*****
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 my Special Item this week I introduce
the book "Feisty and Fearless" - a life of Lois
Wilson, notable Canadian citizen and church
person. I thank Janice L Meighan of Toronto
for writing this book and the people at the
United Church Centre in that city for sending
me a review copy.
http://www.ucrdstore.ca/feisty.html
http://tinyurl.com/o2l33sp
http://tinyurl.com/lt7s7c2
Scroll down for my book notice
--Colleague Contributions - this week are from
Cameron Harder - on community-building
http://tinyurl.com/pdd6xsl
CameronHarder.com
http://tinyurl.com/mkw55nv
Dennis Greunding - on Gaza and Middle East peace
http://tinyurl.com/me2bjw6
Jim Taylor - on truth as a moving target and
lessons from gardening
http://tinyurl.com/l6axspg
http://tinyurl.com/nbhnl56
Martin Marty - on intolerance and violence
and Russian Orthodoxy
http://tinyurl.com/pa76nhz
http://tinyurl.com/lrsx5pw
Ron Rolheiser - on suicide in the family
http://tinyurl.com/k7hmb2r
Net Notes -
"Nadine Gordimer Dies" - the South
African author was a strong witness
against racism (The Guardian, UK)
http://tinyurl.com/lnxb2nq
http://tinyurl.com/nmgnk7r
http://tinyurl.com/num36nv
"Women and Wardrobe" - so much
appears today on women's dress and
our rape culture. Here's a 'Christian' take
on the subject (Christian Week online)
http://tinyurl.com/kkfl4qx
"Hillary Clinton's Hard Choices" - a
woman of great experience is currently
considering another run at the American
presidency (The Tablet, UK)
http://tinyurl.com/nzyj6cr
"Current Events at the Vatican" - three
unique activities occurring this past week
(Faith Today, Irish Times, National
Catholic Reporter)
http://tinyurl.com/l3qhyv7
http://tinyurl.com/mux7z6n
http://tinyurl.com/k74ecd4
"God, 'Please Let My Team Win'" - we
may roll our eyes when sports figures
engage in prayer but here is an
interesting reflection on the phenomenon
(Sightings) http://tinyurl.com/qx2bdmw
"Anglican Journal has New Editor" -
we welcome an experienced church
news writer to the AJ helm this week
(Anglican Journal)
http://tinyurl.com/nkj74u3
"Holy Land Bishop Decries the Strife" -
the Palestinian Lutheran bishop shares
his grief at developments in Gaza
(Lutheran World News)
http://tinyurl.com/kk7t7nw
"C of E Votes to Ordain Women Bishops" -
a historic event for a traditional church
signals an attempt to catch up with society
(BBC News, UCA News)
http://tinyurl.com/pdsgpbk
http://tinyurl.com/om6fyy5
"Who's Right and Wrong in the Middle East?" -
an insightful article on the complex, yet not
impossible situation involving Israel/Palestine
(New York Times) http://tinyurl.com/moovd5j
"Americans Cite Jesus in Healthcare Debate" -
this discussion would probably never happen
in Canada, but the USA is obviously different!
(The Christian Post) http://tinyurl.com/lk5gcn9
"Islam - Real Threat or Current US Scapegoat?" -
a helpful article on why Islam has become such
a big issue in American politics/the press today
(UCA News) http://tinyurl.com/kfdp5sw
"Reformation 500th Celebration Plans Unravel -
we have worried that insular thinking might
sink a significant anniversary in Germany,
and it would now appear that it has
(The Tablet, UK) http://tinyurl.com/nvdoof8
--
Wisdom of the Week -
Pope Francis, Rigoberta Menchú, Aung San Suu Kyi,
Rachel Carson, Vincent van Gogh and Herman Melville
- share their insights courtesy of Sojourners and
the Bruderhof online.
Please scroll down for these quotes/
--
On This Day -
From the archives of the New York Times
selected from July 13th - 26th:
These stories are reported as they occurred -
Nicholas II family executed by the Bolsheviks
http://tinyurl.com/kznsd64
http://tinyurl.com/lg2h5xj
Austria Issues Ultimatum Leading to WWI
http://tinyurl.com/lg2h5xj--
Closing Thought - Don Marquis
I'll be back in touch with you two weeks
from now, on August 9th.
