Text: 2 Corinthians 5: 5-8, 16-19 (a new creation) * Video of complete service * Order of service “The past is gone, and everything is fresh and new!” So says Paul in the inspirational passage we heard this morning. Today, as the third wave of COVID-19 recedes and as Canada’s vaccination campaign continues, many of us hope … [Read more…]
Text: John 17:20-23 (“that all may be one”) * Order of service (PDF) * Video of the complete service Can a festival of love and joy also serve as a political protest? And can participating in a political protest generate joy? These are questions with which people who organize gay pride parades have wrestled for more than 50 … [Read more…]
Text: John 3:1-17 (“born from above”) * Video of complete service * Order of service (PDF) My ordination 10 years ago this weekend during the closing worship service of the annual meeting of the Toronto Conference of the United Church of Canada was an important moment for me. My mother was there. My younger brother and sister, Andrew … [Read more…]
Texts: Romans 8:22-27 (the intercession of the Spirit) * Acts 2:1-21 (the Day of Pentecost) * Order of service (PDF) * Video of complete service Can you feel it? It’s a new spirit of hope, which I perceive blowing across the country. Last week, Canada passed the threshold of 50% of the population having received a … [Read more…]
Texts: 1 John 4:7-21 (God is love) * John 15:1-8 (the vine and branches) * Video of the complete service * Order of service (PDF) This year, Mother’s Day feels different to me because Kim’s daughter Katrina is due to give birth to our first grandchild next month; and so this year, Kim and I … [Read more…]
Texts: Psalm 23 (The Lord’s My Shepherd) * John 10:10-18 (the Good Shepherd) * Video of the complete service One week ago, on April 25th, more than 75,000 fans crowded into the Melbourne Cricket Ground for an Australian Rules Football game. It was the biggest crowd to attend a sporting event anywhere in the world … [Read more…]
Texts: Nine poems * Video of complete service * Order of service (PDF) Preamble to Worship Today is the third of three Sundays in which I reflect on using poetry to help us relate to the Season of Easter. I also use it as occasion to honour Earth Day, which, for the 51st time, was celebrated this past … [Read more…]
Texts: Acts 4:33-35 (sharing the wealth) * “Mint” by Seamus Heaney Video of complete service * Order of service (PDF) “April is the cruelest month, breeding / Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing / Memory and desire, stirring / Dull roots with spring rain.” So begins “The Wasteland,” one of the most influential poems of the … [Read more…]
Texts: John 20:1-18 (Mary in the Garden) * “Thank God for the poets” by Margaret Renkl * Video of the complete service * Order of service (PDF) When I hear John’s account of Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb, the song “In the Garden” comes to my mind: I come to the garden alone, / while the … [Read more…]
Text: Mark 16 (the empty tomb) * Video of complete service * Order of service (PDF) On Thursday evening, Kim and I drove downtown to enjoy one of the Edmonton Spark installations. Perhaps you have seen photos of them. One called Fantastic Planet is a group of huge inflatable figures in Churchill Square. Another involves three large sculptures … [Read more…]