Post 197--This Confusing World

The heading of the article I draw to your attention today is CNN.  So, I start with them. I was amazed when I saw the heading of this article and when I read its contents. Here we have CNN praising and defending Israel.  They praise Israel for the many Nobel and other awards its citizens have won, far more than any other nation in proportion to its tiny population, certainly far more than the nations that would like nothing better than to see its people erased from the face of the earth. I am not used to such sounds from CNN. Highly unusual.

I agree with CNN on this one. My response to these facts is that I would love Canada to invite the entire Jewish nation to move over to Canada, live where they themselves please and bless Canada with their amazing talents. I cannot imagine how far they would take Canada into the stratosphere of the arts and sciences. Our country would be transformed totally. And the Jews would finally have peace--no one to molest them anymore.

Not only did CNN praise Israel for their accomplishments, but they also criticized the nations that continually criticize Israel; it criticizes the critics. Now, we all know that Israel is not a perfect nation and deserves critique, but what of the nations that major in this critique within the halls of the UN?  The article asks pointed questions about a number of them. Is Israel really worse than those others?  This is a list of rhetorical questions the answers to which are so obvious, they don't need to be spelled out. Why are those nations not taken to task?  What right do they have to critique Israel? Do they have any sort of higher ground from which to expressed their holier-than-thou hypocrisy? 

What amazes me still more is that  Jake Tapper, the anchor of the above CNN programme, expressed all the above in the context of President Trump's declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel. Ordinarily, one would expect CNN to castigate the President for this action.  After all, the network specializes in berating Trump. That's about all I hear them do, the reason I am tired of them and no longer listen to them.  For once they were able to restrain themselves with respect to their President. Another highly unusual event.  I can hardly imagine such restraint on their part!  Is this the same CNN I know?  If you do not believe in miracles, perhaps you ought to do a rethink! Can you blame me for being confused?

That said, I now provide you with the opportunity to hear it from the horse's mouth as it comes to us from the Algemeiner of December 22, 2017.  As our own CBC likes to put it, "Have a listen."


Top CNN Host Calls Out Human Rights-Abusing UN Member-States for Hypocrisy on Israel

Jake Tapper. Photo: Screenshot.

CNN news host Jake Tapper on Thursday called out human rights-abusing UN member-states for their hypocritical focus on Israel.

On his “The Lead” program, hours after the UN General Assembly passed— by a 128-9 margin, with 35 abstentions — a resolution calling for the United States to drop its recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Tapper noted, “The United Nations General Assembly, from 2012 to 2015, has adopted 97 resolutions specifically criticizing an individual country, and of those 97, 83 have focused on Israel. That is 86 percent.”

Tapper continued: “Now certainly Israel is not above criticism, but considering the genocide of the Rohingya people in Myanmar, the lack of basic human rights in North Korea, the children starving in the streets of Venezuela, the citizens of Syria targeted for murder by their own leader using the most grotesque and painful of weapons, you have to ask is Israel truly deserving of 86 percent of the world’s condemnation? Or possibly is something else afoot at the United Nations, something that allows the representative of the Assad government to lecture the United States for moving its embassy?”

Watch the segment below:

T

Post 196--First Coming--by Madeleine L'Engle

I do not know much about Madeleine L'Engle, but I do know whose "First Coming" she's talking about in her  poem.  I'll give you a chance to beat me to it.  Say it!........  Yes, you're right: Jesus's. I found this poem in a church bulletin last night. I immediately changed my plan for this post and decided to let you in on Madeleine's poetic musing.  A fine one it is. Simple, eloquent, true. 

Here it is. Make this pre-Christmas day of Friday worthwhile by doing your own musing on Jesus' birth--the Incarnation, as we call it in proper theological term.  The core of that word is the Latin "Carnus" or some such form, which means "flesh" or "meat. You come across it in words like "carnal" and "carnivore." So guess what "incarnation" refers to--Jesus coming into our flesh and blood, taking on our body.  But let me not digress....


                                                     First Coming

                                He did not wait till the world was ready,
                                till men and nations were at peace.
                                He came when the heavens were unsteady
                                and prisoners cried out for release.   

