Vol. VII. No. 19
*****
Wayne A. Holst, Editor
*****
Colleagues List Blog:
http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com/
My E-Mail Address:
waholst@telusplanet.net
*****
CHRISTMAS WEEK EDITION
Special Item
In This Issue -
Holst Family
Christmas Letter
2011
___
Colleague Comment
Don Schweitzer
___
Net Notes:
Vaclav Havel Dies
Martyr's Shrine Threat
Pope's Health in Decline
After Kim Jong Il's Death
Campus Centre Mends the Mind
Imam Regrets Misinterpretation
Disgraced NS Bishop Apologizes
Shroud of Turin May Not Be Fake
Christmas Cards and Citizenship
Thousands of Abuse Cases Reported
Lutheran and Mennonite Leaders Meet
___
Global Faith Potpourri:
Seven ENI Geneva stories.
___
Quotes of the Week:
Dorothy Day
Abba Poeman
Jean Vanier
___
On This Day:
Dec. 17, 1903 - Wright Bros. make
first successful man-powered airplane
flight, near Kitty Hawk, N.C.
---
Dec. 19, 1984 - Britain and China
sign accord returning Hong Kong to
China control July 1, 1997.
---
Dec. 21, 1988 - a terrorist bomb explodes
aboard a Pan Am Boeing 747 over Lockerbie,
Scotland, killing 270 people.
___
Closing Thought:
Hildegard of Bingen
(end)
*****
Dear Friends:
This issue of Colleagues List is
arriving at your in-box a few days
of the week earlier than usual
because Marlene and I leave for
Christmas celebrations, December 22nd,
with our daughter Sarah, our son-in-
law Ronnie, and grand-daughter Mya.
They live in Slave Lake, Alberta -
about 5 1/2 hours drive northward
from Calgary. This will be our closest
Christmas to the North Pole, ever!
Normally, our Christmas week edition
contains our family letter, and this
year is no exception.
A final 2011 issue of Colleagues List
will be sent to you before New Year's.
___
Colleague Comment:
This week is from Don Schweitzer,
who teaches at St. Andrew's College,
Saskatoon. I introduced his new
book "The United Church of Canada:
A History" to this list last week.
___
Net Notes:
"Vaclav Havel Dies" - one of the
great voices in post-Communist
East Europe died this week. I have
gathered several articles (BBC,
New York Times, Montreal Gazette)
"Martyr's Shrine Threat" - the
Jesuits of Ontario are again in
fighting mode to protect historic
property from development. This
site is indeed worth preserving
(Christianweek.org)
"Pope's Health in Decline" - some
disquieting news about Benedict's
health has surfaced this week
(Associated Press)
"After Kim Jong Il's Death" -
the news from North Korea is that
little will change with the death
of the current dictator
(The Guardian, Ucan News)
"Campus Centre Mends the Mind" -
when stress is high among students,
quite a few find help by walking
the labyrinth (CTV.ca)
"Imam Regrets Misinterpretation" -
a Canadian imam feels he has been
misquoted in the media and seeks
to rectify the situation
(Toronto Sun)
"Disgraced NS Bishop Apologizes" -
the court appearance of a Canadian
Catholic bishop this week resulted
in an apology (CBC.ca)
"Shroud of Turin May Not Be Fake" -
the shroud is like the finding of
Noah's ark - it is a story that never
seems to go away (Montreal Gazette)
"Christmas Cards and Citizenship" -
how to handle being Christian and
Canadian simultaneously at this time
of year is the focus of this story
(Evangelical Fellowship of Canada)
"Thousands of Abuse Cases Reported" -
while the story is not new, the extent
of the abuse is greater than anticipated.
Why do I keep posting these stories?
Because of the extent of the travesty
(The Guardian)
"Lutheran and Mennonite Leaders Meet" -
historic meetings are taking place in
Canada between the descendants of
Mennonites and Lutherans. This is a
wonderful development (ELCIC News)
___
Global Faith Potpourri:
Seven news stories from around the
world are reported by Ecumenical
News International, Geneva this week.
Remaining Christmas reports will be
posted in next week's issue of CL.
