Saturday, July 17, 2021

Colleagues List, July 18th, 2021

Vol XVII. No. 2

Archive - Dec 2009 - Oct 2019                        http://colleagueslist.blogspot/.ca 

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 at - waholst@telus.net 

*****

Dear Friends:

Mid-July is a low-time in terms of productivity on Colleagues List. Still, I have collected some good material for your summer-reflection.

Please enjoy what follows. May we all be renewed from our rest-time.

Wayne

PLEASE NOTE - If a link below, seems to be dead, cut and paste it into the address bar at the top of your web page and it should work.

*****

SPECIAL ITEM

A SHORT REFLECTION ON NEW BEGINNINGS

For a year and a half we in Canada have been living under the threat of the Coved-19 virus. Most of us have been disciplined and dutiful in our attempts to stand against this evil force and with those whose medical advice has been providing guidance for restricted behaviour.

Now, at long last, life seems to be opening up again. For Calgarians, no event has been more indicative of these new beginnings than hosting the world-famous Stampede once more.

It is not too soon to express gratitude to those who have provided medical support on local, provincial, national and international levels.

One good way to do this is to continue following the scientific advice with which we have been provided these last eighteen months. We are not out of the woods yet, but we seem to be inching toward freedom once more.

I am particularly grateful that we seem to have largely ignored the advice offered by religious radicals in our society. Under the guise of "following God rather than humans" a few have misled the gullible. But their numbers have been few and only a handful of their churches have been fenced-in. Only a small number of their pastoral leaders have been sent to jail, all-the-while-protesting that we live in a country run by communists and Nazis. 

Religious Canadian behaviour, on the whole, has been respectful of responsible scientific advice and never once did I feel my faith principles were compromised by medical advisors.

Some months of transition remain ahead of us, and unforeseen problems may still lie ahead. But I don't think it too early to express pride in our nation and Canadian people of the Spirit.

I look forward to good things and to putting into practise lessons we have learned during these past difficult months.

*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX

Personal Web Site
July 7th, 2021

"Why Stay in the Church?"

--

Jim Taylor,
Okanagan, BC

Personal Web Log,
July 4th, 2021

"The Gift of Life for Someone Unknown"

--

Elfrieda Schroeder,
Winnipeg, MB.

In Transit Blog
July 7th, 2021

"Dreams"

*****

NET NOTES

WE MUST LISTEN
We Have Not Really Listened

Catholic Register, Toronto
July 2nd, 2021


--

RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS BURIAL SITES 
AND OUR GOSPEL CALL AS CHURCH
A Pastoral Letter from Bishop Anna 
of the Anglican Diocese of British Columbia

Anglican Church of Canada
July 7th, 2021


--

EVOLVING RIGHTS OF CHILDREN
IN CANADA AND BEYOND
Christians are Leading the Charge

Christian Week,
July 9th, 2021


--

WHEN CHURCHES ARE
REMINDERS OF OPPRESSION
Learning from Canadian Tragedy

Broadview,
July 9th, 2021


--

WHEN RETREIVING RESIDENTIAL 
SCHOOL RECORDS CAN BE DIFFICULT
The Problem is Not Just Resistance

CBC.ca
June 20th, 2021


--

INDIA CELEBRATES ST. THOMAS --
SAINT WHO BROUGHT CHRISTIANITY
An Early Missionary to South Asia

The Christian Post,
July 4th, 2021


--

INDIA CAN STILL TURN THE TIDE
BACK TOWARD DEMOCRACY
Extremism Has Dominated 

Religion News Service,
July 15th, 2021


--

GREEN BURIAL AS AN ACT OF FAITH
Embracing Natural Burial Practices

The Christian Century,
July 6th, 2021


--

MAYBE ITS TIME FOR AN HONEST CHAT
ABOUT CANADIAN POLITENESS
It May be a Kind of Avoidance

Broadview,
July 2nd, 2021


--

WHITE MAINLINERS OUTNUMBER
WHITE EVANGELICALS IN THE USA
A Shift, After Many Polling Years

Religion News Service,
June 8th, 2021


--

WHAT IS AN AMERICAN
MAINLINE CHRISTIAN ANYWAY?
It May Differ from the Canadian Variety

Religion News Service,
July 8th, 2021


*****

WISDOM OF THE WEEK

Provided by Sojourners and the Bruderhof obline:

To create is to relate.