                                He did not wait for the perfect time.                                     
                                He came when the need was deep and great.
                                He died with sinners in all their grime,
                                turned water into wine.

                                He did not wait till hearts were pure.
                                In joy He came to a tarnished world of sin and doubt.
                                To a world like ours, of anguished shame
                                He came, and His Light would not go out.

                                He came to a world which did not mesh,
                                to heal its tangles, shield its scorn
                                In the mystery of the Word made Flesh
                                The Maker of the stars was born.

                                 We cannot wait till the world is sane
                                 To raise our songs with joyful voice,
                                 For to share our grief, to touch our pain,
                                 He came with Love: Rejoice! Rejoice!

                                 

Post 195--Refugees: An upside-down poem

                                      REFUGEES

                                                      by Brian Bilston 

                              They have no need of our help
                              So do not tell me
                              These haggard faces could belong to you or me
                              We need to see them for who they really are
                                      Chancers and scroungers
                                       Layabouts and loungers
                                      With bombs up their sleeves
                                      Cut-throats and thieves
                              They are not
                                      Welcome here
                              We should make them
                              Go back to where they came from
                              They cannot
                                    Share our food
                                    Share our homes
                                    Share our countries
                               Instead let us
                               Build a wall to keep them out
                               It is not okay to say
                                     These are people just like us
                                     A place should only belong to those who are born there
                               Do not be so stupid to think that
                               The world can be looked at another way.

                                                                          (now read from bottom to top)

                                Christian Courier,  December 19, 2017     

                                You can expect a more Christmasy post within the next day or so.  In the                                                meantime, enjoy these days of preparation for the Feast of the Incarnation. For                                      those not familiar with this sort of Christian terminology, "incarnation" refers to
                                Christ coming to the world in human form. "Carnus" refers to "the flesh" as in                                      "carnivore," --eater of flesh or meat.



You can expect

Post 194--Meditation by Labyrinth

Like most other cities on North America's west coast, Vancouver is a chillingly secular city. Nevertheless, we live in its central West End and are quite surrounded by churches that range from outright liberal to  Evangelical that in turn range from the classical to the mushroom variety that meets behind various facades, though nothing like store fronts. They are peopled by highly educated  and relatively well-to-do young people.  One of the more liberal is St. Paul's Anglican just two blocks down the street from us, one that we pass on average twice a week.  

It's an unusual church. For one thing, its over-a-century-old building is designated a heritage building by the city. Its exterior consists of maroon-painted cedar shingles, not a facade still common in the city. It is well maintained with its gracious appearance and, unlike the recently razed  modern United Church just a couple of blocks away, it appears well attended and is under no threat of coming down. Typical of our liberal churches here, it plays an active part in our downtown culture. 

Example:  More than twenty years ago, before we arrived here, our West End was inundated by pimps and prostitutes that so dominated the streets and traffic that the residents complained enough for the city to install all kinds of traffic calmers and other obstacles such as one-way streets, unexpected diversions, dead ends and cul-de-sacs. The police moved in and hassled prostitutes as well as their clients that eventually they moved out of the area to go who knows where, probably the Down Town East Side, known as the country's poorest postal code just a couple of clicks away. Sanity returned and the people were happy.  

Twenty years later, the dominant spiritual and social attitude had changed. Forces within the community instilled a sense of guilt for driving away that trade. Its practitioners were now seen as victims of circumstances not of their choosing and they should have been protected, not driven out. They were no longer regarded as unwanted; the traditionally negative attitude towards prostitution had given way to acceptance. Well, no surprise. Secularism has little in the way of moral standards. 

Last year, 2016, St. Paul's, along with a segment of the local population and reps of the City Council, established a memorial statue right in front of the church, to remember the victims of that "shameful" cleansing of decades ago.  Now that prostitution era was romanticised and its practitioners practically awarded a sort of sainthood!  The atmosphere had done a complete topsy-turvy. Next time you are in the area, you really must come and take some pics, for this is really something to see. Right there in front of a church! I suspect it is the world's first and only memorial to prostitution, unless New York or San Francisco beat us to the honour!

