GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE
Wayne A. Holst, Editor
My E-Mail Address:
waholst@telus.net
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:
My Special Item this week is a book notice for "Gift and Task" - a collection of daily thoughts by the popular American theologian, Walter Brueggemann. I hope many of you will read him, either through this book or one of the many noted in the author's bio.
Thanks for considering our Colleague Contributions, Net Notes and Wisdom of the Week; and for joining me again.
Wayne
*****
SPECIAL ITEM
Book Notice -
GIFT AND TASK
A Year of Daily Readings and Reflections
by Walter Brueggemann
Westminster John Knox Press,
September 1st, 2017
Book $23.78 CAD. Kindle $10.58 CAD.
Hardcover, 376 pages.
ISBN #13-978-0664263218
Publisher's Promo:
Gift and Task is an original collection of 365 devotions by best-selling author Walter Brueggemann, exploring themes such as neighborliness, generosity, and abundance. Brueggemann guides the reader to new insight and deeper engagement with the text and invites us to ground our whole lives in the ancient words of Scripture. “It is my conviction and hope,” author Brueggemann says, “that serious Scripture reading is and can be a source of missional renewal in the church. "
The God whom we meet in Scripture is one who gives generous gifts in the wonder of creation, in the miracle of emancipation and reconciliation, and in the surprise of transformation. We are invited to receive those abundant gifts on a daily basis, with a posture of anticipation, awe, and gratitude. In response, we accept the worthy task of daily discipleship.
Gift and Task provides the opportunity to consider in critical ways the cost and joy of discipleship. Perfect for daily use, this book begins with the First Sunday of Advent and provides insightful reflection and thought-provoking commentary on the Scriptures for each day of the year. Brueggemann guides disciples with wisdom and encouragement for our never-ending walk along God's challenging, grace-filled path throughout the Christian year.
--
Author's Bio:
Walter Brueggemann is William Marcellus McPheeters Professor Emeritus of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary. An ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, he is the author of dozens of books, including Sabbath as Resistance: Saying No to the Culture of Now, Journey to the Common Good, and Chosen? Reading the Bible amid the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.
Wikipedia Bio:
--
Author's Words:
This Youtube presentation on the significance of contemporary biblical theology, the focus of the author's life and career, was given last year at the Church of the Holy Communion in Memphis Tennessee.
For those wanting an articulate interpretation of Brueggemann's work, this video is worth investing your time.
https://tinyurl.com/ya3t8bvj
--
This Youtube presentation on the significance of contemporary biblical theology, the focus of the author's life and career, was given last year at the Church of the Holy Communion in Memphis Tennessee.
For those wanting an articulate interpretation of Brueggemann's work, this video is worth investing your time.
https://tinyurl.com/ya3t8bvj
My Thoughts:
Brueggemann has been a mentor of mine for many years and it is a privilege to introduce his latest book, a collection of daily reflections on current themes, addressed from a deeply biblical perspective.
We also have an opportunity to watch a relatively recent video presentation in which he expands on what he means by applying biblical insights to modern circumstances in an intelligent way.
There are all kinds of "biblical" videos out there, but few demonstrate the spiritual quality and intelligence of a lecture like this.
The book itself - Gift and Task - is a series of small helpings of biblical insight, presented as short readings for daily nurture. It is a devotional book of sorts, but its purpose is to stimulate thought as well as to provide comfort and assurance in the faith.
Brueggemann has often been hailed as one of America's most prominent theologians, even though his theological discipline is the Hebrew Bible or the "Old Testament" as he continues to refer to it. My academic background was in systematics, but through my life I have often been drawn to him because of his profound scriptural understanding.
My own experience in adult ministry in a local congregation continues to remind me of the deep yearning many sincere Christians have for solid biblical nurture. It is good to be able to expose study groups at my church to the work of someone like Brueggemann. This is a kind of book, however, that earnest seekers can read on their own as an complement to group study.
