Author Archives: joan mason

QVC: A Social Group for Gay, Bisexual, Lesbian and Transgendered

In the past there has been great misunderstanding between the Christian community and the gay and lesbian community. This has led to much abuse, both ways, so that it has been difficult to be “out” as a gay, bisexual, lesbian or transgendered person in the Christian community or as a Christian in the gay and lesbian community.

The United Church is working to break down the barriers and has a network of supportive, affirming and or inclusive congregations. It worked with other groups to bring about the legalization of same-sex marriages.

Please let anyone you know who may be interested that Queer Victoria Christians, a new, seeker-friendly social group meets monthly at  First†Metropolitan United Church. This social group is for gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgendered people who wish to explore their connection with God. Sponsored by the Victoria Presbytery of the United Church. For more information:

  • E-mail: QVC
  • Phone: (250) 544.8312
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Book Review: Zimmerman, Dennis L. Healing Death: Finding Wholeness When a Cure is No Longer Possible. Pilgrim Press, 2007.

Call no.: 248.866 Z72

Reviewed by Susan Walma.

 Maybe you know someone who is seriously ill or dying. If you are one of these and have concerns as to how to respond or behave in such a situation or would just like hands-on ways as to what to do or not to do, then this book may be for you. The author addresses both the needs and concerns of the person who is dying and their caregivers. Questions about physical and spiritual issues as well as practical and legal plans and decisions that need to be made in regard to caregivers and the dying person, their wishes, and the kind of welfare that optimizes wellbeing in the final stages of life are addressed. Appendices providing help in planning for funerals / memorial services including resources such as Christian or secular suggestions for appropriate readings and music and songs are also included

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Book Review: Williams, Rowan. The Truce of God. Eerdmans, 2005

Call no.: 261.873 W726

Reviewed by:

The title of the book refers to The Peace and Truce of God that was a medieval European movement of the Catholic Church. The movement applied spiritual sanctions in order to control and stop the violence of feudal society and constituted the first organized attempt to control civil society in medieval Europe through non-violent means. It began in 989 AD and survived in some form into the 13th century.

 This book addresses questions about our fears in regard to violence as these apply to the modern era and discusses these using the insights provided by the gospel and the cross. The discussion includes modern concerns in regard to the violence that we experience daily; for example, catastrophes involving complex modern technology as well as terrorism, the terror of the occult as so often expressed in film (The Exorcist), psychopathic violence, uncontrollable animal attacks etc. that are so often presented to us in the mass media in one form or another. The author feels that many of these notions lead to feelings of being unable to address these anxieties and the attendant moral dilemnas that can lead us to a detachment, including a moral one, from the troubling issues we are presented with daily.

 The discussion centres on the nature of the violence that we experience today and disusses what is peace and the nature of the peace and the grace of God that is the antidote to the debillitating effects that these violences have on us. The author does not pretend to provide answers to these troubling issues. Instead, using mostly Christian concepts but also drawing insights from other religions, he has suggested “…how the Christian faith offers some resource for meeting these fears and for reinforcing resistance to those aspects of our culture that will maim and even kill us as human agents if they are left unchallenged.”

 

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Book Review: Rupp, Joyce. Walk in a Relaxed Manner: Life Lessons From the Camino. Orbis Books, 2005.

Call no.: 263.042461 R946

Reviewed by: Gillian Chamberlin

 At age 60 Joyce Rupp, well-known author and speaker, embarked on the adventure of walking the ancient pilgrimage road from the French border to Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. With her walking companion, Tom, a retired pastor, Joyce learned lessons that can help all of us travel life’s journey with more grace and lightness. She writes this account in hopes it will stir up fresh enthusiasm and insight into the gifts available to us in our own lives, as this pilgrimage did in hers.

 A rich account of the events and conditions of the route, the many different encounters with people and the land, and Joyce’s discoveries about herself and her relationships with her human and divine companions.

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Book Review: Rice, Anne. Christ the Lord out of Egypt. Seal Books, 2005.

Call no.: F R495co

Reviewed by Susan Walma

 With this novel Anne Rice has written a story illustrating a year in the early childhood of Jesus. The story begins when Jesus is seven years old at the time that Jesus’ family prepares to leave Egypt. The author uses in-depth research into the lives of ordinary people of the era and New Testament scholarship to flesh out the story of Jesus, as the bible does not provide very much detail in that regard.  The result is a story that provides insights into what Jesus’ early life might have been like and the sorts of questions he might have posed to himself in order to start to understand his Mission on earth. The novel is at once a fascinating and personally engaging, though fictional, look into the early life of Jesus.

 The author has provided an ‘Author’s Note’ where she describes her personal and professional journey towards writing this novel and where she also provides notes on the sources used for the research for the novel. As well, she includes a ‘Note to the Paperback Edition’ where she elaborates on her personal journey and her return to faith

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Book Review: Raza, Raheel. Their Jihad, Not My Jihad! Basileia Books, 2005.

