Singing in church
Tone-deaf melody wanderer, / tin fiddle tenor, / soprano like a bandsaw, / rook’s croak smoker / hopping note to / note somewhere / beneath the staves, / alto next to me, her voice like cake
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A parable for our time
Imagine a coffee shop in a small American town, its walls adorned with ninety portraits of town residents rendered by a local artist. Then, a mysterious stranger moves into town and buys the paintings one by one and gives them to the persons portrayed. This is the plot of Theo of Golden, a book self-published…
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Arts & Culture | Bible | News
Resurrecting hymnals
It’s not a secret that I’ve been repairing and bookbinding my church’s Bibles and hymnals. I’m not surreptitiously stuffing them into my backpack, though I suppose the optics might be a bit confusing to members of my congregation. It came about naturally; after all, part of learning a craft involves becoming curious about the product….
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Where does Cal’s legacy go?
When I wrote about Calvin and Inès Seerveld’s remarkable bequest of art collected over three generations of their family to Trinity Christian College last August, I did not imagine that a year later I would be writing its sequel, or that the sequel would be a kind of elegy. Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights,…
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Brian Doerksen’s hallelujah still sounds in my home
On July 21, 2026, the Lord called Brian Doerksen home after decades of faithful service in Christian music. It was unexpected; he was diagnosed with stage four cancer only weeks earlier. He was 60 years old. Doerksen, an internationally cherished songwriter, producer and mentor from Abbotsford, British Columbia, began his ministry in the 1980s as…
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Why is it hard to love my neighbour? Ask the chipmunks . . .
How would you feel about my neighbour (true story!) who was so frustrated with mice in his cabin that he boasted about lavishly spreading poison all over his yard? How would you feel listening to this, knowing that all the local chipmunks disappeared? Jesus counseled us to love our neighbours as ourselves but never said…
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Urban garden
She tends tomatoes on her fire escape, / defying concrete with stubborn green hope. / Each morning, water can in hand, / she climbs three flights to meet her miracle.
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Building a personal model of addiction
Quentin Genuis, author of Recovering People, is an emergency physician at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver. The Providence Health Care facility serves a wide community including the vulnerable downtown eastside population. Recovering People’s nuanced title is suitably chosen for this slim volume. In a polarized discussion, it offers a third way to an understanding of…
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Challenging Gen X’s memory
The “decade of greed” in the subtitle of Charlie Angus’s memoir refers to the 1980s. For Generation Xers like me, that era brings memories of music, outlandish fashion and youthful energy. Angus, recognizing the fleeting joy of nostalgic indulgence, remembers the 1980s differently. A new economic way of thinking emerged then: putting profit ahead of…
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The beauty of being reformed
This refreshing book brings beauty and sanity into theological conversation. Generously Reformed: Theology Rooted Deep and Reaching Wide – written by three Western Theological Seminary authors – inspires and re-kindles my passion for reformed theology. This accessible book is for all interested in better knowing the reformed tradition or even as an excellent introduction for…
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From stand-up comedian to Sister Superior: an unlikely journey
Sister Monica Clare’s childhood in the American South was difficult. Her father was a violent addict. The family never lived in one place long enough to hang pictures on walls. On one occasion, out of hunger, Clare distracted a store clerk while her sister nabbed a can of spaghetti. Her father once landed a good…
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Women’s part in the 1932 Alberta mining strike
“The past is never dead,” William Faulkner once said, then added, “it’s not even past.” In her debut historical novel Revolution Songs, Carissa Halton, an award-winning Alberta author, explores the Crowsnest Pass mining strike of 1932. Halton told Christian Courier that she was fascinated by the bitter labour dispute, not just because of its importance…
