Archive - Dec 2009 - Oct 2016 http://colleagueslist.blogspot.ca/

Friday, 28 July 2017

Colleagues List, July 30th, 2017

Vol. XIII No. 5

GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE


Wayne A. Holst, Editor

My E-Mail Address:
 
Colleagues List Web Site
http//colleagueslistii.blogspot.com


*****


This e-mail is sent only to a voluntary subscriber list.
If you no longer wish to receive these weekly columns,
write to me personally, waholst@telus.net

*****

Dear Friends:

Several weeks ago I was saddened to announce the death of one of our special colleagues, Marjorie Gibson. She was responsible for the publication of her blog "Marjorie Remembers" and many of you have read her efforts here in the past.

Link to "Marjorie Remembers" blog: http://www.marjorieremembers.com/

This week, I offer some of the thoughts I shared (edited extensively) at her committal service. She had died in June but her remains were interred in July at Queens Park Cemetery, Calgary beside her previously deceased husband, Sheldon.

Reflecting on Marjorie has been a valuable part of my summer.
I hope you find these thoughts helpful.

Please enjoy the other CL features I offer, as usual, this week.

Wayne

*****

SPECIAL ITEM

"Marjorie's Maxims"


How my friend and mentor Marjorie Gibson reflected progressive Christian principles in the way she thought, related, and lived her life.

----

This past weekend we buried Marjorie in a Calgary cemetery. Many family members and friends were present for the interment. Although her memorial service had been held earlier in a Vancouver church to which she transferred after her husband Sheldon's death, she wanted to be buried beside him in this city. I conducted a short committal service and tried to capture in her own words some of the things she would have said about herself had she been able to do so.

What Should a Christian Eulogy Do?

I do not appreciate how many Christian memorial services - centered almost entirely on the deceased - are conducted today. Eulogies or departing words should not focus only on the person being remembered. What is said should help people understand how the departed one reflected Gospel values and now offers hope to those who mourn. That understanding may not apply for all memorial services and interments but it certainly applied in Marjorie's case.

Because many of these services today are attended by people from a wide variety of Christian, other faith, or no faith traditions, the temptation is strong to "water down" the Gospel message for fear of offence. I think that is a mistake. We need to be more creative than that in what we offer at a time when death is very much on people's minds.

We should attempt to avoid spiritual mishmash on the one hand and doctrinal rigidity on the other.

In that spirit then, I want to share the following from the graveside service (including some background information.)

Marjorie's Obituary from the Calgary Herald:
https://tinyurl.com/yd9ok82j

Brief Recap:

Marjorie Gibson was born and raised during the first half of the 20th century in rural Alberta. She completed undergraduate work at the University of Alberta in Edmonton during World War Two. She married and worked professionally outside the home (rather unusual for her time) and raised a family of three daughters and a son.

Again, not uncommon for her time, she emerged from an ethnic community - in this case she had Danish Lutheran background. Marjorie and her supportive husband Sheldon (of Scottish heritage) spent their lives learning, growing and serving others. They found a common Christian home in the United Church of Canada and contributed to a number of local congregations in Edmonton and Calgary for more than half a century. Theirs was truly a legacy of service and I too benefitted

--

Marjorie's Favourite Scripture Passages:

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 "To Everything, there is a Season"
Matthew 5:1-8 "True Happiness or Blessedness"
John 13:33-34 "Love One Another"

--

“Marjorie’s Maxims”


Here are seven principles that guided Marjorie's life and which I believe she would have shared with her mourners if that were possible. I tried to serve as her mouthpiece:

1.     Follow the truth wherever it leads

This principle helped Marjorie to deal with many new discoveries she made in life. She was no biblical literalist, but she was firmly grounded in biblical essence. You don't reject scripture when it seems to be at odds with what you discover (the theory of evolution, for example). You go deeper so that faith and science inform and enhance each other.

2.     Adjust to the new normal

Many of us mourn a time past before we had lost partners and friends, physical and mental capacities, etc. The sooner we adjust to what life brings our way, the better it will be for us personally and those we love. No one said it would be easy, however. The loss of her husband, for example, was something Marjorie found very difficult to bear.

