Mission and the Ephesian Moment of World Christianity: Pilgrimages of Pain and Hope and the Economics of Eating Together

The historic 1910 Edinburgh missionary conference was a watershed moment for world Christianity as it established a framework for international cooperation in the task of bringing the whole gospel to the whole world.’ That goal has more or less been realized. In fact, with the shift of Christianity’s center of gravity from its traditional heartlands in Europe and the US to the “Global South” of Africa, Asia, and Latin America, the focus of mission must also shift from a preoccupation with ‘transmission’ so as to engage the wider issues of the teleology of missio Dei. Using Andrew Walls’ depiction of the Ephesian Moment, the author explores mission as God’s activity of bringing together diverse social fragments (as bricks of a single building or as parts of the same body) so as to realize what Paul describes as the ‘very height of Christ’s full stature.” In describing the Pilgrimage of Pain and Hope and a visit to an organic farm in Uganda, the author offers “pilgrimage” as an example of mission practice, which reflects and advances this telos. The act of eating together, which pilgrimage fosters, is not only the expression and the test of the Ephesian moment it is the context within which the most pressing theological, pastoral and ecclesiological issues of world Christianity are illumined and engaged.

Ergonomics

Ergonomics is not a panacea. Ergonomics focuses first on fitting the job to the worker, then on fitting the worker into the job. The appropriate application of ergonomic principles, while keeping in mind the individual differences among workers, will lead to improvement in the health and safety of any occupational setting. Perhaps the real significance of ergonomic programs is best considered in light of the possible alternatives. These words from Weiner (1950), also cited by Christensen (1987), sum up the problem of taking a narrow, short term view of the workplace, and the consequences of failing to actively strive for improved ergonomic working conditions: It is a degradation to a human being to chain him to an oar and use him as a source of power; but it is an almost equal degradation to assign him purely repetitive tasks in a factory, which demand less than a millionth of his brainpower. But it is simpler to organize a factory or galley which uses individual human being for a trivial fraction of their worth than it is to provide a world in which they can grow to their full stature (Weiner, 1950).

The Development of Prehistory in Canada, 1935-1985

Over 50 years ago Diamond Jenness stated “Canadian archaeology is a child of recent years that has not yet reached full stature” (Jenness 1932:71). Forty years later William C. Noble, in referring to the above quote observed, “. . . Canadian archaeology has progressed from a childhood state to young adulthood stature, and all present trends indicate a continuing and more sophisticated development in the future” (Noble 1972:34). In my opinion, the analogy is not completely appropriate, because the growth in question has been anything but normal. Indeed, to stay with the analogy would be to observe a child who exhibits little or no growth over many years and then suddenly explodes into a hulk possessing both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde characteristics.

RECENT CHANGES IN THE ALPINE GRASSLANDS OF THE WEST COAST

A full range of both tall and short snowgrass communities are present within the alpine grassland region of the West Coast; Many of the intertussock, fleshy herbs were removed with the initial grazing by wild animals, while the stature of many of the tall tussock communities was reduced with continual heavy grazing. Once major animal control operations were undertaken, a dramatic recovery in stature was recorded on the most favourable sites. This initial response could be very rapid as the tussocks required only a reduction in grazing pressure to attain their full stature.

The Ndebele Kingdom South of the Limpopo River

Starting with a small band of refugees, Mzilikazi built a personal military kingdom on the Zulu model at three successive locations in South Africa. His early successes might be attributed to the disturbances resulting from theDifaqane. Later, his strength was maintained by his ability to incorporate diverse peoples into his polity. The aggressive policy for which he is known was not maintained during those periods in which he felt secure, but rather when he was forced to migrate farther from his major enemy, the Zulu. Evidence supports the contention that his main aim was a search for security. His policies were successful against the threats from African enemies. Only with the coming of white men did they fail. The essential features of Mzilikazi's political system are described to show what he preserved of traditional Nguni practices, what he borrowed from Dingeswayo and Shaka, and what he modified to fit his particular circumstances.The viability of Mzilikazi's developing polity is confirmed by his success in reconstructing his kingdom north of the Limpopo River. Without minimizing the traditional characterization of Mzilikazi as a warrior, a desolator and a tyrant, it is as a creative political administrator that his full stature can be appreciated.

