Archive - Dec 2009 - Oct 2016 http://colleagueslist.blogspot.ca/

Thursday 11 April 2019

Colleagues List, April 14th, 2019

Vol. XIV No. 39

GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE

Wayne A. Holst, Editor
My E-Mail Address:
waholst@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:

New World Library continues to re-publish wisdom books
from many acclaimed authors including Joseph Campbell
and more recent contributors like Kent Nerburn whose
book Simple Truths appeared in hardcover some years ago.
This edition, in paper, is well worth the price, and I highly
recommend it to you. Please check our my book notice.

As usual, I include other insights in this letter from
colleagues, and current religion and culture story links.

Wayne

*****

SPECIAL ITEM

Book Notice -

SIMPLE TRUTHS
Clear and Gentle Guidance
on the Big Issues in Life
by Kent Nerburn

New World Library
Trade Paperback
Published, March 2019
108 pages, $20.30 CAD
Kindle Edition $9.99 CAD
ISBN #978-1-60868-617-9

Publisher's Promo:

Seldom does a book come along that speaks to the core issues in life with the clarity and wisdom of Simple Truths. Drawing on the insights put forth in his widely praised book, Letters to My Son, award-winning author Kent Nerburn offers clear and gentle guidance on such central life experiences as love, work, possessions, strength, solitude, and death.This is a profound book, deeply informed by the spiritual traditions of the West, the Far East, and Native Americans, with whom the author has worked for many years. Its honest authority and moral focus appeal to readers of such classics as The Prophet and The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. Its simple format and beautiful presentation make it ideal for the intelligent gift-giver looking for a small treasure.

This profound book is deeply informed by the spiritual traditions of the West, the Far East, and the Native Americans, with whom the author has worked. It is a small treasure of wisdom about life’s deepest issues.

--

Author's Words:

The world is full enough of grand moralizing and private
visions.The last thing I even intended was to risk adding
my voice to the very long list of those involved in such
endeavours.

Then, in midlife, everything changed. I was surprized with the
birth of a child. I saw before me a person who would have to
make his way through that angle of life by such lights as he
could find. It was, and is, incumbent upon me to guide him.

As I look around, I am concerned. The world is full of
contrary visions, viewpoints and recriminations. Our
brightest dreams and our greatest fears are just over
the horizon. Clear and measured voices are hard to find.

If I can offer something of value it is this: a vision of life that
acknowledges our human condition while remaining hopeful
about our human potential; a voice that speaks with
compassion and empathy about the world in which we live;
and a viewpoint that seeks a common ground from which to
survey the vast and confusing landscape before us.

We live in a time when it is hard to speak from the heart. The
poetry of our spirits is silenced by the thoughts and cares of
a thousand trivialities.

This small book is my attempt to speak from the heart about
some of life's biggest issues.

I offer this as both a father and a friend.

- from the Introduction

--

From the Book . . .

ON EDUCATION & LEARNING
The true measure of your education is not what you know, but how you share what you know with others.


ON MONEY
People who measure their money against their desires will never be happy, because there will always be another desire waiting to lure them. People who measure their money against their needs can gain control over their lives by gaining control over their needs.


ON LOVE
Love has its own time, its own season, and its own reasons for coming and going. You cannot bribe it or coerce it or reason it into staying. If it chooses to leave your heart or the heart of your lover, there is nothing you can do and nothing you should do. Be glad that it came to live for a moment in your life. If you keep your heart open, it will surely come again.


--

Author's Bio:

Kent Nerburn is an author, sculptor, and educator who has been deeply involved in Native American issues and education. He developed and directed an award-winning oral history project on the Red Lake Ojibwe reservation in northern Minnesota. In addition to being a program evaluator for the Minnesota Humanities Commission and serving on their selection board, he has served as a consultant in curriculum development for the American Indian Institute in Norman, Oklahoma, and has been a presenter before various groups, including the National Indian Education Association and the President’s blue-ribbon panel on Indian Education.

Nerburn has edited three highly acclaimed books on Native American subjects: Native American Wisdom, The Wisdom of the Native Americans, and The Soul of an Indian. Nerburn is also the author of Letters to My Son; Neither Wolf Nor Dog, winner of the Minnesota Book Award for 1995; The Wolf at Twilight; Simple Truths: Clear and Gentle Guidance on the Big Issues of Life; Small Graces: The Quiet Gifts of Everyday Life; and Ordinary Sacred: The Simple Beauty of Everyday Life.
He lives near Portland, Oregon.

--

My Thoughts:

Wisdom from life experience, Eastern and Indigenous sources
is very important for our times. We are so taken in by secular
voices that are both superficial and transient.

People of faith have rich resources in their sacred writings
like the Bible and Qu'ran. But there is truth beyond that and
we need to grow steeped in our formative traditions as well
as those beyond them.

I like the hesitance shown by the author to share his wisdom,
but also his sense of profound need to reach out to those who
are foundering in life's confusions. On the combined cusp of 
both efforts lies an important contribution.

