tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151136012024-03-19T03:17:34.074-05:00Stefan's SagaCommentaries on life, faith, news and public affairs by an unrepentant liberal in religion and progressive in politics.Stefan Jonassonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07384898850263698063noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15113601.post-17570533339716921052023-06-21T08:31:00.000-05:002023-06-21T08:31:05.205-05:00A Message of Thanks<p><i>My message of thanks at the Convocation Dinner of the University of Winnipeg, which was held at the Winnipeg Art Gallery – Qaumajuq on Monday, June 19, 2023:</i></p><p>We have so much to be thankful for this evening as we gather for dinner in the midst of the 122nd Convocation of the University of Winnipeg. Varied paths through life have led us here, weaving together different vocations and diverse experiences, and yielding an almost unimaginable bounty for our common table.</p><p>We give thanks for wise teachers and earnest students, for the privilege of living in a society which values education and the examined life. We give thanks for the efforts of those who established the founding colleges of the university, and for the faithful stewards who kept them strong and transformed them into an eminent university. We acknowledge the First Peoples upon whose land our campus stands, knowing that the quest for Truth is our lesson and Reconciliation is our aspiration. We pay tribute to those who have distinguished themselves by their accomplishments and we honour all who have lived their lives in humble but meaningful ways.</p><p>We give thanks in particular for our honorary degree and fellowship recipients, those receiving faculty and staff awards, and our distinguished alumnus. They have all made a profound difference for the better in a world that has benefited from their wisdom and experience, leadership and devotion. The excellence they have modelled is something to which we all aspire</p><p>As we gather amidst this bounty, let us remember that we live in a world that is far from equal and often embroiled in conflict, where the want of many stands in sharp contrast to others’ privilege. May we resolve to take the lessons we have learned, distilled through experience into wisdom, and apply them to the needs of the Earth that is our home.</p><p>Finally, we give thanks for the food we are about to enjoy and the pleasant company we expect to share throughout the evening. We are truly blessed, and for all this we are abidingly grateful.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhitZk1NCtFRrr5ijYSUB3KZ4m0DI34kOcNsevpMpJxfWcXlZokFB5x1wQKsuHUtvJIHNisWL3-Geb8wrZ2bVDRv2aIEBFZp1oBQydfOpXbjVcMTGrJEtc2xySMjdxI_nTurcX7KEqDw-o2AsVlVma7-Ufr1lukyQXL61SIuGFaHWKrTXOMOUaGWA/s960/University%20of%20Winnipeg%20-%20122nd%20Convocation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhitZk1NCtFRrr5ijYSUB3KZ4m0DI34kOcNsevpMpJxfWcXlZokFB5x1wQKsuHUtvJIHNisWL3-Geb8wrZ2bVDRv2aIEBFZp1oBQydfOpXbjVcMTGrJEtc2xySMjdxI_nTurcX7KEqDw-o2AsVlVma7-Ufr1lukyQXL61SIuGFaHWKrTXOMOUaGWA/w400-h300/University%20of%20Winnipeg%20-%20122nd%20Convocation.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The University of Winnipeg – 122nd Convocation</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div><br /></div>Stefan Jonassonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07384898850263698063noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15113601.post-611616018072568872020-11-19T08:46:00.001-06:002020-11-19T08:46:18.951-06:00Sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen at 250<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">A visual artist who played duets with Mendelssohn, a commoner who held the king of Bavaria in thrall, a largely unschooled man who drew the attention of Sir Walter Scott, and a Lutheran who won papal commissions, sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen was the most sought after Icelander of the 19th century. Today, 250 years after his birth, his bronze self-portrait is the only statue of a sculptor in a New York City park, standing in the East Meadow of Central Park. This statue shows him standing with his 1817 creation, <i>Hope</i>. “In essence, Thorvaldsen created a sculpture of a sculptor sculpting a sculpture,” in the words of one commentator.</span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyDfU38J85xiHqHSKj3IssbnzJAOly8oIPwlIdeuV5yRFwQdgXUcUiTRGxI1Jw09JM1EjDhXWpSa0hh8zqmg5ArWYUVwu3MBO5xoIVVBSuR0PwoitZ9w3F4yi2EAmwoCMEnfe5ZQ/s2048/Bertel+Thorvaldsen+%2528Stefan+Jonassson%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyDfU38J85xiHqHSKj3IssbnzJAOly8oIPwlIdeuV5yRFwQdgXUcUiTRGxI1Jw09JM1EjDhXWpSa0hh8zqmg5ArWYUVwu3MBO5xoIVVBSuR0PwoitZ9w3F4yi2EAmwoCMEnfe5ZQ/s320/Bertel+Thorvaldsen+%2528Stefan+Jonassson%2529.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Bertel Thorvaldsen's self-portrait<br />leaning on the goddess Hope.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: georgia;">Bertel Thorvaldsen was born at Grønngade 7 in Copenhagen on November 19, 1770, the son of an Icelandic woodcarver, Gottskálk Thorvaldsen, and his Danish wife, Karen Dagnes (sometimes referred to as Karen Grønlund, which may derive from a household where she worked as a servant). Bertel’s paternal grandfather was Rev. Þorvaldur Gottskálksson, priest of the church at Miklabær in Blönduhlíð, and his great-grandfather, also called Gottskálk, was known as a gifted woodworker and artist. Following Þorvaldur’s death, the younger Gottskálk and his siblings, Ari and Ólöf, moved to Copenhagen, although his sister appears to have later returned to Iceland. Gottskálk earned his living as a woodcarver, creating ornamentation for ships, and Bertel initially followed in his footsteps.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Growing up, he was “somewhat lazy and indifferent” as a student under the tutelage of Rev. Christian Frederik Høyer, a teacher and chaplain at Holmens Kirke, who nevertheless sat him at the head of his class after Bertel won a silver medal from the Royal Danish Academy of Art. A ship’s captain persuaded his father to let him study art on a part-time basis and Bertel won additional awards and recognition, and he was finally awarded a scholarship to study for three years in Rome. He arrived there on March 8, 1797, speaking only Danish, and while he was somewhat popular, he wasn’t especially productive. As the time for him to return to Denmark approached, having accomplished nothing, he began work on a model of <i>Jason</i>, which he destroyed. He made a second model and, on the very day he was to leave, he received a commission from Sir Thomas Hope to carve <i>Jason</i> in marble.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Instead of returning home, he remained in Rome for nearly another four decades, establishing himself as the leading sculptor in Europe. The commissions flowed in and he established a large studio with several apprentices to keep up with the work. Under the patronage of Baron Herman Schubart, Denmark’s ambassador to Naples, Bertel gained access to many of the leading personalities of the day. “He became a great favorite and was lionized by the ladies,” according to Hólmfríður Danielson. “This is not so strange for although he was almost totally without a formal education, he was by now well self-educated, and his grace and charm of manner made him a delightful companion.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdeuYwmagpQ-pxBDiuw1093LkPSp7-edBmQEmsG5gj2hoIxVhmql2CRzM9SimFc2prresXw5WGxsBLceY400ljy_n-RepgOn4FMd5f-fArQR1Fhogrpbj_whz4HYlPODF0r3oCgw/s2048/Summer+in+the+churchyard+at+Tjo%25CC%2588rn+on+Vatnsnes+%2528Photo+-+Stefan%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdeuYwmagpQ-pxBDiuw1093LkPSp7-edBmQEmsG5gj2hoIxVhmql2CRzM9SimFc2prresXw5WGxsBLceY400ljy_n-RepgOn4FMd5f-fArQR1Fhogrpbj_whz4HYlPODF0r3oCgw/s320/Summer+in+the+churchyard+at+Tjo%25CC%2588rn+on+Vatnsnes+%2528Photo+-+Stefan%2529.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Ceramic replicas of Thorvaldsen's bas-reliefs<br />are often found on old Icelandic graves, <br />such as this depiction of <i>Summer</i> in <br />the churchyard at Tjörn on Vatnsnes</span></td></tr></tbody></table>He visited Denmark in 1819, touring the continent en route, and was received as a national hero. While there, he received the commission to create the statuary for Vor Frue Kirke (Church of Our Lady), the new national cathedral erected to replace the one that had been destroyed when the English Navy attacked Copenhagen in 1807. This led to his <i>Christus</i> and the twelve apostles, as well as a baptismal font that he created as a personal gift for the cathedral. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Bertel Thorvaldsen is remembered as an exemplar of the neo-classical tradition. Hómlfríður Danielson observed that “although Thorvaldsen was undeniably bound by tradition and a classicist in his art there was a rich creative element in his handling of the subject matter, which is evident in his works.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">In 1837, Bertel gave his personal collection of his work to Copenhagen – a collection consisting of about 150 statues, 200 busts, and 350 bas-reliefs. He returned to the city to live in 1839. A campaign was launched to build a suitable facility to house the collection and the Thorvaldsen Museum was opened in 1848. Back in Copenhagen, Bertel lived in a flat at Charlottenborg Palace, the home of the Royal Danish Academy of Art, which he served as a councillor. His household included two widows, one of their daughters, and a young sculptor. He died on March 24, 1844, and his remains are entombed in the courtyard of the museum.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Describing the sense of awe inspired by Bertel Thorvaldsen’s work, Hólmfríður Danielson eloquently wrote: “As we stand in awe and admiration before the greatest works of arts we are lifted up into a higher sphere, as it were, and we realize that too much and too often we are concerned with the trivial, the petty things of life, instead of opening our minds to the lasting beauties that have been created by God and by man.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p>Stefan Jonassonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07384898850263698063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15113601.post-69070992422933209582020-11-18T22:52:00.004-06:002020-11-18T23:14:52.574-06:00Matthías Jochumsson, Iceland’s national poet and hymnist<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Naturally enough, one of the most familiar Icelandic songs to the ears of people of Icelandic descent in North America is the country’s national anthem, <i>Ó guð vors lands, </i>which is routinely sung at community gatherings. It is a hauntingly beautiful tune and, while most English-speaking descendants don’t understand the words, it’s common to see people standing a little more erect when the crescendo arrives with <i>“Íslands þúsand ár” </i>– “Iceland’s thousand years!”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span>Ó gud vors lands </span></i><span>was composed as a hymn to mark the millennium of the settlement of Iceland in 1874. It was played publicly for the first time on August 2 that year in Dómkirkjan, the National Cathedral, where the congregation included King Christian IX, who was on a royal visit to present Iceland with a new constitution. The lyrics, which are based on Psalm 90, were written by Rev. Matthías Jochumsson, a popular minister, poet, and playwright, while the tune was composed by Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson (1847-1927), a onetime theology student who turned to the study of music. The anthem came together in Edinburgh, Scotland, where Matthías was visiting Sveinbjörn, who was living there at the time, although there is good reason to believe that Matthías had already been working on the poem while still in Iceland.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCaV6oviXNh6kGrrmp1vry48vdQuM4ei8BvIIfNxa4FCXrcVLR7Asj3cLnClXeRuB4nD-sRmO6Pdemnq185ag3R-yRkBMzZm3tld5ZZYhxkigmUg9aon5peFQRhvkPKkm0cl_x7g/s780/P12+-+Matthi%25CC%2581as+Jochumsson+%2528Public+Domain%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="590" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCaV6oviXNh6kGrrmp1vry48vdQuM4ei8BvIIfNxa4FCXrcVLR7Asj3cLnClXeRuB4nD-sRmO6Pdemnq185ag3R-yRkBMzZm3tld5ZZYhxkigmUg9aon5peFQRhvkPKkm0cl_x7g/s320/P12+-+Matthi%25CC%2581as+Jochumsson+%2528Public+Domain%2529.jpg" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Rev. Matthías Jochumsson died a century ago – on November 18, 1920 – a week after his 85th birthday, on which the University of Iceland honoured him with a doctorate of theology. He was only the third recipient of such an honour from the university.</span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Matthías was born on November 11, 1835, at Skógar in Þorskafjörður, a now abandoned farm at the entryway to the Westfjords. The son of Jochum Magnússon and Þóra Einarsdóttir, he grew up in relative poverty and intended to pursue a career in business, attending a commercial college in Copenhagen and working as a shopkeeper at Flatey in Breiðafjörður. He enrolled in Latínuskólann in Reykjavík (now Menntaskólinn), where he was one of the older students among his peers, before proceeding to </span><span lang="IS" style="font-family: georgia;">Prestaskólinn, the theological college.</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span lang="IS" style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Matthías began his ministry at the churches in Brautarholt and Saubær, both on Kjalarnes, north of Reykjavík, which he served from 1866 until he went abroad in 1872. Returning to Iceland in 1874, he worked as editor of the newspaper <i>Þjóðólfur </i>until 1880, when he resumed his ministry at the churches at Oddi and Keldur in Rangárvallasýsla. In 1886, he accepted a call to the church at Akureyri, where he remained until his retirement in 1899. Matthías was one of the most liberal Icelandic ministers of his generation, holding Unitarian theological views while remaining within the Lutheran Church of Iceland, paving the way for the <i>Ný guðfræði </i>– the “New Theology” that dominated the Church of Iceland during the first half of the 20th century.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">While still a student, he wrote the play <i>Útilegumennirnir </i>(The Outlaws), better known today after its lead character, Skugga-Sveinn, which remains among the most popular dramatic works in Iceland. He was also a prolific translator of poetry, prose, and plays, and his work includes the standard Icelandic versions of Shakespeare’s <i>Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, </i>and <i>Romeo and Juliet</i>. In addition to writing his own hymn texts, he translated or interpreted the hymns of others, the most noteworthy examples being <i>Hljóða nótt </i>(one of the Icelandic versions of Silent Night) and <i>Ó þá náð að eiga Jesú </i>(What a Friend We Have in Jesus).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Matthías was married three times, but his first two wives, Elín and Ingveldur, died tragically young – losses that had a deep impact on this sensitive man’s life and worldview. (His first marriage lasted less than a month; his second, less than a year.) In 1875, he married Guðrún Runólfsdóttir, who was nearly 16 years younger than him, and they had 11 children, all but two of whom lived to adulthood.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">He was well travelled for an Icelander in the 19th century. He attended school in Copenhagen during the winter of 1856 to 1857 and lived abroad in Denmark, Norway, and the United Kingdom from 1872 to 1874. He also travelled in retirement, visiting Scandinavia in 1905 and 1912. His most memorable adventure abroad, from the perspective of North Americans, was his trip to participate in the World Parliament of Religions during the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, which was followed by a tour of the Icelandic communities in the Upper Midwest and Western Canada. In fact, he was the featured speaker at Íslendingadagurinn in 1893.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">While Matthías is most widely remembered for his national anthem, he is more fully recognized as one of the literary giants of 19th century Iceland – a great poet and playwright, an inspiring educator and religious leader, and a profoundly sensitive soul.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></p></div>Stefan Jonassonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07384898850263698063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15113601.post-9036927166946842632019-01-28T11:46:00.000-06:002019-01-28T11:55:01.335-06:00Rebelling against crap<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"In the EU and at least 18 U.S. states, regulators are starting to listen and considering proposals that address the impact of planned obsolescence by making household goods sturdier and easier to mend, reports the BBC," according to Fortune magazine. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Our economic system rewards manufacturers for making crap, protects their unfair proprietary "rights" through regulation, and then allows them to abdicate responsibility for the costs to both the environment and the economy when built-in obsolescence takes over and their spent products end up in landfalls. And while both present-day consumers and future generations pay the price for this, giant corporations take their profits to the bank.