Colleagues List, October 22nd, 2017

Vol. XIII No. 18 

GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE

REFORMATION 500 EDITION
 
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 Colleagues-

This will be my last CL issue until November 12th -
three weeks from now. Tomorrow Marlene and I
depart as hosts to 25 St. David's Spiritual Travelers
to South Africa. I hope to share some of our discoveries
with you on our return.

We will be remembering the 500th anniversary of the
Reformation while in South Africa, October 31st. In
the meantime, I include a number of related articles
in this issue. My personal reflection appeared this week
in the Anglican Journal, national newspaper of the
Anglican Church in Canada (see below).

As usual, please enjoy articles you will find below.

Wayne

*****

SPECIAL ITEM

"Reformation - A Personal Reflection"

My Anglican Journal Column for October
https://tinyurl.com/y8garsg6

*****

COLLEAGUE COMMENT

Brian Arthur Brown
Niagara Falls ON.
October 18th, 2017

Re Gary Wills' New Book: "What the Qur'an Meant"
Colleagues List, October 15th, 2017
https://tinyurl.com/y9u3agte

 ... I do believe that Canada may have the luxury of the time
and space required to work out some models America may
also find useful, but we would be well advised to keep reading
what they write too. In my experience, the reservoir of creative goodwill in America is larger than the cesspools of negativity on display there these days.

Brian

*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

John Stackhouse JR.
Moncton, NB

Religion News Service,
October 17th, 2017

"I don't Like Niqabs or Burqas, But They Should be Legal"
 https://tinyurl.com/yatqaslj

--

Martin Marty,
Chicago, IL.

Sightings,
October 16th, 2017

"Killing Religion?"
  https://tinyurl.com/yads9mdg

--

Jim Taylor,
Okanagan, BC

Personal Web Log
October 15th, 2017

"Killing"
  https://tinyurl.com/y7zogk5l

--

Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX

Personal Web Site
October 16th, 2017

"Close the Distance, Not the Gate"
  https://tinyurl.com/ybqm5ked

--

Mark Whittall,
Ottawa, ON

Sermons and Blog
October 14th, 2017

"The Risk of Grace"
  https://tinyurl.com/ybqm5ked

*****

NET NOTES

LIVE ON REFORMATION DAY -
OCTOBER 31st, 2017

Lutheran World Federation Website
Celebrative Events from Around the World

https://tinyurl.com/y7t5h5tj 

--

WHO SAID THAT - LUTHER OR SHAKESPEARE?
Comparing the Fathers of German and English Lit

Religion News Service
October 17th, 2017

https://tinyurl.com/ycwh7gvs

--
 
CAN THE CHURCHES BE RE-UNITED?
A Contemporary Ecumenical Perspective

La Croix International
October 18th, 2017

http://tinyurl.com/yd5orbjc

--

SALTWATER BAPTISM - Video and Text
Gay and in Love at an Evangelical College Campus

New York Times
October 17th, 2017)

https://tinyurl.com/y7ayxjse

--

EXOTIC DANCERS' COSTUMES
UPSET CATHOLICS IN VIETNAM
Religiously Themed Subjects Called Offensive

UCA News
October 16th, 2017

https://tinyurl.com/yc78gpkn

--

WHY I AM DITCHING THE LABEL
'EVANGELICAL' IN THE TRUMP ERA
Major Soul-Search Going On

Washington Post
October 19th, 2017

https://tinyurl.com/yazkg9pd

--

THE AMERICAN RELIGIOUS RIGHT
WILL RISE AND FALL WITH DONALD TRUMP
Commentary by Jim Wallis

Sojourners,
October 19h, 2017

https://tinyurl.com/yaf6bz6d

--

VIKING BURIAL CLOTHES BEAR THE MARK OF ALLAH
A Sign of Early Euro-Middle-East Trading Contact

The Atlantic Online
October 17th, 2017

https://tinyurl.com/ya8y7xe7

--

GROWTH OF EVANGELICAL CHURCH IN BRAZIL
PROMPTS CATHOLICS TO TAKE ACTION
Major Protestant Expansion in Latin America