Now years ago I wrote a blog about a hymn-singing prostitute in the south of Nigeria. I showed plenty of sympathy for her terrible situation that led her into that trade. I was fully aware that this was hardly by choice and that she had few other options. In other words, I did not condemn but understood and sympathized. I am as aware of the terrible dynamics as anyone. 

But understanding and sympathizing is one thing, but to elevate the "profession" to hero status or even sainthood is another.  From all the reading I've done on the subject, most practitioners have descended into its horrible depth because of earlier negative choices that inexorably led them into this pit. It was not their destination of choice, but they landed up against a brick wall that would not budge. They had burnt too many bridges behind them and felt they had nowhere else to turn. 

So, what of that memorial in front of St. Paul's?  I sympathize with prostitution's victims and therefore join the community in its sympathy. A case of sympathy on top of sympathy!  But now to turn its practitioners into saints and ignore all the warnings in the Bible against it or to pretend it has no serious social and physical consequences, enough to turn it into a vice, is another. I have no answer really, but this has gone too far. Sin turned into virtue!  The spiritual atmosphere in the community has changed that much--unbelievable. If the trade were to make a come-back in this area, I doubt that the police would have the balls to counter it or, for that matter, the public--until it once again turns into the terrible nuisance it had become. It might be bound to happen.  

Now, you would never expect this subject from the title above this post. I did not either. the main subject was intended to drive me to that subject. Instead, it became the main subject. So, I'll let that title stand but treat that subject in Post 195. That way you won't be turned off by what became today's unexpected main subject!

Post 193--Meet Canada's New Wonder Woman--the Governor General

If you've been following this blog, you may have gotten the impression that I am not exactly a Trudeau fan--and you're right.  However, unlike most people these days who have little respect for him, I do respect him. The Bible teaches us to have respect for those in authority. It's no small thing to be elected Head of State. So, respect, yes, but agreement, very seldom!

Wait a minute!  Head of State? Trudeau? Not so. Canada's real Head of State is the British Queen Elisabeth whose representative right now is a woman, a most remarkable and gifted woman, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette. That makes her Canada's Governor General, a position she obtained by appointment from Prime Minister the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau. Yes, Canada's Prime Minister appoints his own boss. Perhaps one day I will be able to see "her boss!"

I disagree most of the time with our Right Honourable, but, apart from a few ceremonial or symbolic gestures, I recall agreeing with him wholeheartedly only twice and both cases were about ladies. The first was probably Trudeau's first public decision: gender balance of the Federal Cabinet.  I was really happy about that; thought the world of that move. Great beginning.  I've always wanted more women in high positions, for we men are just too aggressive, ambitious and political. 

The second decision by Trudeau that has my approval is the appointment of Julie Payette as our Governor General. As to the reason for my approval, I can do no better but to treat you to a brief summary of her accomplishments as written up by our Vancouver Centre Member of Parliament, the Honourable Dr. Hedy Fry in her latest report to her constituency under the title,

                         "To Infinity and Beyond: Meet Canada's New Governor General"

As an individual with an impeccable track record of accomplishments, Ms Payette is well-equpped to represent Canadians in this new role:

• In 1992, the Canadian Space Agency plucked her out of a field of 5,330 applicants to become one of four new astronauts.
• She was the second female astronaut and the first Canadian to board the International Space Station.
• Her Excellency is an accomplished pianist and classical singer who has performed with symphony orchestras from Montreal to Switzerland.
• Along with being bilingual in English and French, she can converse in Spanish, Italian, Russian and German.
• Ms. Payette holds 27 honourary doctorates.
• She is a member of the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame, an Officer of the Order of Canada, has a NASA's Exceptional Service Medal and a Knight of the Order of Quebec.  

A new coat of arms was unveiled, featuring white wings that symbolize exploration, liberty and safety. The sigma illustrates her belief in the power of science and facts. Lastly, her motto listed "Per Aspera Ad Astra," translated meaning "Though hardship to the stars."

Her Excellency is the fourth woman to take office as Governor General. Main responsibilities will be to ensure Canada has a functioning, stable Parliament, represent Canada at official events and serve as the Commander in Chief to the Canadian Armed Forces.

