Colleagues List, December 31st, 2017

Vol. XIII No. 25

GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE

END OF YEAR SUMMARY 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 Friends:

This is my  final edition of Colleagues List for 2017. I sent you a total of 48 issues this year - a record since I began using this format almost 10 years ago.

In this issue I include my December Anglican Journal column entitled:

"The Man Who Invented Christmas." It is a reflection on how I believe Charles Dickens turned a secular tale - "A Christmas Carol" - into a story with significant spiritual meaning.

Traditionally, I collate all Special Items from the past year for those who may have missed some articles they might still like to read. 

These articles have been divided as follows: 

Book notices - 19
Anglican Journal columns - 12
Personal reflections - 9
News items - 5
Lectures and letters - 3

Total - 48 Special Items

Please enjoy this summary of a year of hard but enjoyable work. I try to share with you some of the most pertinent information in the field of religion and culture that I have encountered in 2017.

I look forward to our relationship in 2018!

Wayne

*****

SPECIAL ITEM

My Anglican Journal column for December -

"The Man Who Invented Christmas" - Charles Dickens
  transforms a secular parable into a sacred story

https://tinyurl.com/y96f98h7

*****

A SUMMARY OF MY SPECIAL ITEM SELECTIONS FOR 2017
48 Entries

January, 2017

AJ January Column: "From Souq to Shopping Mall" https://tinyurl.com/hkkflxq

Pilgrimage: My Search for the Real Pope Francis
https://tinyurl.com/j9mzbsc

February, 2017

Joan Chittister: Her Journey from Certainty to Faith
https://tinyurl.com/zwzhufl

This United Church of Our's (Milton - fourth edition)
https://tinyurl.com/j6tsslk

AJ February Column "Mending Wall -
A Reflection on the Poem by Robert Frost"
https://tinyurl.com/hrj5nk8

Talk Sex Today: What Kids Need to Know
and What Adults Can Teach Them
https://tinyurl.com/ybnyvqya

 

March, 2017
 
James Martin - Essential Writings
https://tinyurl.com/jq9pkwk

True North Strong and Free -
New Ways of Looking at Canada
During Our 150th Birthday (Brown)
https://tinyurl.com/z2gaoho

AJ March Column "Changes" -
Four Ways the Churches in Canada
Have Changed in the Past Fifty Years"
https://tinyurl.com/mbe23rx

"Religious Pluralism and Religious Nationalism
and the Culture Wars (in the USA)" A Lecture
by Stephen Prothero of Boston U. at the
University of Calgary, March 17th, 2017

Personal notes and interpretations by Wayne Holst
https://tinyurl.com/l5fdchs

April, 2017

Days of Awe and Wonder (Marcus Borg)
https://tinyurl.com/y8xgtre9

The Souls of China -
The Return of Religion After Mao
https://tinyurl.com/m6qw3ac

AJ April Column "Canadian Churches
Moving from Uniformity to Diversity"
https://tinyurl.com/kflykc6

The Mythic Dimension - Essays by
Joseph Campbell, 1957-89
https://tinyurl.com/m33hrz5

May, 2017

A Short, Personal Reflection on Our St. David's
Spiritual Travelers' Journey to South Africa,
October-November, 2017
https://tinyurl.com/mmyxe3y

The Divine Dance: The Trinity
and Your Transformation (Rohr)
https://tinyurl.com/kn8wcvy

A God that Could be Real: Spirituality,
Science and the Future of Our Planet
https://tinyurl.com/lclkk6r

142 Year Old Historic Alberta Church
Destroyed in Weekend Blaze
https://tinyurl.com/y9b9zpzd

June, 2017

AJ May Column "Living
Faithfully in a Secular Age"
https://tinyurl.com/yapl22nc

Only Leave a Trace:
Meditations by Roger Epp
https://tinyurl.com/y8yr95sh

AJ June Column "Canada's Churches -
A Conscience for Social and Eco-Justice"
https://tinyurl.com/yb4oavlq

Teaching Progressive Christianity
in a Local Mainline Congregation -
Reflections on Our Past Twenty Years,

and Anticipating the Next Twenty at
St. David's United Church Calgary
https://tinyurl.com/yb5ux34a

July, 2017

Canada at 150 -
Canada's Contribution to the World
https://tinyurl.com/y73mjtxf

The Rise and Fall (and Rise?) of
Evangelicalism in Canada
From Confederation to Today
by John G. Stackhouse, Jr.
https://tinyurl.com/ybc3s5x4

Fifty Years an Imam
Interview with the Aga Khan
Poverty, Climate and Demystifying Islam
https://tinyurl.com/y97r82qg

