Friday 30 October 2020

Grateful Notice

Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan.

—Luke 17:15-16

Since Thanksgiving Day on October 12, my thoughts have often turned to the very idea of gratitude. Perhaps due to my philosopher’s tic, I have found myself asking, ‘what is gratitude, really?’ What is happening in us and through us when we find ourselves grateful for something? Why, moreover, do we find it important to stop and reflect upon what we are grateful for? 

In that perplexity, I have been struck again by the story of the Samaritan who turns back to thank Jesus for the healing he experiences. Why don’t the nine others do the same? One thing that I think is happening in this story is that Luke is trying to get us to notice the noticers, even and especially when they belong to groups we callously dismiss as not mattering. The healed Samaritan is such a noticer: “Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back….” Were the other nine simply ungrateful, then, or might they have actually failed to notice that they had been healed?

While I’m not going to argue for that latter reading, necessarily, I do think it is interesting to entertain its possibility, for it sets up rather nicely the answer that Jesus gives to the Pharisees, recorded right after this story, when they ask him when he thinks the kingdom of God will come. To recall, Jesus gives the enigmatic answer that the kingdom cannot be observed, for it is already “among you” (vs. 21). But why, if it is already among us, do we have so much trouble noticing, or observing it? Why can’t we, like the Samaritan, notice when we are in the midst of healing and the possibility of being healed?

Jesus, as Luke portrays him in this chapter, wants his followers to become noticers like the Samaritan. That is why turning back in gratitude is such an important spiritual exercise: it accustoms us to notice, and even expect, God’s redeeming work in our midst. For healing to become actual, we must notice—with the ‘eyes’ of faith, or the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11)—that God’s healing power is at work among us and thus available to us. Recall Jesus’s words to the Samaritan, lying prostrate at his feet: “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well” (vs. 19).

In the spirit of the healed Samaritan, today I turn back to you and say, ‘Thank you for keeping faith with us!’ As we journey in faith together, may we both notice and become agents of God’s healing possibility—for each other and for everyone else.

Shalom, my friends!

Ronald A. Kuipers


Prayer Letter: November 2020

Monday, November 2 - Friday, November 6:


Please pray this week and next for our Perspective production crew, especially Héctor and Danielle, as they work with our designer and printer to meet the deadline for dropping the mailing in mid-November. This is always a hectic time so we ask for grace and strength for each one as they work together. May all enjoy a sense of accomplishment in the completion of this important and special project.


Please continue to pray for Harley Dekker this week as he works diligently with the auditors to finalize the annual audit of our financial records for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2020. We need to have the information in time for the AGM and the Annual Report so we ask that God would bless each one with grace and speed of deliberation. Once again, we are very thankful for God’s watchful care over us, especially in the second half of the year during the pandemic.


During the U.S. federal elections this week, we pray with our American friends, family, and supporters for a fair and peaceful election at all levels. We pray that those elected to offices across the land will seek justice, mercifully advocate for the oppressed and vulnerable, and strive to bridge the deep polarization that currently divides the U.S. population.


Monday, November 9 - Friday, November 13:


We ask for your continued prayers as we find more ways to communicate with our Christian educators about the Master of Educational Leadership (MA-EL) program. We have adapted the scheduling of the courses so that they are more accessible for working students. Please pray that this will result in a good number of students registering for the courses that we will be offering in the winter term.


On Tuesday, October 10, ICS PhD Candidate and Sessional Lecturer Dean Dettloff will hold the first session of his course, “God of Solidarity: Liberation Theology as Social Movement.” Please pray in thanksgiving for the gift of Dean’s presence in our community and for the many ways in which he contributes to the life of ICS. May all course participants receive in gratitude the fruits of Dean’s dedicated research, which he makes available to his students through engaging, timely, and innovative instruction. 


After many months of COVID-19 contingency adjustments, the ICS Undergraduate Workshop planning committee is thrilled to report that the Fourth Undergraduate Workshop, “Evil, Resistance, and Judgment: Creating a World Fit for Human Habitation” will be held on November 13-14. Please pray that this edition of the workshop, in its new synchronous online format, will be an enriching opportunity for all those participating in the event. 


Monday, November 16 - Friday, November 20:


Please pray for Edith van der Boom as she does the important work of reviewing all of the courses in the MA-EL program in order to consider how best to adapt them so they are more deeply contextualized and relevant for educators. We ask for wisdom and insight for Edith as she leads this process.


During these pandemic times, ICS has worked tirelessly in improving its different communication platforms so that we can offer timely, comprehensive, and engaging information about the scholarship and programming produced by our Senior and Junior Members. One of our most effective means of communication is the Critical Faith podcast, which features conversations with diverse ICS stakeholders and partners. We pray in thanksgiving for the Critical Faith production team, as well as for all its interviewees and listeners. 


