Vol. VIII No. 9
*****
Wayne A. Holst, Editor
My E-Mail Address:
waholst@telusplanet.net
Colleagues List Web Site:
http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com
*****
Dear Friends:
This is my last issue of Colleagues
List for the current church year.
Next week I plan to send you an Advent
issue - the first of a new church year.
Special Items this week include a film
notice of "Lincoln" and notes I took
when Bill Blaikie, former New Democratic
Party Member of Parliament from Winnipeg
gave the Lebel Christian Thought Lecture
at the University of Calgary this week.
I found both the movie and the lecture
to be inspiring and thought-provoking
and hope you will too.
--
Colleague Comment this week is from
Gary Nickel whose words I appreciated.
Colleague Contribution comes to us from -
Jim Taylor who is always worth reading.
---
Net Notes:
"Who Is Communion For?" - some
thought-provoking ideas of the
offering of communion to people
of other faith traditions
(The Christian Century)
http://tinyurl.com/a62kn2u
"Peace Hanging by a Thread" - a
good commentary on the current
Near East truce between Jews and
Arabs (The Tablet, UK)
http://tinyurl.com/ax4vnfa
"Best Books 2012" - the bible of
book publishing offers its list
of the ten best this year
(Publisher's Weekly)
http://tinyurl.com/d694vlp
"Bourgeois Dismissed from His Order" -
the Maryknoll priest who publicly
supports women's ordination has been
removed by the Vatican, over the heads,
it would seem, of his own superiors
(National Catholic Reporter)
http://ncronline.org/node/39661
"Will the Church of England Survive?" -
this week the C of E was thrown into
termoil when lay delegates voted against
women bishops when bishops and clergy
voted in favour (The Tablet, UK)
http://tinyurl.com/b49xwcp
"Tolkien Estate Sues Hobbit Producers" -
the official representatives of Tolkien
have opposed some of the marketing
strategies of the new Hobbit movie
soon to appear (The Guardian, UK)
http://tinyurl.com/aty3o4m
"How US Jews View Near Eastern Conflict" -
it is always interesting to note what
the US Jewish lobby thinks, and their
current attitude is not surprising
(CNN audio) http://tinyurl.com/c2xeaf8
"China is World's Largest Bible Producer" -
as amazing as it may seem, China's trade
with the outside world includes the
publication of many Bibles (Uca News)
http://tinyurl.com/bk6cppq
"Former Maryknoll Head Rejects Interference"
- evidence that his order was supportive of
Fr. Borgeois (story above) can be found
in the comments of a former superior
(National Catholic Reporter)
http://ncronline.org/node/39746
"Church Essential to Changing Attitudes
to Women" - we need to remember that
different voices in the global church
speak differently - even conservative
Christian voices (Christian Week)
http://tinyurl.com/a3tkkbx
---
Global Faith Potpourri:
Publication interrupted due to an
unfortunate funding shortfall at
Ecumenical News International,
Geneva.
---
Wisdom of the Week comes to us
via Sojourners Online and this
time we hear from:
Dorothy Day, Woodrow Wilson and
Thomas Huxley
---
On This Day:
Provided from the archives of
the New York Times:
Nuremberg War Trials Begin
http://tinyurl.com/3vlno
JFK Assassinated in Dallas
http://tinyurl.com/2ay2mux
---
Closing Thought - Robert Frost
"My November Guest"
--
I hope your end of year plans
are going well and that we can
all begin the Advent Season in
a hopeful, celebrative way,
Wayne
********************************
St. David's and ACTS Ministry Announce:
Our Spiritual Travelers Tour for 2013
TURKEY AND THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH
April 23rd - May 9th, 2013
Tour sale requires a $300 deposit, with
full payment due, and of January, 2013.
Our major tour themes are: Classic Greek and Roman,
Early Christian, Muslim-Christian and the beautiful
scenery of the Mediterranian coast of SW Turkey.
*Enjoy Istanbul (Constantinople) - long a link
between East and West.
*Classical cities like Troy will be visited and
intriguing ancient sites will be revealed.
*Pilgrims from many of the regions we will visit
were present in Jerusalem at Pentecost - people
from "Mesopotamia, Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia" -
(Acts 2.)
*Saint Paul founded churches in many of the centers
of central and western Turkey and we will spend
quality time in places like Ephesus.
*We will come to know cities mentioned in the
Book of Revelation (chapters 1-3) by Jobn.
Cities like Pergamon, Thyatira, Philadelphia,
Sardis and Smyrna
---
Details such as costs and prep notes have been
edited into a beautiful travel brochure. This
was just sent to all who have thus far expressed
interest. If you are interested, let us know!
