Thoughts from a Canadian Vicar
I have been reading Francis Spufford’s Book Unapologetic: Why, Despite Everything, Christianity can Still Make Surprising Emotional Sense. While not for the delicate, this book is a convincing defence of Christianity and a rebuttal of not just Atheists like Richard Dawkins, but also speaks in a powerfully clear manner about how Christianity makes sense in... Continue Reading →
Small pleasures are a gift of God’s giving. Learning to enjoy them is also a gift. Last Friday I was privileged to have part of an afternoon enjoying an appropriate adult beverage with a couple of our pastoral visitors from St. Aidan’s. This afforded the three of us opportunity to chat about the nature of... Continue Reading →
The great social activist and founder of The Catholic Worker Movement Dorothy Day once posited, “Have we even begun to be Christians?” It's a great question. When we consider questions about what we see in our world, our country , our neighbourhoods etc, we should be asking, have we begun to be Christian? When we... Continue Reading →
Jealousy arises easily in our hearts. In the parable of the prodigal son, the elder son is jealous that his younger brother gets such a royal welcome even though he and his loose women swallowed up his father's property (Luke 15:30). And in the parable of the labourers in the vineyard, the workers who worked the... Continue Reading →
Today I happened on an old picture from school days back in Newfoundland. It is a picture of me collecting my grade five diploma from Mr. Ed Penny. I am in a suit with a jacket a couple of sizes too big – in a word, it is ‘priceless.’ The year was 1982. I was 11.... Continue Reading →
Tonight I was re-reading Anne Lamott’s book Help Thanks Wow. These words jumped out at me.... If we stay where we are, where we're stuck, where we're comfortable and safe, we die there. We become like mushrooms, living in the dark, with poop up to our chins. If you want to know only what you... Continue Reading →
Sometimes the greatest resource of all can be a small gesture of kindness from someone who is poor. It is often a gentle look from someone who is vulnerable which relaxes us, touches our heart and reminds us of what is essential. One day I went with some sisters of Mother Teresa to a slum... Continue Reading →
On this day in 1980, the Voice of the Voiceless, Archbishop Oscar Romero was gunned down and killed as he celebrated the Mass in a hospital chapel in El Salvador. Romero was a man of great courage who knew that speaking up for the victims of oppression and injustice in El Salvador put his life... Continue Reading →
I have been spending some time these past few days reading Reggie McNeil's Missional Renaissance. It is a great book and should be reading for all who are in leadership positions in the church. The book is focused on calling the church to come to grips with the fact that our long-term viability will be... Continue Reading →
Sarah McGrath McKinley, our Student Minister at St. Aidan’s, shared this quote of Edmund Lee on Facebook today: “Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and the thinkers, but most of all surround yourself with those who see the greatness within you, even when you don’t see it yourself.” This is powerful... Continue Reading →
It's Just Kevin's Corner 