GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE
HERITAGE WEEKEND EDITION
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,
http//colleagueslistii.blogspot.com
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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 Colleagues:
I am repeating the same Special Item for Heritage Weekend in Canada that I sent you on Canada Day, earlier this our summer.
Net Notes, Wisdom of the Week, Moment in Time and Closing Thought features follow with all new material.
Good wishes,
Wayne
*****
SPECIAL ITEM
(repeated from July 2nd edition of Colleagues List)
*****
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS
Mark Noll
South Bend, IN
Christianity Today,
August 2nd, 2017
"The Freedom and Chaos of Sola Scriptura"
https://tinyurl.com/ybyt2ocg
--
Jim Taylor,
Okanagan, BC
Personal Web Log,
August 2nd, 2017
"Why I Keep Writing About God"
http://tinyurl.com/yaf3xbl3
--
Elfrieda Schroeder,
Winnipeg, MB.
In Transit Blog
July 29th, 2017
"A Grandmother's Love/
A Granddaughter's Legacy
http://tinyurl.com/ycbzckac
--
Martin Marty,
Chicago, IL
Sightings,
July 31st, 2017
"Closings"
http://tinyurl.com/ycpfuwyc
--
Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX
Personal Web Site
July 31st, 2017
"Suicide - Redeeming the Memory of a Loved One"
https://tinyurl.com/yayafy6k
*****
NET NOTES
THE REAL LEGACY OF CRAZY HORSE
Prophesies of Oglala Sioux Renaissance
*****
Dear Colleagues:
I am repeating the same Special Item for Heritage Weekend in Canada that I sent you on Canada Day, earlier this our summer.
Net Notes, Wisdom of the Week, Moment in Time and Closing Thought features follow with all new material.
Good wishes,
Wayne
*****
SPECIAL ITEM
(repeated from July 2nd edition of Colleagues List)
SOME THOUGHTS ON CANADA 150
This year, Canada turns 150. Interestingly, I have just celebrated my 75th birthday. That means I am half as old as my native land.
Usually, I introduce a book in this space, but today I would like to share some thoughts on what it means to me to be a Canadian.
Over the last fifty years I have travelled, lived, studied and worked in twenty-seven foreign countries; visited 45 American states, and seen all parts of Canada except the Yukon and Nunavut Territories, and Labrador in the province of Newfoundland/Labrador. Hopefully, that gives me some credibility when writing about being a Canadian.
(I still have a bucket list, of course. My time overseas and some anticipated visits within Canada remain a work in progress).
I am grateful to live in what might be called a global "middle power." Canadians know what it means to be dependent on empire, and we would like to learn from experience. As a Canadian of Scots-Irish and German decent, I have always had a kind of love-hate relationship with the British. Canadians have no desire to create an empire of their own in the world, but we cherish the idea of demonstrating a strong, global, peacemaking influence. We have gained much from our longstanding good relationships with Britain and the United States, but we seek to pursue an independent course.
Especially now. Our current prime minister seems committed to building a strong Canada economically (the reason we are part of the exclusive G-7 Group). As our gift to the world, we seek to be a strong voice for global justice.
I am glad we are at this point on our 150th birthday.
To be committed to global justice means we strive to keep our own house in order, justice-wise. We have many internal justice issues to work on but Canada's relationship with its first peoples is a major one. The strong influence of Canada's Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Inuit and Metis) in our current anniversary celebrations demonstrates a marked improvement from 1967 when we turned 100. It is obvious that there is a lot of work ahead of us still - as the recently tabled Truth and Reconciliation Report made quite clear - https://tinyurl.com/jgsx79m
The report's 94 recommendations seem to have come at a time when many Canadians are ready to heed and act on them. May it be so.
Our history of accepting immigrants and refugees from many parts of the world, and integrating them peacefully, is something to celebrate. We have a history of prejudice about which we are not proud, but we seem to be learning from our mistakes. I live in a city that, some years ago, elected its first Muslim mayor. He has proven to be one of our most popular, and rarely is the matter ever mentioned. I am grateful that a nation which began as a French Catholic settlement - which then required the co-existence of English Protestants - can now be a nation that has learned from its early experience to grow in its ability to be multi-national and multi-faith in composition. God grant that we will continue to be an example for the world.