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My grandmother had a lightbulb in her front hallway that was there when she and my grandfather moved into their house in 1940; it was still there when my mother sold her house in 1970. That may have been unusual longevity, but when I compare it to the squirrelly bulbs I now have to buy which are supposed to last for 18 years but rarely last for 18 months, it speaks to the quality of manufacture. Another illustration is the basement fridge that my mother bought used or reconditioned in 1967 that was still keeping the beer cold in 2012 when we sold her house. Manitoba Hydro would have paid her $50 to carry it away and get a more energy efficient model, but how much energy is wasted by sending processed metal and plastics to the landfill?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Major appliances, computers, televisions, automobiles, furnaces, furniture, clothing – everywhere we turn, we've happily substituted quality for crap. And the planet in increasingly buried in our waste.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://fortune.com/2019/01/09/right-to-repair-manufacturers/?fbclid=IwAR33cLxkLXzjgL1cf0xLIrU3rbCXdvPuP9jWFXO2wU9iRBiKTJS4i88vEgU" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The 'Right to Repair' Movement Is Gaining Ground and Could Hit Manufacturers Hard</span></a>Stefan Jonassonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07384898850263698063noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15113601.post-15028774270205852902018-12-01T18:33:00.000-06:002018-12-01T18:34:35.683-06:00The ongoing struggle for independence<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia";">Iceland wasn’t the only country to achieve its independence in 1918, but it is the only country to win its national sovereignty that year and succeed in maintaining both its independence and territorial integrity to the present day. Other countries that reckon milestones of independence in 1918 include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, and Yemen. Yet none of these other countries has been continuously self-governing over the century that followed. Although Iceland was occupied by Britain and then the United States during World War II, it remained sovereign and self- governing during those years and actually took the final step of independence by declaring the republic in 1944. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia";"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWEjGm2txq7YC7ccroCIa0WNaz4locORBN9JTJfggEDxQPrx4HTfmH8YdorjdVKBS8EB1E3xAX6ukrPe4HWVomE075I5_ipZGYGLoREXNrmitLiZ20ORiJF4mtkWb10LSr6xwhxw/s1600/Fullvedisha%25CC%2581ti%25C3%25B0+2018+%2528Marino+Thorlacius%253A%253A+Ministry+of+Foreign+Affairs%252C+Iceland%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWEjGm2txq7YC7ccroCIa0WNaz4locORBN9JTJfggEDxQPrx4HTfmH8YdorjdVKBS8EB1E3xAX6ukrPe4HWVomE075I5_ipZGYGLoREXNrmitLiZ20ORiJF4mtkWb10LSr6xwhxw/s400/Fullvedisha%25CC%2581ti%25C3%25B0+2018+%2528Marino+Thorlacius%253A%253A+Ministry+of+Foreign+Affairs%252C+Iceland%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fullvedishátið 2018 (Marino Thorlacius / Ministry of Foreign Affairs)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia";">Noting that both Canada and Iceland achieved their independence “without revolutions of bloodshed in either country,” former President of Iceland Ásgeir Ásgeirsson said, “we may rejoice wholeheartedly in this good fortune. In Iceland the restoration of independence was made possible by the unbroken continuity of our history.” The peaceful birth of both countries, through evolution and negotiation, appealing to persuasive arguments rather than force of arms, were noteworthy achievements in the annals of human history. Northrop Frye referred to Canada as a “peaceable kingdom,” drawing upon an idea that had been popularized among theologians in the 19th century, and the same might be said about Iceland from the time of its independence in 1918 until it became a republic. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia";">In 1974, Haraldur Kröyer, who was Iceland’s ambassador to the United States and Canada at the time, said, “The struggle for national independence did not end in 1918, nor in 1944. That struggle is still going on. A people’s fight for its right of existence as a nation, for its economic independence and political sovereignty is a never-ending struggle.” He went on to say, “We, who inherited Iceland from those who brought it beyond the threshold of political and economic independence, must ask ourselves today how we have guarded the heritage entrusted to us.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia";">The simple fact that Iceland is the only country to achieve sovereignty in 1918 and maintain it bears witness to Haraldur Kröyer’s insightful observation. Independence is not a once-and-for-all achievement, but an ongoing struggle. Political democracy demands the active participation of its citizens; we cannot abdicate the responsibilities of citizenship to the few, especially those who mistakenly believe they know better than the collective will of the people. Economic independence demands hard work and resourcefulness, combined with fair play and equity. National sovereignty demands a willingness to pay the price needed to sustain the institutions of government through taxation and sometimes even personal sacrifice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia";">Whatever shortcomings and disappointments there may have been along the way from sovereignty to the present day, when Icelanders ask themselves how they have guarded the heritage entrusted to them, they can honestly answer that they have done as well as any nation – arguably better. Iceland remains a robust democracy that prizes equality, tolerance, fairness, decency, freedom, and democracy. Icelanders have used their independence well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 10pt;">This post appears as the editorial in the December 1, 2018, issue of <i><a href="http://lh-inc.ca/" style="color: purple;">Lögberg-Heimskringla</a></i>.</span></div>
Stefan Jonassonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07384898850263698063noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15113601.post-88804143501800423132018-12-01T18:04:00.003-06:002018-12-01T18:04:52.536-06:00Iceland's centennial as a sovereign nation<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia";">The year Iceland achieved its sovereignty as a nation would have been memorable even without this milestone of independence. The early months of the year are remembered as the “Great Frost Winter” and the record low temperature that year has never been surpassed. The volcano Katla erupted on October 12, threatening the countryside with devastation for 24 days. Overseas, the Great War came to an end, leaving much of the European continent in ruins, even though the war had been good for the Icelandic economy owing to increased demand for exports from farms and fisheries. The Spanish flu that gripped the world arrived in Iceland by ship on October 19, infecting nearly two-thirds of the residents of Reykjavík over the span of six weeks and resulting in the deaths of nearly 500 people, mostly in the southern and western regions of the country.</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia";">In the summer of 1918, a joint parliamentary committee of the Icelandic Alþingi and Danish Folketing met to work out the terms of an Act of Union. The resulting treaty opened with the declaration, “Denmark and Iceland are free and sovereign states in union under the same king.” The next four articles established the succession to the crown and other provisions regarding the royal family. Article 6 provided that, “Danish citizens shall enjoy in all respects the same rights in Iceland as Icelandic citizens born there, and vice-versa,” while exempting the citizens of each country from military service in the other, and the following article provided that Denmark would continue to administer foreign affairs on behalf of Iceland at the direction of the Icelandic government. The remaining articles of the 20-article treaty dealt with transitional matters regarding the protection of territorial waters, supreme court jurisdiction, financial arrangements, procedures for approving the treaty, the establishment of a parliamentary consultation committee, a dispute resolution process, and provisions for renewing or repealing the treaty. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia";"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIg2kMlOOWfsNIN71OiHVyd6y7XcmpQdT1pIFC8gTPYZl4R5wJUExT2UGL1dtU7yjLnt1V1qMGgDx81MB-w0fRzRh_1jzkDh2LsWefAiEl2cNxMkXpTjPruRCtf4Wztjrmc6MQJg/s1600/Fullveldisdagurinn+1918.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="933" data-original-width="1600" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIg2kMlOOWfsNIN71OiHVyd6y7XcmpQdT1pIFC8gTPYZl4R5wJUExT2UGL1dtU7yjLnt1V1qMGgDx81MB-w0fRzRh_1jzkDh2LsWefAiEl2cNxMkXpTjPruRCtf4Wztjrmc6MQJg/s400/Fullveldisdagurinn+1918.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 14px; text-align: center;">Fullveldisdagurinn in 1918, outside <span style="font-family: "georgia"; text-align: start;">Stjórnarráðhúsið</span><i style="font-family: Georgia; text-align: start;">.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia";">Following passage by the two parliaments and the overwhelming approval of Icelanders in a referendum on October 19, the very day the flu arrived in the country, the Act of Union came into force on Sunday, December 1, 1918, and Iceland became a sovereign nation. The ceremony declaring Iceland’s sovereignty was a modest affair, but it was a bright, sunny day when of officials gathered outside <i>Stjórnarráðhúsið </i>(Government House) to mark the occasion – and the significance of the day was observed in churches across the land, including the National Cathedral. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia";">“We can assume that most of those who gathered at Government House – a building which had been a Danish jail, then the residence of Danish governors – looked hopefully to the future,” suggests President of Iceland Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, an esteemed historian. “That cannot be proved, of course, but contemporary accounts and memoirs give that impression. And no doubt those people hoped above all to be able to make a better world for themselves and their children, in a sanctuary of security, happiness and autonomy.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia";">What occurred in Iceland in 1918 is comparable to what Canada had earlier achieved on July 1, 1867. Speaking at the University of Manitoba in 1961, Ásgeir Ásgeirsson, who was President of Iceland at the time, said, “When the <i>British North America Act </i>came into force, in 1867, and Canada gained independence, we Icelanders cited this event as an argument in our struggle for independence and Iceland received its own constitution a few years later, in 1874, on the millennium of the settlement of the country. Since then the political history of Canada and Iceland have run a similar course. ... These developments have taken place without revolutions of bloodshed in either country.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia";">“Gaining sovereignty boosted the Icelanders’ vitality and audacity, giving rise to advances which took us from poverty to prosperity with astounding speed,” says Einar K. Guðfinnsson, former Speaker of Alþingi and chair of the parliamentary committee overseeing the centennial. “Now, when we celebrate the centenary of Icelandic sovereignty, we should look back, bearing in mind the words of poet Einar Benediktsson about the need to ‘look to the past in order to build something new.’” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia";">Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir observes that much has changed over the course of the past century and she questions whether modern Icelandic values are the same as they were a century ago – a reasonable question given the pace of change. Beliefs about national governance, cultural identity, language, the nature of society, and stewardship of both land and sea have evolved over time and anniversaries of noteworthy historical events offer opportunities for reflection and refinement. “We must seize the opportunity offered by this milestone, the centenary of Icelandic sovereignty,” says the prime minister, “to reevaluate and reinforce our shared values: to build on the strong foundation we have, and the ideal of a free and democratic society where human rights are honoured, equality of opportunity is ensured, and we safeguard the wellbeing of all the people of this country. Democracy, freedom, equality and justice are values that unite the sovereign nation of Iceland, which nurtures its land and its language, and also celebrates diversity and difference.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "georgia";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 10pt;">This post appears on the cover of the December 1, 2018, issue of <i><a href="http://lh-inc.ca/" style="color: purple;">Lögberg-Heimskringla</a></i></span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">.</span></div>
Stefan Jonassonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07384898850263698063noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15113601.post-83794571344688664592018-05-24T17:15:00.001-05:002018-05-24T17:18:37.029-05:00A conspiracy of ravens<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For some time, a pair of ravens has been nesting in the steeple of the Gimli Unitarian Church, much to the delight of people passing by – especially visiting Icelanders, it seems – and much to the annoyance of people who care about practical matters, like compromised shingles and moisture damage. I mistakenly thought they were crows until someone who knew better told me to take a closer look. Church leaders once had the nest removed by the Gimli Fire Department, hoping the ravens would make themselves a home in a better neighbourhood – a tall tree somewhere – but they returned and it is hard to escape believing that they’ve somehow become attached to the place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Whatever the reason for the ravens’ staying power, having watched David Suzuki’s episode of <i>The Nature of Things </i>that examined the superior intelligence, memory, and remarkable ability to recognize human faces on the part of their cousins, the crows, I’m reticent to upset any members of this branch of the bird family and risk their ire, having seen what they can do to people who offend them. I used to fantasize about seeing a steeple without a nest, but “corvicide” is now out of the question because, while a group of crows may be called a murder, a group of ravens is known as an “unkindness” or a “conspiracy” – and I’m not inclined to tempt fate by inviting either. People love them and they’ve waged a very successful publicity campaign in recent years, having become the subjects of feature stories in newspapers along with favourable mentions on radio and TV. They have become inescapable tenants.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I suspect that the reason visiting Icelanders, in particular, appreciate seeing them nesting on the steeple is that Icelanders, alongside North America’s Indigenous people, have an inordinate fondness for ravens (and even their close cousins, crows) which figure positively in the folklore of both people. In pretty much every other culture, these birds are viewed with disdain, but not among Icelanders and Indigenous people. I’ve stopped sharing my former desire to get rid of the nest with visitors from Iceland, since they have universally expressed their disapproval at the very thought of it, some suggesting that we should consider the ravens’ presence to be a good omen. It should be remembered, though, that these are the same people who compliment me on the dandelions in my lawn, sometimes expressing their envy that I’m so fortunate as to enjoy the beauty of such an abundant crop of wildflowers in my own yard. What can you really expect from people who think that eating putrefied shark and fermented rams’ testicles is a good idea?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The more strident raven-lovers from Iceland have reminded me that there are folktales and poems about clergymen who have run afoul of ravens nesting in their churches, warning me that I do not wish to share their fate. Ravens can be harbingers of kindness and wisdom, but also death and destruction. Choose kindness and wisdom, my Icelandic friends and family seem to be saying.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As it turns out, I’ve developed a growing fondness for both ravens and crows. At our country home, Huldukot, the ravens and crows visit in alternating conspiracies and murders. (That sounds rather ominous, doesn’t it?) Cindy has noticed that when I’m sitting at the dining room table and these birds see me, they call to me to bring them peanuts. She has also noticed that I seem to respond to their calls faster than one of Pavlov’s dogs. So I now welcome each murder and conspiracy as it arrives without any hint of unkindness. And I’m looking forward to seeing the resident ravens of the church welcome people to Gimli from its steeple this summer.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieEgmMVM6438hgc8-wGur8SQcQ0xULjw9AAZnQqFsm5hQmeM6v65rRw_oheyWlBRvIAwf9_i7wOmi7givNjEu6dRez81oaD6cqjH4SBGRyXN6ggk3pkGVAcWueKHfl4OnlUAu_0w/s1600/IMG_5050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieEgmMVM6438hgc8-wGur8SQcQ0xULjw9AAZnQqFsm5hQmeM6v65rRw_oheyWlBRvIAwf9_i7wOmi7givNjEu6dRez81oaD6cqjH4SBGRyXN6ggk3pkGVAcWueKHfl4OnlUAu_0w/s320/IMG_5050.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The author with the raven's nest in the steeple behind him.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This post appears as the editorial in the May 1, 2018, issue of <i><a href="http://lh-inc.ca/" target="_blank">Lögberg-Heimskringla</a></i>.</span></div>
