When Jesus Goes to College
A forum to discuss the spiritual life and practice in the university setting. Topics will be as wide ranging as a university curriculum, but always focused on the way young people confront faith, doubt and life in the church from a university-age perspective.
Growing community
It’s much easier to plan my own community and invite them to join. But it doesn’t work that way. In fact, I would submit that the kingdom of God doesn’t work that way either. Do you remember how frustrated Jesus’ disciples got with him when he just kept hanging around building relationships rather than taking real action? But the man knew what he was up to. Continue reading
Summer perseverance (learning from my 10-yr-old self)
Summer in chaplaincy has taught me that when God calls us to ministry- whatever form that takes- God is not first calling us to be flashy, funny, or fantastic. When God calls us to ministry, we are first called to perseverance and presence. Continue reading
Life is Blank. In Search of Hope.
Often, our brothers and sisters living with mental illness feel far away from their very surroundings, so it is no surprise that God also feels far away. They have no words to pray. Life is blank. Or: life is chaos. Where is God in the blankness and the chaos, I wonder? These are the treasures of the Church given to us in our time and place. What they seek is hospitality and belonging and hope. And that, my friends, is what we do. Continue reading
An Anglican Homecoming?
Each student is different, but one common thread I notice is that students feel at home in Anglican churches because here they are free to wrestle with questions and with doubt. Their academic disciplines are welcomed into conversation with Christian thought, not opposed to it or threatened by it. Continue reading
A Not-So-Holy Week (exams!)
The Christian story is not one which ignores the painful experiences of real life. It is one in which God descends down, all the way into those darkest places with us so that we can be healed by the overcoming power of new life. It is an old, old, story which we experience anew during this holiest of weeks and even in the midst of finals. Continue reading
A mosaic of diversity: dancing with other faiths
“…in the midst of blooming diversity across campus, I am often confronted by the question of how to be wholly Christian while wholly engaged in respectful dialogue with others. I suspect it is a question as ancient as our faith.” Continue reading
Dry Bones Living: International Students & Faith
What is God teaching us from these passionate brothers and sisters from across the globe? I see in my international students dry bones living. When Ezekiel stood looking over the valley of dry bones, he had no idea what God would do to make them live. And since the days of the prophet, God has been using all kinds of unexpected things to breath new life into God’s Church. I am excited by the challenge and growth I see being birthed among new Canadians and looking forward to seeing where they take us. Continue reading
And in the Seventh Week of Class, God Rested
Yet, I would argue, we are just as finite and human as we ever have been and these increased demands on our time and energy make it all the more important for us to schedule Sabbath into our week. The increased pressure on university students resulted in the establishment of an institutional reading week for just this reason. Continue reading
Mixing Heaven and Earth
Pints & Compline is exactly what it sounds like: a bunch of us hanging out at a pub downtown and finishing the evening with a BCP Compline service. It’s wonderful. Why? Probably because, as we sit there together with our empty nacho plates and pint glasses, our thoughts still wandering through theological ideas and university gossip, we get the sense that our faith is the stuff of everyday life. Continue reading