- Corita Kent

--

Outrage without an accompanying action turns into paralysis.

- Sr. Helen Prejean

--

We know God doesn’t will for anyone to suffer and die — even if some modicum of “justice” could come out of it.

- Brittini L. Palmer

--

Let us not forget: We are a pilgrim church, subject to misunderstanding, to persecution, but a church that walks serene, because it bears the force of love. 

- Óscar Romero

--

Forgiveness. The ability to forgive oneself. Stop here for a few breaths and think about this because it is the key to making art, and very possibly the key to finding any semblance of happiness in life.

- Ann Patchett

--

Christianity means community through Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ. No Christian community is more or less than this. Whether it be a brief, single encounter or the daily fellowship of years, Christian community is only this. We belong to one another only through and in Jesus Christ.

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

--

Has it ever struck you that those who most fear to die are the ones who most fear to live? Life is flexible and free, and you are rigid and frozen. Life carries all things away, and you crave stability and permanence. You fear life and death because you cling. You cannot bear the thought of losing a relative or friend; you dread losing a pet theory or ideology or belief. When you cling to nothing, when you have no fear of losing anything, then you are free to flow like a mountain stream that is always fresh and sparkling and alive.

- Anthony de Mellow

*****

CLOSING THOUGHT - Theresa S. Thames

Go out into the world with your chin up and your heart wide open. Go out into the world and be an agent of God’s love.

(end)

******



at No comments:

Saturday, July 3, 2021

Colleagues List, July 4th, 2021

  Vol XVII. No. 1

Archive - Dec 2009 - Oct 2019                          http://colleagueslist.blogspot/.ca 

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 at - waholst@telus.net 

*****

Dear Friends:

My Special Item this week is an introduction to a series of classic books that the mythologist Joseph Campbell began working on, fifty to sixty years ago and which are still popular today. I hope you find helpful this first volume in a special re-issue.

Other new themes appear in this issue, as usual, so please check them out. Welcome to my first Colleagues List edition of series XVII.

Wayne

PLEASE NOTE - If a link below, seems to be dead, cut and paste it into the address bar at the top of your web page and it should work.

*****

SPECIAL ITEM

Book Notice -

PRIMITIVE MYTHOLOGY 
The Masks of God Vol I
by Joseph Campbell

New World Library,
Novato, CA. Hardcover. 2021
$37.27 CAD. Kindle $9.99 CAD
ISBN #978-1-60868-725-1

--

Publisher's Promo:

The Masks of God, Volume I, the first volume in Joseph Campbell's monumental four volume Masks of God Series, was originally published in 1959 and is now revised with up to date science and new illustrations in this Collected Works of Joseph Campbell edition.

In this first volume of The Masks of God, the world’s preeminent mythologist explores and illuminates the wellsprings of myth. Showing his exemplary combination of scholarly depth and popular enthusiasm, Joseph Campbell looks at the expressions of religious awe in early humans and their echoes in the rites of surviving primal tribes. Campbell shows how myth has informed our understanding of the world, seen and unseen, throughout time. As he explores and shares archetypal mythic images and practices, he also points to how these concepts inform our personal lives.

Upon completing the monumental Masks of God series, Campbell found that his work affirmed “the unity of the race of man, not only in its biology, but also in its spiritual history.” He likened this unity to a symphony in which various parts create a “great movement.” Perhaps more than ever before, Campbell’s insight is not only illuminating but also inspiring.

--

From Joseph Campbell's Original Prologue (1959-69)

The comparative study of the mythologies of the world compels us to view the cultural history of mankind as a unit; for we find that such themes as fire, theft, deluge, land of the dead, virgin birth and resurrected hero have a worldwide distribution.... these themes also appear in religious contexts, where they are accepted not only as factually true but even as revelations of the verities to which the whole culture is a living witness...

Every people has received its own seal and sign of supernatural designation... and yet an honest comparison immediately reveals that all have been built from one fund of mythological motifs...revered by every people on earth...

