“Law and Order” and the Ten Commandments Are the ten commandments the foundation of “law and order” or its deconstruction? Are they words of repression or liberation? Do they impose a restrictive law “written in stone” as it were, or are they a call to a life of covenantal faithfulness? Do they legitimate blind and patriotic obedience to the state, or are they a radical word of revolution and civil disobedience?
Hidden Wholeness by Andrew Stephens-Rennie There’s this nagging feeling that has risen up lately after many of my recent posts, and it goes something like this: Why are you spending so much time focusing on individual healing?
Promise, Reality and Crying Out There is something about groaning and crying out that is at the very heart of covenantal life. Somehow, the Spirit is deeply active in such groaning...
Beloved Mess Before any of us discovered our own failings or contradictions, we were God's beloved. We are God's beloved to this day.
Beloved We are God's beloved, called to acknowledge that belovedness in ourselves, and to help reveal that belovedness in one another.
Galatians: A Costly Welcome Saint Paul demands to know: Is Christ's welcome for everyone, or not? Who is welcome to join the movement? And at what cost?"
Pastoral Letter for Holy Week: Prayers, Tears, Funerals and Feasts Sisters and brothers: Sometimes things don’t turn out the way you hoped they would.
Resurrection and Forgiveness: A Funeral Sermon for Adam Wood Resurrection happens daily on a farm. Resurrection is in the structure of creation. Resurrection is what makes earth possible. And Adam knew this.
Jesus and the Economics of Empire Economic injustice and violence. An economics of inequity and murder. They will always, always, always go together. The rich get richer … and the poor? … they get deader.
Rape, Healing, and the Author of Our Stories Our brains generally try to explain exceptions through a model of deviance, thus the battered or raped woman is soon morphed from a victim to a (willing) deviant participant. If violence is ‘not supposed to happen’ or is ‘not supposed to happen to me,’ then it’s hard to narrate the violence credibly.
Searching for God On Tuesday morning I returned home. Home to Wine Before Breakfast, the community in Toronto where I discovered that I could still be a Christian after all.
A 20th Anniversary Reflection … in Gratitude Kissing the world beautiful. That's campus ministry! Shoulder to shoulder – sometimes in the library together, sometimes on the streets of Toronto, sometimes in sharing our stories – and cheek to cheek – in the passing of the peace, in holding each other in joy and in sorrow – we’ve tried to embrace this world, this gift of creation, in all of its beauty.
Is New Life Possible? Jesus makes new life possible. Not life driven by fear, but abundant life grounded in the assurance that we are beloved children of God. Each and every one of us. Even on those days we're told we're not. And especially on those days we can't believe it's true.
Why Church? (Pt. 3) I didn't feel I had anything to contribute except to share my nagging question of why we do church in the first place. That's what this talk is about.
Communities of Reconciliation What I hope for in 2016 is that I might grow more into my ability to offer such space for reconciliation. What I hope for in 2016 is that my own St. Brigids Community Vancouver will continue to offer in Vancouver the profoundly needed ministry of reconciliation, especially for members of the LGBTQ+ community.