Over the years I have kept on the lookout for theological summaries in accessible format, and I heartily recommend this one to you.
Brueggemann has been a mentor of mine for many years and it is a privilege to introduce his latest book, a collection of daily reflections on current themes, addressed from a deeply biblical perspective.
We also have an opportunity to watch a relatively recent video presentation in which he expands on what he means by applying biblical insights to modern circumstances in an intelligent way.
There are all kinds of "biblical" videos out there, but few demonstrate the spiritual quality and intelligence of a lecture like this.
The book itself - Gift and Task - is a series of small helpings of biblical insight, presented as short readings for daily nurture. It is a devotional book of sorts, but its purpose is to stimulate thought as well as to provide comfort and assurance in the faith.
Brueggemann has often been hailed as one of America's most prominent theologians, even though his theological discipline is the Hebrew Bible or the "Old Testament" as he continues to refer to it. My academic background was in systematics, but through my life I have often been drawn to him because of his profound scriptural understanding.
My own experience in adult ministry in a local congregation continues to remind me of the deep yearning many sincere Christians have for solid biblical nurture. It is good to be able to expose study groups at my church to the work of someone like Brueggemann. This is a kind of book, however, that earnest seekers can read on their own as an complement to group study.
Over the years I have kept on the lookout for theological summaries in accessible format, and I heartily recommend this one to you.
____
Buy the book from Westminster John Knox: https://tinyurl.com/ycprq37b
https://tinyurl.com/ychelsxj
Buy the book from Amazon.ca:
*****
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS
Martin Marty,
Chicago, IL
Sightings,
September 11th, 2017
"Football Religion"
https://tinyurl.com/yd8dk8mr
--
Personal Web Log,
September 11th, 2017
"Of Fireballs and Pure Chance in Our Lives"
https://tinyurl.com/ybcqeyql
--
Ron Rolheiser,
Martin Marty,
Chicago, IL
Sightings,
September 11th, 2017
"Football Religion"
https://tinyurl.com/yd8dk8mr
--
Jim Taylor,
Okanagan, BCPersonal Web Log,
September 11th, 2017
"Of Fireballs and Pure Chance in Our Lives"
https://tinyurl.com/ybcqeyql
--
San Antonio, TX
Personal Web Site
September 11th, 2017
"God's Command to Kill the Canaanites"
https://tinyurl.com/y9zs7cx5
--
Mark Widdall,
Personal Web Site
September 11th, 2017
"God's Command to Kill the Canaanites"
https://tinyurl.com/y9zs7cx5
Mark Widdall,
Ottawa, ON.
Personal Preaching Blog
September 9th, 2017
"Building Community"
https://tinyurl.com/y7ru3eux
*****
NET NOTES
Personal Preaching Blog
September 9th, 2017
"Building Community"
https://tinyurl.com/y7ru3eux
CASTE - INDIA'S APARTHEID
In Spite of Attempts to Remove It
La Croix International
September 13th, 2017
--
THE PRIVATE FAITH OF HILLARY CLINTON
It is an "Animating Influence" in Her Life
The New Yorker,
Septmber 9th, 2017
--
WHO CARES FOR THE PASTOR'S SPOUSE?