This book can serve as a kind of devotional reading for a range
of people, many of whom are not happy with spiritual jargon.
It attempts to strike to the heart of truth, shorn of any kind
of cliché.
 
If I were considering a gift to an acquaintance about whose
spiritual preferences I was not certain, this is a book I would
not hesitate to share.

Some of the worlds greatest wisdom comes to us from
non-religious sources. The Hebrew Bible contains a lot
of it! Here is a book that could take its place with Proverbs
and other biblical texts whose sources are in common
wisdom and experience.

I am happy to recommend it to you.

____

Buy the book from Amazon.ca:
https://tinyurl.com/y2q62uxf 

*****
 
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

Elfrieda Schroeder,
Winnipeg, MB.

In Transit
April 6th, 2019

"I Lost My Brother"
  http://tinyurl.com/y2gu2hc2

--

Jim Taylor,
Okanagan, BC.

Personal Web Log
April 10th, 2019

"Three Short Stories Without Morals"
  http://tinyurl.com/y4nprseo

--

Martin Marty,
Chicago, IL.

Sightings,
April 8th, 2019

"Who's Running the Show?"
  http://tinyurl.com/y2c7pus9

--

Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX

Personal Web Site
April 8th, 2019

"Our Own Good Friday"
  http://tinyurl.com/y3kks7x3

*****

NET NOTES

STILL TIME
The Grace of Aging,
Friends and Community

Faith Today,
March/April, 2019

http://tinyurl.com/y245wbtu

--

THE SPIRITUALITY OF MENDING
Important Lessons to be Learned

Religion News Service,
April 10th, 2019

http://tinyurl.com/y2hn9vhe

--

THE MORAL VISION OF IRIS MURDOCH
How Can Humans Improve Morally?

America Magazine,
April 10th, 2019

http://tinyurl.com/yyn6gkuh

--

BRUNEI STEPS BACK INTO STONING AGE
Big Oil Forces Sultan to Adopt Fundamentalist Islam

UCA News,
April 12th, 2019

http://tinyurl.com/y6g3flh3

--

QUEBEC SEEKS TO BAN RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS
Secular State OF Quebec Oversteps the Mark

Sightings,
April 11th, 2019

http://tinyurl.com/y3kr9po5

--

MORE COUPLES GETTING MARRIED BY A FRIEND
Canadian Trend Now Happening in the USA

The Atlantic,
April 10th, 2019

http://tinyurl.com/y4npdcpb

--

VOTING UNDERWAY IN THE
LARGEST ELECTION IN HISTORY
India is World's Biggest Democracy

BBC News
April 11th, 2019

http://tinyurl.com/y6evrovc

--

PREACHING AT EASTER IS NOT
SOMETHING WE TRY TO EXPLAIN
It is Something We Live and Breathe

The Christian Century,
April 2nd, 2019

http://tinyurl.com/y5tv7ebg

--

RETIRED POPE'S LETTER ON SEX ABUSE
SEEN AS UNFORTUNATE INTRUSION
Benedict Seems to Challenge Francis

La Croix International
April 12th, 2019

http://tinyurl.com/y45dcfww

"When Francis had the summit in February with bishops
from all around the world, they started by listening to the
victims. And when you start there, you see there are
issues of justice and that this is a crime, and I think that
is the mentality that is going to get us to the place we
need to be to be sure that this never happens again."

- Michael Sean Winters

--

CLOSE VOTE IN ISRAEL GIVES TINY ULTRA-
CONSERVATIVE PARTY OUTSIZED SWAY
Coalition System Worked Against Moderates

Religion News Service
April 11th, 2019

http://tinyurl.com/y3vnlt5y

*****


WISDOM OF THE WEEK - April 14th, 2019

If oppression is a particular kind of suffering for some,
then it is a general type of suffering for all.

- Zenju Earthlyn Manuel

--

Openly questioning the way the world works and
challenging the power of the powerful is not an
activity customarily rewarded.

- Dale Spender

--

If you have come here to help me, you are wasting
your time. But if you have come because your liberation
is bound up with mine, then let us work together.

- Lilla Watson

--

The first service one owes to others in a community
involves listening to them. Just as our love for God
begins with listening to God’s Word, the beginning
of love for others is learning to listen to them.

God’s love for us is shown by the fact that God not
only gives God’s Word but also lends us God’s ear.

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

--

In honesty you have to admit to a wise man that
prayer is not for the wise, not for the prudent, not
for the sophisticated. Instead it is for those who
recognize that in face of their deepest needs,
all their wisdom is quite helpless. It is for those
who are willing to persist in doing something
that is both childish and crucial.

- Frederick Buechner

--

I have experienced many human weaknesses,
many human frailties, and I still experience them.
But we need to use them. We need to work for
Christ with a humble heart, with the humility of
Christ. He comes and uses us to be his love
and compassion in the world in spite of our
weaknesses and frailties.

