Canadian Summer Psalm 23
“Loving God, to whom / we flock, from whom / I wander…”
Canadian Summer Psalm 23
“Loving God, to whom / we flock, from whom / I wander…”
Energized by a miniscule difference
Physicists are excited about a tiny difference. It may not seem like much, but according to a recent experiment, the mass of a subatomic particle – the W boson – is 0.09 percent greater than predicted. Why all the excitement over such a small difference? The answer lies in what we don’t know. For 60…
Creation as Cathedral?
As we emerge from the two years of global pandemic, many congregations are trying to figure out how to connect with people in their neighbourhoods again, as well as encourage church members to return in person for worship and programs. This is especially challenging in parts of the country such as Vancouver, where pre-pandemic church…
Offering streams of hope
In a March 2017 Christian Courier article, I interviewed art prodigy Josh Tiessen about his then just released book, A Decade of Inspiration, written and produced with his mother, Dr. Julie A. Tiessen. Recently, Tiessen contacted me about his new book of art, Streams in the Wasteland, the title and the theme of which were…
For the sake of the earth
What if I told you that the best way for you to transform the world is to do less? Those of us who weren’t frontline workers, parents with children at home or vaccine researchers had plenty of time to practice “doing less” over the past two years. I, for one, spent a lot of evenings…
Days of Grace
We’re living with exam stress in our house these days. It’s that time of year. And it does nothing – or little – to tell my kids I remember what it was like. All the studying, the cramped hands, late nights, deep breaths and knowing/never-quite-knowing it will be alright. Of course, I remember all that….
The gift of an expanded horizon
This gentle, informative children’s picture book is based on the true story of the time author David Robertson and his father returned to the trapline of his father’s youth. In this fictionalized version, a young boy and his moshom – his grandfather – fly to northern Canada. The boy is excited because they are going…
Plastics: A Small Victory
In the 1967 movie The Graduate (the first movie my wife and I saw together), Benjamin Braddock, contemplating his future, is steered toward an outstanding career with one word: “plastics.” Plastics, it was believed, could do anything. Fifty-five years later, we now know plastics have horrible downsides – they last almost forever and are causing…
Consider the robins
Legend has it that the person who spots the first robin will have good luck all year. Our robins arrived several weeks ago and they didn’t look too lucky – hunkering down under the evergreens, feathers puffed up, wearily eyeing the snow covered lawn for anything that looked like food. While I’m not superstitious, I…
The very hungry caterpillar
Most people think of gardening as a nurturing sort of activity, forgetting that gardeners must also ruthlessly defend their crops from creeping green invaders. My bloodthirsty gardener instincts are in full force when invasive weeds (such as creeping bellflower) or creepy-crawly pests (like the caterpillar of the white cabbage butterfly) threaten to devour my brussels…
Made for Flourishing
I play flute; my sister Joanna plays violin. We find that duets written for different instruments rarely share the melody. We’ve become adept at swapping parts. Bowing marks become creative suggestions for my breathing and Joanna lowers those soaring flute melodies by an octave. Not all duets are created equal. In our relationships large and…
