Clarion: Journal of Spirituality and Justice

Prime Minister Harper's Apology

Text of Prime Minister Harper’s apology
Wednesday, June 11, 2008

The prepared text of the apology Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered in the House of Commons on Wednesday. Paragraphs in parentheses were spoken in French:

Mr. Speaker, I stand before you today to offer an apology to former students of Indian residential schools. The treatment of children in indian residential schools is a sad chapter in our history. (For over a century the residential schools separated over 150,000 native children from their families and communities).

The New Black -- by Ward Draper

The following text expresses the vulgarity of life on the edge of civility and order. It may offend; it may arouse anger. But be patient and reflect on the pain etched in these words. My desire is only to share the hurt, in its all its naked, violent nature.

Falling heavy upon the cold hard ground draped in filthy rags the search for stillness begins. He seeks to find a few moments solace from a long ruthless day of being a shadow. 

The Olympics: A Call to Resistance -- by David Diewert

Shared with permission from Streams of Justice:

The Olympic Games constitute a key mechanism among a whole array of political and economic strategies for shaping our desires and leading us along in the relentless pursuit of comfort, security and power. It is a spectacular demonstration of the triumph of capitalism with its imperatives of competition and consumption, and the reaffirmation of state power in guaranteeing public order and security, all wrapped in the mesmerizing distraction of sport and entertainment. It celebrates the supremacy of corporate and state power under the guise of a benign athletic event of global cooperation. It is a remarkably effective tool for deepening our ideological entrapment in a system of power that is the antithesis of the kingdom of God announced by Jesus and the way of the cross. In this sense, the Olympics are analogous to the what the devil offered Jesus in the wilderness.

While there are no doubt many reasons for critical opposition to the Olympics, here are five that warrant careful consideration...

The Water of Life by Sarah Armitage

"Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat.For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." Revelation 7:16-17 (NIV)

Dear Friends,

As I write many people in Thailand, Laos and Burma are celebrating their New Year, Songkran. This time of celebration is now famous for being the largest water fight in the world. For three days people walk the streets with water pistols and buckets of ice-water, or stand in groups at the side of the road with large water containers or hose pipes and soak each other and those passing by on foot, motorbike or vehicle. The origin of this holiday is much more sedate. For the Buddhist, Songkran is a time for cleansing and renewal, the name itself means "a move or change". There are many rituals that take place during this time, including the washing of Buddha images and the thorough cleaning of homes. The water fight stems from the tradition of pouring a small amount of water over the head or shoulder of someone to show respect and bless them.

Raising the Dead by Bob Ekblad

At the end of Matthew Jesus commissions his disciples: “Go and make disciples of all the nations.” He tells them to baptize people, “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you” (Matt 28:19-20). What did Jesus command his disciples? Am I practicing these things and teaching others to do the same?

There are many things that Jesus commanded. Reading through Matthew’s Gospel looking for Jesus’ commands is challenging. There are many that are very well known, like “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of people” (4:19), “let your light shine before people” (5:16) “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (5:44), “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (6:33), “do not be anxious for tomorrow” (6:34), “do not judge lest you be judged yourself” (7:1), “ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened to you” (7:7) “enter by the narrow gate” (7:13)

Shine over Babylon by Sheryl Crow

Girl survived tribe's custom of live baby burial

By Jemimah Wright in Brasilia
From Telegraph.Co.Uk

Babies born into some Indian tribes in the Amazon are being buried alive, a practice that is being covered up by the Brazilian authorities out of respect for tribal culture. The tradition is based on beliefs that babies with any sort of physical defect have no souls and that others, such as twins or triplets, are also "cursed". Hakani, who lived in the forest for three years after being abandoned, aged two, by her tribe. She was finally adopted by Marcia and Edson Suzuki and is now attending an ordinary school

Poling the Great River of Suffering: Social Justice and Pastoring by Andy MacPherson

Nothing can be farther from the truth than the facile belief that God only manifests himself in progress, in the improvement of standards of living, in the spread of medicine and the reform of abuses, in the diffusion of organized Christianity. The reaction from this type of theistic dilution, which a few years ago had almost completely supplanted the faith of Moses and Elijah and Jesus among modern Christians, both Protestant and Catholic, is now sweeping multitudes from their religious moorings. Real spiritual progress can only be achieved through catastrophe and suffering, reaching new levels after the profound catharsis which accompanies major upheavals. Every such period of mental and physical agony, while the old is being swept away and the new is still unborn, yields different social patterns and deeper spiritual insights. (W.F. Albright)

It has become glaringly obvious in my own experience that I cannot seem to attach myself to any one social cause or endeavor. As a pastor who wants to live with eyes wide open, I see things that prod my compassion into fight mode. Yet even though I often take steps onto various battlefields, I find myself once again poling my boat out into the great river of suffering looking for that one beachhead upon which I am supposed to sacrifice myself.

 

Is there a place for dreaming? by Wayne Northey

IS THERE A PLACE FOR DREAMING?
RESTORATIVE JUSTICE AND INTERNATIONAL STATE CONFLICT
by Wayne Northey

This lecture grew out of a six-month research project where Wayne served as first Scholar in Residence, Centre
for Research on Conflict, Conflict Studies, Saint Paul University, Ottawa, Canada. He is also writing a book based upon this research.

Download spu_presentation_september_2007__3_1.pdf

George Grant and the Anglican Church of Canada: A 20th Century Prophet by Ron Dart

"Liberalism was, in origin, criticism of the old established order. Today, it is the voice of the establishment."     George Grant

Part I 

The inside flap on the recent book about George Grant, Athens and Jerusalem: George Grant’s Theology, Philosophy, and Politics (2006), says this: ‘George Grant (1918-1988) has been called Canada’s greatest political philosopher. To this day, his work continues to stimulate, challenge, and inspire Canadians to think more deeply about matters of social justice and individual responsibility. However, while there has been considerable discussion of Grant’s political theories, relatively little attention has been paid to their theological and philosophical underpinnings’. There is little doubt, in short, that Grant was the most important Christian public intellectual in Canada in the later half of the 20^th century, and for those who take their faith with some intellectual seriousness, much can be learned from George Grant the prophet, theologian, philosopher and engaged thinker.