Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Once upon a midnight dreary ...

One of my favourite poems is The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe ... it seems appropriate for a Hallow's Eve:

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more.' ...

...
But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only,
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered - not a feather then he fluttered -
Till I scarcely more than muttered `Other friends have flown before -
On the morrow will he leave me, as my hopes have flown before.
'Then the bird said, `Nevermore.' ...

...
`Prophet!' said I, `thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us - by that God we both adore -
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels named Lenore -
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden, whom the angels named Lenore?
'Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

... Thus Quote the Raven: "Nevermore ..."

When Hallowe'en Helped Make Me Popular ...


As a kid, having a Birthday on Hallowe'en was kind of cool ...

It was fun to have dinner, then head out to trick or treat, and to come home for cake and ice cream ...

It was always fun to get dressed up and to hit the streets of our neighbourhood to trick or treat ... we loved going to Dixie Lee Fried Chicken (a now defunct Take Out Chicken Restaurant) where if you were costumed, you got a piece of chicken, then we hit Pinto Variety for a pop !!

But the best part of Hallowe'en was simply this: for one day a year, I was popular. Kids who went Trick or Treat'ing with me, came home with twice as much candy !! Everyone in my neighbourhood knew me, and knew it was my birthday, so they would load my loot bag, and the bags of my fellow Trick or Treat'ers !!

It was the one time of year I was popular ... It was fun, but even more fun to say - "No, you don't want to hang with me the rest of the year ..."

Hallowe'en always seems to bring out the monsters doesn't it ???

Fun memories ...

I had a retro-spective moment today and found
a website about the campy 70's Canadian TV show called
The Hilarious House of Frightenstein.
It was produced and filmed in Hamilton and was a staple on CHCH
throughout my childhood.
It was SSSSOOOO bad and SO campy,
it is wonderful.
The DVD came out two weeks ago, and apparently it is an early morning show
on the Canadian Space Network ... I know what I'm doing tomorrow !!
For now ... I offer the letter that the cast and characters sent out
to fans who wrote them at CHCH Hamiton (now a Global Station).
Enjoy ...

Birthday Lunch ...



I got taken out today for lunch ... It's been a tradition for the last couple of years, that Jim K, and I take turns getting lunch for one another on Halloween - he and I share the same Birthday, and so we have lunch and a chat to celebrate !!

This year it was lunch at the Chinese Cafe !

My Chinese Zodiac read:

Ram: Elegant and artistically creative, yet timid or puzzled, you seek the guidance of others. Seek the Hare, pig or horse. Avoid the ox and the dog ...

My fortune cookie read:

You will soon be the centre of attention.

Hmmm ... it's been a good day!! (Thanks for Lunch Jim!!)

Sharing a Birthday Today ...


The following people share my birthday:
(October 31st)

Painter Jan Vermeer (1632)

Poet John Keats (1795)

Actor and singer Dale Evans (1912)

Actor Barbara Bel Geddes (1922)

Astronaut Michael Collins (1930)

Journalist Dan Rather (1931)

Journalist Jane Pauley (1950)

Director Peter Jackson (1961)

Politician Chian Kai-shek (1887)

Actor and comedian John Candy (1950) ...

The Golden Rule ...

The Golden Rule is universal across humanity's broad rainbow of diversity:

Confucianism: Do not do to others what you would not like yourself. Then there will be no resentment against you, either in the family or in the state.

Buddhism: Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.

Islam: No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.

Judaism - What is hateful or hurtful to you, do not do to your fellowman. This is the Torah, all the rest is commentary.

Taoism: Regard your neighbour's gain as your gain, and your neighbours's loss as your own ...

Zoroastrianism: The nature alone is good which refrains from doing another whatsoever is not good for itself.

May we one day have the courage to believe it ... and more importantly live them !!

It's Here !!


Happy Hallowe'en !!!

Monday, October 30, 2006

Snow Day ...

It's a snow day ... West Man is under a Winter Storm Warning of sorts ...
The snow is falling ... it's a dreary kind of day ...

The countdown continues ...

Only one more day to Hallowe'en ...

Sunday, October 29, 2006

And for the record: I'm NOT a Geek !!!

I recently read a book entitled - "Are you a Geek?" which offered a quiz to determine if you are in fact a geek and how much of a geek you might be ...

I will confess to being worried about the outcome when I started the quiz the other day ... there was a time in my life when I would have proudly worn the moniker of "Geek" but not any more ... But I bravely took the quiz and risked finding out whether or not I really was a geek ...

I scored low in the first sections of "Lifestyle", "Style", "Social Life" and "Hobbies". I was scoring high in the "Entertainment" section, but salvation came when I scored in the negatives for "Sex" (that was a Hallelujah moment of sorts !)!!

But then I hit the "Communication Skills" section and I thought my fate was sealed ... I hit questions like:

- you've used the shortform BTW ...
- you've used the word "ergo" ...
- you've used the word "methinks" ...
- you've used the word "perusal" ...
- you've used the phrase "de facto"

With each question the numbers began to climb and I feared that I was closing in on Geek territory ...

Fortunately, according to the book, a Geek scores higher then 300 ... and my final score (even on the second run through) was a staggering 135 !!!!!!!!!!!

It's official I'M NOT A GEEK !!!!

I'm happy about too !!! But for the record, I'm going to change my vocabulary a bit ...

Darned ...

We awoke today to snow ...

... falling snow ... and a winter storm warning for tomorrow ... YUCK !!!

I suppose it could be worse ... but today I'm hard pressed to say how.

It's a good day for hunkering down with a pot of tea, a good book and a warm blanket ... Winter is making her presence known around here, and even though the snow has stopped for the moment, there is more to come ...

Time to just make the best of it ... you gotta laugh !! (otherwise you'd cry)

... good thing they always say in Manitoba that you should make the kid's Hallowe'en costume big enough to fit over a snow suit - this year we may need it ...

The up side is - It's only 6 months till Spring !!!

Two More Days ...

Hallowe'en is Coming !!!
Yeah !!

The Gift of Prayer ... a club or comfort ???


