*****
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:
Welcome to the first issue of Volume 10
of Colleagues List! I think you have a good
experience in store.
My Special Item is provided by colleague
Mathew Zachariah. I introduced him to
many of you in November, 2010 when
he wrote an article entitled "My Search
for My Great-Grandfather" - who had
been a Church Mission Society (Anglican)
archdeacon in Kerala State, India.
Please click this link and scroll down into
the body of that blog issue:
http://tinyurl.com/kks45bz
Then, in April of last year I provided you with
a book notice for "Making Anew My Home,"
Mathew's autobiography of life transitions
from a colonial youth in India to an emeritus
professor of education and global development
studies at the University of Calgary.
http://tinyurl.com/mggod7u
Through all those years, Mathew has been a
faithful Christian. He continues that practice
with a feature article in this issue, which he
entitles "Filioque." It is a testimony to how
his Anglican faith helped him bridge the
rather significant challenges he faced as
he moved from India to North America and
from ancient to modern Christian community.
http://mathewzachariah.com/
Please scroll down to read his short article
and my links to related themes.
--
Colleague Comments this week are from:
Kelly Johnson - "The Shia-Sunni Divide"
http://tinyurl.com/pl93xyn
Herb O'Driscoll - "The Disruption Machine"
http://tinyurl.com/mszbkpm
Scroll down to read their personal comments.
--
Colleague Contributions this week are from:
Jim Taylor who writes on "Yesterdays"
http://tinyurl.com/m623fs6
Martin Marty who offers two pieces -
"Catholics Reject Church Teachings on Sex"
http://tinyurl.com/kxc9mtm (and)
"Prayer Meetings in Leipzig"
http://tinyurl.com/okp9xpb while -
Ron Rolheiser provides -
"Disciples With Many Faces"
http://tinyurl.com/qznwlg2
--
Net Notes:
"American Pariah" - a current but critical
study of Mormon founder Joseph Smith
(New York Times Review of Books)
http://tinyurl.com/q46sko6
"Never Forget, Never Tell" - an
Armenian American's reflections
after her first visit to Turkey
(The Christian Century)
http://tinyurl.com/lq46fse
"Bible Engagement Declines" - this
article describes a gradual reduction
in Canadian biblical consciousness
(Christian Week)
http://tinyurl.com/mkocxy3
"'Jesus Wept' Over Brazil's Defeat" -
a humorous depiction of the Christ
overlooking Corcovado at Rio
(Huffington Post Religion)
http://tinyurl.com/mtsz8w9
"Francis Meets With U.S. TV Evangelists" -
another article describing how the current
pope is reaching out to non-Catholics
(Religious News Service)
http://tinyurl.com/mkbw4vq
"Pope Calls Sex Abuse 'Sacrilegious Cult'" -
Francis continues to pull no punches when
it comes to a much needed clarification
(America/Religious News Service, and
Commonweal) http://tinyurl.com/nrck9sr
http://tinyurl.com/qfrblex
http://tinyurl.com/lc9d4g7
"Religion the Answer to World's Problems" -
many Americans still believe that their
faith traditions will solve major challenges
(The Christian Post)
http://tinyurl.com/muhzwn4
"Christians Facing Increased Risks in China" -
a penetrating article on the Chinese irony -
growing persecution and growing conversions
(Globe and Mail) http://tinyurl.com/m8p9ygy
"Renewed Energy in Anglican/Lutheran Churches" -
a hopeful story of Lutheran and Anglican unity
on both sides of the Can/USA international border
(Anglican Journal) http://tinyurl.com/nut347z
"Charter of Rights, Universal Healthcare Unite Canada" -
Canadians continue to see their identity associated
with two symbols of national pride and confidence
(The Canadian Press) http://tinyurl.com/l9oxk9v
--
Wisdom of the Week - comes to us from -
Mary McCarthy, Abraham Lincoln, Dorothy Day.
Nellie McClung, Mother Teresa, Max Lerner and
Kahlil Gibran.
Scroll down to them.
--
On This Day:
The New York Times archives provide articles
from June 29th to July 12th -
"British return Hong Kong to China after 156 years"
http://tinyurl.com/pf6xaxq
"Battle of Britain by German Luftwaffe Begins"
http://tinyurl.com/mrvkkf9
--
Our Closing Thought this week is short and snappy -
and comes from Archibald MacLeish. Scroll down.
Thanks for helping me to make good use of warm,
lazy, summer days. See you again in two weeks.
Wayne
(end)
*******
SPECIAL ITEM
From a Colleague
"FILIOQUE"
by Mathew Zachariah
Calgary, Alberta
I was baptized in my father’s ancestral
church, The Orthodox Syrian Church in
Vanchithrain the village of Thekkemala in
central Kerala, India. But I almost always
attended Anglican churches because of my
mother’s strong Anglican (Church Missionary
Society or CMS) roots and because I grew up
with my CMS adoptive parents in Alapuzha
(a coastal town in Kerala) and attended the
Anglican Christ Church there.
