All Quiet on the Western Front & Weekend Upcoming

     Hi everyone! Well, after spending a week exam-writing, I was able to come home this past Monday to recuperate.  Year Two is all but complete for me, the next thing on my plate being full-time work starting on the 3rd.  Many of my closest friends here have already left or are staying at home, so campus is a little quiet and lonely.  However, this weekend is going to be jam-packed, with men's chorus singing at a spring concert on Saturday and at the Baccalaureate and graduation ceremonies.
     At this point, there really isn't a whole lot of stuff to do.  However, my parents have given me the car for the weekend as they're in BC, which I'm most definitely going to take advantage of.  A road trip just might be in order...!  With all the driving I've done recently (read: extremely little) it's a little haphazard out there on the road.  You know you're a student without wheels when you follow bus routes while driving a car.

The Wind Down...

     Well, well, well.  I completed my last assignment a few days ago, and have spent the past few days "recuperating" (basically sitting around being too lazy to do anything).  I now have the best exam schedule ever, with over a week to study for my various exams, etc.
     Lots of people are saying that they can't wait for it to end, but I'm actually okay with this period of the year -- much less pressure and time to relax.  The weather has been simply  stupendous for the past month so I'm looking forward to taking some long walks.
     Tonight I'm going to a "Peace Talk" event where some of my friends are presenting speeches on various aspects of peace.  It's not a lecture if I don't have to attend -- funny how that works.  The end is near!

A Night at the Theatre: Sherlock Holmes

      Okay, so this is my shout out to the best movie I've seen in over a year.  No -- I'm not kidding!
     Yesterday, some friends and I went to the cheap seats and saw Sherlock Holmes.  Initially I was quite skeptical, because I am a fan of the short stories.  I've read all 12 short stories and would heavily recommend them.  Through the years there have been some low budget mostly black & white renditions of Holmes, but nothing high-budget.  Or good.  
     I do have to admit that purists may not be happy -- this is a very different interpretation on Arthur Doyle's writings.  The plot is original, but the characters are unorthodox -- but apparently more true to the books than previous films.  In any case, I was very impressed.
     What did I like so much about this movie?  Sherlock Holmes.  Robert Downey Jr. played the role; this was the first time I'd seen him in a movie.  He played a very cool, collected, witty Holmes that was completely what I needed last night.  It's a little like the movie "National Treasure" in the randomized, crazy action sequences and elaborate sets.  Except better made, and much better acted.  You should see it!
     

Injustice Visible Concert

     Injustice happens all over the world. We hear about it on the news; we see it around us.  And still, the injustice I see is small compared to elsewhere in the world.  I have been extraordinarily blessed to have grown up in Canada.  
     Last Friday I attended a fundraising concert for Christian Peacemaker Teams organized by CMU student Brad Langendoen.  This concert featured the bands Alanadale, The Natural, Anthony Sweet, and Del Barber.  Money was being raised to provide CPT with video cameras the team uses to document human rights abuses in places like Columbia, Iraq, Israel, and Palestine.  Through documentation comes greater accountability.  

     The concert was top notch.  It look place in CMU's Laudamus Auditorium, and was very well attended.  All of the bands and many other people behind the scenes volunteered their time to put on the concert, and when I talked with Brad later he told me that the concert had raised over $1200, which was enough to replace the CPT's stolen cameras.
     During the concert, while I was sitting in my pew watching this, I couldn't help being amazed what can happen with vision and determination.  Let this be a lesson to anyone who doubts that they can be a positive force in the world!
     For more information, you can visit Brad's website: www.injusticevisible.com.

The Unique Claims of Christ: Negotiating the Christian-Muslim Interface Part 2

Scroll down to see the first part of this series.