The other night I was watching a religious broadcast and listened as my "colleague" in ministry offered prayers of healing for members of his flock. His words were something to the effect of: "Lord, we pray that you will heal ------, because they are a faithful person and deserving of this ..." My jaw dropped and my blood pressure rose ... I thought - "what an a-- !!! What kind of prayer is that??"

Then the next morning I opened my lectionary stuff for Sunday's (today's) service and read the texts from Job 42 and Mark 10, and thought - "Hmmm, I see a connection here ..."

Let me take a moment to share a story about when I realized that prayers for healing are seldom neutral and sometimes set up a no-win scenario ...

A few years ago we had a young child in our community in need of a transplant for their survival. They needed a major organ transplant that was available only upon the death of the donor ... When we prayed for the recovery of the young child, we were asking for the death of another child ...

I had and still have a problem with such things ... This is not a prayer I'm comfortable offering ...

It's NOT that I am against organ transplants. I am all in favour of them. If someone can live because my organs are put to use after my death - I'm all for it. BUT, I can not as a minister of the Gospel utter a prayer asking for the successful surgery and recovery and healing of someone when the entire premise is based on the death of another human being.

Yet, how often do such prayer roll thoughtlessly off the tongues of clergy and pastors???

"Oh Lord," they plea, "be with dear Stan as he awaits his liver transplant, and let that surgery be successful and let him recover to be back again with us and his family ..." As offensive and absurd as it may sound, I've heard prayers uttered thus.

I hope that God is able to hear our intent rather than what has actually uttered by our lips ... Too often we approach prayer in a selfish way. Using it as a divine "I want" list ... asking God for miracles and special gifts, rather then seeing it as a means of opening our selves to the presence of the Holy in our lives.

Moreover, if we are foolish enough to pray for the recovery of a loved one, or a friend, and they subsequently die, what does that say about our faith?? We they not faithful enough? Were we NOT faithful enough? Did God not hear us? Did God not care? Why didn't that prayer get answered? And on and on the theological reflection can go ...

I think how we pray says alot about how we live our faith ...

Prayer is a wonderful gift. It is not, and never should be about asking God for special consideration or healing ... Perhaps the better approach in the face of loss, illness and suffering, is to use prayer as a means of reinforcing the presence of the Holy by simply saying to God as we understand God, "Hi - I'm here, and I know you're here too ..." and maybe that's enough to bolster us to face the day ...

Prayer to be effective must be more then a selfish "Gimme" list ... too bad too many of my colleagues haven't realized that yet ...

Prayer to be effective must be an active process of opening ourselves to the presence of the Holy in our lives ... and sometimes that's more then enough ...

(For more on this - head over to the Minnedosa United Blog: http://minnedosaunited.blogspot.com/ for today's sermon)

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Cars along the way ...

Today, I have been thinking about the cars I've had in my time ... and so I've compiled a list:
1) 1967 Chevy long box Pick-up truck
2) 1974 Plymouth Duster (two door, sports back)
3) 1993 Ford Aerostar XLT extended length
4) 1994 Chevy Lumina Van
5) 2003 Toyota Sienna
6) 2001 Toyota Corolla (four door)

There were other vehicles along the way like Mom's 1979 Chrysler Cordoba, and a variety of old beaters at the Golf Course I worked at for 10 years. But those six vehicles are those I've shared the journey with since I learned to drive 22 years ago ...

The 67 Chevy Pick up was my first vehicle. It was a beater. It was blue (multi-coloured from the many touch ups with whatever blue paint was handy !!) with a white roof on the cab. It was a fun old beast to drive, but it ended its life in a puff of smoke (literally) when it burned in a friend's driveway outside of Stratford one spring day ... A few days earlier the driver's side door had popped open while I was tooling down the 401 in Toronto, so I had bolted the door closed to prevent a repeat - when the fire started I spent the first 10 seconds trying to get out the driver's side door BEFORE a little voice said - "other door idiot !!" A leaking fuel pump and a short on the starter did my truck in ... it was a sad day, but then a week later the Insurance Company cut a cheque ...

The 74 Duster was a favourite vehicle of mine. It had belonged to an elderly friend in New Hamburg Ontario. He bought it new and it had less than 27 000 ORIGINAL miles on it when he sold it to me. I drove that car for years ... I took it to BC in 1991, when my floor mates didn't think it would get past Thunder Bay - it did !! I took pictures of it sitting in front of each Provinical sign!! It was a great car ... and in 1993 we sold it for MORE then I bought it for !!

In 1993, we bought the Aerostar - whose story is farther down in the blog ...

In 2003 when M got a full time job in Brandon, we bought our first second vehicle ... a 94 Lumina Van ... it was pretty ... but ... well, it had problems ... The malfunctioning electric locks that left me stranded INSIDE the van once too often were NOT fun ... It spent two years with us before we traded it in on the 2003 Sienna van we bought and continue to drive ...

My feelings for our Toyotas could be a blog entry unto themselves ... As much as I enjoyed the old cars I've had - the Toyotas we currently own (even the new one yesterday) have won my heart ... They are a fine vehicle in every way ...

At the end of the day though, a car is a car and it is a simply a means of transportation - but you do get kind of attached to them after awhile ... and sometimes you miss them when they're gone ... It's like the stories almost every family has about a Model T or a Model A they once owned ...

A concluding side note to leave with you to ponder is this: ... the same year I bought my first car - the 67 Chev pick up, I also bought my first mountain bike ... I've been through six vehicles BUT I'm still tooling around on the SAME bike - it groans and creaks - but it runs ... maybe there's a lesson there for ALL of us ... do we dare think it??

Only THREE Days to go ...

Hmmm ... looking at the calendar today ... It's only THREE days till Halloween ...

I like Halloween ... I always have ...

I won't say why ... people who know me will understand ...

Three days till Halloween !!!

Three days till Halloween !!!

(I like this picture - it looks like our little dog Journey ... it's not - but maybe we should get her a costume ... hmmmm ...)

It's all in how you look at it ...