Living Life in a Fish Bowl
Religion News Service
September 12th, 2017
--
CANADIAN SIKH POLITICIAN
HANDLES RACIST TIRADE DEFTLY
He was Branded a "Muslim" (video)
Vice,
September 8th, 2017
--
REMEMBERING THE DISCOVERY OF THE
LASCAUX CAVES IN SOUTHERN FRANCE
Discovery Made in1940
New York Times,
September 12th, 2017
--
INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN ORTHODOX
THEOLOGIAN ALEXANDER SCHMEMANN
"For the Life of the World" and a video talk
Englewood Review of Books
September 13th, 2017
--
INDIAN MUSLIMS EXPRESS SOLIDARITY
WITH PERSECUTED ROHINGYA PEOPLE
They Want Government to Support Them
UCA News,
September 14th, 2017
"The Muslim Exodus from Myanmar"
New York Times,
September 14th, 2017
--
CARRIBEAN CHURCHES DESTROYED
BY THE DEADLY HURRICANE IRMA
Millions of Christians Affected by Storm
Christianity Today,
September 12th, 2017
--
AUTHOR OF 'THE SHACK' ADMITS
AFFAIR WITH WIFE'S BEST FRIEND
As Intro to a New Film Production
Christian Week Online
September 13th, 2017
--
POPE FRANCIS' BLACK EYE TELLS US
A LOT ABOUT THE CHURCH TODAY
A Powerful Metaphor of His Personal Style
America Magazine,
September 12th, 2017
*****
WISDOM OF THE WEEK
You must never be fearful of what you are doing when it is right.
- Rosa Parks
--
When the mask falls and the core of our being is revealed, it soon becomes obvious that we are religious by nature, that religion is the secret dowry of our being.
- Johannes Metz
--
We are told to put on Christ, and we think of him in his private life, his life of work, his public life, his teaching, and his suffering life. But we do not think enough of his life as a little child, as a baby. His helplessness. His powerlessness. We have to be content to be in that state too. Not to be able to do anything, to accomplish anything.
- Dorothy Day
--
I believe it to be a great mistake to present Christianity as something charming and popular with no offense in it.…We cannot blink at the fact inflammatory that gentle Jesus meek and mild was so stiff in his opinions and so inflammatory in his language that he was thrown out of church, stoned, hunted from place to place, and finally gibbeted as a firebrand and a public danger. Whatever his peace was, it was not the peace of an amiable = indifference.
- Dorothy Sayers
--
A scientist had a bird in his hand. He saw that it had life and, wanting to find out in what part of the bird’s body its life lay, he began dissecting the bird. The result was that the very life he was in search of disappeared.
You must never be fearful of what you are doing when it is right.
- Rosa Parks
--
When the mask falls and the core of our being is revealed, it soon becomes obvious that we are religious by nature, that religion is the secret dowry of our being.
- Johannes Metz
--
We are told to put on Christ, and we think of him in his private life, his life of work, his public life, his teaching, and his suffering life. But we do not think enough of his life as a little child, as a baby. His helplessness. His powerlessness. We have to be content to be in that state too. Not to be able to do anything, to accomplish anything.
- Dorothy Day
--
I believe it to be a great mistake to present Christianity as something charming and popular with no offense in it.…We cannot blink at the fact inflammatory that gentle Jesus meek and mild was so stiff in his opinions and so inflammatory in his language that he was thrown out of church, stoned, hunted from place to place, and finally gibbeted as a firebrand and a public danger. Whatever his peace was, it was not the peace of an amiable = indifference.
- Dorothy Sayers
--
A scientist had a bird in his hand. He saw that it had life and, wanting to find out in what part of the bird’s body its life lay, he began dissecting the bird. The result was that the very life he was in search of disappeared.
Those who try to understand the mysteries of the inner life intellectually will meet with similar failure. The life they are looking for will vanish in the analysis.
- Sadhu Sundar Singh
--
When we stand before Jesus crucified, we see the depth of his love, which exalts and sustains us, but at the same time, unless we are blind, we begin to realize that Jesus’ gaze, burning with love, expands to embrace all his people. We realize once more that he wants to make use of us to draw closer to his beloved people. He takes us from the midst of his people and he sends us to his people; without this sense of belonging we cannot understand our deepest identity.
- Pope Francis
--
In the turmoil of life without, and black despair within, it is always possible to turn aside and wait on God. Just as at the center of a hurricane there is stillness, and above the clouds a clear sky, so it is possible to make a little clearing in the jungle of our human will for a rendezvous with God. He will always turn up, though in what guise and in what circumstances cannot be foreseen – perhaps trailing clouds of glory, perhaps as a beggar; in the purity of the desert or in the squalor of London’s Soho or New York’s Times Square.