The only thing I hesitate about is that last position: Commander in Chief to the Armed Forces. As far as I know, Canada not being a nuclear power, there is no button that, when pressed, can unleash a
nuclear war. So, that is not a concern, not as it is in the US with its current White House Resident. But it seems to me that to hold that position, you need to have some sort of experience in the world of armed forces as well as politics. Ms. Payette has neither. And that holds true for most holders of that position, female or male. No doubt, any action she would take as Commander will be decided upon after extensive consultation with the professionals, but still it makes me kind of uncomfortable. I would prefer that position to be held by the Prime Minister, who is usually more savvy in that respect.

In closing, if you have not yet done so, please welcome with me Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette.

Post 192--"Crazy" Roget

This is the story about a man and his book that has been very helpful to me ever since my college years back in the late 1950s. It is about Peter Mark Roget and his book Roget's Thesaurus. I was in Calvin College, Grand Rapids Michigan. The person who gave the book to me was Ben Wisselink, a student in forestry at the University of BC in Vancouver. Unfortunately, Ben contacted a mysterious kind of illness that did him in. He never graduated. 

As to that book being very useful to me over the years, being a writer, I consulted it frequently, whether I studied and wrote in Canada, the USA, Nigeria or The Netherlands. It was always within reach on shelves just above my desk until 2016, when I noticed a used copy of Webster's Thesaurus published in 1988 sitting on the shelf of a thrift store in Vancouver.  Since my faithful Roget's had fallen apart and had frequently been taped up, I decided to buy the Webster and have been using it since, while poor old Roget's was trashed.  

Webster's boasts about itself on its cover, "It is so simple and easy to use that for many it will largely supersede Roget...." That, according to the Wall Street Journal, a newspaper respected by everyone and, therefore, believed. Well, they were right: It is simple to use, but it took me a long time, over a year of frequent use, that I began to appreciate it almost as much as my Roget's. I sort of felt I betrayed two trusted friends when I discarded it. The first to be betrayed was my friend Ben. After all, this was my last remaining memory of him. The second to be betrayed was the Roget's itself. It had served me so well and effectively that trashing it seemed like trashing another old friend. I did not find Webster's easier to use, but that was probably more due to sentiment than practicality. I've gotten used to it and am okay with it now, though the sense of double betrayal still lingers.

I am sharing the article below with you as my final farewell to both friends and with deep gratitude to both. As a writer, I could not have done without either. Thank you Ben. Thank you Roget, even though you put your unusual book together under suffering circumstances.   

===========

A life of madness, pain and words

Roget: New book looks at the man who created the first thesaurus

The Province, March 30, 2008

His mother suffered dark depressions and tried to dominate his life. His sister and daughter had severe mental problems, his father and wife died young and a beloved uncle committed suicide in his arms.

So what did Peter Mark Roget, the creator of Roget’s Thesaurus, do to handle all the pain, grief, sorrow, affliction, woe, bitterness, unhappiness and misery in a life that lasted more than 90 years?

He made lists.

The 19^th century British scientist made lists of words, creating synonyms for all occasions that ultimately helped make life easier for term paper writers, crossword puzzle lovers and anyone looking for the answer to the age-old question: “What’s another word for …”

And according to a new biography, making his lists saved Roget’s life and by keeping him from succumbing to the depression and misery of those around him.

“As a boy he stumbled upon a remarkable discovery – that compiling lists of words could provide solace, no matter what misfortunes may befall him,” says Joshua Kendall, author of the just-published The Man Who Made Lists, a study of Roget’s life (1779-1869) based on diaries, letters and even an autobiography composed of lists.

Kendall, in a recent interview, said Roget cared more for words than people and that making lists on the scale that he did was obsessive-compulsive behavior that helped him fend off the demons that terrorized his distinguished British family.

Madness was a regular guest in Roget’s home, Kendall said. One of his grandmothers either had schizophrenia or severe depression, and Roget’s mother lapsed into paranoia, often accusing the servants of plotting against her. Both his sister and his daughter suffered depression and mental problems.