It may not have been worthy of a fine dining establishment ... but it was a lovely way to start the day:

I sat down this morning to homemade crepes (or very thin pancakes - as the chef called them), with homemade strawberry jam and a plastic gothic goblet (r) filled with milk ...

It was unorthodox and somewhat unusual, but the chefs were Beetle and Ms H, at Beetle's suggestion that she needed to make D-A-D (she spells my moniker for some reason) pancakes for breakfast ... So I got to sleep in only to be greeted with a plate of delicious crepes.

It was a wonderful way to start the day ... though, I'm still trying to figure out how I drew the straw for doing the heap of dirty dishes that resulted from the culinary expedition ... *sigh* ... there's always a catch isn't there ??

For now though - thanks girls. Breakfast was yummy, and I don't mind doing the dishes for you ...

Overheard at Coffee ...


Last night among many comments made around the table at Chipperfields was this gem:

What, are you paranoid or something?

Oh no, nothing like that. Besides,
It's not paranoia if
the whole world is really

out to get you ...

What if someone really is watching ??

An Ode to an Aerostar ...


Our journey began on April 9th 1993 ... we were picked up in our apartment in Kingston Ontario and driven to Expressway Ford in New Hamburg where we picked up our brand new 1993 Ford Aerostar XLT Extended length mini van ...

That weekend we drove to visit family, took my almost 90 year old Grandmother for a ride, and generally got to know a new vehicle before returning to Kingston where we handed the keys to my 1974 Plymouth Duster over to an over joyed young man who felt the car, which was 70 miles under 100 000 original miles, had gotten a bargain ... I was sorry to see the old gal go, but a new car - soon dubbed "The Piglet" took its place and for almost 14 years our Ford has served us well ... Like any relationship, we've had our moments and our issues - but it has been a good and reliable car ... it outlasted a Lumina van we bought a couple of years ago when we felt the Aerostar was getting a little long in the tooth ...

But, today our journey with the Aerostar came to an end when we turned in the keys and took a delivery of a new-to-us Toyota Corolla ... It was bittersweet saying farewell to an old friend, and a van that was very much part of the family ...

- all three kids sat in the car seat mounted behind the driver's seat ... the car seat was there soooooo long that even today the back of the seat is marked by the tether strap that held the seat down

- we've drive The Piglet back and forth across Canada several times and throughout most of BC ... many of its 340 000 kms were logged driving across the Chilcotin Plateau as we travelled in and out of Bella Coola from 1993 to 1997 (an interesting aside - in 1993, there were four 93 Aerostars in the Bella Coola Valley - when we left 4 years later, there was only one left on the road - OURS - the others had met harsh ends on valley roads ...)

- we've taken The Piglet to the top of mountains to look at glaciers - one drive stands: we wound our way higher and higher up a winding gravel logging road, we wondered if we were crazy only to arrive at the "end" of the road and to find our Aerostar parked beside another Aerostar ...

- when we left BC The Piglet even had moss growing on her - YES, moss - thick green moss ...

- then there was the day young Noahkila pumped pennies into the radio rendering it silent until many months later (in Manitoba) when we finally managed to get it replaced with a CD player ... the pennies were retrieved from the radio, and it was tucked in a drawer on the porch ...

- The Piglet drove through every imaginable weather condition ... it survived a trip into a mountain ditch - sliding sideways down a valley highway - clobbering a deer on a Manitoba road, and like the energizer bunny, it kept going and going and going ... for 340 000 kilometres - The Piglet served us well and carried us safely from destination to destination ... It was a good van, and was fairly dependable (as long as the temp was above minus 25) ... but the time had come to say good bye ...

So today, after almost 14 years, thousands upon thousands of kilometres, and with many memories of journeys taken with her ... we bid a fond farewell to an old friend who's time had come ... It will be different having only a van and a car - but we'll adapt ... and we'll continue to travel on ...

So to The Piglet - thanks ... it's been fun ... and adieu ...

Friday, October 27, 2006

And to think I saw it ... (The Trans Canada Version) ...



I can still remember the first time I read "And to think that I saw it on Mulberry Street ..."

It was breathtaking in its absurdity ... I can still remember laughing along with the story line as the little boy's story got more outlandish and far fetched ... It was delightful, and it has stuck with me ... I've harboured a lifelong dream of one day standing on the curb of Mulberry Street in order to find out whether such outrageous and outlandish things actually happen ... Maybe one day ... but for now, I have to content myself watching for unusual and outrageous happenings wherever I find myself ... and remarkably enough that does happen ...

On my trip east and west on the TransCanada this past month I saw many sights (I could try to do this to poetry, but I would fear offending the ghost of Robert Service by waxing about the strange sights I've seen ...) and unusual happenings ... On the way east I passed truck after truck with huge blades and cowlings - I would assume they were for windmill generators being installed somewhere ... I passed a flat deck with a shrink wrapped Armoured Personnell Carrier(Shrink wrapped ?? The thing is armoured - what will happen to it on the HIGHWAY ????)

On the way west, I was more aware of the traffic around me and the traffic I was meeting and I had a few moments of frivolity ... Meeting a convoy of Canadian military trucks and realizing about half the drivers were female soldiers caused me pause - then I remembered seeing female Israeli soldier back in 88 - the high heels and the machine guns were a provocative combination ... I passed a pick up truck that had two beautiful golden labs as co-pilots - they were both looking out the front window looking quite delighted with the cross country tour ... But the topper of the drive west was being in a line of traffic only to glance to my left and see an OPP cruiser sail by me in the passing lane - then about three cars forward he slammed on the brakes as a car pulled out to pass without glancing behind him to see if the lane was clear - the ensuing chaos of flashing lights, braking cars and and irrate police man pulling over a careless driver was entertaining ...

In the six days of driving I saw many strange and even queer things ... and if I was a poet like Robert Service, I would wax poetically about them ... but I'll leave the poetry to the likes of Briney, Atwood and Service ... and just tell you - it was a fun drive ...

There are strange things done 'neath the midnight sun

By the men who moil for gold.

The arctic trails have their secret tales

That would make your blood run cold.