Rarely do religion and politics interfere with each other in Canada. This does not mean that Canadians are a-political or a-theistic. Quite the contrary. But many of us came from countries that were a caustic mix of these two powerful forces. We need to keep re-educating our new fellow-Canadians to leave behind their negative issues in the countries they departed as we have tried to do.
I have been involved in Canadian ecumenical and interfaith relations for half a century, and I am impressed by the progress we have made over the past 50 years. I view secularisation as a positive force for building good bonds within the nation, and this means including persons who claim no faith as well.
I could go on, but perhaps by now you are thinking of me as pollyanna in my Canadian assessment. Maybe I have been a bit idealistic in my comments, above. But I grew up at a time and place where bragging rights were not encouraged. I think we Canadians have just cause for some honest pride at this time in our history.
That said, I must also add some Canadian caution, and "sober second thought" as we were always encouraged to practice.
The freedoms, beauty and harmony I have celebrated (above) are not our's by right. Only by constant vigilance and hard self-assessment do we have any real hope of promoting these blessings for the next century and a half. Even then, there are no guarantees. That should give us pause. I will leave the self-criticism for another time, however.
I think the world needs Canada, and we need to set a good example for the world. We may not be the "city set upon a hill" as the New England preachers and writers would say, but we are proud to be Canadian, in a typically Canadian way of putting it. And we too have a manifest destiny, after a manner of speaking.
Over the last fifty years I have travelled, lived, studied and worked in twenty-seven foreign countries; visited 45 American states, and seen all parts of Canada except the Yukon and Nunavut Territories, and Labrador in the province of Newfoundland/Labrador. Hopefully, that gives me some credibility when writing about being a Canadian.
(I still have a bucket list, of course. My time overseas and some anticipated visits within Canada remain a work in progress).
I am grateful to live in what might be called a global "middle power." Canadians know what it means to be dependent on empire, and we would like to learn from experience. As a Canadian of Scots-Irish and German decent, I have always had a kind of love-hate relationship with the British. Canadians have no desire to create an empire of their own in the world, but we cherish the idea of demonstrating a strong, global, peacemaking influence. We have gained much from our longstanding good relationships with Britain and the United States, but we seek to pursue an independent course.
Especially now. Our current prime minister seems committed to building a strong Canada economically (the reason we are part of the exclusive G-7 Group). As our gift to the world, we seek to be a strong voice for global justice.
I am glad we are at this point on our 150th birthday.
To be committed to global justice means we strive to keep our own house in order, justice-wise. We have many internal justice issues to work on but Canada's relationship with its first peoples is a major one. The strong influence of Canada's Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Inuit and Metis) in our current anniversary celebrations demonstrates a marked improvement from 1967 when we turned 100. It is obvious that there is a lot of work ahead of us still - as the recently tabled Truth and Reconciliation Report made quite clear - https://tinyurl.com/jgsx79m
The report's 94 recommendations seem to have come at a time when many Canadians are ready to heed and act on them. May it be so.
Our history of accepting immigrants and refugees from many parts of the world, and integrating them peacefully, is something to celebrate. We have a history of prejudice about which we are not proud, but we seem to be learning from our mistakes. I live in a city that, some years ago, elected its first Muslim mayor. He has proven to be one of our most popular, and rarely is the matter ever mentioned. I am grateful that a nation which began as a French Catholic settlement - which then required the co-existence of English Protestants - can now be a nation that has learned from its early experience to grow in its ability to be multi-national and multi-faith in composition. God grant that we will continue to be an example for the world.
Rarely do religion and politics interfere with each other in Canada. This does not mean that Canadians are a-political or a-theistic. Quite the contrary. But many of us came from countries that were a caustic mix of these two powerful forces. We need to keep re-educating our new fellow-Canadians to leave behind their negative issues in the countries they departed as we have tried to do.
