Wrestling with Shifting Faith in a Restless World
“Every child, every person needs to know that they are a source of joy; every child, every person, needs to be celebrated. Only when all of our weaknesses are accepted as part of our humanity can our negative, broken self-images be transformed.” ~Jean Vanier, Becoming Human Dear Jean, After a 4:30am wakeup call,…
I attended my friend Bev’s ordination service yesterday. Everywhere were symbols of life, service, sacrament, and ministry. There was music from all sorts of traditions, a drumming circle, children waving ribbons, prayers, candles, stones, and (of course) the sharing of The Table. It was a powerful and remarkable service, each element its own vocal reminder…
I recently completed my First Basic Unit of Clinical Pastoral Education. Part of my work as a student spiritual care provider was to be present with both long-term care residents and subacute patients. The other part of my work was deep individual and group reflection. In our training, we were often told to “just be…
You separated the chaos waters in the beginning. Tehom. You separated but did did not destroy. Why? If chaos was before the beginning, and chaos was what kept the beginning from sparking, why did you not simply evaporate chaos? Why was it only separated from us and not obliterated? I wonder. I tread these overgrown…
I offered a didactic on ‘LGBTQ+ Health in Spiritual Care’ during my recent CPE Unit. Do you know what I discovered? There were hardly any credible pastoral care/spiritual care resources for LGBTQ+ people. I wasn’t surprised. Saddened, but not surprised. As I sifted through what little I could, I began to realize once again…
This silent prairie morning will explode into an irrational flurry of colourful vestments, litanies, songs, and the tender laying on of hands The day will burn on, hot and furious, (even as the church is quiet, peopled with intense gazes) and will raise a fire of “Now! Now! After twenty five years of toil, loss,…
Today’s gospel reading was taken from Matthew 11: 16 “But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, 17 ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’ 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and…