La Croix International,
October 16th, 2017

http://tinyurl.com/yah6kzog

--

National Catholic Reporter Book Review
October 19th, 2017

WHAT HAPPENDED
BY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON

"[T]his is a real book, written by a real person, suffused with the raw wounds of her defeat," notes Robert M. Shrum of Hillary Rodham Clinton's memoir of her 2016 presidential campaign and unexpected loss to Donald J. Trump. Shrum, himself a veteran of many a Democratic political campaign (winners and losers both) in his long career in politics finds much to praise but more than a little to look askance at in Clinton's tale. True, he remarks, she "was subjected to a brutal personal campaign from an opponent who himself is indisputably misogynistic and whose rhetoric traffics in a relentless appeal to prejudice of all stripes, on a scale unprecedented in modern U.S. history," and there is  little question that sexism played a role in her defeat. At the same time, Shrum notes, there were missteps big and small: relying too much on data analytics, focusing on Trump's personal negatives rather than on an economic message and more. Ultimately, Shrum says - "Hillary Clinton would have made a far better president than the "reckless, divisive, unstable, race-baiting and warmongering" one we elected instead."

*****

MOMENT IN TIME

Globe and Mail
October 19th, 2017

Pope John Paul II beatifies Mother Teresa

Oct. 19, 2003: Rarely has St. Peter’s Square played host to so many beaming nuns. They came from all over the world to celebrate Pope John Paul II’s beatification of Mother Teresa, a necessary step toward sainthood for the woman whose selfless acts made her known to millions as “the Mother.” Hailing from humble Macedonian roots, she joined the Sisters of Loreto at the age of 18 and promptly gave her life over to the needy. At 40, she set up Missionaries of Charity in the slums of Calcutta, where she would remain for nearly five more decades, right up until her death in 1997. On the day of her beatification, her followers sat through a three-hour mass and expressed approval when a portrait of the Mother was unveiled. Meanwhile, back in Calcutta – now Kolkata – millions watched on closed-circuit television. Mother Teresa attained full sainthood in 2016 – making her Saint Teresa of Calcutta.

– Andrew Ryan


*****

WISDOM OF THE WEEK

Almost certainly, however, the first essential component of social justice is adequate food for all mankind. Food is the moral right of all who are born into this world.

- Norman Borlaug

--

We don't accept the fact that we train men and women to kill each other we think this is immoral — and we want to disarm human hearts and human beings, one by one, country by country and that's a big task.

- Mairead Corrigan

--

When I lay these questions before God I get no answer. But a rather     special sort of “No answer.” It is not the locked door. It is more like a silent, certainly not uncompassionate, gaze. As though he shook his head not in refusal but waiving the question. Like, “Peace, child; you don’t understand.” Can a mortal ask questions which God finds unanswerable? Quite easily, I should think. All nonsense questions are answerable. How many hours are there in a mile? Is yellow square of round? Probably half the questions we ask – half our great theological and metaphysical problems – are like that.

 - C.S. Lewis

--

If I did not believe, if I did not make what is called an act of faith (and each act of faith increases our faith, and our capacity for faith), if I did not have faith that the works of mercy do lighten the sum total of suffering in the world, so that those who are suffering… somehow mysteriously find their pain lifted and some balm of consolation poured on their wounds, if I did not believe these things, the problem of evil would indeed be overwhelming.

- Dorothy Day

--

We talk about how many women were raped last year, not about how many men raped women. We talk about how many girls in a school district were harassed last year, not about how many boys harassed girls ... So you can see how the use of the passive voice has a political effect. [It] shifts the focus off of men and boys and onto girls and women. Even the term "violence against women" is problematic. It's a passive construction; there's no active agent in the sentence. It's a bad thing that happens to women, but when you look at that term "violence against women," nobody is doing it to them. It just happens to them. Men aren't even a part of it!

- Jackson Katz

--

But in God's kingdom the presence of the greatest does not depress the small. Redeemed Man is still man. Story, fantasy, still go on, and should go on. The Evangelium has not abrogated legends; it has hallowed them, especially the “happy ending.” The Christian has still to work, with mind as well as body, to, hope, and die; but he may now perceive that all his bents and faculties have a purpose, which can be redeemed. So great is the bounty with which he has been treated that he may now, perhaps, fairly dare to guess that in Fantasy he may actually assist in the effoliation and multiple enrichment of creation. All tales may come true; and yet, at the last, redeemed, they may be as like and as unlike the forms that we give them as Man, finally redeemed, will be like and unlike the fallen that we know.