Stefan Jonassonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07384898850263698063noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15113601.post-59526396743436921492018-04-17T22:57:00.003-05:002018-04-25T15:38:56.179-05:00What's your one Icelandic book?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Last year, <i>Condé Nast Traveler </i>reported that the language learning platform Babbel had asked several ambassadors to the United States to name the one book each would recommend for first-time visitors to read before traveling to their home countries. Twenty-two diplomats responded and, looking over the titles they suggested, my initial reaction was to think: never ask a diplomat for a book recommendation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">That said, the best answer was clearly offered by Iceland’s ambassador to the United States, Geir H. Haarde, who recommended Halldór Laxness’s classic, <i>Independent People. </i>After all, Laxness is Iceland’s only Nobel laureate – so far – and most literary critics consider <i>Independent People </i>his finest work, even though it received mixed reviews from Icelanders when it first appeared. I would personally argue that <i>World Light </i>and even <i>The Fish Can Sing </i>are superior works, but I readily concede that’s a matter of taste<i>.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Recommending <i>Independent People </i>strikes me as a safe choice – one could fairly say it was a perfectly diplomatic recommendation. I can hardly imagine anyone (except me) arguing against it – but I will. Don't get me wrong – I love <i>Independent People </i>and almost everything ever written by Halldór Laxness – but I consider it advanced reading, something for the second- or third-year student of Icelandic literature, not the proper text for a class called “Introduction to Visiting Iceland.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For Americans on their way to Iceland for the first time, I am inclined to recommend Bill Holm's <i>The Windows of Brimnes, </i>an affectionate portrait by a man who deeply loved both lands. For visitors of Icelandic ancestry, Sally Magnusson's <i>Dreaming of Iceland </i>reveals the country through the eyes of those of us who learned about it from the stories of our parents and grandparents and great-grandparents. If you’re more into short stories, W.D. Valgardson’s “The Man From Snæfellsnes” (in two parts) from <i>What Can’t Be Changed Shouldn’t Be Mourned </i>offers an excellent primer for the diaspora Icelander returning “home.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Specialists might wish to read something that intersects with their interests. Both naturalists and language majors would be moved to read Charles Fergus’s <i>Summer at Little Lava </i>while anthropologists and sociologists might want to consider Karen Oslund's <i>Iceland Imagined</i>. Historians and criminologists might opt for Dominic Cooper's <i>Men at Axlir </i>or Hannah Kent's <i>Burial Rites</i>, which give an accurate flavour of life in past centuries. For psychologists and humourists alike, Einar Már Guðmundsson's <i>Angels of the Universe </i>might inspire them to wonder about everyone they meet on the streets of Reykjavík. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now, I understand the desire to read native Icelandic fiction. Several great books immediately leap to mind: Þorbergur Þórðarson's <i>The Stones Speak</i>, Guðbergur Bergsson's <i>The Swan</i>, Gunnar Gunnarsson's <i>The Good Shepherd</i>, Svava Jakobsdóttir's <i>The Lodger and Other Stories</i>, or (for a bit heavier read) Guðmundur Kamban's <i>The Virgin of Skálholt</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And before anybody posts something silly in their social media feed about Icelanders and their habits, they should read any one of Alda Sigmundsdóttir’s “little books” – especially <i>The Little Book of the Hidden People</i>. But any of her books, which are all treasures, can save you from the most common clichés about Iceland.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If one must read Laxness, then <i>The Fish Can Sing </i>might be a better first choice, unless one is a theologian, in which case <i>Under the Glacier </i>might be a better pick ... except for liberation theologians, who should go with <i>The Atom Station</i>. Poets might prefer <i>World Light</i>, however, while political scientists should consider the merits of <i>Iceland's Bell</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Once someone has visited Iceland and come face-to-face with the character and peculiar humour of the Icelandic people, then – and perhaps <i>only </i>then – will they really be ready to read <i>Independent People</i>. A friend of mine who is widely read once told me that it was the most depressing book he had ever encountered, which caught me by surprise, since I find it overflowing with that dry humour that is so characteristic of Icelanders. He had read it as a tragedy, whereas I see it as a droll commentary on the Icelandic character, more comedic than tragic. I realized then that a person needs to know Icelanders firsthand before they are capable of fully appreciating <i>Independent People. </i>It’s not a novel for beginners.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Perhaps editors are no better at recommending books than ambassadors. If it hasn’t occurred to you already, I find it difficult to name the <i>one </i>book everyone should read before visiting Iceland. Iceland’s history is too long, its geography too amazing, its people’s opinions too broad, and its culture too deep for any one book to capture the essence of the land and its people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you had to choose, though, what’s <i>your </i>one book that speaks of Iceland?</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioDPRkNqE3Cm97BOkKxSyt0I5lcmX9AaKdUsHOsJlEprdBP0fqMlpnCSC7iKk7VH3TFKz5ksAjoS7_01NuL3hh9NhALzV2HInp0JFIKcxDBb79skKxHo9Q3-Xl7oimgGCGKmJVNw/s1600/Icelandic+Book+Covers.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="370" data-original-width="1238" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioDPRkNqE3Cm97BOkKxSyt0I5lcmX9AaKdUsHOsJlEprdBP0fqMlpnCSC7iKk7VH3TFKz5ksAjoS7_01NuL3hh9NhALzV2HInp0JFIKcxDBb79skKxHo9Q3-Xl7oimgGCGKmJVNw/s640/Icelandic+Book+Covers.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: center;">This post appears as the editorial in the April 15, 2018, issue of </span><i style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh-inc.ca/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Lögberg-Heimskringla</a></i><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); text-align: center;">.</span></span></div>
Stefan Jonassonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07384898850263698063noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15113601.post-11898244571293719712017-10-31T22:35:00.005-05:002017-10-31T22:35:57.685-05:00There he stood: 500 years after Martin Luther’s protest<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Five hundred years have now passed since that seminal moment on
October 31, 1517, when legend says Martin Luther posted what came to be called the
Ninety-five Theses on the door of the castle church in Wittenberg, Saxony, a
town of fewer than five thousand souls at the time. Although some historians
have disputed the details of the story that has grown up around that event,
there can be no dispute that what unfolded in the aftermath was one of the most
dramatic stories in human history. Whatever else happened that day, it is
certain that Luther wrote a letter to his superiors denouncing the sale of
indulgences and soliciting their repayment, to which he appended his now famous
theses (that is to say, propositions) on the subject. This act of conscience led
directly to the Protestant Reformation, a religious transformation that reached
the shores of distant Iceland some twenty years later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZF85pxytRJ1TFDkS-X1O5MEA8vf7YhD-C1u1WPDcZyF5U2E9vTpk8t5PYyzhyphenhyphenv2goaJMj8JMdl9K57E33xWKCZ2FLSGREwIWQQ1GScr3gP9MgECFo5gcdCqHE4Jx_aybHmvPteg/s1600/P6+-+Luther+and+his+95+theses+%2528Photo+-+Andreas+Breitling+%253A+Pixabay%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZF85pxytRJ1TFDkS-X1O5MEA8vf7YhD-C1u1WPDcZyF5U2E9vTpk8t5PYyzhyphenhyphenv2goaJMj8JMdl9K57E33xWKCZ2FLSGREwIWQQ1GScr3gP9MgECFo5gcdCqHE4Jx_aybHmvPteg/s400/P6+-+Luther+and+his+95+theses+%2528Photo+-+Andreas+Breitling+%253A+Pixabay%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Martin Luther in Wittenberg<br />(Photo - Andreas Breitling / Pixabay)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Indulgences were thought to be a means to reduce the punishment one
would have to undergo in the afterlife because of one’s sins in this life. They
also happened to be an important source of revenue for the church. Luther found
the practice repugnant, having come to the view that forgiveness came through
God’s grace, not the purchase of others’ surplus merit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Luther had already been preaching against indulgences and other
corruptions of the church, so the content of his theses was hardly news.
However, this event did mark a turning point and has since been reckoned as the
beginning of the Reformation. Luther shared his theses with a few bishops and
friends, they were published using the relatively new technology of printing,
and they subsequently came to the attention of the Pope, who directed his
bishop to rein in the protesting monk.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">At the Diet of Worms in 1521, where Luther had been summoned to defend
his position, he declared: “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Georgia; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Unless I am convinced by scripture and plain reason –
I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have
contradicted each other – my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot
and I will not recant anything for to go against conscience is neither right
nor safe. God help me. Amen.” Although this differs from the common paraphrase
of his words – “Here I stand; I can do no other” – it was an equally powerful
moral statement and a measure of his courage in a moment of great threat to his
own wellbeing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Georgia; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Georgia; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">When Luther left the room,
he said, “I am finished,” which seemed obvious to everyone, and he was granted
three weeks’ safe conduct to return home, where it was expected he would face
the common fate that awaited heretics in that day. Following his departure from
Wörms in the company of the nobles who supported him, the emperor declared
Luther an outlaw, but Elector </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Friedrich the Wise staged a kidnapping and Luther
was whisked away to safety in the castle at Wartburg, perched high above the
town of Eisenach, where he lived incognito as Junker Jörg (George the knight)
for nearly a year. While there, Luther translated the New Testament into
German, a task he accomplished in just eleven weeks.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">As it turned out, Luther was nowhere near
finished. Indeed, history makes it clear that he had only just begun. By the
time he returned to Wittenberg, the Reformation was well underway, forever
changing the face of Christendom.</span></div>
Stefan Jonassonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07384898850263698063noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15113601.post-44118120837639450592017-09-15T20:31:00.001-05:002017-09-15T20:32:32.047-05:00What the University of Winnipeg Means to Me<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Personal reflections on the 50th anniversary of </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>the University of Winnipeg</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>receiving its Charter from the Province of Manitoba.</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I come from a long line of people who earned their living with their hands, by the sweat of their brows – farmers, carpenters, weavers, and mechanics mostly. There was also a brewer or two and at least one outright bootlegger. Save for members of the clergy who pop up every few generations, and a couple of scholars in the dim reaches of the past, I don’t have many ancestors who went on to higher learning after having convinced their priest or pastor that they were worthy of being confirmed, which generally meant demonstrating they were literate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I have one 5th-great-grandfather who attended the University of Copenhagen to study art and another who attended cathedral school for the same purpose. One 3rd-great-grandfather studied agriculture, also at the University of Copenhagen, and another in the same generation attended theological school. My father studied commerce at the University of Manitoba and he had two uncles who were college educated, both of them teachers, along with a few of his cousins. That’s pretty much it. Over the span of two centuries, there wasn’t much in my family to suggest that higher education would be my destiny, although I assumed from an early age that I would attend university.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.850000381469727px; margin-left: 1em; padding: 4px; position: relative; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirZ7anjbr6BepIoSIgPX18A_k8McWGG7odd0fkEwY7_E2fgxrhF7AkqYeiBk2LN5IqpoTQF9QQa3JEDMw0NEOaz6ZaJenpOpwiXauvpVBCWHM0v07YTrZXT5vvUFgINw-f_QbLig/s1600/P1+-+Wesley+Hall+DSC00471+%2528Photo+-+Stefan%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirZ7anjbr6BepIoSIgPX18A_k8McWGG7odd0fkEwY7_E2fgxrhF7AkqYeiBk2LN5IqpoTQF9QQa3JEDMw0NEOaz6ZaJenpOpwiXauvpVBCWHM0v07YTrZXT5vvUFgINw-f_QbLig/s320/P1+-+Wesley+Hall+DSC00471+%2528Photo+-+Stefan%2529.JPG" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 11.880000114440918px; text-align: center;">Wesley Hall, heart of the University of Winnipeg campus.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Although I recall looking at the brochures of a few universities, I somehow always knew that I would study at the University of Winnipeg. It was certainly conveniently located – about a 15-minute bus ride from my childhood home – and it seemed the least intimidating for someone who had spent most of his childhood attending a smaller school, but it was my great-uncle and godfather, Axel Vopnfjord, who had the greatest influence on my decision. Uncle Axel graduated from Wesley College, one of the founding colleges of the University of Winnipeg, in the class of 1923. Next to my father, he was pretty much the wisest person I knew at the time.<span style="font-size: 14.850000381469727px;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It helped that the university was still home to a high school and that students who enrolled there were allowed to also enrol in university courses. Having fallen just short of graduating from St. James Collegiate, I completed the last part of grade 12 at the University of Winnipeg Collegiate while beginning my university studies. I planned to study political science on my way to law school, but I became drawn towards anthropology instead. Sadly, my father died suddenly during my first year at university and the stress of earning a living was added to the usual challenges faced by any student. Looking back, I realize I was depressed. During my second year, I stopped attending classes and began working fulltime. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I married, became active in the Unitarian church, gave up politics (for a while), lost one job when the company I worked for was sold, and started another in a completely different field. My minister, John S. Gilbert, tried to convince me that my gifts would never be fully realized unless I returned to school. Four years after leaving school, I returned to classes by enrolling in “Western Thought in the Making,” which was taught by Mac Watts. By the end of the term, I had switched my major once again, this time to religious studies, and embarked upon the long journey of earning a degree while working fulltime. Ten years after I started, I graduated with my Bachelor of Arts degree and proceeded immediately to a master’s program. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Once again, the path proved to be circuitous but, after another nine years, I received my Master of Divinity degree, having also graduated from the certificate in theology program along the way. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">All told, I’ve graduated from the University of Winnipeg four times, earned two academic medals, and benefited from bursaries, scholarships, and the forbearance of my wife, Cindy. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Along the way, my professors influenced me deeply – Tom Graham and Carl Ridd, John Badertscher and Kay Stone, Harry Loewen and George Epp, Paul Trudinger and Eleanor Stebner, Harold King and Mac Watts, and several others. If anyone had mapped out the journey for me beforehand, I never would have started, but my experience as a student at the University of Winnipeg shaped me profoundly and I wouldn’t have become the person I am without it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Years after graduating, I returned as a volunteer for the University of Winnipeg Alumni Association and was honoured to have served as its president. It is now my privilege to serve on the Board of Regents. Beyond contributing to the University of Winnipeg Foundation, these are small but tangible ways for me to express my gratitude for the incomparable education I received, the patience and support of my beloved professors, and the countless ways in which the university transformed my life for the better.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">This post appears as the editorial in the September 15, 2017 issue of</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><a href="http://www.lh-inc.ca/" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;">Lögberg-Heimskringla</a></i>.</span></div>
