Evangelicalism taught me how to pray using my own words; agnosticism taught me to pray using community; paganism taught me to pray in and through nature; and Lutheranism taught me how to pray using a liturgy. So many traditions all woven together to form a rather spectacular tapestry within me. And even with all of these colourful prayer rugs hooked…
“By reading the scriptures I am so renewed that all nature seems renewed around me and with me. The sky seems to be a pure, a cooler blue, the trees a deeper green. The whole world is charged with the glory of God and I feel fire and music under my feet.” -Thomas Merton “What happened once I started distributing…
Hurt people hurt people, as the saying goes. A wounded person lashes out, does damage, causes harm; casualties are likewise wounded, and cycles begin. Seeds of oppression and violence are sown. What if we framed our lenses to see our aggressors as hurt people? Here is Ann Vriend’s song “Hurt People Hurt People”. Talented musical artist from our own Edmonton,…
God of ceaseless revelation, You came out to Create; Said, “You are made in my image, male, female, or otherwise, for I am all genders.” You made humans to be in relationship with each other, naked and unashamed. But we shut you up. We said “Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve,” and we […] via A Prayer for Pride Week —…
Mothering Spirit, You fell upon your people as fire 2000 years ago, creating upheaval and new life. Your spark caught flame and ignited an awakening within your children and without. You are fire; you are wind; you are water; and you are earth. Tongues of fire, wind of refreshing, water of baptism, and earth crafted into humanity — Jesus. You have…
It’s another day of hitting the ground running. Making connections, contacts, finding space for a huge shipment of food, hearing horror stories, & making backup plan after backup plan. Lac La Biche has been amazing. During one of the worst crises Alberta has ever seen, the County has facilitated a tremendous relief effort. And who can forget the forest firefighters?…
We see them permeating all throughout our social media feeds: “Sending out thoughts and prayers to —” “Just think positive thoughts!” “Praying for — ” “The only way to fight the negativity is to embrace positivity” Let me start off by saying that I believe that prayer is a powerful force in our lives, and a difficult spiritual practice. Its…
We live in an increasingly visual world. We are both stimulated and soothed by images that pour through our eyes. It has always been so, but our digital age has set our visual sense almost on hyperspeed. We are bombarded with visual messages and images on a second-by-second basis. So not only do we see more, our visual filters are…
It is the end of a Monday. While Sunday is the first day of our calendar week, most of us are conditioned to see Monday as our customary starting point. Mondays represent the resuming of our work weeks, the end of our Sabbaths, and the day-to-day drudgery that can sometimes consume us all. I know today I was frustrated with my…
Dear boys, You are growing faster every time I blink. I’ve loved every stage you all have (and still are) growing through: your first infant cries; first smiles and chuckles; first crawls; first foods; first teeth and first steps. Rex, your brothers managed not to pee, poop, or puke on me; but you decided to throw the whammy at me…