Seeming fair and feeling foul
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Seeming fair and feeling foul

It begins, once again, with Galadriel telling the story of an ancient war. This time it is the story of the First Age – the story of how the elves left paradise in Valinor to journey to Middle Earth and to take revenge upon the fallen angel Morgoth. These battles are bigger of course, and…

The beauty of betterment
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The beauty of betterment

What does it mean to be “good?” Michael Schur, an established television writer and producer (The Good Place, The Office, Parks and Rec), is fascinated by humanity’s many answers to this question. How to be Perfect is his unconventional and conversational moral philosophy primer. With cheeky wit and gracious, self-aware insight, Schur ponders the theories…

‘And what if he tells you to make poems?’
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‘And what if he tells you to make poems?’

“Though I have never been to Mount Olive, New Jersey,I have spent years of my reading life on the Mount of Olives,trespassing, looking for a brown-skinned teacher…” writes Brad Davis in his book’s title poem, inspired by a news report of a trespassing teen in Mount Olive, New Jersey. The poem summarizes well the quest…

A benecription for the church
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A benecription for the church

“‘God told me to pray for you,’ she says. Her words linger like cloying perfume in a claustrophobic space. ‘God wants to heal you!’ She is undoubtedly thrilled with this opportunity. I’ve been here before. It never ends well.” So begins Amy Kenny’s must-read My Body is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the…

So that all can come to God
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So that all can come to God

Intrigued by the description of Rohadi Nagassar’s book When We Belong: Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins, I read the book eager to learn more about enfolding those on the margins into the church. For ten years I was a chaplain and pastor to people on the margins of our society: those who live in Long…

Timely and timeless
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Timely and timeless

“Reading the morning newspaper is the realist’s morning prayer,” quipped the philosopher Hegel. If he’s right, what does this reveal about my own heart when I groggily reach for my smartphone upon waking up, scrolling through headlines before even a word of prayer to God or a verse of Scripture? Jeffrey Bilbro’s Reading the Times…

Jubilant play!
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Jubilant play!

Author and illustrator Julie Flett attributes her love for the land, animals, and all of nature to the gentle heart of her Cree-Métis father, Clarence Flett (1936-2019). In an author note, she explains, “When I was growing up, my dad shared a lot about our relationship to animals and to each other, including the land,…

Dialogue within the ‘bond of peace’
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Dialogue within the ‘bond of peace’

Since Synod 2016 the Christian Reformed Church has been studying, discussing and agonizing over same-sex relationships. That year, Synod created a committee which produced what is now called the Human Sexuality Report (HSR). Among other issues, the HSR recommended that homosexual activity breaks the seventh Commandment and is thus prohibited. Synod 2022 took the report…

Pentecost joy!
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Pentecost joy!

“Josey Johnson’s hair is a wonderful adventure — it’s different all the time! Some days it’s a ponytail or pigtails or a curly afro. And some days Josey’s hair has a mind of its own!” So begins author Esau McCaulley’s spirited portrayal of a girl who feels the pain of being different because her hair…

A beautiful piece of pandemic art
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A beautiful piece of pandemic art

I have to admit, watching the first episode of HBO’s series Station Eleven was extremely difficult. Triggering almost, with exhausted healthcare professionals in ubiquitous blue masks, fighting against an insidious respiratory virus with a devastating mortality rate, as the population reacted with various levels of panic and denial. It felt insensitive that someone felt the…

Remembering and waiting
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Remembering and waiting

As young Ashley walks to school through the quiet countryside, a car speeds past her and drops off an elderly man by a dilapidated railroad track where the old train station used to stand. The First Nations girl recognizes her great-uncle and runs to him. When she asks Uncle why he has come to sit…

History and healing in five lives
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History and healing in five lives

Author Michelle Good takes us back to the 1970s in her recent novel Five Little Indians. Among its awards are a Giller Prize and the Governor General’s Literary Awards. Last year, it was the third best-selling book in Canada. For starters, I was surprised at the title. Very few Indigenous people refer themselves as Indians….