GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE
Wayne A. Holst, Editor
My E-Mail Address: wholst@telus.net
*****
SPECIAL ITEM
https://tinyurl.com/yycr9tdm
--
ANOTHER RUSSIAN
COLLUSION STORY
Orthodox and Fundamentalists
Russian and American
Religion News Service
March 25th, 2019
https://tinyurl.com/y54ely6u
--
BRIDGING CULTURAL AND
RELIGIOUS DIVIDES IN CANADA
Humor in a Small Canadian Town
Context,
March 21st, 2019
https://tinyurl.com/y62v5ers
--
ANGLICAN-UNITED CHURCH
DIALOGUE COMMUNIQUE
Gretta Vosper Decision on Agenda
Issues of One Community Affect the Other
United Church of Canada
March 28th, 2019
https://tinyurl.com/y5hesjbj
--
PRIEST ATTACKED AT ST.JOSEPH’S
ORATORY MASS IN MONTREAL
Man Charged with Attempted Murder
Catholic Register, Toronto
March 25th, 2019
https://tinyurl.com/y5kd3qth
--
THE SELF-REVELATION THAT
MAKES US NEW AGAIN
Joan Chittister - Fifth Rule of Benedict
National Catholic Reporter,
March 27th, 2019
https://tinyurl.com/y45jfomo
--
FAITH, IMAGINATION AND
THE GLORY OF EVERYDAY LIFE
Marilynne Robinson and Rowan Williams Talk
The Christian Century,
March 25th, 2019
https://tinyurl.com/yxo4gduq
--
HOW TWO JEWISH BIBLE SCHOLARS
GOT AN AUDIENCE WITH THE POPE
Authors of Jewish Annotated New Testament
Religion News Service,
March 26th, 2019
https://tinyurl.com/y2tolzg3wa
--
CAIRO SEMINARY RENEWS CLAIM AS
ARBITOR OF TRUE MEANING OF ISLAM
A Move to Emphasis a More Peaceful Faith
Religion News Service
March 29th, 2019
https://tinyurl.com/y5uoy6ey
--
CANADA REJECTS TRUMP MOVE TO
RECOGNIZE GOLAN HEIGHTS FOR ISRAEL
This Will Only Add to Regional Instability
Canadian Jewish News
March 29th, 2019
https://tinyurl.com/yxw9ozxu
*****
WISDOM OF THE WEEK
Provided by Sojourners and the Bruderhof Online:
Intentions always look better on paper than in reality.
- Angie Thomas, The Hate U Give
--
You cannot reap what you have not sown. How are
we going to reap love in our community if we only
sow hate?
- Saint Óscar Romero
--
Peace comes from being able to contribute the best
that we have, and all that we are, toward creating a
world that supports everyone. But it is also securing
the space for others to contribute the best that they
have and all that they are.
- Hafsat Abiola
--
--
I think there is no suffering greater than what is caused
by the doubts of those who want to believe. I know what
torment this is, but I can only see it, in myself anyway,
as the process by which faith is deepened. A faith that
just accepts is a child’s faith and all right for children,
but eventually you have to grow religiously as every
other way, though some never do. What people don’t
realize is how much religion costs. They think faith is
a big electric blanket, when of course it is the cross.
It is much harder to believe than not to believe. If you
feel you can’t believe, you must at least do this: keep
an open mind. Keep it open toward faith, keep wanting
it, keep asking for it, and leave the rest to God.
- Flannery O'Connor
*****
CLOSING THOUGHT - Saint Óscar Romero
You cannot reap what you have not sown. How are
we going to reap love in our community if we only
sow hate?
(end)
*****
For those interested:
ANNUAL ST. DAVID'S LENTEN RETREAT
Mount St. Francis Retreat Centre
Cochrane, AB
Registration/Hospitality and Book: $60.00.
Book only: $20.00
Total class registrations: 42
***
ST. DAVID'S SPIRITUAL TRAVELERS TOUR, 2019
East Europe and Russia were chosen as our destinations!
We plan a twenty-day tour that combines a focus
on spirituality, culture and the relationship between
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,
My Special Item this week is for the latest book
by Barbara Brown Taylor entitled - "Holy Envy"
a helpful guide to interfaith dialogue and learning
from people of other faith traditions.
This book was suggested as a candidate for our
fall 2019 Monday Night Study and would be a
natural continuation of our reading of "The Book
of Joy" last year.