The northern lights have seen queer sights,

But the queerest they ever did see

Was that night on the marge of Lake LeBarge

I cremated Sam McGee..

Memories and Food ...

When I was driving home to Manitoba I stopped in Sault Ste. Marie to visit my cousin and his family. Before I left he handed me a bag of cookies his wife had made the previous day ... I resisted the temptation of trying any until my second day on the road ...

When I took one of the cookies and began to munch I remembered how good Cheryl's cookies were ... When I was a lowly University student living with my aunt and uncle, one of the highlights was when Cheryl came and baked her chocolate chip cookies ... They were yummy.

Driving up Hwy 17 north from the Soo - I remembered how good Cheryl's cookies have always been (I even saved some for the kids to try when I got home to Minnedosa). Then, as I drove I started doing a mental inventory of all the foods from my childhood and youth that remain important and significant in my memories ...

My mom's pies ... strawberry and rhubarb in the spring, apple and pumpkin in the fall ...

My Grandma's Christmas Fudge ... no one in the Elliot Clan can forget Grandma's Christmas fudge ... but alongside it at each Christmas was also her coconut macaroons, her mincemeat tarts and my mom's short bread cookies (Grandma's opinion of shortbreads not-with-standing) and her "nuts 'n' bolts" mix. And Auntie Lyn and Uncle Ame brought the turkey, and Aunt Ann and Uncle Walt brought the fruit and the spinach dip in a pumpernickel loaf ... the table groaned under delicious homemade food ...

Or earlier still is the memories of Grandma Cain's fresh baked scones ... that extra handful of sugar seemed to make all the difference in tastes ...

And perhaps the best memory of all for me was Grandma's Saskatoon Berry Jelly and her fresh baked ginger snaps ... Both were always rationed and savoured ...

Munching Cheryl's cookies on the way home - no, savouring them ... I remembered how important good food has been to our family gatherings over the years, and even though in that moment I realized how much I missed Grandma and Grandpa ... I also realized what tremendous memories I have to look back on ... Some of the recipes have been passed down, and they've become part of our traditions ...

But more importantly, some great memories are found around the table, both then and now ... and as we gather around the table, some foods will invoke those memories and we will have stories to share and recollections to offer. From a theological point of view, I suppose it's a form of Communion for my family. We eat and drink and we remember ... and in the Church, that's a Holy duty ... in a family perhaps it is equally Holy ...

All I can say to it is this:

Amen to that !!

(and keep the good food coming ... there are memories aplenty to be formed!!)

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Home again, Home again ...


So ... at 1:05 this afternoon my journey concluded as I pulled into our driveway in Minnedosa ... It was a shortish day (driving from Dryden to Minnedosa - left at 7 am and drove with two stops for coffee and gas ... It was a beautiful day to drive - sunny and clear ...

When I arrived home I began unpacking the van ... my only thought, over and over and over was - How the heck did I pack SO MUCH stuff in one little van ???

The van is still not unpacked ... but there is alot of stuff out of it ... I even took a load of stuff to the office and dropped it off ... I was delighted to find some mail and some parcels there to open and enjoy the contents ... an order of books from one of the church supply companies rounded the stop nicely (the down side is - I have a stack of books to read - but seldom find the time anymore ... hmmm ... gotta work on that !!??)

Later in the afternoon we walked up to the Community Centre to vote for the town council and school board reps ... then had a COFFEE at CHIPPERFIELDS !!! (that's worth a blog entry on its own ... the anticipation was worth it ... I missed Chipperfield coffee !!!!!!)

After coffee and greeting a variety of the folks there, we walked to the school to see Beetle, Ms H and Noahkila ... I got hugs from the girls and a broad MAN-LY smile from the boy ... It was good to see them ...

When we walked home they got their prezzies of Rheo Thompson Chocolate (anyone from the Stratford area, or who have visited there, will know about Rheo Thompson Chocolate ... even though Mr. Thompson has retired, and there are a number of other chocolate shoppes in Stratford - my heart still belongs to Rheo ...). The gift of Halloween Goodie Bags and Mint Smoothies for everyone, and a box of chocolates for all of us to share was well recieved ... As for me and my house - we'll take Rheo Thompson chocolates EVERY TIME !!!

Then we had supper and now I am ready to go to bed ... for some reason I'm tired ... Can't imagine why ...

Tomorrow will be a full and busy day ... for now adieu ...

One the Road ... Day Three ...


And so my final leg begins ... I spent the night in Dryden ... Wawa to Dryden in about 11 hours ... with a stops along the way, including one stop at the memorial to Terry Fox ...

The weather for the first hour out of Wawa was cloudy, but the snow was localized to the Wawa area ... then by Thunder Bay the sun came out ... and for the drive from there to Dryden it was cloudy but nice ... Not the rain and snow I had anticipated with dread ...

Today it is supposed to be much of the same ...

Looking back, it has been a good drive ... I've listened to lots of good music, some outrageous comedy, some CBC broadcasts, and I've had time to just chill ... The scenery across Northern Ontario is stunning - I can see why the Group of Seven spent so much time there. Each bend in the road was a visual treat ... At one point yesterday the view of Lake Superior offered as the road crested a hill looking out across the steely grey water was simply STUNNING. It may take hours and hours and hours to cross Northern Ontario - but it is a beautiful drive ...

In the coming days I will share some of the strange stuff I've passed in my travels to and fro ... but for now ... I'll just leave you with the thoughts of beautiful scenery along the way ... Too often we want to rush our way across the vast distances of our country, but in do that we forget it has been those vast differences that have helped define who we are ... We are a big country, and there is more to us than the urban centres and periodically it is a good things to remind ourselves of that ...

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

On the road ... day two ...


I hope this picture isn't what the road ahead looks like today ...

But starting out on day two ... after yesterday with 11 hours of driving time ... stops for coffee, washroom breaks, gas and a visit with my cousin in the Soo ... today will be shorter ...

It has snowed here in Wawa ... the ground has a whiff of snow ... the wind is blowing gently and the Weather Network is saying that it will be overcast and cloudy between here and Thunder Bay with no precipitation. (what did we do BEFORE The Weather Network??) So, the drive will begin ... no rush ... no hurry ...

