Colleagues List, September 29th, 2019

Vol XV. No. 12

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:

I have promoted the books of many colleagues over
the years, and view this as a ministry. As I have grown
older with many who visit this listgroup I realize that
the nature of the books written has changed.

Please scroll down to read my Special Item this time.

The remaining part of my letter is similar in format but
different in content from previous issues.

Thanks for reading.

Wayne

​​​*****

SPECIAL ITEM

WHY I WANT TO PROMOTE YOUR BOOK

My Philosophy

In the approximately 500 issues of Colleagues List that
I have created and sent out during the last 12 years, and
the total of almost 700 Colleagues Lists issues and its
predecessors during the past fifteen years (since 2004)
I have promoted hundreds of books - perhaps 300 of them
written by friends and colleagues. I don't know how many
books I have helped to sell, but hopefully, they are many.

Some may ask why I have done this, rather than to write
books myself. I would respond by saying that it was as a
result of a decision I made twenty years ago. I did not
feel I had something to write about, even though quite a
few suggested I might try.

I decided that my gift was to encourage and support others
in their writing, rather than to do it myself. Fortunately for
me, I had arrived, in my mid-50's, at a point when I did
not have the need to promote myself, but to give myself
to the promotion of the efforts of others.

Don't think this is magnanimous of me, but rather, it was
enlightened self-interest. I believe it has added years to
my life. Don't think that if you have written a book that I
promoted you are in any form of obligation to me. I would
say that the satisfaction in doing this is mainly mine.

Some Things I Have Learned

I have observed the authorship development of many friends
over the years and an important thing I have discovered is
this. While writers often return to and repeat many key 
themes over time, most of them grow deeper and more
insightful. These, on the whole, are people for whom life
is a good teacher. The more that is invested in life, the
more growth results. Not everyone has learned this.

Some are quite encyclopedic in their range of subjects,
while others stay rather attuned to a few basic ones.
Either way, there is growth for both the persistent writer
and the faithful reader.

I am pleased to have introduced a few significant, even
popular authors through my writing (I don't mean to
say I was the main cause of their importance.)

I have attempted to work a certain niche. Essentially,
I have asked this question - would the book I am
introducing be of value to a Canadian reader? I do not
imply by this that the author or subject would have to
be Canadian.

Indeed, many of the books I have promoted originated
in the USA and the UK/Ireland. Beyond that, I have
promoted authors from continental Europe, Asia, Africa
and Latin America. (I haven't forgotten some from
Australia and New Zealand, either.)

A key discovery from all this is that the world is getting
much smaller and we are growingly part of a global
village. More and more, we are reading each other's books.
I find it good to learn that more countries that have kept
their citizens in the dark about outside writers are becoming
more open in what their citizens are reading.

And So...

I hope to continue doing what I have been doing to promote
the work of others for as long as I can. 

Colleagues List has proven to be a great way to build a good
group of fellow-readers, writers and learners.

Hopefully, many of you get something from my efforts,
but I want to assure you that I am the chief beneficiary. 
                     
Oh, and don't forget, send me your book suggestions -
especially those you yourself have written.

Wayne

*****
 
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

Jim Taylor,
Okanagan, BC


Personal Web Log
September 25th, 2019

"I Still Don't Know What Worship Is"
  https://tinyurl.com/y67c2rsj

--

Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX

Personal Web Site
September 23rd, 2019

"Jesus Christ - The Person and the Mystery"
  https://tinyurl.com/yykhbacu
  
--

Mark Whittall,
Ottawa, ON.

Sermons and Blog
September 21st, 2019

"Changing Sides"
  https://tinyurl.com/y57q9yab

*****

NET NOTES

IS SECULARISM GOOD OR BAD?
It Can be Both a Positive and a
Negative Force in Society

The Catholic Register, Toronto
September 7th, 2019

https://tinyurl.com/y4z54cm4

--

HOW EVANGELICALS SUPPORTED CLINTON
Trump Impeachment is "Different"

The Washington Post,
September 27th, 2019

https://tinyurl.com/y5muvmwn

--

FIVE CHURCHES THAT HELP NEWCOMERS
Christians Take Lead in Refugee Support

Broadview,
September 19th, 2019

https://tinyurl.com/y2zkv7tq

--

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ABORTION ISSUE
Recognizing the Moral Cost of Abortion

Religion News Service,
September 20th, 2019

https://tinyurl.com/y6r2c7zt

--

IMPEACHMENT EFFORT AGAINST TRUMP
IS WELL WORTH THE EFFORT
To Reclaim Democratic Institutions

National Catholic Reporter,
September 25th, 2019

https://tinyurl.com/y4gjh3zo

--

WHO'S AN EVANGELICAL AND
WHO GETS TO DECIDE?
American Evangelicals at a Crossroads

Religion News Service,
September 25th, 2019

https://tinyurl.com/yys7f6ok

--

MEMORIAL REGISTER OF MISSING
CHILDREN TO BE LAUNCHED
Full Report of Residential School Deaths

United Church of Canada
September 27th, 2019

https://tinyurl.com/yyxhx3wg

--

SOUTH AFRICAN CHURCHES DEMAND
AN END TO XENOPHOBIC ATTACKS
Violence Against Economic Migrants

Religion News Service,
September 24th, 2019

https://tinyurl.com/yxc32o2q

--

'ABRAHAMIC FAMILY HOUSE' -
CHURCH, MOSQUE AND SYNAGOGUE
SHARE ONE COMPLEX TOGETHER
Inter-Faith Progress in the Emirates

The Christian Post
September 25th, 2019

https://tinyurl.com/y288y7rg


*****

WISDOM OF THE WEEK - September 29th, 2019

Provided by Sojourners and the Bruderhof online:

Mercy, detached from justice, grows unmerciful.    