Delius's Stylistic Development

Looking at Delius's music in chronological order, we discover a pattern of development more continuous than an almost life-long reliance on the same technique might suggest. An increasing richness of chord structure, bearing with it its own subtle means of contrast and development, slowly but surely ousted more conventional methods; slowly, that is, apart from the startling jump with which his music suddenly acquired full stature, only to resume its steady progress. As a young man he was far from being the dreamer we might think; in fact, he was very much an adventurer, always on the move, and thoroughly cosmopolitan. We can well imagine that he had little time for contemplation, so that his attitude to beauty would be, at first, conventionally picturesque, and devoid of personal involvement. Bearing in mind that his avowed intention as a composer was to express his emotions, we need not be surprised that with as yet little opportunity for the tranquil recollection needed to crystallize personal emotion, his early music is content to lean on Grieg and early Wagner. As time passed, and his poetic vision deepened, his models served him less satisfactorily until he finally dropped them. This process, probably unconscious, might well have been speeded up if he had been less absorbed in self-expression, and more interested in abstract formal problems. It could possibly be argued, in comparing the early Florida Suite (1888–1890) with Appalachia (1902)—both seemingly inspired by the same events—that the later work is superior because Delius had found the right means of expression; I think not. The emphasis lies the other way in that he had at last realized to the full the awful transience of love and nature, and there are few composers in whom we feel less inclined to divorce matter from style.

Pediatric Surgery

The dedication pays the tribute seemingly expected in this matriarchal culture by a nod to the wife and children "who patiently endured the preparation of this book." What a shameful excuse for not washing the dishes and changing diapers! After this groveling start the author assumes his full stature and we have the benefit of his calloused self indulgence. Those who know the author away from his home consider him to be intelligent, forthright, confident and penetrating, but not dogmatic. These qualities permeate his book and make it a stimulating and balanced presentation.

The Songs and Romances of A. T. Gretchaninoff

A. T. Gretchaninoff's work as a composer embraces all branches of music. In opera, in symphony, in chamber music and in liturgical music, Gretchaninoff has created inspired and profound works which have enriched Russian musical literature. But perhaps the most deeply felt and original of his compositions are in the field of song. His subtle knowledge of the potentialities of the human voice, and the extraordinarily beautiful piano accompaniment, which never intrudes but always gives expressive illustration to the text, make his romances and songs unsurpassed in the vocal literature of Russia and, indeed, of the rest of the world. Many of his songs long ago became popular both in Russia and in other countries. Thus, at the beginning of this century there was no important singer in Russia whose repertory did not include Gretchaninoff's songs. More than that, they spread among the mass of the people and became a part of its heritage. In every home where there was an interest in music or song, one heard the famous Berceuse (Op. 1, No. 5), Quand la hache tombe (Op. 1, No. 2), Triste est la steppe (Op. 5, No. 1), and many Other songs written by Gretchaninoff in his youth. It may be said that Gretchaninoff's songs were as popular in Russia at that time as Schubert's or Schumann's are in Germany. Subsequently these songs spread to Western Europe and America as well. The songs of Gretchaninoff's early period gained wide popularity, being most easily understood by the wide public. But the most musically valuable and the most mature and inspired of his songs remained relatively less well-known. And yet it is precisely in these songs that the composer's individuality and musical inspiration attained their full stature.

Delirious Disorientation: The Law of the Unfamiliar Mistaken for the Familiar

Psychiatry made a great advance when it began to recognize the psychological meaning of mental symptoms—when it took the stand that it is not enough to establish that a patient has, say, delusions, but that one must relate the content of the delusions to the patient's life experience. Another stride has yet to be made, and that is the recognition of the physiological meaning of symptoms. Mental activity being the manifestation of cerebral activity, mental aberration must signify some aberration in the function of the brain, however normal this organ may appear to the eye. In a case of mental disorder, therefore, just as much as in hemiplegia, one must inquire how the laws of physiology reveal themselves in the signs and symptoms of the disease. To return to the example, it is not enough to show that the content of a delusion represents the patient's thoughts and strivings, but there remains the question: What has happened to his brain to cause his thoughts and strivings to assume the guise of delusions, when in a normal man they merely take the form of fancies? When a deluded patient says he is a very rich man, a certain psychological cause is at work. A healthy man, too, may be worried about money, but, in response to this cause, he merely fancies himself a rich man. The demonstration of a psychological cause, therefore, does not explain the sick man's delusion. All it explains is the content of the delusion; since the patient is worried about money, his delusion deals with wealth rather than some other topic. But it does not explain why the patient has delusions. The explanation of this must lie in some cerebral defect which permits inferior modes of thought to occur in response to certain situations. Psychiatry will not reach its full stature as a science until it regards each mentally sick person and each of his symptoms as a problem in cerebral physiology.