We would value your prayers this week as we work with our printer to get this latest very special issue of Perspective out in the mail to our ICS community. Last May, initially because of the restrictions about gathering together, we decided to outsource the preparation of the mailing to our printer. It saved much money and effort, so we decided to continue using this method for all our big mailings. We’re grateful for the expertise of our designer and printer, and pray that the many pieces of this process will come together in a smooth and timely manner.


Monday, November 23 - Friday, November 27:


On Friday, November 27th, the Board of Trustees will meet virtually in two 90 minute sessions, before and after lunch. Please pray for grace and wisdom for our Chair, John Joosse, and all our Board members as they deliberate together on the various matters before them during these unpredictable times. Pray also for ease of use of the virtual meeting technology so that the deliberations go smoothly with little or no disruption.


Our Annual General Meeting will take place virtually on Saturday, November 28th. Please pray for John Joosse as he gives leadership to the meeting and for all those who will participate in the presenting of reports.


In an effort to strengthen the coherence and appeal of our programs, the Educational Policy Committee and Academic Council have undertaken the task of revising the Junior Member handbook. The revised document will aim to present ICS in a way that is both up-to-date and inviting, while preserving what makes our institution and its work unique. Please pray for wisdom and clarity as the EPC and Academic Council bring this monumental task to completion. 


Monday, November 30:


As we quickly move into the end of the Fall term, we would ask you to please pray for our Senior Members (and adjunct and sessional faculty) as they teach in the final two weeks of classes, and as they prepare for their teaching in the quickly approaching Winter term. Pray too for our Academic Dean, Gideon Strauss, as he leads the faculty in their academic programming and policy deliberations.


We would also ask you to pray for our recruitment crew as they work with the faculty to promote the upcoming winter term courses. We ask for wisdom and creativity as we experiment with different ways to package some of our course offerings to make them more attractive and accessible to a wider audience.


Monday 19 October 2020

New Janet Read Exhibition and Online Opening


Artist and ICS alum Janet Read will be opening her new exhibition, High Arctic Light: Paintings and Bookworks, through the Propeller Art Gallery on November 7th. The exhibition will start before the opening, and run in person at the gallery from October 28 through November 15.

Please read more below for details about the gallery and a statement from Janet about the inspiration for the exhibition, and consider joining the virtual opening on Nov. 7th for yourself.

Artist Statement by Janet Read


My current body of work presents “landscapes of consciousness” from a month’s immersion in high Arctic geography. I visited Pond Inlet, Grise Fjord and areas of Devon, Philpotts, and Ellesmere Islands.

Paintings reference the artist’s “being” in the natural world and encounters with those for whom the high north is both wild and home. My paintings are reflective of my personal experience, always aware that Inuit voices must be heard to tell their own stories and history. My work tells the story of a visitor, a sojourner to a remote and sublime region of Canada.

My purpose is to highlight this region and the themes of "wilding and cultivation." These themes invite the viewer to unpack moral, aesthetic, and legal relationships to the land and the people for whom it is sustenance and spirit: landscape and home. The wild is evident in the land and sea. Cultivation is the sea as resource and garden.

Wilding and cultivation go hand in hand in this delicately balanced environment. My work explores these dualities to raise awareness of this fragile and beautiful part of our country through explorations of light, earth, and sea.

Opening and Artwork


Due to the pandemic there will be a Zoom opening on Saturday, November 7th at 2 – 3:00pm EST, rather than a physical onsite opening. To attend, please register with Eventbrite through the gallery by Friday, November 6th: www.propellerartgallery.ca

Janet's drawing, High Arctic: dark horizon #1, was awarded the Juror's Prize at the 2020 Carmichael Landscape Exhibition: Tradition Transformed, at the Orillia Museum of Art and History. [Oct. 2 - Jan.17, 2021] www.instagram.com/p/CGFDIlYlS3W/

Janet's experience with Adventure Canada, the impetus for this body of work, is also highlighted as part of the Mindful Explorers section on their website: www.adventurecanada.com/canadian-high-arctic-and-greenland/high-arctic-light-wilding-and-cultivation

     

Exhibition Details


Janet Read | High Arctic Light: Paintings and Bookworks
Propeller Art Gallery: Oct. 28 through Nov. 15, 2020
Wednesday through Sunday: 1:00 to 5:30 pm or by appointment
All Covid-19 protocols are in place at the gallery.

Propeller Art Gallery, 30 Abell Street, Toronto, ON
Phone: 416-504-7142 

A full e-catalogue of works will be available for viewing on the gallery website when the show opens, or you may email the artist at info@janet-read.com to receive a pdf.


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First image: High Arctic: the vernacular of light, 60x42, oil on linen
Second image: deep ice, deep sky #1, 18x18, oil on panel, 2020 
Third image: Ice #3, 5x5 inches, oil on duralar, 2020