Please enjoy the other findings of the week as well
Wayne
*****
SPECIAL ITEM
Book Notice -
HOLY ENVY
Finding God in the Faith of Others
by Barbara Brown Taylor
HarperOne, Toronto, ON. March, 2019
Hardcover. 238 pages. $29.00 CAD
Kindle $17.00 CAD
Kindle $17.00 CAD
ISBN #978-0-06-240656-9
*****
Publishers Promo:
The renowned and beloved New York Times bestselling author of An Altar in the World and Learning to Walk in the Dark recounts her moving discoveries of finding the sacred in unexpected places while teaching the world’s religions to undergraduates in rural Georgia, revealing how God delights in confounding our expectations.
Barbara Brown Taylor continues her spiritual journey begun in Leaving Church of finding out what the world looks like after taking off her clergy collar. In Holy Envy, she contemplates the myriad ways other people and traditions encounter the Transcendent, both by digging deeper into those traditions herself and by seeing them through her students’ eyes as she sets off with them on field trips to monasteries, temples, and mosques.
Troubled and inspired by what she learns, Taylor returns to her own tradition for guidance, finding new meaning in old teachings that have too often been used to exclude religious strangers instead of embracing the divine challenges they present. Re-imagining some central stories from the religion she knows best, she takes heart in how often God chooses outsiders to teach insiders how out-of-bounds God really is.
Throughout Holy Envy, Taylor weaves together stories from the classroom with reflections on how her own spiritual journey has been complicated and renewed by connecting with people of other traditions—even those whose truths are quite different from hers.
The one constant in her odyssey is the sense that God is the one calling her to disown her version of God—a change that ultimately enriches her faith in other human beings and in God.
Publishers Promo:
The renowned and beloved New York Times bestselling author of An Altar in the World and Learning to Walk in the Dark recounts her moving discoveries of finding the sacred in unexpected places while teaching the world’s religions to undergraduates in rural Georgia, revealing how God delights in confounding our expectations.
Barbara Brown Taylor continues her spiritual journey begun in Leaving Church of finding out what the world looks like after taking off her clergy collar. In Holy Envy, she contemplates the myriad ways other people and traditions encounter the Transcendent, both by digging deeper into those traditions herself and by seeing them through her students’ eyes as she sets off with them on field trips to monasteries, temples, and mosques.
Troubled and inspired by what she learns, Taylor returns to her own tradition for guidance, finding new meaning in old teachings that have too often been used to exclude religious strangers instead of embracing the divine challenges they present. Re-imagining some central stories from the religion she knows best, she takes heart in how often God chooses outsiders to teach insiders how out-of-bounds God really is.
Throughout Holy Envy, Taylor weaves together stories from the classroom with reflections on how her own spiritual journey has been complicated and renewed by connecting with people of other traditions—even those whose truths are quite different from hers.
The one constant in her odyssey is the sense that God is the one calling her to disown her version of God—a change that ultimately enriches her faith in other human beings and in God.
--
Author's Words:
"What do they know of England who only England know?"
"What do they know of England who only England know?"
- Rudyard Kipling
The book in your hands is a small window on a large subject.
Set at a private liberal arts college... it is the story of a
Christian minister who lost her way in the church and found
a new home in the class-room where she taught religions
of the world.
As soon a she recovered from the shock of reading God in so
many new hats, she fell for every religion she taught... It was
only when she taught Christianity that the fire sputtered,
because her religion looked so different when she saw it
lined up with the others.
She always promised her students that studying other
faiths would not make them lose their own. Then she lost
hers, or at least the one she started out with.
This is the story about how that happened, and what
happened next.
Many of our young people are growing up with a lot more
religious diversity than their parents or grandparents did.
Many of us are still trying to decide if this is a good or a
bad thing... Will the faith they know best survive, or is it
dying of old age?
My credentials for teaching in college were a masters
degree in divinity, deep emersion in one Christian
denomination, and a lifelong curiosity about religion.
Both my parents had such a low opinion of religion that
they raised their children to believe in higher education
instead of a higher power. We went to the library every
week, not church. We read Shakespeare, not the Bible...
I rebelled by trying out many Christian denominations
and going to a seminary where my favourite prof was
a high Anglican who taught New Testament.
I became a confirmed Episcopalian, and then applied to
take on holy orders... There, as a priest and an alchemist
of God's grace, I was allowed into the most private rooms
of people's lives which gave me a more spacious heart.
