GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE
Wayne A. Holst, Editor
My E-Mail Address: wholst@telus.net
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE
Wayne A. Holst, Editor
My E-Mail Address: wholst@telus.net
This email 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:
The news this week has been dominated by President Trump's demonic treatment of illegal refugees involving the separation of families. Now, he speaks of changing his policy to keep families together. However, many families remain separated, and we know that separation is his true purpose. I include some reaction to his policies in today's issue of Colleagues List but include many other more noble items of interest.
I derived a lot of pleasure this week - working with colleague Joan Polfuss-Boeckner. She and partner Keith Boeckner (deceased) have spent their careers working in inter-cultural and inter-denominational settings in Quebec City. My June column "A Tribute to Anglican-Lutheran Community" appeared this week in the Anglican Journal. It is my "tip of the hat" to fine Canadians and Christians.
Thanks for you reading of this religion and culture blog. It represents the last issue (No. 49) of Volume XIII.
Next week Volume XIV begins.
Wayne
*****
SPECIAL ITEM
My June Anglican Journal Column -
"A Tribute to Anglican-Lutheran Community"
Celebrating "The Boeckners"
Serving Together for Fifty Years in Quebec City
https://tinyurl.com/y85acta9
*****
COLLEAGUE COMMENT
Harry Winter, OMI.
Retired and living in Massachusetts
Harry sent me the link to the article on Pope Francis'
upcoming visit to the World Council of Churches
Ecumenical Center, Geneva.
Please see the item in "Net Notes" below.
June 18th, 2018
"Many thanks, Wayne, for your weekly e-letter.
It is very useful."
Harry
*****
COLLEAGUE COMMUNICATIONS
Lorna Dueck,
Toronto, ON
Globe and Mail Op-Ed
June 17th, 2018
(Canadian Evangelicals are Unhappy
With Supreme Court Ruling on Trinity-Western Law School)
Lorna's reference to "anti-Christian bias" in the court ruling seems to miss the fact - for one thing - that many Canadian Christians, including myself, agree with the ruling because of the larger issue of human rights recognised by the courts. Here is one instance where I disagree with Lorna. My Canada has always involved compromise for a greater good.
See Lorna's article here, and the "Point-Counterpoint" summary from the Globe and Mail Net Notes, below.
https://tinyurl.com/y7tysf7s
--
Jim Taylor,
Okanagan, BC
Personal Web Log
June 20th, 2018
"Free Will Changes All Futures"
https://tinyurl.com/y7ezsocc
--
Martin Marty,
Chicago, IL
Sightings,
June 18th, 2018
"But Who's Counting?"
A Study of Mass Killings
http://tinyurl.com/yclhpkvl
--
Philip Yancey,
Colorado
Philipyancey.com
June 18th, 2018
"A Father is Born"
A Reflection on Frederick Buechner
https://tinyurl.com/y7m4f68l
--
Mark Whittall,
Ottawa, ON.
Sermons and Blog,
June 15th, 2018
"Did You Say 'Shrub?'"
https://tinyurl.com/y8kap7jq
--
Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX
Personal Web Site
June 18th, 2018
"Mourning"
https://tinyurl.com/yaa5ytaz
*****
NET NOTES
SHAMEFUL AND SHAMELESS
Trump's Zero Tolerance Immigration Policy
La Croix International
June 20th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/ycgmzl8z
--
READING ROMANS 13 WITH MENNONITES
Struggling With the American Reality Today
The Christian Century,
June 15th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/y9kmjmym
--
TRUMP'S ROTTEN FRUIT AND MY OWN
Luther said we can judge a tree by its fruit.
He never said doing so would be easy.
