What are these stones saying to us?
They say many things, sometimes, depending where they are from. Will has loaned me a small collection of his rocks that have important meaning for him. There are two rocks here from Iona, an important Protestant Christian community in Scotland. This sandy red coloured stone is from Petra, an amazing ancient city which he visited in Jordan the year of his retirement from ministry. There are two beautiful rocks from the Canadian rockies which had been brought to the 1986 General Council meeting held in Sudbury by western delegates. This was the Council when the United Church apology was given to our Aboriginal neighbours. more...

Will and I are blessed in our lives to have known someone whom we would consider to be a true embodiment of the values and characteristics of the Good Shepherd. It happens to be the godfather of our son Luke, who stood with us as Luke was being baptized some 17 years ago. The man's name is Mervin Lush and he was a steward, a member of the Ministry and Personnel committee and a good friend from my first charge in Grey County, Walter's Falls and Temple Hill. more...

“In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up....but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground – then the Lord god formed man (Adam or earthling) from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. And the earthling became a living being.”
Genesis 2:4a–7 more...

It started with the women going to watch the tomb, to that place of death, where sorrow, guilt, disappointment and emptiness grips our hearts and will not let go, will not let us breathe – unless of course we learn to trust God with our fears. The women had a lot of reason to be sorrowful, to wonder why Jesus' life had to end so brutally on a cross when all he had done was to bring healing to so many people, teaching people about God's abundant life. But the men had so much more to agonize over, for they were Jesus' disciples, taught so much about the unyielding powers of the empire. They were the ones who had promised their faithfulness and love in the hour of Jesus' greatest need but had indeed turned their backs on him. This morning they are in hiding, licking their wounds, and fearful for the future of their movement and for their personal lives. more...

During the season of Lent, several of our United Church friends have been walking what feels like the road to Jerusalem as they have joined with members of the Algonquin community in resisting what seems like the irreversible will to excavate the soil of North Frontenac county for uranium. As the court proceedings have moved forward, we have learned that big business comes at a very high cost, especially to individuals who try to question or slow down the process of extricating uranium from our earth before there are irreversible consequences. more...

Jean–Dominique Bauby was the editor of the high fashion French magazine called Elle when he suffered a debilitating stroke in his mid–40's while enjoying the countryside in his new spiffy convertible with his young son. As a result of the stroke, he suffered what is called “locked-in syndrome&rdqo; in which he was fully paralyzed except for his left eye which could blink quite easily and his hearing. His speech therapist devised a simple alphabet through which he learned to spell out his wants and needs through a series of blinks. Through the loving support of this therapist, his nurse, his ex-partner, and a devoted scribe, Jean–Dominique, nicknamed Jean–Do, wrote a book in which he described this incredible journey. more...

How do you boil an egg? Well, Will and I discovered a new way to boil an egg on our recent vacation to the Caribbean. On one of the islands, I believe it was Dominica, we visited one of the island's tourist sights which was a sulfa spring that was hot enough to boil an egg – 220C. After standing around the hot bubbling sulfa smelling springs for about 7 minutes ( I should have time it), our guides produced two well cooked eggs, which most of us declined eating. The ground we stood on around the springs was a slippery mass of muck and rock which easily broke into pieces and could have sent someone tumbling into the hot springs. more...

Do you want a living blessing from God? If finding a blessing is about becoming more healthy, vibrant, with a greater sense of well–being, then of course we want a blessing. As you know, Will and I celebrated the blessing of 25 years of marriage by taking a Caribbean Cruise which was indeed truly wonderful. A couple that we met on the ship were definitely on the cruise to seek a blessing, for their marriage and for their health. more...

The season of Christmas is nearly behind us and we may be busy stripping our homes of decorations, taking gifts out of their boxes, hanging up new 2008 calendars if we haven't already done so. A common question in families during the shopping spree of November and December is “what do you really want for Christmas?” Our son Luke is both the easiest and hardest person to buy for because his answer is usually the same – “oh nothing really, or maybe just money, or something from Future Shop.” more...