As I am writing this piece, General Assembly has just finished. I spent the time before, during and after the sederunts praying for the moderator, the commissioners, the clerks, the help desk people and the technology. Having been a commissioner last year, I knew what a challenge everyone would face and how important it was … Read more
Matthew 16:13-18 is a fascinating conversation. And revealing. It sheds as much light on the relationship between Jesus and His people today as it did about the dynamics He had with His disciples. The problem then was that the world rejected The Son of God outright. To the Rulers of the Visible World (the Roman Empire) He was a nuisance to be controlled or eliminated. To the church of … Read more
I am neither a minister nor an elder. I don’t have a Ph.D or the title of YAR. I am a Canadian who came to accept Christ as an adult; I became a Presbyterian intentionally. God literally led me to the Presbyterian Church, of which I am still a member. I was not researching Presbyterian … Read more
More than 100 people joined us for our first online Renewal Day and AGM on Saturday, April 25th, 2020, using Zoom Webinar. The theme was “20/20 Vision: Vigilant and Vital.” Speaker Rev. Jonathan Hong, of Toronto Korean Presbyterian Church, spoke about the current theological division in the denomination … Read more
Recently, PCC denominational staff announced a workshop entitled “Rainbow Pathways: exploring LGBTQi2 welcome and inclusion.” It will be led by two individuals: a pastor and social worker who identify as a “Queer Trans Masculine person of faith” and a “femme lesbian.” Here’s an opportunity to hear first-hand how others think, I thought … Read more
Lessons from Squirrel Land. Picture a collection of old trees, filled with squirrels darting up and down the trunks and back and forth across the branches. They are frenetically active. Two squirrels are chasing one other with a walnut in its mouth. Theft? Covetousness? Fun and games? Squirrels just do what they are wired to … Read more
Allow me to share a small joy we are experiencing in my congregation. It’s the process of choosing music for our kid’s message. For years, we didn’t have wee ones or young parents but they’re starting to show up and we have enough regulars to warrant Sunday School and a weekly kids message. My music … Read more
Leafing through the fall 2023 edition of Presbyterian Connection, the denomination’s quarterly newsletter, I find plenty of stories about social justice and activism: racism, aboriginal rights, climate, poverty, hunger, sexuality and affordable housing. There’s content on church business: use of property, social media, travel tales, congregational renewal and stewardship. There’s the usual multi-page spread of … Read more
What’s the first thing we give up when life gets busy? Time for ourselves. We can easily ignore our personal needs with fewer immediate repercussions than skipping commitments at work, church, in the community and with family. But I’m going to suggest there’s something that’s pushed aside even before our personal downtime. Take my life as an example. … Read more
I read a frightening statistic recently.
“Only 29 per cent of Christians believe that reaching unreached people around the world is 'very urgent.' ” It's a quote from the Barna Group, the American research firm which specializes in faith and culture. I don't believe that it's far from the truth. (It could be even worse in Canada.) It holds up against recent research. In 2017, Barna asked churchgoers … Read more