Stefan Jonassonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07384898850263698063noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15113601.post-31478502235140769392017-07-17T14:35:00.003-05:002017-07-17T14:37:33.964-05:00Going to the Woods<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In his iconic memoir, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Walden</i>, Henry David Thoreau wrote, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This same aspiration is what led my wife Cindy and me to acquire a cottage near Lake Winnipeg a dozen years ago – a country home that has proven to be a year-round retreat and not simply a place of summer respite. We both tend to work long hours and our modest cottage, which we dubbed Huldukot, offered the promise of a break from the pace and demands of urban life. Hidden in small grove of ash, birch, and spruce – a short walk from the lake – it is almost like entering another world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYFXjJGYE37-_HU3k-PUYQppAptn36_5ks4iG1Q-Q_9Jnc0vqqghc0bfL2Vet4UG5vdsgRm6yOytYlyEFGntMxJHxzjKl8r24qdAqdnECzNbU3IJxLpRt9YeKrSqo81RC_E5DPtw/s1600/DSCN4093.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYFXjJGYE37-_HU3k-PUYQppAptn36_5ks4iG1Q-Q_9Jnc0vqqghc0bfL2Vet4UG5vdsgRm6yOytYlyEFGntMxJHxzjKl8r24qdAqdnECzNbU3IJxLpRt9YeKrSqo81RC_E5DPtw/s320/DSCN4093.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Like Thoreau, I embraced our second home in the woods in an effort “to live deliberately” – to relax and regenerate, recover and be restored, and not, “when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” I had great plans to read books that had nothing to do with work, play my ukulele, visit with family and friends, ride my bike, and stroll along the water’s edge – maybe even dip into the lake from time to time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The reality, though, is that I’m not very good at it – taking a break, that is. Every weekend, I tote my laptop computer along with me and, tethered to my phone, carry on pretty much the same as I do back in the city. I don’t disconnect much at all. At the same time, the satellite dish ensures that I can maintain a steady diet of cable news and mind-numbing electronic entertainment. During the summer months, I preach every second week or so at the nearby Unitarian church, which means that Saturdays are often spent revising and refining my sermon. I suppose that Thoreau had his own work to do – fishing, gardening, chopping wood – but a nagging voice in the back of my head tells me he was probably better at relaxing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;">So this summer I resolve to do it right. If I’m going to go to the woods, I’m going to be there fully and not just carry on the same as I always do with a change of venue. I’ll continue to show up to lead church services, but the sermon is going to have to be done on Friday. I’ll still bring my laptop along, but I plan to leave it in my bag while the sun is shining. And this summer, I’m going to play the ukulele and ride my bike, but not at the same time. I’m going to live deliberately and relax with intention.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This post appears as the editorial in the July 15, 2017, issue of <i><a href="http://lh-inc.ca/" target="_blank">Lögberg-Heimskringla</a></i>.</span></div>
Stefan Jonassonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07384898850263698063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15113601.post-762106444142020612017-07-01T21:07:00.001-05:002017-07-17T14:25:01.019-05:00150 Years of Confederation<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="EN-US">On the first day of 2017, CBC ran a story headlined: “</span>Canada is celebrating 150 years of … what, exactly?” It was accompanied by a short video asking, “how old is Canada, really?” The video reminded viewers that Canada’s Indigenous people have lived on this land for thousands upon thousands of years and then offered a series of milestone events in the evolution of the country we now know as Canada. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In 1701, the British Crown entered into the first of many treaties to encourage peaceful relations between Indigenous people and European settlers and the Royal Proclamation of 1763 established the principles by which the Crown could acquire land from First Nations. These milestones are of enduring significance but there was, as yet, no Canada. A few point to 1840, when the Act of Union brought together Lower Canada (now Quebec) and Upper Canada (now Ontario) into a single Province of Canada as the real beginning of Canada, but I’m not convinced.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-Pu0bVc_vDbrKTzwRhz1OV2kPNlIVtLvgITZgDxikSGmHCMHj6UxxT8Tw4ZIYMp8SpGwgrvSog_kmxHlezz4-si3dKSckG2pidYlYVXQqlV9Uku1jAozYfHKoq2ab8EO0nKQSQ/s1600/Canada+150+-+Winterlude+at+Confederation+Park+-20170204_203812+%2528Photo+-+Heather+Jonasson%2529+Large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-Pu0bVc_vDbrKTzwRhz1OV2kPNlIVtLvgITZgDxikSGmHCMHj6UxxT8Tw4ZIYMp8SpGwgrvSog_kmxHlezz4-si3dKSckG2pidYlYVXQqlV9Uku1jAozYfHKoq2ab8EO0nKQSQ/s400/Canada+150+-+Winterlude+at+Confederation+Park+-20170204_203812+%2528Photo+-+Heather+Jonasson%2529+Large.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Most Canadians reckon 1867 as the year in which Canada was born and so, a century later, Canadians enthusiastically celebrated 1967 as the country’s centennial and, this year, most people will mark its sesquicentennial. Yet, Canada as we know it a far different country in 2017 than it was in 1867 – and not just because of the advance of technology and the accumulation of history. Canada is more truly independent today than it was then and, as significantly, the nature of its people and culture is markedly different. So it is that, while we celebrate the 150th anniversary of Confederation, Canada remains a work in progress.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In the years leading up to Confederation, Sir John A. Macdonald, who emerged as its leading proponent and became the first prime minister of Canada, addressing the many challenges then faced by the British colonies in North America, declared: “The only feasible scheme which represents itself to my mind as a remedy for the evils complained of, is a confederation of all the provinces.” His efforts, in collaboration with the other Fathers of Confederation, led to the passage of the British North America Act, which created the Dominion of Canada, a union of four provinces that has since grown to ten provinces and three territories.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Since then, there have been several milestones through which Canada became progressively more independent, including the Statute of Westminster in 1931 and the patriation of the Constitution of Canada in 1982. Along the way, British nobles gave way to Canadian citizens as governors general, Canada adopted a flag of its own, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">O Canada</i> replaced <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">God Save the Queen </i>as the national anthem. Canada became a self-governing country in 1867 but the process of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">becoming </i>a country is something that has never ceased. This reflects the dynamic and evolving nature of Confederation itself. Like our personal identities, the development of a country’s identity takes time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In his insightful book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Blood and Belonging</i>, Michael Ignatieff wrote: “Federalism is not a political ideology. It is just a particular way of sharing political power among different peoples within a state. But it is nationalism’s political antithesis. Those who believe in federalism hold that different peoples do not need states of their own in order to enjoy self-determination. Peoples who share traditions, geography, or common economic space may agree to share a single state, while retaining substantial degrees of self-government over matters essential to their identity as peoples. Federalism is a politics that seeks to reconcile two competing principles: the ethnic principle, according to which people wish to be ruled by their own, with the civic principle, according to which strangers wish to come together to form a community of equals, based not on ethnicity but on citizenship.” This understanding is behind the development of Canada as a unified and collaborative country with more than one language and a rich multicultural mosaic.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ignatieff went on to assert that, “if federalism can’t work in my Canada, it probably can’t work anywhere.” This country is rich in resources, abundant in opportunities, flexible and pragmatic in its social attitudes, and possessed of democratic institutions that provide for the orderly and mostly fair management of competing interests.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Beyond all of this, though, there is a distinctive and unifying Canadian spirit that we often fail to appreciate. As Robertson Davies once said, “I am convinced that Canada has a soul, and should get on better terms with it, because at the moment it is a sadly neglected part of our inheritance.” Behind Confederation there is a spirit of hopefulness, tolerance, inclusivity, pragmatism, and a concern for the common good that, when practiced, gives strength and shape to our country.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In the early days of Confederation, Sir John A. Macdonald said: “No one can look into futurity and say what will be the destiny of this country. Changes come over nations and peoples in the course of ages.” For 150 years, Canadians have faced the challenges and negotiated the many changes that have been necessary to maintain the “peace, order, and good government” of this diverse but unified country. The efforts of past generations have shaped “the True North strong and free,” in reality as well as in </span>song<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, and we continue to shape this inheritance and add to it as we move towards the unfolding future. This is an achievement worth celebrating.</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<div style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">This post appears as the editorial in the July 1, 2017, issue of </span></span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.lh-inc.ca/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Lögberg-Heimskringla</a>.</span></i></div>
</div>
Stefan Jonassonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07384898850263698063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15113601.post-42543230466262141372017-05-20T14:09:00.001-05:002017-05-20T14:09:44.400-05:00A Word of Appreciation<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As in previous years, the awards ceremony at the 98th annual
convention of the Icelandic National League of North America highlighted the brilliant
array of contributions to the wellbeing of the Icelandic community by the
various individuals who were recognized. It was moving to listen to each
award’s presenter, read about each honoree in the program, and then listen to
recipients express their thanks for their award when, in point of fact, it
should have been us thanking them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Healthy organizations recognize and appreciate the good work
of their leaders and other volunteers, so it’s heartening to see the efforts
the INLNA puts into acknowledging them through the Laurence S.G. Johnson
Lifetime Achievement Award, its honorary memberships, and the new Joan Inga
Eyjolfson Cadham Award for contributions through literature, arts and media. As
in the past, this year’s worthy recipients earned their awards through hard
work and dedication – some locally, some regionally, some internationally.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When the ceremony was over, however, I found myself
wondering why we sometimes wait so long to publicly appreciate the work of our
leaders. I’m thinking here about public institutions and voluntary associations
in general, not just the INLNA or its member clubs. I was reminded of a
deceased ministerial colleague who used to ask why honorary degrees were given
out towards the end of their recipients’ careers when it would have been better
to have honoured them somewhere closer to the midpoint. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our society’s wellbeing is dependent on the contributions of
countless individuals who step forward to offer leadership in the public arena,
most on a purely voluntary basis, and I’m struck by how quick we can be
sometimes to demand more or criticize imperfections while being much slower to
offer words of appreciation. Gratitude is a spiritual discipline that seems to
be in short supply these days and it is best cultivated through conscious inner
reflection and outward expressions of appreciation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So I’d like to thank the board of the Icelandic National
League of North America as well as the board of its partner in the old country,
Þjóðræknisfélag Íslendinga, for their indefatigable efforts on behalf of our
shared Icelandic culture and heritage, both individually and collectively, not
to mention the energy they put into bringing our communities together to
“connect the pieces.” I’m not prepared to wait until their efforts are just one
part of a lifetime achievement – I want to thank them now. And, while I’m at
it, I’d like to extend my appreciation to the Icelandic Communities Association
of Northeast North Dakota for organizing a magnificent convention this year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCU4Q-QwHMyMvl-dja0sIGmGW0Q2WEjR3QjnUR1Umjo3N03pRqTK8sOWCPft_q-d0fWQwgBuDQpzcBdGQ9VTC06YkYw4Lq2r6E9hYo8zQLlrWEWPFCeE-usXj0g5vpVboNWb_Wrg/s1600/DSCN2067.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCU4Q-QwHMyMvl-dja0sIGmGW0Q2WEjR3QjnUR1Umjo3N03pRqTK8sOWCPft_q-d0fWQwgBuDQpzcBdGQ9VTC06YkYw4Lq2r6E9hYo8zQLlrWEWPFCeE-usXj0g5vpVboNWb_Wrg/s320/DSCN2067.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunna Furstenau, President of the<br />Icelandic National League of North America</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I would especially like to highlight and celebrate the
extraordinary leadership of the INLNA’s president, Sunna Furstenau, who is
surely one of the most remarkable leaders in the league’s nearly century-long
history. The energy, enthusiasm, and organizational skills she brings to her
work, including both a robust vision and attention to detail, are rarely found
in a single individual. Add to this her grace, positivity and tenacity, and you
have a force that’s as powerful as a prairie windstorm and as gentle as a
summer breeze.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I don’t quite fathom how Sunna juggles it all. In addition
to guiding the work of the INLNA, she has led the development of Icelandic
Roots from a simple genealogical database to a comprehensive cultural
institution, strengthened ties between North America and Iceland, visited
numerous Icelandic communities, supported local initiatives and international
programs, and she has still found time to be a devoted spouse, mother and amma.