No one, as far as I know, has yet tried to compose into a single picture the new perspectives that have opened in the fields of comparative symbolism, religion, mythology, and philosophy by the scholarship of recent years...

I attempt in the following pages the first steps of a natural history of the gods and heroes, such as in its final form should include in its purview all divine beings - as zoology includes all animals and botany all plants... for as in the visible world of the vegetable and animal kingdoms, so also in the visionary world of the gods: there has been a history, an evolution, a series of mutations, governed by laws; and to show forth such laws is the proper aim of science.

--

Author's Bio:

Joseph Campbell was interested in mythology since his childhood in New York, when he read books about American Indians, frequently visited the American Museum of Natural History, and was fascinated by the museum's collection of totem poles. He earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees at Columbia in 1925 and 1927 and went on to study medieval French and Sanskrit at the universities of Paris and Munich. After a period in California, where he encountered John Steinbeck and the biologist Ed Ricketts, he taught at the Canterbury School, then, in 1934, joined the literature department at Sarah Lawrence College, a post he retained for many years. During the 1940s and '50s, he helped Swami Nikhilananda to translate the Upanishads and The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The many books by Professor Campbell include The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Myths to Live By, The Flight of the Wild Gander, and The Mythic Image. He edited The Portable Arabian Nights, The Portable Jung, and other works. He died in 1987. 

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

--

My Thoughts:

My discovery of Joseph Campbell, more than three decades ago, revolutionized my understanding of the Hebrew and Christians scriptures, as well as comparative faith studies. Campbell begin his faith journey as Roman Catholic, and while he moved beyond that tradition, he continued to respect and learn from it.

While Campbell focused on many particular mythological traditions from around the world, he was always attempting to integrate particular systems into larger and grander ones.

My encounter with Indigenous spirituality in Canada started me on a journey of global discovery, and Joseph Campbell helped me on that journey.

The book presented today is the first in a series that Campbell developed - replete with text and graphics - many years ago, but which is still current and worth study. This helps us to gain a sense of the author's vast perspective. I am grateful that New World Library has continued to upgrade his books - never changing the original, but making our contemporary understanding more and more complete.

(several volumes in this series will appear, in time, from the publisher and I hope to introduce them to you over time.) 

For complete information on Joseph Campbell and his work, click:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Campbell.

--

Buy the Book from:

*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS:

Jim Taylor,
Okanagan, BC

Personal Web Log,
June 27th, 2021

"No One Should Live in Fear"

--

Rn Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX

Personal Web Site
June 28th, 2021

"Joy - A Sign of God"

--

Tom Ryan, CSB
Paulist Office, Boston

Koinonia,
July 2021


****

NET NOTES

NORTHERN IRELAND 
IS COMING TO AN END
Connections to the UK in Disarray

New York Times,
June 29th, 2021


--

CANADIAN CHURCHES ON 
FIRST NATIONS' LANDS ARE BURNING
Catholic Church Faces Heavy Reaction

Religion News Service,
June 29th, 2021


--

NAMES WILL BE PUT TO ALL IN
COWESSESS GRAVES, CHIEF VOWS
Big Changes in Store for Future

Catholic Register, Toronto.
June 30th, 2021


--

THE INSTITUTION RESISTS TRANSFORMATION
First Indigenous UCC Moderator Stan McKay Speaks
About Why Our Church Apologies Fall Short

Broadview,
June 25th, 2021


--

WISE WORDS FROM THE MODERATOR
OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA
Moderator Richard Bott Writes on Facebook
About How to "Help" the First Nations Now
June 29th, 2021


--

FAUCI NAMED HUMANIST OF THE YEAR
He Advocated Evidence-Bases Solutions

Religion News Service,
July 1st, 2021


--

THIS WEEK IN CHRISTIAN HISTORY
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS PAST AND PRESENT

The Christian Post,
June 27th, 2021


--

PHILIP YANCEY STILL BELIEVES IN AMAZING GRACE
At 71, He's Been a Christian Writer for Many Years

Religion News Service,
June 24th, 2021


--

AMISH PUT FAITH IN GOD'S WILL
AND HERD IMMUNITY OVER VACCINE
Many Amish are Not Getting Vaccinations

Religion News Service,
June 29th, 2021


--

WHY CHOOSING THE NEXT DALAI LAMA
WILL BE A RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL ISSUE
China Wants a Strong Hand in the Selection

Religion News Service,
June 25th, 2021


*****

WISDOM OF THE WEEK

Provided by Sojourners and the Bruderhof online:

God is like an eagle, sharp eyed and swift, with wings so wide you can play under their shadows.

