spoke to our Monday Night
Study Group at St. David's United.
___
Colleague Comment - this week is from an Ontario
friend who enjoyed last week's issue.
___
Colleague Contributions:
This week, we hear from -
Ron Rolheiser - who reflects on
John's passion narrative
Jim Taylor - who ponders the meaning of
Holy Week stories
Jim Irvine - who shares the seven last
words from the cross
Michael Higgins - who assesses a modern film
take on a religious subject
Martin Marty - who comments on US National
Public Radio about a special
school in inner city Chicago
that he supports
___
Net Notes:
"Common Korean Easter Prayers" - steps are
taken, this Holy Week and Easter Season - to
provide a message of Christian unity within
and between the two Koreas (Ucan News)
"Catholics Becoming Protestants" - a helpful
commentary on what has been happening to the
third largest denomination in the USA -
Catholics who have joined other faiths or
who have come to espouse no faith
(National Catholic Reporter)
"Anglicans 'OK' About Defections" - not all
is gloom over the departure to Rome of some
Anglicans in the UK. It means more freedom
for those remaining (The Guardian, UK)
"Canada's Tar Sands Image in Tatters" - a
repeat article on how our tar sands projects
are viewed overseas (The Guardian, UK)
"Belgian Church Seeks the Pope's Help" -
the church in Belgium is reeling over
sexual abuse revelations by a disgraced
bishop (The Tablet, UK)
"The Flowering of a Strong UK Atheism"
- the efforts of the new atheists in
the UK would appear to be paying off
(The Guardian, UK)
"Residential School Staff to Tell Story"
- the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
in Canada is giving residential school
staff a rare opportunity to tell their
side of the story (Anglican Journal)
"'Three Cups of Tea' Author Challenged"
- several articles appeared this week
on revelations that the author of a very
popular book may have fudged some facts
(KTVQ TV, Globe and Mail)
"Holy Land Tour has an Inter-faith Focus"
- a step forward in Holy Land tours is
reflected in this story about an inter-
faith group journeying together
(Christianweek.org)
"Unmarried Pastors have Job Search Problems"
- studies reveal that it is harder for
single ministers to locate calls in todays
complex ministry market (New York Times,
Alban Journal)
___
Global Faith Potpourri:
Ten ENI Geneva stories appear this week.
___
Quotes of the Week:
Courtesy of Sojourners.online -
Susan B. Anthony, T.S. Eliot,
Margaret Walker and Thomas à Kempis
are featured this week
___
On This Day:
From the New York Times Archives:
Disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion (1961)
Major earthquake hits San Francisco (1906)
Mark Twain dies (1910)
___
Closing Thought - Teilhard de Chardin
May your Easter be a meaningful celebration
of the resurrection, and may we meet again
in a month's time!
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/
NOTE: This page is being reconstructed.
*****
REMINDER:
ST. DAVID'S 50th ANNIVERSARY
TOUR OF CELTIC LANDS - 2011
Airline tickets, a special travel booklet
with much good spiritual reflection material
and information about preparations to make
and places to be visited - have been provided
to all persons on the tour.
We are coming close to the departure date!
35 PEOPLE ARE PREPARING TO DEPART ON THIS
CELTIC LANDS JOURNEY FROM APRIL 26th-May 10th.
PILGRIMS TO THE CELTIC LANDS LEAVE CALGARY WITH
ST.DAVID'S FAMILY BLESSING!
The following persons will set out, this Tuesday,
April 26th: Ruth Cross, Paula Davis, Dorothy Duker,
Joeli & Tom Frank, Donna Friesen, Vi Glidden,
Joan Gray, Alex Hart, Marlene & Wayne Holst,
Merilyn King, Charlene Lazurak, Carol Lawrence and
Gerry McBride, June Martin, Sylvia and Ian McDonald,
Karen McKeown, Bonnae and Jock McTavish,
Helen Murray, Linda Nemeth, Andrea Owen, Carol Owen,
Margaret Pellici, Mathew Rubuliak, Bev and George
Setterington,Gail Shaver, Betty Smith, Christy
Stiles, Diane and Mike Trew, Joanne Wiens.
The tour ends, Tuesday, May 10th.
We hope you will remember us, as we attempt to
be good ambassadors!
___
We have started an interest list for other,
future tours with a spiritual dimension!
