Vol. XII. No. 18
*****
GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE
Wayne A. Holst, Editor
My E-Mail Address:
waholst@telus.net
Colleagues List Web Site:
http://colleagueslistII.blogspot.com
*****
Dear Colleagues:
After two weeks since we returned home
from a lengthy trip through the Middle East
and Southern Spain, we are finally completing
many of the tasks that awaited us.
This is the first issue of Colleagues List that
might do some justice to the past week of
news and developments in religion and culture.
I hope you find helpful my introduction to
a biography of Joan Chittister - a special
favourite of mine.
The regular categories of my blog appear
again, and some of our regular writers
and themes.
There is an unusual amount of information
derived from US politics, but that seems
to be the challenge most global citizens
are facing today. It gives us all pause.
For those interested, I now include the
full program offered by Adult Spiritual
Development Ministry at St. David's,
Calgary, where I serve, with some good
associates) as director. Find that at the
end of this issue.
Thanks for reading, and responding.
Wayne
*****
SPECIAL ITEM
Book Notice -
JOAN CHITTISTER
Her Journey from Certainty to Faith,
by Tom Roberts
Orbis Books, hardcover edition, 2016
ISBN #978-1-62698-198-0. $26.00 CAD.
Currently, the hardcover edition is less
expensive to buy on Amazon.ca than
the paperback.
--
Publisher's Promo:
From prize-winning journalist Tom Roberts,
an intimate biography of Joan Chittister --
Benedictine nun and writer, a leading voice
for spiritual renewal, a prophetic champion
of peace and justice, a champion of the role
of women in the church and the world.
--
Author's Words:
In assembling the story of Chittister's life
from extensive interviews, I have, for the
sake of coherent narrative, recounted her
conversations with others and among others.
While the attempt here is to draw as complete
a portrait as possible of Chittister's life and
career, the effort is circumscribed by the
boundaries of time, space, and the limits of
my own expertise... The sheer volume of her
written and spoken corpus is daunting. It
includes more than fifty books, countless
essays and lectures on the spiritual life,
religious community, the place of women
in the church and society, issues of peace
and justice, deep reflections on the nature
of God, and even on relationships between
humans and animals.
Her international travels have taken her
to more than thirty countries, some of them
repeatedly over decades... and she writes in
a way that ordinary people can understand.
She lives as she teaches. She makes Jesus
come alive in the twenty-first century. When
she misspeaks or is insensitive, she apologizes.
The extent of her influence on individuals and
groups around the world is extensive. (While
I begin the book with one of most powerful
speeches on the evolution of her thinking
about God, most of the book is concerned with
what I call Chittister's private existence) ...
The church has changed, and will continue to
do so in its capacity to understand itself in an
increasingly pluralistic world, where old
monarchies, whether divinely inspired or
otherwise, have long ago outlived their
usefulness. As much as any individual Catholic
thinker and writer might, Chittister has been
both a part of and a fashioner of that change.
- from the Introduction
--
Author's Bio:
Journalist Tom Roberts is editor-at-large for
the National Catholic Reporter, where he
has worked for the past twenty years.
Previously he worked for ten years as news
editor at the Religion News Service. His
previous Orbis book, The Emerging Catholic
Church: A Community’s Search for Itself, won
the Religious Newswriters’ Association Book
Award, as well as two Catholic Press Association
awards. He lives in metropolitan Washington, DC.
--
Joan's website:
http://www.joanchittister.org/
--
My Thoughts:
A handful of modern Catholic writers and
spiritual guides possess the special gift of
being able to communicate in ways that
speak to people of other faiths - Christian
or otherwise, and to secular members of
society as well. Joan Chittister joins the
likes of Jean Vanier, Henri Nouwen, Ron
Rolheiser, and a few others in that select
group. The fact that she is one of a few
women in that number should not be
forgotten.
Many people value her books and talks
on a wide range of topics. This book,
however, does not review such things.