3.     Stay true to the good path you are on

Over time, we begin to develop a true sense of our own way to live. That path is nurtured by a good spiritual tradition. It grows as a result of experience. We don't ignore what we have inherited spiritually, but we keep moving forward on our path. Marjorie and I came from a solid spiritual background, but experience helped us mature in new ways.

4.     Share that path with others you care about

We do not grow spiritually by ourselves. Others join us on the journey. They feed, nurture and encourage us. My faith understanding is indeed a personal thing, but it is also something I need to live with others. It sometimes seems easier to "go it alone" but usually that approach impoverishes us. I am part of all I have met.

5.     Be ready for whatever lies ahead

We can invest too much of our lives planning and anticipating what we would like to happen. Looking back, most people realize that they could not have anticipated what life visited upon them. To the end, Marjorie could reflect on what eternity might bring, but still say with conviction - right up to death's door - "I am ready for whatever happens next."

6.     It is OK not to have all the answers

Marjorie had a sharp mind. With it, she probed and pushed the envelope - even to the last phone call we exchanged a few weeks before she died. For Marjorie, faith was not certainty, however. She was too humble and too experienced. Faith gave her life meaning. She asked you probing questions but always stopped short of trying to convince she was right.

7.    Care deeply

"Compassion" may be another way of describing Marjorie's way of showing that she cared for others like Jesus did. Many at her gravesite, including me, have known Marjorie's deep caring. Tough love often accompanied her "feeling with/truly empathising with" others. We did not need to have this described to us. We had experienced it.

(end)

*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

Jim Taylor,
Okanagan, BC

Personal Web Log,
July 24th, 2017

"The Possibility of Losing Everything"


https://tinyurl.com/ycbhbx66

--

Tom Ryan,
Boston, MA

Koinonia,
Newsletter of the Paulist Fathers
Spring, 2017

''The 500th Anniversary of the Reformation -
  A Time of Unprecedented Opportunity"


http://tinyurl.com/lfhej72

--

Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX

Personal Web Site
July 24th, 2017

"Angels and the City"


http://tinyurl.com/y8zfu6sm

--

Mark Whitall,
Ottawa, ON.

Personal Blog
July 22n, 2017

The Alchemist"


https://tinyurl.com/y79cdndz

*****

NET NOTES

 
WHAT IS THE BIBLE?
Review of New Book by Rob Bell
 
Englewood Review of Books
July 28th, 2017
 
 
--

FIVE HONEST STRUGGLES
Church Leaders Can't Admit To

Christian Week Online
July 24th, 2017


--

WHY CANADA IS ABLE TO DO THINGS BETTER
With Government, You Get What You Pay For

The Atlantic Online
July 17th, 2017


--
 
IS THE CATHOLIC CHURCH A CAPSIZING SHIP?
Some Emeritus Pope Benedict's Reflections

Religion News Service
July 25th, 2017


https://tinyurl.com/y7xea7ru
 
--

BIBLE READING WAS SOMETHING PROTESTANTS DID
Fr. Wm. Grimm Writes from Japan to Tell of
His Early Catholic Formation

UCA News,
July 27th, 2017


https://tinyurl.com/y77uyf3w

--

WHY IS JERUSALEM'S TEMPLE MOUNT SO DISPUTED?
Backgrounder to Current Unrest There

Religion News Service,
July 25th, 2017

https://tinyurl.com/ya9o6aqa

--

I RISKED MY LIFE TO CONVERT TO ZOROASTRIANISM
Feminist Kurdish Women Seek a More Liberating Faith

Stylist Magazine Online
July 1st, 2017

https://tinyurl.com/y93s6e6t

--

AMERICAN EVANAGELICALS WHO VOTED FOR TRUMP
DREAMED OF "GOOD OLD DAYS" THAT NEVER WERE
Hopes Must Be Understood by Thoughtful Politicians
In Spite of the Realities of a Changing World

Religion News Service,
July 24th, 2017


https://tinyurl.com/y8j4hcx3

--

From the Globe and Mail This Week:

July 24th, 2017

TO UNDERSTAND U.S. HEALTH CARE, THINK LIKE AN AMERICAN

“Don’t try making sense of the U.S. health-care debate, because there is no sense to it.
Canadians often make the mistake of viewing U.S. health care through the prism of our own (semi-) universal system, where everyone gets treated more or less in the same fashion. The concept of one-size-fits-all health care is antithetical to the ethos of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Americans see health care as a status symbol, like big houses and expensive cars.”