Let me know if you are interested in learning
more about exciting, spiritual tourism! This
is a cutting edge ministry at St. David's.
Take a look at the St. David's, Wales Sacred Site:
http://tinyurl.com/4gbg35t
*****
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
PRESENTATION GIVEN BY DR. IZZELDIN ABUELAISH
AT THE WEBBER ACADEMY IN CALGARY THIS WEEK
Notes of His Talk:
I would like to send a strong message to all
of you who are students. Education is key. There
is no real equality between those who know and
those who don't. Education is a holy place.
Our enemy is ignorance. We don't know each
other. Instead of fighting each other, we need
to fight for each other's well-being.
I wish my children were here with me to be part
of this day. They are all at school in Toronto.
On September 16th 2008 my wife died. Was this
the end of my life? For a time I thought so.
The mother is the key life-giver and nurturer
in a family. From the start, she breast-feeds
love and life. I was devastated without her.
But I remembered that my daughters were bright
and they needed someone to dream with. I could
do that. I encouraged them to dream about what
they could become if they worked hard.
No one is born violent. Violence is taught to
us as we grow up. We are born human, and this
is what we need to keep reminding our children.
You parents, listen to your children! They can
teach you to be happy. When I was so sad about
losing two daughters in such a senseless way,
my other kids said to me "Our sisters are now
with their mother" and that helped me cope.
Life is like a bicycle. To stay balanced you
must keep moving ahead. I was able to return
to a sense of joy in my life because I live
in the now. At the same time, I look to the
time when my wife and daughters will be able
to return to me.
I have the right to hate people for what has
happened, but to me, hate is a poison. Hate is
a wasted fire, an energy gone wrong. I could
make a long list of people who have done bad
things to me. I refuse to do so. For me, the
antidote to hate is success in life.
I take the wiser way. I say to those who hate
me "You tried to destroy. I won't reciprocate."
Success trumps anger. My eldest living girl
lost her mother and sisters. She is now
studying computer engineering at the University
of Toronto. That, I tell her, is the antidote to
carrying hate around with you.
Still, we feel anger and outrage when bad
things happen to us. "I will not accept evil.
I will do something good to overcome evil."
Grandma Moses said "Life is what you make of it."
I choose freedom from anger and violence. and I
work to make life free for others as well. Then
I am truly free.
---
Ask yourself, "In what world do I want to live?"
Happiness is not in having, but in sharing. Start
to think differently and begin the change you
would like to see in others.
There is hope in the midst of the world's despair.
I am coming here to tell you that. I am hopeful
about humanity. As long as there is life, there
is hope. If things are not going right, change
the treatment. That's what medicine has taught
me. Take responsibility and begin to act in hope.
Believe in yourself. You can be what you want to
be. That is what my experience taught me. I wanted
to be a doctor and a women's specialist, and I
found the way to attain my dreams, even when the
odds were against me.
So be confident. Develop and refine your dreams.
Work hard. Achieve your life goals.
---
I enjoy my life and my work because I am saving
lives. Every life I save gives me satisfaction.
I am indebted to my mother, my wife, and my
daughters who continue to help me shape my dreams.
In memory of my daughters, I have started a
foundation to educate women from many backgrounds.
I want to be proud of my efforts when I meet those
departed women from my family again one day.
This is the time for women. Each one has a role.
This fall, 35 girls from Egypt, Israel and
Palestine, etc. will be able to continue their
education for special careers because of the
Canadian charity I have founded.
The Mid-East is not a dormant place. People are
looking for leadership. We need help for the poor,
the sick, the unemployed, and we need leaders who
look beyond politics to truly helping people.
---
The speaker quoted a poem - written by an Israeli
women - who says she gained strength from his
strength and who is sorry for what her people did
to him.
"I want to get to know other people better. I
want to speak to both Israelis and Palestinians.
I want to tell them - your present behaviour is
not good for you. I want to care for them both."
---
So I say - life is building bridges between people.
Men and women. Different races, religions and
nations. I want my daughters to break out of their
cultural constraints and learn how to speak to the
hearts of men where love also resides.
Have faith - but most of all, take action.
---
One questioner asked how he could humanly cope
with the great losses he has experienced. "I was
indeed angry," he said, "but I did not want to
lose control. I decided to turn that anger into
doing good things. My focus was 'I want to help
my patients' and I have kept focusing on that
goal."