AJ July Column "Enlarging Our Faith Communities -
Ecumenical and Inter-faith Developments
https://tinyurl.com/y85zeq4k

"Marjorie's Maxims" -
How my friend and mentor Marjorie Gibson
reflected progressive Christian principles in the
way she thought, related, and lived her life
https://tinyurl.com/y8289tsj

August, 2017

Some Personal Thoughts on Canada 150
https://tinyurl.com/ydf5yl44

At 92, Jimmy Carter Continues to Lead
Bible Studies - He Draws Many to His
Georgia Church to Join the Experience
https://tinyurl.com/y6vphjo5

AJ August Column - "Honouring Our
Christian Departed and Mourners Alike"
https://tinyurl.com/y88nkvg5

Is God a Scientist? Religious Views of Science
An Inter-faith Approach to the Discussion
https://tinyurl.com/yb8lvsmm

September, 2017

Joyce Ruff - Essential Writings
https://tinyurl.com/y7rk6r9f

Encountering South Africa and the South
African Continent - Spiritual Reflections
to Accompany Us On Our Travels
https://tinyurl.com/yaxfdztq

Gift and Task - A Year of Daily Readings
and Reflections With Walter Brueggemann
https://tinyurl.com/y8ca5rju

The New Map of the Global Church (Jenkins)
https://tinyurl.com/y8zj8g73

AJ September Column - An Amazing Witness
to Gospel Values
https://tinyurl.com/ybkglds2

October, 2017

"Autumn Leaves" A Short Personal
Reflection on the Changing Seasons

https://tinyurl.com/y7ekwlkt

What the Qur'an Meant and
Why It Matters (Wills)
https://tinyurl.com/y9u3agte

 

AJ October Column -
Reformation, a Personal Reflection
https://tinyurl.com/yc8cb6uo

November, 2017

An Initial South African Assessment
My First Thoughts After a Recent Trip
https://tinyurl.com/y9fgxo9u

Faith and Religion in the Public Life -
Canadians Deeply Divided Over the
Role of Faith in the Public Square
How do Canadians view religion today?
From the Angus Reid Institute - Nov. 2017
https://tinyurl.com/y9dnk67p

AJ November Column -
The Promise and Challenges of South Africa
https://tinyurl.com/ybbccjoe

 

December, 2017

Resilient Gods - Being Pro-Religious,
Low Religious, or No Religious in Canada (Bibby)
https://tinyurl.com/ybur2lmm

The First Christmas -
What the Gospels Really Say About Jesus's Birth
(Borg and Crossan)
https://tinyurl.com/ybo4hcv4

Holst Family Christmas Letter, 2017
https://tinyurl.com/y7nrap29

 
AJ December Column

The Man Who Invented Christmas

https://tinyurl.com/ybxutgpo

 

Summary of Special Item Selections, 2017
https://tinyurl.com/ybxutgpo

 

*****

WISDOM OF THE WEEK

For me Christmas has always been about this: contemplating
the visit of God to his people.
 
- Pope Francis

--

The Christian challenge of Christmas is this: justice is what
happens when all receive a fair share of God’s world and only
such distributive justice can establish peace on earth.

- John Dominic Crossan

--

God’s peace does not automatically include inner tranquility,
the absence of conflict, or other, worldly estimations of peace.
As we can see from the life of Christ, it was precisely by his
rejection of the world and its peace that his perfect peace was
established. And this peace was rooted in his acceptance of
the most harrowing self-sacrifice imaginable: death on a cross.

- Johann Christoph Arnold 

*****
 
CLOSING THOUGHT - Martin Luther
 

See to it that you do not treat the gospel only as history,
for that is only transient; neither regard it only as an example,
for it is of no value without faith. Rather, see to it that you make this birth your own and that Christ be born in you.…

Of what benefit would it be to me if Christ had been born a
thousand times, and it would daily be sung into my ears in a
most lovely manner, if I were never to hear that he was born
for me and was to be my very own?

(end)


*****

Colleagues List, December 21st, 2017

Vol. XIII No. 24

GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE

CHRISTMAS 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 Friends:

This is my second to last Colleagues List issue for 2017. As usual for this time of year, I include our Holst Family Christmas Letter as the Special Item.

Much of the material following that letter is current news and wisdom but I was particularly taken by the item (below) of the royal conversation with the Canadian prime minister in 1961 - which served as the official inauguration of the trans-Atlantic cable between Canada and the UK. At Christmas in 1967, six years later, I was a graduate student at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, Switzerland. That Christmas, my parents gave me a present - a phone call lasting about 15 minutes connecting me to my home town in Ontario. That conversation cost about $50. in 1967 Canadian dollar rates. What a different world we live in with satellites and cell phones today!

