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
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
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
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
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
Our intergenerational communities are a treasure not found in many other places today. Where else might we watch a wealthy business woman caring for the child of a single mom, a homeless man sitting with suburban teenagers, or a surgeon serving a clerk from Giant Tiger? Continue reading
What caused them to not only “do” hospitality during this busy season but to stop and “be” hospitality to the strangers I sent to their doorstep? These are people who have begun to understand that these days of feasting call us to open up our lives, our homes, our hearts; to be hospitality to Christ who comes to us in many forms. Continue reading
With the myth of control and self-sufficiency, we’ve come to believe that we can only really find contentment and satisfaction in our lives if we choose the right education and career paths. This is our vocation and we cannot be whole without it. But, as one student remarked wryly over lunch this week, “They tell us that, but it isn’t true. It’s a lie.” Continue reading
I have been guilty during Advent of presuming that I am the only one who waits, as if I alone represent the whole earth longing for renewal. Continue reading
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