- J.R.R. Tolkien

*****

CLOSING THOUGHT - Kofi Annan

On this International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, let us recognize that extreme poverty anywhere is a threat to human security everywhere. Let us recall that poverty is a denial of human rights. For the first time in history, in this age of unprecedented wealth and technical prowess, we have the power to save humanity from this shameful scourge. Let us summon the will to do it.

(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 sold.
35 persons have registered for the course.

Classes well underway with strong attendances.
Read my background information on the study book:
http://cep.anglican.ca/convictions/

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

 

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN - THE LETTERS OF JOHN

A Study of Similarities and Differences

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.
 

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.

This weekend, we leave for South Africa!

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

Follow these notices for weekly updates.

*****

 

 

Colleagues List, October 15th, 2017

Vol. XIII No. 17 

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 focuses on Gary Wills, an author we have frequently recommended over the years. This time he has a new book just published this month - "What the Qur'an Meant and Why It Matters." I see this study as an important contribution to both religion and politics in our time.

Please enjoy the other parts of Colleagues List as well. I do try to locate articles and other items that you might appreciate and enjoy.

Greetings!

Wayne

*****

SPECIAL ITEM

Book Notice -

WHAT THE QUR'AN MEANT
And Why It Matters
by Gary Wills

Viking Press, Toronto
October, 2017. 226 pp. $28.50 CAD.
ISBN #978-1-101-98102-3

--

Publisher's Promo:

Garry Wills has spent a lifetime thinking and writing about Christianity. In What the Qur’an Meant, Wills invites readers to join him as he embarks on a timely, necessary reconsideration of the Qur’an, leading us through perplexing passages with insight and erudition. What does the Qur’an actually say about veiling women? Does it justify religious war?

There was a time when ordinary Americans did not have to know much about Islam. That is no longer the case. We blundered into the longest war in our history without knowing basic facts about the Islamic civilization with which we were dealing. We are constantly fed false information about Islam - claims that it is essentially a religion of violence, that its sacred book is a handbook for terrorists. There is no way to assess these claims unless we have at least some knowledge of the Qur’an.

In this book Wills, as a non-Muslim with an open mind, reads the Qur’an with sympathy but with rigor, trying to discover why other non-Muslims - such as Pope Francis - find it an inspiring book, worthy to guide people down through the centuries. There are many traditions that add to and distort and blunt the actual words of the text. What Wills does resembles the work of art restorers cleaning away accumulated layers of dust to find the original meaning. He compares the Qur’an with other sacred books, the Old Testament and the New Testament, to show many parallels between them. There are also parallel difficulties of interpretation, which call for patient exploration - and which offer some thrills of discovery. What the Qur’an Meant is the opening of a conversation on one of the world’s most practiced religions. 

--
 
Author's Words:

Carnegie Council Website Interview (video)
October 3rd, 2017
https://tinyurl.com/ybzvuzs7

--

Author's Bio:

Garry Wills is a Pulitzer Prize–winning historian and the author of The New York Times bestsellers What Jesus Meant, Papal Sin, Why I Am a Catholic, and Why Priests?, among others. He studied for the priesthood, took his doctorate in the classics, and taught ancient and New Testament Greek at Johns Hopkins University. Professor of history emeritus at Northwestern University, he lives in Evanston, Illinois.

Wikipedia -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garry_Wills

--

My Thoughts:

One of the challenges we non-Americans face when reading American authors like Gary Wills is that they write from a growingly different context than we do. For many years I have found myself - when reading books emanating from south of the border - having to use a kind of automatic translation system in my head. In essence that means being able to identify with a different yet somewhat similar political ethos than my own, and having a relatively accurate understanding of it. At the same time, I try to apply the basic principles to my national context.

That process (not always resulting in an accurate interpretation of the material) helps me to benefit from a treasure trove of learning from America. It also helps me to continue to learn about a subject not yet accurately tackled in my country.

Canadians should be proud they have in their ranks Islamic and inter-faith dialogue scholars like Brian Arthur Brown whose writings have been introduced and promoted here over the years. (If you are interested, Google "Colleagues List Brian Arthur Brown" and a number of his inter-faith sacred scripture studies like "Three Testaments" will turn up.)

Will's current book emerges from the context of the American empire and, as such, we are likely to hear a different perspective than we might from Brown. That's not bad, mind you. But it is important to realize that is happening.

I would like to believe that there is not the inherent bias against Islam here in Canada as seems to exist in the USA. At the same time, I would not assume that the same tensions do not exist here also. We just don't have the same "in your face" approach to it as at least some Americans do. Dare I call it more civilized? Let us not grow weary in well-doing.