- Mother Teresa

-

I cannot help wondering whether in these days when
so large a proportion of humanity is submerged in
materialism, God does not want there to be some
men and women who have given themselves to him
and to Christ and who yet remain outside the church.
What frightens me is the church as a social structure.
And not only on account of its blemishes. Insofar as
the church is merely a social structure, it belongs to
the prince of this world... I do not want to be adopted
into another circle, another human milieu. I want
nothing else but obedience – even unto the cross.
That is the true haven, as you know: the cross.

- Simone Weil

*****


CLOSING THOUGHT  - Ellen Goodman

I have never been especially impressed by the heroics
of people who are convinced they are about to change
the world.
 
I am more awed by those who struggle to make one
small difference after another.
 
(end)
 
*****

For those interested: 
Current ACTS Ministry Activities at
St. David's United Church, Calgary

CANADIAN AUTHOR MARY JO LEDDY     
Launches her new book in Calgary -

"WHY ARE WE HERE? - A Meditation on Canada"

Book Sale and Signing, Q&A, Hospitality
St. David's United Church
3303 Capitol Hill Crescent, NW

Monday, April 1st, 2019
7:00PM - 9:00 PM


This event has been promoted
on the university campus.

Welcome!

EVENT CANCELLED.
MARY JO HAD AN ACCIDENT, UNFORTUNATELY.
(She returned to Toronto, and is recovering).

Amazon.ca notice - https://tinyurl.com/y3qdlzxx

*****

ANNUAL ST. DAVID'S LENTEN RETREAT
Mount St. Francis Retreat Centre
Cochrane, AB

http://www.mountstfrancis.ca/

Theme: "Who Do You Say That I Am?"
Led by Spiritual Director Susan Campbell

Completed on Sunday, March 10th, 2019
11:30 AM to 4:00 PM

Cost: $30.
(includes registration, lunch and refreshments)
 
25 persons registered for the event.

Restful reflections and nature walks, weather excellent...

This program is now completed.

***

ST. DAVID'S ACTS  WINTER MONDAY NIGHT BOOK STUDY 
A Ten Week Series January 14th - March 18, 2019
Monday Evenings, TM Room 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

"THE GREAT SPIRITUAL MIGRATION"
  How the World's Largest Religion is
  Seeking a Better Way to be Christian

Author: Brian D. McLaren
 
Final Session on "the common good"
Guest: Ryan Anderson, lead-organizer
Calgary Alliance for the Common Good

Registration/Hospitality and Book: $60.00.
Book only: $20.00
 
45 copies of the book were made available for sale.
All are now sold. Total on-site registrations: 42
(plus 3 on-line participants). Grand Total: 45

Here are power point notes from each session:
https://tinyurl.com/ycz5wf72

Book Description - https://tinyurl.com/ybeaaceq

THIS STUDY IS COMPLETED
 
--

Some stats:

Autumn, 2018 Program -
 
Total class registrations: 42
Total books sold: 57
 
Autumn and Winter Series (2018-19) -
 
Total class registrations: 87
Total books sold: 102

Average weekly winter class attendance: 34

***

ST. DAVID'S SPIRITUAL TRAVELERS TOUR, 2019
East Europe and Russia were chosen as our destinations!


This will be our fifth Spiritual Travelers Tour, with a
group emerging from St. David's but very open to others.
 
The Tour is entitled: "From Vienna to Moscow"

We plan a twenty-day tour that combines a focus
on spirituality, culture and the relationship between
religion and politics. The tour will run from April 26th
through May 16th, 2019.

https://tinyurl.com/y834742f

A beautiful brochure with trip cost, itinerary, and
many helpful travel hints has been published.


https://tinyurl.com/y7j55gym

Our trip sale reached an important milestone
as 38 persons registered, helping us to surpass
our optimal goal of 30 passengers.

30 travelers had paid their trip fare as of the deadline:
January 15th, 2019. This will be our travel group.

Our Canadian tour company is Rostad Tours, Calgary.
Contact Rostad Tours: http://www.rostad.com/

Phone 1-800-361-8687 or 403-238-4090.

Follow these notices for weekly updates.
 
24 persons attended the pre-trip gathering at
St. David's Calgary, Monday, March 25th, 2019
 
We are now in the last stages of our preparation.
 
St. David's will send-off their Spiritual Travelers
with a liturgy of blessing, Sunday, April 14th.

***

ST. DAVID'S ACTS THURSDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY
 
Our theme this winter: Hebrew Biblical History -
 
"I and II Kings"  

Ten Sessions - January 24th-March 28th, 2019

Gathering at 9:30 AM in the St. David's TM Room
and meeting 10:00 - 11:00 AM.

THIS STUDY IS COMPLETED

Study resource

"The DK Complete Bible Handbook"
  Edited by John Bowker


http://tinyurl.com/odxlv7q
 

*****

 



 

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