- Rachel Held Evans and Matthew Paul Turner

--

We find our roots not by retracing our steps to a specific location, we find ourselves by finding each other.

- John Onwuchekwa

--

I feel that we too often focus only on the negative aspect of life – on what is bad. If we were more willing to see the good and the beautiful things that surround us, we would be able to transform our families. From there, we would change our next-door neighbors and then others who live in our neighborhood or city. We would be able to bring peace and love to our world, which hungers so much for these things.

- Mother Teresa

--

Like a gas, the soul tends to fill the entire space which is given it. A gas which contracted, leaving a vacuum, this would be contrary to the law of entropy. It is not so with the God of the Christians.…Not to exercise all the power at one’s disposal is to endure the void. This is contrary to all the laws of nature. Grace alone can do it. Grace fills empty spaces, but it can only enter where there is a void to receive it, and it is grace itself which makes this void.

- Simone Weil

--

It was said of Reb Simcha Bunim that he carried two slips of paper, one in each pocket. On one he wrote: Bishvili nivra ha-olam – “for my sake the world was created.” On the other he wrote: V’anokhi afar v’efer – “I am but dust and ashes.” He would take out each slip of paper as necessary, as a reminder to himself.

- Rabbi Simcha Bunim of Peshischa

--

If everyone abandons you and even drives you away by force, then when you are left alone fall on the earth and kiss it, water it with your tears, and it will bring forth fruit even though no one has seen or heard you in your solitude. Believe to the end, even if all people went astray and you were left the only one faithful; bring your offering even then and praise God in your loneliness. And if two of you are gathered together – then there is a whole world, a world of living love. Embrace each other tenderly and praise God, for, if only in you two, his truth has been fulfilled.

- Fyodor Dostoyevsky

*****

CLOSING THOUGHT -

(end)

*****


at No comments:

Thursday, June 24, 2021

Colleagues List, June 20th, 2021

 Vol XVI. No. 44

Archive - Dec 2009 - Oct 2019                            http://colleagueslist.blogspot/.ca 

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 at - waholst@telus.net 

*****

Dear Friends:

My Special Item this week is a study for progressive Christians entitled "Women of the Bible" and I see this contribution as important material for congregations that want to be both biblical and contemporary. 

I find that too many of our "progressive" congregations are weak biblically, and this is not a good thing. Donald Schmidt, author of this study, has created a major series of books on bible-based themes and I hope they get wide circulation. It is one thing for conservative Christians to mistreat important subjects like the study of women. It is quite another for progressive churches to produce quality work that supports those subjects.

I am also proud of the many contributors to this issue - new and old - and the other good material shared in this issue.

Blessings to all of you!

Wayne 

PLEASE NOTE - If a link below, seems to be dead, cut and paste it into the address bar at the top of your web page and it should work.

*****

SPECIAL ITEM

Book Notice -

WOMEN IN THE BIBLE
FOR PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIANS
From the Hebrew Scriptures
Seven-Session Study Guide
by Donald Schmidt

Wood Lake Publishers,
Kelowna, BC. June, 2021
$12.00 CAD paper. $7.50 CAD Kindle
ISBN #978-1-77343-418-6

Publisher's Promo:

Women make up over one-half of the world's population, yet throughout history women have been kept out of power; they have been oppressed and disregarded, and have often had their stories ignored. This is a tragedy not only for women but for all humankind, because we all have much to gain by hearing one another's stories, and by experiencing one another in all of our rich fullness – not from a preconceived notion that one group or sex is superior to another

This is important to note at the beginning, because history has largely been told by men. In particular, the stories we have preserved from ancient times tell things from a male perspective, and often ignore women. Thus, we often need to read between the lines and behind the words to really hear the stories of the women who played such a significant role in the events described in the biblical stories, and by extension, in our tradition. 

