Colleagues List, October 8th, 2019

Vol XV. No. 13

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:

It's not too early to start thinking about the
meaning of Christmas, and the book selection
I have for you this week should help persons
wanting to think beyond the "children's story"
to a place of value and meaning for more
mature thinkers.

I hope that this week you will enjoy the book
"Birth of Jesus for Progressive Christians."

It can be used for group study as well as
personal reading.

Hopefully, you will find the rest of my letter
of interest as well.

Wayne

*****

SPECIAL ITEM

Book Notice -

BIRTH OF JESUS
FOR PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIANS
(A five session study guide)
by Donald Schmidt

Woodlake Publications
Kelowna, BC. 2019
$12.00 CAD. paper. $7.50 CAD Kindle
77 pages, ISBN #978-1-77343-287-8

Publisher's Promo:

"Because of the importance of Christmas, how we understand
the stories of Jesus’ birth matters. What we think they’re about –
how we hear them, read them, interpret them – matters." –
Marcus Borg/John Dominic Crossan

The Christmas story most people know comes from pageants,
carols, or perhaps a television movie or two. But what we recall –
and what many people seek to replicate each year – is an odd
mixture of the two quite different stories contained in the gospels
of Matthew and Luke, with certain pieces almost always present
(even though they are not in the Bible at all) and with others
sadly missing. The point of those versions of the story seems
to be to nurture a warm, fuzzy feeling that leaves us cooing
over a baby so we can then put the whole thing away as soon
as possible after December 25 and get back to life as usual.
But that’s not what the gospel writers had in mind.

To some extent, each of us fashions our own version of the
“Christmas story.” Over time, as our associations and
identification with that story grow, it can feel very uncomfortable
and even disrespectful to disrupt or question that story. Any yet
these reactions can be instructive, for they beg larger questions
about what’s really important: the biblical narratives; or the
traditions that have gathered around them, layered them,
and at times obscured them; or the meaning all of this may
have for your lives today?

Birth of Jesus for Progressive Christians is a five-session study
guide that invites readers to explore the birth of Jesus with a new
perspective. This will open up wonderful times of conversation
within small groups, but also provides inspiration and guidance
to how the birth story of Jesus is still relevant and important in
the life of the church and its people today.

--

Author's Words:

This book is primarily designed to be used in group settings,
with minimal instruction for leaders. It is intended to encourage
open conversation. This book is simply that, a guide.

You may wish to compile a group of questions from the members
and then try to deal with them before the actual study starts.

A good facilitator does not need to be a biblical scholar of any
sort, just someone who can keep the session moving and the
conversation on track... It is important to have someone in
charge of the discussion so that it stays on track.

Remember, there are no right or wrong answers. The goal
is for group members to exchange thoughts, feelings and
opinions. The goal is not to denigrate the stories we already
have, but rather to enhance our understanding of them. The
exchange of ideas is key to the outcome, and its OK for people
to disagree. We want to respect each other's views.
 
There are many good bible translations available.

- edited and interpreted from "How to Use this Book"

--

Author's Bio: Donald Schmidt

Whenever he can choose what to do, Donald Schmidt likes to
spin wool, knit, and weave. In his spare time, he also works in
ministry in a variety of settings. He has served parishes in
Quebec, New York, Vermont, Washington, and Hawai‘i. He
has also worked as an Associate Conference Minister with
the United Church of Christ, and is a retired United Methodist
minister. Perhaps his favorite ministry has been as an editor
and writer of church resources, for worship, education, and
church revitalization. He has published 3 books, and has had
a few pieces of music appear in various collections around the
world. He also loves to travel, finding that visiting anywhere
new and different can open us up to learn new things about
others and, in the process, ourselves. He is a grandfather of 8,
and father of 3.

--

My Thoughts:

The first book I found to help me with a progressive view
of understanding Christmas was - The First Christmas: What
the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus's Birth by Marcus Borg
and John Dominic Crossan (2009). I have consulted it many
times over the past decade and find it continues to open new
vistas for me.

Many of us are part of Christian communities that don't seem
to take very seriously the biblical narrative. Perhaps that's due
to limited biblical/theological awareness. Both of these
conditions can be avoided in this day and age, because there
are many good resources for leaders who want to promote
good thinking that helps us move beyond the "milk of the Word"
as St. Paul would say.

My heart is still drawn to the Christmas story I learned as a child,
but my head wants more substance. I feel a book like this can
support both my head and heart.

