*****
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
Dear Colleagues:
Enhancing your reading experience is very
important to me.
I continue to refine and reduce the length,
but hopefully not the content and quality,
of each issue.
Please let me know how I'm doing.
--
We have now reached the second half of
our summer in these northern climes. We
have enjoyed the presence of grandchildren
in our midst - now hailing from Oman in the
Saudi Peninsula, Slave Lake in northern
Alberta, and Calgary too.
I'd like to recognize a Colleagues List
record. Since my last mailing of CL on
July 23rd - less than two weeks ago -
4,200 global hits have been registered.
If only some of that number have read
my thoughts on "Amazing Grace" I would
be very pleased.
See also below the contributions of
five readers in Colleague Comment.
They are Hardy Schroeder, Herb O'Driscoll,
Mathew Zachariah, William Shantz and
John Griffith. Thanks to all of you.
--
My Special Item this issue is a book notice
for 90 year-old writer Frederick Buechner.
I introduce his new offering "Buechner 101"
and I am honored to do so.
We have an unusually rich collection of
Colleague Contributions this week - from
Isabel Gibson and Marjorie Gibson, plus
Jim Taylor, Martin Marty and Ron Rolheiser.
Thanks to all five of you.
Net Notes - offers a summer update on
my search for helpful stories from the
world of faith on the web.
Wisdom of the Week - is a good selection
of thought - ancient and modern.
On This Day - offers two special stories
from the archives of the New York Times.
Closing Thought - is a striking quote from
Angela Y. Davis.
--
If you are interested, check in, at the end
of the blog, for our developing Autumn 2016
ACTS Ministry program at St.David's Calgary,
where I attend and serve.
Blessings to all readers,
Wayne
***
COLLEAGUE COMMENT
Hardy Schroeder,
Winnipeg, MB
July 28th, 2016
Dear Wayne"
Thanks, Wayne, for your heartfelt
observations on "Lost and Found"
-- thoughts on 'Amazing Grace.'
Colleagues List, July 24th, 2016:
http://tinyurl.com/zsyuyqb
Elfrieda and I continue to appreciate
and benefit from your insights and
reflections. Blessings,
Hardy
--
Herbert O'Driscoll,
Victoria, BC
July 23rd, 2016
Wayne:
Thank you. Blessings.
Herb
--
Mathew Zachariah,
Calgary, AB
August 4th, 2016
Thunder Bay, ON
July 22nd, 2016
Re: Your reflection on attending
family nuptuals in 2011 and 2016
Colleagues List, July 10th, 2016
http://tinyurl.com/gr5dcdt
***--
Herbert O'Driscoll,
Victoria, BC
July 23rd, 2016
Wayne:
Thank you for your moving reflections
on "Amazing Grace".
Your Colleagues List ministry is so very fine.
Thank you. Blessings.
Herb
--
Mathew Zachariah,
Calgary, AB
August 4th, 2016
Thank you, Wayne, for sharing your poignant
thoughts about President Obama starting the
singing of "Amazing Grace" in Charleston,Va.
What a empathetic moment it created!
May I take this opportunity to bring up a
controversy about the melody of this famous
hymn?
Wintley Phipps, man with a resonant voice,
is known to many of us via his interpretation
of many great hymns.Several years ago, he
noted that while the author of the words of
the hymn was undoubtedly John Newton,
former slave trader, the origin of the tune
is always listed as "Unknown." Phipps
quipped that when he arrives in heaven,
he would love to meet the slave whose
he would love to meet the slave whose
name is Unknown.
He argued that the tune came from the
pitiful singing of the captured Africans in
the belly of the beastly slave ships which
Newton must have heard. Phipps went on
to note the striking similarity of the hymn's
tune to West African sorrow songs and
the uniquely interesting fact that all
"Negro Spirituals" (now called Gospel songs)
can be played only on the black notes of a
piano.
I accepted Phipps' assertion about the origin
of the tune as another instance of the dominant
"white culture"devaluing and denigrating the
contributions and of achievements of African-
Americans and their cultures.
On further research, I found Greg Howlett's
"Amazing Grace: Debunking A Myth"
"Negro Spirituals" (now called Gospel songs)
can be played only on the black notes of a
piano.
