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…

Rags of Light

Think globally, act locally. That’s a phrase that has been used in a variety of settings and organizations since the late 60s. There is no consensus on just who coined it and where it started, but the general premise is the same. “Think globally, act locally” urges people to consider the well being of the…

The Courage to Stay in the Dance of Love

This little plaque was given to me at my 8th birthday party, and it’s one of the few things I took with me when I left home as a young teenager. Now, I don’t think anyone, even the most religious amongst us would consider giving something like this to a child now. And in retrospect,…

A Reflection for the Longest Night

And so we gather in the dark — not to escape it, but to honour it.
Because darkness is honest. It does not pretend.
Because darkness is where seeds grow.
And because, as the gospel writer tells us, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”

Connected to Heaven and Earth

Highs and lows… Terror and joy… Heaven and earth… Advent asks us to open our hearts to all of it. The nativity story itself holds this tension: a birth surrounded by angels and shepherds, yet set within a world marked by empire, fear, and displacement. (Rev. Janice MacLean) Let’s listen to the words we are…

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…

Open Hearts

One of the ways I prepare to write my sermon is to read the scripture slowly… Then I read it again… slowly…. The third time, I pick up a pen and circle the words that jump out at me… This week, the three words that jumped out were opened, heart and listen. I was also…

Decisions, Decisions

My first thought, when I read through this passage last Sunday evening was, “I’m supposed to preach on a church meeting?” Because essentially that’s what this passage is… a report on a gathering, it’s called the Council of Jerusalem. To set the scene, we need to know a bit about what happened after last weeks…