     In the second part of his series, Emmanuel Ali El-Shariff talked about his work in evangelizing to the Islamic people.  Emmanuel does this largely over the television and radio, having worked in several Arabic television programs.  He showed us some clips of the shows.  People are encouraged to phone in and have debates with the hosts of the show about the two religions.  The clips he showed got quite heated.  They also do phone-in conversions, allowing people to call in and talk to someone who will guide them in the necessary prayer.  Even when the show isn't running, people can phone in and convert over the phone.
     In one clip, a man called in and started vaguely attacking Christianity.  The hosts refuted his claims, bringing him back to the topic, which was comparing the Bible with the Koran.  I thought the hosts handled the situation very well -- even so, I could just feel the tension on the part of both parties.  Arguing religious beliefs goes after the very core of people.
     This is very different from how I would evangelize.  In the past, these methods would have made me cringe.  I'm now more comfortable with them, but they still strike me as mechanical.  Sure, you can convert hundreds of people (some of which would immediately be in danger of persecution if they shared their beliefs) but how can they grow their faith?  I'm leery of mass conversion because it seems impersonal (even though it's done one-on-one on the phone, it still feels like an assembly line setup).  
     Emmanuel talked about the Islamic people's great need to hear the saving Good News of Christ.  As more Islamic people become Christian through his efforts, I hope that they can show others through their lives what the "easy yoke" of Christ truly is.

The Unique Claims of Christ: Negotiating the Christian-Muslim Interface Part 1

     Earlier this week there was a two-part public lecture in the chapel by a former Muslim, Emmanuel Ali El-Shariff.  He converted to Christianity in 1995, is trilingual (Arabic, English, and French) and is now involved in evangelizing to the Islamic people.  Emmanuel talked about the differences between the Koran and the Bible.
     I found this very interesting because I don't have much knowledge of the Koran.  Islam is the second-largest religion in the world and I know very little about it.  What made this presentation even more interesting was Emmanuel's use of actual selections of each text.  He stressed first that the biggest issue Islamic people have with Christianity is its affirmation that Jesus is divine.  This goes directly against the Islamic belief that God never was human.  Still, Muslims see Jesus as a prophet.  
     Emmanuel talked about his experiences living on the conservative Islamic island where he grew up.  He talked about having doubts but being unable to share them because he knew he would get punished if he did.  With the help of Christian missionaries, he essentially reasoned himself out of Islam by looking at what he saw as inconsistencies in what the Koran said about Jesus.
     The main difference between Islam and Christianity according to Emmanuel is in the phrase "for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:30).  Christianity doesn't hold our sins against us, but rather through the death of Christ allows us to remove the guilt and shame around our sin.  Islam holds people very accountable for their sins and the state upholds much of this tough law.  
     This helps me in understanding the differences between the two faiths, even as it may not be the complete picture and is certainly simplified.  Stay tuned for my next blog post, which will be about how Emmanuel works at evangelizing to Muslims and also my own reflections on sharing faith. 

Week of Solidarity

This past week, the Peace and Social Awareness Committee presented the Week of Solidarity.  I didn't know much about it, so I got a participant, Felicia Schmutz, to explain it to me.

Q: What is the Week of Solidarity?

A: It’s where we fast, and have lentels and rice for lunch and supper, in order to think about and pray about refugees around the world.  We get put into groups, and each group represents a different country.

Q: How long does it last?

A: It lasts for a week.  It started on Sunday night at midnight, and lasted until Friday at 5 pm.  We all got together to celebrate and watched a movie about refugees. 

Q: Why did you decide to get involved?

A: I wanted to get outside myself and pray for others, and to realize how fortunate we are and how grateful we should be for what we have.

Q: What was it like eating rice and lintels for 5 days?

A: At the beginning I didn’t like the taste, but after a while you get used to it.  I put honey on it, and it was better.

Q: Any dizzy spells at all?

A: Nope.  I got a headache at one point.  A few people were feeling a little weak.  Some people cheated a bit and ate some cafeteria food. 


The Week of Solidarity is one of the most intense events put on by student council.  Too intense, it seems, even for me. :-)  And yet, to get the change of perspective from our normal, affluent lifestyle might be a very worthwhile thing.

Job Hunting

Well, it's reading break this week.  Reading break is where we get a time off classes -- either to get caught up, or just to go on a road trip to Minnesota, as some of my friends here are doing.

Personally, I'm taking this opportunity to catch up on school-work.  I actually haven't done any school-work yet, however.  Why?

Because it's job-hunt time, that's why.

Job-hunt time.  The period of time between late December to May (for some it's April!) where students look for summer jobs.  The four-month break is a really cool part of university.  It's a huge opportunity -- here you have the chance to build your skills in a variety of job markets.  And many of them are only or primarily open to university students.  University life allows you to study and have the opportunity of working for a significant part of the year.