- C.S. Lewis

--

Reclaiming Jesus is about making all of us more
genuinely and redemptively human — as God made
us and Christ calls us to be.

- Jim Wallis

--

Real wealth consists in things of utility and beauty,
in things that help to create strong, beautiful bodies
and surroundings inspiring to live in.

- Emma Goldman

--

Your ordinary acts of love and hope point to the
extraordinary promise that every human life is
of inestimable value.

- Desmond Tutu

--

Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you
come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs
is people who have come alive.  

- Howard Thurman

--

People are more themselves when joy is the fundamental
thing in them, and grief the superficial. Melancholy should
be an innocent interlude, a tender and fugitive frame of mind;
praise should be the permanent pulsation of the soul.

Pessimism is at best an emotional half-holiday; joy is the
uproarious labor by which all things live.

- G. K. Chesterton

--

Christ does not save all those who say to him: Lord, Lord.
But he saves all those who out of a pure heart give a piece
of bread to a starving man, without thinking about him the
least little bit. And these, when he thanks them, reply: Lord,
when did we feed thee?…An atheist and an “infidel,” capable
of pure compassion, are as close to God as is a Christian,
and consequently know him equally well, although their
knowledge is expressed in different words, or remains
unspoken. For “God is love.”

- Simone Weil

--

Dying is not the end, it is just the beginning. Death is a
continuation of life. This is the meaning of eternal life;
it is where our soul goes to God, to be in the presence
of God, to see God, to speak to God, to continue loving
him with greater love. We only surrender our body in
death – our heart and our soul live forever. Yesterday
is gone and tomorrow has not yet come; we must live
each day as if it were our last so that when God calls us
we are ready, and prepared, to die with a clean heart. -

Mother Teresa

--

How can we not lose our souls when everything and
everybody pulls us in different directions? How can we “
keep it together” when we are constantly being torn
apart? Jesus says, “Not a hair of your head will be lost.

Your perseverance will win you your lives” (Luke 21:18–19).
We can only survive our world when we trust that God knows
us more intimately than we know ourselves. We can only
keep it together when we believe that God holds us together.
We can only win our lives when we remain faithful to the truth
that every little part of us, yes, every hair, is completely safe
in the divine embrace of our Lord. To say it differently: when
we keep living a spiritual life, we have nothing to be afraid of.

- Henri J. M. Nouwen

*****

MOMENT IN TIME
Globe and Mail,
September 27th, 2019

"Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson Published
  September 27th, 1962

Few events played as pivotal a role in the modern
environmental movement as the publication of
Silent Spring. The environmental science book by
Rachel Carson bluntly talked about how the careless
use of pesticides was poisoning living things, from
insects to people. The scientific community had
generally been aware of these findings, but Carson
was the first to put them together for a larger
audience in such stark and sweeping terms.
 
The book heightened public awareness about
the problem and prompted changes in government
policy. U.S. president John F. Kennedy asked
Science Advisory Committee to look into her findings.
Then, in 1964, companies were required to prove that
products coming onto the market did not cause harm.
In 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency was
formed in response to growing public demand for
cleaner air, water and land. By 1975, all of the toxic
chemicals highlighted in the book were either banned
or severely restricted.

Silent Spring remains in print in some 30 languages,
inspiring readers and activists around the world.

- Katrya Bolger

(end)

*****

For Those Interested -   

ACTS Ministry - some programs at St. David's this Fall

ST. DAVID'S ACTS  AUTUMN MONDAY NIGHT BOOK STUDY

A Ten Week Series September 16th - November 25th, 2019
Monday Evenings, TM Room 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

"HOLY ENVY" Finding God in the Faith of Others

Author: Barbara Brown Taylor
Registration/Hospitality and Book: $60.00.
Book only: $25.00

37 copies of the book were made available for sale
for four Sundays at St. David's. These books have sold out,  
with 38 registrations to date.
 
Book Description - https://tinyurl.com/y37g93rg

--

Some stats:
Autumn and Winter Series (2018-19) -
Total class registrations: 87 (2 series)
Total books sold: 102
Average weekly winter class attendance: 34

***

ST. DAVID'S ACTS THURSDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY

Our theme this autumn: "The Book of Revelation"
Ten Study Sessions - Thursday mornings,
September 26th-November 28th, 2019

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

12 persons comprise our core study group.

Study resource:

"The DK Complete Bible Handbook"
  Edited by John Bowker

http://tinyurl.com/odxlv7q

*****

MCDOUGAL STONEY MISSION SOCIETY
AUTUMN SERVICE September 22nd, 2019

On the site of the Morley mission church,
Soon to be re-built after a destructive fire.
Planned and co-led by representatives of the
McDougall family, friends, and the Stoney First Nation.

Sunday, September 22nd, 2:00PM

"Celebrating Treaty Seven in Southern Alberta"

This event attracted a large gathering. Excellent.
Thanks to president Brenda McQueen for good work.

(end)

*****