Vol XVI. No. 9
Archive - Dec 2009 - Oct 2019 http://colleagueslist.blogspot/.ca http://colleagueslistii.blogspot.com/
Wayne A. Holst, Editor
My E-Mail Address: waholst@telus.net
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*****
SPECIAL ITEM
Let's admit it. We live in a complicated world where
things are a bit crazy - and not in a good way. A global
pandemic, wars, racial strife, wealth disparity, death
and destruction; we are all affected by these things one
way or another, even if only through the media.
And we all suffer because of them - sometimes directly
and physically; usually emotionally; and often spiritually,
though we may not always recognize it. Some of us
suffer more than others, of course, particularly those
of us who are or have been touched directly by tragedy
or trauma. It's enough, sometimes, to make you question
your faith. It's enough, sometimes, to make you wonder
if you're cursed.
"Not so!" says Jesus. Not only are we not cursed, it is
in these painful extremes we are the most blessed.
With genuine pastoral sensitivity, Schmidt says,
"The Beatitudes tell us that we can find and
experience God's presence in difficulties are
expressions of divine love when we seek to
bring about peace and justice in our world.
We can find comfort when we are grieving
and hurting. And all those times when people
put us down for our attempts to live the gospel,
we can feel assured that - despite ridicule -
we are on the right path."
--
onald Schmidt, Author
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. More recently Donald
has served with the United Church of Canada, and was Minister
for Worship and Leadership Development at First United Church
in Kelowna, British Columbia. He lives in the Okanagan Valley
of BC. He is a grandfather of 8, and father of 3.
--
Author's Words:
Every book comes to life in a specific setting. For this one,
it is the Covid-19 pandemic that has changed the way of
living for eight billion people on the planet. This book was
begun when we were under fairly strict lockdown, and
"concern for what would happen next" was rampant.
As I finish this writing, governments in many places are
trying to find ways to relax restrictions without going too
far, while businesses are anxious to re-open without
knowing quite how to do that..
All of this sets a profound context to talk about something
like the Beatitudes. They are generally understood as
words of comfort. People will often turn to them assuming
that they contain words that will uplift the spirit and make
them feel better.
I think the Beatitudes do that without question.
I also think that there is more to them than that. As we will
explore here, they have a richer and deeper meaning than
we have generally allowed them. My desire in this book is
to break them open a little, so that our understanding of
them might grow and blossom, and that we might come
to see in these few verses some of the profound truths
that Jesus (or the writers of Matthew and Luke) embedded i
in them.
I invite you to open your heart and to hear these words
anew. Let them speak to you afresh in this time of our
world being reborn out of necessity.
- from the Preface
--
My Thoughts:
As the author states in his Introduction, we can have a
sense of the Beatitudes, even if we have at least some
of them in the back of our minds but can't locate them in
any part of scripture. We may think we know what they say,
but we couldn't locate them.
These words do not emerge from a context similar to our own.
They came first from the mouth of a Jewish peasant and were
shared with Jewish peasants two thousand years ago.
We need to hear these words in a new way, fresh for today.
But to do that we need to create an environment of listeners
together - both to the ancient words in their context, and
then to the present situation in which we live.
Biblical scholars do this all the time. We can do it too.
A good way to do this is to read each Beatitude slowly and
deliberately together - then think about the ancient setting
followed by our own. As old and new wisdom is shared, I
believe that new wisdom will emerge.
Small group progressive bible study is an ideal setting for this.
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS
Elfrieda Schroeder,
Winnipeg, MB
In Transit Blog,
September 1st, 2020
"Sitting Down - Quietly"
https://tinyurl.com/y8ngz8l5
--
Mark Whittall,
Ottawa, ON
Sermons and Blog
September 4th, 2020
"Sideways"
https://tinyurl.com/y2tobp5g
--
Jim Taylor,
Okanagan, BC
Personal Web Log,
September 6th, 2020
"The Shoe on the Other Foot"
https://tinyurl.com/yyu4696o
--
Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX
Personal Web Site
September 7th, 2020
"Mystical Experience and Everyday People"
https://tinyurl.com/y64x5yez
Moncton, NB
Personal Website
September, 2929
"Don't Ask Me to Pray"
https://tinyurl.com/y48v5rkh
*****
NET NOTES - September 13th, 2020
IT'S TIME FOR CANADA'S STATUES TO FALL
Taking Another Look at our Public Heroes
Broadview,
September 2nd, 2020
https://tinyurl.com/y5bk752u
--
BIBLE READING IS DOWN
Apps and Audio Books are Up
Publishers Weekly,
August 25th, 2020
https://tinyurl.com/yxbdl9ag
--
THE MORAL END OF TRUTH
When Leadership Becomes Nothing But Lies
Joan Chittister August Column
National Catholic Reporter,
August 20th, 2020
https://tinyurl.com/y5nrxxur
--
COMPASSION BEGINS IN THE EYES
Masks Still Allow Us to Look into Eyes
The Christian Century,
August 14th, 2020
https://tinyurl.com/y6he3r67
--
WHAT JERRY FALWELL TAUGHT ME AT LIBERTY U.