Wayne
*********
SPECIAL ITEM
"FEISTY AND FEARLESS:
Glimpses into the Life of Lois M. Wilson"
by Janice L. Meighan
United Church Publishing House, Toronto ON
April, 2014. 327 pages. $26.95/$16.90 CAD
Kindle edition $9.50 CAD
ISBN #978-1-55134-214-6.
Publisher's Promo:
Meet the many sides of Lois M. Wilson:
Moderator, senator, minister, mother,
chancellor, activist, wife, canoeist,
feminist. Feisty and Fearless explores
the legacy of an accomplished, vibrant
public and religious leader, a woman
of firsts who shattered the stained-glass
ceiling. With access to Wilson and to her
unpublished papers, photographs, and
diaries, Janice Meighan has created an
authentic window into this remarkable
woman’s story, evolving views, and vision.
This book of stories will make you think,
laugh, and cheer. Feisty and Fearless is
a must-read for all Canadians.
Foreword by Lois Wilson (selections) -
When Janice Meighan first told me she wanted
to write a book about me, I told her I wanted it
to focus on my ministry and not on me...
Additionally, I thought it might be helpful to
present a slice of history to the church at a
time when we were searching for both roots
and wings...
Janice has done well on both counts and has
compressed mounds of meticulous research
into a number of main themes.
Leadership in both church and society requires
awareness of the societal context for ministry,
and my life has been enriched enormously
through the gifts received from Canadians
inside and outside the church, as well as from
international companions in the peace movement,
the human rights movement, and the ecumenical
movement...
As I enter the home stretch, one scriptural text
echoes and re-echoes in me: "Rejoice always,
pray without ceasing, give thanks in all
circumstances; for this is the will of God in
Christ for you" (I Thess. 5:16-18).
--
Author's Words (selections from the Preface) -
Like many secularized Christians, I didn't grow
up in the church - my family never attended
and only celebrated Easter and Christmas
traditions. At age 25, after a year or two of
church shopping, I walked into a United Church
and stayed.
(From the start, I was impressed by the life
and witness of Lois Wilson, and eventually I
decided to write a book about her).
This is the first book to take a critical look at this
little-known but remarkable woman who with
one foot in each camp wove the religious, the
secular and the political throughout her life...
Lois is unique in her understanding of a Christian
ecumenism that incorporates multi-religious
and non-religious pluralism... her daring example
could be a guide for all Canadians at this time...
She gave me 11 interviews spanning the years
2008 to 2013 and I have read almost everything
she has ever written - both published and un-
published - and watched many hours of media
interviews made by her.
I attended her 85th birthday celebration in 2012...
Lois helps shatter stained-glass ceilings to become
"a woman of firsts." She becomes the first
president of the Canadian Council of Churches,
and then the first Moderator of the United Church,
as well as a president of the World Council of
Churches... Many women and men are indebted
to Lois's trailblazing efforts, and some have felt
the sting of her views and leadership as she
breaks through the religious patriarchy...
(She served in the Canadian Senate in Ottawa
from 1998 to 2002 and retired at age 75)...
My hope is that however you choose to read
this book, you will find a window into the life
of this great Canadian, one who has done an
enormous amount of good in our world.
--
My Thoughts:
I have experienced Lois Wilson on two separate
occasions and would like to share them here.
Twenty-five years ago I was interviewing for
an ecumenical, mission-related administrative
position in Toronto and Lois was one of those
conducting the interview. I didn't get the job
but Lois must have sensed that personal and
vocational problems were going on in my life
at the time. After the interview, she expressed
an interest in inviting me for breakfast before
I headed back on a long and lonely trip to
Calgary. I don't remember much of what was
said but I won't forget the pastoral support
she offered me at a time I really needed it.
Fifteen years ago, and as a representative
of the Gandhi Society of Calgary, I had the
opportunity to introduce her to our annual
dinner which usually featured a peacemaker
in the spirit of the Mahatma. In the course
of getting some current background for
the introduction, I learned she had just
returned from a trip to the DPR (North
Korea) as part of her service as chair of
the Canada-DPR Korea Association. I
reminded her of our previous encounter
(which she recalled) and of how I was glad
to be able to welcome her to Calgary under
happier circumstances for me!
