Bearing Witness
Bearing witness prioritizes the experience of the person or group over the questions the listener might have. To bear witness is to see, hear, know and remember what has happened.
Meditation
Don’t Worry, Dad
In the early years when my parents were healthy it was just the pain of parting; but in later years when they were older, when Parkinson’s had robbed my father of an enjoyable life, the fear was always that I wouldn’t see him again.
Traditions
We are known for the tradition of “we’ve always done it this way.” Yet as a denomination we frequently forget the second part of our tradition—the part that asks: What do I find important in the church that I want to bring forward and hand over to the next generation?
Called to the Church: Rev. Bill Elliott
For many years I tried to conform to the heterosexual norm that seemed to be the only acceptable way of being in my world. The loneliness and despair I often felt were a burden I feared I might never be free of.
Called to the Church: Rev. Mark Chiang
To my family, there was nothing more evil, more beyond the power of God’s love, than being gay. As my dad would write in the PCC chat rooms, gay was a choice you made after rejecting God and abandoning yourself to hedonistic lust.
Called to the Church: Aubrey Hawton
It hadn’t been drummed into me, but it certainly was clear: good Christian boys dated good Christian girls, got married and had kids—and it had better happen in that order, too!
Called to the Church: Laura Laird
I grew up confident in the knowledge that God hated me.
My Life as an Elder
When I was first asked to be a ruling elder in my church my instinct was to say ‘No.’
It Takes Faith
Joining the Healing and Reconciliation Committee couldn’t have come at a worse time for me. I was just starting the legal process for my residential school claim against the church.
The Master Gardener
She jokingly referred to herself as the Grand Master Gardener as she lurched around the backyard on her battery-powered scooter, the arrow on the speed control always aligned with the picture of the hare, never the tortoise.
Coming Home
What a difference a decade has made! In 2004, Montreal West was facing closure. Today, Montreal West counts some 140 members and adherents, many of them English-speaking Cameroonians from nearby suburbs, who have made the congregation one of the fastest growing in the presbytery. What made the difference?
How God Measures a Church
As I think back over my life at Knox, Drayton, Ont., it was the little things not written down on paper that I remember.
Out of the Past
The organ at St. Paul’s is one of very few Breckels and Matthews organs still in its original condition.
The Ministry of Camp
Last summer, I had the joy and privilege of being the chaplain at Glen Mohr camp for one week. My first confession about this experience is that I had never been to camp before.
Growing Stronger
As I went through university, personal prayer remained a part of me, but I had little exposure to other practicing Christians. My friends were all from Christian backgrounds but they never went to church.
A Blessing a Day
My sister had an ancient book of graces and although the language was archaic, children, mine included, vied for the honour of reading the grace for that day.
A Life Well Lived
More than any other event, it was his experiences during the Great Depression and his service in the army during World War II that coloured the way Dad lived his life.
The Gift of Faith
“I guess God’s decided it’s not time for you to die,” said Dr. Denis Bouchard one day last August. God’s decided or science has decided?
Drawing Closer to God
Here are a few simple exercises you can try. Keep in mind, though, that the value of these exercises is not in the practice itself, but in the preparation it provides for drawing close to God.
The Voice of the Bell
“Can you see anything? Are they coming yet?” Elizabeth, our church administrator and I squinted up the street. Standing at the open church door, gripping the bell rope, we were ready to ring our bell and cheer the Truth and Reconciliation marchers on their way