*****
GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE
Wayne A. Holst, Editor
My E-Mail Address:
waholst@telus.net
Colleagues List Web Site:
http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com
"Quicklinks" are included with many items
at the beginning of this issue. To get a more
complete picture, however, scroll down to
find your special selection in the body of
the blog.
Note that not all items here have links.
*****
Dear Friends -
As I announced last week I am going to
need your co-operation to help me continue
sending my weekly Colleagues List.
Included below is an important
"Permission Statement" for your use
(in a basic format borrowed from
colleague Jim Taylor.)
-----
Colleagues List Subscribers:
Canada has recently passed some anti-spam
legislation which imposes special requirements
on anyone sending out electronic messages
(like me) with whopping fines for failing to
comply.
Basically, the law says that I cannot e-mail
my articles to you unless I have your express
or implied consent. Since all or most of you, as
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I’m assuming your implied consent.
If I do not hear back from you with a formal
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List mailings, I shall assume that you want to
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IF someone added your name without having
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Tell me that you want to unsubscribe from
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*****
This week's Colleagues List -
Begins with my Special Item:
"A Visit to Temple Square -
Reflecting on the LDS Today"
http://tinyurl.com/m6u6zma
Colleague Contributions - this week
Monica Kilburn-Smith
http://tinyurl.com/pzf73vf
Arthur Bauer
http://tinyurl.com/ltqggu8
Jim Taylor
http://tinyurl.com/ms8l79j
Ron Rolheiser
http://tinyurl.com/nolukdf
--
Net Notes - and links are as follows:
"Pagan Britain" - a valuable book
review on a volume that tells the
story of Britain before the Romans
(The Tablet, UK)
http://tinyurl.com/kdl9u2j
"Return of Hare Krishna" - an
eastern religious group first
noted on our city streets in the
60s and 70s is back in a new way
(Washington Post on Faith)
http://tinyurl.com/kv2m8p6
"Mormons Sue BC Polygamists" -
evidence of a public feud between
sectarian and mainstream Mormonism
in Canada (Castanet News)
http://tinyurl.com/lsx8reg
a dramatic presentation on an issue
that has plagued the whole church
and is slowly, fully, revealing itself
(Al Jezeera America)
http://tinyurl.com/pdzraps
"UK Bans Teaching of Creationism" -
the British government is coming out
strongly against the teaching of
creationism in its schools today
(Christian Post)
http://tinyurl.com/pd7fls5
"Is the Brain Hard-Wired for Faith?" -
this is the continuation of a scientific
probe into the nature of the brain
which integrates religion and science
(US Catholic)
http://tinyurl.com/pbkfevu
"Flood Recovery is Slow on Reserve" -
on the weekend remembering the
first anniversary of the Calgary Flood
here is a story from a local native
reserve near the city (Castanet News)
http://tinyurl.com/kocnqct
"As Others Decline Pentecostals Grow" -
even the US Southern Baptists are
admitting decline, but the Assemblies of
God continue to grow (Christian Post)
http://tinyurl.com/lqw63m4
"200 Nigerian Schoolgirls are Still Missing" -
the tragedy in Nigeria appears to be
losing attention, though unresolved
(Reuters) http://tinyurl.com/mzqgdlu
"Trinity Western Law School Hits New Snag" -
a Canadian Christian university continues
to run afoul of human rights legislation
(Globe and Mail) http://tinyurl.com/p7maer9
--
Wisdom of the Week comes from -
Sam Levenson, Søren Kierkegaard,
Desiderius Erasmus, I. Carter Heyward
and Frances Harper - courtesy of
Sojourners and Bruderhof online
Scroll down to read this.
--
On This Day - from the archives of
the New York Times -
UN Adopts Charter of Human Rights
http://tinyurl.com/83wo9bn
Igor Stravinski, Composer, is Born
http://tinyurl.com/yzkmbo7
--
Closing Thought - Nelson Mandela
Please scroll down for this.
After next week's issue of Colleagues List
I will enter my summer schedule of sending
it to you every other week until September
when I return to a weekly routine.
Blessings,
Wayne
***********
Continuing a series on spiritual
experiences from our recent trip
down the Pacific coast of the USA,
returning via the mountain states.
SPECIAL ITEM
A VISIT TO TEMPLE SQUARE
IN SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH
Reflecting on the LDS Today
To begin, it is important to develop
a sense of what Temple Square is
all about. To get that, please click -
http://tinyurl.com/m6u6zma
--
Marlene and I spent a day and a half
visiting the various parts of the square
on the north-west side of downtown
Salt Lake City.
