Peeling back the layers ... adding to the stories ...

Work in Highland Grounds future homes continues in fits and starts. Last week the wiring and the plumbing was transforming the former Hardware Store (it has been a hardware store since Mr Duncan first turned the key in the 1930's), into a community place to gather, enjoy a coffee or tea, and just hang out ...

At times it seems infuriatingly slow, while other times I feel breathless trying to catch up to what is happening. This morning my cell phone rang to tell me, via a phone tag relay, that a semi was sitting out front wanting to drop something off ... I returned home to find a Facebook update about the truck blocking downtown Flesherton (for those who haven't been here - a semi parked awkwardly on the road in downtown Flesherton pretty much blocks about 1/3 of the downtown!!!) The joy of Small Town Life!!!

In time, we'll look back on this busy, chaotic, hectic, frustrating and bizarre chapter with fondness. When the key officially turns on the grand opening of this long awaited coffee shop, it will be with great joy that we embark on this new chapter ... In the meantime, I find myself periodically overwhelmed with the events happening around me, and so I have to pause and seek a quiet place to find my centre again.

Last week one afternoon I went into the shop and surveyed all that was happening and sat down with a notebook and a pen and wrote the following reflection on where things are at, and what is happening. Amidst the new roughed in walls, the piles of furnishings, equipment and other assorted assundry, and with exposed bricks that have not seen the light of day in 80 years, I thought about what was unfolding and penned these words that I would like to now share:

Ah, the smell of freshly cut timber, the twang of new plumbing, and the chemical scent of wiring and other assorted stuff that goes along with renovations ... 

All around me are the very obvious signs of something new coming into being. 

Piles of furniture awaiting their final placement. Vanities, sinks, toilets and assorted assundry waiting for their installation.

Paint, rollers, brushes and tarps, bare stud walls, exposed wiring and new plumbing. 

Simultaneously, this venture that will be Highland Grounds is both exciting and terrifying. I've only dreamt of such an undertaking, I've never truly envisioned doing it. Yet here we are in the middle of making it happy. 

Like a mythic phoenix rising from the ashes of what once was, this simple coffee shop (Highland Grounds) is emerging from the last 36 months of transition, loss, grief and struggle. It will not replace what has been, but will open a new chapter of what WILL be. 

After a half a dozen long years of life bouncing from place to place, and wondering where I fit in with my life and ministry, I feel blessed and privileged to find myself in a place that feels right, and that has supported and encouraged me in dreaming beyond the mundane of this moment. 

As I stand, or rather sit on a wooden stool, in the middle of this work space - the renos begun - the bones of what will be in place - I realize that this Tent Making (to use a Biblical Allusion) is more than just a new job or a new business venture. 

It is a new expression of ministry, it is a form of outreach that embraces many of the values people of faith and people with a deep spirituality hold but have failed to find in the confines of Traditional Church. 

The very nature of Fair Trade, is about JUSTICE and helping people realize their full potential economically and socially. On a more local scale, the very act of pouring a cup of coffee, and offering the gift of hospitality is the very foundation on which our culture and our faith rests. 

The centrality of the kitchen table began with the hearth of the First People, continued in the settlers cabins with the rough hewn boards slapped together and standing before the warm wood stove, and it continues to the islands, tables and and counters around which much of the life within our homes focuses. 

The kitchen is the very heartbeat of our homes, and the kitchen table is where our family sits in fellowship, and offers hospitality to friends, strangers and even foes without hesitation. 

In recent days, I've come to realize how deeply imprinted the actions of my Great-Grandmother (a resident of Grey County) are impressed in my being. Our visits to the farm house just outside of Desboro were marked with an abundance of coffee, tea, juice and an INCREDIBLE assortment of baked goodies that seemed ENDLESS. 

Looking back, I remember the barn, and the outbuildings, the apple orchard and the path out to the woodlot, but I have NO MEMORY of the house itself beyond the kitchen!!!

