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A Cross at the Center

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2011-05-01T10:30:00-05:00

“A Cross a the Center”, A Sermon by Robert Campbell.

Textual Idolatry by Rev. Ernest Janzen Sermon

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2011-05-29T10:30:00-05:00

SERMON “Textual Idolatry” Acts 17:16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply distressed to see that the city was full of idols.
A Sermon by Rev. Ernest Janzen.

Rev. Robert Campbell Sermon

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2011-04-24T10:30:00-05:00

Resurrection in the Present Tense, a Sermon by Rev. Robert Campbell.

“‘All Right Then, I’ll Go to Hell’ - Huckleberry Finn”

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2011-03-27T10:30:00-05:00

On Sunday, March 27th, James Christie preached on the topic “‘All Right Then, I’ll Go to Hell’ - Huckleberry Finn”. The video is below our usual standard in picture but crystal clear in sound. Our thanks to Len laRue for giving us as much as was available in recording that morning. Anyway, James's sermon is well worth the listen. (Roy H)

Beam Me Out Scottie

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2011-02-06T10:19:24-06:00

Rev. James Christies preached the following sermon, Sunday, January 30. His topic was "Beam Me Out Scottie". Captain Kirk of the TV show, Star Trek, was often on a strange planet calling to the Enterprise to get him back on board- Beam me up, Scottie. Dr. Christie's sermon topic was not a typographical error! As his sermon makes clear. Thanks to James Campbell for the recording and the audio file.

What Good is God?

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2011-01-30T21:21:05-06:00

What Good is God? In Search of Faith That Matters... Read the article...

"God's Work and Joseph's"

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2011-01-07T17:33:03-06:00

Rev. James Christie's Sermon "God's Work and Joseph's" preached the 4th Sunday in Advent, 2010
(As usual, thanks to James Campbell for the technical help in making this posting possible.)

A Communion Meditation

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2010-12-12T00:54:12-06:00

A Communion Meditation, a Sermon by Rev. Robert Campbell.

A Review: The First Christmas - Marcus J. Borg & John Dominic Crossan

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2010-12-08T22:26:19-06:00

He is a professor at Oregon State University and a frequent contributor to the “Living The Question” DVD programs which we have used in Westminster as part of our Bible Study series. ...The basic position of the authors in The First Christmas is that the birth narrative as presented in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke is not only quite different in the two gospels but is in fact parable, or as they refer to it a “parabolic overture’ to the accounts of Jesus’ ministry which occupy the remainder of the two gospels. ...To pursue “what these stories mean’ the authors reflect on the parallels which Matthew and Luke draw between the Old and New Testaments, for example the figures of Jesus in the New and of Moses in the Old Testament. ...The gospel writers, acutely aware of Rome’s domination over the world of their day use these narratives , according to Borg and Crossan, as subvertive attacks on Rome’s leadership. Where Caesar Augustas is widely referred to as Son of God (Apollo actually), whose name translates in Greek as “One who is to be worshipped” and who brought Peace (the Pax Romana) to the Empire or Kingdom, Jesus, too, becomes the Son of God in the birth narratives, as one also to be worshipped and as a bringer of Peace (just listen to those angels singing to the shepherds!). ...The book is rich in its look at the details of the two gospels, the differences between them and the possible intentions. of the Matthew and Luke as they penned their stories. ...Borg and Crossan contend that the gospels of Matthew and Luke are records of Jesus’ ministry after age 30, that no factual record of Jesus life exists prior to his thirtieth year. These birth narratives, they say, are overtures to the important material, a prelude, a setting of the scene and a laying out of the intent of the authors (Matthew and Luke) as to how they are going to treat those years of Jesus’ most important activity. The First Christmas then is not a debunking of the birth stories but a deeper look at what they are meant to tell us. ... I’ll admit I skipped those chapters on the genealogy of Jesus’ birth (in the one gospel the writer moves from parents to children, ancestors to descendants, in the other gospel the writer moves his genealogical list from children to parents, from descendants back to ancestors. ...Otherwise I came away from reading the book as happy as always with the Christmas we will soon experience at Westminster, And fascinated with what was going on in Matthew’s and Luke’s heads as they set out to write their accounts of our Lord Jesus.