She has both a deep sense of her roots and an expansive imagination, which are
reflected in her creativity and drive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-CA</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">No institution lasts forever without reinventing itself. Indeed,
voluntary associations need to renew their vision and clarify their purpose
every generation or their existential clock will begin ticking. In Sunna Furstenau,
the Icelandic National League of North America has a once-in-a-generation
leader whose presence has helped to reinvigorate the league and reset its
clock. Our appreciation of Sunna’s leadership shouldn’t wait for some far-off
awards ceremony. We should appreciate it and offer our gratitude now.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This post appears as the editorial in the May 15, 2017, issue of</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><a href="http://www.lh-inc.ca/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Lögberg-Heimskringla</a>.</i></span></div>
Stefan Jonassonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07384898850263698063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15113601.post-60990370784512190242017-01-01T14:13:00.002-06:002017-01-01T14:24:42.098-06:00When Does a New Year Really Begin?<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">At a recent meeting of the Interfaith Roundtable in Winnipeg, a monthly gathering of people from a wide array of spiritual traditions, there was a robust conversation about the nature of holidays and holy days – what they are, what they mean to us, how they differ between cultures and traditions, and how there are similarities that cross cultures and bridge traditions. The conversation was driven, of course, by the looming Christmas season, which dominates celebrations here in North America, even though most of the people in the room were from other religious backgrounds. One of the seemingly universal characteristics we discerned about holidays was the significance of seasonal changes that lie behind many of them, even when they are otherwise connected with historical events or spiritual teachings.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijxnHfkBBogUJtOi80gCQIizFlC7CybKFmIoqB9hbbpW5MrKJna-Aw2CdaF-N7YAWs0Zn_8H5Yicxhxl84CeUx4UvOBcTO9u2zvq__xCImRhYTawOICamVan6K66Uq0dfrRgGiLg/s1600/Sun+and+Moon+1493+%2528Granger%2529+CC%253APD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijxnHfkBBogUJtOi80gCQIizFlC7CybKFmIoqB9hbbpW5MrKJna-Aw2CdaF-N7YAWs0Zn_8H5Yicxhxl84CeUx4UvOBcTO9u2zvq__xCImRhYTawOICamVan6K66Uq0dfrRgGiLg/s320/Sun+and+Moon+1493+%2528Granger%2529+CC%253APD.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I observed that, while holidays are days we set apart as somehow special or sacred, there is a measure of arbitrariness involved in which days a society or group selects to set apart for such honour. In many cases, the origin of a holiday is lost in the dim recesses of history and often involves a layering of traditions, one on top of another, no matter how much we may try to pinpoint its origin and purpose. Following the meeting, it dawned on me that New Year’s Day may be the quintessential illustration of an arbitrary choice for a holiday.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When does a new year really begin? How real are the numbers we attach to a given year when the selection of a starting point for our numbering was arbitrary to begin with? How do we reconcile the fact that different cultures employ different starting points in numbering the years? And how did January 1st earn the honour of being reckoned as the first day of the year? Of course, an additional question that some might ask is, who cares?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In pagan Iceland, the year was divided into two equal parts, summer and winter, and human lives were counted not in years but in winters. Ethnologist Árni Björnsson, who is arguably Iceland’s leading authority on calendars and holidays, says that <i>Sumardagurinn fyrsti, </i>the first day of summer, which falls between April 19th and 25th in modern terms, marked the beginning of a new year in ancient Iceland, although there was no New Year’s Day as such. And Icelanders have continued to mark the first day of summer right down to the present. Gifts were exchanged on this day, at least since the Reformation, and small tasks were practiced to symbolically mark the arrival of the growing season, which was still more apparent than real. The churches held worship on this day, until the practice was banned by the king in 1744, and the day was considered an auspicious time for fortune-telling. Indeed, there are similarities in the folklore attached to each of the days that have been successively thought to mark the beginning of the year.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In the 12th century, Ari the Wise pegged the beginning of the year on September 1st, in keeping with papal practice, but the Icelandic church itself regarded Christmas Day as the beginning of the year. In 1540, a marginal note in the first published version of the New Testament in Icelandic shows that January 1st had come to be accepted by then as the first day of a new year, at least in the eyes of the church and the academy. The first recorded New Year’s party in Iceland (at least in the modern sense) was hosted by Rev. Þórður Jónsson of Hítardalur and his wife, Helga Árnadóttir, in the 17th century, although there were hints of feasts as early as the 13th century. And, in 1791, the first known <i>Gamlársköld</i> (Old Year’s Eve) bonfire was mentioned by Dr. Sveinn Pálsson.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; min-height: 15px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Needless to say, even after New Year’s Day became firmly attached to January 1st, the day itself moved when the Julian calendar was replaced by the Gregorian. Around the world, different cultures have reckoned the beginning of the year at different times, so the first day of the year has fallen in nearly every month at some time and in some place.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; min-height: 15px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So every day marks the beginning of a new year, in a sense, depending on how we mark the flow of time. By convention, though, our heritage now sets aside January 1st each year as New Year’s Day – a day to reflect upon the year that has passed and leave it to the keeping of sacred memory; a day to ponder the year ahead and embrace its hope, as best we can.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-148254172308086666" itemprop="description articleBody" style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 570px;">
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>This post appears as the editorial in the January 1, 2017, issue of <a href="http://www.lh-inc.ca/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Lögberg-Heimskringla</a>.</i></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Stefan Jonassonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07384898850263698063noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15113601.post-53959069427375307872016-12-31T17:12:00.006-06:002016-12-31T17:12:51.920-06:00Burning Out the Old Year<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5px;">
<span style="vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For many years, I was overcome by melancholy on New Year’s Eve. It was one of the saddest evenings of the year for me. Now, I’ve never been what one might call a party animal, although my wife points out that I’m generally one of the last people at a party to take the hint that it’s time to go home. Still, I enjoy the company of friends and family, even if I tend to linger closer to the sidelines rather than inserting myself into the middle of every conversation and song. For a long time, though, New Year’s Eve was the one evening of the year when I would curl up at home, sulk a bit, and wait for the New Year to arrive with little fanfare other than a quick kiss and a quiet rendition of <i>Auld Lang Syne</i>.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV4CpcV2u379q1vbTvDhgpsX0AjhKOkzZcQ7mW-WAEqT2xwv4NNlVGN2vM-oCJSzz_d8mK4DsGUpVTT5P5TMCQiXTbI2nEHLkdRSK8_mpTLxCa0CWuSQG89RxezqBXqHhtnmx7Mg/s1600/Bonfire+PD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV4CpcV2u379q1vbTvDhgpsX0AjhKOkzZcQ7mW-WAEqT2xwv4NNlVGN2vM-oCJSzz_d8mK4DsGUpVTT5P5TMCQiXTbI2nEHLkdRSK8_mpTLxCa0CWuSQG89RxezqBXqHhtnmx7Mg/s320/Bonfire+PD.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My mood puzzled me. Sometimes I thought that it was simply an emotional response to the Yuletide festivities winding down, even though there would still be one big feast left to go at my mother’s home the next day. Other times I would fancy that it reflected some sort of early onset curmudgeonliness. Either way, it didn’t make sense to me.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Growing up, New Year’s Eve had always been a grand affair in our neighbourhood. The people from several households at our end of the street would gather at the Megarry’s house, which had the largest living room, where we would sing and dance and make merry until the wee hours of the morning. When the last minute of the year arrived, we would count down the seconds in unison until crying out together, “Happy New Year!” My father would lead us in singing <i>Auld Lang Syne</i> and the hugs and kisses would then carry on for what seemed like an eternity. Next to Christmas Eve, it seemed like the most magical night of the year. So what had happened to spark such a change in my mood as an adult?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I didn’t think much about it until after Neil Bardal resuscitated the practice of <i>Gamlárskvöld</i> – “the old year’s evening” – at his home in Husavik some two decades ago. Gathering his guests around a bonfire, which was kindled to symbolize “the burning away of everything that worked against happiness in the year past,” Neil explained how his grandfather, the legendary Arinbjörn S. Bardal, had introduced Gamlárskvöld in Winnipeg about a century earlier. Neil’s grandfather had been inspired by his own memories of New Year’s traditions back home in Iceland.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A few years later, as we were approaching the beginning of a new millennium, I got it into my head to host a Gamlárskvöld gathering in Winnipeg. As I planned for the evening and worked on the invitation list, I noticed I was approaching New Year’s Eve in a healthier frame of mind that year and, by the time the evening arrived, I was positively excited. The weather was cold but otherwise cooperative as friends and family arrived for the festivities. Neil Bardal showed up with vínarterta and a treasure trove of stories to bless this urban initiative. Over the course of the evening, people drifted between the house and the outdoor fireplace and they tossed handwritten notes and objects onto the fire to be burned away to ash. Inside, we tuned the television to the holiday firelog channel, while conversations flowed freely, switching to Times Square as midnight approached. We rang in the New Year with joyous song and some guests lingered halfway until dawn. When it was all over, I fell fast asleep – contented and glowing.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Come morning, I finally realized what had happened so many years earlier to rob the evening of its charm for me. My father died in November during my first year of university and, a little over a month later, only a small handful of people gathered for New Year’s Eve. It was a muted affair, everyone filled with grief at my father’s sudden and unexpected passing, so it felt more like a second funeral than a celebration of the turning year. It finally struck me that, although we always gathered at our neighbours’ home, it was my father who was “the founder of the feast,” as Bob Cratchit would have said.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Without realizing it, my lingering grief over Dad’s death and more than twenty years of New Year’s Eve melancholy were burned away on the fire that evening. I’ve continued to host a Gamlárskvöld gathering ever since and, once again, it has become one of the most magical nights of the year for me. Each year, friends and family alike toss things upon the fire – mortgages, loans, divorce decrees, employment contracts, funeral cards, handwritten notes – to burn away as the old year draws to a close. And some creative souls have even taken to writing down things they hope for in the coming year, seeking to burn their aspirations into reality.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As we burn away another year, may we cherish the things that have blessed us, let go of the things that have diminished our happiness, and carry the flame of the midnight fire forward to light us along our way.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5px;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5px;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This post first appeared, with a slight variation, as the editorial in the January 1, 2016, issue of <a href="http://www.lh-inc.ca/" target="_blank">Lögberg-Heimskringla</a>.</span></i></div>
Stefan Jonassonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07384898850263698063noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15113601.post-37468972066466752562016-12-23T14:06:00.001-06:002016-12-23T14:06:16.282-06:00All in the Family: The Saga of Saint Thorlákur<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I grew up believing I was descended from Norwegian nobles who had fled the fjords of Scandinavia and settled in Iceland in the ninth century (when King Harald the Fairhaired was consolidating his dominion) in search of peace, liberty, and justice. This ancient pedigree stood me in good stead at school, where most of my companions couldn’t even name their own grandparents. So, although I was a shy youngster, I strode through my early years with the self-confidence of a child of the so-called “one percent,” even though our home was on the other side of the river from my obvious social peers.</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, the truth of the matter is that there are five generations between me and any obviously wealthy ancestors, six generations before another minister appears, another couple of generations to find a bishop, and fully twenty-six generations to get back to the Norwegian nobility. Other than a few prosperous farmers, or an occasional teacher or merchant, my family tree is pretty much overflowing with farm laborers, domestic servants and parish paupers – not exactly the august pedigree I once fancied. As it happens, I am descended from the Oddaverjar clan, which was one of about eight families that dominated the national life of Iceland during the so-called Commonwealth Era from the eleventh to thirteenth centuries. Now, this is where the story gets interesting – and complicated, so bear with me.</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzwISeYWtSZNyA0qmyT959k17-wvrXP3YjVE3o7EDsFLaRPngXvMfAumnVHZntop0BSAsgX49p0CKFlj5XqMbs5Njtlg7KWyefUTTRHt43-5UMsJqo6TlsRMx9ubNYxIA84ZEzNA/s1600/%25C3%259Eorla%25CC%2581kur+%25C3%259Eo%25CC%2581rhallsson+%2528Den+Katolske+Kirke+Reykjavik%2529+-+Public+Domain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzwISeYWtSZNyA0qmyT959k17-wvrXP3YjVE3o7EDsFLaRPngXvMfAumnVHZntop0BSAsgX49p0CKFlj5XqMbs5Njtlg7KWyefUTTRHt43-5UMsJqo6TlsRMx9ubNYxIA84ZEzNA/s320/%25C3%259Eorla%25CC%2581kur+%25C3%259Eo%25CC%2581rhallsson+%2528Den+Katolske+Kirke+Reykjavik%2529+-+Public+Domain.jpg" width="216" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saint Thorlákur (1133-1193)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My 22nd-great-grandfather – that’s a grandfather with the prefix “great” appearing twenty-two times – was Jón Loftsson, the patriarch of the Oddaverjar, who was considered one of the leading chieftains of his day. His was an entitled existence and, while life in Iceland was hardly as opulent as it was on the continent, Jón enjoyed all the trappings of wealth and privilege that Iceland had to offer. Those trappings included a mistress, Ragnheiður, who happened to be the sister of Bishop Thorlákur of Skálholt, who is remembered and honoured today as Saint Thorlákur.*</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Carrying on an adulterous relationship with a saint’s sister is as close as any member of my family has ever come to sainthood, as near as I can tell, and while I’m not here to commend it to you as a lifestyle choice, let alone the noblest course of action, it does give me some sense of familial connection to Saint Thorlákur, since his illegitimate nephew and eventual successor, Bishop Pál Jónsson, and my 21st-great-grandfather, Sæmundur Jónsson, were half-brothers. This makes Saint Tholákur a sort of “23rd-great-uncle-in-law,” which gives me a warm feeling all over.</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To further complicate matters, Saint Thorlákur was, for all intents and purposes, an “adopted” member of the Oddaverjar family. Having been born into a prominent family that had become impoverished, Thorlákur was raised and tutored by Eyjólfur Sæmundsson – Jón Loftsson’s uncle – and ordained while still a teenager. When he was consecrated as Bishop of Skálholt, the Oddaverjar naturally assumed they had captured the bishop’s chair. They were mistaken, for Bishop Thorlákur’s greater loyalty was to the church itself.</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Their mistaken assumption became apparent when Jón asked Bishop Thorlákur to consecrate a church he had built on his estate at Keldur to replace two that had been destroyed in a storm. In those days, the chieftains and large property owners bore the responsibility for erecting churches in their localities and, by custom, they retained ownership of the churches they built. Bishiop Thorlákur refused to consecrate the new church unless its ownership was transferred to the diocese, citing a decree from Archbishop Eysteinn, who was the primate of the churches across Scandinavia. “I hear what the archbishop is saying,”replied Jón, “but I have decided to disregard it. I do not think that his intentions or understanding are any better than those of my ancestors ... and I have no wish to belittle the policies of our former bishops in Iceland, who honoured the custom of the country that laymen should control the church that their forebears had dedicated to God ...” Bishop Thorlákur threatened Jón with excommunication but neither man would back down. In the end, the bishop consecrated the church while refusing to acknowledge Jón’s ownership – a strategic compromise worthy of modern geopolitics.</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was customary for Icelandic priests to marry in this era, the doctine of clerical celibacy having not yet reached this far north, but Thorlákur remained single, having had a dream that he was destined to take “a much higher bride” than he had been contemplating – presumably the bishop’s chair. He was troubled by his sister Ragnheiður’s affair with Jón Loftsson and, after he had become bishop, he threatened them both with excommunication unless they broke off their relationship. Once again, Jón dug in his heals and refused Bishop Thorlákur’s demand, saying that he would not comply unless his own heart led him to do so. In time, Jón did have a change of heart and the relationship ended, after which he and Ragnheiður were both absolved by the bishop. Their son together later became Saint Thorlákur’s chaplain and, in time, his successor as bishop.</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If they were alive today, I suppose that Jón Loftsson would suspect Bishop Thorlákur of being a socialist, while the saintly bishop would accuse Jón of “tea party” politics. Saint Thorlákur would surely seek to impeach Jón as chieftain, if he couldn’t excommunicate him, while Jón would undoubtedly end the bishop’s charitable exemption, or else force him to file annual reports detailing every expenditure above 600 thousand krónur – that’s $5,000 in our currency.** Their disputes about church and state, priesthood and laity, public and private, honour and piety, reflect conflicts that have echoed down through the ages. We still argue about such matters, the primary difference being that it’s perhaps easier to approach the conflicts lightheartedly when several centuries separate us from the presenting issues. Yet we are no less quarrelsome a people, even though our social mores have changed and much of what provoked conflict in medieval times now arouses amusement. And, truth be told, we still excommunicate dissenters.</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It’s somewhat consoling to think that family relationships in the twelfth century were as complicated as the ones many people endure today. Can you imagine being part of the Oddaverjar clan around the Yuletide? As Chistmas approaches each year, I can almost hear my branch of the family saying, in unision, “Oh great, the saints are coming for dinner again. There goes the Solstice!” Yes, it turns out that even saints’ families have “issues” at this time of year. In my household this Christmas, we will remember and pay homage to the ancestors, as we always do, but we’ll be quietly relieved that they’re not all coming for dinner.</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>This post was first delivered as a sermon at the <a href="http://www.uuwinnipeg.mb.ca/" target="_blank">First Unitarian Universalist Church of Winnipeg</a> on Saint Thorlákur’s Day – December 23, 2012. It was subsequently published in <a href="http://www.lh-inc.ca/component/content/article/11-icelandic-paper/598-all-in-the-family-a-whimsical-look-at-saint-thorlakur" target="_blank">Lögberg-Heimskringla</a> as “All in the Family: a whimsical look at Saint Þorlákur” on December 15, 2015.</i></span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">* In Icelandic, Saint Thorákur’s name was spelled <i>Þorlákr</i> in saga times and is spelled <i>Þorlákur</i> today; he is commonly called <i>Þorlákur helgi</i>. He was the son Þórhallur Þorláksson and Halla Steinadóttir; born in 1133, he died in 1193.</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">** This is an allusion to the fact that, in 2012, the Parliament of Canada was considering a bill that would have required trade unions to detail any expenditures exceeding this amount in their annual reports.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></div>
