words. faith. identity.
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Belonging and Exclusion – A Conversation
The latest issue of the Christian Courier takes the question of belonging as its theme, with a particular focus on issues of race and culture. Here is my “column” for this issue. __________________ The theme of belonging is rich with challenge and possibility and it seemed to me that I would do better not to…
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Telling the truth about our lives #Bach #Zagajewski
My latest column in the Christian Courier. ______________________ Some years ago, I was introduced to a remarkable piece of music composed by JS Bach—the fifth movement of his Partita in D minor for solo violin (called the Chaconne). As with so many of Bach’s works, the Chaconne easily captures your heart; it has a way…
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A Christmas Prayer
My latest column in the Christian Courier is a prayer for Christmas. __________________ Praise to you, O living Word, for you give the gift of our world. You are the creating one through whom ancient Laurentian mountains have their craggy existence. By your imaginative power, forests of black spruce, larch, and balsam grow along ridges…
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My garden won’t save the world…
My latest column in the Christian Courier. ______________ My front-yard garden measures 12 feet by 11 feet and so represents a modest effort in terms of urban agriculture. It certainly doesn’t compete with the larger plots tended by some Portuguese seniors in west end Montreal, or with the wide-open community gardens that flourish here. But…
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Rocks, boulders, pebbles, alive?
Stones of all kinds were a feature of my family’s vacation this past month – a vacation that included two weeks on the West Coast. We spent time in and around Vancouver, and then up the coast into Alaska. Everywhere there were stones. With the tide out, wandering on rocky beaches – more stones than…
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Summer Holidays — Making Memories??
Having just returned from a family, West Coast holiday, this blog post from 4 years ago came to mind. It all still makes sense to me! ______________ It took me a few years to get it, but I have now accepted the obvious – namely, that summer holidays aren’t about me. Vacations aren’t about me…
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Walls that don’t divide?
My latest column for the Christian Courier. _______________ Can walls do anything other than divide us from each other? Could a wall actually create the conditions for encounter, rather than simply preventing human exchange and conversation? One of the interesting architectural features of the college where I teach is a wall that accomplishes two tasks…
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Blackburnian Warbler #spring #migration
I confess to being quite proud of this picture, taken this morning in my back yard!!
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Facebook Fadeout – Why I deleted Facebook
My latest column in the Christian Courier. __________________ So, I’ve done it. My days of posting, commenting, liking, and sharing on Facebook are over. My account has been deleted, the app is gone from my iPhone, and the social media site is almost nowhere in my life. After years of almost daily engagement on Facebook,…
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The language of death – new column #MAID
We all know the power of language within public debates. In such debates, most participants will use language that aligns their point of view with that of the wider culture. And most will try to distance themselves, lexically, from attitudes and actions that have negative connotations. In the abortion debate, for example, both sides describe…
Got any book recommendations?
encrusted words 