Sermon for Loyalist Sunday

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2010-09-26T10:30:00-05:00

Sermon for Loyalist Sunday, a Sermon by Rev. Robert Campbell.

Threats To Burn The Koran

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2010-09-19T10:30:00-05:00

I have been asked by the Outreach Committee of our church to speak today to the threat that was being made this week by a Florida pastor and his congregation to burn copies of the Koran on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. ...It seems that we are living in an era in which our public life is filled with provocations. ... I point the finger first at the media who cannot seem to pass up on any provocation. They have taken something that might have gone largely unnoticed and blown it up into a major problem that has set the world’s teeth on edge. Now, I suppose that we cannot do anything to stop a small band of extremists from performing a nasty act, making a video of it, and putting it up on You Tube. But what is it that compels the media to make themselves complicit in such activities and to give them more attention than they warrant? ...The burning of books is an assault on the mind and on the spirit, an act of violence. ... When our fellow Christians behave in such a manner, we must be quick to take issue with them, lest the Christian faith be scandalized and the reputation of the church be sullied. Book burning is an activity for Nazis, not Christians, and we must be bold to say so. As of today, it appears that this church in Gainsville, Florida will not be following through on its threat to burn the Koran. But, if it should change its mind and do so at a later date, or if others claiming the name of Christ should do such a thing, a message will be placed on our church sign condemning the act so that the people of our neighbourhood, Muslims especially, will know that the folk of Westminster Church operate from a different set of values and view those who would desecrate any sacred text as having betrayed the faith.

Rev. Ernest Janzen Sermon May 30, 2010

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2010-08-03T23:09:22-05:00

Rev. Ernest Janzen preaches sermon on May 30, 2010.

Rev. Robert Campbell Sermon

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2010-07-11T10:30:00-05:00

Audio of Rev. Robert Campbell’s sermon called “Saying the Right Thing at the Right Time” on July 11th, 2010.

Rev. Jim Christie Preaches

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2010-06-20T10:30:00-05:00

Audio of Rev. James Christie's sermon on June 20th, 2010.

Ernest Janzen's sermon "Golf, Islam, and the 2010 Winter Olympics"

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2010-03-21T10:30:00-05:00

Ernest Janzen's sermon "Golf, Islam, and the 2010 Winter Olympics" from Keith Strachan on Vimeo.

Ernest Janzen preaches as Westminster United Church March 21, 2010.

Rev. James Christie

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2010-02-15T21:06:47-06:00

Rev. James Christie gave the sermon at the service in which he praised Robert for his steadfast attention to the basic issues of the Christian faith. Sermon...

Each of us is an individual

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2009-11-24T20:41:10-06:00

On the one hand there are notions of “standard” lives, and “standard” people (Baby- boomers, The X generation, The A generation, The Post-Modernists), notions which prompt movers and shakers to sniff out our similarities and use them to entice us into living lives not always of our own choosing, to holding attitudes that don’t stand up to the scrutiny of our own critical thinking, to spending and acquiring things we don’t need; the culture we live in therefore encouraging us to adopt a “sense of self” without encouraging much in the way of our personal input. On the other hand many people, modestly, manage to carve out their own personal nitch and are able to say “This is me. ... Then there are those who really break the rules, who stand out by refusing to play the game, or by competing for the prize - whatever it may be - or by looking to hold the most current opinions. ...Because his father was a miner and because Tim had worked in the mine prior to university (both underground, operating scoops and trucks, and working in the cage lift) he returned to cage work in the Bissett mine. ...He finally struck out on his own doing work for which there are no university or Red River College courses; work which can only be learned by apprenticeship and experience. ... This is where Tim found his center because it allows him to work largely on his own , in rugged bush country such as he knew as a boy, setting his own pace, establishing his own personal standards and experiencing pride in what he does, and does well. ...With reference to Tim’s own work he is both a prospector, staking claims on crown land for mining companies, a line cutter (check here for pictures of that activity) surveyor and mapper . The equipment he owns is a proton magnetometer/gradiometer with which he can discern mineral deposits, and map their incidence to help mining companies decide where they should drill to find profitable ore. In a word Tim contracts with Mining companies to provide them with geological data and to stake the claims where his data points the way. ... But it is also exacting work in that the reading he takes with his equipment and the maps he creates from his data can be the beginnings of million dollar investments in mineral exploration. ...“When I’m too old to do this work, we own a farm near Dryden where we can grow our own food and be happy.”

