Musings on a Sunday night ...

I just posted this week's contributions to the sister site - minnedosa united church ...

Not much else catches my fancy tonight ... I've been pondering the power we've yielded to the media ...

Our knowledge of the world is often focused and tainted by the media who have filtered out parts of the story and given us a version of the truth, which we then take to be the Gospel. This would be fine, if media's influence was limited only to our understanding of the headlines.

But witness the fiasco that Oprah Winfrey finds herself in the centre of. In a valiant attempt to get her viewers reading, she selects a book and heralds it as the latest - "must read" literary text. All is well and good (or is it??), people rush out and millions of copies are sold - men and women around the world read the book, and all is right with the world.

UNTIL, the truth of the book is questioned - then the fall from grace is meteoric. One day you are a celebrity, and the next day you are a pariah.

Such is the power of the media - you don't need talent, you don't need to be influential or even intelligent. You just need a really good marketing campaign ...

Sheesh !! I yearn for a world where intelligence and ability and compassion mean something, not a world where you make more money playing a silly game then knowing what country borders yours ... I yearn for a world where we value wisdom, knowledge and intelligence, and the powerful people are those who deserve it, not those created by the media ...

Heck, while I'm yearning - I'd like world peace and my cold to go away ...

Disappointment seems to be the order of the day ... maybe one day ...

Home Sick ...

The coffee is brewed (fair trade of course), the stack of books is assembled, and I am happily bundled up on the couch ... It's the second "sick" day for me ... darned cold !! My nose is plugged, my chest hurts to breath - so, I'm staying home and trying to get better ...

The up side is the ability to finally sit down and read the books that have been on my "to read" list for too long ... Yesterday I finished a book on the Talmudic, Midrash and Misnah traditions of Judaism. It was an excellent and entertaining read. Today I'm working on some miscellaneous fiction that has been sitting for too long ...

Not much else is going on ... tonight there is a supper at the Church. The AOTS mens' club are holding their annual "Canadian Neighbours' Night" dinner. The theme is Scottish neighbours, with a local quartet providing the musical entertainment ... Should be a good time. I hope I feel well enough to go ...

For now, my books beckon ... It's not fun to be sick, but it's nice to be able to sit and read and nap as necessary ...

The most depressing day of the year ???

So, all over the internet today there are stories of a researcher who using scientific methods has determined that today is the most depressing day of the year world wide ...

Election jokes aside, he should come to Manitoba ... It's easy to agree that today could be very depressing with the possibility of a Conservative government looming on the horizon ... but right now, as I "pen" these words in west man, the sun is shining and we're experiencing a true chinook, with a warm wind blowing from the west bringing temps above freezing.

How can one be depressed today in West Man???

Sometimes life on the prairies has its benefits ... the sun is shining, the temperature is warm, and life is good ... do we really need any more then that??

My realization over the last five years has been that everything of value in my life are those things I can walk away with - my family, my memory and the relationships that bind us together - nothing else (not the stuff of life, not the jobs and careers, nothing else ...) really matters.

Today the sun is shining ... why be depressed????

Sister site - Minnedosa United Church is on the air ...

I have always been a huge fan of Second City ... If I was more computer savvy, I would set this post up to have the Second City theme music playing in the background with those immortal words: "SCTV is on the air ..."

My reason would be simple - the sister site to this one, is on the air (so too speak).

Minnedosa United Church Blog is ready with its first posts ... there I will ensure that the sermons, bible study material, bulletins and other materials from the life and ministry of Minnedosa United Church are posted. It will help me a bit, in that I often get requests for my sermons - so now, I can direct the internet cruisers to find them there ... (beats me forgetting to photo copy the silly things - which happens more frequently then I care to admit to).

Soooooo, if you're interested - check out:
http://minnedosaunited.blogspot.com/
and let me know what you think ...

peace y'all,

Now that I have the space ...

I'm not sure what to write ... The world of Blogs is new to me. I have become used to, and well versed in the world of information gathering on the internet, I've even become comfortable with finding my way around bulletin board meetings, where enjoyed the ebb and flow of discussion and arguments.

But this is new ... My goal this coming week is to launch a sister site to this one ... the sister site will belong to the Church where I serve. I will be a place where information and publishings from the life and work of the congregation can be posted.

My sermons, our bulletins, our Bible Study materials, and other things that cross our desks will find their way to the new site, and it will be a place where the life and work of a rural prairie church can be celebrated ...

So, stay tuned ... there are big plans afoot ... the joy is in the journey ... it will be fun ... (I promise).

Me and Tom Jackson (the actor, the singer, the activist, and all round great guy) in our local Co-op following his concert in town as part of the Singing for Supper tour across Western Canada. Tom's concert raised over 2400 dollars and collected 1400 pounds of non-perishable foodstuffs in the fight against hunger in Western Manitoba.
THANKS TOM.
It was a great way to begin the Advent Season.

And so it begins ...

I have a blog on the United Online site ... but the lure of going beyond has beckoned ...

I see this a place where I can share my thoughts and my reflections on life and ministry in a rural area. In my case, western manitoba (one of the provinces in the middle of Canada - where it's flat).

Rural ministry has been a blessing. The people I live and work among are super. I want to herald the benefits of rural ministry and tout the joys of rural living.

In coming days there will be postings about upcoming events and happenings and reflections on the joys and frustrations of living in rural Canada.

As I've said ... and so it begins ... sometimes the joy is in the journey, NOT the destination ...