From my motel room window the sky to the north looks like it is clearing with some blue appearing !!! Maybe it will be a good day after all ...

Hitting the road for the next few hundred kilometres ... see ya ...

Monday, October 23, 2006

Some pictures of an old friend ...





Reminders and Memories ...


Tonight, I'm sitting in a hotel room in Wawa, while enroute back to Manitoba, and I'm watching a tv channel from Newfoundland and Labrador ... How's that for a Canadian moment?

Earlier today I stopped in Sault Ste. Marie and had a brief visit with my cousin Steve and his kids ... While I was there, Steve gave me a photo from the Sault Ste Marie paper of our fire ... How slow a newsday was it in Sault Ste Marie the week of February 12th ???

As I looked at the picture I was reminded of that cold day back in February when we stood on the street and watch the building the folks of Minnedosa United Church have called home for 105 years ... I remembered the moment when the tears finally came and I sat in a snow bank and watched the fire consume the building ...

Looking at the picture reminded me of the harsh beginning of 2006 ... then I thought about the building that for over 106 years has housed the congregation that in time became Centennial United Church in Stratford ... On December 31st 2006, they will bid that building good bye for the last time ... and they will disband ... and another Sanctuary space will vanish from my life ...

2006 has been a year of losses and transition and struggle for me ... it has had its downs and its ups ... and I am NOT the same person I started the year as ... And tonight sitting in Wawa reminds me of a moment almost 15 years ago when I was asked by the United Church of Canada if I wanted to be settled in Bella Coola BC or Wawa Ontario ... I chose Bella Coola ... I also remember one day driving down the Yellowhead Highway and passing the town of Minnedosa ... we looked down the valley and mused that one day we should come back for a visit ...

Sometimes, we simply do NOT know what life has in store ... and we do not know where our choices will lead us ... but it is when we look back, that we can see where our choices and the happenings in our lives have made a difference ...

Life is fluid, dynamic and always changing ... and perhaps that's the only certainty there is ... and all we can do is simply enjoy the ride ...

Sunday, October 22, 2006

On the Road Again ...


The van is loaded … I’ve gotten what I could get done done … tomorrow I hit the road … My plan (weather permitting) is to get rolling early and see the first glimpse of Lake Superior before I call it a day … (we’ll see) …

The weather for tomorrow between here and Sault Ste Marie doesn’t sound promising, but I will just take my time …

So, if there are no entries for a couple days – I’m sure you’ll understand … gotta drive … and I can’t drive and blog … and we’ll just have to see what kind of internet access I get enroute …
So for now – adieu … see ya soon …

Drinking Water at the Bar ... Yeah Right ...


“A minister walks into a bar …” It sounds like the start of a joke, but tonight after going out with my friend Karen and hanging at a bar – I was feeling like I was living some bad joke … even though I wasn’t wearing anything at all that would reveal my profession – it felt odd in a way … But with Moosehead on tap – I can say – “I was there for the beer …”

But as Karen and I were talking I recalled a moment in my life when MY minister walked into a bar (with his collar on no less …) and shocked the daylights out of us …

My friends and I were at a now defunct nightclub in Stratford and I was suffering from a bad case of … shall we call it indigestion? Brought on my having consumed too much of a good thing …

So, we’re sitting around the table in the corner, and I’m semi-reclining on the sofa-like bench behind the table … I was suffering from this case of Indigestion … and while I was lying there, one of my friends said:

“Oh Sh--!!! You minister is here Shawn …”

I replied with an expletive and an accusation of them having lied.

“No, seriously man,” they said, “it’s your minister and … OH Sh--!!! He’s coming over here … he sees us …”

Suddenly I felt abandoned and semi-embarassed … I can’t say with certainty if my friends left or not – but it sure felt that way in that moment … Our Minister strolled over to the table and was all cool:

“Hey, it’s good to see you …” he said with a smile, “I was up stairs with my wife and some friends for dinner and on the way out I heard the music and I know this is one of the places you guys hang out, so I thought I’d come down and check it out …”

I don’t remember much of the conversation after that … I think I was still in shock …

I have to confess – or profess, that our minister – Bob was and remains a cool man. He is one of my favourite people, a mentor, a friend, and if at the end of my ministry I can look back and know that I have been half the minister he has been – then I am good.

Bob and I went on to share a few pints from time to time … and even thought he never darkened the door of Rumours anytime I was there – he left me with an indelible impression: you gotta go where the lost sheep are wandering … or in some cases, passed out … Bob did that – and he taught me well …

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Playground Safety ???

Do you know who your children are playing with at the playground???

Coming Home ...


It has been a busy week … it has been a good week …
I’ve been cleaning at mom’s … I’ve been catching up with friends … I’ve been roaming Stratford and getting acquainted with a place I haven’t spent much time since I graduated from High School almost 20 years ago …

It’s funny – life is so much like a river – it’s there – it’s moving and flowing – but from moment to moment it is NEVER the same river … the water has moved – the trees and shrubs have grown – the scenery has altered … and so too is it with life. You can return to the house where you were raised (they always seem smaller then you remember them don’t they?) and you can go to all the places you used to hang out – but even though they seem the same – they aren’t … Time has passed, things have changed, the water of life has flowed on …

This week I’ve spent time returning to the places of my childhood and youth … It’s been good … but it’s made me realize how things continue to change …

I’ve caught up with a friend I grew up with, and who used to play road hockey, sand lot baseball, bardies, hot wheels and everything else that was part of growing up in our neighbourhood. We haven’t had a chance to sit down and talk since my days in University. It was good to get caught up with Karen … we laughed, we wiped away some tears, we reminisced and we had fun …

I had coffee with one of my supervisors from my student days, moving through process. Now nearing retirement, a grandfather and not looking a whole lot different then when I saw him last 14 years ago – Barrie and I had a good time getting caught up … His eldest daughter is the manager of the Bistro/Hotel where I’ve been doing my internet stuff – don’t ask me how I recognized her after 14 years – but I did … and because of that Christine put me in touch with Dad and Dad and I met to get caught up on life …

Today I pack the van – continue cleaning and get ready to go … Maybe tomorrow – maybe Monday … It will depend on how long it takes me to get the stuff done I need to do …

Over all though, it’s been a good trip … a good time … Time was rushed and a bit too short – but with three days of driving at either end, a two week holiday doesn’t last long … I’ll have to try and come back next year maybe and do it all over again …

You can’t go “home” again – but you can stop by for a visit from time to time and get caught up on the changes …

… Life flows on, and sometimes the best things we can do it simply enjoy the ride …

Friday, October 20, 2006

Look through the lens of LOVE ...