- Malcolm Muggeridge
*****
MOMENT IN TIME
Globe and Mail,
September 14th, 2017
Handel completes Messiah
Sept. 14, 1741: If George Frederick Handel whispered “hallelujah!” as he put down his pen after writing the final note of Messiah, history has not recorded it. But some such sentiment was surely in his head – the German-born English composer had just completed a remarkable artistic marathon. His friend and frequent collaborator Charles Jennen first conceived of this “sacred oratorio,” and wrote the words based on scriptural sources. Handel set to work on Aug. 22, 1741, and composed at breakneck speed, finishing the 259-page orchestral score in just 24 days (a Christmas tradition in the 19th century). The London premiere was a year later, although it’s probably apocryphal that audiences stand for the Hallelujah chorus because King George did so at that performance - there’s no evidence he was even in attendance.
– Christopher Harris
*****
CLOSING THOUGHT - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Now I say to you in conclusion, life is hard, at times as hard as crucible steel. It has its bleak and difficult moments. Like the ever-flowing waters of the river, life has its moments of drought and its moments of flood. Like the ever-changing cycle of the seasons, life has the soothing warmth of its summers and the piercing chill of its winters. And if one will hold on, he will discover that God walks with him, and that God is able to lift you from the fatigue of despair to the buoyancy of hope,
and transform dark and desolate valleys into sunlit paths of inner peace.
(end)
*****
Globe and Mail,
September 14th, 2017
Handel completes Messiah
Sept. 14, 1741: If George Frederick Handel whispered “hallelujah!” as he put down his pen after writing the final note of Messiah, history has not recorded it. But some such sentiment was surely in his head – the German-born English composer had just completed a remarkable artistic marathon. His friend and frequent collaborator Charles Jennen first conceived of this “sacred oratorio,” and wrote the words based on scriptural sources. Handel set to work on Aug. 22, 1741, and composed at breakneck speed, finishing the 259-page orchestral score in just 24 days (a Christmas tradition in the 19th century). The London premiere was a year later, although it’s probably apocryphal that audiences stand for the Hallelujah chorus because King George did so at that performance - there’s no evidence he was even in attendance.
– Christopher Harris
*****
CLOSING THOUGHT - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Now I say to you in conclusion, life is hard, at times as hard as crucible steel. It has its bleak and difficult moments. Like the ever-flowing waters of the river, life has its moments of drought and its moments of flood. Like the ever-changing cycle of the seasons, life has the soothing warmth of its summers and the piercing chill of its winters. And if one will hold on, he will discover that God walks with him, and that God is able to lift you from the fatigue of despair to the buoyancy of hope,
and transform dark and desolate valleys into sunlit paths of inner peace.
(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
40 copies of the book have been secured for sale.
Registration and Book Sale Began - August 27th
and ends September 17th.
Read my background information on the study book:
http://cep.anglican.ca/convictions/
Registrations sold to date: 32
Books sold to date: 36
--
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
Twenty-five persons have registered and paid
in full to take the trip. This will be our tour group.
All together, thirty-two persons made deposits
but some had to withdraw for health or other
reasons.
A beautiful brochure with trip cost, itinerary, and
many helpful travel hints has been published. http://tinyurl.com/hucsaf7
Twenty-five persons have registered and paid
in full to take the trip. This will be our tour group.
All together, thirty-two persons made deposits
but some had to withdraw for health or other
reasons.
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 notify
back home each day's activities so everyone can
enjoy the experience, at least indirectly.
In about six weeks from now we leave for South Africa!
Contact Rostad Tours: http://tinyurl.com/hucsaf7
In about six weeks from now we leave for South Africa!
Contact Rostad Tours: http://tinyurl.com/hucsaf7
Follow these notices for weekly updates.
*****
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