Stefan Jonassonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07384898850263698063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15113601.post-1482541723080866662016-12-15T23:07:00.001-06:002016-12-15T23:08:03.039-06:00Timeless Traditions<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Christmas is a challenging season for both ministers and retailers, who face all the same stresses and strains that this season brings to everyone, while having to manage a surge in activity at work. I try not to mention this to my wife, though, who looks after virtually all of the gift shopping, food planning, and scheduling for family events, since she has never shown much sympathy for my mostly self-inflicted holiday stress. In fact, I sometimes think she judges me when I’m still signing Christmas cards as she’s preparing to head out the door to go to our extended family gathering on Christmas Eve.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6DIyt63iSXW49uWWs3g-XoLNmzvaX_yGzvhJfplbWkoGNPkA2hccckFtcSBt2rYe7c-qM8p7wYLze7KqhyVqLX-qJpvajRH-qGmbONpAvDiC1YmvamG2Yk6D8RJwKUqbYkLjwOw/s1600/DSCN9428.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6DIyt63iSXW49uWWs3g-XoLNmzvaX_yGzvhJfplbWkoGNPkA2hccckFtcSBt2rYe7c-qM8p7wYLze7KqhyVqLX-qJpvajRH-qGmbONpAvDiC1YmvamG2Yk6D8RJwKUqbYkLjwOw/s320/DSCN9428.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As a minister, both lay and ordained, I have conducted about three dozen Christmas services over the years and I have participated in a handful more. For about a decade, I was working in retail at the same time, so I was often dashing home from a busy day at work before turning my attention to composing a Christmas sermon or selecting readings and hymns. Some years, I had to come up with two different services, while there have been only a couple of years when I was free from pulpit responsibilities at Christmas. </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Somewhere around my tenth Christmas service, I lost heart. It was around that time that I realized I had nothing new to say, although the religious tradition I served (and still serve) prizes novelty and creativity. I now recognize that few of us are as original as we like to imagine, but, at the time, I was almost paralyzed by the fear that I had already used up my most clever ideas. It never occurred to me that my congregants’ memories were likely no better than my powers of creativity. It was another ten Christmases before I realized that I could have preached the same sermon after three or four years and nobody would have noticed.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">That’s when it finally sunk in that the Yuletide isn’t about novelty, it’s about timeless traditions, whatever traditions we hold dear. This season calls us back to the old and familiar, to fond memories of bygone days and an abiding hope for the future, to the universal longing for peace and goodwill to all. Timeless truths don’t lend themselves to novelty, but they do bear repeating.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As I prepare for Christmas this year, I won’t worry about repeating myself – I’ll do so with relish. So let’s settle in and embrace the familiar: the old songs, the warm memories, the familiar foods, the revered scriptures, the heartfelt rituals – all the timeless traditions that give our lives meaning.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5px;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This post appears as the editorial in the December 15, 2016, issue of <i><a href="http://www.lh-inc.ca/" target="_blank">Lögberg-Heimskringla</a></i>.</span></span></div>
</div>
Stefan Jonassonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07384898850263698063noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15113601.post-91434562018624887922016-12-06T12:53:00.000-06:002016-12-06T12:53:53.194-06:00Kristján Eldjárn – From Archaeologist to President<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The third
President of Iceland was no conventional political figure. Indeed, he wasn’t
really a politician at all, although he proved to be a great statesperson as
the country’s head of state for twelve years. An archaeologist by profession,
he came to office on a wave of public support after hosting a television
program on one of Icelanders’ favourite topics – their own rich heritage.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQASMxXblyyJ9XXdh2yauBoqkVzyPy2TKL47sVUo5B-4fLPGpGtbBCG2Xjxf6U7EilccTvjeEiYIfcN7XNaezxiephyphenhyphenAjYt9acRzInIDl-FD_Nphu7cHPbkxSfxdw3LG8sujD5gA/s1600/Kristja%25CC%2581n+Eldja%25CC%2581rn+%25281980%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQASMxXblyyJ9XXdh2yauBoqkVzyPy2TKL47sVUo5B-4fLPGpGtbBCG2Xjxf6U7EilccTvjeEiYIfcN7XNaezxiephyphenhyphenAjYt9acRzInIDl-FD_Nphu7cHPbkxSfxdw3LG8sujD5gA/s320/Kristja%25CC%2581n+Eldja%25CC%2581rn+%25281980%2529.jpg" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Kristján Eldjárn<br />President of Iceland<br />1968-1980</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Dr. Kristján
Eldjárn was born 100 years ago today – on December 6, 1916 – at Tjörn in
Svarfaðardal, near Dalvík in the north of Iceland. After attending school in
his home parish, he attended the Junior College in nearby Akureyri, where,
according to Haraldur Bessason, “he drew immediate attention because of his
great talent.” After graduation, he studied archaeology at the University of
Copenhagen and completed his graduate education at the University of Iceland.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In 1945, he
became assistant to the director of the National Museum of Iceland, then a two-man
operation, and, two years later, he became director, a position he held until
he was elected President of Iceland in 1968. He published four books and
several major essays on cultural and historical topics.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">From 1966 to
1968, he hosted a series of television programs on Iceland’s cultural heritage
for RÚV, the country’s public broadcaster, in which he showed artifacts from
the museum while setting them in their larger cultural and historical context.
The show became an unlikely hit with television audiences and catapulted him to
public attention. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">With the
retirement of Ásgeir Ásgeirsson, Iceland’s second president, Kristján was
encouraged to enter the 1968 presidential race. He faced Gunnar Thoroddsen, a
conservative with a lengthy political resumé. It was an uphill battle, but
Kristján was elected with 65.6% of the vote. His victory was seen as an
indication of Icelanders’ desire to have a president who stood above the fray
of everyday politics. He was re-elected without opposition in 1972 and 1976. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The President of
Iceland occupies a largely ceremonial role, akin to the Governor General of
Canada, and Kristján ran a non-partisan campaign, although he was seen as the
candidate on the left. However, he enjoyed support from across the political
spectrum. Before being elected, he questioned Iceland’s participation in NATO
and opposed the United States military base at Keflavík, primarily out of
concern for Icelandic sovereignty and culture.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Like
presidents before and since, Kristján was a source of continuity and stability.
During his twelve years in office, there were six different prime ministers and
seven different governing coalitions. The diplomacy required to ensure the
continuity of government sometimes demanded the wisdom of Solomon. Less than
half a year before the end of his final term, during a tumultuous period in
Alþingi, the president summoned the man he had defeated in 1968, Gunnar
Thoroddsen, and gave him a mandate to form a government with a minority faction
from his own party in partnership with two other parties.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Following
his retirement from the presidency, Kristján Eldjarn was named professor in
the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Iceland. Although he would serve
without salary, this special research position was designed to honour him for
his scholarly achievements and international reputation as an archaeologist,
while giving him a platform for resuming his scholarly interests. Sadly, the
retired president had little time to enjoy this new position, since he died
unexpectedly in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 14, 1982, following heart surgery.
He was 65.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ironically,
just five years after his death, the presidential residence at Bessastaðir
proved to be a treasure trove of archaeological artifacts. While the mansion
was being restored, the ground underneath it was excavated and objects that had
lain undisturbed for centuries were discovered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Kristján
Eldjárn’s personal bearing was described as “akin to the Svarfdalur mountains,
which nowhere move if the wind is blowing” He inspired confidence in Icelandic
culture and trust in the nation’s institutions. As president, he was widely
respected at home and abroad for his statesmanlike and dignified leadership. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-CA</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A more detailed version of this biographical sketch appears</span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">in the
December 15, 2016, issue of <a href="http://www.lh-inc.ca/" target="_blank">Lögberg-Heimskringla</a>.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
Stefan Jonassonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07384898850263698063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15113601.post-29517308259205930382016-11-14T20:06:00.001-06:002016-11-14T20:11:41.882-06:00My Month of Sorrows<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“November is the most disagreeable month in the whole year,” claimed Louisa May Alcott. Now, I don’t think it’s fair to single out one month from among the others as either the most disagreeable or even the most pleasant. Every month has its merits and its potential faults, but none are inherently disagreeable. I savour each and every one.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">However, November is my month of sorrows. It was during this month, in years past, that I lost both of my parents and my eldest brother. And while my paternal grandfather died in November, too, his passing was an occasion for absence rather than loss, since it occurred long before I was born. So I increasingly find myself pensive and reflective during this month of the year, even as I am warmed by rich memories and deeply grateful for the magnificent gift of life.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the case of my father and brother – and my grandfather before them – their deaths were premature, bringing to an end the hopes and promises that their lives still held. Dad was 54, my brother only 49, and <i>afi*</i> just 35. Having outlived them all, I can’t escape thinking of everything they missed – sunrises and sunsets, seasons and celebrations, seeing their own children struggle with the onset of middle age, watching the next generation come to life, not to mention the satisfactions of work left undone.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mom’s death was accompanied more by a sense of fulfillment. Sure, I would have been pleased to have her around for another decade or so, but at 89, she had enjoyed a long and good life. While welcoming each new day, she had long since started winding up her affairs and preparing for her fate. Stoic and gracious to the end, she turned the last page of her life’s story and said goodbye.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Five years after Mom’s death, which came on All Souls Day in 2011, I’m tidying up the last remaining items related to her estate. Before the snow flies, her name will have been etched onto the gravestone marking the place where Dad’s remains rested for a third of century before she joined him there. The stone itself will be straightened, along with my maternal grandparents’ stone beside it, and the ground will be leveled. When that’s done, the site will be left to the keeping of eternity – and the annual ritual of bearing flowers in season and love the year round.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’ll be relieved to be done contending with the insensitive, bureaucratic cemetery management, which has been annoyingly difficult to deal with, although a nagging voice in my head hints that public cemetery reform in Winnipeg may be the next cause I undertake.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And November will remain my month of sorrows – the thirty days of the year when I remember three of the people I have loved most deeply and another two known to me only through stories. It is my month of sorrows, but only because my loved ones who have departed in this month have been sources of such joy and delight.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As Kahlil Gibran wrote in <i>The Prophet</i>:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.</span></i></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears. …</span></i></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy. </span></i></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">
</span>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.”</span></i></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXSFMBNLt-DuNIU-MtbQYCLG-kDm3Y_viXGsaSjAhSfuiVrX9RbfMr4NDiCvxnwxxtGrXh2kxQtJ8tiPm_RbcH0ykIVjt1QTiizLim25bxj2P-E3dxXUiJGw1uafFiQVFxSuMDMw/s1600/P4+-+Wandering+Sn%25C3%25A6fellsnes+in+November+P1310518.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXSFMBNLt-DuNIU-MtbQYCLG-kDm3Y_viXGsaSjAhSfuiVrX9RbfMr4NDiCvxnwxxtGrXh2kxQtJ8tiPm_RbcH0ykIVjt1QTiizLim25bxj2P-E3dxXUiJGw1uafFiQVFxSuMDMw/s400/P4+-+Wandering+Sn%25C3%25A6fellsnes+in+November+P1310518.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Stefan Jonasson on a November walk through ancestral fields at Hólahólar on Snæfellsnes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(Photo by Cindy Jonasson.)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">* Icelandic for grandfather.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 17.600000381469727px;">This post appears as the editorial in the November 1, 2016, issue of</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 17.600000381469727px;"><i><a href="http://www.lh-inc.ca/" target="_blank">Lögberg-Heimskringla</a></i>.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
Stefan Jonassonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07384898850263698063noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15113601.post-67945280638378914922016-10-01T14:57:00.000-05:002016-10-01T15:04:47.774-05:00The Month for Painted Leaves and Lives<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“October is the
month for painted leaves,” wrote Henry David Thoreau. “Their rich glow now
flashes round the world. As fruits and leaves and the day itself acquire a
bright tint just before they fall, so the year nears its setting. October is
its sunset sky; November the later twilight.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It’s interesting
to think of this month as the sunset of the year. Having spent nearly a month
in Iceland this past summer, it was jarring to return to Winnipeg after Labour
Day with its shorter daylight hours. The abrupt loss of nearly an hour of
daylight was unsettling and, although the days are now shorter in Iceland,
having passed the fall equinox, I found myself experiencing each day’s sunset
as premature.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5F_s0bqLvH8odpgPhMSZWs7h7go5jxYSTopxR12POGJlJNiVtqy0v0ijT_ASP-2xxL6wWTbs4tEnCAnoHSIyg4Cxkk20zmxdxgAfW1sOuhjV3KM60c29R_vjc0WLtmyDRkI3fxA/s1600/P4+-+The+autumn+pavement+in+Ottawa+%2528Photo+by+Heather+Jonasson%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5F_s0bqLvH8odpgPhMSZWs7h7go5jxYSTopxR12POGJlJNiVtqy0v0ijT_ASP-2xxL6wWTbs4tEnCAnoHSIyg4Cxkk20zmxdxgAfW1sOuhjV3KM60c29R_vjc0WLtmyDRkI3fxA/s320/P4+-+The+autumn+pavement+in+Ottawa+%2528Photo+by+Heather+Jonasson%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fallen maple leaves on the pavement in Ottawa.<br />
(Photo by Heather Jonasson.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I love October
sunsets. The vivid colours of the autumn sky, set against the lengthening
shadows in the foreground, invite reflection and gratitude, while the painted
leaves of the trees evoke a sense of quiet celebration. Autumn suits my
temperament and, while I mourn the shortening days, I welcome the feast that
can only be enjoyed once the harvest is in.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It’s curious that
the waning of the year, with its diminished light, brings out nature’s
brightest and most varied colours. Sure, there’s plenty of brown and grey to go
around, but they are only the background for the bright red and orange, amber
and lingering hints of green, while the blue of sky and water seems to deepen.