Rev. Dr. James Christie's Remembrance service address November 8, 2009

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2009-11-17T17:44:04-06:00

Rev. Dr. James Christie's Remembrance service address November 8, 2009.

Remembrance service on Vimeo.

Joan Jarvis Preachers Her Final Sermon

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2009-11-07T09:52:56-06:00

Joan Jarvis Preachers Her Final Sermon To The Westminster Congregation.

Joan Jarvis' Sermon Series

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2009-07-19T10:30:00-05:00

A Sermon Series by Joan Jarvis at Westminster Church.

Joan Jarvis' Sermon at Westminster

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2009-06-28T10:30:00-05:00

A Sermon by Joan Jarvis.

Ernest Janzen's Mother's Day Message

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2009-06-10T17:06:10-05:00

Thanks to Ernest for allowing us to carry this video on our website. His text for the sermon was "God is Love” 1 John 4:8b. The sermon was entitled "When God Was A Woman". Also, thanks to Len LaRue and Keith Strachan for handling the technical end of this upload.

Ernest Janzen sermon "When God Was A Woman" from Westminster Church on Vimeo.

Never Out Of His Hands

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2009-05-08T23:47:58-05:00

“Never Out of His Hands” A Sermon by Rev. Robert Campbell.

Why We Believe In The Bear Chief

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2008-11-01T09:00:00-05:00

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In Love with Adultery?

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2008-05-01T09:00:00-05:00

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Paul’s Potty-Mouth

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2008-03-01T09:00:00-06:00

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The Gospel According To Sodom And Gomorrah

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2008-01-01T09:00:00-06:00

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The Exact Day the World Will End

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2008-02-01T09:00:00-06:00

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Pardon Me Myth, Could I Have A Word With You Please?

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2007-06-01T09:00:00-05:00

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“Chicken And Egg” with a Theological Twist

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2007-10-01T09:00:00-05:00

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Dieu, parlez-vous français?

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2007-11-01T09:00:00-05:00

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Some Animals Just Sin Less Than Others?

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2007-05-01T09:00:00-05:00

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Who Was Created in Whose Image?

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2007-03-01T09:00:00-06:00

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Troublesome Words From Jesus For ’07?

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2007-01-01T09:00:00-06:00

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Pardon me myth, could you shed some light on this?

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2007-02-01T09:00:00-06:00

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A Sarcastic God?

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2007-12-01T09:00:00-06:00

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Weed Like A Logical Explanation

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2007-04-01T09:00:00-05:00

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Our First Video

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2009-03-26T07:02:18-05:00

With thanks to Dr. James Christie for his excellent sermon delivered on Sunday, March 6, and for his permission to upload the video to our website. The video quality is not the best (we'll do better in the future) but the audio is fine. We didn't use YouTube because the item is over 10 minutes long, but we're happy to have access to "Vimeo" on this occasion. Thanks to Len LaRue for reformating the video tape to a DVD. And thanks to James Campbell for reformating the DVD to Internet and looking after the uploading. Click here and enjoy!
James Christie, Mar. 15 2009 from Westminster Church on Vimeo

The Bible’s Groundhog Day

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2009-03-23T22:26:57-05:00

It works like this: if the groundhog emerges from hibernation and sees his shadow, this then means six (6) more weeks of Winter. We are told – always a great way of explaining something that has spurious origins – that it was German settlers in Pennsylvania who began the tradition of watching if a groundhog saw its shadow … and this in 1887 ! ...Nova Scotia has Schubenacadie Sam; Ontario is home to Wiarton Willie and Gary the Groundhog; Manitoba’s expert is called Brandon Bob; and further West, we find Balzac Billy in Alberta. The practice of watching groundhogs and their shadows is so widely followed, that when the original Wiarton Willie died, it made headlines around the world. ...Especially when a scientific study (cough, cough) noted that the little rascals only have a 37% success rate…which I think puts them at par with our weather forecasters. ...This means that Gary the Groundhog, Brandon Bob and Balzac Billy did not predict six (6) more weeks of Winter. ...The people who “have” a Wiarton Willie, do so because he is there to speak to a need. ...But it is one small way to get me through a Winter that at times numbs the brain (literally and physically) on the topic of why I live where I live. ...Their purpose is not to have you believe in the myth; but rather, that to which the myth points and how that can assist us. In the case of Wiarton Willie, while “we” look at the little scamp to determine if he will see his shadow or not (which is not important), what we are really concerned about is that which is beyond Willie himself: when will Winter end. ...While “we” look at it and try to use it to explain how the world was created (which is not important), what we should be concerned about is that which is beyond the myth itself: by whom it was created (because that is what we really should be focusing on).

