*****
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.
*****
Dear Colleagues:
In less than two weeks, Marlene and I will
be tour hosts for a total of 29 participants
on a 17-day trip to Israel and Jordan .
Over the past 5 years, we have been responsible
for a total of 90 travelers on 3 trips (previously
we visited the Celtic Lands and Turkey)
Each time we host a tour, I attempt to create
travel objectives, and this time is no exception.
My Special Item for this week is entitled:
GOALS FOR OUR JERUSALEM TOUR
Visiting the Land of Three Great Faiths
http://tinyurl.com/qb4urn5
Please scroll down to read my words.
--
Colleague Contributions - this week are from:
Lorna Dueck (Toronto ON) who writes about -
"Terry Fox: His Faith and Legacy"
http://tinyurl.com/pp27rwj
--
Martin Marty (Chicago IL) presents -
"After the Pope's Visit"
http://tinyurl.com/ph29t7g
--
Jim Taylor (Okanagan BC) challenges us with -
"Whatever They Can Get Away With"
http://tinyurl.com/os4qrtv
--
Ron Rolheiser (San Antonio TX) writes two
articles with the themes of -
"Caring for Our Soul"
http://tinyurl.com/nkuzczg
"Bringing New Life"
http://tinyurl.com/qdvs97n
Thanks to all four of you.
--http://tinyurl.com/nkuzczg
"Bringing New Life"
http://tinyurl.com/qdvs97n
Thanks to all four of you.
Net Notes - from my www-search this week:
"I Am A Sinner" - Don't Forget to Pray for Me -
perhaps this is a key theme from which to
review the visit of Pope Francis to America
(Sojourners, America Online)
"Summary Thoughts"
http://tinyurl.com/npy34ju
"A Historic Visit Ends"
http://tinyurl.com/q3pm8e7
"A Visit of Papal Firsts - Francis Comes to America"
http://tinyurl.com/nkmzsz8
--
"Mecca Then and Now" - 128 Years of Growth -
two items of interest. The first one is a photo
comparison of the Holy City of Islam, while the
second is a Canadian inter-faith marriage story
as an Anglican priest and Muslim imam
combine to perform a wedding ceremony
(The Atlantic Online, The Anglican Journal)
http://tinyurl.com/owe4gzt
http://tinyurl.com/o9v64kb
--
"India Fails to Heed its Father's Call" -
multiple incidents belie Gandhi's non-violent
philosophy (UCA News)
http://tinyurl.com/paj93zl
--
"What Evangelicals Like About Francis" -
they appreciate his piety if not his doctrine -
an encouraging set of articles about a segment
of North American Christianity that has rarely
espoused a favourable view of the papacy.
(Christianity Today)
http://tinyurl.com/pp7lvaz
http://tinyurl.com/pu4pkyw
"Pope Didn't Endorse Kim Davis' Views" -
Vatican Clarification After Publicity Surge,
especially from Conservative sources.
Before meeting Davis, the Pope met with
a gay ex-student (New York Times)
http://tinyurl.com/p3v3zpx
http://tinyurl.com/q9sl5ks
--
"What Francis and Xi Jin Ping Have in Common" -
both are leaders of over one billion people
(The Atlantic Online)
http://tinyurl.com/nbtbn35
--
"Trump Warns Against Accepting Syrian Refugees" -
he plays up ISIS scare tactics among the gullible
(The Guardian, UK) http://tinyurl.com/nq4ocb5
--
"Obama Says Deaths by Shootings are 'Too Routine'" -
the president is emotional saying that new gun
control strategies are needed in America
(National Catholic Reporter, New York Times video)
http://tinyurl.com/o6h4edr
http://tinyurl.com/qyxxplx
--
"Confusing Biblical Themes and Political Catch-Phrases"
- a helpful warning against the use of simplistic terms
by vote-seeking politicians (Christian Week Online)
http://tinyurl.com/negoro9
--
"Palestinians Claim 'No Longer Bound by Oslo Accords'"
- they say that abuses by Israel prompt the rejection
of a hard-fought treaty, 22 years ago (New York Times) http://tinyurl.com/nvgnzo2
--
Wisdom of the Week:
Anne Frank, Augustine of Hippo, Kallistos Ware,
Henri J. M. Nouwen, G.K. Chesterton and
Scott Bessenecker -
- share their thoughts, so please scroll down
--
On This Day:
From the archives of the New York Times -
"Allies Agree to Some Concessions re Sudetenland"
http://tinyurl.com/ll68vt4
"US Planes Complete First Round-the-World Flight"
http://tinyurl.com/o533h8d
"East and West Germany Re-United After 45 Years"
http://tinyurl.com/2e8qey
--
Closing Thought - is from John Donne
Please scroll to the end of the blog.
(end)
If you are interested in our up-graded
programs, please scroll to the blog's end -
Our New Program Season Begins -
Autumn 2015 Adult Spiritual Development
ACTS Ministry Programs through St. David's
United Church, Calgary.
*****
SPECIAL ITEM
JERUSALEM AND THE LAND OF THREE GREAT FAITHS
“The Holy Land in general and Jerusalem in particular
have become essential to the spiritual geography of
Jews, Christians and Muslims,” writes Karen Armstrong
in her book - Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths*
*****
THE HEBREW TRADITION
Begins at approximately 2000 BCE (Before the
Common Era) or 4,000 years ago when Abraham
left Mesopotamia in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley
to the east and sojourned westward to Canaan
“the Promised Land.” Here he fathered Isaac
and Ishmael, the patriarchal founders of both
the Jewish and Muslim faiths. The Hebrew Temple
in Jerusalem was sacked and destroyed by the
Romans in 70 CE and most Jews were forced to
leave their land until November, 1947 when the
United Nations partitioned Palestine into Jewish
and Arab states. This marked the beginning of
the modern state of Israel.
THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION
Jesus arrived on the scene in the ancient regions of
Judah and Israel in 33 CE (The Common Era). He
became a well-known preacher and healer, observing
the Jewish festivals like Passover in Jerusalem. He is
arrested and crucified by the Romans, but his disciples
were convinced he rose from the dead. They persuaded
others to believe in Jesus as the Messiah and in the
Resurrection (the central Christian tenets separating
it from the Jewish faith, and giving birth to a new
religion). Over the centuries, some Palestinian Arabs
became Christians, but their numbers have been in
decline due to Jewish and Islamic persecution. There
are a dwindling number of Christians in the Holy Land.
THE ISLAMIC TRADITION
In 705 CE a small Muslim prayer house was built close
to the site of the ancient Jewish temple in Jerusalem.
Eventually, Muslims built The Dome of the Rock (not
a mosque, but a holy site, displacing most of the ancient
remains on Temple Mount.) Christian sites such as the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre (where Jesus body was
to have been laid after he died on the cross) were
built over the centuries.
Crusaders from Europe made a number attempts to
reclaim sacred places that had been taken over by
Muslims, but this era ended after 1,300 CE. The region
continued as a locus of religious controversy.
A FRUSTRATING BUT IMPORTANT
ENCOUNTER OF THE TRADITIONS
Most of modern Palestinian Territory and Sinai were
taken over by Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967.
In March of 1979 at Camp David, Maryland Jimmy
Carter worked out a treaty between Israel and Egypt
to establish diplomatic relations and the withdrawal
of Israel from Sinai. In July, 2000 the Palestinian and
Israeli leaders met with US President Bill Clinton to
create an agreement for Palestinian self-government
in Gaza and parts of the West Bank. This was confirmed
in 1993 with the so-called Oslo Accords. These hopeful
efforts failed to accomplish the mutual goal of freedom
for the Palestinians and recognition of Israel’s right to
exist in peace and security among its Arab neighbors.
Just recently, the Palestinians have declared that they
are no longer bound by the Oslo agreements.
So today, in spite of much effort and good will on all
sides, a continuing state of unrest - even terrorism -
exists with regular flare-ups.
At the same time, the Holy Land remains an important
spiritual centre for people of all three faith traditions.
*****
PERSONAL TOUR HOST GOALS
FOR OUR JERUSALEM TRIP
Five Principles to Help Guide Our Experience
As part of our preparation for this trip, Wayne has
developed five personal goals which may help to
guide our experience.
We believe that with some intentional thought and
planning, our enjoyment and satisfaction will be
increased. This goals are not written in stone,
however, but should be viewed as flexible and
open to serendipity and change.
About 90 St. David’s Spiritual Travelers have
participated with us on three trips over a period
of five years. We are not starting from scratch
and our goals have a certain degree of solid
experience behind them. These goals are open-
ended. Fellow-travelers may wish to build on
them together.
ONE
To do everything possible to make this a most
memorable experience for all participants.
Those on tour have already invested much of
themselves in preparation. We want to do all
that is humanly possible to assure everyone an
unforgettable travel experience which can be
looked back upon with much satisfaction.
TWO
To make the best use of the time, spiritual/
physical energy and financial outlay that we
will be investing in this pilgrimage. Participants
have known from the beginning that this will be
a 'busy' adventure and we will be visiting many
special sites and also covering significant territory.
That said, we want people to feel that they have
been able to concentrate on good things. We hope
they will be inspired to 'go deeper' and to 'discover
more' on this sojourn, and future travels.
THREE
To help everyone connect with the universal,
spiritual meanings of the places visited. Some
will recall past interfaith associations. Others
may find a lot of this totally new. All can come
into contact with meanings they might not have
otherwise thought possible.
We are visiting particular settings, but these
places hold timeless and universal value - no
matter what one's faith experience might be.
FOUR
To encourage and enable everyone to have fun!
While there are serious aspects to this trip there
is also an opportunity for those involved to get
to know and enjoy each other's company and
places visited in special and unusual ways.
Some on this trip know each other personally,
but there is also an opportunity to make new
and possibly lifelong friends. Travel on a bus can
be disconcerting. It can also be very satisfying.
Much benefit can be derived from individual
contributions to our "Jerusalem Tour" - before,
during and following the trip itself. Be prepared
to share what you have to offer!
FIVE
To invest in the idea that ongoing spiritual travel
can be a most meaningful and satisfying growth
experience for everyone.
Building on what we learn this time, it should be
possible to offer other tours to other regions and
many other 'spiritual locations' – around the world.
Christians need to learn more, and to be enriched
from their faith.
They can also learn from people of other or no faith.
The world is full of places where we can gain a rich
exposure to ever-expanding cultural experiences.
In our rapidly changing globe, to become more
aware of both human diversity and similarity is no
longer a luxury. It is becoming a necessity.
---
Written and updated to begin a reflection process -
Wayne Holst, October 2nd, 2015
PERSONAL TOUR HOST GOALS
FOR OUR JERUSALEM TRIP
Five Principles to Help Guide Our Experience
As part of our preparation for this trip, Wayne has
developed five personal goals which may help to
guide our experience.
We believe that with some intentional thought and
planning, our enjoyment and satisfaction will be
increased. This goals are not written in stone,
however, but should be viewed as flexible and
open to serendipity and change.
About 90 St. David’s Spiritual Travelers have
participated with us on three trips over a period
of five years. We are not starting from scratch
and our goals have a certain degree of solid
experience behind them. These goals are open-
ended. Fellow-travelers may wish to build on
them together.
ONE
To do everything possible to make this a most
memorable experience for all participants.
Those on tour have already invested much of
themselves in preparation. We want to do all
that is humanly possible to assure everyone an
unforgettable travel experience which can be
looked back upon with much satisfaction.
TWO
To make the best use of the time, spiritual/
physical energy and financial outlay that we
will be investing in this pilgrimage. Participants
have known from the beginning that this will be
a 'busy' adventure and we will be visiting many
special sites and also covering significant territory.
That said, we want people to feel that they have
been able to concentrate on good things. We hope
they will be inspired to 'go deeper' and to 'discover
more' on this sojourn, and future travels.
THREE
To help everyone connect with the universal,
spiritual meanings of the places visited. Some
will recall past interfaith associations. Others
may find a lot of this totally new. All can come
into contact with meanings they might not have
otherwise thought possible.
We are visiting particular settings, but these
places hold timeless and universal value - no
matter what one's faith experience might be.
FOUR
To encourage and enable everyone to have fun!
While there are serious aspects to this trip there
is also an opportunity for those involved to get
to know and enjoy each other's company and
places visited in special and unusual ways.
Some on this trip know each other personally,
but there is also an opportunity to make new
and possibly lifelong friends. Travel on a bus can
be disconcerting. It can also be very satisfying.
Much benefit can be derived from individual
contributions to our "Jerusalem Tour" - before,
during and following the trip itself. Be prepared
to share what you have to offer!
FIVE
To invest in the idea that ongoing spiritual travel
can be a most meaningful and satisfying growth
experience for everyone.
Building on what we learn this time, it should be
possible to offer other tours to other regions and
many other 'spiritual locations' – around the world.
Christians need to learn more, and to be enriched
from their faith.
They can also learn from people of other or no faith.
The world is full of places where we can gain a rich
exposure to ever-expanding cultural experiences.
In our rapidly changing globe, to become more
aware of both human diversity and similarity is no
longer a luxury. It is becoming a necessity.
---
Written and updated to begin a reflection process -
Wayne Holst, October 2nd, 2015
*JERUSALEM: One City, Three Faiths
by Karen Armstrong (1997)
http://tinyurl.com/qb4urn5
*****
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS
Lorna Dueck,
Toronto ON.
Context
Sept. 22nd, 2015
"Terry Fox: His Faith and Legacy"
http://tinyurl.com/pp27rwj
--
Chicago, IL
Sightings
September 28th, 2015
"After the Pope's Visit"
http://tinyurl.com/ph29t7g
--
Jim Taylor
Okanagan, BC
Personal Web Log
September 27th, 2015
"Whatever They Can Get Away With"
http://tinyurl.com/os4qrtv
--
Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX
Personal Web Site
September 27th, 2015
"Caring for Our Soul"
http://tinyurl.com/nkuzczg
America Magazine Online
October 5th, 2015
"Bringing New Life"
http://tinyurl.com/qdvs97n
*****
http://tinyurl.com/nkuzczg
America Magazine Online
October 5th, 2015
"Bringing New Life"
http://tinyurl.com/qdvs97n
"I AM A SINNER"
Don't Forget to Pray for Me
Wrapping up and assessing
the papal visit to America
Sojourners
October 1st, 2015
http://tinyurl.com/npy34ju
"A Historic Visit Ends"
America Online
September 27th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/q3pm8e7
"A Visit of Papal Firsts -
Francis Comes to America"
America Online
October 12th, 2015
http://tinyurl.com/nkmzsz8
128 Years of Growth
The Atlantic Online
(Photo Comparisons)
September 29th, 2015
http://tinyurl.com/owe4gzt
"Unique Interfaith Wedding"
Anglican Priest and Muslim Imam
Combine to Perform Canadian Ceremony
Anglican Journal Online
October 2nd, 2015
http://tinyurl.com/o9v64kb
--
INDIA FAILS TO HEED ITS FATHER'S CALL
Multiple Incidents Belie Gandhi's Non-Violence
UCA News
October 2nd, 2015
http://tinyurl.com/paj93zl
--
WHAT EVENGELICALS LIKE ABOUT FRANCIS
They like his piety, if not his doctrine
Christianity Today,
September 23rd, 2015
http://tinyurl.com/pp7lvaz
Christianity Today
September 25th, 2015
"From Anti-Christ to Brother in Christ"
http://tinyurl.com/pu4pkyw
--
POPE DIDN'T ENDORSE KIM DAVIS' VIEWS
Vatican Clarification After Publicity Surge
New York Times
October 2nd, 2015
http://tinyurl.com/p3v3zpx
"Before Meeting Davis,
Pope Met With Gay Ex-Student"
New York Times
October 3rd, 2015
http://tinyurl.com/q9sl5ks
HAVE IN COMMON
Both are Modern Leaders
of Over One Billion People
The Atlantic Online
September 30th, 2015
http://tinyurl.com/nbtbn35
--
TRUMP WARNS AGAINST
ACCEPTING SYRIAN REFUGEES
Plays Up ISIS Scare Tactics
The Guardian UK
October 1st, 2015
http://tinyurl.com/nq4ocb5
--
OBAMA SAYS DEATHS BY SHOOTINGS
ARE NOW 'TOO ROUTINE'
New Gun Control Strategies Needed
National Catholic Reporter
October 2nd, 2015
http://tinyurl.com/o6h4edr
New York Times (video)
October 1st, 2015
http://tinyurl.com/qyxxplx
AND POLITICAL CATCH-PHRASES
Warning Against Simplistic Language
Christian Week Online
September 29th, 2015
http://tinyurl.com/negoro9
--
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY IS
"NO LONGER BOUND BY OSLO ACCORDS"
Claims Abuse by Israel Prompts Rejection
New York Times
September 30th, 2015
http://tinyurl.com/nvgnzo2
*****
WISDOM OF THE WEEK
From Sojourners and Bruderhof Online:
In spite of everything I still believe that
people are really good at heart.
- Anne Frank
--
I have learnt to love you late, Beauty at once
so ancient and so new! I have learnt to love
you late!...
You called me; you cried aloud to me; you
broke my barrier of deafness. You shone upon
me; your radiance enveloped me; you put my
blindness to flight. You shed your fragrance
about me; I drew breath and now I gasp for
your sweet odor. I tasted you, and now I
hunger and thirst for you. You touched me,
and I am inflamed with love of your peace.
- Augustine of Hippo
--
God does not condemn us to hell; God wishes
all humans to be saved. He will love us to all
eternity, but there will exist the possibility
that we do not accept the love and do not
respond to it. And the refusal to accept love,
the refusal to respond to it, that precisely is
the meaning of hell. Hell is not a place where
God puts us; it is a place where we put ourselves.
The doors of hell, insofar as they have locks,
have locks on the inside.
- Kallistos Ware
--
There is no such thing as the right place,
the right job, the right calling or ministry.
I can be happy or unhappy in all situations.
I am sure of it, because I have been. I have
felt distraught and joyful in situations of
abundance as well as poverty, in situations
of popularity and anonymity, in situations
of success and failure. The difference was
never based on the situation itself, but always
on my state of mind and heart. When I knew
I was walking with God, I always felt happy
and at peace. When I was entangled in my
own complaints and emotional needs, I
always felt restless and divided.
- Henri J. M. Nouwen
--
People are more themselves when joy is
the fundamental thing in them, and grief the
superficial. Melancholy should be an innocent
interlude, a tender and fugitive frame of mind;
praise should be the permanent pulsation of
the soul. Pessimism is at best an emotional
half-holiday; joy is the uproarious labor by
which all things live.
- G. K. Chesterton
--
[Jesus]'s kingdom is one of righteousness and
justice, and that is always a double-edged sword.
It is good news to some and bad news to others.
It means bending our world back into the shape
God intends, and involves both demolition and
construction.
- Scott Bessenecker
--
ON THIS DAY
From the archives of the New York Times -
"Allies Agree to Some Concessions re Sudetenland"
http://tinyurl.com/ll68vt4
"US Planes Complete First Round-the-World Flight"
http://tinyurl.com/o533h8d
"East and West Germany Re-United After 45 Years"
http://tinyurl.com/2e8qey
CLOSING THOUGHT - John Donne
Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
(end)
*****
Our New Program Season -
Autumn 2015 Adult Spiritual Development
ACTS Ministry Programs through St. David's
United Church, Calgary.
AUTUMN 2015 MONDAY NIGHT STUDY
Theme: "Living in Darkness - Living in Light"
Books: "Learning to Walk in the Dark"
by Barbara Brown Taylor
"Between the Dark and the Daylight"
by Joan Chittister
http://tinyurl.com/pncmzec
http://tinyurl.com/qy9netg
A ten-week study in contemporary spirituality
with books by two prominent Protestant and
Catholic writers.
Ten Monday evenings, 7-9PM
In the St. David's TM Room
September 21st - November 30th, 2015
Books and Registration/Hospitality - $60.00
Books only - $35.00
Registrations to date: 28.
We have sold close to all of our 35 original book sets,
but registration is still open.
Brenda and Joan will help Jock when Wayne
participates in the "Jerusalem and the Lands
of Three Great Faiths" tour (October 16th - 31st)
Now into our sixteenth year of Monday Night Studies
Our thirty-first series of (usually) ten week sessions!
Our Current "Spiritual Darkness" Study Design/Links:
http://tinyurl.com/nu4ze5b
Check our complete archives for all 45 book studies:
http://tinyurl.com/q3bw6dh
*****
THURSDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY
Theme: The Book of Exodus from the Hebrew Bible
"A Classic Story of Human Liberation"
Ten sessions 10-11 AM
Gathering at 9:30AM
In the St. David's TM Room
September 17th - December 3rd
No charge.
Study resource -
The DK Complete Bible Handbook
http://tinyurl.com/odxlv7q
(copy available in our church library)
*****
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
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
We have 29 paid-up participants getting
ready to depart. On Sunday, October 11th
there will be an official "blessing" and
"send off" from St. David's congregation.
Books for consideration -
JERUSALEM:
One City, Three Faiths
by Karen Armstrong (1997)
http://tinyurl.com/qb4urn5
JEERUSALEM, ISRAEL, PETRA & SINAI
DK Eyewitness Travel (2014)
http://tinyurl.com/prl3k8m
TOP TEN: Israel, Including Sinai & Petra
DK Eyewitness Travel (2014)
http://tinyurl.com/pyromfc
27 persons attended the pre-Jerusalem Tour
gathering at St. David's, September 14th.
*****
ACTS LENTEN RETREAT, 2016
Mount St. Francis Retreat Centre
Cochrane, Alberta
http://www.mountstfrancis.ca/
Mark your calendars!
Sunday February 28th
11:30 AM - 4:00 PM
John Griffith is on sabbatical this year.
Reflections will be led by a Franciscan on staff.
*****
No comments:
Post a Comment