___
Quotes of the Week:
Dorothy Day, Abba Poeman and
Jean Vanier share their wisdom
with us.
___
On This Day:
Wright brothers. make first successful
man-powered airplane flight (1903)
Britain, China sign accord returning
Hong Kong to Chinese control (1984)
Terrorist bomb explodes aboard a Pan
Am Boeing 747 over Lockerbie, Scotland,
killing 270 people (1988)
___
Closing Thought:
The medieval mystic Hildegard of Bingen
offers spiritual guidance to complete
this issue of Colleagues List.
_____
May God guide your Christmas celebrations
this year, and we will be back with you
in about ten days.
Wayne
************************
SPECIAL WINTER STUDY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Introducing the Full Program
ST. DAVID'S MONDAY NIGHT STUDY
WINTER 2012
"The Other Face of God:
When the Stranger Calls Us Home"
by Mary Jo Leddy
Ten Monday Nights -
January 16th - March 26th
(except Family Weekend Monday)
Information about the book from Amazon.ca:
http://tinyurl.com/c6aror6
*****
UNIVERSITY TUESDAY NIGHTS
A Study Program Sponsored by:
The Department of Continuing Education
At the University of Calgary
Taught by: Wayne Holst
"God, Atheism and Morality" (ten sessions)
Tuesday Nights, 7:00PM - 9:00 PM
January 24th - March 27th, 2012
Course Information:
http://tinyurl.com/2fc7xr4
*****
ST. DAVID'S ACTS MINISTRY AND
THE FAITH AND SPIRITUALITY CENTRE
ON THE UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY CAMPUS
Welcome to our -
LENTEN STUDIES 2012
Noon Hour Book Discussions for Faculty,
Staff and Students Winter Series for 2012:
"An Altar in the World" by Barbara Brown Taylor
Discovering God in the ordinary experiences of life
March 2nd - March 30th - five Friday noon sessions
Time and Location for all sessions:
12:00 to 1:00PM in the Native Centre Board Room
Located above the Dairy Queen, Mac Hall Student's
Centre
Led by: Wayne Holst,
Coordinator of the ACTS Ministry, St. David's United
and a Faith and Spirituality Centre Liaison.
Cost of the book: $15.00 each
*****
Join us this year for stiumlating campus discussions!
For more information: Adriana Tulissi 403-220-5451
Co-ordinator, Faith and Spirituality Centre, U. of
C. - artuliss@ucalgary,ca
*****
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
*****
STUDY ARCHIVES
An accumulation of twenty-five+ studies conducted
since 2000 can quickly be found at:
http://bookstudies.stdavidscalgary.net/
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
HOLST FAMILY LETTER
FOR CHRISTMAS 2011
Calgary, Alberta
Dear Friends:
The year 2011 has passed quickly.
So many good things have happened to us
during the past twelve months that the
time seemed to fly by! Still, it is
important to stop and reflect on what
we have been experiencing. We hope to
include you in that reflection.
In 2010, Marlene’s postmistress job at
the University of Calgary was terminated
and the retail post office there was closed
– much to the continuing chagrin of students
and staff on campus. The blessing in this was
that she was able to help Wayne (see next
paragraph) and enjoy her three granddaughters.
As she waited for her various pensions to kick
in, up to May of 2012, she sought other income
sources. It was good news when she was asked
to work as office staff at St. David’s, the
congregation we attend. Later, Marlene became
the acting person in charge but she will be
happy to return to a less stressful lifestyle
when a new office manager is hired in the
new year!
Last year Wayne went through a colon cancer
challenge. That journey was completed this
year when a reversal procedure put him back
on his own internal plumbing. That operation
occurred in early September and all went
smoothly and quickly. He did not miss any of
his regular teaching or other responsibilities
and for that we are grateful.
We served as hosts of the St. David’s Fiftieth
Anniversary Tour of the Celtic Lands (visiting
Scotland, Ireland, Wales and parts of England.)
