Category: Musings
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I forgave Ben Johnson
Twenty-five years ago this week our country was in turmoil. There was only one thing we wanted to hear about on the news and there was only one thing we discussed at the coffee shop. Even on the playground at my elementary school, all we wanted to talk about was how much we hated Ben…
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Drama Queens and Syria
In high school I knew a girl that dated a lot. She was a good friend of mine, and so when these relationships failed, I was one of the people she turned to. Also, when there was a prospective new relationship, I heard about that before it happened too. As a friend, she probably wanted…
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Hauling Grace
We left our campsite that morning, already getting a “low fuel” warning. The dashboard display of our Pontiac Montana tells us how many kms we have left on our tank, unless it thinks you have less than 100, in which case it simply says, “low fuel” and automatically turns the gas light on and drops…
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Still buying green bananas #MennoNerdsOnLoss
At the hospice I visit from time to time, there is a list in the staff room of things not to say. It’s a good reminder that even the things said by well-meaning people can be difficult for people to answer if they are dying or watching a loved one die. Among the expressions on…
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I am Mike Duffy
For those of you who don’t follow Canadian politics (and I suspect you are the salient majority), let me summarize for you one of our current scandals. In this country, our elected officials in the national government (the House of Commons) have their proposed legislation reviewed, revised and/or approved by a group of appointed officials…
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Why doesn’t this feel more sacred?
My theme for the year at our church is “(Re)Discovering Ancient Spiritual Practices.” As a part of that, I’ve introduced ritual prayer, labyrinths, sacred calendars, etc. People have been generally supportive and willing to try new things, which has been great. The latest spiritual practice I’ve talked about is pilgrimage. Like many ancient spiritual practices,…
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I didn’t notice at all
So, there I was, in a room full of church people more evangelical and traditional than me, at least I’m sure all of them saw it that way. A video had been presented to us as a potential education and outreach resource for high school aged youth. My concern was that the material provided no…
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But did I help her?
The other day when my wife was sick, I did my fatherly duty and got the kids out of the house so that she could rest. My plan was to put my infant son in the stroller and load up the wagon with recyclable paper and cardboard, and my 3 year old daughter could take…
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Will the church be left behind?
Have you ever felt on election day that your vote doesn’t matter because what the pollsters are predicting is already inevitable? We don’t feel like that in Alberta, for the first time in a long time. A year ago Canada had a federal election and the pollsters were saying that Harper had a chance of…
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Stop, in the name of grace
One of the first things that visitors and newly arrived residents will notice about this part of the world is that pedestrians are given an incredible amount of freedom to walk across the road, whenever and wherever they want. The question of who gets right of way is answered differently around the world, but here…