I have been involved in Canadian ecumenical and interfaith relations for half a century, and I am impressed by the progress we have made over the past 50 years. I view secularisation as a positive force for building good bonds within the nation, and this means including persons who claim no faith as well.
I could go on, but perhaps by now you are thinking of me as pollyanna in my Canadian assessment. Maybe I have been a bit idealistic in my comments, above. But I grew up at a time and place where bragging rights were not encouraged. I think we Canadians have just cause for some honest pride at this time in our history.
That said, I must also add some Canadian caution, and "sober second thought" as we were always encouraged to practice.
The freedoms, beauty and harmony I have celebrated (above) are not our's by right. Only by constant vigilance and hard self-assessment do we have any real hope of promoting these blessings for the next century and a half. Even then, there are no guarantees. That should give us pause. I will leave the self-criticism for another time, however.
I think the world needs Canada, and we need to set a good example for the world. We may not be the "city set upon a hill" as the New England preachers and writers would say, but we are proud to be Canadian, in a typically Canadian way of putting it. And we too have a manifest destiny, after a manner of speaking.
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS
Mark Noll
South Bend, IN
Christianity Today,
August 2nd, 2017
"The Freedom and Chaos of Sola Scriptura"
https://tinyurl.com/ybyt2ocg
--
Jim Taylor,
Okanagan, BC
Personal Web Log,
August 2nd, 2017
"Why I Keep Writing About God"
http://tinyurl.com/yaf3xbl3
--
Elfrieda Schroeder,
Winnipeg, MB.
In Transit Blog
July 29th, 2017
"A Grandmother's Love/
A Granddaughter's Legacy
http://tinyurl.com/ycbzckac
--
Martin Marty,
Chicago, IL
Sightings,
July 31st, 2017
"Closings"
http://tinyurl.com/ycpfuwyc
--
Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX
Personal Web Site
July 31st, 2017
"Suicide - Redeeming the Memory of a Loved One"
https://tinyurl.com/yayafy6k
*****
NET NOTES
THE REAL LEGACY OF CRAZY HORSE
Prophesies of Oglala Sioux Renaissance
The Atlantic Online
August 2nd, 2017
https://tinyurl.com/ybkj7ykh
--
TRUMP CAN'T SALVAGE AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY
Conservatives have No Saviour in the President
In the Fight Against Secularization
New York Times,
August 2nd, 2017
https://tinyurl.com/yclsth2z
--
HOW CAN SPIRITUAL PRACTICE SUSTAIN ACTIVISM?
We Need A Sound Base from Which to do Justice Work
Sojourners
July 27th, 2017
https://tinyurl.com/y79e6uvu
TRUMP CAN'T SALVAGE AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY
Conservatives have No Saviour in the President
In the Fight Against Secularization
New York Times,
August 2nd, 2017
https://tinyurl.com/yclsth2z
--
HOW CAN SPIRITUAL PRACTICE SUSTAIN ACTIVISM?
We Need A Sound Base from Which to do Justice Work
Sojourners
July 27th, 2017
https://tinyurl.com/y79e6uvu
--
ANGLICAN CHURCH IN ONTARIO RENTS
WORSHIP SPACE TO MUSLIM GROUP
Expanding on a Practice Begun Elsewhere
Anglican Journal
July 31st, 2017
https://tinyurl.com/ybvukwel
ANGLICAN CHURCH IN ONTARIO RENTS
WORSHIP SPACE TO MUSLIM GROUP
Expanding on a Practice Begun Elsewhere
Anglican Journal
July 31st, 2017
https://tinyurl.com/ybvukwel
--
WHY INDIGENOUS PEOPLE CRASHED
CANADA'S 150th BIRTHDAY PARTY
A Good Time to Publicize Resistance
America Magazine Online
August 3rd, 2017
https://tinyurl.com/yboo487h
--
SHOULD CHRISTIANS BE TELLING PEOPLE
THAT THEY ARE SINNERS?
Are We Really Evil People?