The brochure will also be posted to the St.
David's Spiritual Travelers Discussion List Group.
which is your place to express yourself!
To join this unique internet discussion contact:
Deb. Charnusaki - debcharnuski@hotmail.com
Your tour hosts:
Marlene and Wayne Holst
waholst@telusplanet.net (or)
marleneaholst@gmail.com
403-286-7416
*****
OUR WINTER AND SPRING 2013 PROGRAMS
With more to be announced -
AT ST.DAVID'S UNITED CHURCH
"WELCOMING THE STRANGER" WEEKEND AT ST. DAVID'S
Friday March 1st - Sunday, March 3rd (confirmed)
Special Guest:
Mary Jo Leddy, Romero House, Toronto.
Mary Jo's presentations will take place
at St. David's church.
Other guests are presently being secured for
panels, workshop and as seminar leaders. These
activities will be held on the university
campus.
Watch for new information on this
special weekend focused on Canada's
policy for welcoming new Canadians
and how Christians might respond.
*****
MONDAY NIGHT STUDY
Begins Monday, January 14th thru
Monday, March 18th. 7PM-9PM.
Study Book:
"Radical Gratitude" by Mary Jo Leddy
Review Links:
http://tinyurl.com/bemfdms
(Western Catholic Reporter)
http://tinyurl.com/awu94eq
(Gospel and our Culture)
Cost of the course: $50.00
Buy only the book: $25.00
The course and books will be
on sale at the church beginning
Sunday December 9th
*****
THURSDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY
Begins Thursday, January 17th, 2013
Theme:
"'Wisdom' in the Biblical Literature"
A six week series running through
the winter. 10-11 AM
All welcome. No cost.
*****
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY
Tuesday Night University Study sponsored
by the Faculty of Continuing Education:
HERESIES AND HERETICS - The Real Story of
Early Christianity. Cont Ed Course 198-001
Ten Sessions - Jan. 22nd - Mar. 26th, 2013
Click this link for books, costs and details:
http://tinyurl.com/77xuwnu
---
Faith and Spirituality Centre Fall Study
Sponsored by the Christian chaplains of
the University of Calgary
TWELVE STEPS TO A COMPASSIONATE LIFE
A Study of Karen Armstrong's latest book.
Fridays - March 1st - April 5th
12 noon - 1:00 PM
Six Weeks - Native Centre Board Room,
McEwan Student Centre, University of Calgary.
12 noon to 1:Cost of the book only: $15.
*****
SPECIAL ST. DAVID'S LINKS
Contact us at: asdm@sduc.ca (or) admin@sduc.ca
St. David's Web Address - http://sduc.ca/
Listen to audio recordings of Sunday services -
http://sduc.ca/St_Davids_United_Church/Audio.html
*****
STUDY ARCHIVES
An accumulation of thirty-five books studied
since 2000 can quickly be found at:
http://tinyurl.com/6oxmyj4
This collection of study resources represents
more than a decade of Monday Night Studies at
St. David's, plus extra courses too!
You are welcome to use our course outlines,
class notes and resource pages in your personal
and group reflections.
******************************************
SPECIAL ITEMS
Movie Notice:
LINCOLN
This week I would like to introduce to you
a new movie - "Lincoln" - currently in
theaters. It is directed by Stephen Spielberg.
Here is a Movie Trailer:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443272/
The film is based on the book "Team of Rivals"
by Doris Kearns Goodwin (Simon & Schuster)
and it appeared in 2005.
Here is a NYT review of the book. It
was published November 6th, 2005 and
entitled:
"Team of Rivals - Friends of Abe"
http://tinyurl.com/ad6mrbk
***
My Thoughts:
I don't recall when I began to read and in
other ways familiarize myself with the life
and thought of Abraham Lincoln.
By the time I was about to complete college,
I had written a history thesis on "The Lincoln-
Douglas Debates of 1858."
Thus, I was not a casual enthusiast of the man.
Those debates provided significant evidence
of the development of Lincoln's political
philosophy.
I have visited the Lincoln Memorial in Washington
a number of times. This May, Marlene and I
spent considerable time there, reflecting on
the beautiful building and the majestic statue
contained inside. Reading the inscribed words,
- taken from a number of his speeches - always
sends shivers down my spine.
It was from from the steps of this memorial
that Martin Luther King Jr gave his famous
"I have a dream speech" and Lincoln has
proven to be a great inspiration for many
human rights leaders around the world.
We also stopped at the famous site in
Pennsylvania where he gave his great
Gettysburg Address in 1863.