– Konrad Yakabuski

--

WHERE CANADA STANDS ON
TRANSGENDER RIGHTS AND THE MILITARY

July 27th, 2017

As Donald Trump announced his plan to reinstate a ban on transgender people serving in the U.S. military, the Canadian Forces struck a different
tone on Twitter: “We welcome (Canadians) of all sexual orientations and gender identities. Join Us!” The Canadian military is in the midst of updating its transgender policy, which is expected to offer units more guidance on things like bathrooms and showering. Canada lifted its military ban on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in 1992.

Trump referred to the “tremendous medical costs” associated with transgender people as
one reason for the ban. In the Canadian Forces, sex-reassignment operation costs totalled just $309,000 between 2008 and late 2015.

Canada is one of 18 countries that allow transgender people to serve. Britain, Germany,
France, Israel and Australia are some of the others.

--

THE MONARCHS ARE BACK!!
Some Good News to Report

July 25th, 2017

“A lot of people have stopped reading the news because they can’t stand it any more. So here’s a happy story for a change. The monarchs are back! Three weeks ago, I saw one
alighting on a milkweed plant in our field in rural Ontario. Since then we’ve had almost daily sightings. What a relief. We hadn’t seen a monarch butterfly in years. These gorgeous creatures were widely reported to be headed for extinction – one more victim of humankind’s relentless assault on the planet. We’d begun to wonder if they’d ever come back. And now, here they are, alive and well, and the future is looking surprisingly bright.”

 – Margaret Wente
 

*****
 
WISDOM OF THE WEEK

From Sojourners and the Bruderhof Online:

Who am I helping, what am I breaking
What am I giving, what am I taking

- Bob Dylan

--

God has identified himself with the hungry, the sick, the naked, the homeless; hunger, not only for bread, but for love, for care, to be
somebody to someone; nakedness, not of clothing only, but nakedness of the compassion that very few people give to the unknown; homelessness, not only just from a shelter made of stone, but that homelessness that comes from having no one to call your own.

- Mother Teresa

--

Truth is still truth, no matter how many people doubt it. I may deny the law of gravity, but that does not change gravity. And just because we break God’s laws, that does not invalidate them. A lie doesn’t become a truth and wrong doesn’t become right and evil doesn’t become good just because it’s popular.

- Rick Warren

--

Worship grounds me again in the real world of God’s creation, dislodging me from whatever world I have imagined for myself. I have come to believe that when we despair of praise, when the wonder of creation and our place in it are lost to us, it’s often because we’ve lost sight of our true role as creatures – we have tried to do too much, pretending to be in such control of things that we are indispensable. It’s a hedge against mortality and, if you’re like me, you take a kind of comfort in being busy. The danger is that we will come to feel too useful, so full of purpose and the necessity of fulfilling obligations that we lose sight of God’s play with creation, and with ourselves.

- Kathleen Norris

--

Perhaps it is true that certain violent remedies employed against t
yrants have put an end to certain forms of evil, but they have not eliminated evil. Evil itself will take root elsewhere, as we have seen through history. The fertilizer that stimulates its growth is yesterday’s violence. Even “just wars” and “legitimate defense” bring vengeance in their train. Fresh crimes invariably ensue.…

But the future of the person who turns to God is not determined by the past, and therefore neither is the future of humanity. God’s forgiveness creates the possibility of an entirely new future.

The cross breaks the cycle of violence.

- André Trocmé


*****
 
MOMENT IN TIME

Louisbourg falls to the British

July 26, 1758: The bruising British siege of the French fortress of Louisbourg in Cape Breton had been under way for almost seven weeks when the British took advantage of a thick fog to capture one of the last remaining French ships in the harbour and set fire to the other. With much of the mighty fortress already damaged by heavy shelling, and naval support eliminated, the French governor had little choice but to surrender. It was a pivotal moment in the Seven Years’ War – with Louisbourg gone, sea approaches to the St. Lawrence were now undefended, leaving the heartland of New France at the mercy of the Royal Navy. Within 14 months, the British would be victorious at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, resulting in the end of French rule in North America with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763.