Youth Confirmation Sermon

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2009-02-22T10:30:00-06:00

Future generations could spend more than five years of their lives (and the number keeps increasing as technology changes) “talking” with people around the globe – downloading email messages – blogging – sharing on face book – many of you know all about this stuff – but I must say that much of this is beyond me, but I continue to learn! ...The call of Samuel was one of the first stories I learned in Sunday School – This story of Samuel, hearing and responding to God’s call is a familiar favourite – but it is far more than a touching story about a young boy. Like the stories of Jesus calling the disciples, or Moses being called to lead his people to the promised land or Isaiah the prophet responding to God’s call with a firm “Here I Am Lord, send me,” - God calls vividly, loudly, eagerly and the servant responds eagerly, readily and confidently. Yet for all these Bible passages about God’s call to people, and the response given by these faithful servants, it seems few of us really expect to be called by God – and fewer still, feel prepared to answer that call. Perhaps in part it is because we really don’t expect to hear the voice of God speaking to us – somehow that is too weird – too unlikely - and we therefore fall into the trap of asking “Are these stories really true?” ...We would do well to listen to theologian Marcus Borg who offers that we ask the wrong questions – instead of wondering if something is literally true, we should be asking “Why did the writer tell this story in this way.” ...Perhaps we need to ask why so many of us who profess the faith proclaimed in baptism as we have done this morning – the faith we shared as we spoke the words from our creed – why is it that we can profess these beliefs and then turn around and think that God is not speaking to us personally? ...In my experience, when we hear about the call of God in our lives, we tend to jump to the conclusion that a call from God is one to religious service and we easily dismiss God’s claim on all of us. William Wilberforce, the British politician who played a central role in abolishing the British slave trade and reforming the morals of British Society, came to understand that God calls everyone – he pondered the idea of religious service, but came to the conclusion that that was not for him – more importantly, however, he realized that no matter who we are or what we are doing in life – sacred and secular – we are called by God to a life of meaning and purpose. ...Pay attention when someone tells you how gifted you are, or when someone suggests you might be called to do something you haven’t thought of before…be open to hearing the challenges of others, for this might be the voice of God helping you to reflect on your response in a particular situation. ...Our role as a community of faith is to provide opportunities so that each member may be enabled to respond to their call – as friends and as partners in community with Christ, we learn to share holy love through prayerful service – and so we, like Samuel respond….

A First Century CNN Christmas

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2009-02-19T16:42:48-06:00

I try not to think about things like that, because I just get dizzy with how logic and piety clash to produce drivel. ...The Christmas carols sung during the festive season not only canonize the apparent fact that there are three (3) magi, they even go so far as to NAME them. ...The magi are mentioned ONLY in Matthew’s Gospel, and the word being translated as “wise men” is (magoi). ... Not a negative connotation per se, but instead used to refer to those who have gifted capacities – and that would include the ability to interpret constellations and dreams. ...When the Jews had their first Temple destroyed in 586 BCE, it also meant their being dragged back to Babylon as captives where they remained for decades. ... By the time Jesus was walking around, most people (including Jews and Christians) were rather polished when it came to the Greek language. In fact, many Jews were reading the Hebrew Bible in the Greek language (this text was referred to as the Septuagint). ... In other words, had we lived in Matthew’s community, we would have been well-versed in the Greek language. ...If I were to say “CNN” to someone in the first century of the common era, I would deservedly receive a deer-in-the-headlights look. ...The word for astrologer in the Septuagint is , and is correctly translated into our English Bibles as astrologers. ... With a ringing endorsement eclipsing what Tiger Woods could ever hope to provide, the rest of Matthew’s community could have assurance that their faith was properly directed.

