Islamic terrorist or Christian zealot?

A bomb explodes in a crowded marketplace, the work of yet another extremist group.  A fundamentalist Christian minister announces that God hates fags, that the only good soldier is a dead one, and that he intends to burn a pile of Korans. A man sights down the barrel of a rifle, pulls the trigger, and justifies to himself the killing of a doctor who has performed abortions.  In each case, the media dutifully reports it, speculates on motives, and writes stories about this latest action by a religious extremist.

For many of us, this is how we learn about other faiths, through the lens of the media, and we conclude, not without merit, that we are far better believers, that our faith is superior, and that we would never do as “they“ do.  But the truth is that most actions by these extremists are rooted in politics and are about power. In addition, the media explores stories addressing the extremists' culture and conditions that spawned their actions. They also identify their religion because most often the perpetrators cloak their actions in their ideology.  The result is that the media can attach convenient labels to extremists, like “Islamic terrorists“, or “Christian zealots”

Not only do we look at other religions through the lens of the media, we look at our own through the lens of our teachings, both at home and in church, and for many, this results in a belief that our faith, our religion, is the only path to God.

I am a Meyers Briggs INTJ. I thrive on truth, knowledge, and ideas, and I believe we are truly privileged to be observers of our universe and given the gift of questions.  It is our inquisitive natures  that drive our collective accomplishments as mankind, and that underpins our search for God and the search for meaning in our lives.  In my life, I have journeyed through history, philosophy, science fiction, classic novels, stories of all kinds that demonstrate who we as mankind were, are, and hope to be.  I have also learned about all of the world's major religions and religious philosophies. The sum of all this has given me a humanistic perspective of life and mankind, and brought with it a great respect for the beliefs of others.  My respect for other faiths comes primarily from the fact we must take matters of religion, and God, on faith alone because there is simply no scientifically proven truth we can look at.  Given that faith is the foundation of our belief, how can we be so arrogant as to say our faith is somehow better, or more real than another’s?

Moreover, if we look at the lives and influences and lessons of all our major Prophets and Messengers, and  for us Christians, Jesus, we quickly see they all taught a similar set of lessons.  What is most interesting to me is that I found my own faith strengthened and invigorated by the realization that we as Christians are not alone in our journey to God, that others have found God in their own way, in their own time, in their own geography, and that we all share this journey together.

Given all this, when I found out about World Interfaith Harmony Week, I saw a chance to put my experiences and beliefs into action.  I have received a great deal of satisfaction in helping to bring the week to Toronto, and moreover, finding so many like minded people.  Together with existing interfaith groups we have created events that are all about “looking for ways to work together” because we believe that by working together with other faiths, we will learn to appreciate what we have in common, and we will learn to respect how we differ, and we will learn that we are simply on different roads together, on a journey to our One Shared God.

So the next time a bomb goes off, or someone threatens to burn Korans, or mock another religion, we can point to intolerance, inability to compromise, and the selfishness of individuals as the cause, not their faith.

The Miracle that is Christmas

Dear Friend,

Christmas is truly a time of celebration, of family, friends, fun and great food. It's a time of great joy as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, come to make a way for humankind to enter into an abundant and blessed life.

The real story of Christmas is that of an incredible miracle. A baby conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, His arrival heralded by angels, welcomed by shepherds and wise men led by a star bearing vast gifts.

Jesus' birth was literally God coming into the world and saying: "I am with you; I desire a relationship with you and am prepared to pay a great price to do so.”

I wonder this Christmas, if amongst the hustle and bustle of the season, you would take a moment to ponder the reality of the miracle of Jesus. God's plan for the world is personal. God has made a way for you through His Son - that is ultimately what the miracle of Christmas is all about.

I hope you can come and celebrate Christmas with us at St. Philip’s Lutheran Church. This year we hold three special services at 4 pm and 7:30 pm Christmas Eve, and

10 am Christmas Day. Please join with us in celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ with carols and all the fun and excitement of the season.

Have a Merry Christmas and prosperous and happy New Year!

God in a Pulitzer Prize Winning Novel

I have recently read a beautiful novel, “Gilead” by Marilynne Robinson, which I want to spread the word about. I first discovered Marilynne Robinson in the late 80s when I by chance saw a Bill Forsyth film based on her book “Housekeeping.” I sought out the book and enjoyed the book even more than I had the movie, which itself was most enjoyable and full of Forsyth's quirky charm and humour. But I find it is often the case that when you have a longer period of time to savour a work, as you do in reading a book versus watching a movie, that you enjoy the book more.

I remembered the name of the author and when I saw that Robinson had published a Pulitzer Prize winning novel in 2004 I bought a copy of “Gilead” for my American nephew for Christmas and then somehow forgot about it. Then for my birthday this year my sister, mother of said American nephew, gave me a copy of “Gilead” and said that I had to read it. I said oh yes I'd heard of it and that she'd probably find it on Jon's bookshelf. I think that she was a bit disappointed that she wasn't introducing me to a previously unknown work! I am, however, the literary sister who took a degree in English literature and has been reading fiction ever since.