But the spiritual well I drank from, good as it was, did not
sustain me after quite a few years in ministry. I was invited
to teach world religions at a nearby college, and soon
became part of the process of helping students become
better citizens of a pluralistic world...
My mistake was to think I could add my new discoveries
about these new faith traditions without upsetting
consequences to the old Christian ones I was still trying
to claim.
Contrary to popular opinion, all religions are not alike.
Their followers see the world in very distinct ways.
I found things to envy in all the religions I taught. I began
to ask myself - can my faith be improved by the faith of
others? Clearly, my answer to this question was "yes"
else you would not be holding this book in your hands.
I had originally wanted to write a book about teaching
students world religions.
What this book is about is the teacher of the class, and
what she learned about seeing the divine mystery through
other people's eyes. As my title suggests, it is a book about
how my envy of other traditions turned into holy envy,
offering me a chance to be born again within my own
religion.
This book is about my experience of teaching religion in
a classroom situated in rural Georgia - 75 miles from a
large city.But modern travel and communications has
helped me to grow from living in both the "smaller" and
the "larger" worlds that most people inhabit today.
I hope that I have written that kind of book for you.
- a summary of the "Introduction - The Smaller Picture"
--
The book in your hands is a small window on a large subject.
Set at a private liberal arts college... it is the story of a
Christian minister who lost her way in the church and found
a new home in the class-room where she taught religions
of the world.
As soon a she recovered from the shock of reading God in so
many new hats, she fell for every religion she taught... It was
only when she taught Christianity that the fire sputtered,
because her religion looked so different when she saw it
lined up with the others.
She always promised her students that studying other
faiths would not make them lose their own. Then she lost
hers, or at least the one she started out with.
This is the story about how that happened, and what
happened next.
Many of our young people are growing up with a lot more
religious diversity than their parents or grandparents did.
Many of us are still trying to decide if this is a good or a
bad thing... Will the faith they know best survive, or is it
dying of old age?
My credentials for teaching in college were a masters
degree in divinity, deep emersion in one Christian
denomination, and a lifelong curiosity about religion.
Both my parents had such a low opinion of religion that
they raised their children to believe in higher education
instead of a higher power. We went to the library every
week, not church. We read Shakespeare, not the Bible...
I rebelled by trying out many Christian denominations
and going to a seminary where my favourite prof was
a high Anglican who taught New Testament.
I became a confirmed Episcopalian, and then applied to
take on holy orders... There, as a priest and an alchemist
of God's grace, I was allowed into the most private rooms
of people's lives which gave me a more spacious heart.
But the spiritual well I drank from, good as it was, did not
sustain me after quite a few years in ministry. I was invited
to teach world religions at a nearby college, and soon
became part of the process of helping students become
better citizens of a pluralistic world...
My mistake was to think I could add my new discoveries
about these new faith traditions without upsetting
consequences to the old Christian ones I was still trying
to claim.
Contrary to popular opinion, all religions are not alike.
Their followers see the world in very distinct ways.
I found things to envy in all the religions I taught. I began
to ask myself - can my faith be improved by the faith of
others? Clearly, my answer to this question was "yes"
else you would not be holding this book in your hands.
I had originally wanted to write a book about teaching
students world religions.
What this book is about is the teacher of the class, and
what she learned about seeing the divine mystery through
other people's eyes. As my title suggests, it is a book about
how my envy of other traditions turned into holy envy,
offering me a chance to be born again within my own
religion.
This book is about my experience of teaching religion in
a classroom situated in rural Georgia - 75 miles from a
large city.But modern travel and communications has
helped me to grow from living in both the "smaller" and
the "larger" worlds that most people inhabit today.
I hope that I have written that kind of book for you.
- a summary of the "Introduction - The Smaller Picture"
--
Author's Bio:
Barbara Brown Taylor is the author of thirteen books, including the New York Times bestseller An Altar in the World and Leaving Church, which received an Author of the Year award from the Georgia Writers Association. Taylor is the Butman Professor of Religion at Piedmont College, where she has taught since 1998. She lives on a working farm in rural northeast Georgia with her husband.
Wikipedia Bio: (which includes a list of her books)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Brown_Taylor
--
Barbara Brown Taylor is the author of thirteen books, including the New York Times bestseller An Altar in the World and Leaving Church, which received an Author of the Year award from the Georgia Writers Association. Taylor is the Butman Professor of Religion at Piedmont College, where she has taught since 1998. She lives on a working farm in rural northeast Georgia with her husband.