The Israeli people know me. I can do some political
good because of the way I practice my profession
as a doctor.
For a time, I demanded an official apology from
Israel for what happened. After two years, I
realized that an apology would not be forthcoming.
I decided to sue the Israeli government instead,
and any compensation I win from this suit I will
direct to the foundation. While many Israelis feel
deeply saddened by what happened, they will probably
not apologize - for whatever their reasons. So, I
am moving on.
---
Where did the money come from to pay for my
education? I started with nothing. I used a
UN scholarship to get me started in medicine.
Egypt trained me as a doctor. I have always
believed that if you really want to be something
you can find a way to get it.
Thank God I had myself. For example, I wanted to
go to take extra studies at Harvard Medical School.
I went there and told the dean that this was a
dream of mine. He responded by admitting me to
their program.
---
Hamas and El Fatah are the groups in Palestine
that the Israelis call terrorists. They are
symptoms of a disease in Palestine, but they
are not the disease. Both Israelis and the
Palestinians need to develop moral courage
to see the situation for what is is, and to
rise above it, together.
The future must bring goodness to both groups,
and not just to one.
---
What can educated Canadians do to help?
You have an international reputation for
'bridging' between cultures. Go there to
see the situation in Palestine for yourself.
The current circumstances are disaster for
both sides.
Begin the communication process - I tell
all young people. Work for honesty, openness
and justice. What I want for myself I must
attempt that others experience as well.
*****
Buy his book from Amazon.ca for $15.00 CAD
http://tinyurl.com/3cnk844
*****
COLLEAGUE COMMENT
April 16th, 2011
Hi Wayne.
Plenty of good things here this (past) week.
I particularly enjoyed your review of
Michael Coren's book.
A blessed Holy Week and an Easter filled
with many blessings.
Ontario Friend
*****
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS
RON ROLHEISER
San Antonio, TX
"Jesus' Passion According to John"
http://tinyurl.com/6xov8od
*****
JIM TAYLOR
Okanagan, BC
"Does It Matter?"
http://edges.canadahomepage.net/2011/04/
*****
JIM IRVINE
Fredericton, NB
"Come and Follow Me" traces the Labyrinth
of Notre Dame Cathedral in Chartres as we
rehearsed the Seven “Last Words” from the
Cross earlier Good Friday in the 3-hour
parish church service in Fredericton, NB.
http://msgr.ca/msgr-7/come_and_follow_me.htm
May you have a blesséd Easter.
The Rev Canon Jim Irvine
263 Saunders St
Fredericton NB E3B 1N5
*****
MICHAEL HIGGINS
Fairfield, CT and Toronto, ON.
"Of Gods and Men and
the Purity of Faith"
Globe and Mail
April 22nd, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/3l6uwrj
*****
MARTIN MARTY
Chicago, IL
PBS Religion and Ethics Weekly
April 16th, 2011
"Holy Family School, Downtown Chicago:
A Model for Other Urban Schools"
http://tinyurl.com/3o89q39
*****
NET NOTES
COMMON KOREAN EASTER PRAYERS
Program Extends Across Border
Ucan News,
April 22nd, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/3ujzhsn
*****
CATHOLICS BECOMING PROTESTANTS
The Hidden Exodus in the US
National Catholic Reporter
April 18th, 2011
(Use Firefox to open link)
http://tinyurl.com/3t5ka4b
*****
ANGLICANS 'RELIEVED' AT
CATHOLIC DEFECTIONS
Opportunity to Move On
The Guardian, UK
April 22nd, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/3cgkofg
*****
CANADA'S IMAGE IN TATTERS
OVER TAR SANDS PROJECTS
Our UK Image is Not Good
The Guardian, UK
Reprinted from Nov. 2009.
http://tinyurl.com/3m54apd
*****
BELGIAN CHURCH LOOKS
TO POPE FOR HELP
Bishop Admits Past
The Tablet, UK
April 22nd, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/3hw243d
*****
THE FLOWERING OF
A STRONG UK ATHEISM
The Guardian, UK
April 19th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/3gbowaz
*****
RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL STAFF
URGED TO SHARE STORIES
Anglican Journal
April 18th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/3uaanu8
*****
"THREE CUPS OF TEA" AUTHOR
FORCED TO DEFEND HIS BOOK
Mortenson Faces Accuracy Challenges
KTVQ.com
Billings, MT.