To say I continue to be a fan of Lincoln
would therefore be an understatement.
I view him as a man beyond nationality
and is one of universal significance. As
it was said of him at his untimely death -
"He belongs to the ages."
---
The movie did not disappoint us. Of course
there is a certain nationalistic sentimentality
associated with it (see America review, below)
but there are also great scenes and drama.
All this caused me to leave the theatre with a
great lump in my throat.
Major political challenges bring forth great
leaders, and Lincoln is certainly one of these.
Several themes run through the narrative.
The survival of American democacy is one.
Another is the challenge of Emancipation,
and of passing the Thirteenth Amendment -
over against the ending of the Civil War.
Did Lincoln try to prolong the war in order
to get his amendment through congress?
The faith of Lincoln is a third.
We fail to realize that, during 1860's, the
US experiment with democracy was fragile.
Lincoln was deeply committed to the legal
standard of the US Constitution for holding
the nation together, and he approached both
the war and slavery in that light.
That is why, according to his interpretation
of the law, he would never call the South
traitorous - only that they had failed to live
up to their consitutional commitments. Once
they agreed to do so once more, they should
be free to re-enter the union without penalty.
He would not talk moralistically about the
evil of slavery per se. Nor would he talk about
equality with whites as his goal. Rather, he
sought to grant the negro equality before the
law.
While this might strike us as circumlocution,
what Lincoln's approach did was provide a
way for Americans in both North and South
to come to terms with black citizenship.
This was a process, not an instant achievment.
Keep in mind it took America one hundred years
to pass the Civil Rights Act - making discrimation
against blacks a crime. It took America one
hundren and fifty years to elect (and re-elect)
a black president.
It may surprise many to learn that, while Lincoln
never joined a church, his faith was deeply
influenced by a belief in 'the inscrutable
mind and plan of God.'
In other words, the North did not "win" the Civil
War in and of itself. Rather, the North won because
God had wanted it and the North sought to follow
more appropriately the will of God.
This was saying something different than that
the North won the war because it represented
the will of God. Lincoln was too much aware of
human inability to live up to God's will and he
understood it in retrospect.
We tend to question such Calvinistic thinking
today, but it kept Lincoln focused and humble.
Also, it gave him a sense of confidence - while
going through profound uncertainties - as
'prsesident of all the American people' and
not only of the Union.
Another of his firm beliefs was that humans have
a large part to play in their own destinies.
They must work at it, and not leave it all up to
God. How predestination and free will co-existed
for Lincoln was something with which he
continued to struggle.
A compare and contrast of the presidencies of
Lincoln and Obama may be the subject of another
reflection but will take time to comprehend.
Suffice now is to say, Spielberg held back
on the release of this movie until after the
November election because he did not want
the film to prejudice the outcome.
Please read the review below, and then see
this film, if you have not already done so.
Also, I would appreciate your comments.
waholst@telusplanet.net
Movie Review:
America Magazine, Nov. 26th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/be47bc2
---
BILL BLAIKIE
Former MP - New Democratic Party
Lebel Lecturer at University of Calgary,
November 20th, 2012
"The Left Hand of God - Why There
Will Always be a Religious Left
in Canadian Politics"
My Notes:
Religion, as colleague Reg. Bibby
would say, is here to stay. It is not
fading in the way that was once commonly
predicted.
What does this mean - both as promise
and challenge - for the continuing
existence of authentic Christian
politics on the political left?
I was left pondering this question.
At the end of his talk I publicly
commented that what I heard him say
was that great political themes and
movements keep recurring, cyclically
over time. He agreed, but added that
citizens who care about faith and
politics need constantly to be aware
and critical of what religious movements
say and do. We should not follow them
uncritically.
Thus, he challenged Jeffrey Simpson of
the Globe and Mail who has a very dated,
narrow view of religion.
Fr. Raymond de Sousa, writing in the
National Post, on the other hand, predicts
the demise of the 'social gospel tradition'
in our national politics. His views are
also dated according to Blaikie.
Still, he said, it is hard to break out
of old paradigms to discover a more
profound and on-going religious presence
in Canadian politics.
Blaikie spoke of his long engagement with
protest movements (against NAFTA,
the World Trade Organization, and many
global multi-nationals, for example.)
He declared that he was also against the
the "amoral" approach to capitalism with
which he labels the current Christian Right.
Blaikie objects to the immoral 'marketization'
that drives our economies.
He quotes Miroslav Volf who challenges
all Christians to ask what, in essence,
is the good life? Certainly not the idolatry
and injustice that much Christian thinking
today tacitly supports.