What a wonderful experience it was to help 35
persons become exposed to the history, culture
and spirituality that has shaped us. We stayed
on for an additional two weeks, visiting Devon
and Cornwall, London, and Normandy - places we
had not seen on previous trips to the UK and
France. We hope to do more “Spiritual Travel”
hosting as we found this experience to be most
rewarding – with thanks to Rostad Tours, our
Calgary travel agency.
Marlene had her first opportunity to see the
maples turn colour in Ontario, as we visited
Algonquin Park, Muskoka, and other lovely
places in October. When in that area, we always
take in cultural events at the Shaw and Stratford
Shakespearean Festivals.
Our family continues to change – Kate (new
daughter for Paul and Heather) joined us in
February. Carmen and Mark are expecting their
second child in March. Ronnie, his wife Sarah
and daughter Mya (who live in Slave Lake,
Northern Alberta) sadly experienced the
loss of a third of their town in May due
to a forest fire. Ronnie also lost his
father who died this fall. It has been
quite a challenging year for the Lukans
and we will join them for Christmas this
year – a reversal of how we normally do
things!
Wayne continues to carry a full teaching load –
two weekly classes at the university and two at
the church. He is now in his seventieth year,
but enjoys what he does and has no desire to
slow down. He continues to write and to edit
his weekly Colleagues List religion and culture
blog http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com/
that is read by at least 650 persons around
the world. We both enjoy our gardening and
yard work and view it as an annual, natural
"liturgical" cycle that provides us with much
spiritual satisfaction.
Marlene and Wayne
*****
COLLEAGUE COMMENT
DON SCHWEITZER
Saskatoon, SK
December 19th, 2011
Dear Wayne,
Thanks for your .... interest in and promotion of
"The United Church of Canada: A History" (the book
notice appeared in CL, the December 17th issue.)
I'm glad you like it. Hopefully your discussion
of it will benefit the church.
Don
Editor's Comment: So do we.
*****
NET NOTES
VACLAV HAVEL DIES
BBC News
December 18th, 2011
Former Czech President Vaclav Havel,
the playwright dissident who led his
country out of communism, has died
at the age of 75, an aide says.
http://tinyurl.com/7trv6kg
---
New York Times
December 18th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/77b36oe
---
"Havel Brought Genuine Joy
to Oppressed People"
Montreal Gazette
Dec. 18th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/btw3cwh
*****
MARTYR'S SHRINE THREATENED
Jesuit's Fight to Preserve
Historic Canadian Site
Christianweek.org
December 16th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/72ollch
*****
POPE'S HEALTH IN DECLINE
Christmas Brings Added Burdens
Associated Press
December 17th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/7hytfpa
*****
AFTER KIM JONG IL'S DEATH
What's Next for North Korea?
The Guardian UK
December 19th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/7ljlf5g
---
Korean Churches Send Condolences
Ucan News
Dec. 21st, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/7nxju7z
*****
CAMPUS CENTRE MENDS THE MIND
U of C Labyrinth Popular During Exams
CTV.ca
Dec. 16th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/7z9wd7z
*****
IMAM REGRETS BEING MISINTERPRETED
Toronto Sun
December 16th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/7crz4t7
*****
DISGRACED NOVA SCOTIA
CATHOLIC BISHOP APOLOGIZES
Lahey's Day in Court
CBC.ca
Dec. 20th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/88zq7lg
*****
SHROUD OF TURIN MAY NOT BE FAKE
Much Controversy Over the Years
Montreal Gazette
December 19th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/6o2vvph
*****
OF CHRISTMAS CARDS
AND CANADIAN CITIZENSHIP
EFC Canada Activate Page
December 19th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/cbn9mut
*****
THOUSANDS OF DUTCH
ABUSE CASES REPORTED
The Guardian
December 16th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/758bb8m
*****
LUTHERAN AND MENNONITE
LEADERS MEET IN WINNIPEG
News Release
From the National Office of the ELCIC
December 20th, 2011
Winnipeg, 20 December 2011 -
Senior management from the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) and
Mennonite Church Canada (MC Canada)
met at the ELCIC National Office in
Winnipeg on December 15.
Nine leaders attended, including national
leadersWillard Metzger (MC Canada) and
National Bishop Susan C. Johnson (ELCIC)
as well as staff with oversight in the areas
of witness, church engagement, communications,
finance, justice and other departments. They
shared their current work, challenges, strategic
plans, and mapped out their relationships with
partners.