I also like to see a book like this appear for persons who do
not consider themselves biblical scholars. Many of us today
have been trained to think critically because of the professions
we have chosen in life. With the great Protestant reformers,
I concur that ultimately, the Holy Spirit can guide us into all
truth. That may mean, different people are led to different
understandings of that truth. There is no "official version" of
the Christmas story.

Finally, I think this book could help those who have come
to question, even abandon, the faith because of weak exposure
to it they have endured. I appreciate the pastoral way Donald
Schmidt takes in his writings.

Thanks to Wood Lake Publishing for an important addition
to an earlier title: Revelation - For Progressive Christians.

--

So again:


"Because of the importance of Christmas, how we understand
the stories of Jesus' birth matters. What we think they're about -
how we hear them, read them, interpret them - matters."

- Marcus Borg/John Dominic Crossan

---

Buy the book from Woodlake Books:
https://tinyurl.com/y6zk6h2x

Buy the book from Amazon.ca:
https://tinyurl.com/y2lbwlnn

*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

Joe Sinasac, Toronto ON

COLLEAGUE SINASAC IS CANADIAN CONTRIBUTOR
TO LA CROIX INTERNATIONAL CATHOLIC NEWS
He Has Been a Journalist for Forty Yeas

La Croix International
October 2nd, 2019

https://tinyurl.com/y3px2nwg

--

Robert Ellsberg, Maryknoll NY.

COLLEAGUE ROBERT ELLSBERG SPEAKS
ABOUT WHISTLE BLOWING, TRUTH-TELLING
AND THE PENTAGON PAPERS
His Father Daniel Made Whistle-Blowing Famous

National Catholic Reporter,
October 2nd, 2019

https://tinyurl.com/yyv9x9d6

--

Jim Taylor,
Okanagan, BC

Personal Web Log
October 2nd, 2019

"Regretting Things I Didn't Do"
  https://tinyurl.com/y4ef8zdt

--

Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX

Personal Web Site
September 30th, 2019

"Creating and Holding Space for Our Brokenness"
  https://tinyurl.com/y37ssqlk

--

John Stackhouse Jr.
Moncton, NB

Context,
October 4th, 2019

"Evangelicals in Canada Versus
  Evangelicals in the United States"
  https://tinyurl.com/y6jwqukw

*****

NET NOTES - October 8th, 2019

CELEBRITY APOSTASY
When Famous Christians
Renounce the Faith

Faith Today,
September 18th, 2019

https://tinyurl.com/yxtpog6y

--

REMEMBERING GANDHI
IN A CRITICAL AGE
He Still Has Something to Say

Sightings,
September 30th, 2019

https://tinyurl.com/y3mtarqg

--

AT THE 150th ANNIVERSARY
OF M.K. GANDHI'S BIRTH

CHRISTIANS PRAY FOR INDIA
On Gandhi's Birth Anniversary

UCA News,
October 3rd, 2019

https://tinyurl.com/y27h5d8h

--

LITTLE KNOWN SCHOLAR TRANSLATED
GANDHI FOR AMERICAN READERS.
Remembered at Gandhi's 150th

Religion News Service,
October 2nd, 2019

https://tinyurl.com/yyx6troe

--

VATICAN DEFENDS MARRIED
PRIESTS FOR AMAZON REGION
A Response to Local Needs

Religion News Service,
October 3rd, 2019

https://tinyurl.com/y49aybu4

--

THE CHALLENGES AND TEMPTATIONS
OF A MEGACHURCH PASTOR
The Role is Fraught With Landmines

The Christian Post,
October 3rd, 2019

https://tinyurl.com/yyysclqc

--

STATUE BY CANADIAN ARTIST
UNVEILED IN ST. PETER'S SQUARE
Theme of Care For Migrants is Dominant

Catholic Register, Toronto,
September 30th, 2019

https://tinyurl.com/y3erdgo4

--

UK EXPRESSES REGRET OVER
MAORI KILLINGS IN NEW ZEALAND
At 250th Anniversary of Jas. Cook's Arrival

The Guardian, UK
October 2nd, 2019

https://tinyurl.com/y5s3taagwa

--

WHAT AMERICANS CAN LEARN
FROM NORTHERN IRELAND
Walls Make Bad Neighbours

America Magazine,
October 2nd, 2019

https://tinyurl.com/yyy894mowa

--

ROHINGYA ARE LARGEST REFUGEE
GROUP IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
Maritime Travel Very Dangerous

UCA News,
October 2nd, 2019

https://tinyurl.com/y5ptzmhhwa

*****

WISDOM OF THE WEEK

Provided by Sojourners and the Bruderhof online -

Faith is the first factor in a life devoted to service.
Without it, nothing is possible. With it, nothing
is impossible.