Autumn is as colourful as the people who, having completed their life’s work
and having moved beyond its folly, settle down to simply be themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This reminds me
of the familiar and much loved words of the English poet Jenny Joseph: “When I
am an old woman I shall wear purple / With a red hat which doesn’t go, and
doesn't suit me.” She goes on to say that she will “make up for the sobriety of
my youth” and “pick the flowers in
other people’s gardens.” Who among us hasn’t most cherished our <i>ammas</i> and
<i>langammas</i>* when they have been the old woman in purple – the one who laughs off
life’s vanities and simply dwells in the fruition of the present moment,
content that life’s harvest is enough? Who among us doesn’t long for the day
when we, too, will be the old woman or old man in purple?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It would be easy to think of October as the soberest of all months, but
perhaps its riotous colours should be seen instead as an invitation to be our
most daring selves. While rushing about to make the most of the days that
remain before the snow flies, this is a good time to harvest the fruits that
lie about us, whether or not they are of our own planting, and to let the
sobriety of youth give way to the joy of fulfillment.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Let us radiate the brighter hues of our lives, like the painted leaves of
October, so that this season glows with the rich colours each of us brings to
the world and we ourselves shine through the light of its sunsets.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">* Icelandic for grandmothers and great-grandmothers.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This post appears as the editorial in the October 1, 2016, issue of <i><a href="http://www.lh-inc.ca/" target="_blank">Lögberg-Heimskringla</a>. </i></span></div>
Stefan Jonassonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07384898850263698063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15113601.post-47464779039510814262016-02-05T14:20:00.001-06:002016-02-05T14:20:47.296-06:00Bridge-builders<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Remarks from the celebration of the 125th
anniversary of the founding of the First Icelandic Unitarian Society of
Winnipeg delivered at the commemorative service held at First Unitarian
Universalist Church of Winnipeg on Sunday, January 31, 2016. (Part 4 of 4)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As surely as trail-making
has been part of this congregation’s history and nature, bridge-building has
also been a recurring theme. In the early years, bridge-building was imposed
upon the congregation, since its members were both religiously unconventional
and members of an immigrant community.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There was considerable
discrimination against the early members. In 1898, the congregation’s second
settled minister, Magnús Skaptason, lamented that, “the Unitarian name was both
hated and despised” and working people in the congregation had difficulty
finding work, while its merchants had trouble retaining customers on account of
their faith. And he noted that there were few younger women in the
congregation, owing to “prejudices against the Unitarians.” Undeterred, members
strove to build bridges to both the dominant society and to other immigrant
groups, creating a network of relationships throughout the larger community.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYiK5lnlHHVzz_hYgpPU6IbExqzJ9YX_Q5UW1m3g4u1WLBNGloxKOHdvBq3klfdURBzmlLSawPlopCEq3gWG8xME5FzVYRjC8Hq5AWx4NmBlAG86LVRGdvHRi-IpWc9t_zZSDPGw/s1600/United+Conference+of+Icelandic+Churches+%25281923%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYiK5lnlHHVzz_hYgpPU6IbExqzJ9YX_Q5UW1m3g4u1WLBNGloxKOHdvBq3klfdURBzmlLSawPlopCEq3gWG8xME5FzVYRjC8Hq5AWx4NmBlAG86LVRGdvHRi-IpWc9t_zZSDPGw/s320/United+Conference+of+Icelandic+Churches+%25281923%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Delegates to the 1923 convention of the United<br />Conference of Icelandic Churches on the grounds<br />of the Manitoba Legislative Building.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In 1920, the First Icelandic Unitarian Society amalgamated with another
Icelandic congregation known as the Winnipeg Tabernacle, which was led by a
minister who had originally been one of primary antagonists of the Unitarians.
But Friðrik J. Bergmann’s continued study and reflection led him to
increasingly liberal positions and he embraced what became known as the “New
Theology.” In 1916, he and his congregation entered into merger talks with the
Unitarians and, although he died suddenly two years later, the merger proceeded
and in 1920, the two congregations came together under the name First Federated
Church. A bridge had been built and crossed between two congregations that had
once considered themselves adversaries.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Over at All Souls Church, Horace Westwood built relationships with
organized labour and, along with Salem Bland of Wesley College, won recognition
of the firefighters’ union by the city.</span>
Westwood’s predecessor, William A. Vrooman, described Unitarians’ tendency to
build bridges between the separated as having been rooted in “a social passion
for the redemption of the outcast and the weak, an outpouring of divine worth
for the unworthy, of hope for the hopeless, of life out of death, and the
ministry of kindly hearts to the friendless and lost.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">* * *<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When the First Unitarian
Church, as it was then known, celebrated its 25th anniversary, the world was in
the midst of a Great War and a worldwide financial and industrial depression.
Its future was by no means certain. The buoyant optimism of liberal religion
was ridiculed by those who pointed to the war as evidence that our positive
estimate of humankind was foolhardy and our confidence in the future was
misplaced. Financial pressures on the congregation’s largely working class
membership threatened to force the church to close its doors and discontinue
its work. However, the members were quietly confident that their challenges
would be met and the church would be around for a second quarter century. “Yet,
with unswerving faith in Providence,” its leaders declared in a message to the
congregation and its friends, “strengthened by the experience of the past, the
church faces the future hopefully.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Every age faces its own
unique challenges and opportunities. Few of us have the foresight and wisdom to
see them clearly beforehand, but we can often observe that the spirit and deeds
of the past offer an intimation of both the perils and the possibilities moving
forward. So, while it’s impossible to predict what destiny awaits this
congregation – whether it will even be around to mark another anniversary in 25
years – we can be fairly confident that’s its accomplishments and successes,
whatever they might be, will somehow involve trail-making and bridge-building.
When there are no new spiritual paths to explore, no fresh insights to
incorporate into our ways of living, no divisions to heal, no communities to
reconcile, no rough places to make smooth, then our work will be done. Until
then, this city – and indeed the whole world – will have need of trail-makers and
bridge-builders. So may we, too, like our spiritual ancestors, have an abiding
confidence in the principles of our faith, the wisdom to learn from the
experiences of the past, and – most importantly – an openness to the unfolding
future, so that the legacy of trail-making and bridge-building continues to “<span lang="EN-US">point the way to
higher levels and loftier achievements.”</span> </span></div>
Stefan Jonassonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07384898850263698063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15113601.post-23759672796887550832016-02-04T19:27:00.001-06:002016-02-04T22:56:21.096-06:00Trail-makers<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Remarks from the celebration of the 125th
anniversary of the founding of the First Icelandic Unitarian Society of
Winnipeg delivered at the commemorative service held at First Unitarian
Universalist Church of Winnipeg on Sunday, January 31, 2016. (Part 3 of 4)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Unitarian Universalists do not hold a monopoly on liberal religious
thought and expression. Although our congregations may sometimes fancy
themselves the most liberal spiritual communities in town, we often have
competitors for that honour and therefore natural allies in our work. Here in
Winnipeg, there was, during the first four decades of the 20th century, a great
religious liberal who was a friend of both the Icelandic Unitarians and the
English-speaking Unitarians who had organized their own congregation, All Souls
Church, in 1904. An ordained Methodist minister who left that denomination for
the short-lived Labour Church and left the ministry for politics, J.S.