Relations between the ELCIC and MC Canada have
been renewed since July 2010, when The Lutheran
World Federation offered a historic apology to
Mennonites for past persecutions. The move to
formally apologize comes out of a seven year
dialogue between Lutherans and Mennonites:
http://tinyurl.com/6qfe6hk
The ELCIC and MC Canada have worked to apply this
global (act) of reconciliation in local churches
and jointly prepared a congregational study guide,
"Healing Memories, Reconciling in Christ."
http://tinyurl.com/7ckwemt
This guide offers a study process primarily for
groups of both Lutherans and Mennonites to understand
the context of the apology and the new relationship
between the churches.
The study guide was intended as a first step with
the hope that there would be further places to
foster dialogue and leadership. The December
meeting of senior staff is another step in
building relationships.
Further areas of cooperation emerged from the
discussions, particularly in the
area of indigenous ministries.
The leaders agreed that bilateral conversations
in specific work areas should take place in the
coming months, with a follow up meeting planned
for late 2012.
*****
GLOBAL FAITH POTPOURRI
Ecumenical News International
News Highlights
19 December 2011
South Korean church leaders hope
for peace following Kim's death
Seoul, South Korea (ENI news) - Leaders of
a South Korean church council expressed on
19 December "sincere condolences" on the
death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
"We ask [the] international community to
cooperate continuously, not taking this
for breaking of security on the Korean
peninsula, but for building peace in the
region of North East Asia," said General
Secretary the Rev. Kim Young Ju and the
Rev. Kim Ki Taek, chairperson of the
unification committee of the National
Council of Churches in Korea, based in
Seoul. On 19 December, Pyongyang's Korean
Central News Agency announced that Kim
Jong Il died on 17 December from heart
failure at the age of 69.
_____
Church of Scotland supports
Israeli agricultural project
Jerusalem (ENI news) - An Arab-Jewish
agricultural project in northern Israel
that helps empower women "is a sign of
hope for a people and a land," according
to the moderator of the Church of Scotland,
which is investing in it. During a 12-day
visit to the Holy Land, the Rev. David
Arnott on 18 December participated in
the inauguration of an olive plantation
on lands belonging to the Abu Hatum
family in the Jezreel Valley area of
Galilee. The Church of Scotland is
providing an initial five-year
investment to replant 1,000 olive
trees and rehabilitate land which
the family is leasing to the Sindyanna
of Galilee for Free-Trade organization
-- an Arab-Jewish cooperative providing
employment for women through fair-trade
projects.
_____
Episcopal clergy arrested
at Occupy Wall Street protest
New York (ENI news) - A retired
Episcopal Church bishop and at least
two other Episcopal priests were arrested
on 17 December after they entered a fenced
property owned by historic Trinity Episcopal
Church in Lower Manhattan as part of an
event to mark the three-month anniversary
of the anti-corporate Occupy Wall Street
(OWS) movement. Livestream video showed
George Packard, former Episcopal bishop
for the armed forces and federal ministries,
dressed in a purple robe and wearing a cross,
climbing a ladder that protesters erected
against the fence and dropping to the
ground inside the property, called Duarte
Park. Other protesters followed, including
the Rev. John Merz and the Rev. Michael
Sniffen, Episcopal priests in the Diocese
of Long Island (New York), Episcopal News
Service (ENS) reports.
*****
20 December 2011
Anglican church's Christmas billboard
vandalized in New Zealand
Wellington, New Zealand (ENI news) - An
Anglican church's Christmas billboard,
depicting Jesus' mother Mary dressed in
traditional garb and holding a pregnancy
test strip while covering her mouth with
the other hand, was vandalized over the
weekend. The billboard, erected on 15
December by St. Matthews-in-the-City in
central Auckland, New Zealand's biggest
city, has been greeted with controversy.
_____
Orthodox emergency care group
trains Arab women in home safety
Jerusalem (ENI news) - When a cup of hot
tea spilled on her infant son's hand, new
mother Yehut Amer, 22, panicked. "I was
very scared and didn't know what to do.