The Christian Century,
June 5th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/y7n7rtk2
--
IT IS TIME TO HEAL SRI LANKA'S WOUNDS
Peace and Reconciliation Remain Elusive
La Croix International
June 20th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/yafodwab
--
I REGRET MY 100 HUNTLEY STREET BOOK
Author Troubled by What He Wrote 30+ Years Ago
United Church Observer,
June, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/yc4wfbpg
--
WHAT GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY MEANS
FOR THE CHURCH IN AMERICA
"We Can No Longer Read the Bible
Through an American Lens"
Alban Weekly Article
June 12th, 2019
https://tinyurl.com/ycwwxsnk
--
EGYPT FIGHTS ISLAMIC EXTREMISM
BY ALLOWING WOMEN LEADERS AT MOSQUES
A Good Example of Muslim Faith Progress
Religion News Service
June 21st, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/y96yw8yq
--
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO CATHOLICS
COME TO THE AID OF VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS
Church Challenges Government; Advocates Compassion
Religion News Service
June 18th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/y9zrykhn
--
(Suggested by Fr. Harry Winter, OMI)
POPE'S VISIT TO WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES'
HEADQUARTERS TAKES ON A SPECIAL SIGNIFICANCE
It Continues a Long Series of Geneva-Rome Exchanges
National Catholic Reporter,
June 18th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/y8u78fye
--
TRUTHS OF RECONCILIATION - CANADIANS ARE DEEPLY
DIVIDED ON HOW BEST TO ADDRESS INDIGENOUS ISSUES
Most see the attention and money invested as ineffective
Angus Reid Institute,
June 5th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/y8nbablv
--
Point-Counterpoint:
THE SUPREME COURT'S RULING
ON TRINITY-WESTERN LAW SCHOOL
Globe and Mail,
June 18th, 2019
The paper editorializes -
On Friday, the top court said law societies have the
right to refuse to accredit graduates of a proposed
law school at Trinity Western University, a Christian
institution which requires that all students sign an
agreement prohibiting them from having sex outside
of heterosexual marriage. Here are two perspectives
on the decision:
Lorna Dueck, host of Context TV: “A portion of Christian
freedom of expression loses big time in this ruling, which
implies that in Canada, sexual identity trumps religious
identity. …To restrict Canadians from a profession or
education because of beliefs and identity makes for a
shallow freedom and does nothing to foster the kind of
good-neighbourliness we’d like Canada to stand for.”
(see complete article by Lorna Dueck, above)
Elaine Craig, associate professor at Dalhousie’s Schulich
School of Law counters --
“While acknowledging that the lack of a Christian law school
will limit (to an insignificant extent) the religious freedom of
prospective TWU law students, the majority of the Supreme
Court of Canada accepted that this modest impact was
outweighed by the harmful consequences of accrediting
a new law school that excludes the vast majority of LGBTQ
people on the basis of their sexual orientation. …
[the decision] represents another step toward recognizing
LGBTQ people as equally worthy of respect and dignity.”
---
TRUMP'S ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY INFLICTS
ANGUISH ON KIDS - WITH TOXIC HEALTH IMPACTS
Globe and Mail,
June 19th, 2018
“Forcibly separating young children from their parents is
nothing short of state-sanctioned child abuse. Housing
them in cages, in abandoned stores, in tents and in all
manner of kiddie Guantanamos is doubly cruel and
damaging when families are seeking refuge from
violence and unrest in their homelands.
The evidence that traumatic experiences have lasting
impacts on the mental and physical health of children
is incontrovertible.” – André Picard
--
SUMMER VACATION -
ANYWHERE BUT THE U.S.?
Globe and Mail,
June 20th, 2018
“It’s hard to know what to do as a Canadian watching
the turmoil in our neighbour to the south, and choosing
not to visit seems like an obvious answer. Not crossing
the 49th parallel is an easy act of solidarity with the Latin-
American families being torn apart, and not giving our
money to a country actively hostile toward us seems
like simple self-defence.” - Denise Balkissoon
*****
*****
Dear Friends:
The news this week has been dominated by President Trump's demonic treatment of illegal refugees involving the separation of families. Now, he speaks of changing his policy to keep families together. However, many families remain separated, and we know that separation is his true purpose. I include some reaction to his policies in today's issue of Colleagues List but include many other more noble items of interest.
I derived a lot of pleasure this week - working with colleague Joan Polfuss-Boeckner. She and partner Keith Boeckner (deceased) have spent their careers working in inter-cultural and inter-denominational settings in Quebec City. My June column "A Tribute to Anglican-Lutheran Community" appeared this week in the Anglican Journal. It is my "tip of the hat" to fine Canadians and Christians.
Thanks for you reading of this religion and culture blog. It represents the last issue (No. 49) of Volume XIII.