This week I discovered Bill Hicks, a stand up comedian of extra-ordinary talent and humour ... I was given a CD of his from a show he put on in England in 1992. It was simply brilliant ... absolutely brilliant ...

Nothing is immune from Hick's humour ... NOTHING ... politics, religon, parenting, drugs, smoking, sex ... he's got it all and he is laugh out loud hilarious ... and through it all is a strong message to wake up and stop simply sleeping ...

He notes that the Universe is a big ride with thrills and chills and lots of twists and turns - but it is a ride ... and most chilling of all, is that those people who come to tell us it is simply a ride have been eliminated ... He cites Jesus, Gandhi, King and Malcolm X - all assassinated and dead - Reagan - WOUNDED !!!

Kinda says it all ...

His comedy is based on the politics of the Early 90's and the first Bush administration ... and what is most frightening is how applicable Hicks still his 14 years later ...

Bill - you were a modern prophet ... thanks.

Bill Hicks 1961 - 1994
One of the Great Ones !!

Silence ... the friend who calms us ...


Today I read in the writings of Rabbi Abraham J. Heschel:

To pray is to know how to stand still
and to dwell upon a word ...

It got me thinking ... In Hebrew there are silent letters, such as aleph ... I wonder what the world would be like if we spent more time dwelling upon words that had within them silent letters like aleph ...

With silence comes the calming of the soul ... and with the calming of the soul comes tranquility ...

May you have and utter prayers filled with aleph ... and the peace that may bring ...

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Sadness flies on the wings of the morning
and out of the heart of darkness comes the light.
~Jean Giraudoux

Walking with the Ghosts ... memories around every corner ...

In Stratford there are many, many, many magnificent brick and stone houses lining the streets ... I had forgotten how beautiful they were until I came back to town this past week ...

This morning I decided to take advantage of a beautiful morning, and walked downtown to do my computer and other stuff ... I followed a path I walked many, many times when I was a high school student and walked from home to school ...

With each step, I found myself remembering something else ... an old girl friend who lived here ... another who lived there ... the old pedestrian bridge over the rail way cut where we used to race to watch teh locomotives go by ... our tobogganing hill ... the park where one summer as 12 year olds we hid dirty magazines to look at later ... the hill where we used to race go-carts ... the soccer and baseball fields where we played for hours ... with each step there came another memory ...

I realized the last time I likely walked this route was back in my pre-University days when I was dating a young woman who lived along the route and together she and I would often walk through the park ... that realization alone brought back a flood of memories ...

But it was the houses that struck me. Each house is beautiful and different and majestic ... walking down the back streets of Stratford is an architectural adventure ... it reminded me of how special it was to grow up in a place like this ...

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Words of Wisdom from Rabbi Heschel ...


( It would seem that I have developed a like of many things Jewish ... and Rabbi Heschel looms large amongst this ... and so, today I would like to quote from him again:)


... prayer is no panacea, no substitute for action. I is like a beam thrown from a flashlight before us into the darkness ...

It is in this light that we grope, stumble, and climb, discover where we stand, what surrounds us, and the course which we should choose,

Prayer makes visible the right, and reveals what is hampering and false. In its radiance, we behold the worth of our efforts, the range of our hopes, and the meaning of our deeds ...

(Amen Rabbi, Amen)

41 ... 42 ...

Thoughts and Prayers for the families ...
... and for the fallen ...
... and for the comrades ...
LEST WE FORGET ...

There's no place like home ... (Images of Centennial United):



Just some pictures from my Sunday Service back at Centennial United.
It was like coming home ...

Monday, October 16, 2006

Reflections from Stratford ...

I have had a busy weekend - but it has been good ...

On Sunday morning I lead the worship service at Centennial United Church, my home congregation - the place the sent me in the world - the place that I still feel is sacred and holy and HOME ...

Then on Sunday afternoon I drove up to Goderich with my dear friend Brad (someone I haven't seen enough of in the last 15 or so years) and we visited another old friend Tim, who I also haven't seen enough of in the last 15 years ... A pic of our time together, along with Brad's son follows in my previous blog entry for today ...

More then revelling in the memories of our past, and getting caught up on your presents - we just spent time laughing and having fun ... and it was glorious. Sometimes you just need to do that.

But I want to guide - direct - and urge all who stop by here to bounce over to my Minnedosa United Church site where I have posted my sermon for yesterday's service. It may be truly meaningful only to the good folks at Centennial, but the reflection is also somewhat universal. The Church that has been for well over 110 years - Centennial, will be gone before 2007 dawns upon us - but the pilgrims like me who have called it home will be journeying on ... The lessons and the memories we carry with us are about how to face the unknown and how to sometimes put on foot in front of the other, even when we don't want to ...

I was told it was an '11' on a scale of 1 to 10, and I was also told it was the best sermon they've heard at Centennial in its history (it's nice to play to a home crowd) - but the praise aside, it was good to come home and it was even better to be able to reflect with them on the journey we've shared together and the journey that lies ahead ... So, if you would - take a moment and bounce on over to http://minnedosaunited.blogspot.com/ and check out my musings ...

thanks - and keep the Folks at Centennial in your prayers - it's never easy to lose a building you love ... I learned that first in Minnedosa, and now I have to do it again ...

Three friends ...