It took me some time to get my wits
together and get to the clinic," said
Amer, who on 14 December was among 45
Arab women from the Israeli Arab village
of Kfar Qassem to take part in a home
safety and accident prevention course
offered for the first time by ZAKA, an
ultra-Orthodox Jewish volunteer rescue
and recovery organization.
_____
Young hip Jews leading
a Hanukkah music makeover
Washington, D.C. (ENI news) - Put on
your boogie shoes - the new Hanukkah
songs are here! What last year seemed
like a happy coincidence has become a
hip new Hanukkah tradition: groups of
harmonizing young Jews releasing
seriously Jewish, yet seriously
danceable, songs for the Festival
of Lights, which begins at sundown
on 20 December. The Maccabeats, who
scored more than six million hits on
YouTube last year with a song about
flipping potato latkes (pancakes), a
traditional Hanukkah food, are back
this year with a boppy reggae tune,
Religion News Service reports.
"Miracle" explores the spiritual
meaning of Hanukkah, which
commemorates the successful revolt
led by Judah Maccabee against an
ancient king who tried to quash
Judaism.
_____
Hungarian court annuls law that
withdraws legal recognition of churches
Warsaw, Poland (ENI news) - Hungary's
Constitutional Court has annulled a
new law that would have withdrawn legal
recognition from all but a handful of
the country's registered religious
associations. However, a church
commentator warned that the ruling was
"just a technical delay," and predicted
the law would still be enforced from the
start of 2012. "Several petitions were
received from individuals, legal entities,
and churches, citing the unconstitutional
nature of the whole law or certain
provisions," the Court said in a statement
accompanying its detailed 15,000-word 19
December ruling.
*****
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
December 19th, 2011
"What we do is very little. But it is
like the little boy with a few loaves
and fishes. Christ took that little
and increased it. [Christ] will do
the rest. What we do is so little
that we may seem to be constantly
failing. But so did [Christ] fail.
[Christ] met with apparent failure
on the Cross. But unless the seeds
fall into the earth and die, there
is no harvest."
- Dorothy Day
---
December 20th, 2011
“The nature of water is yielding,
and that of a stone is hard. Yet
if you hang up a bottle filled with
water above the stone so that the
water drips drop by drop, it will
wear a hole in the stone. In the
same way the word of God is tender,
and our heart is hard. So when people
hear the word of God frequently, their
hearts are opened to the fear of God."
- Abba Poeman
---
December 21st, 2011
"What is the 'impossible'? It is liberation.
To liberate people from the demons of fear,
of loneliness, of hatred and of egoism that
shackle them. To liberate people so that they
also can love, heal, and liberate others. But
in order to do that, you must go in poverty
and experience the life of God flowing within
your own flesh."
- Jean Vanier
*****
ON THIS DAY
Provided from the archives
of the New York Times:
On Dec. 17, 1903 - Orville and Wilbur
Wright made the first successful man-
powered airplane flight, near Kitty
Hawk, N.C.
http://tinyurl.com/6qotl5p
_____
On Dec. 19, 1984 - Britain and China
signed an accord returning Hong Kong
to Chinese sovereignty on July 1, 1997.
http://tinyurl.com/7bhom8f
_____
Dec. 21, 1988 - a terrorist bomb exploded
aboard a Pan Am Boeing 747 over Lockerbie,
Scotland, killing 270 people.
http://tinyurl.com/6uhnvn6
*****
CLOSING THOUGHT
"God has gifted life with all that is
necessary... nothing that is necessary
for life is lacking.
- Hildegard of Bingen
Here, Hildegard is teaching us to trust.
She says that everything that is necessary
is already within creation. When things go
bleak for us, when bills go unpaid or a
relationship sours, we can easily fall
into despair or self-pity. But Hildegard
urges us to look deeper inside. Life is
what matters. All else is a detail. We
have been given the gift of life, and
within that gift is "everything that is
necessary." This includes our creativity
and imagination to overcome adversity, to
forge new directions and relationships."
- Mathew Fox in "Christian Mystics"
(end)
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