The main buildings in the square proper
are the Salt Lake Temple, the Tabernacle,
the Assembly Hall (original temple) and
two well-developed visitor's centers.
Only Mormons can worship in the temple
but all are welcome to enter the tabernacle.
Beautiful gardens, memorial statuary and
resting places are also included here.
In addition to buildings within the square,
there are a number of significant facilities
outside it, including a large conference
center, a hotel, a family history library
(containing ancestry records), a church
history museum and administrative buildings.
This is truly the 'Mormon Mecca' and it is
usually not hard to distinguish LDS folk
(at least the men) from the rest because
of their characteristic white shirts and ties.
Whenever we were looking for directions
or explanations a pair of 'sisters' with
sunny dispositions would suddenly appear.
'The missionaries' - both male and female,
are everywhere and are treated with great
respect by those who recognize them.
There is no question that this is a sacred
place - not just for Mormons - but for people
with a sensitivity to things holy. We did
not have to gain access to the temple proper
to realize this. People, history, building design
and lay-out create a sanctified impact.
--
Here are a few impressions from our visit.
Attending an organ recital and a choir
presentation in the tabernacle was special.
These performances of religious music -
while not worship per se - were exquisitely
handled and well-worth attending.
(Because of the crowds on Memorial Day
weekend in May we had to attend an
adjacent facility to hear a simultaneous
live telecast of the choir on Sunday, but
we did hear the organ program in the
tabernacle proper on Saturday.)
The Relief Society Building is headquarters
for a vast global service agency that grows
out of the real-life experience of the LDS
who had to learn self-sufficiency and
were appreciative of the help they
received from others during their early
history in Utah.
See the following articles on the famous
Mormon Trek from the mid-western US
to what became their Zion in Utah Territory
during the first half of the nineteenth century =
Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormon_Trail
US National Historic Trail Link:
http://www.nps.gov/mopi/index.htm
The Family History Library was an
eye-opening experience. Both Marlene
and I were, after an hour of research,
(and aided by two most helpful and
enthusiastic sisters) able to trace our
family histories much more extensively
than we had done previously. Marlene's
tree now extends to 10th century Scotland
and mine to when my German antecedents
came over on the boat in the early 19th
century. New leads for extending our trees
were provided to both of us as we departed.
These searches are offered gratis and are
amazing. You don't have to go to Salt Lake
City either. Regional ancestry centers are
located in many places, like Calgary.
Why not check one out for yourself?
The fact that the LDS got into ancestry
because of their belief in baptism for
the dead should not discourage us from
taking advantage of their generous
ancestry search offer to all.
http://tinyurl.com/ouvyk
Our discussions with 'the missionaries'
we encountered everywhere in the
square and beyond it - was always on
a mutually respectful level and most
helpful. Never did I feel pressured
and my views were always addressed
respectfully and helpfully.
The fact that I noted 'indoctrination'
in a number of the women's responses
did not prevent me from saying that
I looked forward to the time - some
years hence - when their views about
the role of women in the Mormon
church might be different!
The great new awareness for us with
this visit was the strong and growing
influence of women in the LDS. A brief
review of how Mormon doctrine has
adapted in light of changing social
conditions - and because of it's world-
wide outreach and inclusion - I see the
day when there will be ordained women
in the Mormon church, just as I see it
coming in the RC church.
(See the Colleague Contribution
article below from Catholic woman-
priest Monica Kilburn-Smith. It is-
not surprising that modern women
in both churches are currently finding
sorority and common cause.)
--
A final word about Brigham Young
University, located south of Salt Lake
City in Provo, Utah. This school has one
of the largest student bodies of any
private American academic institution.
(34,000 students, 98% Mormon)
http://tinyurl.com/z62ku
The motto of the school speaks for itself
" Enter to Learn - Go Out to Serve"
Our experience in Temple Square and
beyond it reminded us of Jesus' words -
"by their fruits you will know them."
*****
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS
MONICA KILBURN-SMITH
Calgary, AB
June 18th, 2014
Monica Shares the following -
MORMON WOMEN FACING EXCOMMUNICATION
Ordination Seekers Banned from Temple Square
Religion News Service
March 18th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/pzf73vf
Catholic Women in Solidarity with Mormon Women
Women's Ordination Conference Blog
June 19th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/ltqggu8
--
ARTHUR BAUER
Pompton Plains, NJ
June 18th, 2014
Wayne:
but this man's pictures and message
is phenomenal!