Wikipedia Bio: (which includes a list of her books)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Brown_Taylor
--
My Thoughts:
Christians may have many ministries over the period of a
lifetime, but essentially, they have only one vocation - -
that of serving God. Henri Nouwen taught me this, and I
thought of him while getting into Barbara Brown Taylor's
latest book "Holy Envy".
Taylor spent quite a few years as a priest of the Episcopal
Church USA, but the time came for her to leave that work
and she became a college professor of comparative studies
in religion.
She may have changed ministries, but not her vocation. She
continues to serve God even as she has evolved from a
priest to a professor. I can appreciate that personally.
A second important understanding I take from this book is
that it is important to learn all we can from other faiths,
but that will only serve our ultimate spiritual growth if we
find ways to allow our formative faith to be enhanced.
The idea of cafeteria religion (pick some of this and some of
that) is very popular today. But what is the grounding core
of all that assimilation? For many, it is the original faith into
which they were born. Of course, the challenge is that many
today have no formative faith. Yet, for many, there is at
least one great faith available to base their "spiritual
envy" of others. The Judeo-Christian tradition is a
grounding one. We can only enhance that tradition by being
open to other great faiths, but replacing the old with the
new is not likely to be very productive.
Barbara Brown Taylor is a beautiful writer, and any of her
books are worth reading. This book is for people who may
be tempted to throw out their Christian inheritance because,
for example, they have discovered some meaningful Buddhist
spiritual values.
In "The Book of Joy" which many of us have recently read,
Christian Desmond Tutu and Buddhist, the Dalai Lama, would
caution against "conversion to the other." Allow the faith
you "envy" about the other to enhance your own.
This was an ecumenical principle we began learning half
a century ago. We now need to apply it to the world of
interfaith relations.
Taylor has given us an enticing introduction to just that.
_____
Buy the book from Amazon.ca:
https://tinyurl.com/y37g93rg
*****
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS
Jim Taylor,
Okanagan,BC
Personal Web Log
March 24th, 2019
"Hate Crimes Don't Yield to Reason"
http://tinyurl.com/y22h75oo
--
Mark Whittall,
Ottawa, ON.
Sermons and Blog
March 22nd, 2019
"Second Chances, With a Purpose"
http://tinyurl.com/yyr3qh7w
--
Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX
Personal Web Site
March 25th, 2019
"But Where are the Others?"
https://tinyurl.com/y3t7vm8d
--
Philip Yancey,
Colorado
Philipyancey.com
March 24th, 2019
"What Makes Friday Good?"
https://tinyurl.com/y63r57lc
*****
NET NOTES
THIS IS ISRAEL
Three Faiths Co-Exist and Clash
La Vie International
March 27th, 2019
Christians may have many ministries over the period of a
lifetime, but essentially, they have only one vocation - -
that of serving God. Henri Nouwen taught me this, and I
thought of him while getting into Barbara Brown Taylor's
latest book "Holy Envy".
Taylor spent quite a few years as a priest of the Episcopal
Church USA, but the time came for her to leave that work
and she became a college professor of comparative studies
in religion.
She may have changed ministries, but not her vocation. She
continues to serve God even as she has evolved from a
priest to a professor. I can appreciate that personally.
A second important understanding I take from this book is
that it is important to learn all we can from other faiths,
but that will only serve our ultimate spiritual growth if we
find ways to allow our formative faith to be enhanced.
The idea of cafeteria religion (pick some of this and some of
that) is very popular today. But what is the grounding core
of all that assimilation? For many, it is the original faith into
which they were born. Of course, the challenge is that many
today have no formative faith. Yet, for many, there is at
least one great faith available to base their "spiritual
envy" of others. The Judeo-Christian tradition is a
grounding one. We can only enhance that tradition by being
open to other great faiths, but replacing the old with the
new is not likely to be very productive.
Barbara Brown Taylor is a beautiful writer, and any of her
books are worth reading. This book is for people who may
be tempted to throw out their Christian inheritance because,
for example, they have discovered some meaningful Buddhist
spiritual values.
In "The Book of Joy" which many of us have recently read,
Christian Desmond Tutu and Buddhist, the Dalai Lama, would
caution against "conversion to the other." Allow the faith
you "envy" about the other to enhance your own.