Then there was the case of Roget’s uncle, British member of Parliament Sir Samuel Romilly, known for his opposition to the slave trade and for his support of civil liberties. He slit his own throat while Roget tried to get the razor out of his hands.

Unlike a thesaurus, no one understood Uncle Sam’s last words: “My dear … I wish …”

Indeed, to quote most of the Thesaurus listing for pain, Roget’s was a life filled with grief, pain, suffering, distress, affliction, woe, bitterness, heartache, unhappiness, infelicity and misery.

Kendall said, “The lists gave him an alternative world to which to repair.” Many writers have declared their debt to Roget, including Peter Pan’s creator, J.M. Barrie. In homage, he put a copy of the Thesaurus in Captain Hook’s cabin so he could declare: “The man is not wholly evil – he has a Thesaurus in his cabin.”

The 20^th century poet Sylvia Plath called herself “Roget’s Strumpet” to pay respects for all the word choices he gave her.

But the British journalist Simon Winchester holds Roget responsible for helping to dumb down Western culture because his work allows a writer to look it up rather than think it out.

Roget made his first attempt at a thesaurus at age 26 but put aside the effort and did not publish his book until 1852, when he was in his 70s and retired. He then kept busy with it for the rest of his life.

It became an instant hit in Britain but did not sell that well when an American edition was published two years later. But when Americans went crazy for crossword puzzles in the 1920s, the Thesaurus assumed its place on reference shelves.

Kendall’s book is written in a style that he calls “narrative non-fiction,” which contains a lot of dialogue and descriptions of how Roget and his friends feel and think, all, he says, based on source material.

“I did a lot of work to stitch together a narrative,” he said, adding that all the scenes in the book are based on actual events.

Post 191--From Fiesta to Siesta--The Great Hispanic Life Recycle

I just read an article yesterday by a Miami-based Christian Reformed Hispanic pastor, Felix Fernandez, that so delighted me for its Hispanic life wisdom that I want to share it with you. The title is "This Rhythm Is Gonna Get You." (The Banner January 2017, p. 7).

In his effort to explain the life that recycles between fiesta and siesta, Fernandez had trouble finding the right vocabulary for a reading constituency that has a large contingency of Dutch immigrants, including myself, and their descendants in both Canada and the USA. So he did what he had never done before: He resorted to a Dutch-English dictionary to find "equivalents for two of the most important words from my (that is, his) part of the world: "fiesta" and "siesta." These words "shaped how I (Fernandez) approach my entire life," but he had difficulty finding the right words for his readers--that's how far basic concepts of his culture are from the culture of his Western constituency.

My wife and I were once caught up in another culture that has a similar feature. We were wandering around in an Athens market, when all of a sudden the entire place shut down in the middle of the day. What on earth....!  It was this fiesta-siesta thing.  So, it's by no means only Hispanic.

Well, okay, here goes Fernandez.  Enjoy--and think about what most of us seem to be missing!

                                                   ==================

For the first time in my life, I opened a Dutch dictionary. But I struggled to find equivalents for two of the most important words from my part of the world: fiesta and siesta. These two words have shaped how I approach my entire life. My Dominican parents embedded them in my soul from the time I was born in the States. I can still remember as a little child going to bed because I was too tired to stay up until midnight on Noche Buena (Christmas Eve). As I lay there in my room, I could hear my family in the distance, dancing and laughing while Latin music played in the background.

You need to know that I’m writing this article from way down in “the bottom”—the place where everything is an occasion to party. Down here in Miami, the “Magic City,” music from the rapper Pitbull is pounding and horns are always honking. Banquet halls are on every corner, competing with each other like they’re gas stations. We have South Beach, Calle Ocho, La Carreta, and Little Havana in Miami. This city knows how to get together and celebrate.

I long for the day when we can all say the same thing about our personal, congregational, and denominational life: “That person—or church—really knows how to put on her dancing shoes.”