Alert! Book Review

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2009-02-18T20:43:24-06:00

(We don’t get many of these but would be happy to publish any that you care to share with the rest of us. Short or long, if you’ve read a book that really interested you we’d like to hear from you.) The Year of Living Biblically - One Man’s humble quest to follow the Bible as Literally as Possible. ...His last book was The Know-It- All , the result of his taking a year to read the whole of Encyclopedia Britannica. ... A self-confessed non-religious Jew with a crazy uncle Gil whom he describes as a “spiritual omnivore” and a family that puts a Star of David on the top of their Christmas tree, A.J. was able to approach both the Old Testament and the New Testament with a fairly open mind; but also with a determination that he would live the year exactly as the Bible tells him to do. ...A.J. discovered that there are hundreds of rules for living the godly life; the Ten Commandments and Jesus’ two are only the tip of an incredible heap. ... For example, A.J. tells us, the rule about not boiling a young goat in its mother’s milk expands in the Talmud to cover “ Don’t eat cheeseburgers”, “don’t put dairy dishes and meat dishes in the dishwasher together” and wait from one to six hours between eating a dairy course and a meat course.”. ...While Jesus, as a devout Jew, was prepared to follow the laws he usually suggested tempering law with reason and compassion ( in the tradition of other rabbis but with a slightly different slant, perhaps!). But beyond what Jesus said, A.J. found that the New Testament is a minefield of another kind with the Roman Catholic Church standing somewhere in the middle between the Talmud and the Protestants and the Protestant side of Christianity going from extreme Right to “marshmallow” left. The book is divided into nearly three hundred short sections, each preceded by the biblical quotation that held his attention that particular day. A.J.’s writing style is gently comedic but with a respect both for the Good Book and for the people of many different faiths and cults he interviewed over the year.

A sojourn in England

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2009-01-25T19:25:49-06:00

As I look out the window today, January the 14th, Temperature 37 degrees C with the wind chill, I recall the relatively balmy clime in London, England at this time last year. ... In the early 1970’s we spent 2 years in Salisbury and London so this was somewhat of a swan song at the other end of Fred’s career in academic medicine. ...In an attempt to not be too pedantic I will limit myself to describing some of the worship services we attended and interesting churches that we visited. ...We often walked up to Harrow-on-the-Hill, past the famous boy’s school located on the side of the hill to visit a lovely old church, St. ... It has a crypt that Lord Bryon, who was a student at Harrow, was said to lie atop while he composed poems and partook of the fantastic view from the hilltop. ... Mary’s Church is not on the usual tourist map but I think it worth a visit if you ever have the chance. ...The palace is not open to the public except that one may attend the service in this chapel if it is announced in the Saturday edition of the London Times newspaper. The Chapel was historically an organization of clergy and singers that followed the Court and ministered to the Royal Family wherever they were located. ...We thought it would be lovely to treat them to lunch at an ancient and well known 14th century inn called The White Hart. ... So on Easter morning it was a wonderful feeling to sit in this massive house of worship, with a very large congregation singing the Easter Hymns. Our lunch at the White Hart Inn across the close was also a great success, the inn itself being full of history, war on Spain having been declared there and it had an excellent kitchen.

An Upstaging Of The Christmas Story

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2009-01-11T10:30:00-06:00

Every time that any monkey tries to climb the ladder to acquire a banana, all the monkeys are hosed down with ice-cold water. ...Naturally, the novice attempts to climb the ladder for the reward at the top BUT as soon as the other monkeys see this attempt, they pull the apprentice down and even use physical force to prevent the ascension. Soon, the new monkey does not even try to climb the ladder any more because the abuse is just not worth it. ...And yes, each new visitor to the cage thinks it only logical that they climb the ladder UNTIL they are beaten down yet again by the other monkeys. In due course, none of the original dozen monkeys are in the cage BUT when a new monkey is introduced, that new monkey is harangued mercilessly until attempts at the ladder cease. ...But we continue to read (and yet not incorporate) the fact that “…on entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother” (Matthew 2:11). ...Understand, by manger here is likely meant the courtyard that would have been the central part of any lodging establishment or “out back”. ...We know this because after the magi leave without telling King Herod where the child lay we read this: “When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men” (Matthew 2:16). ...Ironically, the very texts that our Christmas nativity scenes are supposed to be based on are the very same texts that actually result in upstaging said pageants. ...But in the absence of being hosed down with the ice-cold water of reality, I’ll continue to let the children enjoy this facet of Christmas that has more to do with choreography that it does biblical interpretation. ...That being said, one might feel somewhat like a new inductee into the cage when one discovers how old Jesus was when the magi came to visit.