This was an ecumenical principle we began learning half
a century ago. We now need to apply it to the world of
interfaith relations.
Taylor has given us an enticing introduction to just that.
_____
Buy the book from Amazon.ca:
https://tinyurl.com/y37g93rg
*****
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS
Jim Taylor,
Okanagan,BC
Personal Web Log
March 24th, 2019
"Hate Crimes Don't Yield to Reason"
http://tinyurl.com/y22h75oo
--
Mark Whittall,
Ottawa, ON.
Sermons and Blog
March 22nd, 2019
"Second Chances, With a Purpose"
http://tinyurl.com/yyr3qh7w
--
Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX
Personal Web Site
March 25th, 2019
"But Where are the Others?"
https://tinyurl.com/y3t7vm8d
--
Philip Yancey,
Colorado
Philipyancey.com
March 24th, 2019
"What Makes Friday Good?"
https://tinyurl.com/y63r57lc
*****
NET NOTES
THIS IS ISRAEL
Three Faiths Co-Exist and Clash
La Vie International
March 27th, 2019
https://tinyurl.com/yycr9tdm
--
ANOTHER RUSSIAN
COLLUSION STORY
Orthodox and Fundamentalists
Russian and American
Religion News Service
March 25th, 2019
https://tinyurl.com/y54ely6u
--
BRIDGING CULTURAL AND
RELIGIOUS DIVIDES IN CANADA
Humor in a Small Canadian Town
Context,
March 21st, 2019
https://tinyurl.com/y62v5ers
--
ANGLICAN-UNITED CHURCH
DIALOGUE COMMUNIQUE
Gretta Vosper Decision on Agenda
Issues of One Community Affect the Other
United Church of Canada
March 28th, 2019
https://tinyurl.com/y5hesjbj
--
PRIEST ATTACKED AT ST.JOSEPH’S
ORATORY MASS IN MONTREAL
Man Charged with Attempted Murder
Catholic Register, Toronto
March 25th, 2019
https://tinyurl.com/y5kd3qth
--
THE SELF-REVELATION THAT
MAKES US NEW AGAIN
Joan Chittister - Fifth Rule of Benedict
National Catholic Reporter,
March 27th, 2019
https://tinyurl.com/y45jfomo
--
FAITH, IMAGINATION AND
THE GLORY OF EVERYDAY LIFE
Marilynne Robinson and Rowan Williams Talk
The Christian Century,
March 25th, 2019
https://tinyurl.com/yxo4gduq
--
HOW TWO JEWISH BIBLE SCHOLARS
GOT AN AUDIENCE WITH THE POPE
Authors of Jewish Annotated New Testament
Religion News Service,
March 26th, 2019
https://tinyurl.com/y2tolzg3wa
--
CAIRO SEMINARY RENEWS CLAIM AS
ARBITOR OF TRUE MEANING OF ISLAM
A Move to Emphasis a More Peaceful Faith
Religion News Service
March 29th, 2019
https://tinyurl.com/y5uoy6ey
--
CANADA REJECTS TRUMP MOVE TO
RECOGNIZE GOLAN HEIGHTS FOR ISRAEL
This Will Only Add to Regional Instability
Canadian Jewish News
March 29th, 2019
https://tinyurl.com/yxw9ozxu
*****
WISDOM OF THE WEEK
Provided by Sojourners and the Bruderhof Online:
Intentions always look better on paper than in reality.
- Angie Thomas, The Hate U Give
--
You cannot reap what you have not sown. How are
we going to reap love in our community if we only
sow hate?
- Saint Óscar Romero
--
Peace comes from being able to contribute the best
that we have, and all that we are, toward creating a
world that supports everyone. But it is also securing
the space for others to contribute the best that they
have and all that they are.
- Hafsat Abiola
--
... the quintessential Mother, the feminine face of
the Holy One, fierce protector and gentle consoler...
She refuses to be defined as the passive, obedient
handmaid of the Father. She is the radical, powerful,
engaged Mother of the World.
- Mirabai Starr
--
The symbol of the cross in the church points to the
God who was crucified not between two candles on
an altar, but between two thieves in the place of the
skull, where the outcasts belong, outside the gates
of the city. It does not invite thought, but a change
of mind. It is a symbol which therefore leads out of
the church and out of religious longing into the
fellowship of the oppressed and abandoned.