April 18th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/3dng9g2
---
"When Three Cups of Tea and
Goodwill are not Good Enough"
Globe and Mail
April 21st, 2011
by Margaret Wente
http://tinyurl.com/3px5sfu
---
Canadian Mountaineer Condemns
Mortenson 'Witch Hunt'
Globe and Mail
April 22nd, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/3wgcyhp
*****
HOLY LAND TOUR HAS
INTER-FAITH FOCUS
Pilgrims of Diverse Traditions
Christianweek.org
April 19th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/3jg8grp
*****
UNMARRIED PASTORS FIND
BIAS IN JOB SEARCH
New York Times
March 21st, 21, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/3mmbdlm
---
Comment from the Alban Institute's
Congregational Resource Guide
April 19th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/3ro2alr
*****
GLOBAL FAITH POTPOURRI
Ecumenical News International
News Highlights
18 April 2011
"Cross of comfort" erected at
devastated Japan church site
Tokyo (ENI news) - A "cross of comfort" has been
erected at a church site about one month after
its building was washed away by the tsunami that
followed the magnitude-9 earthquake on 11 March,
a Christian relief organization reported. A team
from the Osaka-based Japan International Food
for the Hungry and volunteers from Tokyo
Christian Institute erected it, after they went
to the site on Kesennuma Bay in Miyagi prefecture
to clear rubble.
_____
U.S. Senate confirms
religious freedom ambassador
Washington, D.C. (ENI news) - A New York minister
will soon fill the Obama administration's long-
vacant position to oversee international religious
freedom after the Senate voted to confirm the Rev.
Suzan Johnson Cook for the post. The 14 April
voice vote positions Cook to become the first
female and the first African American in the
post after a lengthy and controversial nomination
process, Religion News Service reports.
_____
Should faith have a role in U.S. foreign policy?
Washington, D.C. (ENI news)- The State Department
has a "rigidly narrow" view of diplomacy that
neglects religion's role in foreign affairs, a
prominent Catholic ambassador charged on 17 April
as he announced his resignation. Other foreign
policy experts have another name for it: Religion
Avoidance Syndrome. And the departure of Douglas
Kmiec as ambassador to Malta, they say, is
symptomatic of a longstanding God gap in
American foreign policy, Religion News Service
reports.
*****
19 April 2011
Christ's last words unite
Philippine churches
Baguio City, Philippines (ENI news) -
Philippine Roman Catholic, mainline
Protestant and evangelical churches have
united in reflecting on Christ's seven last
sayings in a taped ecumenical radio program
that will be aired on Good Friday. "This
ecumenical activity is a realization of Jesus'
prayer for his followers to be one. It also
reminds us of our common Christian tradition,
which should unite and not divide us," Rev.
Joie Galinato of the United Methodist Church
told ENI news.
_____
Beatification of anti-Nazi martyrs
divides Lutherans, Catholics
Luebeck, Germany (ENI news) - Residents of this
north German city have long taken pride in four
native sons -- three Catholic priests and a
Lutheran pastor -- who were beheaded in quick
succession on 10 November 1943 by the Nazi regime.
The commingled blood of Catholic priests Johannes
Prassek, Hermann Lange, Eduard Mueller and Lutheran
pastor Karl Friedrich Stellbrink spawned an
ecumenical cooperation between the city's majority
Lutherans and minority Catholics that still lasts,
Religion News Service reports.But the Vatican's
decision to beatify the three priests on 25 June --
but not Stellbrink -- is testing that ecumenical
spirit, and has some religious leaders worried
that the event could drive a wedge between the
two communities.
*****
20 April 2011
Churches burned in Nigeria;
faith leaders condemn violence
Nairobi, Kenya (ENI news) - At least ten churches
have been burned in Nigeria, where violence has
broken out following the re-election of President
Goodluck Jonathan, according to Barnabas Fund, a
U.K. Christian charity. Violence broke out in
the predominantly Muslim north when it became
clear that Jonathan, a Christian from the south,
would win in the presidential election over his
key opponent, retired general Muhammadu Buhari,
a Muslim from the north. Jonathan was declared
the winner on 18 April.