Could a Franklin Graham emerge in Canada? Might a Donald Trump ever become Prime Minister? Most Canadians would shudder and hope not. We simply find the take on Islam by these two as frightening.

That being said, I return to the book under consideration and suggest several reasons why it is an important one for non-Americans to consider what Wills has to say.

First, we all live under the strong influence of America and just as Wills says we need to understand Islam and the Qur'an - we need to understand the context of the author as well as his subject.

Second, Wills is a wise scholar who has covered many important religious themes in his career as well as a number of key political subjects.  (See all his books in the Wiki-bio, above). The author's broad perspectives and erudition continue to be worth tackling.

Third, as we move more deeply into the twenty-first century, it is becoming growingly apparent that we in the West have a major learning curve ahead of us when it comes to understanding Islam and its people. This is not only a global challenge, but also a national requirement. It is not going away within or beyond our nation.

Gary Wills has clarified many significant topics over the years. This book is a worthy addition to that collection.

Please listen to the wonderful Carnegie Interview (link noted above) and seriously consider buying the book as well.

___

Buy the book from Amazon.ca:
http://tinyurl.com/yd7byo4j

*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

Jim Taylor,
Okanagan, BC

Personal Web Log
October 9th, 2017

"A Crash Course in Recent Religions"
  https://tinyurl.com/y95p98my
 
-

Martin Marty,
Chicago, IL

Sightings,
October 9th, 2017

"Souls and the Guns of America"
  https://tinyurl.com/y9pogdm2

--

Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX

Personal Web Site
October 9th, 2017

"Language as Opening or Closing Our Minds"
  http://tinyurl.com/y9kd8rnb

*****

NET NOTES

AMERICAN EVANGELICAL DECLINE
Growing Split Between Young and Old

Christian Science Moniter
October 10th, 2017

https://tinyurl.com/yad76kwn

--

LUTHER AND THE ENGLISH CHURCH
500 Years of Influence

Anglian Journal
October 12th, 2017

https://tinyurl.com/ybt6tk97

--

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED, PAT ROBERTSON!
American Evangelicals and Fundamentalists Battle It Out

Religion New Service
October 3rd, 2017

https://tinyurl.com/ydgq3e8v

--

LAUREN WINNER -
VIDEO INTRO TO HER WORK

Englewood Review of Books
October 11th, 2017

https://tinyurl.com/ycyu6jml

--

ALAN JACOBS' ANTIDOTE TO
CHRISTIAN ANTI-INTELLECTUALISM
Evangelical Writer Promotes Thought

Religion News Service,
October 11th, 2017

https://tinyurl.com/ybr8gzm9

--

A NEW HISTORY OF HOW HUMANS
MIGRATED ACROSS THE EARTH
Impacts Story of American Indigenous Peoples

Atlantic Online
October, 2017

https://tinyurl.com/yb59n72m

--

RECONCILIATION WITH INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
HIGH ON CANADIAN CATHOLIC BISHOP'S LIST
They Hope for a Visit from Pope Francis

Catholic Register, Toronto
October 3rd, 2017

http://tinyurl.com/ybzku9qt

--

NORTH KOREAN DEFECTOR DESCRIBES LIFE
AS A CHRISTIAN UNDER THE KIM REGIME
'We Worshipped in a Hole'

Christian Week,
October 6th, 2017

https://tinyurl.com/y8spwcqc

In North Korea, cult trumps compromise

Globe and Mail,
Oct. 11th, 2017

“North Korean nationalism, with its cult of self-reliance known as Juche, is as religious as it is political. Defending the Kim dynasty, built up as a symbol of Korean resistance to foreign powers, is a sacred task. And when the sacred takes over politics, compromise becomes almost impossible. People can negotiate over conflicting interests, but not over matters that are considered holy.”

- Ian Buruma, editor of The New York Review of Books

--

SOUTH AFRICA REPORT

Globe and Mail
October 10th, 2017

The Globe’s Africa Correspondent Geoffrey York reports:

Bullets trump ballots as political attacks spread in South Africa

“I think I need a calculator, because I’ve been shot more than 10 times,” Mthembeni Majola, an elected councillor in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa says. While Mr. Majola survived the attacks, other politicians haven’t been as lucky as a lethal wave of violence has swept over the region, with more than 40 people dead due to politically related attacks since the start of 2016. An inquiry investigating the deaths said that they are mainly linked to internal disputes for control over resources.