Christian Week Online,
August 1st, 2017
https://tinyurl.com/yadwhdzo
--
FORMER MEGACHURCH PASTOR BOB BELL
SHAKES UP THE BIBLE BELT WITH HIS VIEWS
His Quest for Truth Enlightens, Enrages
CNN July 28th, 2017
https://tinyurl.com/yac2yy5w
--
ARCHEOLOGISTS FIND MORE EVIDENCE OF
BABYLONIAN DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM
A Confirmation of the Biblical Witness
Religion News Service,
July 28th, 2017
https://tinyurl.com/y853d7k7
--
ISLAMIC STATE AND CLIMATE CHANGE
SEEN AS WORLD'S GREATEST THREATS
Pew Survey Locates Humanity's Biggest Concerns
New York Times
August 1st, 2017
https://tinyurl.com/ybu2q4qs
--
Globe and Mail,
August 3nd, 2017
REPUBLICAN PARTY NEEDS TO SEARCH FOR ITS OWN SOUL
“Historians may quibble over when exactly the GOP initiated its pact with Satan, but it dates at least to Newt Gingrich and his 1994 Contract with America. Under the guise of a principled conservative manifesto, the former House of Representatives speaker reintroduced a personal viciousness into U.S. politics that, over two centuries, had largely been purged from public life,”
– Konrad Yakabuski
For the complete article, click: http://tinyurl.com/yav4vmch
*****
WISDOM OF THE WEEK
From Sojourners and the Bruderhof online:
I am only trying to call attention to a fact; the fact that this year, or this month, or, more likely, this very day, we have failed to practise ourselves the kind of behaviour we expect from other people.
- C.S. Lewis
--
Irenaeus [taught] that the glory of God is seen in a living human being. Let the light of that glory shine so brightly that everyone may come to recognize the inestimable value of all human life. Even the weakest and most vulnerable, the sick, the old, the unborn and the poor, are masterpieces of God’s creation, made in his own image, destined to live forever, and deserving of the utmost reverence and respect.
- Pope Francis
--
Once they told Rabbi Pinhas of the great misery among the needy. He listened, sunk in grief. Then he raised his head. “Let us draw God into the world,” he cried, “and all need will be quenched.” God’s grace consists precisely in this, that he wants to let himself be won by humanity, that he places himself, so to speak, into human hands. God wants to come to his world, but he wants to come to it through men and women. This is the mystery of our existence, the superhuman chance of humankind.
- Martin Buber
--
If I cannot find the face of Jesus in the face of those whom I regard as enemies, if I cannot find him in the unbeautiful and damaged, if I cannot find him in those who have the “wrong ideas,” if I cannot find him in the poor and the defeated, then how will I find him in bread and wine or in the life after death? If I do not reach out in this world to those with whom he has identified, why do I imagine that I will want to be with him, and them, in heaven? Why would I want to be for all eternity in the company of those I avoided every day of my life?
- Jim Forest
--
Prayer that is regular confounds both self-importance and the wiles of the world. It is so easy for good people to confuse their own work with the work of creation. It is so easy to come to believe that what we do is so much more important than what we are. It is so easy to simply get too busy to grow. It is so easy to commit ourselves to this century’s demand for product and action until the product consumes us and the actions exhaust us, and we can no longer even remember why we set out to do them in the first place.
- Joan Chittister
--
Our lives as we live them seem like lives that anticipate questions that never will be asked. It seems as if we are getting ourselves ready for the question “How much did you earn during your lifetime?” or “How many friends did you make?” or “How much progress did you make in your career?” or “How much influence did you have on people?” or “How many conversions did you make?”
Were any of these to be the question Christ will ask when he comes again in glory, many of us could approach the judgment day with great confidence. But nobody is going to hear any of these questions. The question we all are going to face is the question we are least prepared for. It is: “What have you done for the least of mine?” As long as there are strangers; hungry, naked, and sick people; prisoners, refugees, and slaves; people who are handicapped physically, mentally, or emotionally; people without work, a home, or a piece of land, there will be that haunting question from the throne of judgment: “What have you done for the least of mine?”