Of course there are real differences between women and men, just as there are real differences between men, and between women. We are not all the same; as individuals, we are all different from each other. Rather than a problem, however, we can see this as one of the greatest gifts God has given us – the wonderful and amazing gift of difference. The sessions in this study will invite you to explore the stories of some amazing biblical women, to get to know them and to learn from them. How might we live our lives in response to that.

--

Author's Bio:


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:

As we read the ancient texts (of the Hebrew scriptures to study the lives of some Hebrew women recorded there) we come to realize that they were written almost exclusively by men in a male-dominated society. It is sometimes astonishing that there is any acknowledgement of women at all. We discover that sometimes it is important to "read between the lines" rather than simply reading the lines presented...

One could almost be forgiven for assuming that there were not women in that world at all. Reading the Bible is almost like reading Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, in which the women were reduced to baby-making entities and little else.

Consequently, when we encounter a snippet of a woman's story, we need to pause and attempt to read what else is there - at times to reconstruct, at others to fill in the blanks, and in general to assume there is always more to the story than meets the eye.

Regardless of our own gender and sexuality, we must remember that we can learn much about the world by reading these stories. These ancient women, rather than being confined to history, are very much alive within the ongoing story of our faith.

We must let our stories enter our being and become part of our lives.

- taken and interpreted in places from the author's preface.

--

My Thoughts:

Within the past year, before this book came out, our Bible study group at St. David's Church, Calgary also studied the lives of most of the women in this seven session series. 

It is helpful to me to read the stories contained in this book that we did not study. (I'm thinking of names like Eve, Tamar and Rahab.) But I am glad we covered a number of those appearing in Schmidt's book.

There is always a challenge when the study leader is a man and most class-members are women (like me in our church study or Schmidt it this one.) But there is also a benefit when the members of the class are mixed in terms of gender.

When a group has spent a good deal of time together, a lot of honesty can emerge from open discussion. Hidden thoughts and feelings are gradually expressed and more radical views are tempered. Gender is not the key needed characteristic of leadership, but openness to ideas and some new directions of thinking. Integrity is an important quality too.

I thank Donald Schmidt for preparing this study and Wood Lake Publishing for producing it.
_____

Buy the book from:

Wood Lake Publishers - https://tinyurl.com/yepzpduz

Amazon.ca - not yet available

*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

Eldon Godfrey,
Calgary, AB.

Calgary Herald,
June 5th, 2021

"Synagogue, mosque and church
  all under one roof in Germany"

--

Laura Locke,
Calgary, AB

Kolbe Times,
June 19th, 2021

June Issue

--

Jim Taylor,
Okanagan, BC

Personal Web Log
June 13th, 2021

"Our Values Come from Our Communities"

--

Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX

Personal Web Site
June 21st, 2021

"What is Love Asking of Me Now?"

*****

NET NOTES

DIVERSITY AND RACISM
Canada is Deeply Divided 

Angus Reid Poll
June 21st, 2021


--

CALLS GROW TO CANCEL CANADA DAY
Some Canadians are Serious About This

Kitchener Today,
June 16th, 2021


--

HOW TO DEAL WITH VIOLENT SCRIPTURES
Respecting the Bible Through the Challenges

Christian Century,
June 21st, 2021


--

GERMANY GETS FIRST MILITARY 
RABBI IN OVER A CENTURY
A Historic Development

Religion News Service,
June 22nd, 2021


--

CATHOLIC CHURCH TO BLAME
FOR CANADA'S RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS
Leger Poll Results

Catholic Register, Toronto
June 16th, 2021

https://tinyurl.com/yzx9mpmu

--

LUTHERAN WORLD FEDERATION ELECTS
FIRST FEMALE GENERAL SECRETARY
To Lead Global Communion

Religion News Service,
June 21st, 2021


--

FOUR QUESTIONS CHRISTIANS NEED TO ASK
If We Truly Support the Call for Reconciliation 

Broadview,
June 18th, 2021


--

TIBET AFTER THE DALAI LAMA
Here is a Current Chinese Scenario

Religion News Service,
June 16th, 2021


--

MENNONITE TEACHER, PREACHER
BATTLING VACCINE HESITANCY
Manitoba Church Leader is Focused

The Canadian Press,
June 18th, 2021


*****

WISDOM OF THE WEEK

Provided by Sojourners and the Bruderhof online:

God loves, yea is love. Therefore hell itself must be subservient to that love and must be an embodiment of it.