A pastoral and a peace-making set of
experiences - but in both I encountered
the same kind of person in Lois Wilson
that I am now being introduced to in
Janice L. Meighan's valuable book.
While the circumstances and issues under
consideration were considerably different,
the person with whom I was dealing was
much the same. No nonsense but deeply
compassionate - is a way I have experienced
Lois. This is also the person portrayed in a
great variety of circumstances as described
in Feisty and Fearless.
As Meighan describes it, the chapters follow
a chronological approach as Lois's life evolved,
but they are also thematic. The author uses a
story-telling format that I find most engaging.
The first two chapters describe the first
forty years of her life. Married to Roy, also
a United Church minister, she grew unsatisfied
with being confined to the roles of minister's
wife and mother and sought out broader ways
to serve in both community and church.
Her journey to ordination as a woman pioneer -
at a time when few were brave enough to
function in a highly patriarchal era - is quite
enlightening for those of us who live at a
different though not all that removed time.
Chapter three tells of how Lois began to
to work 'with a foot in both church and
society' simultaneously.
Chapters four and five relay how she
became an early woman leader in her own
denomination and in several significant
national and international ecumenical
organizations.
Chapter six recounts some of her many
friends and associates from over the years;
and seven tells of how her life blended religion
and national politics. She was proud of her
appointment to the Canadian senate and saw
it as a high point of her career.
The final chapter provides Lois with an
opportunity to reflect on her life, her vocation,
and on her beloved church. She describes her
joys as well as her regrets. She is no less
willing to whitewash parts of her own story,
even as she observed others. In this
chapter I see the no-nonsense person
of compassion I have discovered myself.
--
I like to collect and read biographies and
autobiographies ranging from heroic
figures like Nelson Mandela to hardly-
known figures in remote places. I will
treasure this book and return to it
often because I see in it glimpses of
the person I might have become if
circumstances in my own life had been
different.
This is a book I recommend and I
thank Janice L. Meighan for writing it.
--
Buy the Trade Paper Edition from:
United Church Resource Distribution
http://www.ucrdstore.ca/feisty.html
Buy the book from Chapters Indigo:
http://tinyurl.com/o2l33sp
Kindle Edition of the book from Amazon.ca:
http://tinyurl.com/lt7s7c2
*****
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS
CAMERON HARDER
Saskatoon, SK
Professor, Systematic Theology
Executive Director of the Centre for
Rural Community Leadership
Lutheran Theological Seminary
University of Saskatchewan
Alban Weekly
July 20th, 2014
"Discovering the Other"
http://tinyurl.com/pdd6xsl
Note his website:
CameronHarder.com
--
FAITH NOSTBAKKEN
Edmonton, AB
Anglican Journal
July 21st, 2014
"Anglican/Lutheran Worship Conference at the
Edmonton Providence Catholic Retreat Centre"
http://tinyurl.com/mkw55nv
--
DENNIS GREUNDING
Ottawa, ON.
UC Observer Online
July 24th 2014
"The Gaza War - History Does Matter"
The Middle East's cycle of violence and retaliation
can only be ended through negotiations -
http://tinyurl.com/me2bjw6
See also the 'Net Notes' article posted below:
"Who's Right and Wrong in the Middle East?"