First of all, I am in awe of Robinson's craft as a writer. She teaches at the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop, a prestigious American creative writing school, which makes me very curious to know if she can actually teach what she does, which seems so effortless and right. “Gilead” is written in the first person, in the voice of an elderly Congregationalist pastor, and the voice is wholly authentic. I often have trouble “willfully suspending disbelief” when I read a first person narrative, particularly when a man is writing in a woman's voice or vice versa, as Robinson has done here. But here it is totally Reverend John Ames speaking, telling his young son about his life and something of the lives of his father and grandfather who were also pastors in Iowa and Kansas.

If you read contemporary fiction, fine as it often is, you'll probably agree with me that God is usually left entirely out of the picture. But “Gilead” is different - it's about the faith of a man which is inseparable from his life's story, a description of faith that is truly uplifting and wonderful. The narrator gives us a sense of what it is to have a vocation as a pastor and he touches on so many everyday dilemmas of Christian life in ways that he has thought long and hard about.

One thing that really surprised me was Ames' description of his sacramental ministry – of how powerful baptism and communion were to him. I suppose I've had a vague misguided sense that in non-conformist denominations the sacraments have been reduced to mere “symbolic” significance. Ames certainly felt the power of God's presence when he gave these sacraments to his people. Another thing that really struck me was Ames' thorough familiarity with the Bible. He had learned to recite back long passages of the Bible that came after verses his father would recite to him long before he went to the seminary and learned Hebrew and Greek. It seemed that this complete familiarity with God's written word just seeped through all his view of life. (On the other hand, he had a brother who went off to secular studies in Europe and seemingly lost his faith.)

I really can't say enough about the beauty of this book. Robinson has written another book, “Home”, about characters in “Gilead”, which I am eager to read.............And I am happy to know that “Gilead” exists and that I can go back and reread it!  (Aline Kouhi-Klemencic)

A summer read from Pastor Tuula

Summer is here, and with it the lure of vacation, recreation, or at least a little free time. It’s a great time to reacquaint yourself with the pleasures of a good book. But, what to read? There are so many pages out there, and not nearly enough time.

 Maybe I can narrow your list a bit. Let me share with you what I am reading this summer, and the reason why I am rereading a book from several years ago.

This week I visited the office Etobicoke Centre MP, Ted Opitz. I wanted to learn more about the neighbourhood around St. Philip’s and assumed he would know.  'Who are our neighbours?' was my main question. I learned that the area around our church ranks # 8 in the number of senior citizens in Canada. The suggestion was made for the church to provide programs, even spiritual ones, to the seniors. When I inquired about the community housing around the corner, I was informed that many of our newest neighbours live there. Many of them come from Somalia. “But you might not want to reach out to them, because their beliefs and customs are quite different from yours”, the staffer said. I insisted that we would very much like to get to know our neighbours, if they would like to know us. The MP’s office promised to find out, and then arrange a meeting of introductions. 

The year my daughter started her university studies, the New Student Orientation committee at her school, Wagner College in Staten Island, instituted a reading-in-common program for incoming students. New students were encouraged to read a selected book before arriving on campus, and the book was discussed in orientation groups and used as a source of conversation for early residence hall activities and first year class meetings. Parents were encouraged also to read the selection. The book chosen that year was Honky, by Dalton Conley (Vintage, 2005), a memoir of the author’s childhood as one of the few white boys in a neighbourhood of mostly Black and Puerto Rican housing projects on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. His portraits of people caught up in a vortex of race and class in America explain more about life along the colour line, notes one reviewer, 'than does a shelf load of sociologies'. 'There is an old saying that you never really know your own language until you study another,' Conley writes. 'It’s the same with race and class. In fact, race and class are nothing more than a set of stories we tell ourselves to get through the world.'

As I await the meeting,  I will reread this book. 

Is it true? Can God be trusted?

This is how our new pastor, Tuula Van Gaasbeek, began our conversation about the relevance of the church in the 21^st century.   With the decline of church disciplines and the proliferation of social service agencies, this Karl Barth question is really the only essential call to come to church.  Pr.  Tuula went on to affirm that our Lutheran theology offers so many wonderful answers to these questions of spiritual hunger.     Here are some other soundbytes from our conversation that may just help to provide a sense of who she is, as we await her arrival.

Q:  What is Christian community?  It has to be more than a handshake and a cup of coffee.  It has to be an embrace in the arms of God

Q:  What do you try to achieve in your preaching?  I want to make people think.  I want to stir them, give them something to take home.  It’s not giving answers. 

Q:  What do you hope for in a new congregation?  I’m looking for a willingness to take a risk, progressiveness, inclusiveness and open minds.

Q:  What does it mean to be a leader?  It means having a vision and being a catalyst for getting people to take the next steps

Q:  What will you do in the first 100 days or the honeymoon period?  It will be focused on building relationships and building trust

Q:  What is church about?  It’s about equipping Christians to find their place and do their work

We await her arrival in great expectation and pray for an inspired beginning.