*****
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.
*****
Special Item -
This week, I introduce the latest book by
Joan Chittister of Erie, PA. It is entitled:
"Between the Dark and the Daylight."
- another of her insightful spiritual writings.
http://tinyurl.com/qy9netg
To read my thoughts, please scroll down.
--
Colleague Contributions - are provided by
Jim Taylor (Okanagan BC) who leads us
"Towards an Integrated Faith"
http://tinyurl.com/p3spx4y
Martin Marty (Chicago IL) who studies
"Pope Francis"
http://tinyurl.com/ktxdbtg
Ron Rolheiser (San Antonio TX) who describes
"God's Pleasure in Our Actions"
http://tinyurl.com/oxhmhbr
Monica Kilburn Smith (Calgary AB) who
challenges the current Vatican approach to
women with a piece from the Irish Times on
"The Vatican Choice of Female Image" -
Male Power Fantasy over Women
(with a nod to "Fifty Shades of Grey")
http://tinyurl.com/kecafpm
--
Net Notes - this week are as follows:
"A U.N. for Religion?" - an interesting
editorial on creating a United Nations
for global religion (America Magazine)
http://tinyurl.com/l958gde
"Pope Benedict's Resignation" - it was
two years this week that Benedict resigned
from the papacy. Here are assessments
(National Catholic Reporter, UCA News)
http://tinyurl.com/lob22o2
http://tinyurl.com/mhkl8uw
"An Anti-ISIS Summit in Mecca" - not all
Muslims believe that ISIS is anti-Muslim
(The Atlantic Online)
http://tinyurl.com/m235tyo
"End of Christian Mid-East Presence?" - a
sad report on the decimation of Christian
communities in dominantly Muslim states
plus recent devastation (The Guardian UK
and Tablet UK) http://tinyurl.com/lsjfp28
http://tinyurl.com/pw2arh5
"Bitter Side to the Chocolate Industry" - a
review of where chocolate comes from and
the abusive sources associated with it
(Christian Week online)
http://tinyurl.com/qgsurmy
"Ten Things Catholics are Tired of Hearing" =
this Catholic website takes up the cause
of false stereotyping of Roman Catholics
(Catholic365.com)
http://tinyurl.com/qgopk43
"ELCA Takes a New Approach to Mission Starts" -
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has
always been creative in new church development
and here is a report of some current projects
(Christian Century) http://tinyurl.com/lcwkff3
"Indian Christians Upset by Hindu Leader's Remarks" -
unflattering comments about Mother Teresa did not
go down well with some of her strong supporters
(UCA News) http://tinyurl.com/pxpschb
--
Wisdom of the Week - comes to us from
Blaise Pascal, Dorothy Day, Madeleine L'Engle,
Christian Wiman, Marian Wright Edelman and
George Orwell
To read these insights, please scroll down.
--
On This Day -
- from the archives of the New York Times:
"Cult Members, Federal Agents Killed in Waco"
http://tinyurl.com/pwsxa9e
--
Closing Thought - Sojourner Truth
To read this, scroll down to the end of the blog.
(end)
If you wish to see our current program
please scroll through to the end of the blog.
Winter 2015 Adult Spiritual Development
ACTS Ministry Programs at St. David's
and at the University of Calgary:
*****
SPECIAL ITEM
Book Notice -
BETWEEN THE DARK AND THE DAYLIGHT
Embracing the Contradictions of Life
by Joan Chittister
Publisher's Promo:
There is a part of the soul that stirs at night,
in the dark and soundless times of day, when
our defenses are down and our daylight
distractions no longer serve to protect us
from ourselves,” writes beloved author,
Joan Chittister. “It’s then, in the still of life,
when we least expect it, that questions
emerge from the damp murkiness of our
inner underworld…These questions do not
call for the discovery of data; they call for
the contemplation of possibility.
--
Here, at last, is a book for those ready to
make peace with the unsolvable riddles of
present-day life. Why are we so lonely in
a world of so little privacy? Why do we work
so hard for control we can never achieve?
Whether the problem that keeps you up at
night is how to find safety in a world that is
always changing or how to deal with guilt in
a life that is far from perfect, Sister Joan has
good news for you: these are the questions
that make you human, and can make you
more joyously human if you choose.”
- Barbara Brown Taylor,
author of Learning to Walk in the Dark
--
Author's Bio:
Sister Joan D. Chittister, O.S.B. is a
Benedictine nun, author and speaker.