We are celebrating Christmas with family in Slave Lake, Alberta and will probably be closer to the North Pole than any of you my readers!

Have a Blessed and Holy Season.

Wayne

*****

SPECIAL ITEM
                                                                                      
HOLST FAMILY CHRISTMAS LETTER, 2017

Dear Friends:
 

A number of unique events and activities took place in our lives during the past year and we would like to tell you about them.

In June, the extended family came together to celebrate Marlene’s 70th birthday! We used the facilities of St. David’s United Church, our home congregation, to accommodate almost fifty immediate family members for several happy hours. Thanks to daughters Carmen (home from the Sultanate of Oman) and Sarah (home from Slave Lake, Northern Alberta) and their families, Marlene enjoyed a surprise gathering with her siblings and their families, that included happy conversation, delightful memorabilia, and good food.

Thankfully, every one invited was able to attend. Sarah and Carmen had arranged a family picture-taking session with all seven grand-children in the afternoon. This event, planned with Marlene, was something very special to her.

We began the year with an extended five-week trip to Oman in the Middle East, returning via Egypt and Spain. For nineteen days in October and November we visited South Africa and Swaziland as tour hosts for our fourth St. David’s Spiritual Travelers event since 2011. Twenty-five of us had a great experience of nature, culture and learning the history and contemporary social justice story of South Africa from knowledgeable guides.

2017 was a year we traveled from Cairo to Cape Town! And, although we didn’t cover all the territory between, we have learned a lot about Africa.

The rest of the year was spent teaching and providing hospitality at the church, as well as tending to our gardens and yard. Our health, thankfully, continues to be good – and we work at proper exercise, diet and medication.

We are mindful that a year like the past one involving good times with family, travel and work is a special gift. We are grateful for each day.

Marlene and Wayne                waholst@telus.net
Calgary, Alberta                      marleneaholst@gmail.com

*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

Jim Taylor,
Okanagan, BC

Personal Web Log
December 20th, 2017

"Another Nativity Story"
  https://tinyurl.com/ybfz2aye

--

Mark Whittall
Ottawa, On.

Sermons and Blog,
December 15th, 2017

"Hidden"
  https://tinyurl.com/yago37cv

--

Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX

Personal Web Site
December, 18th, 2017

"Fear of God as Wisdom"
  https://tinyurl.com/y88lajx5

*****

NET NOTES

IN CHRIST'S BIRTHPLACE, OLIVE WOOD SPECIALISTS
CARRY ON A HOLY LAND TRADITION
Traditional Carvings Remain Popular

Religion News Service,
December 19th, 2017

https://tinyurl.com/ybfoqavz

--

PASTOR LIM AND THE CHURCH THAT PRAYED HIM OUT
Canadian Pastor Released from N. Korea, Makes News in 2017

Evangelical Fellowship of Canada
Faith Today, November/December, 2017

https://tinyurl.com/ya5e7nxc

--

NEARLY A QUARTER OF A MILLION SECURITY FORCES
WILL BE GUARDING CHRISTIAN CHRISTMAS IN EGYPT
The Government is Very Concerned About More Terrorism

Christian Week,
December 20th, 2017

https://tinyurl.com/y7b52e

--

BERNARD LAW - FACE OF THE CHURCH'S FAILURE
ON CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE - DIES AT 86 IN ROME
He Consistently Moved Priests and Blamed Victims

America Magazine
December 20th, 2017

https://tinyurl.com/y935glsl

--

THE UK SEEMS TO BE CHRISTMAS OBSESSED
Nation of Ebenezer Scrooge Knows How to Celebrate

BBC News
December 20th, 2017

https://tinyurl.com/ydc8cnjg

--

SPIRITUALITY IN THE TIME OF POPE FRANCIS
Global Attention is Paid to His Faith Understanding

UCA News
December 20th, 2017

https://tinyurl.com/ydc8cnjg

--

MANY THINGS YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW ABOUT CHRISTMAS
Are Probably Wrong

Religion News Service,
December 14th, 2017

https://tinyurl.com/y98l97kt

--

UNDERSTANDING EVANGELICAL OBSESSION WITH ISRAEL
Many Evangelical Christians View Israel as Very Strategic

America Magazine,
December 11th, 2017

https://tinyurl.com/yazqvumu

"With Jerusalem Announcement, Trump Isn't
  Recognizing Reality. He Is Making It Worse"

