A nation and a world in turmoil:
Events commemorating the 70th anniversary of D-Day in Ouistreham, France in early June had one unwelcome guest: distrust.
The Bride’s Room
The Eternal Bridegroom whispers to me in a voice that old and young brides learn to hear, and which, upon hearing, makes the light of the prayer parlor suffuse that space – both the room and me.
Peer-to-peer lending:
The internet will certainly, if it hasn’t already, change the way people of all nations communicate, learn about one another and struggle to share the gifts God has bestowed upon them in Christ-honouring ways. Whether it is at the exotic bazaar or local prayer meeting, in person or online, Christians will continue to engage timely trends with eternal wisdom.
A Beautiful Wedding Day
Weddings have been an important part of every culture, ethnicity, religious group and global area of the world for thousands of years. What’s new is that the wedding industry has exploded into a sixty billion dollar business. A survey by the TheKnot.com and WeddingChannel.com reveals that the average cost of a wedding in 2012 was $28,427.
The poetry of a life
Even when I have conducted funerals for those who were complete strangers to me, I have discovered that I can “get to know them” by asking the same kind of questions I have learned to ask when I meet new people. Where were they from? What were their families like? What did they do? A surprisingly revealing question is often: What were their interests and hobbies?
Peter Schuurman wins national award for “Fractured Flocks”
The Word Awards, known as the premier event celebrating “the work of Canadian writers who are Christian,” were announced at a gala on June 11.
A perilous pilgrimage: Egypt’s journey beyond revolution
In celebrated Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz’s The Journey of Ibn Fattouma, we meet the traveller for whom the book is named, a man from a troubled land who embarks on a quest for answers. Following his teacher’s advice, Ibn Fattouma sets out on pilgrimage to the unknown “land of perfection” with the hope of returning “to [his] ailing homeland with a remedy to heal her.”
Pilgrimage of the head and heart
As an artist with a strong interest in history, I have always been fascinated by the aesthetics of the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral and by the strength of its metaphor for pilgrimage.
Bring us safely home
“For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land” Ezekiel 36:24 (NIV).
I was in prison
Just before Jack McKay was let out of prison, a local paper ran an article that portrayed him as an unhinged, unreformed sexual predator. The message was blunt: beware, be afraid.
Rachel Marie Stone: Bringing grace to the table
“Food is connected to how we live,” Stone says, and her work seeks to find ways “to bring grace into our conversations about food.” Here are some snippets of our conversation on this good gift from God and our complicated relationship with it.
Maranatha today, your church tomorrow?
It’s official: Maranatha Christian Reformed Church of St. Catharines, Ontario, is no more. The church’s request to be allowed to disband after 65 years of ministry was approved at a special Classis Niagara meeting on April 9. It was a sad moment . . . .