Life is exhausting. Our backs are going to ache and our feet are going to hurt. We have to realize that we are either going to wear ourselves out because we have spent all day focusing on what’s wrong with the world and ourselves, or we are going to need a break because we’ve spent the day dancing with Jesus for what he is making new. Sure, we can have a serious conversation—but let’s have it while sipping on a cup of Cuban coffee and playing a game of dominoes together.

The great news is that after the fiesta comes the siesta. Please keep in mind that you are supposed to take siestas in the middle of the workday, not at night. And taking a siesta doesn’t mean you are lazy. It actually means the opposite. It is an indicator that you have worn yourself out attempting to build something transformative for the glory of God in this world.

Siestas are best utilized by those who take their work seriously but who also understand the secret of contentment. Consider how many naps a newborn infant takes during the day. Perhaps this is part of what Jesus meant when he said we need childlike faith to entire his kingdom. When we find our rest in Jesus, he goes to work on behalf of his people.

The rhythm of the Christian life is simple: after the fiesta comes the siesta, and after the siesta it’s time to fiesta again! Let’s put dancing shoes on our feet and place a pillow under our arm as we prepare to cha-cha our way toward the future God has prepared for us together.

Post 190--A Biblical Reader's Theatre

Below follows a Reader's Theatre from the Old Testament. It is written by

a pastor who was raped during his late teens at college. The story is a

story of how families tend to react in shame.  (S)he who has ears.....  

A Bible Resource in the Wake of #MeToo

RE

Ruth Everhart <rutheverhart@me.com>

Sat 2017-10-28, 2:59 PM

A Bible Resource in the Wake of #MeToo A number of people have asked if they can borrow the Readers Theater of the Tamar Story (2 Samuel 13). I put this resource together for my "Shame: Hope & Healing" workshop last week, and am delighted to share it for free. Just click the link above to access a PDF. Let me know what happens when you use this story with a group. It's powerful stuff. READERS THEATER (2 Samuel 13)

Narrator, Amnon, Jonadab, Absalom, Tamar

Narrator: Absalom, David’s son, had a sister who was very attractive. Her name was Tamar. Amnon, also David’s son, was in love with Tamar. In fact, Amnon was obsessed with his sister Tamar — to the point of making himself sick over her. She was a virgin, so he couldn’t see how he could get his hands on her.

But Amnon had a cousin named Jonadab, who was also a good friend. Jonadab was exceptionally streetwise.
Jonadab: “Hey Amnon, why are you moping around like this, day after day—you, the son of the king! Tell me what’s eating at you.”

Amnon: “In a word, Tamar. My brother Absalom’s sister. I’m in love with her.”

Jonadab: “Here’s what you do. Go to bed and pretend you’re sick. When your father comes to visit you, say, ‘Have my sister Tamar come and prepare some supper for me here where I can watch her and she can feed me.’”

Narrator: So Amnon took to his bed and acted sick. When the king came to visit, Amnon said, “Would you do me a favor? Have my sister Tamar come and make some nourishing dumplings here where I can watch her and be fed by her.” David sent word to Tamar who was home at the time: “Go to the house of your brother Amnon and prepare a meal for him.”

So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house. She took dough, kneaded it, formed it into dumplings, and cooked them while he watched from his bed. But when she took the cooking pot and served him, he wouldn’t eat. Amnon: “Everyone, clear out of the house. Now, Tamar: Bring the food into my bedroom, where we can eat in privacy.”

Narrator: So Tamar took the nourishing dumplings she had prepared and brought them to her brother Amnon in his bedroom. But when she got ready to feed him, he grabbed her. Amnon: “Come to bed with me, sister!”

Tamar: “No, brother! Don’t hurt me! This kind of thing isn’t done in Israel! Don’t do this terrible thing! Where could I carry my shame? And you—you’ll be out on the street in disgrace. Oh, please! Speak to the king—he’ll let you marry me.”

Narrator: But Amnon wouldn’t listen. Being much stronger than she, he raped her. And no sooner had he raped her than he hated her—an immense hatred. The hatred that he felt for her was greater than the love he’d had for her.

 Amnon: “Get up, and get out!”
Tamar: “Oh no, brother. Please! This is an even worse evil than what you just did to me!”

Narrator: But he wouldn’t listen to her. He called for his valet.