Woodsworth occasionally filled the pulpits in both of the city’s Unitarian
churches when he wasn’t in Ottawa. Indeed, he was sometimes mistaken for being
a Unitarian minister and he didn’t object when that happened, since the teachings
and practices of the Labour Church were virtually identical to those of the
Unitarians.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“We need trail-makers,” he said. “In the realm of the spirit, in the
search after truth, in the field of social relationships, in economics, in
politics, in international affairs, we need trail-makers — men [and women] who
will seek new paths; make the rough places smooth; bridge the chasms that now
prevent human progress; point the way to higher levels and loftier
achievements.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The qualities of trail-making and bridge-building have been embodied in
this congregation from the very beginning. If trail-making is seen as seeking
new paths and making them accessible to those who follow, then this
congregation has laid down trails at every stage of its existence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ekO8w-WF6-pJAs1eOmtGO71GQ2T1VL-qc4b2I26AgCh0_Hz96UsxiQhDOkwl_1qdAsz5c33gZtJcaDYKPNbFodfeuc0U3zQhyvBccrHagGxTDTVkQ4oBdqq8UOn5rCEyDo1B_Q/s1600/Youth+Sunday+at+First+Federated+Church+%25281946%2529+-+Small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ekO8w-WF6-pJAs1eOmtGO71GQ2T1VL-qc4b2I26AgCh0_Hz96UsxiQhDOkwl_1qdAsz5c33gZtJcaDYKPNbFodfeuc0U3zQhyvBccrHagGxTDTVkQ4oBdqq8UOn5rCEyDo1B_Q/s320/Youth+Sunday+at+First+Federated+Church+%25281946%2529+-+Small.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Youth Sunday 1946 at the First Federated Church</span><br style="color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">of Unitarians and Other Liberal Christians on</span><br style="color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Banning Street in Winnipeg.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-US">At a time when most churches were defined by creeds and dogmas, the
audacity to establish a congregation on the basis of a simple covenant to unite
for the service of God and humanity, in the spirit of Jesus, was an act of
trail-making</span>. And to then expand the
circle of inclusion to include agnostics and atheists, and those who looked to
figures other than Jesus for inspiration, was a bold act of trail-making and
bridge-building, not to mention confidence and faith. One of the early
ministers of All Souls Church, William A. Vrooman, maintained that, “the unity
of a church should … depend not upon uniformity of belief, but upon that unity
of the spirit which enables [women and] men who may differ in opinions still to
love and serve one another.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-US">It was trail-making when the congregation became the first spiritual
community in the city known to have opened its pulpit to a woman as its
minister. Jennie McCaine Peterson effectively shared the ministry of this
congregation with her husband Björn from the very beginning and she then
succeeded him for a year following his death, notwithstanding the barriers of
language and social convention. And it was a trail-making message she preached,
telling her congregants that the “</span>sciences
tell us that instead of being created as perfect beings, humans have all these
centuries been slowly and slowly evolving” and going on to say that “people are
paying attention to other religions older than Christianity and comparing them”
– favourably, I would add. At that time, there were few other places, if any,
where one would have heard a preacher extolling evolution and comparative
religion in this city.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was trail-making when,
after the congregation’s women’s society was formed in 1904, under the
leadership of Margrét Bendictsson, the congregation amended its bylaws so that
support for women’s suffrage was a requirement of membership. Indeed, I have
found no other church, within our denomination or beyond it, that made such a
demand upon its members.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And this pattern of
trail-making carried on throughout the history of this congregation, because it
was deeply embedded both in the Icelandic congregation and in the
English-speaking All Souls Church, which was founded in 1904 under the
leadership of Arthur Puttee, the first Labour member of Canada’s parliament,
and Hope Ross. <span lang="EN-US">Although it’s the 125th anniversary of the founding of the First
Icelandic Unitarian Society that we are commemorating today, the First
Unitarian Universalist Church of Winnipeg is actually rooted in three liberal churches,
the other two being the Winnipeg Tabernacle and All Souls Church. At All Souls,
James Hart introduced humanism to Winnipeg’s Unitarians while decrying the
oppression and exploitation of imperialism at a time when nice people didn’t
talk about such things.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As the decades progressed, this city’s Unitarians found themselves, as
trail-makers, on the leading edge of groundbreaking issues from law reform to
public education. And it’s no accident that this country’s first same-sex
marriage occurred under the auspices of this church, even if it took the law
three decades to catch up.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin;
position:relative;
top:-1.0pt;
mso-text-raise:1.0pt;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It’s not that trail-making came without controversy, either within the
congregation or between the church and the larger community – it’s that the
congregation was prepared to follow its collective conscience into
uncomfortable places.</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Stefan Jonassonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07384898850263698063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15113601.post-81737389495559987432016-02-03T21:13:00.000-06:002016-02-03T21:44:10.000-06:00The Longevity of Churches<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Remarks from the celebration of the 125th
anniversary of the founding of the First Icelandic Unitarian Society of
Winnipeg delivered at the commemorative service held at First Unitarian
Universalist Church of Winnipeg on Sunday, January 31, 2016. (Part 2 of 4)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now, notwithstanding their
social importance throughout human history, the study of congregations as a
sociological phenomenon is only a little more than half a century old and the notion
that congregations are institutions with something to learn from other human
institutions, and with something to contribute in return, is not much more than
a century old. So, when this congregation was founded, there were no real
guidebooks about how to do so, other than the various denominations’ rules of
polity and manuals of discipline. A familiarity with received traditions, the
observation of neighbouring congregations’ practices, and the mentorship of
wise – and sometimes not so wise – elders were the foundation upon which
missionaries went about organizing new congregations. Beyond that, they had to
rely on their own ingenuity and chutzpah – although no Christian missionary
would have had any idea what chutzpah was, let alone that they possessed it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8OuSOnhHyODfw5qPMBvn0Uh8jQ5ExV_Q7pIw_pjCp08LIqilRd9t9ztQqz8Exkb9xlrnvBvt0F6Ys8eWFdi4Pd_NNgabG4Qmi96iil-zQ5J7wuVYV2PUnsoxyyagUOApcPDUGIg/s1600/Unitarian+Confirmation+%2528c1914%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8OuSOnhHyODfw5qPMBvn0Uh8jQ5ExV_Q7pIw_pjCp08LIqilRd9t9ztQqz8Exkb9xlrnvBvt0F6Ys8eWFdi4Pd_NNgabG4Qmi96iil-zQ5J7wuVYV2PUnsoxyyagUOApcPDUGIg/s320/Unitarian+Confirmation+%2528c1914%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">First Icelandic Unitarian Church confirmation class<br />from 100 years ago. The minister is Rev. Rögnvaldur<br />Pétursson and the two young men in the centre went<br />on to become ministers – Rev. Philip M. Petursson<br />and Rev. H.I.S. (Ingi) Borgford.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">By the time I was actively
engaged in church work, there was a vast literature on the nature of
congregational life and a wide array of training programs aimed at guiding
would-be new congregation organizers in their task, the name “missionary” having
long since fallen out of favour among religious liberals. One of the striking
assertions I remember hearing, having been the beneficiary of a quarter century
of study, was that the average life expectancy of a Protestant congregation in
North America was about 76 years – more or less the same longevity as the
average North American person. Not only that, but we were told that the life
cycle of the typical congregation was remarkably similar to that of a human
being – they tended to reach their adult size by the time they were a quarter
century old, they often experienced something akin to a mid-life crisis in
their 40s or 50s, and their decline and demise often came on rapidly in their
later years. And specific studies of congregations with ethnic foundations –
like ours – revealed that few survive to the end of the third generation – that
is, few outlast the grandchildren of their founders.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" Name="footnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" Name="footnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin;
position:relative;
top:-1.0pt;
mso-text-raise:1.0pt;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Like all sweeping
generalizations, observations about statistically average congregations can be
as misleading as they are illuminating, but I offer them up to reinforce an
obvious but noteworthy point: this congregation is uncommonly old, which is to
say that it has already outlived the average congregation by half a century. It
has survived and prospered. And this is a testimony to the faithfulness,
resilience, and ingenuity of successive generations of members and friends who
have helped it to flourish. This is not an average congregation, it is an
exceptional one – remarkable for its longevity, to be sure, but remarkable
primarily for the qualities that enabled its longevity: a clear but evolving
sense of mission, resilience in weathering the inevitable conflicts and
challenges that all human communities face, a willingness to reach across the
social divides that stifle growth, and a capacity to change without
compromising its core values.</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Stefan Jonassonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07384898850263698063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15113601.post-26935309644092329822016-02-03T09:08:00.000-06:002016-02-03T21:14:29.548-06:00Planting Unitarianism Among the Icelanders of Winnipeg<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Remarks from the celebration of the 125th
anniversary of the founding of the First Icelandic Unitarian Society of
Winnipeg delivered at the commemorative service held at First Unitarian
Universalist Church of Winnipeg on Sunday, January 31, 2016. (Part 1 of 4)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Looking over the
memorabilia from past anniversaries, I discovered that there were eight sermons
or addresses – the Icelandic word <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ræða</i>
can mean either – delivered at the congregation’s 25th anniversary celebration,
which may explain why the event lasted for three hours; there were four sermons
at the 50th anniversary, two sermons at the 75th anniversary, and one sermon
shared by two preachers at the 100th anniversary. And today, there will be one
sermon in two movements. If my projections are correct and, should you happen
to be around for the sesquicentennial – the 150th anniversary – it is my
prediction that either there will be one sermon in four parts or else no sermon
at all. You heard it here first.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When this congregation
marked its 50th anniversary in 1941, our young minister at the time, Philip
Petursson, said, “Nobody knows – or can remotely guess – what the world may be
like a year from today or five years from now. Even the oldest landmarks may
vanish. The ideas and customs and traditions and institutions that now seem to
us most stable may be overturned and destroyed and forgotten. It sometimes
seems as though the one certain thing about life is that it is uncertain, the
one safe prophecy that tomorrow will be so unlike the present that it cannot
possibly be foretold. The one safeguard in such a world,” he continued, “is a
strong, positive religious faith – a deep-rooted conviction that this universe
is more than the battleground of blind, dark, ruthless forces, where the only
thing that counts is brute force and the only arbiter of human destiny is sheer
accident. Over and against any such pitiless view of life,” he said, the
liberal religious person “sets [a] daring affirmation that reason is potentially
stronger than chaos, the human dream of an ideal world as real and powerful as
the law of gravitation, that justice is not an idle and pathetic illusion,
truth no mere will-o’-the-wisp, the ultimate victory of love over hatred, of
goodwill over selfish and cruel impulses, of the divine over the brute within
the soul … is as certain as that tomorrow’s sun will rise or that two and two
make four.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5c0E6STNvERTC5Fcmmk5sFY9wt8dh3Yv8xCTqAOxNKhJ_dcPvbramv_a3eSiokpueMM3WM3Hkq6yoX1tq3tqG5Asw1lHBgihAkfwiriaMHi04wqAA9UqQfqA3JRIlHMINaZT-Qg/s1600/First+Icelandic+Unitarian+Church+%2528c1905%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5c0E6STNvERTC5Fcmmk5sFY9wt8dh3Yv8xCTqAOxNKhJ_dcPvbramv_a3eSiokpueMM3WM3Hkq6yoX1tq3tqG5Asw1lHBgihAkfwiriaMHi04wqAA9UqQfqA3JRIlHMINaZT-Qg/s320/First+Icelandic+Unitarian+Church+%2528c1905%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The second building of the First Icelandic Unitarian<br />
Church of Winnipeg, dedicated in 1905.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The anniversary
celebration was held in June of that year, after the regular church year had
come to a close. These words were especially powerful when you remember that
the world was at war and the conflict wasn’t going particularly well. The
congregation’s leaders weren’t entirely certain that it was even appropriate to
hold a celebration, given everything that was going on. So the tone of the
anniversary was more solemn than celebratory. But the anniversary was marked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Philip spoke of paying
tribute to the pioneers who had “labored and sacrificed” to plant and maintain
Unitarianism in this city, encouraging freedom of thought, so that the fruits
of our faith would be embodied in lives of character and purpose. And they
really had sacrificed because identifying as a Unitarian in those days was not
without consequences – especially if you happened to be an immigrant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The thirty-six people who
gathered on February 1st, 1891 to establish the First Icelandic Unitarian
Society of Winnipeg under the leadership of Björn Pétursson and Jennie McCaine
Peterson were indeed pioneers. In defining their purpose as a congregation,
their bond of union affirmed: “In truth and in the spirit of Jesus of Nazareth,
we unite for the service of God and men.” While those words might raise
eyebrows among some Unitarian Universalists today, they were, in the context of
their time, a radically simple and inclusive affirmation. Notwithstanding their
invocation of Jesus, few outside the congregation considered them to be
Christians and, in a time when such things mattered, this meant that their
“otherness” was on display for all to see. A couple of dozen others joined the
initial 36 as charter members.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Together, they laboured on
in following a new pathway in religion while striving to build bridges to their
neighbours. The built a small wooden chapel at the corner of Sherbrook Street
and Pacific Avenue, which they dubbed “Unity Hall,” and it became a gathering
place not only for Unitarians, but also for other groups that had trouble
finding a place to meet, such as the Winnipeg Secular Association.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">During its first decade,
the congregation’s membership fluctuated between 60 and 80, although attendance
was always much greater – sometimes reaching a few hundred – and they
persevered, attracting the interest of some bright, young individuals who aimed
to make a difference in the world.<b><o:p> </o:p></b></span></div>
Stefan Jonassonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07384898850263698063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15113601.post-71315040468588819502016-02-02T09:59:00.000-06:002016-02-03T20:48:32.587-06:00John Harvard and the Public Good<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">John Harvard’s voice permeated the home where I grew up, even though he
never set foot in it. When he was at CJOB, my mother listened to his open-line
show; when he was at CBC, my father watched him on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">24 Hours</i>. I was on hand for both. As a youngster, he struck me as
confrontational – and I suppose he was, but not like the melodramatic posturing
that we see on the cable news these days. As a journalist, he asked hard
questions and he expected straight answers from the people he interviewed. He
was well-informed, insightful, unflappable, and direct. And he had an intuitive
sense that helped him discern when people were bluffing, which generally
triggered him to push them a little harder.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I didn’t meet him in person until 1988, when he ran for Parliament the
first time. He called me at home to ask for my support, tossing off a few words
in Icelandic – perhaps the only ones he could come up with – before introducing
himself and saying that he was seeking the Liberal nomination in my part of the
city. In those days, I was “between parties” and I was happy to support his
candidacy after he convinced me that he was the progressive with the best
chance of winning that year. In time, I continued to gravitate leftward, but I still
admired John’s devoted public service, his willingness to work hard for his
constituents, and his progressive viewpoints.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I was pleased when he was named Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba in 2004,
although I briefly wondered about how easy he would find it to move from the
rough and tumble of partisan politics in the nation’s capital to the ceremonial
responsibilities of the viceregal office back home in Manitoba. He flourished
in the new role, which focused more on celebrating the values that bind us
together as a society. The ritual and ceremony suited him. And his relationship
to the province’s Icelandic community deepened.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsmR-EiDQz91Im9TxT8VVS4l5dW1Lbd7gvGddhen6UjZXeIjBali4ZsY65FbNahRz9SzCjyR90qambcANhq_PhdqM8piW148rVGperBhL-kT_HqYL-ZU_1X07GaPqVmz6xF14hBw/s1600/P4+-+John+Harvard+with+Stefan+DSCN9760.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsmR-EiDQz91Im9TxT8VVS4l5dW1Lbd7gvGddhen6UjZXeIjBali4ZsY65FbNahRz9SzCjyR90qambcANhq_PhdqM8piW148rVGperBhL-kT_HqYL-ZU_1X07GaPqVmz6xF14hBw/s320/P4+-+John+Harvard+with+Stefan+DSCN9760.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">John Harvard and Stefan Jonasson in 2014.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">During his years in Government House, we had a few opportunities to
discuss religion and, once he was free of the constraints of office, we had
occasion to speak again about politics and public policy in a more robust
manner. John was remarkably stoic about his own disappointments, sufferings,
and personal tragedies; he once remarked in conversation, “Why not me? Why
should I be spared life’s inevitable misfortune?” Yet he savoured life and he
was genuinely concerned about the needs of others and desirous of building the
kind of society in which human misery is minimized, while human freedom is
enhanced. He held his political views passionately.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Although I hold politicians in higher regard than most people do these
days, I have always been critical of those public figures (a distinct minority,
I believe) who seem incapable of distinguishing between private interests and
the public good. As a journalist, as an elected official, as lieutenant
governor, and as a private citizen, John Harvard had a clear understanding of
the public good and a deep commitment to serving it, even at the expense of his
personal interests. When he did something in public life, he did it because he
believed it was truly in the public interest. We can ask no more from those who
hold public office.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">As Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, he received a personal coat of arms along
with the office. It features the Golden Boy as its crest, one of the iconic
symbols of the province, and a seemingly abstract shield, supported by two
sandhill cranes standing on a field of wheat. On the shield, according to the
Public Register of Arms, “the alternately coloured segments meeting in the
centre refer to diversity and multiculturalism. They can be seen as coming
together, but also as reaching out, thus alluding to His Honour’s commitment …
to helping those otherwise forgotten. The circle can refer to a round table,
indicative of equality and involvement of all. The twelve segments are those of
the hours of a clock, showing that watching time was vital in His Honour’s
original career as a radio journalist. The symbolism of time also connects to
His Honour’s interest in studying history.” Beneath the coat of arms is the
motto that was granted to John Harvard: “Support the Public Good.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The John Harvard I saw from afar, and of whom I occasionally caught a
closer glimpse, lived by that motto. We didn’t always agree, but I never once
had occasion to wonder whether his efforts were guided by his sincere estimate
of the public good. They were. And we are all the better for it.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin;
position:relative;
top:-1.0pt;
mso-text-raise:1.0pt;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This post originally appeared as an editorial in <a href="http://lh-inc.ca/" target="_blank">Lögberg<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">-</i>Heimskringla</a></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">, the Icelandic community
newspaper, on February 1, 2016.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span>Stefan Jonassonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07384898850263698063noreply@blogger.com0