– Christopher Harris

*****

CLOSING THOUGHT - J.K. Rowling

We're all human, aren't we?
Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving.


(end)

*****
 
For Those Interested -

ST. DAVID'S ACTS MONDAY NIGHT FALL STUDY

A Ten Week Series September 18th -November 27th, 2017
Monday Evenings, TM Room 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

"CONVICTIONS - How I Learned What Matters Most"


http://tinyurl.com/ybyu3msx

Author: Marcus Borg
Registration/Hospitality and Book: $60.00.
Book only: $20.00

35 copies of the book have been secured for sale.
Registration and Book Sale Begins - August 27th


Read my background information on the study book:
http://cep.anglican.ca/convictions/

--

Here is some course content from our
completed Monday Night Winter 2017 Study:

"How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a

Jewish Preacher from Galilee" by Bart D. Ehrman
https://tinyurl.com/j3nv7nd
 
Check our entire archives for all 49 books
studied since 2000:
 
http://tinyurl.com/q3bw6dh 

During the 2016-2017 two session-term -
Total class registrations: 70
Total books sold: 75

Our best year ever, since 1998!

***


ST. DAVID'S ACTS THURSDAY MORNING STUDY

Ten Sessions September 21st- November 30th, 2017

Biblical book(s) to be studied this autumn to be determined

by the class at the first session of the term, Thursday, Sept. 21st.

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 EVENT, 2017

South Africa has been chosen as our destination!
We plan a nineteen-day tour that combines a focus
on spirituality, social justice, culture, and nature,
and it will run October 21st thru November 8th.

A beautiful brochure with trip cost, itinerary, and
many helpful travel hints has been published.
http://tinyurl.com/hucsaf7

Our optimal group size for maximum trip meaning
and value is 28-29 persons.
To date, thirty persons

have put down deposits to claim a special saving,
but some have had to withdraw.
 
WE ARE CLOSE TO REACHING OUR DEPARTURE GOAL.

YOU CAN STILL REGISTER. If we reach 29 deposits
you will be added to a waiting list and can still join

us in the event someone has to drop out.

We have activated a South Africa Spiritual Travelers
discussion list group to begin building community
amongst the participants, and to share news and
resources.

We hope to name a tour reporter who will report
back home each day's activities so everyone can
enjoy the experience, if not directly, then indirectly.

Three months from now we leave for South Africa!

Contact Rostad Tours: http://tinyurl.com/hucsaf7

Follow these notices for weekly updates.

*****

 
 
 
 

 

Friday, 21 July 2017

Colleagues List, July 23rd, 2017

Vol. XIII No. 4

GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE


Wayne A. Holst, Editor

My E-Mail Address:
 
Colleagues List Web Site
http//colleagueslistii.blogspot.com


*****


This e-mail is sent only to a voluntary subscriber list.
If you no longer wish to receive these weekly columns,
write to me personally, waholst@telus.net

*****

SPECIAL ITEM

My Anglican Journal column for July, 2017 -

"Enlarging Our Faith Communities"
  Ecumenical and Inter-faith Developments

http://tinyurl.com/ycwsceq3
 
*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

Jim Taylor,
Okanagan, BC

Personal Web Log
July 17th, 2017

"Forest Fires Affect More than Humans"
  http://tinyurl.com/y77lru4v

--

Martin Marty,
Chicago, IL

Sightings,
July 17th, 2017

"Ayn Rand Mugged"
  http://tinyurl.com/y7j8n222

--

Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX

Personal Web Site
July 27th, 2017

"The Gospel Challenge to Enjoy Our Lives"
  http://tinyurl.com/y86r7zvu

--

Mark Whittall,
Ottawa, ON.

