Print this issueA Call to Worship
At CTS we are privileged to be pastors and church leaders in training. Why is it then that so many of us do not lead by example? Every Wednesday and Friday morning there is time set aside for us to gather communally for worship. There are no classes, no meetings, and donuts are even provided afterwards. These are great times for us to take a few minutes from our busy lives, slow down, and worship. Each chapel is different, some with prayer, some with a message, some with singing and some with liturgies. The format is always changing, but the goal is always the same: chapel provides an opportunity for us to worship God together.
Man is Wolf to Man
Eastern Promises Reviewed
The House of Meetings, Martin Amis' recent novel, is a glimpse into the conflicted lives of two brothers who spent a portion of their youth in Soviet labor camps. The experience of these camps - brief though it may be when compared to the span of an entire life – lingers, and defines the remaining days of the novel's two main characters. The reader quickly learns that it's futile to think that anyone “gets over” the gulag.
SemEye: Sacred Realty
For countless generations war has battered the Middle East and a little spit of “Holy Land” has been soaked in blood and pierced by mortar fragments. The battle to control this region is fought with strong words and pointed weapons and proclamations of peace are more likely to be met with cynical eye rolls than anything approximating real hope. Now, finally, someone seems to be offering a solution to preserve this sacred space: sell it off!
A Report on the Candidacy Town Hall Meeting
On the 13th of September, several members of the candidacy committee held an open meeting for students interested in learning more about the candidacy process. The members of the committee present were Duane Kelderman, Chair, John Bolt, Don Byker and Doris Rikker and an estimated 100 students also attended. Ron Nydam, a committee member, was absent from the meeting. The meeting began with a description of the place of the Calvin Theological Seminary candidacy committee among the other committees and groups that are involved in the candidacy process. The students were assured that that candidacy committee was ultimately their advocate and would stand by them when their names are submitted to Synod. After these matters were discussed the floor was opened for questions.
When Did We Forget How to Say “Thank You?”
There’s been a lot of talk lately about the Candidacy Meeting on September 13. We (students) have been talking about a lot of things regarding that meeting: how helpful it was or wasn’t, whether or not the Candidacy Committee is putting too much emphasis on psychological analysis, if the word “recommend” should be used instead of “require,” and so on and so forth. These conversations have been very passionate and appropriate as further dialogue is clearly needed on all these issues.