When I visited my mother in our ancestral
paternal home in Hekkemala in my youth for
holidays, I accompanied her and attended the
Orthodox Church. In the Orthodox tradition,
the Lay Leader recites aloud and from memory
the Nicene Creed and the congregants affirm
the creed’s truth by saying "Ameen" (Amen)
at intervals. On rare occasions when the Nicene
Creed was recited in the CMS church in the
1940s and early 1950s (because we recited
the Apostle’s Creed most of the time), the
priest and the congregation read aloud that
Creed from the translated Book of Common
Prayer (BCS) in Malayalam, the language of
Kerala. I could not have realized then that
the Nicene Creed recited in the CMS Church
had the "filioque."
What is filioque? In Latin it means “and the
son.” According to one of many sources I
consulted (Orthodox Wiki found with the
help of Google): “[Filioque] was added to
the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed by the
Church of Rome in the 11th century, one of
the major factors leading to the Great Schism
between East and West. [Some scholars claim
that the filioque has been present in earlier
documents]. This inclusion in the Credal article
regarding the Holy Spirit thus states that the
Sprit proceeds from the Father and the Son.”
(Bold italics in the original). The Anglican
Church accepted the tradition handed down
from Rome in the matter of this creed.
We cannot tarry to examine the fascinating
filioque controversy here. Let us note that
on page 71 of the Book of Common Prayer
(1962, Canada) the filioque is present,
although it is not identified as the Nicene
Creed. But, most of us do not know that
The Book of Alternative Services (BAS) of
the Anglican Church of Church of Canada
(copyright 1985) has chosen to extend the
hand of rapprochement to the Orthodox
churches. On page 176 of BAS we read thus:
“The words “and the son” (filioque) have been
removed from the Nicene Creed in accordance
with the Lambeth 1978 Statement: The
conference… [based on the work of the
Anglican-Orthodox Joint Doctrinal
Commission] requests that all member
Churches of the Anglican Communion should
consider omitting the Filioque from the Nicene
Creed…” It goes on to say that “the omission
of the filioque does not imply a change of
doctrine or belief on the part of the Anglican
Church.”
When I was doing research for the “My Christian
Faith” chapter in my book "Making Anew My
Home: A Memoir" (friesenpress.com, 2014), I
read with sadness in the second 2001 edition
of the World Christian Encyclopedia that: “Of
all Christians, 1,888 millions are church members
affiliated to 6 major ecclesiastico-cultural
megablocs [such as the Anglicans], also some
300 different ecclesiastical traditions, also
33,820 distinct Christian denominations across
the world.” In 2014, the number of divisions
would have certainly increased based on major
or minor differences, thus making our Lord’s
devout wish “That they may all be one” an even
more remote possibility.
Yet, I – shaped by both the Eastern and
Western church traditions – am pleased
with the Canadian Anglican Church’s
significant contribution to church unity
in its doctrinal teaching and modern services.
---
Mathew's story and book -
"Making Anew My Home" Friesen (2013)
http://mathewzachariah.com/
Read about the Malabar Christians
of Kerala State, South India:
http://tinyurl.com/o2wlcmr
Read about the Church Mission Society
including the work in Kerala State:
http://tinyurl.com/pfqq8lh
Read about the filioque controversy
in the broad sweep of Christian history
http://tinyurl.com/ok7t86c
*****
COLLEAGUE COMMENT
KELLY JOHNSON
Calgary, AB
Personal E-Mail
July 8th, 2014
Wayne:
I found this article on current
events in Iraq to be very helpful.
Kelly
Globe and Mail
June 26th, 2014
"Shia-Sunni Divide:
Iraq's Deadly Sectarian War"
http://tinyurl.com/pl93xyn
--
HERB O'DRISCOLL
Victoria, BC
Personal E-Mail
July 2nd, 2014
Friends
You may already be aware of this article.
I think you will find it a worthwhile read.
Particularly interesting re the life of the
church are the two paragraphs on page
35 beginning "Disruptive innovation as
an explanation for how things happen is
everywhere..." but the whole article will
be of interest in many settings, and, of
course, as with all things, you will find
some things you agree with and some
things otherwise! C'est la vie...
