Nitekirk
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Nitekirk

Picture a still, quiet, spacious church late in the evening. The chairs have been rearranged, making open spaces and clusters of seating. In the centre of the sanctuary, there is an arrangement of candles, their collected light drawing the eye. Some people are sitting quietly and others walk slowly through the space, stopping at an…

Messy October
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Messy October

A young couple has bought the house next door and they’ve spent the end of the summer taking it apart. I feel as if there should be a banner flying somewhere over our street: everything must go! Curtain rods and carpets, sliding doors, mirrors and the bathtub, all the kitchen cabinets and the sink and…

Walking by faith
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Walking by faith

“And do you have everything you’re going to need today?” Last September, my middle child started high school, and his big sister decided he was going to be organized. She was going to make sure of it. Every morning last year, she ran through a checklist with him, making sure he had his lunch –…

Painting time

Painting time

When I was a child, we owned an oil painting like something from the Old Testament. It hung darkly over the green chesterfield in the living room, its complicated gold frame both beautiful and worrisome. On days when I was home from school with a bad cold, I would lie on that chesterfield, looking up…

Roses over the wall

Roses over the wall

This is a good month for roses in my neighbourhood. On our walks, we seem to be continually surprised by the masses of heavy velvet heads framing doorways and gateways, and the lush greenery reaching high against brick walls. The breeze shifts and the fragrance reaches us, sweet, almost nostalgic but fresh and alive, too,…

His flag held high
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His flag held high

In the midst of that chaos, they flew a flag. Jesus Saves. I felt ill to see it. How could that mob – those violent thugs – dare hold high his name? When Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building in Washington D.C., attempting a coup at the beginning of January, their Christian nationalism was flagrantly…

The waiting year
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The waiting year

“Heap on more wood! The wind is chill;But let it whistle as it will,We’ll keep our Christmas merry still.”Sir Walter Scott When I was little, my mother quilted an advent calendar. It was a pre-printed fabric scene – chipmunks making popcorn chains, I believe – that she made three-dimensional with batting and stitches, and 24…

Giving Thanks at a Bigger Table
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Giving Thanks at a Bigger Table

Happy Birthday, Christian Courier! Isn’t it lovely how this aligns with Thanksgiving? A very fitting coincidence. In these days of counting our blessings and holding on, it’s wonderful to have a real celebration like this to mark. We may be restricted when it comes to physically sitting down at extended family tables this Thanksgiving, but this…