Concerning the contemporary evangelical
community (as opposed to the classic tradition
of evangelicalism in Canada) he hopes for
the emergence of a new Christian left that
people across the religious spectrum could
support.
Blaikie quotes colleague Martin Marty, who
in his post-election (2012) "Sightings"
column sees a growing challenge to the
Christian Right in the USA as well. White
middle-class Protestant males are on the way
out, Marty claimed, and so is their religion.
The future is open, claims Marty, and it
will affect both left and right.
A fundamental shift in faith and economics
is taking place. This is a global, and not
simply a national, phenomenon.
Why is the political left not about to disappear?
Because there will always be a lot of people
remaining "where their faith points them"
on the political left
Any new social gospel politics must find itself
speaking meaningfully to post-Christian, secular
people. But this will not be a "post-religious"
phenomenon. It simply means that people of
faith need to live creatively in new secular
times.
God has survived both Christendom and
Secularism, said Blaikie. We now need to
develop a positive moral language with
a new tone.
*****
COLLEAGUE COMMENT
GARY NICKEL
Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Nov. 17th, 2012
Hi Wayne,
I was away visiting and am catching up now,
and saw about your latest health problem.
Sorry to hear about the infection, but glad
that you are improving.
Blessings,
Gary
*****
COLLEAGUES CONTRIBUTIONS
JIM TAYLOR
Web Log
November 19th, 2012
"Distorted Notions of Justice"
http://tinyurl.com/bcs8h6b
*****
NET NOTES
WHO IS COMMUNION FOR?
Is it for the Unbaptized?
The Christian Century
November 19th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/a62kn2u
*****
PEACE HANGING BY A THREAD
Mid-East Truce
The Tablet, UK
November 24th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/ax4vnfa
*****
BEST BOOKS OF 2012
Publisher's Weekly
November 23rd, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/d694vlp
*****
BORGEOIS DISMISSED FROM HIS ORDER
a Maryknoll Priest for 45 Years
National Catholic Reporter
November 19th, 2012
http://ncronline.org/node/39661
*****
WILL THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND SURVIVE?
Failure to Approve Women Bishops -
A British Catholic Perspective
The Tablet, UK
November 24th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/b49xwcp
*****
TOLKIEN ESTATE SUES HOBBIT PRODUCERS
Irreparable Harm to His Name is Claimed
The Guardian
November 20th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/aty3o4m
*****
HOW US JEWS VIEW NEAR-EAST CONFLICT
Solidly Behind Israel
CNN News
Nov. 21st, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/c2xeaf8
*****
CHINA IS WORLD'S BIGGEST BIBLE PRINTER
Uca News
November 20th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/bk6cppq
*****
FORMER MARYKNOLL HEAD REJECTS INTERFERENCE
Considers Vatican Action Inappropriate
National Catholic Reporter
November 20th, 2012
http://ncronline.org/node/39746
*****
CHURCH ESSENTIAL TO CHANGING
ATTITUDES TO WOMEN
Royal Couple in the South Pacific
Christian Week
November 15th, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/a3tkkbx
*****
WISDOM OF THE WEEK
The only answer in this life, to the
loneliness we are all bound to feel,
is community. The living together,
working together, sharing together,
loving God and loving our [neighbor],
and living close to [God] in community
so we can show our love for [God].
- Dorothy Day
--
Only a peace between equals can last.
Only a peace the very principle of which
is equality and a common participation
in a common benefit.
- Woodrow Wilson
--
It is not who is right, but what is right,
that is of importance.
- Thomas Huxley
*****
ON THIS DAY
From the archives of the New York Times:
NUREMBERG WAR TRIALS BEGIN
http://tinyurl.com/3vlno
JOHN F KENNEDY ASSASSINATED IN DALLAS
http://tinyurl.com/2ay2mux
*****
CLOSING THOUGHT - ROBERT FROST
"My November Guest"
My Sorrow, when she’s here with me,
Thinks these dark days of autumn rain
Are beautiful as days can be;
She loves the bare, the withered tree;
She walks the sodden pasture lane.
Her pleasure will not let me stay.
She talks and I am fain to list:
She’s glad the birds are gone away,
She’s glad her simple worsted grey
Is silver now with clinging mist.
The desolate, deserted trees,
The faded earth, the heavy sky,
The beauties she so truly sees,
She thinks I have no eye for these,
And vexes me for reason why.
Not yesterday I learned to know
The love of bare November days
Before the coming of the snow,
But it were vain to tell her so,
And they are better for her praise
(end)