Amnon: “Get rid of this woman. Get her out of my sight! And lock the door after her.”

Narrator: The valet threw her out and locked the door behind her. Tamar was wearing a longsleeved gown because that’s how virgin princesses used to dress from early adolescence on. Tamar poured ashes on her head, then she ripped the long-sleeved gown, held her head in her hands, and walked away, sobbing as she went.

Absalom: “Tamar, has your brother Amnon had his way with you? Now, my dear sister, let’s keep it quiet—a family matter. He is, after all, your brother. Don’t take this so hard.”

Narrator: Tamar lived in her brother Absalom’s home, bitter and desolate.

King David heard the whole story and was enraged, but he didn’t discipline Amnon. David doted on Amnon because he was his firstborn. Absalom quit speaking to Amnon—not a word. He hated him for violating his sister Tamar.

Two years went by. One day Absalom got the idea to throw a big sheep-shearing party and invite all the king’s sons. He was finagling it so his brother Amnon would have to make an appearance and the king would have to allow it.

Absalom: Hey there servants, Look sharp, now. When Amnon is well into the sauce and feeling no pain, and I give the order ‘Strike Amnon,’ you kill him! And don’t be afraid—I’m the one giving the command. Courage! You can do it!”

Narrator: Absalom’s servants did to Amnon exactly what their master ordered. The other sons of the king managed to escape, although at first King David thought all his sons were dead.

Jonadab: Don’t be so upset my master, King David. Not all your sons are dead — just Amnon. And I can tell you why. It’s because Absalom has been outraged at Amnon for years, ever since the day Amnon raped his sister Tamar.

Narrator: And David mourned the death of his son Amnon for three years.

(Created by Rev. Ruth Everhart using the Message paraphrase. Please use freely.)

Post 189--Taize Prayer--What and Where in Vancouver

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you may have heard of Taize Prayer. You may be curious about it as I have been. For some reason I never actually bothered to check them out, but today I came across this local (for Vancouverites) article giving a fairly clear picture of it. For me, the surprising thing is that it is right under my nose here in Vancouver BC--only a 30-minute walk from my place. The peculiarity of its location is that it is housed in what is known as Canada's poorest postal code. That is, in the ESDT or East Side Down Town.  But, perhaps this isn't so peculiar; that may be its natural home.

Another peculiarity of Taize Prayer is its popularity with young people.  I am a supporter of the Institute for Christian Studies (ICS) in Toronto, a private, small Christian post-graduate Institute of the highest order and of rigorous research and studies. Our problem is that though our students are young people from all over the world, its supporters are just about exclusively seniors.  That is disturbing to us, for who will take our place when we have left the scene?  We are looking at young people and wonder how we can attract them  into the circle of supporters.  In other words, how will it continue without young people?

But here we are with this global movement that may seem stale to outsiders or overly spiritual but attractive to young people. What gives? What is the difference?  What is the Taize secret? 

I'm now thinking I should go visit the place and check it out. You might do well to investigate whether there might be a chapter in your city and check it out for yourself.  In the meantime, I invite you to read the forwarded article by Alicia Ambrosio. I like both her name and her article. Go for it!

Leap of Faith: The distraction-free peace of Taizé prayer

Alicia Ambrosio / Westender

OCTOBER 10, 2017 12:04 PM   Westender

I’m standing on the corner of East Cordova and Gore streets looking at the facade of a church that looks very much shuttered for the evening. “It looks closed,” my astute sidekick observes as we climb the steps of St. James Anglican Church, trying not to disturb the local resident who has tucked in for the night at one end of the stairs. Indeed, the front door is closed.

We try the sides of the church and, on Cordova Street, find a sign with an arrow pointing towards an open gateway. Cell phone flashlights in hand we follow the walkway until we reach a courtyard and see a warm, glowing light flooding from an open door. This is the entrance to the Blessed Sacrament chapel at St. James – a space reserved for weekday masses and, tonight, for a Taizé prayer gathering.