Setting the Record Straight! End

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2009-01-04T10:30:00-06:00

A more recent scientist, who made somewhat of a name for himself in experimental circles, despite being a theoretical physicist, was Wolfgang Pauli, an Austrian who is best remembered, perhaps, for the Pauli principle in physics but also, among many, for the Pauli ‘effect’. ... In the late 40s and early 50s, laboratories went out of their way to ensure that the theoretical assistance they needed from Wolfgang Pauli was obtained not on site but on the scientist's home ground. ... However, Pauli occasionally would exhibit anomalous behaviour in his own right being known to leap at graduate students, hold them by their collars and shake them while asking them what they meant by whatever they had just said. From a technical point of view, one of the more unusual characters of recent times was William Parsons Rosse, the Irish astronomer who, in 1841 succeeded to his father's earldom and was later chosen to sit as an Irish representative in the House of Lords. ... He built his ‘dream instrument’ as it has been described by Isaac Asimov, a 72 inch telescope called Leviathon in 1845 which at that time cost him personally £30,000. ... The work that he undertook in assembling this device has been described as particularly quixotic because the weather conditions in that part of Ireland where he built it were so poor that it was rarely possible to use the instrument. ... Having said that, on the few non-dreary days in which he was able to operate the instrument at great cost, he observed spiral shapes of objects that came to be known as galaxies and one in particular that he observed in 1848 was given the name of the crab nebula which it has retained ever since. ...Lord Rutherford's booming voice would ensure that all modern electronics of the time would fail to function after a visit and so an early warning system had to be put in place to ensure that the arrival of the great man was controlled by a sign that said speak softly please. ... Thomson, the discoverer of the electron was apparently so inept as an experimentalist that his technical staff had to band together to ensure that he never got anywhere near his apparatus on most occasions. It is also recorded that several contemporary scientists are noted for the attempts that they have made to discover the author of work that they themselves have generated. ‘In this world, but not of it’ is an epitaph that might be ascribed to some of our closest colleagues, let us be encouraged by the fact that whether they work in teams or as individuals, whether they work in Canada or elsewhere, many of our colleagues are free thinkers, non-conformists and as eccentric as the next man or woman in society.

Setting the Record Straight! Part 1

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2008-10-01T16:00:00-05:00

“What I like about scientists,” said John Wilmott, Minister of supply 1945-47 in the United Kingdom Government, “ is that they are a team so that one need not know their names.” It is perhaps from public statements of this kind that the public gets the predominant impression of the scientist as a colorless, odorless, passionless pioneer who works continually and unemotionally in the far off corner of some dreary and aseptic laboratory. ...The purpose of this short article is to identify several scientists from a variety of disciplines within physical science who seem, in retrospect, to have fallen far short of what John Wilmott might have expected of them. ... They have all contributed notably to their disciplines and fields of study and in most cases the interaction and impression on the public was not only significant but remarkable. ...The appointment of Hamilton as director of Dunsink Observatory at the early age of 22 was a tribute to his excellence as a scientist and an academic but also to his ability to operate effectively and efficiently in an atmosphere of some isolation. ... But above all scientist recall his famous moment of insight when he discovered what we now recognize as vector algebra and in an amazing moment of enlightenment, scrawled on the underside of Broome Bridge on the Royal canal in Dublin the elements of non-communicative algebra and of the mystic relationship between quaternions. Now, why, you may ask, would an eminent scientist want to scribble original scientific discoveries on the underside of a bridge on the Royal canal in Dublin? ...Various of his contemporaries have written of his capacity to get ideas at the breakfast table which, in the absence of writing material, he would scrawl on his egg and then take it to work for his secretary to transcribe onto paper. At times he would make brief notes of the lectures he was about to present on his fingernails and then whenever he was lost for logical thought would refer to his fingernails as the stimulus for further discussion. So he adroitly, in the cause of science, picked up a stone and patiently scrawled the recipe on the underside of the parapet for posterity to view and for himself to remember. The Dunsink Irish Astronomical Journal in the issue commemorating the bicentenary of the Dunsink Observatory (1985) records that in his early days Hamilton was somewhat of a jogger as we would now describe it and used to entertain or perhaps alarm the local residents of the area of Dublin around around Dunsink by hopping on one foot around the high balustrade of the Observatory, a non-trivial exercise at the best of times.

