My childhood memories include camping trips in July, as my pastor-father sought renewal in the wilderness of different provincial parks. In the early years of our relationship, Ralph and I enjoyed exploring parts of the country with a tent. We adapted when our older two were born and became skilled at packing the trunk of…
“Clearly as a funnel cloud touching down on the flat prairie horizon, I can see what is coming next. Toddlers control the weather, and it is time to take over.” Teresa Wong, “Tantrum Series” I happened to read these words in the essay collection Good Mom on Paper just a few days after encountering Drew…
Once upon a time, back in the days of St. Arthur of Smithers, a class of very, very young scholars decided to put some duck eggs in an incubator. When the days were accomplished when the shells should be delivered of the ducklings, alas, two eggs did not hatch. Three days later, the scholars consigned…
In May, we said goodbye to our dearly loved family cat. Maggie was a sweet, gentle ball of fluff that gave us many years of joy. Her passing came as a shock to our children, and opened up a well of new emotions, particularly in my eight-year-old son. He was Maggie’s best friend, and her…
A network of Canadian churches and Christian organizations, including Tearfund Canada and A Rocha, have joined together in a group called the Creation Collective. From April 17-19, 220 people attended Creation Collective’s launch events in Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg, either online or in person. Among the attendees were pastors and church leaders. CC interviewed one…
I dug out some of my journals from high school recently. One page had the title “The Life of a Grade Twelve.” It was just two lines: “I can’t say anything. I’m too busy doing homework.” In another section, I describe babysitting a sack of potatoes for a week to practice being a parent in…
Illustrator Liita Forsyth’s winsome, delightful illustrations serve as a welcome mat for the three authors’ introductory comments to this encouraging, hopeful collection of prayers for children as they encounter everyday events: “These prayers are for ordinary days. For playing, for school, for when you have big thoughts or little ones. God meets you in each…
Superheroes may be all the rage on movie screens, but in Paraguay, the Lilac Agents have become real-life guardians who are committed to protecting children from violence. These champions for children get an early start, training at an early age to recognize trouble when they see it and take action. “It feels really good to…
It’s the last month of school for many Ontario students, and it’s the last month of Janneke’s last year in elementary school. She’s our youngest child, so this is a significant time for us as a family. We’ve accessed different schools over the years for all four of our children: government-funded systems (public and Catholic)…
Last week, our friends were excitedly planning for the upcoming youth convention. Then we heard the news. The 2023 All Ontario Youth Convention (AOYC) scheduled for this month was cancelled at the last minute because of objections to the main speaker Kevin Makins’ view of same-sex marriage. He wasn’t going to speak about or mention…
ON April 4, the All Ontario Youth Convention (AOYC) announced that its three-day May weekend was being canceled over concerns about the main speaker’s beliefs around sexuality and marriage. The speaker that had been hired was Kevin Makins, author of Why Would Anyone Go to Church? and pastor of Eucharist Church, a congregation with affirming practices in…
It was a day when Janneke was home from school, and from my office, I could hear her giggling in her room. I had positioned her in bed while I worked on some emails. I set up a playlist from well-known Canadian storyteller Robert Munsch on the iPad. That morning, his expressive voice and playful audio…
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