Rather, it attempts to come to know the
person who has done all this. That, I
believe, is the most important reason
for reading this biography of Chittister.
True, the book's author and subject, as
well as many of the details in it, are
Roman Catholic. However, the application
of much to be found here is universal.
That too, it seems to me, is a good reason
to read this biography of Chittister.
Finally, very few writers, secular or
religious, demonstrate the significant
range of interest and command of the
language like Chittister.
For these reasons, and for no other
than it is a great story, I recommend
that you secure and read this enjoyable
book.
**
Buy the book from Amazon.ca:
http://tinyurl.com/hjuyafr
Buy the book from Orbis:
http://tinyurl.com/grdmx72
***
COLLEAGUE COMMENT
January 28th, 2017
Hardy Schroeder,
Winnipeg, MB
Welcome back, Wayne (and Marlene)!
What an enormous amount of reading you have done,
in spite of your travel 'distractions'!!
Good stuff, as always. Just need the time and composure
to go into your latest offering.
Like the quotes by Van Gogh and Updike
http://tinyurl.com/j9mzbsc.
Very best wishes,
Hardy
***
COLLEAGUE COMMUNICATION
Angus Reid,
Vancouver, BC
Angus Reid Institute Website:
"Moving Forward Means Going Further"
http://tinyurl.com/zltmym6
--
Ron Rolheiser
San Antonio, TX
Personal Web Site:
"God's Power as Powerlessness"
http://tinyurl.com/hwlt7jq
***
NET NOTES
THE FAKE NEWS PHENOMENON
A Serious Challenge of our Times
"How Vulnerable is Canada to Fake News?"
Quite Vulnerable Say Some Experts
National Review
January 30th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/j5sg3zu
"Why Christians Fall Prey to Fake News"
It Meets a Need to Belong
Christianity Today,
January 26th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/zbwkagc
--
THE MYTH OF A MUSLIM COUNTRY
There is No Such Thing
The Boston Review
January 31st, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/h282wtt
--
LEAKED DOCUMENTS ON
LEGALIZING DISCRIMINATION
Trump Appears Committed to
Un-ethical, Un-American, Policies
The Nation
February 1st, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/h93jt64
"Banning Muslims is as Un-American
as it is Un-Christian"
Religion News Service
January31st, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/hk2lsq5
--
MOSQUE SHOOTING IS A
WAKEUP CALL FOR CANADIANS
Peaceful Nation Not Immune to
Gruesome Global Violence
America Magazine
February 2nd, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/z7tjg7n
--
AS CANADA TRANSFORMS, AN
ANTI-IMMIGRANT FRINGE STIRS
Canada Not Isolated from Global Terror
New York Times
January 31st, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/jphhcl8
"UCC Moderator Writes of Solidarity
With Our Muslim Neighbours"
United Church of Canada Website
January 31, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/hsjq4ur
--
TOP VATICAN OFFICIAL CRITICISES
TRUMP REFUGEE POLICY
America Magazine
February 1st, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/zwtgjcp
--
ISRAEL SHIFTS WEST BANK
SETTLEMENTS INTO HIGH GEAR
Emboldened by New Guard in Washington?
New York Times
February 2nd, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/jm8djmg
"Then Trump Tells Israel to Hold Off"
New York Times
February 2nd, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/h3yyj3b
--
FIVE SPIRITUAL SURVIVAL STRATEGIES
FOR LIVING IN THE TRUMP ERA
A Time for Growth, not Repulsion
Sojourners
January 30th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/hb9eqkm
--
MOST INDIAN CATHOLICS IGNORE THE
PAPAL TEACHING ON CONTRACEPTIVES
They Have More Pressing Needs
UCA News (Asia)
February 3rd, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/zb6pvuu
--
POPE SENDS STRONG MESSAGE SUPPORTING
REFUGEES AND PEOPLE ON THE MARGINS
Countering Hateful, Destructive Messages
Religion News Service
February 3rd, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/zna8tq5
***
WISDOM OF THE WEEK
Waiting is not a very popular attitude. Waiting is not
something that people think about with great sympathy.
