O Blessed Boredom: Isolation and the dethronement of idols

July 15, 2020

This article first appeared at http://www.medium.com/ministrymatters It’s been over two months of lock downs, isolation, physical distancing, and mask-wearing.  Depending on where you live, you may be facing this for the foreseeable future.  For myself, I have long moved past my initial bouts of irritation.  Being unable to run down to the local mall and … More O Blessed Boredom: Isolation and the dethronement of idols

Beloved but Messy: A Review of Megan Hill’s “A Place to Belong.”

June 22, 2020

I never believed I would be someone who would enjoy reading books on ecclesiology.  Reading about the nature of the church never once appealed to me as a viable good time option.  Yet here I am, reading books on the nature of the church, and loving it!  The latest addition to my reading was Megan … More Beloved but Messy: A Review of Megan Hill’s “A Place to Belong.”

A Rule of Life: A Happy-Plan for Christian Living

May 22, 2020

In December of 2019, the Seattle Times noted that sales of daily planners and organizers rose to a whopping revenue of $386 million.  And this was just for the planners themselves – the books of blank pages and organizational spaces.  Sales of planner accessories is a whole other matter.  The stickers, the insets, the bookmarks … More A Rule of Life: A Happy-Plan for Christian Living

Away and Towards: Cultivating Solitude in a time of Isolation

April 18, 2020

The Desert Fathers and Mothers have been a continuous wealth of spiritual knowledge and insight, their teachings passed down in various volumes and compendiums.  One lesson has been particularly popularized.  As the story goes; a monastic brother went to Abba Moses and asked for a word of advice regarding the cultivation of a robust spiritual … More Away and Towards: Cultivating Solitude in a time of Isolation

Lamentations: Recovering a forgotten discipline.

April 3, 2020

This article first appeared as an article for The Anglican Church of Canada at https://medium.com/ministrymatters/discovering-lament-why-crying-out-to-god-may-be-good-for-our-souls-23cf60ccfe3a. While out for a walk with my family the other day, we came across another family, also out for a stroll. Mom and Dad were following their two small daughters, each on bright pink bikes with streamers. As we approached … More Lamentations: Recovering a forgotten discipline.

Habits of Devotion

February 27, 2020

This article first appeared at Ministry Matters under the title “Habits of Devotion: Observing the season of Lent in a healthy, restorative, and biblical way.”  Published February 27, 2020.    Are you bored of Lent? This probably seems like an odd question to ask, considering we have yet to enter into the liturgical season. The … More Habits of Devotion

The Language is Important: Michael Coren and the Problem of Pastoral Insensitivity

February 5, 2020

This is my response to The Reverend Michael Coren’s CBC opinion piece regarding Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID), posted on February 4,2020. (You can find his article here). Let me be clear about what this response is and is not.  This is not a position paper wherein I pose a counterargument to Coren’s support of … More The Language is Important: Michael Coren and the Problem of Pastoral Insensitivity