_____
Mennonite World Day of Prayer
focuses on Latin American women
Strasbourg, France (ENI news) - Mennonite World
Conference member churches are being encouraged
to establish an annual day of prayer during May
focused on Latin American women. The World Day
of Prayer is an initiative of the Movement of
Anabaptist Women Theologians in Latin America.
Each year, women from a different country
prepare a worship guide incorporating a meeting
format, worship and teaching resources and
background material for intercession.
_____
Scholar challenges
Thursday date of Last Supper
London (ENI news) - A top British scientist
claims his biblical, historical and astronomical
research shows Christians have been observing
Jesus' Last Supper on the wrong day of the week.
Cambridge University Professor Colin Humphreys
says Jesus' final meal with his disciples
actually was eaten on the Wednesday before
the Crucifixion -- one day earlier than has
been traditionally accepted, Religion News
Service reports. The mix-up, Humphreys
concludes in his new book, "The Mystery
of the Last Supper," may be because Jesus
and disciples Matthew, Mark and Luke used
one calendar, but fellow disciple John
used another.
*****
21 April 2011
European leaders mark
10th anniversary of ecumenical charter
Trier, Germany (ENI news) - European religious
and political leaders are marking the tenth
anniversary of the signing on 22 April of the
Ecumenical Charter, noting that cooperation
among churches has affected European civic
and social progress. "The fruits of this
ecumenical dialogue are being reaped every
day," said Herman Van Rompuy, president of
the European Union (EU), as reported by the
German Protestant News agency (EPD). Van
Rompuy said that European politics are being
fed by such initiatives, as religious
communities remind people of a spiritual
dimension beyond material aspirations.
"With this in mind, religion can also
strengthen the social capital and moral
engagement," he said.
_____
Christians reflect on Good Friday/
Earth Day concurrence
New York (ENI news) - As Good Friday coincides
this year with Earth Day, churches around the
world are reflecting on environmental concerns
as they commemorate Christ's Crucifixion, but
some believers think that, theologically, the
two don't belong together. Proponents say that
planting trees and meditating on ways humanity
has wounded the earth can parallel devotions
that mark Jesus' sacrifice, but opponents say
that a political message, even a pagan one,
is being pushed onto sacred territory.
*****
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
Provided courtesy of Sojourners.online
April 18th, 2011
"Organize, agitate, educate, must be our war cry."
- Susan B. Anthony
___
April 19th, 2011
"In order to arrive at what you do not know/
You must go by a way which is the way of ignorance./
In order to possess what you do not possess/
You must go by the way of dispossession./
In order to arrive at what you are not/
You must go through the way in which you are not./
And what you do not know is the only thing you know/
And what you own is what you do not own/
And where you are is where you are not."
- T.S. Eliot, from his poem "East Coker"
___
April 20th, 2011
"Let a new earth rise. Let another world be born.
Let a / bloody peace be written in the sky. Let a
second generation / full of courage issue forth;
let a people / loving freedom come to growth. Let
a beauty full of / healing and a strength of final
clenching be the pulsing / in our spirits and our
blood. Let the martial songs be / written, let
the dirges disappear. Let a race of [humans]
now / rise and take control."
- Margaret Walker, from poem "For My People"
---
April 22nd, 2011
"Why dost thou then dread to take this cross
since it is the very way to the kingdom of heaven,
and none but that? In the cross is health, in the
cross is life, in the cross is infusion of heavenly
sweetness; in the cross is the strength of mind,
the joy of spirit, the highness of virtue, and the
full perfection of holiness; and there is no health
of soul nor hope of everlasting life but through
virtue of the cross."
- Thomas à Kempis, from "The Imitation of Christ"
*****
ON THIS DAY
Provided from the Archives
of the New York Times
April 17, 1961 - about 1,500 CIA-trained
Cuban exiles launched the disastrous Bay
of Pigs invasion of Cuba in a failed
attempt to overthrow the government of
Fidel Castro.
http://tinyurl.com/3cukqg7
_____
April 18, 1906 - a major earthquake struck
San Francisco and set off raging fires.
More than 3,000 people died.
http://tinyurl.com/3nv9upp
_____
April 21, 1910 - author Samuel Langhorne
Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, died
in Redding, Conn.
http://tinyurl.com/3rpslhh
*****
CLOSING THOUGHT
"By virtue of the creation, and still more,
of the Incarnation, nothing here below is
profane for those who know how to see."
- Teilhard de Chardin (in "Christian Mystics")
(end)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment