Dear Friends, 
I recently returned from attending the Stanford area memorial service for my old friend Robert Hamerton-Kelly. Bob had a long and distinguished career at Stanford - including serving as Dean of the Stanford Chapel and resident scholar at the Center for International Security and Arms Control.
For many years, Bob and I (and Ren� Girard) were part of a small seminar that met twice a month at Stanford to discuss the implications of Girard's work. Bob was also one of the founding members of the Colloquium on Violence and Religion, the seeds of which were planted at a meeting that took place in the Cornerstone Forum office (then called the "Florilegia Institute") in Sonoma in the 1980s. Friendships formed that day led to the formal founding of COV&R a couple of years later.
On the afternoon of the memorial, I reminisced about Bob with Ren� and Martha Girard in the lovely garden of their home on the Stanford campus. Below is a photo of Bob at a meeting at the Stanford Faculty Club at which the Florilegia Institute began to morph into the Cornerstone Forum.
 | |
Robert Hamerton-Kelly
|
The manuscript on which I am working has a mind of its own, but the more surprised I am by its twists and turns, and the more stamina required to go where the trail leads, the more confident I am that the final result will be worth all the trouble. Meanwhile, wanting to thank our supporters for their patience, I have written a little essay about the project, which we have made into a small booklet. We are mailing this booklet to our monthly supporters. The essay is too long to include in an email newsletter, but below are the opening paragraphs. We would be happy to send the booklet to anyone interested. Simply reply to this email, and include your mailing address.
Here are the introductory paragraphs of the essay, Ever Ancient, Ever New:
I work white-collared in this vale of tears Like some pampered nephew of the Boss.
Those lines from a poem I wrote more than thirty years ago, come to mind today. My life hasn't been as trouble-free as those lines might suggest, but there has never been a moment when my heart was not full of gratitude for what at times seemed embarrassingly bountiful blessings.
Nonetheless, every Christian mission comes with its own unique cross, often, though not always, invisible to all but the one to whom it has been given. In life, there are hardships, difficulties, setbacks, and heartaches aplenty. "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." But the cross of a Christian mission is something more. It is a cross, the secret heart and soul of one's mission, the key to the mission's fruitfulness, even if it becomes a barrier to its success. When struggling under the weight of such a cross, it helps to repeat these words: "It's only worth what you pay for it, and this is part of what it costs."
One of the crosses I carry is the chagrin I feel - intensely at times - for having been so tardy in bringing the manuscript on which I have long worked to a publishable conclusion. Progress is being made, but I cannot predict how many more twists and turns there may be along the road. I "learn by going where I have to go" as the poet Theodore Roethke put it. God is the God of surprises, and I continue to be surprised by where this project leads me. Meanwhile, however, I can at least send along an overview with my continued gratitude for your friendship, support, and encouragement, and that of the Cornerstone Forum executive director, Randy Coleman-Riese, as well.
(If you would like for us to send you a copy of the entire essay, reply to this email and include the address to which you would like the booklet sent.)
Thank you again for your friendship, generosity, and prayers. We are genuinely grateful.
Sincerely,
Gil Bailie,
CF President
 
|
