Room At the Table

When my husband and I designed and built our house 15 years ago, we deliberately made it a place that made it easy for hosting large groups of people. I have a large extended family, most of whom live close by and hospitality is one of the things that I value the most both at…

The Joy of Being Found!

If I had been smarter, I would have done these two parables BEFORE I did the parable of the Prodigal Son… because they are actually a series. Luke 15 contains three “lost and found” stories:The lost sheep (15:1–7)The lost coin (15:8–10)The lost son or prodigal son (15:11–32) Each story increases in emotional intensity:1 sheep out…

Two Parades/Two Visions

There were two parades that day. If you stood in Jerusalem long enough,you might have heard them both. From one direction:the steady rhythm of marching feet,the creak of leather and harness,the unmistakable sound of power on display. From the other… a different kind of noise. Not polished.Not coordinated.Not controlled. Voices rising.People shouting.Branches rustling.Hope spilling out…

Seeking Freedom, Building Home

More than 30 years ago, the Rev. Eleanor Scarlett arrived at Cole Harbour United Church as an intern. I was on her Lay Supervision Team, the group set up to support and evaluate her over the 8 months with us. She came to us from Toronto, after emigrating from Jamaica, she was had been a…

Everybody Knows… and Still We Sing Hallelujah

A five-year-old boy and his father detained in Minneapolis and sent to a Texas ICE facility… An observer shot dead yesterday when he was already subdued by multiple ICE agents… 100 clergy of all faiths arrested for blocking a road while protesting the airlines that were flying people to ICE facilities…. It’s enough to make…

Deep Spirituality, Bold Discipleship, Daring Justice

Welcome back to Theological Banquet! We’re in a five-part series inspired by Undivided Love and Rev. Janet Gear’s research, using a banquet metaphor for different faith expressions. Understanding these categories helps us see how people are motivated by faith and even when they disagree with us—all paths are valid. Last week, we focused on those…

Unlearn and Learn

I thought I knew a fair bit about Indigenous Peoples in Canada. I lived in Labrador for three years and went to school with Indigenous students, although it was as a teenager. I was married to an Inuit man. I did my grad project at AST on Residential Schools. NOTHING however, prepared me for a…