A member of the Benedictine Sisters
of Erie, Pennsylvania, where sheserved
as prioress for 12 years, Sister Joan is
an author and lecturer. She also writes
a web column for the National Catholic
Reporter, "From Where I Stand".
Chittister holds a master's degree from
the University of Notre Dame and a Ph.D.
in speech communication theory from Penn
State University. She was also a research
associate of St. Edmund's College, Cambridge
University. She writes and speaks on women
in the church and society, human rights, peace
and justice, religious life and spirituality. She
is co-chair of the Global Peace Initiative of
Women, a UN-sponsored organization creating
a worldwide network of women peacemakers.
She is the founder of "Benetvision".
--
My Thoughts:
It was a freeing time in my life when I learned that
people were not good or bad, but good and bad. The
same was true for me.
One of the most meaningful learning experiences
for me has been the study of heroic biography. I
continue to be mentored by great lives. My choice
of biographies has changed, however. In the past
I tried to learn from heroes and heroines that
were flawless and super-human. Now, I seek out
those who are presented "warts and all" with
very human characteristics.
Some of the most valuable spiritual writers today
are those who understand this. I think that is why
Joan Chittister is so much appreciated. It is good
to know that in her mature years, she is still
writing new and creative material.
"Between the Dark and the Daylight" is such a
book and her latest was just published this week.
The time between dark and dawn can be very
threatening to those of us who tend to partially
waken before morning. It is at that time that
we are confronted with some pretty scary things.
One of my recurring dreams at that time is a
situation where I am supposed to be ready for
something and I'm not. Perhaps it's to catch a
plane, to teach a class, or to have some work
completed by deadline. Invariably, I am unable
to do what I am supposed to do = have my
tickets in hand, have my notes ready to present,
have that task completed before it will be
inspected, etc.
I'm sure that says something about my
personality, but I will leave that to you
psychological analysts out there.
What I think writers like Chittister are trying
to tell us in a book like this is that rather than
dreading the fact "I am falling short" or "missing
that boat" - I need to be opening myself to
what seems bad or a weakness about me. It
is in that awakening and what I do with it that
I can change and become a better person. It's
not because I become so good, but because I
really know myself better.
The same holds true for those I am inclined to
judge for their inadequacies.
Be alert to the learnings that can be your's
'between the darkness and the daylight hours'
and embrace, rather than recoil from the
contradictions that present themselves.
Another fine piece of work by the author.
--
Buy the book from Amazon.ca
Release February 24th, 2015
http://tinyurl.com/qy9netg
--
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS
JIM TAYLOR
Okanagan, BC
Personal Web Log
February 25th, 2015
"Towards an Integrated Faith"
http://tinyurl.com/p3spx4y
--
MARTIN MARTY
Chicago. IL
Sightings
February 23rd, 2015
"Pope Francis"
http://tinyurl.com/ktxdbtg
--
RON ROLHEISER
San Antonio, TX
Personal Web Page
February 22nd, 2015
"God's Pleasure in Our Actions"
http://tinyurl.com/oxhmhbr
--
MONICA KILBURN-SMITH
Calgary, AB
The Irish Times
February 17th, 2015
How has a headless, truncated, nude,
female bondage image recently acquired
pride of place on the website of a Vatican
all-male body?
The pontifical council for culture is a
department of the Roman curia entrusted
with the relationship of the Catholic Church
with different cultures. It is headed by
Cardinal Ravasi and has 31 members,
mostly clerics, and a few laymen
“men of culture”. There is not one
“woman of culture”.
http://tinyurl.com/kecafpm
*****
NET NOTES
A U.N. FOR RELIGION?
Cruelty Cloaked in Religion
Reduces All Religion
America Magazine Editorial
March 9th, 2015
http://tinyurl.com/l958gde
--
POPE BENEDICT'S RESIGNATION
A Two-Year Retrospective
National Catholic Reporter
February 28th, 2015
http://tinyurl.com/lob22o2
"Benedict Spends His Days
in the Shadows"
UCA News
February 26th, 2015
http://tinyurl.com/mhkl8uw
--
AN ANTI-ISIS SUMMIT IN MECCA
Some Muslims Link ISIS and Islam
The Atlantic Online
February 26th, 2015
http://tinyurl.com/m235tyo
--
END OF CHRISTIAN MID-EAST PRESENCE?
Activists Warn of ISIS-Inspired Tragedy
The Guardian, UK
February 24th, 2015
http://tinyurl.com/lsjfp28
"ISIS Begins to Kill 350 Christians in Syria"
The Tablet, UK
February 26th, 2015
http://tinyurl.com/pw2arh5
--
BITTER SIDE TO
THE CHOCOLATE INDUSTRY
Not So Sweet Story
on the Other Side
Christian Week Online
February 16th, 2015
http://tinyurl.com/qgsurmy
--
10 THINGS CATHOLICS
ARE TIRED OF HEARING
Stereotypes Without
Basis in Reality
Catholic365.com
February 19th, 2015
http://tinyurl.com/qgopk43
--
ELCA TAKES NEW APPROACH
TO MISSION STARTS
The Christian Century
February 20th, 2015
http://tinyurl.com/lcwkff3
--
INDIAN CHRISTIANS UPSET
BY HINDU LEADER'S REMARKS
He Claimed Mother Teresa Was
Only Concerned to Convert the Poor
UCA News
February 24th, 2015
http://tinyurl.com/pxpschb
*****
WISDOM OF THE WEEK
Provided by Sojourners
and Bruderhof online
The heart has its reasons
which reason knows not.
- Blaise Pascal
--
| Whenever I groan within myself and think how hard it is to keep writing about love in these times of tension and strife which may, at any moment, become for us all a time of terror, I think to myself: What else is the world interested in? What else do we all want, each one of us, except to love and be loved, in our families, in our work, in all our relationships? God is love. Love casts out fear. Even the most ardent revolutionist, seeking to change the world, to overturn the tables of the money changers, is trying to make a world where it is easier for people to love, to stand in that relationship to each other. - Dorothy Day -- If you're going to care about the fall of the sparrow you can't pick and choose who's going to be the sparrow. It's everybody. - Madeleine L'Engle -- Art is so often better at theology than theology is. - Christian Wiman -- Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life, and not something you do in your spare time. - Marian Wright Edelman --
***** ON THIS DAY From the Archives of the New York Times - "Cult Members, Federal Agents Killed in Waco" http://tinyurl.com/pwsxa9e ***** CLOSING THOUGHT - Sojourner Truth Religion without humanity is very poor human stuff. (end) ***** Winter 2015 Adult Spiritual Development ACTS Ministry Programs at St. David's and at the University of Calgary: MONDAY NIGHT STUDY - WINTER SERIES January 12nd – March 23rd, 2015 7-00-9:00PM TM Room. Ten Weeks. (Family Day Monday exempted) “Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence” by Karen Armstrong Led by Jock McTavish and Wayne Holst Registration $60.00. Book only $25.00 This study is now in progress. Forty books sold. Study design and class links http://tinyurl.com/k5ppruz
---
THURSDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDYJanuary 22nd - March 26th, 2015. Ten Weeks. 10:00-11:00AM TM Room "Romans and James - Foundations for Christian Thought and Living" Study Leader: Wayne Holst No charge. Study resource - The DK Complete Bible Handbook http://tinyurl.com/odxlv7q This study has begun. ---
ST. DAVID'S SPIRITUAL TRAVELERS'
SPECIAL 2015 SIXTEEN DAY TOUR "Jerusalem and the Land of Three Great Faiths" October 16th - 31st, 2015 http://tinyurl.com/plg4sgo Hardcopy tour details brochure is available in the church lobby. Tour Company: Rostad Tours Calgary Tour Hosts: Wayne and Marlene Holst Sponsored by: St. David's ACTS Ministry Endorsed by: St. David's Church Council Talk with or write to Marlene and Wayne (403-286-7416) waholst@telus.net marleneaholst@gmail.com Save $300. if deposit paid by March 31st. This tour is filling up. 24 registrants to date. 30 participants max. --- UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY FAITH AND SPIRITUALITY CENTRE Interfaith Chaplains' Book Studies for faculty, students, staff, and campus guests - Winter, 2015 "Simply Good News" by N.T. Wright http://tinyurl.com/kwte3os Book Study Co-Sponsored by: The Faith and Spirituality Centre, University of Calgary and The ACTS Ministry, St. David's United Church, Calgary Native Centre Board Room McEwan Student Centre Fridays, 12:00 - 1:00 PM. Five sessions. Feb. 27th, March 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th. Participants are encouraged to attend all five sessions. However, you may attend one or more sessions on a drop-in basis.
This program has started.
Study Leader: Dr. Wayne A. Holst Book cost $20.00
*****
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