I accepted Phipps' assertion about the origin
of the tune as another instance of the dominant
"white culture"devaluing and denigrating the
contributions and of achievements of African-
Americans and their cultures.
On further research, I found Greg Howlett's
"Amazing Grace: Debunking A Myth"
He states that Phipps' assertion is simply
not correct.
***
Your readers might be interested in knowing
about this controversy.
Mathew
***
William Shantz,
July 22nd, 2016
Re: Your reflection on attending
family nuptuals in 2011 and 2016
Colleagues List, July 10th, 2016
http://tinyurl.com/gr5dcdt
| Wayne: 1) In case it hasn't occurred to you the concept 'same-sex marriage' is a contradiction in terms. Marriage is the union of two persons of opposite sex. 2) Two persons of the same sex can be strongly tied together by shared sexual experience but this is not marriage. This homosexual bonding may be stronger than marriage but does not constitute such. 3) I have recently become aware that sophisticated politically correct young men now believe that the concepts/terms 'man', 'woman', 'male', 'female' are basically obsolete. A person is simply a 'person', not a man or a woman. 4) The idea that every person is bi-gendered (without sexuality related to anatomy) is reminiscent of Jung's idea that every person's psyche is both 'animus'- male and 'anima' - female. 5) Since my sincere politically correct friend brought me up-to-date regarding the obsolescence of sexuality, I understand the antipathy of American Democrats to Republicans who mostly have no doubt about whether they are sexually male or female. 6) If, like me, you believe that (with occasional exceptions) a person is fundamentally male or female (corresponding to their anatomy regardless of gender) you are considered to be a SEXIST! 7) I look forward to watching the Convention of the American Democratic Party in Philadelphia that will be carried out by up-to-date PERSONS who are SEX-FREE! Regards, Bill Shantz -- John Griffith, Calgary, AB. July 21st, 2016
Hi Wayne,
I have been growing my way in faith from process theology while I was still in Seminary,
through many years of exploration in the
contribution of mysticism and science to the
development of evolutionary Christianity
(Diarmuid O'Mercu: 'Evolutionary Faith' and
Paul Smith: 'Integral Christianity').
I have enjoyed this stance in my later years
(thinking I have found a place to settle) but
now have been blown away by a new book
by Nancy Ellen Abrams called, 'A God That
kept up with scientific discoveries about the
nature of reality. That is why the atheist
challenge was able to be so successful,
because it was picking at the points in
Christian thinking that do not make sense
anymore to many people. However, she
goes way beyond defending the traditional
idea of an omnipresent, omnipotent Creator
to a much more exciting Christian belief in
a God that she calls an "Emergent God".
I recommend this book to progressive
Christians open to new ways of believing.
I won't say more because like a mystery
novel, I don't want to give away her
conclusions. To join her on the journey
through the evidence brought me, the
reader to a fuller understanding of the
transformation that is happening in our
understanding of reality and the
possibilities for humanity if we embrace
the God who could be real. A very
challenging book. I will be interested
to follow the debate she will inspire.
Blessings for a wonderful summer, John |
SPECIAL ITEM
Book Notice:
BUECHNER 101:
Essays and Sermons
by Frederick Buechner
Published by the
Frederick Buechner Centre
With an Introduction by
Anne Lamott, 2016. 165 pp.
With tributes from Brian McLaren,
Barbara Brown Taylor and others.
Paperback $20.70 CAD
$10.00 CAD Kindle edition.
ISBN #978-0-9908719-0-3
Publisher's Promo:
Buechner 101 - introduces critically-acclaimed
and widely-admired author Frederick Buechner
to a new generation of readers, many of whom
already know of him from widely shared quotes
on social media. Published by The Frederick
Buechner Center, and curated by Anne Lamott,
the volume samples his essays, sermons, and
excerpts from memoirs and novels.
The book also features tributes by admirers
such as Lamott, Barbara Brown Taylor, and
Brian McLaren. One of the most important
writer-theologians of the twentieth and twenty-
first centuries, Buechner is a Presbyterian
minister and a Pulitzer-nominated writers’
writer.
A prolific writer for six decades, Buechner has
published more than thirty books in a variety
of genres: fiction, autobiography, theology,
essays, and sermons. Among his most beloved
works are The Book of Bebb, a tetralogy based
on the character Leo Bebb; Godric, a first person
narrative of the life of the medieval saint, and a
finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 1981; Secrets in
the Dark, a collection of sermons; four volumes
of memoir, The Sacred Journey, Now and Then,
Telling Secrets, and The Eyes of the Heart; and
his best selling book, Listening to Your Life:
Daily Meditations with Frederick Buechner.
Buechner's work has often been praised for its
ability to inspire readers to see the grace in
their daily lives.
As stated in the London Free Press, "He is one
of our great novelists because he is one of our
finest religious writers." He has been a finalist
for the National Book Award, Presented by the
National Book Foundation and the Pulitzer Prize,
and has been awarded eight honorary degrees
from such institutions as Yale University and
the Virginia Theological Seminary.
In addition, Buechner has been the recipient
of the O. Henry Award, the Rosenthal Award,
the Christianity and Literature Belles Lettres
Prize, and has been recognized by the American
Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. He
is continually listed among the most read
authors by Christian audiences.
--
Frederick Buechner Website -
Subscribe to regular mailings of his writings:
http://www.frederickbuechner.com/
--
Welcome by Anne Lamott:
(I insist) that anyone interested in God, grace,
meaning and truth needs to immerse his or
herself in (Buechner's) memoirs, essays, novels,
and sermons... I thrust him into people's
unsuspecting hands... and tell them "You have
got to read this..."
Buechner is the person I consider America's
most important living theologian, that most
amazing mixed grill of gentle intelligence,
a brilliant, lovely religious thinker, with a
great sense of humor, a first class writer...
No one has brought me closer to God than
C.S. Lewis and Frederick Buechner...
Buechner writes of the truth, both of the Gospel
and of his own damaged family, and of our truth,
sight unseen - we've never met - in a way that
is so precise, revelatory and profound, that it
makes me experience an awakening to spiritual
reality all over again, each time. He writes about
the joy and grief and mystery and confusion of
each human life, his faith journeys, his family,
the existence of God in most unlikely places...
he writes about listening, to your own heart,
to the rythms and narrative of your own life...
He has the most beautiful humility... he throws
on the lights for you, and accompanies you on
your own journey...
Buechner writes about forgiveness like no one
else can. He makes me feel that he would love
and understand me, exactly as I am, right now,
which believe me, is sort of a quirky mess...
Frederick and I have never met, but he is my
dear older brother, and I know I am his dear
baby sister...
--
My Thoughts:
I have come to a time in my own life when
many of my formative mentors as a younger
person have either passed away, or are now
in their 80's and 90's.
A scary thought, really. But maybe not so.
Wisdom is not necessarily the most current
or catchy thinking. It is good to know that
much can still be learned from wise people,
both living or deceased.
Frederick Buechner is one of those mentors
who, happily, is very much alive at 90! His
current writing continues to connect me
to the wisdom of past and present.
This book attempts to capture the essence
of a long, productive, writing, pastoral life,
and I - having read most of his books over
the years - am grateful for the richness this
'anthology' has to offer. I think back to where
I was in my life when I first read this thought
or that one from him.
For those who have not read Buechner, or
have been more sporadic, or too recent, I
believe that this book would be a worthy
addition to your library.
--
Because I believe I received an excellent
biblical formation as part of my Lutheran
theological training, I was probably first
drawn to Buechner's word studies. These
were always closely connected to real life
experience - something that my theological
training did not always provide.
I was also drawn to discoveries he offered
me by such insights as "listen to your life" -
which helped me realize that there was so
much to learn by paying attention to the
most mundane and incidental. I realize
today that Buechner helped me to be a
good spiritual journal-writer, and perhaps
even a columnist as well.
He certainly did a lot to challenge me to
grow and refine my writing gifts.
One of the benefits of this book, in addition
to being a helpful anthology, are the
tributes that a number of writers - besides
Anne Lamott - have contributed. Reading
them helped me to realize that Buechner
speaks to different people in different
ways, but he always takes them deeper
in their spiritual quest.
I don't preach sermons in church as often
as I once did (gratefully!) but when I do,
and when people tell me they appreciate
that I help them think more deeply about
this spiritual matter or that, I know that
Frederick Buechner has helped me.
You do not have to be a writer or a preacher
to appreciate Buechner. You can be a good
reader. This book will help you in that,
and you will be rewarded.
--
Buy the book from Amazon.ca:
http://tinyurl.com/hc8npuw
***
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS
Isabel Gibson,
Ottawa, ON.
"Traditional Iconoclast"
July 31st, 2016
"The Great State"
http://tinyurl.com/jrkbqpj
--
Marjorie Gibson,
Vancouver, BC
"Marjorie Remembers"
July 28th, 2016
"Help!"
http://tinyurl.com/jybbqye
--
Jim Taylor,
Personal Web Log
July 24th, 2016
"Plagiarism is Theft"
http://tinyurl.com/hq95pbm
--
Martin Marty,
Chicago, IL
Sightings,
August 1st, 2016
"The Mormon Moment, and Others"
http://tinyurl.com/h3znkek
--
Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX
Personal Web Site
August 1st, 2016
"Our Fear of Hell"
http://tinyurl.com/jqmfd5f
***
NET NOTES
URSULA FRANKLIN DIES
Scientist With a Passion for Peace
Globe and Mail Obituary
July 27th, 2016
http://tinyurl.com/j56txuq
--
HEALTH SECRETS OF THE AMISH
A Life Lived Close to the Land
New York Times,
August 4th, 2016
http://tinyurl.com/h45ev39
--
TIM LAHAYE'S REAL MESSAGE
Legacy of "Left Behind" Author
RNS Spiritual Politics Blog
July 27th, 2016
http://tinyurl.com/zcgs9am
--
WISE WORDS FROM POPE FRANCIS
An Evangelical Protestant Reflects
Christian Week Online
August 1st, 2016
http://tinyurl.com/jbeowfx
--
CALGARY MAN DETAINED IN TURKEY
Implicated in Military Coup but
Family, Friends Say He is Innocent
CBC.ca
July 24th, 2016
http://tinyurl.com/zfnbykr
New York Times
July 21st, 2016
Gulen Statement from Exile in America:
"I Condemn All Threats
to Turkey's Democracy"
http://tinyurl.com/hk9c23k
--
MYANMAR'S CHRISTIAN
POPULATION ON RISE
Significant Recent Growth
of Up to 3 Million Persons
UCA News
August 4th, 2016
http://tinyurl.com/j68y4uf
--
BEAUTIFUL MOSAIC OF
NOAH'S ARK DISCOVERED
Archeological Find in an
Ancient Galilean Synogogue
Religion News Service
August 2nd, 2016
http://tinyurl.com/jmvp576
--
ISRAELI JEWS ADOPTING
ISLAMIC MYSTICAL PRACTICES
Sufism is Increasingly Popular
The Washington Post
July 28th, 2016
http://tinyurl.com/jtnhahw
--
MIDDLE EAST CHRISTIAN LEADERS
REQUEST HELP FROM CANADA
They Desire Direct Aid
Toronto Sun
August 3rd, 2016
http://tinyurl.com/zgzp33w
--
POPE NAMES PANEL TO STUDY
CATHOLIC WOMEN DEACONS
He Follows Up on Commitment
Made Some Months Ago
Religion News Service
August 2nd, 2016
http://tinyurl.com/hljryq4
"Will the Catholic Church
Have Women Deacons?"
Religion News Service,
August 4th, 2016
http://tinyurl.com/hp6t6q6
***
WISDOM OF THE WEEK
From Sojourners and the Bruderhof online:
The face is the mirror of the mind, and eyes
without speaking confess the secrets of the
heart.
- Saint Jerome
--
I could never myself believe in God, if it
were not for the cross. The only God I
believe in is the One Nietzsche ridiculed
as 'God on the cross.' In the real world
of pain, how could one worship a God
who was immune to it?
- John Stott
--
How easily we forget that the church was
founded by disciples who betrayed their
master. None was willing to stand by Jesus
as the religious and political authorities
condemned him to death. At his moment
of greatest need, the disciples fled in the
darkness.
The boldest of the lot, Peter, was the very
one who cursed and denied him three times
before the cock crew. It was for traitors
that Jesus died.
- Philip Yancey
--
Welcoming is not just something that
happens as people cross the threshold.
It is an attitude; it is the constant openness
of the heart; it is saying to people every
morning and at every moment, “come in”;
it is giving them space; it is listening to
them attentively. To welcome means
listening a great deal to people and then
discerning the truth with them
- Jean Vanier
--
How easy it is to denounce structural injustice,
institutionalized violence, social sin! And it is
true, this sin is everywhere, but where are the
roots of this social sin? In the heart of every
human being. Present-day society is a sort of
anonymous world in which no one is willing to
admit guilt, and everyone is responsible. We
are all sinners, and we have all contributed to
this massive crime and violence in our country.
Salvation begins with the human person, with
human dignity, with saving every person from
sin.
- Óscar Romero
--
The world is full of hundreds of beautiful things
we can never possibly have time to discover,
and there is no time to be unkind or envious or
ungenerous, and no sense in enslaving the mind
to the trivialities of the moment. For you can be
equal to the greatness of life only by marching
with it; not by seeking love but by giving it, nor
by seeking to be understood, but by learning
to understand.
- Vivienne de Watteville
--
Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which
your laughter rises was oftentimes
filled with your tears. And how else
can it be? The deeper that sorrow
carves into your being, the more
joy you can contain.…
When you are joyous, look deep into
your heart and you shall find it is only
that which has given you sorrow that
is giving you joy.
- Kahlil Gibran
--
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
--
Forgiving and being reconciled to our enemies
or our loved ones are not about pretending that
things are other than they are. It is not about
patting one another on the back and turning
a blind eye to the wrong. True reconciliation
exposes the awfulness, the abuse, the hurt,
the truth. It could even sometimes make things
worse. It is a risky undertaking but in the end
it is worthwhile, because in the end only an
honest confrontation with reality can bring
real healing.
Superficial reconciliation can bring only
superficial healing.
- Desmond Tutu
--
We cling to the present out of wariness
of the past. And why not, after all?
We get confused. We need such escape
as we can find. But there is a deeper need
yet, I think, and that is the need — not all
the time, surely, but from time to time —
to enter that still room within us all where
the past lives on as a part of the present,
where the dead are alive again, where we
are most alive ourselves to turnings and to
where our journeys have brought us.
The name of the room is Remember — the
room where with patience, with charity,
with quietness of heart, we remember
consciously to remember the lives we
have lived.
- Frederick Buechner
***
ON THIS DAY
From the Archives of the New York Times"
"Charles and Diana Wed in
St. Paul's Cathedral, London"
http://tinyurl.com/lkgqa3a
"England Declares War on Germany in WWI"
http://tinyurl.com/m6o3yuk
***
CLOSING THOUGHT - Angela Y. Davis
I am no longer accepting the things
I cannot change.
I am changing the things I cannot accept.
(end)
*****
For Those Interested
Beginning Our Program Planning Season -
Autumn 2016 Adult Spiritual Development
ACTS Ministry at St. David's United Church,
Calgary
FALL 2016 MONDAY NIGHT STUDY
This series begins in September
Theme: "Rediscovering the Bible for Today"
Book: "Reclaiming the Bible
for a Non-Religious World"
by Bishop John Spong
http://tinyurl.com/jfanqdp
A ten-week introduction to the entire Bible
with help to engage it meaningfully, today.Ten Monday evenings, 7-9PM
In the St. David's TM Room
September 19th - November 28th, 2016
Excluding Monday of Thanksgiving Weekend
Books and Registration/Hospitality - $60.00
Books only - $20.00
Total book sets made available for sale: 35.
All sale books have now been secured.
Now beginning eighteen years
of Monday Night Studies
Our thirty-fifth series of
(usually) ten week sessions!
Course design: TBA in September
Check our complete archives
for all 48 book studies since 2000:
http://tinyurl.com/q3bw6dh
***
THURSDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY
Theme: TBA in September, 2016
Group Decides Theme at First Meeting
Ten sessions 10-11 AM
Gathering at 9:30 AM
In the St. David's TM Room
September 15th - November 24th.
No charge.
Study resource -
The DK Complete Bible Handbook
http://tinyurl.com/odxlv7q
(copy available in our church library)
***
NEW SEASON,
NEW ST.DAVID'S SPIRITUAL TRAVEL PROJECT
The Planning Cycle for a 2017 Tour Continues.
The Travel Destination has been researched with
Rostad Tours of Calgary.
We have selected South Africa as our location!
We plan a seventeen-day trip that combines a
focus on faith, culture, and nature, and it will
take place in October of next year.
Follow these notices for weekly updates.
*****
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