Vimy Ridge: 100th Anniversary
Four and a half hours later these tired men would climb out of their trenches into snow and sleet and German artillery fire. I think about Great-uncle Tom among them.
Farewell – with forward motion
Cathy Smith’s farewell column.
C. S. Lewis for Christmas
Understandably, given my past, Lewis’s journey from nonbeliever to Christian always intrigued me. Of all the erudite Inklings, it was Lewis, the former atheist, who emerged as a spokesperson for the reasonableness of Christianity. Three recently published books focus on his aptitude for apologetics. Any one of them would make a treasured Christmas gift for the Lewis fan in your family!
Hospitable reconciliation
On September 12, 2016 I met with my friend Thea DeGroot, retired teacher and Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) board member, for a companionable chat about her visit to Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwig (KI) First Nation, a fly-in community about 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay.
Playdate at Stratford
Last month I took my grandchildren to see The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Who was the most excited? Me!
Jesus at the Olympics
How could you miss him? Christ the Redeemer at Rio, tourist attraction, juxtaposed against a kaleidoscope of carnival dancers, in the spotlight as cameras panned the mountains during weather updates. A slim stick high in the sky at the rowing events.
Farming in faith
In June 2012, Christian Courier featured an interview with Rev. Dr. Wa Kitavi about a unique partnership between Christian Reformed World Missions (CRWM) and the Pentecostal Theological College (Uganda) – the establishment of a dairy farm linked to the school. The project was designed to equip future pastors not only with community development skills, but with the possibility of earning a living as farmers.
Sermons that stick
What’s the first sermon you can remember? I have a vivid recollection of the first message that impacted me enough to stick with me forever.
Walking with Siebenga and God
When I was growing up in my tight-knit CRC triangle of home, church and Christian school, our communal economy was sustained by an unwritten code. You supported your own. You patronized CRC businesses and hired kids from your own congregation. If you had to pay a bit more for produce at Vandenbergs’ Market, well, so be it. It’s what you did. You invested in faith.
Happy at Synod
Mona Simpson, novelist and sister to Steve Jobs, once said, “The tincture of life most rarely found in art is happiness.”
Who’s in charge?
When you’re a teacher, you’re a leader. I once attended a workshop where the presenter asked, “Who’s in charge of your classroom?” After two incorrect responses from the audience, I raised my hand and said, “I am.” That’s the answer he was looking for.
Housing God
Dad wasn’t preachy. The closest thing to a sermon might be an emphatic declaration, punctuated with a pointing finger, that you can’t expect a man who is hungry and has no shoes to listen to the gospel.