Next week Volume XIV begins.
Wayne
*****
SPECIAL ITEM
My June Anglican Journal Column -
"A Tribute to Anglican-Lutheran Community"
Celebrating "The Boeckners"
Serving Together for Fifty Years in Quebec City
https://tinyurl.com/y85acta9
*****
COLLEAGUE COMMENT
Harry Winter, OMI.
Retired and living in Massachusetts
Harry sent me the link to the article on Pope Francis'
upcoming visit to the World Council of Churches
Ecumenical Center, Geneva.
Please see the item in "Net Notes" below.
June 18th, 2018
"Many thanks, Wayne, for your weekly e-letter.
It is very useful."
Harry
*****
COLLEAGUE COMMUNICATIONS
Lorna Dueck,
Toronto, ON
Globe and Mail Op-Ed
June 17th, 2018
(Canadian Evangelicals are Unhappy
With Supreme Court Ruling on Trinity-Western Law School)
Lorna's reference to "anti-Christian bias" in the court ruling seems to miss the fact - for one thing - that many Canadian Christians, including myself, agree with the ruling because of the larger issue of human rights recognised by the courts. Here is one instance where I disagree with Lorna. My Canada has always involved compromise for a greater good.
See Lorna's article here, and the "Point-Counterpoint" summary from the Globe and Mail Net Notes, below.
https://tinyurl.com/y7tysf7s
--
Jim Taylor,
Okanagan, BC
Personal Web Log
June 20th, 2018
"Free Will Changes All Futures"
https://tinyurl.com/y7ezsocc
--
Martin Marty,
Chicago, IL
Sightings,
June 18th, 2018
"But Who's Counting?"
A Study of Mass Killings
http://tinyurl.com/yclhpkvl
--
Philip Yancey,
Colorado
Philipyancey.com
June 18th, 2018
"A Father is Born"
A Reflection on Frederick Buechner
https://tinyurl.com/y7m4f68l
--
Mark Whittall,
Ottawa, ON.
Sermons and Blog,
June 15th, 2018
"Did You Say 'Shrub?'"
https://tinyurl.com/y8kap7jq
--
Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX
Personal Web Site
June 18th, 2018
"Mourning"
https://tinyurl.com/yaa5ytaz
*****
NET NOTES
SHAMEFUL AND SHAMELESS
Trump's Zero Tolerance Immigration Policy
La Croix International
June 20th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/ycgmzl8z
--
READING ROMANS 13 WITH MENNONITES
Struggling With the American Reality Today
The Christian Century,
June 15th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/y9kmjmym
--
TRUMP'S ROTTEN FRUIT AND MY OWN
Luther said we can judge a tree by its fruit.
He never said doing so would be easy.
The Christian Century,
June 5th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/y7n7rtk2
--
IT IS TIME TO HEAL SRI LANKA'S WOUNDS
Peace and Reconciliation Remain Elusive
La Croix International
June 20th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/yafodwab
--
I REGRET MY 100 HUNTLEY STREET BOOK
Author Troubled by What He Wrote 30+ Years Ago
United Church Observer,
June, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/yc4wfbpg
--
WHAT GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY MEANS
FOR THE CHURCH IN AMERICA
"We Can No Longer Read the Bible
Through an American Lens"
Alban Weekly Article
June 12th, 2019
https://tinyurl.com/ycwwxsnk
--
EGYPT FIGHTS ISLAMIC EXTREMISM
BY ALLOWING WOMEN LEADERS AT MOSQUES
A Good Example of Muslim Faith Progress
Religion News Service
June 21st, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/y96yw8yq
--
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO CATHOLICS
COME TO THE AID OF VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS
Church Challenges Government; Advocates Compassion
Religion News Service
June 18th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/y9zrykhn
--
(Suggested by Fr. Harry Winter, OMI)
POPE'S VISIT TO WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES'
HEADQUARTERS TAKES ON A SPECIAL SIGNIFICANCE
It Continues a Long Series of Geneva-Rome Exchanges
National Catholic Reporter,
June 18th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/y8u78fye
--
TRUTHS OF RECONCILIATION - CANADIANS ARE DEEPLY
DIVIDED ON HOW BEST TO ADDRESS INDIGENOUS ISSUES
Most see the attention and money invested as ineffective
Angus Reid Institute,
June 5th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/y8nbablv
--
Point-Counterpoint:
THE SUPREME COURT'S RULING
ON TRINITY-WESTERN LAW SCHOOL
Globe and Mail,
June 18th, 2019
The paper editorializes -
On Friday, the top court said law societies have the
right to refuse to accredit graduates of a proposed
law school at Trinity Western University, a Christian
institution which requires that all students sign an
agreement prohibiting them from having sex outside
of heterosexual marriage. Here are two perspectives
on the decision:
Lorna Dueck, host of Context TV: “A portion of Christian
freedom of expression loses big time in this ruling, which
implies that in Canada, sexual identity trumps religious
identity. …To restrict Canadians from a profession or
education because of beliefs and identity makes for a
shallow freedom and does nothing to foster the kind of
good-neighbourliness we’d like Canada to stand for.”
