Mary’s words from the Magnificat, Luke 1:51-53: You have shown strength with your arm; you have scattered the proud in their conceit; you have deposed the mighty from their thrones and raised the lowly to high places. You have filled the hungry with good things, while you have sent the rich away empty. There is a fascinating scene unfolding on the front lawns of some churches in the US where ICE is currently active.  The traditional nativity scenes are being modified.  In som

This week in our Advent Faith Exploration discussion group we looked at the two more recent statements of faith of the United Church of Canada: A New Creed (1968) and A Song of Faith (2006).  Both have descriptive statements about what it means to be the church. In A New Creed are these words: We are called to be the Church: to celebrate God’s presence, to live with respect in Creation, to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil, to proclaim Jesus, crucified an

Sunday is the first Sunday in the liturgical season of Advent, the four Sundays before Christmas.  Advent is a season of waiting and preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus.  This year during Advent I am presenting a sermon series called the Waiting Season.  The first Sunday we will Wait in Hope as we light the first Advent Candle. The second Sunday we will Wait in Peace as we light the second Advent Candle.  The third Sunday we will Wait in Joy as we light the