Setting the Record Straight! Part 2

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2008-11-01T16:00:00-05:00

One of the most unusual figures in science in the last number of centuries is perhaps Robert Hooke, a man for which I have considerable sympathy and admiration. Without examining his early life in any significant way, he was a graduate of Westminster School and entered Oxford University at the time at which Sir Isaac Newton was first making his name. ... However, because of his technical ability, he became the first curator of the Royal Society on its foundation and survived for many years on the basis of a small stipend paid to him by the Society in order to carry out two or three experiments per week for members in order to keep them in touch with modern scientific trends. ... But it was also Hooke who managed to rebuild part of the City of London after the fire of 1666 in conjunction with his friend Christopher Wren. It was he also who made the first fundamental discoveries in the field of biology, using the compound microscope, who discovered one of the early binary stars and developed the first theory of earthquakes on which significant later geophysics has been built. ... Many believe him to have been essentially the equal of Isaac Newton but because he was a man of somewhat gross appearance, continually ill with one malady or another, and walked in a peculiar stooped and rapid manner, not unlike a scientific Richard The Third, he was rejected by most of his colleagues and peers despite the excellence of his technical knowledge and academic ability. Many eminent scientists of the time, such as Edward Boyle would never have attained their stature as scientists had it not been for the technical excellence of Robert Hooke. ... It was almost the case of the cure being worse than the disease, and the perpetual headaches that apparently he endured were very evident to his colleagues. Indeed, Robert Boyle has recorded that a sure tried and tested headache cure of blowing powdered human dung into the eyes was one that Hooke adopted with some regularity. ... Michael Shortland, in his recent biography indicates that Robert Hooke is the most eminent scientist never to have had a portrait made. As Samuel Pepys apparently recorded after meeting Hooke in 1665, “Hooke is the most but promises the least of any man in the world that I ever laid eyes upon.”

Setting the Record Straight! Part 3

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2008-12-01T16:00:00-06:00

Anecdotes relating to Hardy's career are many and some of them have been repeated and attributed to others at a later date, both in England and in Canada, but the vignettes which follow relate directly to Hardy and have been communicated to me by students of his and people who supervised me in early stages of my career. ... Normally he would have visited Bristol by train but on this occasion his sister imagined that she would like to do some Christmas shopping in Bristol while Geoffrey [not sure if this was changed from Jeffrey to Geoffrey in the original] was at work at the University. ... It should be noted here that Hardy's visits to Bristol were not infrequent and that on most occasions one of the students that he was supervising would whisk him down to the railroad station at around 4 p.m. so that he might get the appropriate train back to Oxford to get him home for dinner. On this particular occasion, when the hour of four was approaching, one of his students again suggested that he escort him down to the railroad station so that he might get home in reasonable time. Hardy accepted with alacrity, was driven down to the railroad station, took the train and arrived home only to be horrified to find that his sister had not prepared dinner nor was she anywhere to be seen. ... On one occasion, however, when he was obliged to drive through the narrow streets of Cambridge from his rooms, he was forced to brake abruptly because of a young student who had dropped her books in the middle of the road. Being both a mathematician and a gentleman, he immediately leapt out of his car, picked up the student's books and carried them for her to the side of the road where her bus to college was waiting. Being a bus stop which he frequently used, Hardy not only helped this student onto the bus but followed her himself, leaving behind a road blocked by his car, engine running, doors open and without a driver. A student of professor Hardy's who taught me at Queen's University Belfast some years ago also recalled the occasion on which Hardy was giving a mathematics lecture to third year students on analysis and was generating a proof of some theorem such as ‘a continuous function of a continuous function is itself continuous’. ... Some fifteen minutes later when he had not returned, one of the more venturesome of his students went over to the window to look outside and see if there was any sign of Hardy in the quadrangle. ... Whenever he entered the classroom it was therefore not a great surprise that he went over to the blackboard, looked at the word obvious under the heading, ‘proof’, and then put a tick beside it to indicate that such was indeed the case.