(see complete article by Lorna Dueck, above)
Elaine Craig, associate professor at Dalhousie’s Schulich
School of Law counters --
“While acknowledging that the lack of a Christian law school
will limit (to an insignificant extent) the religious freedom of
prospective TWU law students, the majority of the Supreme
Court of Canada accepted that this modest impact was
outweighed by the harmful consequences of accrediting
a new law school that excludes the vast majority of LGBTQ
people on the basis of their sexual orientation. …
[the decision] represents another step toward recognizing
LGBTQ people as equally worthy of respect and dignity.”
---
TRUMP'S ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY INFLICTS
ANGUISH ON KIDS - WITH TOXIC HEALTH IMPACTS
Globe and Mail,
June 19th, 2018
“Forcibly separating young children from their parents is
nothing short of state-sanctioned child abuse. Housing
them in cages, in abandoned stores, in tents and in all
manner of kiddie Guantanamos is doubly cruel and
damaging when families are seeking refuge from
violence and unrest in their homelands.
The evidence that traumatic experiences have lasting
impacts on the mental and physical health of children
is incontrovertible.” – André Picard
--
SUMMER VACATION -
ANYWHERE BUT THE U.S.?
Globe and Mail,
June 20th, 2018
“It’s hard to know what to do as a Canadian watching
the turmoil in our neighbour to the south, and choosing
not to visit seems like an obvious answer. Not crossing
the 49th parallel is an easy act of solidarity with the Latin-
American families being torn apart, and not giving our
money to a country actively hostile toward us seems
like simple self-defence.” - Denise Balkissoon
*****
WISDOM OF THE WEEK
From Sojourners and the Bruderhof online:
Peace produced by suppression is neither natural
nor desirable.
- Anna J. Cooper
--
I feel now that the time is come when even a woman
or a child who can speak a word for freedom and
humanity is bound to speak... I hope every woman
who can write will not be silent.
- Harriet Beecher Stowe
--
St. Paul was an apostle not of laws (we are not
justified by laws, he says in Romans), but an
apostle of a person: Jesus Christ. The one who
said, 'I was a stranger and you did not welcome
me' (Mt. 25).
- Fr. James Martin, SJ
--
Travel changes you. As you move through this life
and this world you change things slightly, you leave
marks behind, however small. And in return, life -
and travel - leaves marks on you. Most of the time,
those marks - on your body or on your heart - are
beautiful.
Often, though, they hurt.
- Anthony Bourdain
--
Are you worried because you find it so hard to believe?
Don’t be surprised at the difficulty of faith, if there is
some part of your life where you are consciously resisting
or disobeying the commandment of Jesus. Is there some
part of your life which you are refusing to surrender at
his behest, some sinful passion, maybe, or some
animosity, some hope, perhaps your ambition or your
reason? If so, you must not be surprised that you have
not received the Holy Spirit, that prayer is difficult, or
that your request for faith remains unanswered....
The person who disobeys cannot believe.
Only if you obey can you believe.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
--
Only the poor can know the riches of poverty. Only the
poor can know the riches of suffering. And it is because
the poor are the only ones to be able to know such riches
that they are able to stand up against the wretchedness
of the world, against injustice, against the suffering of the
innocent. If Christ chose to be born among the poor, it is
because he wanted the poor to teach the world the good
news of his message, the good news of his love for
humankind.