On the other hand, it is a symbol which calls the
oppressed and godless into the church and through
the church into the fellowship of the crucified God.
- Jürgen Moltmann
--
There is little we can point to in our lives as deserving
anything but God’s wrath. Our best moments have been
mostly grotesque parodies. Our best loves have been
almost always blurred with selfishness and deceit. But
there is something to which we can point. Not anything
that we ever did or were, but something that was done
for us by another. Not our own lives, but the life of one
who died in our behalf and yet is still alive. This is our
only glory and our only hope. And the sound that it
makes is the sound of excitement and gladness and
laughter that floats through the night air from a great
banquet.
- Frederick Buechner
--
the Holy One, fierce protector and gentle consoler...
She refuses to be defined as the passive, obedient
handmaid of the Father. She is the radical, powerful,
engaged Mother of the World.
- Mirabai Starr
--
The symbol of the cross in the church points to the
God who was crucified not between two candles on
an altar, but between two thieves in the place of the
skull, where the outcasts belong, outside the gates
of the city. It does not invite thought, but a change
of mind. It is a symbol which therefore leads out of
the church and out of religious longing into the
fellowship of the oppressed and abandoned.
On the other hand, it is a symbol which calls the
oppressed and godless into the church and through
the church into the fellowship of the crucified God.
- Jürgen Moltmann
--
There is little we can point to in our lives as deserving
anything but God’s wrath. Our best moments have been
mostly grotesque parodies. Our best loves have been
almost always blurred with selfishness and deceit. But
there is something to which we can point. Not anything
that we ever did or were, but something that was done
for us by another. Not our own lives, but the life of one
who died in our behalf and yet is still alive. This is our
only glory and our only hope. And the sound that it
makes is the sound of excitement and gladness and
laughter that floats through the night air from a great
banquet.
- Frederick Buechner
--
People with intellectual disabilities are not able to
assume important roles of power and of efficacy.
They are essentially people of the heart. When
they meet others they do not have a hidden agenda
for power or for success. Their cry, their fundamental
cry, is for a relationship, a meeting heart to heart.
assume important roles of power and of efficacy.
They are essentially people of the heart. When
they meet others they do not have a hidden agenda
for power or for success. Their cry, their fundamental
cry, is for a relationship, a meeting heart to heart.
It is this meeting that awakens them, opens them up
to life, and calls them forth to love in great simplicity,
freedom and openness. When those ingrained in a
culture of winning and of individual success really
meet them, and enter into friendship with them,
something amazing and wonderful happens.
to life, and calls them forth to love in great simplicity,
freedom and openness. When those ingrained in a
culture of winning and of individual success really
meet them, and enter into friendship with them,
something amazing and wonderful happens.
They too are opened up to love and even to God.
They are changed at a very deep level. They are
transformed and become more fundamentally human.
They are changed at a very deep level. They are
transformed and become more fundamentally human.
- Jean Vanier
--
I think there is no suffering greater than what is caused
by the doubts of those who want to believe. I know what
torment this is, but I can only see it, in myself anyway,
as the process by which faith is deepened. A faith that
just accepts is a child’s faith and all right for children,
but eventually you have to grow religiously as every
other way, though some never do. What people don’t
realize is how much religion costs. They think faith is
a big electric blanket, when of course it is the cross.
It is much harder to believe than not to believe. If you
feel you can’t believe, you must at least do this: keep
an open mind. Keep it open toward faith, keep wanting
it, keep asking for it, and leave the rest to God.
- Flannery O'Connor
*****
CLOSING THOUGHT - Saint Óscar Romero
You cannot reap what you have not sown. How are
we going to reap love in our community if we only
sow hate?
(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
3303 Capitol Hill Crescent, NW
Monday, April 1st, 2019
7:00PM - 9:00 PM
This event has been promoted
on the university campus.
7:00PM - 9:00 PM
This event has been promoted
on the university campus.
Welcome!
EVENT CANCELLED.
MARY JO HAD AN ACCIDENT, UNFORTUNATELY.
EVENT CANCELLED.
MARY JO HAD AN ACCIDENT, UNFORTUNATELY.
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)
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.
***
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"
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
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
(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
--
Some stats:
Autumn, 2018 Program -
Some stats:
Autumn, 2018 Program -
Total books sold: 57
Autumn and Winter Series (2018-19) -
Total class registrations: 87
Total books sold: 102
Average weekly winter class attendance: 34
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
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