Theological ponderings from William Loewen

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  • Wrestling Sermon Series – Week 2

    Wrestling Sermon Series – Week 2

    If you found two people wrestling, what would it take for you to intervene? If you were at a public event, like a church picnic or a community gathering at a park, what would force you to step in? Certainly if one of the combatants was wrestling unwillingly you could jump to their aid. If…

  • Wrestling Sermon Series – Week 1

    Wrestling Sermon Series – Week 1

      Jacob wrestling with God in the wilderness is a better metaphor for religious conversion than Paul falling off of his horse.  

  • I refuse to complain about the weather

    I refuse to complain about the weather

    As I write this, the forecast low for tonight is -8C.  So much snow has fallen here over the past few days that tree branches aren’t able to bear the load of the uncharacteristcally sticky white stuff, and so they are falling. Branches are falling onto sidewalks, onto power lines and onto cars.  City crews…

  • Canadian Camping

    Canadian Camping

    One of the family traditions that we are trying to start is regular camping trips to familiar campsites.  This year we visited three different campgrounds; two of them were national parks and one was more locally administered. We hiked,  we ate smores, we splashed in the water and we took pictures. Except for when we…

  • The threat becomes a challenge

    You might have seen this quote before.  It sums up how a lot of us feel when we’ve had to go through various kinds of adversity before finally achieving success, and suddenly when we are successful, the people who once ignored us now pretend to be our friends. If I ever get to the success…

  • Our daughters’ daughters

    Our daughters’ daughters

    There are a few movies in our collection that we bought, partly so that our kids would inherit a broader musical legacy than their peers, Mary Poppins being one of them.  We love how it celebrates imagination in children and highlights the need for parents, even wealthy parents with servants, to develop good relationships with…

  • The Bear you know

    The Bear you know

    We hadn’t been at our campsite for very long when a truck pulled up and the driver asked if I had a minute. When I approached his vehicle, he explained that he hadn’t wanted to startle the children, but I should be aware that a bear had been spotted nearby. He was on his way…

  • Non-corresponding cruise

    Non-corresponding cruise

    This past week my family and I were on the road. We drove across the prairies, from our home in Alberta to a conference being held in Winnipeg. It’s an odd kind of gathering where most of the people you see are happy to be there but not at all excited about the task at…

  • What I don’t like about Frozen

    What I don’t like about Frozen

    If you’ve ever had a kid knock on your door and then get mad at you for opening it because you were interrupting their song, you might have a kid that’s hooked on Frozen. Even though the DVD was released a long time ago, excitement for the movie and its related merchandise is still at…

  • Servanthood on Parade

    Servanthood on Parade

    Why would I pay attention to the parade? I knew what to expect from the parade. I knew that some local C-list celebrity would be the parade marshal. I knew that all the aspiring and elected politicians would be seated prominently in expensive cars. I knew that the biggest, most elaborate displays would be signs…