I had a flashback at the Annual Spring Gala Auction last night. I remember one Christmas Eve service at a previous church, about twenty years ago. People then were exhausted, excited and full of pride. It had been the most well attended Christmas Eve service, likely the largest church service that was not a funeral, ever held in that church. Understandably the long-serving leaders of that church were thrilled...

There’s a development I have witnessed in those between the ages of 35-60. They are not passive, they do their research, they know what they want and they know how to get the best price. Unlike those older than themselves they don’t sit back and spend as little as possible, go to the familiar and do with less as a means of stretching their dollar as far as it will go...

As is our practice my wife Kim and I drove to the bus stop this morning for my ride to the city. During this morning’s conversation we discussed something a person had said about cultural influences on our character. We both agreed that the observation made was given without understanding of the culture or the expression of that culture in community...

I remember reading the Neil Young biography Shakey. There was a reference to the sound that Neil and his bands would create. The aim was not perfection, the musicians were not chosen because they were the best guitarists, drummers, keyboardists, bassists, etc… Of course they weren’t, look who was doing the singing! Neil Young is not a pure singer....

Consequences. Yesterday on my bus ride home there were three men, all my age, discussing union business. I tried not to listen but they were almost as loud as me. I think all of us on that small Metro X Shuttle bus heard every word. In the conversation there was reference to the provincial election and the issues that have arisen. In the 30 minute ride I heard on one hand...

Yesterday our church participated in the KAIROS Blanket Exercise. KAIROS is an ecumenical Christian group that focuses on social justice as an expression of faith. Bethany has not previously participated in education events that lift up the Aboriginal experience in Canada. So we were not sure what kind of response we would receive when we advertised this opportunity in the bulletin...

I have never taken any formal courses in Marriage Counseling, though I have read several books and attended a few workshops on the subject. One thing I do recall from both text and lecture is that in the early stages of the couple’s work it is important to ask what it was that originally kindled their romance, what it was that brought them together, how did they fall in love... 

When we gather at a funeral we are present for at least a few reasons. We come to express our heartfelt sorrow. We need places to express our true feelings. It is one thing to sit in front of one’s computer, read an obituary and cry till there are no more tears left. But there is something about gathering in a community to express our sorrow that is not only cathartic but also allows us to share with their loved ones what that person has meant to us... 

We all make mistakes. The question is what we do when confronted with our mistakes. There are two very common responses to our mistakes that further remove us from correction and getting it right. 1) Is to beat ourselves up and become so frustrated with ourselves that we miss what is going on at that very moment. Buddhists would say this baggage would be blinding us to the now, we can’t see what is because we are caught in what was...

Today is my wife Kim’s birthday. She was born in 1966 so you can do the math to figure out how old/young she is. Kim was raised in Timberlea, her grandfather and his brothers named the village and ran the mill. They sold the land before it was worth much but they did manage to hold on to lots for all of the children, including Kim’s mother...

Sometimes the large chip on one’s shoulders can block one’s pathway to happiness. It’s easily one of the saddest parts of my work as a Minister and outreach worker to see genuinely kind persons who are loaded down with the baggage of low self-esteem and greeting each new interaction with the tinted lens of being the victim of attack. Recently I was shown an email by someone I admire and like very much...

At a foodbank this morning I witnessed a Residential Home participant passing out homemade muffins to the clients. Before the muffins were handed out a volunteer explained why the Home was providing the muffins. “We’re here because it is the 150th anniversary of Canada and we know Canadians are being challenged to offer 150 hours of volunteer time in 2017. The Canada 150 for 150 Volunteer Challenge will engage tens of thousands...

Stone soup is a great story told in many different ways, from many different cultural perspectives. When I served a different church 10 years ago we performed a version of this story that involved drifters (grifters?) coming into a town intent on fleecing the locals with a fable about making magical stone soup. The drifters successfully swindle the poor selfish townsfolk into believing the stone is what makes magical soup...

Some of you know I help facilitate the faith sharing and worship time at Brunswick Street United every Sunday night, 6-8 pm. We gather in a circle, everyone participates and I offer up a brief overview of the theme for the night, a little background on the scripture, and a question designed to promote conversation and stimulate deeper thinking on what God is doing in our lives...

In my vocation public speech is a way of life. We preachers spend every week discerning what the Spirit wants us to say. I spend a lot of time in walking prayer asking the Spirit to reveal some transformative Good News to our faith community. The Spirit never lets me down, though some weeks my own need to say something apart from that Good News obscures the message...

http://www.rawalker.ca/book-of-memories/2908264/Burrows-Bruce/service-details.php

John 14:1-6 - Sermon

How many of us gathered here today to celebrate Bruce’s life are part of the St. Luke’s Players Alumni? We the diaspora have a lot of shared experience and some wonderful memories. Bruce Burrows was a brother in arms. But you may not know how the St. Luke’s Players developed as a theatre group...

Every community needs a catalyst. We spend a lot of time focusing on the need for community and the process of building community but rarely do we highlight the need for those who bring community to life. I call these people catalysts. Every community needs one or more catalysts, persons who do several things well; 1) they know how to reach a number of different people, 2) they know the people whom they reach well enough to assess their talents...

How do we know when we have been heard? I am not speaking about the audible piece of being heard, although that can be problematic if the person you are speaking to can’t actually hear you. I am referencing conversations where the other gives space to you, listens enough to understand what you are saying and offers feedback in a way that demonstrates that you were heard. In our culture we tend to listen only long enough to jump in with a reference to our own situation...

There is a balance between action and reflection that needs to be addressed as we think about our “giving back” to our community. People share with me on a regular basis that they have a need to be connected to the community and that they want to “make a difference.” I always affirm and appreciate this spirit of generousity, this compassionate way of living, this desire to give to others with the same spirit we receive kindness from others... 

The United Church of Canada has a very long history of social engagement. We have never been so pious as to imagine that all persons need is a soul full of prayer and they will inherit salvation, a pathway to eternal life. That just does not fit with the character of our God, a God identified by Jesus in stories like the Good Samaritan, in the Great Commandments (love God, love neighbour, love self), in the separation of sheep and goats...