Advent
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Advent

I fainted this morning. For a few seconds, the world stopped spinning,as planets hurricane-whippedthrough winter air. Heaviness. Darkness.Memory skipped a beat, time two beats,life suddenly shown up, a scratched audio CD.I opened my eyes, cheek on cement. Today was the coldest yet.Each boot thrust through icesplintered the memory of hills. At work, I utter this…

The coming kingdom
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The coming kingdom

During Advent and Christmas, we celebrate the first coming of Jesus Christ into the world. The ancient creeds and the Reformation confessions tell us that Jesus is God incarnate, the second person of the Trinity, whom the Father sent to live among us, to take upon himself our sins, to pay the price for them…

New ways to find Christ this Christmas
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New ways to find Christ this Christmas

Many people attend Christmas church services who would never otherwise set foot in a church building – and the season is upon us. How will churches host Christmas and Advent gatherings during COVID-19? How can we share the gospel during a time when so many people are ready for hope and peace? These are questions…

Slowing Down
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Slowing Down

For 20 years, I hated Christmas. Or perhaps hate is too strong a word. It’s more accurate to say that Christmas was exhausting, and always I dreaded its arrival. As a pastor with four children I worked hard to have gifts bought and wrapped by the first Sunday in Advent because the month of December…

Waiting
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Waiting

I am sick of waiting – literally sick and tired of it. I’m tired of waiting to get closer than six feet to loved ones who are outside my social bubble, waiting for a decision on Medical Assistance in Dying to be rightfully dealt with in Canada, waiting for my neighbour to say “yes” to…

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…

A Lenten Year
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A Lenten Year

COVID-19 has changed our lives in ways we don’t want them changed. And it will change our Christmas celebrations in significant ways, but I’m wondering, as difficult as those changes will be, if the pandemic might have a positive impact on our celebrations. Could COVID-19 deepen our experience of Grace from Advent to Easter and…

Joy to the world, the Lord is coming!
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Joy to the world, the Lord is coming!

When weary of waiting, remember what time it is. We live between the first and the second coming. Because of the First Coming we are citizens of the Kingdom. It is not only future. Jesus’ birth means God is with us. Jesus’ death means Satan’s clock is ticking. Jesus’ resurrection means that your death is a door, not a hole.

Stories from the ‘Wall’
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Stories from the ‘Wall’

Posters on the Separation Wall in Bethlehem tell the stories of lives affected. The place where Jesus was born is a place of oppression, occupation and injustice.