It has been too many years ... but yesterday we did our best to get caught up ...
We laughed ... we wiped away tears of recollection and laughter ...
It started with Tim (on the right) saying as he put the bottles of beer on the table:
"Now if we're playing pool and we run out of beer, we're not going to get more ..."
I replied with a "Huh? What the hell are you talking about?"
But very quickly we recalled an afternoon 20 plus years ago when the truck we were in ended up upside down in a ditch and all six of us in it were treated in the hospital for varying degrees of injuries. All because we foolishly decided, while playing pool, that we needed more beer ...
Yesterday we shared beer (didn't go out for more), watched the old movies Brad (on the left) and Tim had made 25 years ago - and laughed and laughed and laughed ...
It's been too long ... but it was a good way to spend an autumn afternoon ...

Sunday, October 15, 2006

And so I came home ... and said Adieu ...


I think it was on Night Court that at the end of the episode where the character Flo died, they had the "In memory of ..." screen with her voice saying - "I laughed. I cried. It became a part of me ..."

Today I laughed. I cried. And I said a heartfelt adieu to a place that for me his Holy, and Wonderful and Home ... In a few short weeks my Home Congregation of Centennial United Church will bid farewell to a building that has housed them (in many incarnations) since 1900. Before that, they worshipped in a building across the street ...

The Congregation started as German Speaking Evangelical Church, then in the 1940s became Centennial Evangelical United Brethren Church, and in 1968 becae Centennial United Church ... but it never lost touch with its roots ... even today many of those who gathered to worship have roots (like mine) that run deeply into that German Methodist tradition ...

Today was special. I have only been home to preach twice since my ordination. And today I got ready to say Good Bye ... Good Bye to a building filled with many happy memories, Good Bye to a place that let me be me, Good Bye to a place that helped me become who I am today ...

It's still a beautiful building, it is still filled with beautiful people, but the reality of the modern church has caught up to them - and they need to embark on courageous, heroic and painful choices that lead them to the hard decision to close ...

Today I preached at Home one last time ... I may try to come back before they are done ... but it's hard to say ... right now, I've laughed, I've cried, I've offered words of hope and encouragement and I've said a long overdue thank you to the people who loved and encouraged me when I was a youth ... They had every reason in the world to beat me three ways to Tuesday for some of the stunts I was part of, and party to - but they never did. They always offered unconditional love and encouragement ... and THEY helped me on my journey to ministry.

In the coming days I will post my sermon ... and my pictures ... and more of my memories ... But for now, with tears in my eyes, I can only say again - "Adieu, dear friends" to the wonderful people who are, have been and will always be Centennial United Church ...

In the coming days a page is turning - but the story continues ... I am proud to be a child of Centennial United Church - I am proud to be a child of the Evangelical United Brethren Church of Canada - I'm proud to carry from that building the stories of my part in their history and heritage ... I'm proud to be able to call Centennial HOME ... and today I was bathed and washed in that love and encouragement ...

Thanks - and God Bless ...

Stay tuned ... more to come ...

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Tolerance ... Religion and Things Spiritual ...


Many years ago, Gandhi (perhaps Humanities greatest soul) was turned away from a Christian prayer meeting because of the colour of his skin ...

Many years later Gandhi told a Hindu man who came to him feeling guilty for his part in Religiously motivated killings that the man should find Muslimn child and raise that child as a Muslim and in the process be the best Hindu that he could be ...

Today in Minnesota, an election campaign is marked by anti-Muslim slurs against one of the candidates who is a follower of Islam and a proud American. He has been compared to Bin Laden and others ...

Today throughout the world Religious hatred and animosity continues to boil over into violence, that claims lives, destroys communities and profoundly disrupts lives ...

Many, many years ago a young man wanted to learn the Torah (the Law of God), he went to his Rabbi in his village and asked the Rabbi to teach him the whole of the Torah. The Rabbi was delighted until the young man said - "I want you to teach it to me while I stand here on one foot ..."

"Iimpossible!!!" the Rabbi shrieked, "Such a thing requires years and years of study and dedication. And even then, you only know a tiny portion of the Torah ..." The rabbi then drove the young man from his home and ultimately from the village ...

For many years, the young man wandered, looking for the answer to his question. At each village he would ask the Rabbi, and in turn each Rabbi would drive him away howling with outrage at the young man's question ...

But one glorious day, the young man stood on the doorstep of the great sage Hillel. He posed the question to Hillel and the rabbi smiled and stroked his beard before speaking ...

"Young man," said the sage, "this thing you ask me is easy. The whole of the Torah. The Whole of the Law of our God is simply this: "that which is hurtful to another, you do not do - EVER." All the rest is merely commentary ..."

A Century later a wandering Galilean Rabbi nameed Yeshua, took Hillel's teaching and altered it slightly ... It has come down to us in the Church as: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you ..."

Wisdom exists in many forms ... God has given us many voices to convey those life-altering teachings. The problem is - we can't see beyond our own fears and apprehensions ... we can't open our selves up to something Holy and Beyond ourselves ... and we proceed at our peril.

Gandhi once said of Jesus (Yeshua's) teachings - "They are wonderful, too bad no one has tried to live them ..."

I find it remarkable that in the Church, to say nothing of a society so many claim to be Christian, that the one principle that seems to be glaringly absent is that of Tolerance.

Think back to the era of Civil Rights ... Clergy and Churches were criticizing Martin Luther King and accusing him of being Un-Christian ...

Think back to Apartheid ... Churches were defending the racism of that horrific system using the Scriptures ...

Think back to the horrors of Residential Schools and the oppression of Native people ... The Bible was used to defend what amounted to an attempt at cultural genocide ...

Even today our elected leaders invoke the name of God regularly like what they are doing is somehow blessed by our Creator ...

Through it all - God - the ONE Holy and Blessed God - The one we call by many names ... is no doubt wondering how it has all gone so terribly wrong ...

The whisper of faith is a whisper of love ... Love implies unconditional acceptance ...

It's funny, and more then a little sad to me ... So often the "Faithful" among us are often teh most intolerant ... They claim to be spiritual and faithful ... and yet in the same breath they will condemn those who are different, or who believe something different from them ...