America Magazine,
December 11th, 2017

https://tinyurl.com/yd4fenp9

--

AMID U.S. EVANGELICAL DECLINE, A GROWING SPLIT
BETWEEN YOUNG CHRISTIANS AND CHURCH ELDERS

Christian Science Monitor
October 10th, 2017

https://tinyurl.com/yd4fenp9

*****

MOMENT IN TIME

Globe and Mail,
December 19th, 2017

Inauguration of the transatlantic cable

Dec. 19, 1961: The historic phone call started as any other: "Hello?" prime minister John Diefenbaker said. But, as he uttered this standard greeting, his voice was carried across the Canadian Transatlantic Telephone (Cantat) cable, officially opening the telephone link between Canada and Britain. "Are you there, Mr. Prime Minister?" the Queen asked from Buckingham Palace. "I am delighted to be able to speak to you on this new cable from my home in London." Their prim and scripted conversation, broadcast by CBC Radio, was witnessed by a cluster of dignitaries gathered at Diefenbaker's side at the Château Laurier hotel in Ottawa. The final splice of the underwater cable, running from Oban, Scotland, to the outskirts of Hampden, Nfld., was completed Nov. 22. It was the first section of a Commonwealth cable system, linking Canada with Australia and New Zealand.

"Your Majesty," Diefenbaker added, "This day indeed marks an achievement."

– Wency Leung

*****

WISDOM OF THE WEEK

From Sojourners and the Bruderhof Online:

A system cannot fail those it was never meant to protect.

- W.E.B. Du Bois

--

To make a revolution, people must not only struggle against
existing institutions. They must make a philosophical/spiritual
leap and become more 'human' human beings. In order to
change/transform the world, they must change/transform
themselves.

- Grace Lee Boggs

--

Compassion constitutes a radical form of criticism, for it
announces that the hurt is to be taken seriously, that the
hurt is not to be accepted as normal and natural but is
an abnormal and unacceptable condition for humanness.

- Walter Brueggemann

--

God must become the equal of the lowliest. But the lowliest is one who serves others. God therefore must appear in the form of a servant. But this servant’s form is not merely something he puts on, like the beggar’s cloak, which, because it is only a cloak, flutters loosely and betrays the king. No, it is his true form. For this is the unfathomable nature of boundless love, that it desires to be equal with the beloved; not in jest, but in truth.

- Søren Kierkegaard

--

It is no use saying that we are born two thousand years too late to give room to Christ. Nor will those who live at the end of the world have been born too late. Christ is always with us, always asking for room in our hearts. But now it is with the voice of our contemporaries that he speaks; with the eyes of store clerks, factory workers, and children that he gazes; with the hands of office workers, slum dwellers, and suburban housewives that he gives. It is with the feet of soldiers and tramps that he walks, and with the heart of anyone in need that he longs for shelter. And giving shelter or food to anyone who asks for it, or needs it, is giving it to Christ.

- Dorothy Day

--

The people’s suffering should not be made a motive for resentment and desperation; it should make people look to the justice of God and realize that this situation must change. And if necessary, like those who have already given their lives, we must be ready to die, but always with the hope that comes from our Christian faith.

How I wish that child, nestled in straw and humble cloth, would speak to us this Christmas of the sublime value of poverty! How I wish that all of us who are reflecting here would bestow divine value on our sufferings great and small! Starting today, let us be more intent on offering to God whatever we suffer.

- Oscar Romero

--

The Savior has preceded us on the way of poverty. All the goods in heaven and on earth belonged to him. They presented no danger to him; he could use them and yet keep his heart completely free of them. But he knew that it is scarcely possible for people to have possessions without succumbing to them and being enslaved by them. Therefore, he gave up everything and showed more by his example than by his counsel that only one who possesses nothing possesses everything. His birth in a stable, his flight to Egypt, already indicated that the Son of Man was to have no place to lay his head. Whoever follows him must know that we have no lasting dwelling here.

- Edith Stein

--

There are many who are enkindled with dreamy devotion, and when they hear of the poverty of Christ, they are almost angry with the citizens of Bethlehem. They denounce their blindness and in gratitude, and think and think, if they had been there, they would have shown the Lord and his mother a more kindly service and would not have permitted them to be treated so miserably. But they do not look by their side to see how many of their fellow humans need their help, and which they ignore in their misery.

Who is there upon earth that has no poor, miserable, sick, erring ones around him? Why does he not exercise his love to those? Why does he not do to them as Christ has done to him?

- Martin Luther

*****

CLOSING THOUGHT - Desmond Tutu

Ubantu ... speaks of the very essence of being human. ... It is to say, "My humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in yours."

We belong in a bundle of life. We say, "A person is a person through other persons."

(Tutu speaks of his formational Xhosa South African philosophy)  
*****

(end)