Blog Site
July 15th, 2017

"Thumbs Up!"
  http://tinyurl.com/yc3flzsu
 
*****

NET NOTES

HUNDREDS OF BOYS ABUSED
AT GERMAN CHOIR SCHOOL
A Growing Catholic Tragedy

America Magazine,
July 18th, 2017


https://tinyurl.com/ybt39tug

--

THE LEGALIZATION OF RECREATIONAL
DRUG USE IN CANADA AND FAITH
An Evangelical Canadian Perspective
on Marijuana and Related Drugs

Christian Week Online
July 18th, 2017


https://tinyurl.com/ya3kkc4q

--

THE US CHRISTIAN LGBT DEBATE
IS FAR FROM OVER
More on the Eugene Peterson Story

Religion News Service,
July 14th, 2017


https://tinyurl.com/ybqmuxsa

"When the (American) Evangelical Establishment
  Comes After You..."

Religion News Service,
July 17th, 2017


https://tinyurl.com/yagnsdkh

--

JIMMY CARTER RESTING AFTER
RELEASE FROM WINNIPEG HOSPITAL
Habitat for Humanity Jaunt a Bit Too Much

CBC.ca
July 14th, 2017


https://tinyurl.com/y94wcnmp

--

SALEM MEMORIALIZES THOSE KILLED
DURING THE INFAMOUS WITCH TRIALS
An Early American National Tragedy

The Two-Way, National Public Radio
July 19th, 2017


https://tinyurl.com/y8klfys2

--

CATHOLICS AND LUTHERANS IN HONG KONG
MUTUALLY ENDORSE ECUMENICAL STUDY
"From Conflict to Communion" Expands to Asia

UCA News
July 20th, 2017


http://tinyurl.com/ybrrgapb

--

FULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY CLOSING
SOME OF ITS REGIONAL CAMPUSES
Major Evangelical Seminary Shifting
to Electronic-Distance Education

Christianity Today,
July 19th, 2017


https://tinyurl.com/y9thheoh

--

SAUDI WOMAN IN MINISKIRT ARRESTED
AFTER PUBLIC OUTCRY IN DUBAI, U.A.E.
Conservative Islamic Views Run Deep

Religion News Service
July 18th, 2017


https://tinyurl.com/yaz9hv82

--

JEWISH-GENTILE INTERMARRIAGE IN AMERICA
AND THE INTERNAL CONFLICT WITHIN JUDAISM
Long-Standing Issue Now Confronts Modernism

The Atlantic Online
July, 2017


https://tinyurl.com/yadfrs8q

--

"EVEN IN DEATH WE FIND NO PEACE"
Conflict Erupts Over Muslim Cemetery in Quebec

Globe and Mail,
July 19th, 2017

“If I were a bigot, the only Muslim I’d love is a dead one. So supporting a Muslim cemetery should have been a no-brainer. But like all things
associated with Islam these days, dead Muslims are as controversial as live ones. Residents of the tiny Quebec town of Saint-Apollinaire, population 6,000 (no Muslims), voted this week against allowing a new  cemetery in a wooded area on the edge of town. … Some say this is a racist decision. Ironically, this started when six Muslim men were shot in Quebec City’s Islamic Cultural Centre in January, which forced the community to look for a cemetery close to home. And as usual, these days for Muslims, what is normally a non-issue became a lightning rod for controversy.”

- Zarqa Nawaz, creator of "Little Mosque on the Prairie" and author of "Laughing All the Way to the Mosque
"

*****

WISDOM OF THE WEEK

If I can do no more, let my name stand among those who are willing to bear ridicule and reproach for the truth's sake, and so earn some right to rejoice when the victory is won.

- Louisa May Alcott

--

We must ignore our pains and preference, our own longing for sympathy and peace, our times of weakness, anguish, desolation, and fatigue; we must go on giving, up to the limit and beyond. Christ himself groaned in spirit at the effort demanded of him. He knew what virtue had gone out; he gave a costly, not an easy restoration to the fallen and weak. He bore our burdens and carried our sorrows.

- Evelyn Underhill

--

To love is good, too: love being difficult. For one human being to love another: that is perhaps the most difficult of all our tasks, the ultimate, the last test and proof, the work for which all other work is but
preparation.

- Rainer Maria Rilke

--

If you are searching for God and do not know where to begin, learn to pray. Take the trouble to pray every day. You can pray anytime,
anywhere. You can pray at work – work doesn’t have to stop prayer and prayer doesn’t have to stop work. Tell him everything; talk to him. He is our father; he is father to us all, whatever religion we are. We are all created by God, we are his children. We have to put our trust in him and love him, believe in him, and work for him. If we pray, we will get all the answers we need.