I am a follower of Christ ... I hear the voice of God speak in many places ... I look to the written texts of many faiths ... I listen to the whispers of Truth that are uttered by many voices ... The day we say that ONLY Christianity has the answers is the day we are no longer being faithful to the truth we claim to follow ...

Call me a heretic ... but I know the world will only become a better place when we move away from our dogmas and easy answers and in true Kierkegaardian fashion leap into the hands of God ...

The god called Allah, Yahweh, The Christ, Ganesh, Shiva, The Great Spirit ...

The shortcoming is in US ... not in God.

Hmmm ... The Colours of Autumn ...


The colours of fall … I didn’t realize until this week how much I missed the depth and breadth of fall colours that I had grown up with …

Yesterday puttering around the yard in the rain and the snow, I found and picked up magnificent RED leaves that had fallen from the maple trees that border Mom’s yard … driving around Stratford and area the yellows, oranges, reds and golds on the trees and hillsides have been breathtaking … I like fall … I’ve always liked fall … In Manitoba I like the golds and yellows that come in the fall … but today I realize how much I missed the incredible reds, oranges and yellows that come with the maple trees …

Friday the 13th ... Just another day ???


So, what did you do with your Friday the 13th ??

I always remember having feelings of apprehension when the calendar turned and we could see that there would be a Friday falling on the 13th … in Hollywood it usually means a slasher flick being dropped to scare and horrify. Not being into such gory movies, that meant little … but it is perhaps because my Birthday falls on the 31st of October – Halloween, that I feel some kinship with the OTHER ominous day in the calendar.

But, I have found that October 31st, rather then be a day of death and dread, has been a day of life and celebration. I like the remembrance component of Halloween – we remember the saints who have moved amongst us. Unfortunately the sinners and the horrors have taken precedence.

It wasn’t until late in the day that I even realized that it WAS Friday the 13th at all, and yet, looking back I realized that my day was filled with wonderful moments that made the ominous Friday the 13th into something delightful …

I was having coffee and cruising the net at the coffee Bistro on Ontario street here in Stratford when I realized that the manager was a young woman who I knew many years ago when I was a student minister with her father as my supervisor. We had a lovely chat and got caught up …

Later in the day I stopped in the post office to pick up some stamps and mail a couple of things … The clerk was a class mate of mine who I haven’t seen since our graduation some 20 years previously …

Then still later as I was walking into the St-pl-s (yes, I HAD to go to a big box retailer – yuck), I passed a gentleman on his way out – we both stopped and turned around:
“Peter?” I asked.
“Shawn ?” he replied … it turned out it was ANOTHER class mate of mine who I haven’t seen in 20 years, and who answered a call to ministry. In his case as a Catholic Priest … We made plans for lunch next week one day … it will be good to get caught up with him – and perhaps we can engage in some of the theological debates that we once had while high school students together …

Overall, Friday the 13th was NOT a bad thing for me … It was a wonderful day … and quite fun. Makes me wonder who I’ll meet today while I’m out and about …

Friday, October 13, 2006

The Big Catch ...

Noahkila's Fish ...

The fisher boy ...

Noahkila and his Fish ... the Jack and Pickerel
he caught last week !!
Way to Go Boy !!!


Thursday, October 12, 2006

I'm Proud to be Canadian ...


Over the past three days as I've driven across a portion of this vast country of ours, I have listend to CBC radio ... I have listened to a variety of CDs ... I have even spent time in silence just enjoying the drive ... But one group that I have returned to over and over has been The Arrogant Worms ...

For those of you unfamiliar with The Arrogant Worms - what the heck is wrong with you???

They are a funky, off beat, irreverent, and uttely hilarious trio who offer songs that are just plain fun ... They have a wide variety of bizzare, off beat songs that are thoroughly enjoyable ... most are parodies or just plain silly - from I Am a Cow to The Last Saskatchewan Pirate, they cover the breadth and depth and width of this country of ours and they help us laugh and remember what it is that makes us distinctly Canadian ... I listened to their Live Album a couple of times each day as I drove ... In tribute to Canada, my drive and The Arrogant Worms I offer the lyrics to two of thier songs. The First is aptly titled, "I'm Proud to be Canadian," the second is "This Country's Really Big" ... They sound better than they read ... but for now:

Our fair country canada
Is north of the usa
Our maritimes are lovely
And our prairies give us hay
You might think you yankees
Are better than us canucks
But we don't need no microchips
Inside our hockey pucks

The vikings left us newfoundland
We're stuck with englands queen
The swiss give us their army knives
The french give us poutine
We watch american tv shows
For hours and hours and hours
We'll export alan thicke
But shania twain is ours

We're proud to be canadian
We're awfully nice to strangers,
our manners be our curse
It's cool in many ways to be canadian
We won't say that we're better,
it's just that we're less worse

We are a northern people
Who love the wintertime
For about two weeks
And then we start to whine
So we go down to florida
For all its southern charms
But when we get sunburned when we exercise
The right to bare our arms

We're proud to be canadian
We're awfully nice to strangers,
our manners be our curse
It's cool in many ways to be canadian
We won't say that we're better,
its just that we're less worse

and the second song:

When I look around me,
I can't believe what I see
It seems as if this country
Has lost its will to live

The economy is lousy,
We barely have an army
But we can still stand proudly
cause canada's really big
We're the second largest country
On this planet earth
And if russia
Keeps on shrinking
Then soon well be first
(as long as we keep quebec)

The usa has tanks
And switzerland has banks
They can keep them, thanks
They just don't amount
cause when you get down to it
You find out what the truth is
It isn't what you do with it
It's the size that counts!

Most people will tell you
That France is pretty large
But you can put
Fourteen frances
Into this land of ours
(it'd take a lotta work,
it'd take a whole lotta work)

We're larger than malaysia
Almost as big as asia
We're bigger than australia
And it's a continent

We're so big we seldom bother
To go see one another
But we often go to other
Countries for vacation

Our mountains are very pointy
Our prairies are not
The rest is kinda bumpy
But, man, do we have a lot
(we gotta lot of land, we gotta whole lot of land)
So stand up and be pound
And sing out very loud
We stand out from the crowd cause
Canada's really big!