- Henri J. M. Nouwen
*****
MOMENT IN TIME
Globe and Mail,
August 2nd, 2017
Einstein pens letter to FDR
Aug. 2, 1939: “Watchfulness, and if necessary, quick action,” urged Albert Einstein to Franklin Roosevelt. It was deep concern that brought the famous physicist to sign off on those words, imploring the U.S. president to jump-start the United States’ atomic research program. Einstein had fled Germany upon Hitler’s election. Now, he feared the Nazi Party was in the process of developing an atomic bomb.
Signing a letter such as this one was out of character for Einstein: He was a pacifist, but he was worried what if the United States did not begin its own atomic program, Nazi Germany would be the only country in possession of the weapon of mass destruction. The letter wasn’t delivered until October, 1939, because of the outbreak of the Second World War. Upon receiving it, Roosevelt told his military adviser, “This needs action.” And so, the Manhattan Project was born, eventually leading to atomic bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima – military actions that Einstein denounced.
– Megan Marrelli
--
Globe and Mail
August 4th, 2017
Anne Frank is arrested
August 4, 1944: Anne Frank’s family had been hiding in the back of a warehouse in German-occupied Holland for two years before the German-born Jewish family was found by the Gestapo on this day. They originally found the refuge after being threatened with deportation to a labour camp in 1940. After the warehouse raid, suspicions arose that someone had betrayed the Franks. While there was never a conclusive answer, many thought it was one of the warehouse workers who weren’t supposed to know about the family. Over the years, there has been multiple investigations into who leaked the information, but none were successful as many key witnesses had passed away. Decades later, people are still speculating over possible suspects, including a woman named Lena Hartog-Van Bladeren who supposedly knew about the family in hiding, and a man named Tonny Ahlers who had previously blackmailed Otto Frank, Anne’s father. – Rosa Saba
Globe and Mail,
August 2nd, 2017
Einstein pens letter to FDR
Aug. 2, 1939: “Watchfulness, and if necessary, quick action,” urged Albert Einstein to Franklin Roosevelt. It was deep concern that brought the famous physicist to sign off on those words, imploring the U.S. president to jump-start the United States’ atomic research program. Einstein had fled Germany upon Hitler’s election. Now, he feared the Nazi Party was in the process of developing an atomic bomb.
Signing a letter such as this one was out of character for Einstein: He was a pacifist, but he was worried what if the United States did not begin its own atomic program, Nazi Germany would be the only country in possession of the weapon of mass destruction. The letter wasn’t delivered until October, 1939, because of the outbreak of the Second World War. Upon receiving it, Roosevelt told his military adviser, “This needs action.” And so, the Manhattan Project was born, eventually leading to atomic bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima – military actions that Einstein denounced.
– Megan Marrelli
--
Globe and Mail
August 4th, 2017
Anne Frank is arrested
August 4, 1944: Anne Frank’s family had been hiding in the back of a warehouse in German-occupied Holland for two years before the German-born Jewish family was found by the Gestapo on this day. They originally found the refuge after being threatened with deportation to a labour camp in 1940. After the warehouse raid, suspicions arose that someone had betrayed the Franks. While there was never a conclusive answer, many thought it was one of the warehouse workers who weren’t supposed to know about the family. Over the years, there has been multiple investigations into who leaked the information, but none were successful as many key witnesses had passed away. Decades later, people are still speculating over possible suspects, including a woman named Lena Hartog-Van Bladeren who supposedly knew about the family in hiding, and a man named Tonny Ahlers who had previously blackmailed Otto Frank, Anne’s father. – Rosa Saba
*****
CLOSING THOUGHT - Desmond Tutu
God's dream is that you and I and all of us will realize that we are family, that we are made for togetherness, for goodness, and for compassion.
God's dream is that you and I and all of us will realize that we are family, that we are made for togetherness, for goodness, and for compassion.
(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 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
studied since 2000:
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.
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
Three months from now we leave for South Africa!
Contact Rostad Tours: http://tinyurl.com/hucsaf7
Follow these notices for weekly updates.
*****
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