The Taizé prayer style gets its name from Taizé, France, where a religious community made up of men from different Christian denominations live and work. The Taizé community hosts week-long retreats for young people and has developed a unique style of candle-lit prayer based on scripture, short, simple songs in multiple languages, and long periods of silence.   

Inside the chapel at St. James church, seats and low stools have been arranged in a semi-circle around a cluster of candles on the floor. A young woman with a short crop of dark hair pads around barefoot lighting the candles on the floor and the altar, while three young boys entertain themselves on the floor with unlit candles. She introduces herself as Elisha and invites us to take a seat while she finishes setting up. 

Just when it looks like tonight’s session will be an intimate affair, Elisha turns off the overhead lights, sits on a cushion by the candles, and a group of about half a dozen people silently flood into the chapel. My friend whispers, wide-eyed, “They’re all young people!!”

There are a few moments of silence, before Elisha pulls a large Bible towards her and reads Psalm 94. The reading is followed by more silence, and then the most glorious a cappella music begins. The song is two lines in Latin: “Ubi Caritas et Amor, Ubi Caritas Deus Ibi Est” (meaning “where charity and love are, God is there”) and the melody is just two or three notes repeated over and over. Soon everyone in the chapel is singing, the sound gently bouncing off the high ceiling and filling the cool, candlelit air.

 

I’m not a touchy-feely person of faith, but at a certain point I was surprised to realize my cheeks were wet and my eyes were blurry. At the end of the evening I noted I was not the only person in the chapel who experienced such an effect.

The pattern – a Bible passage, silence, then two or three similarly simple songs – is repeated three times over the course of an hour. After the last song is sung, the lights stay off and the candles stay lit and people get up and leave when they feel ready. “I usually let people stay for quite a while after,” Elisha tells me as we stand in the courtyard chatting.

Taizé prayer evenings have been taking place at St. James on the first Wednesday of every month for almost two years.

The Taizé Community was founded by Roger Schutz in 1949. Today the community is made up of more than a hundred men who make promises to live simple, celibate lives. Most members of the community live in Taizé, while some have been asked to live in disadvantaged parts of the world.

Today the community in France hosts thousands of visitors every year, the vast majority of them young people. Living is simple: dorms or tents. Guests are asked to do regular chores and take part in a variety of workshops, on topics like, “Why poverty is not inevitable and how can we prevent it?” or, “Christians and Muslims living together today” and, “The world changes, ethics remain, what’s my place in that?”

Three times a day church bells sound and everyone gathers together for prayer in the typical Taizé style.

Elisha had a chance to visit the Taizé community a few years back. “I was expecting this contemplative retreat experience, and then bus loads of French high school students arrived and I thought, ‘Oh no.’” To her surprise, the teens kept each other in line and took part wholeheartedly in the community chores, workshops and prayers. The experience drove home for Elisha the belief that all people, especially young people, yearn for peace, stillness and the chance to connect with something bigger than themselves.

Back in Vancouver she felt moved to make Taizé prayer available locally. She knew the chapel at St. James well, having attended the church for many years, and was able to get permission to use the chapel once a month. With the help of a pastor from Artisan Church, a community church based in Railtown, she began hosting the monthly Taizé nights.

Elisha’s only hope was that “in the business of life filled with constant distraction and stress” she could provide a way for people to stop and be still. “We’re constantly distracted, and it’s only when you’re not distracted that you realize you’re unhappy. And when you realize that, you start to ask, ‘What else is there?’ and the only answer is that there has to be something bigger than us.”

In the space and time provided by an evening of Taizé prayer, she hopes people will start asking those questions, and find answers.

• Taizé prayer evenings are held at St. James Anglican Churchthe first Wednesday of every month at 7:30 p.m., in the chapel. St. Andrews United Church is hosting a Taizé contemplative evening on Oct. 15 and Nov. 19.

• After graduating from Simon Fraser University with a degree in communication, Alicia moved to Rome, where she got an unexpected start covering religion. Stints in Toronto, Madrid and Toronto followed, culminating with her return home to the West Coast. Alicia has worked as a television producer and host, and is currently a freelance writer for Aleteia and Catholic News Service, as well as Leap of Faith, the Westender's blog on faith and spirituality in Vancouver.