- George MacDonald

--

Christians cannot protest for their religious freedom one day and protest against a mosque opening up down the street the next. Not only does that undermine Christian witness in politics, it undermines religious freedom.

- Michael Wear

--

The importance of detachment from things, the importance of poverty, is that we are supposed to be free from things that we might prefer to people. Wherever things have become more important than people, we are in trouble. That is the crux of the whole matter.

- Thomas Merton

--

It is better to be silent and be, than to talk and not be.… Those who possess the word of Jesus are truly able to hear even his very silence, that they may be perfect and may both act as they speak, and be recognized by their silence. There is nothing which is hid from God, but our very secrets are near to him. Let us therefore do all things as those who have him dwelling in us, that we may be his temples, and he may be in us as our God.

- Ignatius

--

Most people are worth knowing, if you will take time to understand them. Unfamiliarity with other people, ignorance of other people, is what makes war possible and violence possible, and it drives all the social divisions in a school or in a town, nation, or world. When you understand people well enough, you can’t help but love them, even if you hate them too. If you think those are incompatible emotions, I remind you to think about your relationship with almost any close family member. Understanding people is indeed loving them.

- Doris "Granny D" Haddock

-

The poet Stifter once said, “Pain is a holy angel, who shows treasures to people which would otherwise remain forever hidden; through him people have become greater than through all the joys of the world.” It must be so and I tell myself this in my present situation over and over again. The pain of suffering and of longing, which can often be felt even physically, must be there, and we cannot and need not talk it away. But it needs to be overcome every time, and thus there is an even holier angel than the one of pain; that is, the one of joy in God.

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

--

We need the tonic of wildness, to wade sometimes in marshes where the bittern and the meadow-hen lurk, and hear the booming of the snipe; to smell the whispering sedge where only the wilder and more solitary fowl builds her nest, and the mink crawls with its belly close to the ground. At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be infinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature. We must be refreshed by the sight of inexhaustible vigor, vast and titanic features, the sea-coast with its wrecks, the wilderness with its living and its decaying trees, the thunder cloud, and the rain which lasts three weeks and produces freshets. We need to witness our own limits transgressed, and some life pasturing freely where we never wander.

- Henry David Thoreau

--

The prophet, therefore, is somebody whose role is always to be challenging the community to be what it is meant to be – to live out the gift that God has given to it. And so the baptized person, reflecting the prophetic role of Jesus Christ, is a person who needs to be critical, who needs to be a questioner. The baptized person looks around at the Church and may quite often be prompted to say, ‘Have you forgotten what you’re here for?’; ‘Have you forgotten the gift God gave you?                                 

- Rowan Williams

*****

CLOSING THOUGHT - Henri J.M. Nouwen

I am with people who are poor in spirit. They teach me that being is more important than doing, the heart is more important than the mind, and doing things together is more important than doing things alone.

- Henri J.M. Nouwen

CLOSING THOUGHT II - Jacques Ellul

I am convinced that all the works of humankind will be reintegrated in the work of God, and that each one of us, no matter how sinful, will ultimately be saved.

(end)

*****




at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Colleagues List, July 24th, 2022

  Vol. XVIII. No. 1 Archive - Dec 2009 - Oct 2019                                            http://colleagueslist.blogspot / .ca           ...

  • Colleagues List, May 24th, 2020
    Vol XV. No. 42 Archive - Dec 2009 - Oct 2019                                                                                               ...
  • Colleagues List, November 7th, 2021
    Vol XVII. No. 14 Archive - Dec 2009 - Oct 2019                    http://colleagueslist.blogspot / .ca   http://colleagueslistii.blogspot.co...
  • Colleagues List, November 21st, 2021
       Vol XVII. No. 15 Archive - Dec 2009 - Oct 2019                    http://colleagueslist.blogspot / .ca   http://colleagueslistii.blogspot...