Over the past few decades, the differences of interests, experiences and identities between rural and urban Canada have gotten starker, or at least more politically salient. In the most recent Alberta election, for example, the winning United Conservative Party formed a government with zero seats in Edmonton and only five seats in urban Calgary, while…
They say that wisdom comes with age. It isn’t always true, but when we turn to Canadian singer-songwriter, Bruce Cockburn, such deep wisdom is all there on his stunningly beautiful 2023 album, O Sun O Moon (True North). By the artist’s own admission, this is a collection of songs written by an old man. But…
I sing in church; that is what I do. The churches I currently sing at are Willowdale CRC in north Toronto and St Peter’s Catholic Parish in downtown Toronto. In both places I sing at the mic, by myself, to support and lead the congregation. From what I hear back, people appreciate my singing, and…
We were well into “the Christmas holiday season,” and I was becoming engulfed in the frivolous jingle-jingle bell muzak played on loudspeakers while buying potatoes and onions in No Frills. CBC Radio 2 can mix a medley that thoroughly hides any Jesus Christ in a bouquet of mistletoe and a hot toddy of warm cider….
In the age of music streaming services, listening to an entire album is becoming less common. Albums are structured around singles that will garner as much attention and radio play as possible or risk being forgotten. Paul Simon’s most recent album is the antithesis of such an approach. As noted on his official website, “Seven…
Singer-songwriter Brian Doerksen is no stranger to eucatastrophe. Doerksen is a Juno Award winning recording artist who now mentors songwriters online. He was born and raised in British Columbia. Doerksen’s music – including songs like “Refiner’s Fire” – has been a staple for Christians around the world for over three decades. Eucatastrophe is a moment…
This year, close to 300 people commemorated The National Day of Truth and Reconciliation by attending a Broken Walls music concert in Belleville, Ontario. Broken Walls is an Indigenous Christian band dedicated to spreading a message of hope and healing throughout Indigenous communities across Canada and the U.S. The concert was organized by a multicultural…
The last book my dad loaned me was Henri Nouwen’s Reaching Out. It’s a strange little book from 1975, all about loneliness. His copy is full of notes, shaky underlines, and emphatic arrows. Twenty years ago, when he first got sick, I read those marked-up passages so often I nearly memorized them. I hadn’t thought…
I have a bit of a soft spot for the Swedish country-folk band First Aid Kit, since my sisters chose their 2012 song “Emmylou” for part of my wedding slideshow almost ten years ago. While I haven’t kept up with every album from bandmates and sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg, I happened to listen to…
“I am in awe of the poetic power of the scriptures, how you can’t approach the subject of God without metaphor.” So writes Bono late in his wide-ranging and engaging memoir, Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story. The artist cannot tell his story, or the remarkable story of U2, apart from Christian faith, or apart from…
What does community look like for creatives in the church? We asked Ruth Chan, a Toronto singer-songwriter musician and artist. Chan’s artist name is “Heather is Growing,” and she is releasing her first EP, Heather is Growing on April 28th. Christian Courier talked to Chan about her songwriting journey ahead of the EP release. Chan:…
It’s late on a Sunday afternoon and I’m lying on our living room floor as our youngest practices piano – Mozart’s Fantasia in D minor. It’s nearing the end of the piano lesson year, so Esther knows and plays the piece well at this point. It is an astonishingly and achingly beautiful piece of music….
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