20/20 vision in 2020

Here’s a trivia question, “What do Paul Simon and Savatage share in common?” Okay I’ll let you Google “Savatage”. The answer: both express similar skeptical sentiments (in wildly different musical genres) about our human capacity to filter or shape the world to fit our predetermined biases. In ‘The Boxer’, Simon writes, “A man hears what … Read more

What do you need right now?

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

Living Hope: A Day of Encouragement and Renewal

Videos on this page:
Rev. Dr. Dale Woods: “Six Stages of Faith” – experiences of faith throughout life.
Kristy Short of Alpha Canada: “Engaging evangelism in a COVID World”.
Rev. Dr. Christine O’Reilly: “Salt and Light” – church court strategies post-Remits.
Rev. Doug Cameron and Rev. Cathi Cameron: “Grieving to live” – engaging loss to regain vitality.
Rev. Dr. Esther Acolatse: “Recovering the joy – rekindling the hope”.
Shane Davis and Jon Dykeman: “Youth/young adult ministry – how to engage and encourage.”
Cory McKenna of The Cross Current: “How do we walk as followers of Christ in an increasingly secular world?” … Read More

Dedicated Prayer: Let’s Make it Happen

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

Profile: Westminster Barrie

Our congregation began in 1962 in the gymnasium of a local public school. In 1964 we marched across a field to turn the soil at our new location in a nearby area of the city while singing “Onward Christian Soldiers.” Now an active group of about 400 people of all ages gather for weekly Sunday morning services … Read more

Bread in the wilderness

I recently came across a prayer/poem of Walter Brueggemann. It begins: “On our own, we conclude: there is not enough to go around, we are going to run short of money, of love, of grades, of publications…” (1) We are living in a time of “shrinkflation.” We see packaging change to accommodate smaller amounts for which we … Read more

The Minister as Intercessor

An excerpt from A. Donald MacLeod’s latest book. An explanation for this book. My wonderful 21-year-old grandson, Callum, asked me two questions as we were discussing his future: “What is it like to be a minister, Gramps? How has the ministry changed since you were ordained back in 1963?” It is to respond to these … Read more

Last Chance For New Courage?

In January of 2012, I attended one of a series of roundtable discussions that Gordon Haynes conducted across the country on the issues facing the church in the next 10 years. What impacted me the most was the introductory comment by Gordon indicating that there are already on file precisely 16 similar reports to the national church dating from 1964 on, indicating that change needs to happen in the Presbyterian Church in Canada to reverse our declining membership … Read More

A message the world doesn’t want to hear

The world is changing – fast. Every week, there’s a new advance in technology. Each year, our computers and cell phones become outdated. Trends come and go like the flavour of the month. On the one hand, change is good. Growth is impossible without it. Any farmer will tell you that. And Christ tells us to turn from our selfish ways. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to press a pause button and … Read more