- Dominique Lapierre
*****
MOMENT IN TIME
Globe and Mail June 12th, 2018
Anne Frank receives her diary
June 12, 1942: For her 13th birthday on June 12, 1942,
Anne Frank, a German-born Jew then living with her family
in Amsterdam, was given a diary with a red-and-white
checked cover, a gift she picked out with her father,
Otto. It was the first item she took with her when, less
than a month later, the Frank family moved into the secret
annex of an office building to hide from Holland’s occupying
Nazis. The entries she recorded in her slanted, even hand
over the next two years – alert but calm, passionate but
often unsentimental, from her innermost thoughts to the
details of daily life in their hiding place – became the most
famous diary ever published, with more than 30 million
copies sold since it appeared in 1947. “When I write,
I can shake off all my cares,” Anne noted on April 5, 1944.
Four months later, the hidden family was discovered; to this
day no one knows how. Anne was transported by cattle car
to the Nazi concentration camp at Bergen-Belsen, where
she died of typhus the following March. She was 15.
The soul she displayed in her diary is ageless. – Ian Brown
*****
CLOSING THOUGHT - Janelle Monáe
I didn’t have to become perfect because I’ve learned
throughout my journey that perfection is the enemy
of greatness. Embrace what makes you unique, even
if it makes others uncomfortable.
(end)
*****
St. Paul was an apostle not of laws (we are not
justified by laws, he says in Romans), but an
apostle of a person: Jesus Christ. The one who
said, 'I was a stranger and you did not welcome
me' (Mt. 25).
- Fr. James Martin, SJ
Travel changes you. As you move through this life
and this world you change things slightly, you leave
marks behind, however small. And in return, life -
and travel - leaves marks on you. Most of the time,
those marks - on your body or on your heart - are
beautiful.
Often, though, they hurt.
- Anthony Bourdain
--
Are you worried because you find it so hard to believe?
Don’t be surprised at the difficulty of faith, if there is
some part of your life where you are consciously resisting
or disobeying the commandment of Jesus. Is there some
part of your life which you are refusing to surrender at
his behest, some sinful passion, maybe, or some
animosity, some hope, perhaps your ambition or your
reason? If so, you must not be surprised that you have
not received the Holy Spirit, that prayer is difficult, or
that your request for faith remains unanswered....
The person who disobeys cannot believe.
Only if you obey can you believe.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
--
Only the poor can know the riches of poverty. Only the
poor can know the riches of suffering. And it is because
the poor are the only ones to be able to know such riches
that they are able to stand up against the wretchedness
of the world, against injustice, against the suffering of the
innocent. If Christ chose to be born among the poor, it is
because he wanted the poor to teach the world the good
news of his message, the good news of his love for
humankind.
- Dominique Lapierre
*****
MOMENT IN TIME
Globe and Mail June 12th, 2018
Anne Frank receives her diary
June 12, 1942: For her 13th birthday on June 12, 1942,
Anne Frank, a German-born Jew then living with her family
in Amsterdam, was given a diary with a red-and-white
checked cover, a gift she picked out with her father,
Otto. It was the first item she took with her when, less
than a month later, the Frank family moved into the secret
annex of an office building to hide from Holland’s occupying
Nazis. The entries she recorded in her slanted, even hand
over the next two years – alert but calm, passionate but
often unsentimental, from her innermost thoughts to the
details of daily life in their hiding place – became the most
famous diary ever published, with more than 30 million
copies sold since it appeared in 1947. “When I write,
I can shake off all my cares,” Anne noted on April 5, 1944.
Four months later, the hidden family was discovered; to this
day no one knows how. Anne was transported by cattle car
to the Nazi concentration camp at Bergen-Belsen, where
she died of typhus the following March. She was 15.
The soul she displayed in her diary is ageless. – Ian Brown
*****
CLOSING THOUGHT - Janelle Monáe
I didn’t have to become perfect because I’ve learned
throughout my journey that perfection is the enemy
of greatness. Embrace what makes you unique, even
if it makes others uncomfortable.
(end)
*****
Sir,
ReplyDeleteOne must remember that the ultimate and final separation of a child from his/her mother is prenatal abortion.
Bill Wrong