Category Archive: Updates
The Newness of Life
It’s taken me longer than I’d anticipated to read For the Life of the World, largely because I’ve been busy and a little too tired in the evenings to do much reading. But here’s another quotation from my reading tonight:
If the Church is truly the “newness of life” — the world and nature as restored in Christ — it is not, or rather ought not be, a purely religious institution in which to be “pious,” to be a member in “good standing,” means leaving one’s own personality at the entrance — in the “check room” — and replacing it with a worn-out, impersonal, neutral “good Christian” type personality. Piety in fact may be a very dangerous thing, a real opposition to the Holy Spirit who is the Giver of Life — of joy, movement and creativity — and not of the “good conscience” which looks at everything with suspicion, fear and moral indignation.
In other reading news, I’ve finished the first volume of The Book of the New Sun (loved it!) and I’m now reading Agatha Christie’s The Man in the Brown Suit before going back to Gene Wolfe again.
AAPC Photo
Rick has made available a picture of the bloggers who attended the AAPC Pastors Conference. From left to right, me, Rick Capezza, John Owen Butler, Mark Horne. Thanks, Rick!
[Update 2008: Sorry, the picture is gone, and though I have it on my computer I haven’t been able to upload it in a format large enough for you to distinguish which blob is me.]
Back Home
Well, I’m back home again and the vacation is over. The week went by very quickly, but I was able to do a few things I wanted to. I went up to Red Deer, Alberta, about four hours north of here, to visit my parents. I did a little book shopping and a fair bit of reading, which was exactly what I’d wanted to do. As I mentioned a couple of days ago, I managed to find a book (online!) which I’d been seeking for years. I also spent some time on Thursday with Jamie Soles, who’s been a friend of mine ever since Bible college.
On Friday, I drove up to Edmonton, another hour and a half north, to visit Arlette Zinck, who teaches English at King’s University College and who has recently co-edited a book on John Bunyan. I’ve been friends with Arlette ever since we took a Latin class together back in 1990-1991. I hadn’t visited Arlette and her husband Rob for over a year; it’s always surprising to see how their children have grown!
We had a good visit, and on Saturday I drove back to Red Deer, though that statement makes it sound easier than it was. It was about 30 below (Celsius) on Saturday, and my car wouldn’t start. I had to wait about an hour before the guy from Alberta Motor Association came to give me a boost.
Today I attended church with my parents in the morning, and then drove back to Lethbridge, arriving shortly before the evening service here. Now I’m wrapping up my blog entry (but you knew that already, didn’t you?) and then I’m going to get something to eat, make a cup of tea, and sit and read some more of P. G. Wodehouse’s Uneasy Money. Goodnight, all!
Post-Christmas Vacation
After all the busy-ness of Christmas and New Year’s and the AAPC conference, I’m finally taking a short vacation. I don’t have any big plans. I’m spending time at home with my parents, doing some reading, visiting a few friends, doing some more reading…. I arrived here in Red Deer last night. Amazing! They have snow. In Lethbridge, there’s snow, too, but only in very shaded spots. The rest is just dry and brown.
My sister came out to Red Deer from Winnipeg for Christmas and left my Christmas gift here with my parents: Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf.
Heaney is one of my favourite poets. In fact, I’d checked out the poetry section in Chapters on my way here, and thought about picking up a copy of that very book. Good thing I didn’t! Thanks, Charlene!