- Mother Teresa

--

A Small Needful Fact

Is that Eric Garner worked
for some time for the Parks and Rec.
Horticultural Department, which means,
perhaps, that with his very large hands,
perhaps, in all likelihood,
he put gently into the earth
some plants which, most likely,
some of them, in all likelihood,
continue to grow, continue
to do what such plants do, like house
and feed small and necessary creatures,
like being pleasant to touch and smell,
like converting sunlight
into food, like making it easier
for us to breathe.

- Ross Gay

*****

MOMENT IN TIME
Globe and Mail,
July 20th, 2017
 
Chinese head tax begins

July 20, 1885: Canada may be known for welcoming immigrants today, but
 it wasn’t always that way. One of the country’s darkest policies was a head tax on Chinese immigrants, enacted on this day in 1885. Chinese workers first arrived in 1858 to sift for gold and then to build the Canadian Pacific Railway. By the mid-1880s, up to 17,000 Chinese people had settled in Canada, largely in British Columbia. The head tax was the first piece of Canadian legislation that discriminated against immigrants based on ethnicity. It lasted for 38 years, rising from $50 to $500 a person (equivalent to more than $10,000 today), which was two years’ wages for the average labourer at the time. In 1923, the head tax ended, but Chinese immigration was all but banned until 1947,  leaving many families separated. It wasn’t until 2006 that the Canadian government officially apologized for the policy. – Iain Boekhoff
 
*****
 
CLOSING THOUGHT - Thornton Wilder

Soon we shall die and all memory of those we have known will have left the earth, and we ourselves shall be loved for a while and forgotten. But the love will have been enough; all those impulses of love return to the love that made them.

Even memory is not necessary for love. There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only
meaning.

(end)

*****
 
For Those Interested -

ST. DAVID'S ACTS MONDAY NIGHT FALL STUDY

A Ten Week Series September 18th -November 27th, 2017
Monday Evenings, TM Room 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

"CONVICTIONS - How I Learned What Matters Most"


http://tinyurl.com/ybyu3msx

Author: Marcus Borg
Registration/Hospitality and Book: $60.00.
Book only: $20.00

35 copies of the book have been secured for sale.
Registration and Book Sale Begins - August 27th


Read my background information on the study book:
http://cep.anglican.ca/convictions/

--

Here is some course content from our
completed Monday Night Winter 2017 Study:

"How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a

Jewish Preacher from Galilee" by Bart D. Ehrman
https://tinyurl.com/j3nv7nd
 
Check our entire archives for all 49 books
studied since 2000:
 
http://tinyurl.com/q3bw6dh 

During the 2016-2017 two session-term -
Total class registrations: 70
Total books sold: 75

Our best year ever, since 1998!

***


ST. DAVID'S ACTS THURSDAY MORNING STUDY

Ten Sessions September 21st- November 30th, 2017

Biblical book(s) to be studied this autumn to be determined

by the class at the first session of the term, Thursday, Sept. 21st.

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 EVENT, 2017

South Africa has been chosen as our destination!
We plan a nineteen-day tour that combines a focus
on spirituality, social justice, culture, and nature,
and it will run October 21st thru November 8th.

A beautiful brochure with trip cost, itinerary, and
many helpful travel hints has been published.
http://tinyurl.com/hucsaf7

Our optimal group size for maximum trip meaning
and value is 28-29 persons.
To date, thirty persons

have put down deposits to claim a special saving,
but some have had to withdraw.
 
WE ARE CLOSE TO REACHING OUR DEPARTURE GOAL.

YOU CAN STILL REGISTER. If we reach 29 deposits
you will be added to a waiting list and can still join

us in the event someone has to drop out.

We have activated a South Africa Spiritual Travelers
discussion list group to begin building community
amongst the participants, and to share news and
resources.

We hope to name a tour reporter who will report
back home each day's activities so everyone can
enjoy the experience, if not directly, then indirectly.

Three months from now we leave for South Africa!

Contact Rostad Tours: http://tinyurl.com/hucsaf7

Follow these notices for weekly updates.

*****