If you're looking for jobs and are going to be a full-time university student next year, I would suggest looking for government student jobs.  There are literally tens of thousands of these jobs across Canada.  To apply for federal government jobs, google "fswep" (federal student work experience program).  There you can put yourself in a job bank to be called up for job opportunities.  If you live in Canada, your province should also have its own student government job program: in Manitoba the program is called "STEP".

Good luck!

My Definition of Christian Spirituality

     One of the major assignments in my Exploring Christian Spirituality class taught by Gerry Ediger is to come up with a personalized working definition of Christian Spirituality.  As food for thought, I want to share my working definition with you.  This definition tries to get at what it means to be a Christian.

A Definition of Christian Spirituality

Christian spirituality is a life lived in God’s love
In self-acceptance and freedom.
Once this love, ever present, is realized,
then we are able more and more fully 
to return God’s love and to love others.

In order to receive this closeness to God, it helps to spend time
cultivating an intentional relationship with God.
There is no “right” way to do this, but for guidance we can look to the spiritual disciplines
of Christians before us.
The end goal is towards relationship and away from alienation from God and others.

We can see examples of this inner transformation
In the people around us, and in the example we have in Jesus Christ.
Examples of people
unconstrained by the fear and anxiety which seizes so many
and instead courageously involved 
in freeing others from this anxiety.

Renaissance Resoundings @ CMU

[The unfortunate consequence of my attending Missionfest was me missing the CMU concert "Renaissance Resoundings".  Fortunately some of my friends did go.  What follows is a one perspective of the concert by my friend Beth. -- Edit]

Right!  I recently attended a concert of Renaissance at CMU and subsequently spent a great deal of time and energy trying to convey to my good friend David just how magnificent it was.  This struggle to overcome my awestruck speechlessness got me commandeered into writing the little tidbit you are now reading.  So, here is my opinion on the grand affair.  Some of my descriptions may be a little abstract for some but hey, it was a renaissance concert; expect the artsy. 

            The concert consisted mainly of songs in Italian, but there were also some in Latin and maybe two in English.  There were two singers: a lady mezzo soprano, and a gentleman somewhere between tenor and baritone.  The concert began with a second lady performing on the harpsichord.  Now, if you have never heard a harpsichord…you are missing out.  All ravings aside about how fantastic this woman was (like how her fingers seemed to dance over the keys while she herself remained completely serene and reverent in her playing) the sound of this instrument was nothing if not stirring.  It sounds…like sparkling raspberry and apple pie.  Warm low tones that seemed to wrap around you and hug you, and ringing high tones that made you tingle, all sprinkled over with a refreshing twist on the tonal precision you get from a piano.

            The mezzo soprano singer was absolutely moving.  Thirty seconds into her first rendition I was in tears.  That has never happened to me before, so don’t ask me to explain it, but something about the way she sang just tugged at the heart-strings.  A word often seen on vocal sheet music is expressivo; that’s her to a tee.  Her facial expressions were so full of conviction that I felt I could understand everything she said, even though I don’t speak Italian or Latin.  I won’t rant about how flabbergasting she was technically, but let me assure you most emphatically that she did some UNBELIEVABLE things with her voice.  The runs she executed without ever muddling the sound, the way she married the head and chest tones to make the richest sound possible, or how her high notes seemed to dance in the ceiling… each could be a blog entry all their own.  The gentleman who sang was equally impressive, and once again, I could talk for ages about his technical abilities.  Both singers seemed to perform with a poise that spoke volumes more than I could about their obvious years of experience and study.  I felt very blessed and privileged to be sitting in the auditorium listening to them.

            Accompanying the singers were a flautist and a cellist.  I cannot begin to tell you how delicious the sound is when an airy, shining flute, a warm fuzzy cello, a harpsichord, and two pro-grade singers join forces to tackle the musical genius that was the Renaissance.  Think of the last time you had your favorite food for the first time in ages, or somebody gave you a piece of fantastic news; that kind of thrill is exactly what resulted.  On top of all these wonders, one of the university’s many distinguished choirs graced us with a performance.  The song I found particularly wonderful contained this line, “Here my prayer, and let my crying count.”  The harmony of the voices echoing this plea… it made you want to pray.  It was one of those songs that just gets under your skin and reminds you what a great and awesome God we serve; One who is ever present.  I would close with the suggestion that God was deeply pleased to hear the music He inspired so many years ago brought back to life with such tender fondness as it was Friday night.  Cheers!