This is How a Christian Education Can Go Wrong
New York Times,
August,26th, 2020
https://tinyurl.com/y2npx7l2
--
CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY GROWING IN IRAN
Still a Minority but Making an Impact
Christianity Today,
September 3rd, 2020
https://tinyurl.com/yxk78prp
--
CHINA CRACKS DOWN IN MONGOLIA AND TIBET
Policy of Ethnic and Religious Persecution Continues
Globe and Mail,
September 8th, 2020
https://tinyurl.com/y5z2hcqw
--
Submitted by Isabel Gibson, Ottawa ON -
REDISCOVERING HISTORIC JEWISH
SITES FROM MANY CENURIES AGO
Archeological Wonders Revealed
Smithsonian Magazine,
June, 2020
https://tinyurl.com/y277mucw
--
KAMALA HARRIS IS THE FUTURE
OF AMERICAN RELIGION
She is More than a Symbol
of Race and Gender
Religion News Service
August 12th, 2020
https://tinyurl.com/yxs2d2n
*****
The world is full of painful stories. Sometimes
it seems as though there aren't any other kind
and yet I found myself thinking how beautiful
that glint of water was through the trees.
- Octavia Butler, Parable of the Sower
--
You cannot change any society unless you
take responsibility for it, unless you see
yourself as belonging to it, and responsible
for changing it.
- Grace Lee Boggs
--
We don’t have the right to demand perfection
from each other. But we do have the right to
expect progress. To demand evolution. So,
let’s make some new mistakes.
- Naomi Klein
--
In normal life we hardly realize how much more
we receive than we give, and life cannot be rich
without such gratitude.
It is so easy to overestimate the importance of
our own achievements compared with what we
owe to the help of others.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
--
Responsibility to yourself means refusing to let
others do your thinking, talking, and naming for
you; it means learning to respect and use your
own brains and instincts; hence, grappling with
hard work.
- Adrienne Rich
--
It’s funny: I always imagined when I was a kid
that adults had some kind of inner toolbox, full
of shiny tools: the saw of discernment, the
hammer of wisdom, the sandpaper of patience.
But then when I grew up I found that life handed
you these rusty, bent old tools – friendships,
prayer, conscience, honesty – and said, Do
the best you can with these, they will have to do.
And mostly, against all odds they’re enough.
- Anne Lamott
--
Whether in Hell or in Purgatory, you get what
you want – if that is what you really do want.
If you insist on having your own way, you will
get it: Hell is the enjoyment of your own way
for ever. If you really want God’s way for you,
you will get it in Heaven, and the pains of
Purgatory will not deter you, they will be
welcomed as the means to that end.
Dorothy L. Sayers
--
Have you wept at anything during the past year?
Has your heart beat faster at the sight of young
beauty? Have you thought seriously about the
fact that someday you are going to die? More
often than not, do you really listen when people
are speaking to you, instead of just waiting for
your turn to speak? Is there anybody you know
in whose place, if one of you had to suffer great
pain, you would volunteer yourself?
If your answer to all or most of these questions
is no, the chances are that you’re dead.
- Frederick Buechner
from each other. But we do have the right to
expect progress. To demand evolution. So,
let’s make some new mistakes.
*****
ACTS MINISTRY STUDIES BEGINNING IN SEPTEMBER!!
This Autumn, Our Groups Meet on Zoom
Monday Night Study 7:00PM to 8:30PM (90 minutes)
Online classes run from September 14th to November 23rd.
Our Book - "The Universal Christ" by Richard Rohr
You buy it from Amazon.ca or Indigo
It will be your only cost for the series.
Thursday Morning Bible Study 10:00AM to 11:00AM (60 minutes)
We meet September 17th to make our fall study Bible selection
Classes run until the end of November
Invite new friends to join us via Zoom.
If you have questions, contact Wayne at waholst@telus.net
(end)
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