Author
afaiz

The Way to Light

afaiz

I listened to track six—“Morningside”—on the way to my home church Morningside Presbyterian for worship. While the whole album is evocative, rich in tones and textures, intricately constructed, this one song has stuck with me. Obviously, I was first attracted to it because it is about my church, but for the composer, Rev. Will Ingram, currently senior minister at St. Andrew’s, Toronto, Morningside is a community of friends.

Place Yourself

afaiz

There is leadership in our church: It comes from the local churches, from the pews and pulpits, from the sessions. That’s where it starts.

Your Turn

afaiz

We have shied away from issues of sexuality and gender. Readers get riled on either side of the political spectrum; they say nasty things to each other and subscriptions are cancelled en masse. It has made us overcautious; but, is it time to talk about this in our church?

Process Myopia

afaiz

How did we end up pairing this vibrant institution with this provocative quotation? The embarrassing truth is, it was process myopia. We did this without realizing we did this.

Can We Doubt?

afaiz

Doubt has become a dirty word in church. As if to say, “I’m really not sure,” somehow derails the whole enterprise. The Record’s Andrew Faiz met with Tom Allen and Rev. Will Ingram to talk about this thing we church people don’t like to talk about.

Serving Hospitality

afaiz

It would have been easier if St. Andrew’s, Sutton, Ont., had done nothing. But then they went and did it, they looked into their hearts, they discerned the Spirit at work in their community, and they decided to launch a mission.

The Warm Heart of Africa

afaiz

John Vissers called his visit with a dying woman a holy moment. Not as mature in my faith, I found it difficult to be there. But Vissers’s words have become a meditation for me. In that basic cottage, on that hot day, I know we were somehow on holy ground.

Doing It All Wrong

afaiz

Through it all, through the dark shadows, the mood lighting, the strange and disturbing dioramas, which were ubiquitously familiar, through the growing sense of horror as we moved for a long time through the subterranean passages, I heard Charlie Farquharson’s prophets screaming in my head, “You’re doing it all wrong!”

Relief and Development

afaiz

Disasters strike, hearts open, and so do our wallets. Canadian Presbyterians donate millions of dollars to provide aid overseas. And while relief efforts are important and dramatic, they are often the smallest part of the job.