Blessing & Peace

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2008-12-25T00:30:00-06:00

What we need to realize however, is that it is precisely for such people that we have Christmas - at least the Christmas the church originally intended us to celebrate. In the season of Advent, the weeks leading up to Christmas, many churches have been reading passages of scripture that speak of hope. These are passages that come from the book of Isaiah and they do not talk about the birth of a baby in Bethlehem. ...These portions of Isaiah were written for the people of Judah who had been taken captive and forced to become refugees in a foreign land. ... They lived without hope for a long time and described themselves as being broken and living in a barren desert with nothing to revive them. ...These words of hope enabled the Jewish people to hang on to their faith in God, knowing there would come a better time. ... The people of Judah did return to their own land and rebuilt their lives knowing that God still loved and cared for them. These passages of scripture from Isaiah are read during the season of Advent, not because they foretell the birth of Christ, but because they speak of hope and new life and the assurance that God is with us even in the difficult times. ...He lived among people who were troubled and he continually encouraged people to have hope, to support one another, to care for one another, to work for justice and love. ... Christmas calls us to support one another, to work together to change our world and to maintain hope for one another. Christmas calls us to have faith and know that God is with us and will lead us through the pain to something better.

Christmas Message

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2008-12-25T10:30:00-06:00

Because of the vagaries of the church calendar and lectionary, Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth gets considerably more attention than Matthew’s account at Christmas-time. In Luke we follow the young couple on their journey to Bethlehem for the census and watch as the child born to Mary is laid in a manger because there is no room them the inn. We hear the angels’ announcement to the shepherds of the good news of a saviour and travel with them to Bethlehem to see this thing that has come to pass. But, by the time Matthew’s wise men arrive on the scene at Epiphany, we have already taken down the decorations and packed Christmas away for another year. And yet, Matthew’s story is so much more our own than Luke’s. ... We are not, by and large, the poor, uneducated, and marginalized of the world as were the rustics of the hillsides. No, we are well-educated, well-versed, well-travelled people, leaders in the community, much more comfortable in the magis’ world of ideas and philosophy than the world of tending sheep. ...But our knowledge and our culture can sometimes put us at odds with the ways of God. This idea of incarnation of God becoming a human being and dwelling with us poses quite a challenge to our reason, our rationality and our well-attested knowledge of the way things work in the world. ... Perhaps the story of the wise men following the star, possibly even against their better judgement, provides both a clue and encouragement for us. Robert Jenson, a scholar at the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton, NJ, happens also to be a poet, and in his poem, Epiphany, he helps us to understand that our storehouse of knowledge can take us only so far in this life and that, in the end, there is always a need to decide and to act.

Little Myth Christmas

info@westminsterchurchwinnipeg.ca — 2008-12-25T10:30:00-06:00

Putting even a finer point on this facet of the Christ Event, only Matthew’s Gospel informs us of the wise men coming from the East. The story tells us that they base their journey on a star that is leading them to where the King of the Jews will be born. According to Matthew 2:9, the star led the wise men to Jerusalem, and then the star went on before them until it came to stand over the place where Jesus lay. ...Had a star been that low to the ground, so as to identify a specific abode, there would have been countless recordings of said activity. ...The answer as to why this story is in Matthew’s Gospel comes in the target audience to whom the words were directed. You need to picture yourself as part of the Matthean community who treasured the words of this Gospel, as it was for them that it was written (and not us). An early Christian community that was small, facing some level of persecution, and a “club” that did not have a long waiting list for sign-ups. ...And it was ON the money that the Emperors plastered their slogans of self-praise, celebrating victories in war, which nation(s) had been defeated, when, and on and on it went. Approximately a century before Matthew’s Gospel was written, imagery ON the coins was introduced to demonstrate that in the Emperor’s death, apotheosis had taken place, and the now-dead Emperor was divine. ...Would you reconsider putting your name on the wait list if you discovered that the BIRTH of the King of the Jews was accompanied with the imagery of divinity? Just as the star was placed above the Emperor’s head, so too the star in Matthew’s Gospel is placed over the head of Jesus.