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 … Continue reading Away and Towards: Cultivating Solitude in a time of Isolation
Jesus
Lamentations: Recovering a forgotten discipline.
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 … Continue reading Lamentations: Recovering a forgotten discipline.
Messy Faith
This post first appeared at https://medium.com/@revkylenorman/ under the title "Embracing the Messiness of faith" Someone once told my mother that eating chilli peppers would cure her cancer. I wish I was making this up. Upon hearing of her diagnosis, this individual informed my mother that the Lord had led him to discover a certain brand … Continue reading Messy Faith
Habits of Devotion
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 … Continue reading Habits of Devotion
When Words Speak: 5 books that formed my faith and brought me closer to Jesus (besides the Bible).
Recently, our bishop asked us clergy to provide a list of three books that we have found influential to our lives or our ministry. These books didn’t have to be necessarily theological in nature, just books that we would recommend to others. For me, this proved to be a difficult task. I love my books … Continue reading When Words Speak: 5 books that formed my faith and brought me closer to Jesus (besides the Bible).
Thy Word: A light through the darkness
In my late teenage years, I spent many of my summers at our local Christian summer camp. Camp Columbia was nestled in the forests of Thetis Island. It was more run-down that rustic, but I enjoyed much of the time I spent there. One summer, my role was to help with the Leadership Training program. … Continue reading Thy Word: A light through the darkness
Bad Fruit and Bobble-Heads
One of the most engaging books I read recently was J.K Smith’s You Are What You Love. It was in reading Smith that I first came across the term “Bobble-Head Christians.” A Bobble-Head Christian is someone who has a head full of information about God but an underdeveloped body. That is, while the individual may … Continue reading Bad Fruit and Bobble-Heads
Is Lent really just about treats?
Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, heralding the beginning of Lent. Typically, this liturgical season involves adopting a devotional activity to mark one’s observance. Often, this involves some type of fasting. We ‘give-up’ something for the 40 days of Lent. What are we to give up? Well, that’s the question. Too easily does Lent become a time … Continue reading Is Lent really just about treats?
Requiem for my mother
On the last day of this year, just hours before the flipping of the calendar, my mother died after an extensive fight with Cancer. The road had been long and painful, but the death itself was relatively quick. Time after time my mother had shown her resolve, living even in her last moments with a … Continue reading Requiem for my mother
The Flip-flopping of Eugene Peterson; highlighting the logs in our eyes.
If, like me, you are someone who lives at the intersection of ‘Christianity’ and ‘Facebook’, you probably have come across reports about Eugene Peterson’s views of same-sex marriage. Yesterday it was reported that Peterson, a stalwart in the Evangelical world, had ‘changed his mind’ on the issue, and is now in support of same-sex marriage. … Continue reading The Flip-flopping of Eugene Peterson; highlighting the logs in our eyes.
Reverend Kyle Norman 