- Mary McLeod Bethune

--

Beloved community is formed not by the eradication
of difference but by its affirmation, by each of us
claiming the identities and cultural legacies that
shape who we are and how we live in the world.

- Bell Hooks

--

Be patterns, be examples in all countries, places,
islands, nations, wherever you come; that your life
and conduct may preach among all sorts of people,
and to them. Then you will come to walk cheerfully
over the world, answering that of God in every one;
whereby in them you may be a blessing.

- George Fox

--

God does not condemn us to hell; God wishes all
humans to be saved. He will love us to all eternity,
but there will exist the possibility that we do not
accept the love and do not respond to it. And the
refusal to accept love, the refusal to respond to it,
that precisely is the meaning of hell. Hell is not a
place where God puts us; it is a place where we
put ourselves. The doors of hell, insofar as they
have locks, have locks on the inside. -

- Kallistos Ware

--

Love gave me the key to my vocation. I realized that
if the church was a body made up of different members,
she would not be without the greatest and most essential
of them all. I realized that love includes all vocations, that
love is all things, and that, because it is eternal, it embraces
every time and place. Swept by an ecstatic joy,

I cried, “At last I have found my vocation. My vocation
is love! I have found my place. I will be love. So I shall
be everything and so my dreams will be fulfilled!”

- Thérèse of Lisieux

--

Rabbi Barukh’s grandson, Yehiel, was once playing
 hide-and-seek with another boy. He hid himself well
and waited for his playmate to find him. When he had
waited for a long time, he came out of his hiding place,
but the other was nowhere to be seen. Now Yehiel
realized that his friend had not looked for him from
the very beginning. This made him cry, and crying
he ran to his grandfather and complained of his
faithless friend. The tears brimmed in Rabbi Barukh’s
eyes and he said: “God says the same thing:

‘I hide, but no one wants to seek me.’

- Martin Buber

--

Everyone who struggles for justice, everyone who makes
just claims in unjust surroundings, is working for God’s reign,
even if not a Christian. The church does not comprise all of
God’s reign; that goes beyond the church’s boundaries. The
church values everything that is in tune with its struggle to
set up God’s reign. A church that tries to keep itself pure
and uncontaminated would not be a church of God’s
service to people. The authentic church is one that does
not mind conversing with prostitutes and publicans and
sinners, as Christ did – and with Marxists and those of
various political movements – in order to bring them
salvation’s true message.

- Oscar Romero

--

There is no such thing as the right place, the right
job, the right calling or ministry. I can be happy or
unhappy in all situations. I am sure of it, because
I have been. I have felt distraught and joyful in
situations of abundance as well as poverty, in
situations of popularity and anonymity, in situations
of success and failure. The difference was never
based on the situation itself, but always on my state
of mind and heart. When I knew I was walking with
God, I always felt happy and at peace. When I was
entangled in my own complaints and emotional needs,
I always felt restless and divided.

- Henri J. M. Nouwen

*****

Globe and Mail,
October 4th, 2019

MOMENT IN TIME
Oct. 4, 1927

Mount Rushmore was conceived as a way to promote
tourism to the Black Hills region of South Dakota. In the
early days, a prominent local historian almost succeeded
in winning approval to carve the features of American
West heroes into the granite face. However, the sculptor
Gutzon Borglum balked, insisting that 60-foot-tall profiles
of four of the country’s most important presidents   George
Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and
Abraham Lincoln – would have far broader appeal.

He was undoubtedly right. The towering images of the men –
who symbolize the country’s birth, growth, development and
preservation – took 400 workers more than 14 years to
(partly) complete. The original plan was to carve the men
from head to waist, but lack of funds effectively cut them
off at the neck. Regardless, the monument is one of the
most iconic symbols of the United States, on par with the
Statue of Liberty. Even Alfred Hitchcock could not resist
its allure, and featured Mount Rushmore as a backdrop
in his 1959 classic North by Northwest. Sometimes called
the Shrine of Democracy, the sculpture represents the first
130 years of the country’s history and attracts more than
2.5 million visitors each year.

- Gayle MacDonald

(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
before the study began 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

*****