Blessings,
Herb
The New Yorker
June 23rd, 2014
"The Disruption Machine"
What the gospel of innovation gets wrong
http://tinyurl.com/mszbkpm
*****
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS
JIM TAYLOR
Okanagan, BC
Weblog
July 9th,2014
"Yesterdays"
http://tinyurl.com/m623fs6
--
MARTIN MARTY
Chicago, IL
Sightings
June 30th, 2014
"Catholics Reject Church Teachings on Sex"
http://tinyurl.com/kxc9mtm
Sightings
July 7th, 2014
"Prayer Meetings in Leipzig"
http://tinyurl.com/okp9xpb
--
RON ROLHEISER
San Antonio, TX
Personal Website
July 6th, 2014
"Disciples With any Faces"
http://tinyurl.com/qznwlg2
NET NOTES
AMERICAN PARIAH
Critical Assessment of Joseph Smith
New York Times Review of Books
July 6th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/q46sko6
--
NEVER FORGET, NEVER TELL
Armenian American’s Dilemma of
Memory on Her First Visit to Turkey
The Christian Century
June 23rd, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/lq46fse
--
BIBLE ENGAGEMENT DECLINES
Scripture Lost to Canadians
Christian Week
June 25th,2014
http://tinyurl.com/mkocxy3
--
'JESUS WEPT' OVER BRAZIL'S DEFEAT
Soccer Loss to Germany Felt Profoundly
Huffington Post Religion
July 9th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/mtsz8w9
--
FRANCIS MEETS WITH U.S. TV EVANGELISTS
Pope Discovers Common Cause With Them
Religious News Service
July 9th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/mkbw4vq
--
POPE CALLS SEX ABUSE 'SACRILEGIOUS CULT'
Meets With Victims of Some Priests, Bishops
America/Religious News Service (Video)
July 9th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/nrck9sr
"'Despicable Actions' Hidden Far too Long"
America/Catholic News Service (Text)
July 9th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/qfrblex
"Bishops Who Mishandled Abuse are Accountable"
Commonweal
July 7th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/lc9d4g7
--
RELIGION THE ANSWER TO WORLD'S PROBLEMS
Majority of Americans Claim This in Gallop Poll
The Christian Post
July 9th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/muhzwn4
--
CHRISTIANS FACING INCREASED RISKS IN CHINA
Communist Party Cracks Down on Free Speech
Globe and Mail
July 4th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/m8p9ygy
--
RENEWED ENERGY
IN ANGLICAN/LUTHERAN CHURCHES
Four Bodies in Canada/USA Reflect Together
Anglican Journal
June 4th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/nut347z
--
CHARTER OF RIGHTS,
UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE UNITE CANADA
Poll Finds Canadians Most Agreed
on These Defining Characteristics
The Canadian Press
June 30th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/l9oxk9v
*****
WISDOM OF THE WEEK
Provided by Sojourners, Bruderhof Online
"A good deal of education consists of unlearning -
the breaking of bad habits as with a tennis serve."
- Mary McCarthy
--
"Familiarize yourselves with the chains of bondage
and you prepare your own limbs to wear them.
Accustomed to trample on the rights of others,
you have lost the genius of your own independence
and become the fit subjects of the first cunning tyrant
who rises among you."
- Abraham Lincoln
--
Satisfaction can turn into satiety. A person can
start out aiming to be righteous and end up
self-righteous; we walk around quite pleased
with ourselves. We run the risk of thinking we’re
God’s gift to humanity, those of us who struggle
to be loyal to him. But that’s the worst sin possible:
the sin of pride.
- Dorothy Day
--
"Chivalry is a poor substitute for justice, if one
cannot have both. Chivalry is something like the
icing on the cake, sweet but not nourishing."
- Nellie McClung
--
It is not how much we are doing but how much
love, how much honesty, how much faith is put
into doing it. It makes no difference what we
are doing. What you are doing, I cannot do, and
what I am doing, you cannot do. Only sometimes
we forget and we spend more time looking at
somebody else and wishing we were doing
something else. We waste our time thinking
of tomorrow, and today we let the day pass,
and yesterday is gone.
- Mother Teresa
--
"In the end, as any successful teacher will tell you,
you can only teach the things that you are. If we
practice racism then it is racism we teach."
- Max Lerner
--
There are those who give little of the much which
they have – and they give it for recognition and their
hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome. And
there are those who have little and give it all. These
are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and
their coffer is never empty. There are those who give
with joy, and that joy is their reward. And there are
those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.
And there are those who give and know not pain in
giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness
of virtue; they give as in yonder valley the myrtle
breathes its fragrance into space. Through the hands
of such as these God speaks, and from behind their
eyes he smiles upon the earth.
- Kahlil Gibran
*****
ON THIS DAY
June 29th- July 12th
From the Archives of the New York Times
"British return Hong Kong to China after 156 years"
http://tinyurl.com/pf6xaxq
"Battle of Britain by German Luftwaffe Begins"
http://tinyurl.com/mrvkkf9
*****
CLOSING THOUGHT - Archibald MacLeish
"A man who lives, not by what he loves
but what he hates, is a sick man."
(end)
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