--
JIM TAYLOR
Okanagan, BC
Personal Weblog
July 15th, 2014
July 23rd, 2014
"Truth as a Moving Target"
http://tinyurl.com/l6axspg
"Roots and Branches"
http://tinyurl.com/nbhnl56
--
MARTIN MARTY
Chicago. IL
Sightings
July 14th, 2014
July 21st, 2014
"Intolerance and Violence"
http://tinyurl.com/pa76nhz
"Russian Orthodoxy"
http://tinyurl.com/lrsx5pw
--
RON ROLHEISER
San Antonio, TX
Personal Website
July 20th, 2014
"Suicide - Reclaiming the
Memory of Our Loved One"
http://tinyurl.com/k7hmb2r
*****
NET NOTES
NADINE GORDIMER DIES
"Her Obituary"
The Guardian, UK
July 14th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/lnxb2nq
"A Tribute by Margaret Atwood"
The Guardian, UK
July 14th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/nmgnk7r
"Five Must-Read Gordimer Books"
The Guardian,
July 15th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/num36nv
--
WOMEN AND THE WARDROBE
Moving Beyond Objectification
Christian Week
July 15th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/kkfl4qx
--
HILLARY CLINTON'S HARD CHOICES
Review of her Recent Book
The Tablet, UK
July 25th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/nzyj6cr
--
"Evangelicals and the Pope"
Faith Today,
July/August, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/l3qhyv7
"Pope and Curia Not on Same Page"
Irish Times
July 19th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/mux7z6n
"Apostate Sudanese Woman Meets Pope"
National Catholic Reporter
July 24th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/k74ecd4
--
GOD, "PLEASE LET MY TEAM WIN"
Sightings
July 17th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/qx2bdmw
--
ANGLICAN JOURNAL HAS NEW EDITOR
Marites (Tess) Sison Very Experienced
Anglican Journal
July 15th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/nkj74u3
--
HOLY LAND BISHOP DECRIES THE STRIFE
Palestinian Lutheran Shares Grief
Lutheran World News
July 17th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/kk7t7nw
--
C of E VOTES TO ORDAIN WOMEN BISHOPS
"Brings Church More in Step With Society"
BBC News
July 14th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/pdsgpbk
UCA News
July 15th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/om6fyy5
--
WHO'S RIGHT AND WRONG
IN THE MIDDLE EAST?
Complex Conflict Has Been
Hijacked by the Hardliners
New York Times
July 20th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/moovd5j
--
IN HEALTHCARE DEBATE
RCs and Protestants Say
Jesus Supports Obamacare
The Christian Post
Juy 26th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/lk5gcn9
--
ISLAM - REAL THREAT OR
CURRENT US SCAPEGOAT?
American Scholar Takes a
Long Look at History
UCA News
July 23rd, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/kfdp5sw
--
REFORMATION 500th CELEBRATION
PLANS BEGIN TO UNRAVEL
German Catholics Feel
Protestant "Slap in the Face"
The Tablet, UK
July 18th, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/nvdoof8
*****
WISDOM OF THE WEEK
Provided by Sojourners and Bruderhof Online
"Inequality is the root of social evil."
- Pope Francis
--
"The Bible has been used as a way of
making us accept our situation, and not
to bring enlightenment to the poor."
- Rigoberta Menchú
--
"It is undeniably easier to ignore the hardships
of those who are too weak to demand their
rights than to respond sensitively to their needs.
To care is to accept responsibility, to dare to act
in accordance with the dictum that the ruler is
the strength of the helpless."
- Aung San Suu Kyi
--
I am not afraid of being thought a sentimentalist
when I say that I believe natural beauty has a
necessary place in the spiritual development of
an individual or a society. I believe that whenever
we destroy beauty, or whenever we substitute
something manmade and artificial for a natural
feature of the earth, we have retarded some part
of our spiritual growth.
- Rachel Carson
--
Let us go forward quietly, forever making
for the light, and lifting up our hearts in the
knowledge that we are as others are (and
that others are as we are), and that it is right
to love one another in the best possible way –
believing all things, hoping for all things, and
enduring all things…And let us not be too
troubled by our weaknesses, for even he who
has none, has one weakness, namely that he
thinks he has none, and anyone who believes
himself to be so perfect or wise would do well
to become foolish all over again.
- Vincent van Gogh
-
"We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand
fibers connect us with our fellow-men; and along
those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions
run as causes, and come back to us as effects."
- Herman Melville
*****
ON THIS DAY
June 13th - 26th
From the Archives of the New York Times
"Nicholas II Family Executed by the Bolsheviks "
http://tinyurl.com/kznsd64
"Spanish Civil War Begins"
http://tinyurl.com/lg2h5xj
"Austria Issues Ultimatum Leading to WWI"
http://tinyurl.com/k9z5odh
*****
CLOSING THOUGHT - DON MARQUIS
"When a man tells you that he got rich
through hard work, ask him whose."
(end)
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