In fact, most people consider waiting a waste of time.
Perhaps this is because the culture in which we live is
basically saying, “Get going! Do something! Show you
are able to make a difference! Don’t just sit there and
wait!” For many people, waiting is an awful desert
between where they are and where they want to go.
And people do not like such a place. They want to get
out of it by doing something.-
Henri J. M. Nouwen
--
The whole person is a person who is on the one side
open to God, and on the other side open to other people.
It has been said that there is no true person unless there
are two entering into communication with one another.
The isolated individual is not a real person.
A real person is one who lives in and for others. And
the more personal relationships we form with others,
the more we truly realize ourselves as persons. -
- Kallistos Ware
--
In order for us to be able to love, we need to have
faith, because faith is love in action and love in action
is service. In order for us to be able to love, we have
to see and touch. Faith in action through prayer, faith
in action through service: each is the same thing, the
same love, the same compassion.
- Mother Teresa
***
ON THIS DAY
"Gandhi Murdered by Hindu Extremist"
http://tinyurl.com/atcwj7u
"German Forces Stopped at Stalingrad in WWII"
http://tinyurl.com/4e378r9
***
CLOSING THOUGHT- - Mahatma Gandhi
Truth alone will endure, all the rest will be swept
away before the tide of time. I must continue to bear
testimony to truth even if I am forsaken by all.
Mine may today be a voice in the wilderness, but it
will be heard when all other voices are silenced, if
it is the voice of truth.
- Mahatma Gandhi
(end)
*****
For Those Interested -
ST. DAVID'S ACTS MONDAY NIGHT WINTER STUDY
A Ten Week Series January 23rd - April 3rd, 2017
Monday Evenings, TM Room 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
"How Jesus Became God -
The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee"
http://tinyurl.com/gqzkcbx
Author: Bart D. Ehrman
Registration/Hospitality and Book: $60.00.
Book only: $20.00
35 copies were secured for sale.
All copies have been sold.
Our Evolving Course Design:
http://tinyurl.com/j3nv7nd
--
Here is the total course content from our
completed Monday Night Autumn 2016 Study:
"Reclaiming the Bible for a Non-Religious
World" by Bishop John S. Spong
http://rtb.stdavidscalgary.net/
Check our entire archives for all 48 book
studies since 2000:
http://tinyurl.com/q3bw6dh
***
ST. DAVID'S ACTS THURSDAY MORNING STUDY
Ten Sessions February 2nd - April 6th, 2017
"Joshua and Judges" - Formative Hebrew History
Ten sessions 10-11 AM
Gathering at 9:30 AM
In the St. David's TM Room.
No charge
Study resource -
"The DK Complete Bible Handbook"
Edited by John Bowker
http://tinyurl.com/odxlv7q
***
ST.DAVID'S SPIRITUAL TRAVELERS PROJECT, 2017
South Africa has been chosen as our location!
We plan a nineteen-day tour that combines a
focus on faith, social justice culture, and nature,
and it will begin mid-month of October 2017.
A beautiful brochure with trip cost, itinerary, and
many helpful travel hints has been published.
http://tinyurl.com/hucsaf7
Fifteen persons have already put down deposits
or declared they are doing so to claim a $300.
saving. Offer stands until February 28th. This
represents half our goal of 28-30 travelers.
Follow our notices for weekly updates.
*****
ANNUAL ST. DAVID'S LENTEN RETREAT
Mount St. Francis Retreat Centre
Cochrane, AB
http://www.mountstfrancis.ca/
Theme: "Encountering Mercy"
Led by Spiritual Director Susan Campbell
Sunday, February 26th, 2017
11:30 AM to 4:00 PM
Cost: $30.
(includes lunch and refreshments)
Nature walks, weather permitting..
*****
No comments:
Post a Comment