Call no.: 297.72.R278

Reviewed by Susan Walma

 As preparation for the review of this book, I decided to search for the word “jihad” on the Internet and found the following on Wikipedia:

“Jihad … is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jih?d is a noun meaning “struggle.” Jihad appears frequently in the Qur’an and common usage as the idiomatic expression “striving in the way of Allah (al-jihad fi sabil Allah)“. A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid, the plural is mujahideen…”

Raheel Raza in her book writes:

“Interpreting the term jihad to mean ”holy war” is misleading and usually inaccurate. The Qur’anic usage of the term jihad is much broader than the political use of term might imply. The basic meaning of jihad is “struggle” and this struggle is not necessarily an armed struggle. It can mean the struggle for truth and justice or good over evil.

When we understand the word Islam to mean “submission” or “surrender”, then in a certain manner, jihad complements Islam. …” (p. 18)

Both Wikipedia and the book have much more to say about the meaning of the word jihad. I think you will find that the book does so in a more accessible manner clarifying the distinction between the lesser jihad (of the sword) and the greater jihad (of the inner struggle of faith). She discusses much more that we should know and understand of Islam and Muslims in general and their interrelationships in the wider world.

 The writings are organized under the following headings: Political Jihad – A Struggle for the Soul of Islam, Gender Jihad – A Struggle for Women’s Rights and Spiritual Jihad – A Struggle to Know Each Other. She includes commentary about current events, culture, politics, education, the rights of women and just about anything else that engenders controversy between faiths, the politics and current tensions between the east and the west, the Islamic world and the Christian West… Read this book; you will find it enlightening, humourous, educational, and at times heart-rending

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Book Review: Pogue, Carolyn. A World of Faith: Introducing Spiritual Traditions to Teens. CopperHouse, 2007.

Call no: 200.835 P746

Reviewed by Diane Aitken. 

 This book introduces the spiritual traditions of nine world religions to teens: The Goddess Tradition, Aboriginal Spirituality, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, and the Bahai Faith are all briefly introduced by the author. Information about each faith tradition includes: A Green Rule, the Golden Rule, Overview, Thumbnail sketch, Glossary of Terms, Interviews with Youth, Prayer, Rituals and Ceremonies and Rites of Passage. Carol Pogue writes in her usual accessible style.

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Book Review: Phipps, Bill. Cause for Hope: Humanity at the Crossroads. Copper House, 2007.

Call no.: 304.2 P573

Reviewed by Susan Walma

 Bill Phipps, past moderator of the United Church of Canada, was one of the keynote speakers at the Epiphany Explorations of 2009. In this book, he explores the ecological, environmental, economic and social issues and the religious, or rather, the spiritual faith contexts that face modern society and addresses the sacred balance of nature that we have done so much to ignore in our past.

These issues, he feels, are rooted in stories, what he calls the old story that gave rise to excesses of consumerism, disparity between rich and poor and the war machine that upheld it. In contrast, new understandings and the groundwork for new attitudes and solutions are necessary and need to be expressed in the new story, a story that, based on a new understanding of our spirituality, our faith, will give rise to an equitable, fair and holistic approach to these issues and uphold the sacred balance once again.

 Using examples of his own life and that of others, the discussion includes, and I quote chapter headings here because they are more descriptive that anything I could come up with: Change the story, Change the future; Crossroads; the Importance of Story; The Old Story; The New Story; The New Story as Integrating Narrative; Spirituality, Theology, Faith and Disestablishment; Water; The Arts; Humility. Included also are appendices that are expositions of some of the things discussed.

 Read this book. It is timely and a necessary wake up call and a prescription for new beginnings towards a new future for our children, and their children…

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Book Review: Moon, Sharon. Returning to the Healing Oasis: Guided Meditations for Mind, Body, and Spirit. [Book & CD] United Church Pub. House, 2006.

Call no.: 242.M818r and CD 242.M818r

Reviewed by: Susan Walma

 Written by a United Church minister who wrote the ‘Healing Oasis’, the author provides guidance for those leading meditations in the introductory chapters and also provides a series of meditations that can be used by individuals and groups. Each meditation is fully explained with an introduction, preparation, the scriptural basis and reflection as well as the meditation and closure is provided for each. The CD contains seven meditations that are also available in the book. The book includes meditations for all seasons, slowing down, experiencing the healing God through scripture, for spiritual and personal growth and for pastoral care including compassion for those who suffer, preparation for or facing surgery and undergoing chemotherapy.

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Book Review: Manning, Brennan. A Glimpse of Jesus, the Stranger to Self-hatred. Harper SanFrancisco, 2003.

Call no.: 248.4 M283

Reviewed by Susan Walma

 Brennan Manning is a Franciscan priest, an author and lecturer. He wrote this book to address the problem of self-hatred that he feels is ‘the predominant spiritual problem’ he has grappled with and that  can put us, both individuals and the church, into spiritual bondage.

 The book is an intensely personal exploration of faith and thereby serves as an enhancement to the reader’s faith-life. In the book’s chapters we are provided with analyses and descriptions of self-hatred and the prescriptions towards the path of faith that leads to healing and compassion. The chapter headings are suggestive: 1) The script for self-hatred, 2) Jesus: the stranger to self-hatred, 3) Healing through meal-sharing, 4) Deliverance through story telling, 5) Liberation through prayer, 6) Integrity and self-acceptance, and, 7) Compassion and the cross.

 The book is easy to read and digest because the author refrains from writing the kind of ‘dense theological tome’ that would have discouraged this reader from thoroughly enjoying and finishing the book.

 

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