Vol XVI. No. 19
Archive - Dec 2009 - Oct 2019 http://colleagueslist.blogspot/.ca http://colleagueslistii.blogspot.com
GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE
ADVENT EDITION
Wayne A. Holst, Editor
My E-Mail Address: waholst@telus.net
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Dear Friends,
Advent marks the beginning of a new church year and a time of new beginnings.
I have been sending out Advent greetings in various forms and expressions for my entire career, and am grateful to continue doing so.
Blessings to all of you.
Wayne
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A BRIEF ADVENT INTRODUCTION
I suspect that this will be an Advent unlike any other. Who would have anticipated this a year ago!
From my earliest years I have observed themes like "anticipation" and "preparation" at this time. Advent is a season of new beginnings and hope. This year, I do not detect a lot of this, and yet, it is perhaps now that we need to cling to these ancient meanings of Christian faith, more than ever.
The church year is not recognized by all that many modern Christians and I think that unfortunate. Working through the spiritual seasons from Advent to the Reign of Christ can take us through all the major stages and experiences of the Christian life.
Advent is the beginning. No matter how old I get, or how common the Advent season has become for me, I always find something important to visit and discover anew.
Perhaps especially this year there is much to unpack around "new beginnings","preparation", "anticipation", and "hope."
I, for one, anticipate new vision as cataract surgery continues to improve my eyesight in a literal sense! I am so grateful for this literal, physical change, and I am grateful for those of you who journey with me.
Continue to travel over these significant weeks, and let us grow together!
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COLLEAGUE COMMUNICATIONS
Mark Whittall, Ottawa, ON.
Sermons and BlogNovember 27th, 2020
Okanagan, BC
Personal Webmail,
November 11th, 2020
"Finding the Right Ending"
--
Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX
Personal Web Site,
November 23rd, 2020
https://tinyurl.com/y2ccrqx9
A CRISIS REVEALS WHAT'S ON OUR HEARTS
We Can Emerge from the Pandemic Better People
New York Times,
November 26th, 2020
https://tinyurl.com/y3lpjttq
--
LET'S MAKE CANADA A GLOBAL VIRUS FIGHT LEADER
Globe and Mail,
November 24th, 2020
https://tinyurl.com/yyrnoof6
--
AND CHURCHES ORDERED CLOSED
CBC.ca
November 13th, 2020
https://tinyurl.com/y2bkwljf
MARTIN LUTHER'S PANDEMIC ADVICE
FIVE HUNDRED YEARS LATER
Lunch and Learn Session Goes Viral
Religion News Service,
November 20th, 2020
https://tinyurl.com/y3ohjdft
--
CHURCH OF ENGLAND DECLINING
IN SIZE BUT NOT IN IMPACT
Growing Community Support Activities
Christianity Today,
November 24th, 2020
https://tinyurl.com/yymlcsco
WISDOM OF THE WEEK
From Sojourners and the Bruderhof onlineWashing one’s hands of the conflict between the powerful
and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not
to be neutral.
- Paulo Freire
--
with us the longest. The big joys don't happen that close
together – the birth of a child, marrying a good man.
But you must keep your eyes and ears open to pick up
these everyday joys.
Jean Bell Mosley
--
Advent hope is a certainty of faith that shows itself in action
through mutual responsibility for the whole of life. The church
of Christ is the fellowship of this hope. It believes so
unreservedly that it is convinced that the divine must
conquer the demonic, that love must conquer hate, that
the all-embracing must conquer the isolated. Certainty
tolerates no limitation. God embraces everything. When
we trust in him for the future, we trust for the present.
When we have faith in him, our faith holds true for
everything that touches our lives.
-- Eberhard Arnold
--
Each galaxy, each star, each living creature, every
particle and subatomic particle of creation, we are
all made in God’s image.…How? Genesis gives no
explanations, but we do know instinctively that it is
not a physical image. God’s explanation is to send
Jesus, the incarnate One, God enfleshed. Don’t try
to explain the Incarnation to me! It is further from
being explainable than the furthest star in the furthest
galaxy. It is love, God’s limitless love enfleshing that
love into the form of a human being, Jesus, the Christ,
fully human and fully divine.
- Madeleine L'Engle
It is not "forgive and forget" as if nothing wrong had
ever happened, but "forgive and go forward," building
on the mistakes of the past and the energy generated
by reconciliation to create a new future.
(end)
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