--
 
WEINSTEIN ON HIS WAY OUT
What About that Other Abuser?

Globe and Mail
October 12th, 2017


Weinstein is on the way to extinction, but what of his fellow dinosaurs?

“...[Harvey] Weinstein has fallen not because he had abused his power but because he was already losing his power. … So what happens to the self-styled boardroom Lotharios who are still at the height of their professional powers? Well, look no further than the Oval Office, where a chief executive who has been caught on tape admitting that he used his position as a television celebrity to assault women can apparently just ignore a string of similar accusations because he's the dude who got himself elected to the presidency.” – Kate Taylor

*****

WISDOM OF THE WEEK

It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself.
 
- Eleanor Roosevelt

--

Never, “for the sake of peace and quiet,” deny your own experience or convictions. The only kind of dignity which is genuine is that which is not diminished by the indifference of others. Pray that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for, great enough to die for. Never measure the height of a mountain until you have reached the top.
Then you will see how low it was.

- Dag Hammarskjöld

--

Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need, not more. Be happy now, and if you show through your actions that you love others – including those who are poorer than you – you’ll give them happiness, too. It doesn’t take much; it can be just giving a smile. The world would be a much better place if everyone smiled more. So smile, be cheerful, and be joyous that God loves you.

- Mother Teresa

--

Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow; the same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day. Either he will shield you from suffering, or hew ill give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace, then, put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations, and say continually: “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart has trusted in him and I am helped. He is not only with me, but in me, and I in him.”

- St. Francis de Sales

--

... deeds are done which appear so evil to us and people suffer such terrible evils that it does not seem as though any good will ever come of them; and we consider this, sorrowing and grieving over it so that we cannot find peace in the blessed contemplation of God as we should do; and this is why: our reasoning powers are so blind now, so humble and so simple, that we cannot know the high, marvelous wisdom, the might and the goodness of the Holy Trinity. And this is what he means where he says, “You shall see for yourself that all manner of things shall be well”, as if he said, “Pay attention to this now, faithfully and confidently, and at the end of time you will truly see it in the fullness of joy.

 - Julian of Norwich

--

MOMENT IN TIME I

Globe and Mail
October 9th, 2017

Chicago’s Sunday bustle

Oct. 9, 1867: In early October, 1867, a correspondent from The Globe, who happened to be in Chicago on a Sunday, reported breathlessly about the widespread commercial activity in that city. “The shop windows are not obscured by sombre blinds, but display their wares as temptingly as on a secular day.” It was a big contrast to Toronto and other Canadian cities, where Sunday was a day of rest and almost everything was closed up tight.
 
In Chicago, however, “the business streets are guiltless of any appearance of recognition of the Sabbath,” The Globe’s staff writer wrote. And there was no religious restraint: “At about the hour for people to congregate in the churches, an industrious farmer might be seen driving along with a load of hay, evidently looking upon this day as the one for doing odd jobs. Groceries, groggeries and saloons all seemed to be in full blast.”

– Richard Blackwell


MOMENT IN TIME II

Globe and Mail
October 12th, 2017

Edith Cavell is executed by Germans

Oct. 12, 1915: The snow-capped slab of Mount Edith Cavell in Alberta’s Jasper National Park is just one of the many memorials across the Commonwealth to “the woman the Germans shot.” That phrase, given to an early film about the storied English nurse, hints at the reason for her lionization: The daughter of a country vicar was operating a clinic in Brussels during the First World War when she was arrested and executed by the occupying German forces for her role in smuggling Allied soldiers out of Belgium. The Germans said she was a spy,the killing of a latter-day Florence Nightingale stirred outrage in Britain, where Cavell was hailed as a martyr. Only recently has her likely connection to a wartime spy ring come to light, complicating the popular image of an innocent nurse murdered in cold blood.  .

– Eric Andrew-Gee

*****

CLOSING THOUGHT - Martin Luther King, Jr.

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

(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 sold.
Classes have now begun with strong attendences.
 Read my background information on the study book:

http://cep.anglican.ca/convictions/

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

 

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN - THE LETTERS OF JOHN

A Study of Similarities and Differences

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.
 

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 three weeks from now we leave for South Africa!

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

Follow these notices for weekly updates.

*****