A remarkable presentation by a
world famous time-lapse photographer.
Have sound up. Lasts about 5 minutes
A remarkable presentation by a
world famous time-lapse photographer.
Have sound up. Lasts about 5 minutes
"Beauty That Surrounds Us"
http://tinyurl.com/cqba8lf
--
JIM TAYLOR
Okanagan, BC
Personal Web Log
June 18th, 2014
"Abstract Principles in Real Life"
http://tinyurl.com/ms8l79j
--
RON ROLHEISER
San Antonio, TX
Personal Website
June 15th, 2014
"On Not Being Stingy With God's Mercy"
http://tinyurl.com/nolukdf
http://tinyurl.com/cqba8lf
--
JIM TAYLOR
Okanagan, BC
Personal Web Log
June 18th, 2014
"Abstract Principles in Real Life"
http://tinyurl.com/ms8l79j
--
RON ROLHEISER
San Antonio, TX
Personal Website
June 15th, 2014
"On Not Being Stingy With God's Mercy"
http://tinyurl.com/nolukdf
NET NOTES
PAGAN BRITAIN
Life Before the Romans
The Tablet, UK
June 20th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/kdl9u2j
--
RETURN OF HARE KRISHNA
Faith Becoming Evangelistic
Washington Post on Faith
June 16th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/kv2m8p6
--
MORMONS SUE BC POLYGAMISTS
Claim Copyright Infringement
Castanet News
June 20th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/lsx8reg
--
HOW BOB JONES U. HANDLES RAPE
Victims Counseled to Repent
(Watch videos, read story)
Al Jazeera America
June 18th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/pdzraps
--
UK BANS TEACHING OF CREATIONISM
Government Says it is Not Science
Christian Post
June 20th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/pd7fls5
--
IS THE BRAIN HARD-WIRED FOR FAITH?
Two Perspectives - Common Phenomena
US Catholic
June, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/pbkfevu
--
RECOVERY SLOW ON NATIVE RESERVE
Alberta Flood at First Anniversary
Castanet.net
June 19th, 20124
http://tinyurl.com/kocnqct
--
US Assemblies of God Not Like Most Churches
Christian Post
June 18th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/lqw63m4
--
200 NIGERIAN SCHOOLGIRLS STILL MISSING
Government Wraps Up Investigation
Reuters
June 20th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/mzqgdlu
--
TRINITY WESTERN LAW SCHOOL HITS NEW SNAG
BC Law Society Reverses Decision
Globe and Mail
June 10th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/p7maer9
*****
WISDOM OF THE WEEK
Provided by Sojourners and Bruderhof Online -
"You must learn from the mistakes of others.
You can’t possibly live long enough to make
them all yourself."
- Sam Levenson
--
"Eternity is a very radical thought, and thus a
matter of inwardness. Whenever the reality
of the eternal is affirmed, the present becomes
something entirely different from what it was
apart from it. This is precisely why human
beings fear it (under the guise of fearing death).
You often hear about particular governments that
fear the restless elements of society. I prefer to
say that the entire age is a tyrant that lives in fear
of the one restless element: the thought of eternity.
It does not dare to think it. Why? Because it
crumbles under – and avoids like anything –
the weight of inwardness."
- Søren Kierkegaard
--
"Let us look at the past ten years...
What land and sea did not witness warfare? ...
We must look for peace by purging the very
sources of war – false ambitions and evil desires.
As long as individuals serve their own personal
interests, the common good will suffer."
- Desiderius Erasmus
--
"In the Spirit which draws us into honest
engagement with one another, including those
who may be very different from us in various
ways, God calls us to wake up and learn how
to love and respect one another, period."
- I. Carter Heyward
--
"My hands were weak, but I reached them out
to feebler ones than mine, and over the shadow
of my life, stole the light of a peace divine."
- Frances Harper
*****
ON THIS DAY
From the pages of the New York Times
June 15th - 21st
UN Adopts Charter of Human Rights
http://tinyurl.com/83wo9bn
Igor Stravinski, Composer, is Born
http://tinyurl.com/yzkmbo7
(obituary)
*****
CLOSING THOUGHT - NELSON MANDELA
"It always seems impossible until it’s done."
(end)
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