Have I Lost My Ability to Believe?
Caleb, my son, is back in jail. After a three-month “run” on heroin, cocaine and other cocktails, he was picked up on a breach of the conditions of his release. No new charges; only the past with...
Tag: church
I’ve Found A New Ministry
“They” say I’m not a social person. And they are probably right. I am too quiet, too much an introvert, too uncomfortable in informal situations where I have little sense of the implicit rules.&...
#5 – Seniors & Orphans (Gaye)
The last few days we have been spending time with Senior's from a seniors' centre and girls who are being cared for by nuns in a home. The church has a drop in program for seniors which features a sim...
What the US Could Learn from the United Church
In the post-election reaction in the US, I hear echoes of 1988 in The United Church of Canada. The years surrounding the famous decision not to allow sexual orientation to be a determining facto...
A Leadership Sermon (based on the Beatitudes)
Retirement is not working out - exactly. I think a part of me imagined long, leisurely mornings sitting on the deck, feeling the warmth and a gentle breeze. Reading, writing, wondering would fill...
How Should the Church Respond to this New Era?: A Leadership Blog
How should the Church respond to the culture change personified and possibly foreshadowed by the US election? Although this emerges as fresh and powerful, the question has occupied Christian ethicists...
5 Reasons the Church May Make it: A Leadership blog
Last week I published a blog, 5 Reasons the Church May Not Find a Way Ahead. This blog is the counterpoint. First, a couple of preliminary clarifications. When using the word “church” I do n...
Advent Mixes Pain & Yearning with Hope & Joy
I dropped my son off at the ferry terminal, the next step on his way to a “recovery” house in Vancouver. These last few months - and particularly the previous couple of weeks - have been very har...
The Gifts of Home and Reasons for Leaving
Riding up the escalator at the Uptown Mall (Victoria) I heard the sound of a jazz trumpet riffing off a Christmas tune. While my brother went inside Walmart to check out which DVDs might satisfy his...
We Will Not Think the New Church Into Existence
We will not think the new church into existence. Not that I have anything against thinking. In reality, we now need great clarity and disciplined reflection about theological and ethical matters....