A couple of months ago, I was in Whitby, Ontario, making my way on hands and knees through my parents’ crawlspace. “It’s not that bad,” my Mom called after me as I batted at cobwebs. I was looking for a wooden chest stashed somewhere behind my cello and under a pile of shoeboxes. My parents…
There are moments in life – profoundly ordinary and yet captivatingly beautiful moments – when all my senses are engaged. They converge into a kaleidoscope of things intangible, but exquisite; immanent, but somehow just beyond reach. It’s that walk in the woods, for instance, when last year’s leaves softly squish under each footstep. Ferns and…
Eleven years ago this month, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) hosted its closing events in Algonquin Territory-Ottawa and released 94 Calls to Action to the people of Canada. At that event, and others before it, TRC Lead Commissioner, the late Murray Sinclair, explained that reconciliation will take at least several generations. June…
Getting old is often not pretty: incontinence, managing medications and doctors’ visits (if one has the luxury of a family physician), navigating the medical system, making and getting to appointments – all of it can be overwhelming. Care management often falls to relatives. Yet some live too far away, some may be in similar circumstances…
Artist Jennie Vegt tries her best not to come into a patient’s room with an agenda. Her first priority is to make patients feel seen and to get to know their creative interests. Her goal is simple: “Let’s bring arts experiences to the bedside.” Since 2021, Vegt has been an artist-in-residence through the Artists on…
The first church I pastored, in inner-city Chicago, just moved its worship services online because the Mexican congregants fear Sunday morning ICE raids. Signs of tough times are all around. Two recent books don’t just counsel against despair, but suggest ways to move forward while deeply rooting ourselves in our faith. Towards resistance Hannah Reichel…
Think of Reepicheep madly paddling in his coracle (and no doubt giggling with glee and curled whiskers) on his way to the Utter East, anticipating a reunion with a Lion he once met. Or think of Elrond, Galadriel and a small host of elves setting out for the farthest western lands to an eternity without…
It must have been dark in the belly of the whale. No horizon in sight. No hills. No plains. No rosy-fingered dawn. No marker of a new day. It was a time away, but not the one he was hoping for. At the opening of the book of Jonah, the prophet had his sights set…
Today’s sunshine is a welcome sight for winter-weary eyes. A delicate hoarfrost coats every deciduous branch, transforming our side yard into an enchanted silver forest. Under the cerulean sky, ice diamonds glint, randomly scattered across a royal mantle of snow. There’s no denying the glory of winter, even one as long and harsh as this…
We don’t know very much about Simon of Cyrene. That doesn’t diminish his significance. He’s mentioned in three of the gospels as the man who carried the cross for Jesus. The fact that he’s named in Scripture attests to the honour of his service to our Lord. Since details are sparse, I can’t help but…
To my dear grandchildren, If God blesses you with a normal life span, you will live to see the year 2100. At that time, I will have passed and been buried next to your Oma (who is already in glory), awaiting the day of resurrection. This letter is my encouragement to you, to be read…
For a long time now, I’ve known that I am a hobbit . . . without the furry feet, of course. My Shire is the Bulkley Valley, specifically Quick, B.C., which isn’t a place at all if you’re reading road signs. But it provides me with a simple life and simple pleasures. If the doctor…
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