Campfire revelations
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Campfire revelations

The fire curls like a Scarlet Paintbrush, streaking the night with oranges and reds. Our men are at the picnic table with oldest sons, playing a board game, and we’re huddled in old flannel and old sweaters swapping dreams like recipes in this campground by the river. The air smells like burnt marshmallows. We hear…

What will it take to crumble pandemic walls?

What will it take to crumble pandemic walls?

A long-time friend stopped by for a quick visit, one of only a handful in the past two years. But while the chat was welcome, the stilted politeness was new and awkward. We never talk about it, but she and I both know we’ve moved in different directions with respect to pandemic-related questions. That day,…

From the Editor

From the Editor

One of the first articles Dena Nicolai wrote for Christian Courier was eerily prescient: “Ripe for Revolution in Egypt,” we called it. It was late Fall, 2009, and the article was based on Dena’s observations from three years of living and working in Egypt. I remember crafting the title with her and hunting for the…

Cooperation among chaplains
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Cooperation among chaplains

As individuals specially trained to minister outside the structure of religious institutions, chaplains exemplify and inspire a more ecumenical world. Most chaplains provide ministry in a multi-faith context where they perform worship or sacred rituals for those of their own faith tradition as well as those of other faiths. Hospital and long-term care home chaplains…

How COVID has strained our friendships

How COVID has strained our friendships

Best friends for 30 years no longer seeing each other because one person isn’t vaccinated. Anger after someone mentions an interesting article about anti-vaxxers that feels like judgement, and the friends stop talking. No matter where you stand on the vaccine debate, just about everyone has a tale of tension among friends during the pandemic….

A dream of you on your bench
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A dream of you on your bench

I have a dream about youin which you are sitting on a bench, your bench,the one you have always sat on,at some distance from the sea off Scotlandbut close enough to smell and hear it. Next to you on the bench are your things:your book, a pair of binoculars,a bacon sandwich because it is almost…

Could peace in the Middle East start in Canada?
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Could peace in the Middle East start in Canada?

On October 10 Avi Abraham Benlolo, a prominent Canadian expert in Holocaust studies, joined the Global Imams Council’s Interfaith Network. Perhaps it seems odd that a Canadian who has devoted his life to support Israel, who received an honorary doctorate from the University of Haifa in recognition of his work combating anti-antisemitism, would be welcome…

The blessed work ahead
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The blessed work ahead

These are lonely times. Not just because many of us are still navigating pandemic restrictions and limitations, either. We’re more isolated than any time in recent memory. Academia is no safe harbour from that loneliness – it’s as prevalent there as it is in the rest of society. That’s rather ironic, given the origins of…

Faithful friends are good medicine
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Faithful friends are good medicine

My wife sometimes compliments me as a husband. “I’m strictly average,” I remind her. I don’t want expectations to rise. Marriages today are emotionally overloaded. We want someone who will be a lover, spouse, soulmate and friend – someone who “completes us,” as Hollywood suggests. This is much more than the biblical “suitable partner.” High…

A life well lived

A life well lived

“Debra’s been transferred to hospice,” said Bob. “So if you’d like to see her, you should probably do it soon.” My heart sank. We knew it was coming, but we clung to the futile hope that there might be a last minute solution to buy our friend just a little more time. It was hard…

Pat

Pat

I met her at the swimming pool. We would chat together in the shower (and later joked that we probably wouldn’t recognize each other “with clothes on”). A few times we arranged to walk together in downtown Edmonton’s river valley during lunch breaks. I eventually left my job, and we lost touch. Then, one day,…

The call to prayer

The call to prayer

“Canadians are great at being friendly,” a Mexican acquaintance began, “but they aren’t very good at being friends.