We visited in the kitchen with its table and chairs and Uncle Newt's couch under the window looking out to the road. 

The kitchen was the very heart of the home, and it was where Grandma Cain offered her hospitality in ABUNDANCE!!! 

It is my hope, and dream that Highland Grounds will become the kitchen table for Flesherton, Eugenia, Ceylon, Maxwell, Priceville, Feversham, Proton Station, and beyond. 

 Like the many kitchen tables, and the table that sits central in the life and ministry of every Church, our tables will be where friendships are nurtured and forged, where life is discussed and shared, where the world's problems are solved with some simple common sense, and conversations about everything imaginable are exchanged and encouraged. Highland Grounds is about building community and seeking justice, and caring for one another ONE CUP OF COFFEE AT A TIME!!! 

I hold no illusions that this will be easy. But I know in the core of my being, that like everything in ministry, it will - looking back - be rewarding and joyous. 

Soon the coffee will be ready, and the mugs will be filled in the name of Community, and ALL will be WELCOME !!!! 

Join us !!!
 
 

Dare to Dream ...

There are days when I question my sanity right now ... I'm in my mid-40's, working full time, and within the next five years I will have the proverbial empty nest ... and here I am about to start a new business venture that will no doubt absorb huge amounts of time and energy to get it up and running ...

In an average week I flip from scared silly to excited when I consider the bits and pieces we are pulling together under the banner of Highland Grounds.

On the upside, I've pulled together a talented team of people who have been helping me move forward from the pie in the sky dream of opening a Fair Trade Coffee shop, to actually making this dream a reality.

Ms H and her circle of friends have been a big part of the creativity and energy that has helped envision the space, and the concept that Highland Grounds will be. They even helped craft the name that will soon emblazon the historic Duncan Block in downtown Flesherton!

Wayne and Linda have entered my life as friends, and their creativity and vision have given me so much ... colleague and friend Mark has been enlisted to harness his wood working skills to provide disctinctive one-of-a-kind furnishings that will give our Shop character and flavour ...

Graham has come on board with his trademark giggle and a willingness to see this dream to reality ...

There have been moments when I've been ready to thrown in the towel and just admit that I'm in way over my head ... but in those moments a faint glimmer of hope has broken through and the right person has offered the right advice, guidance and inspiration to get me out of the 'blahs' I may find myself in, and moving forward.

There is still A LOT of work to be done, and despite more then a few set backs and mis-steps, I feel more confident today about what lies ahead then I have in a very very very long time.

I don't think this will suddenly be an easy carefree endeavour. But I feel blessed and fortunate to have assembled a team of people who have shared their talents, their enthusiasm and their support in moving this dream into reality. Looking ahead, I have a talented and capable team of folks (adults and teens) who have expressed an interest in stepping up and backing the Highland Grounds logo when the door finally opens. They share the dream and want to be part of it, and I feel deeply blessed for their willingness and ability to join in the fray.

No one knows what the future will hold, and I can't even offer a firm date on when we will turn the key on our new venture, but I know it WILL happen, and when it does, it will offer Flesherton and the Grey Highlands a great place to gather and enjoy a quality beverage surrounded by people who share the knowledge that our world can be made a better place ONE CUP OF COFFEE AT A TIME!!!!

Stay tuned ... more updates WILL follow!!!

And Jesus said:

This was TOO good to NOT share!!!

There was no asterix in Jesus' teaching "love thy neighbour" - just a straight out call to LOVE them no matter who they are and no matter how we pigeon hole them!!!

This is awesome and should be on backs of ALL who claim to be followers of Christ!!!!

One of Life's Holy Moments ...

He is truly one of my heroes - David Northcott, the Executive Director of Winnipeg Harvest is a man I have admired for the last decade as I've worked in Manitoba, and been part of the circle of people who are struggling to address the myriad of issues associated with poverty and homelessness.

I feel privileged and blessed to have David intersect with my journey from time to time when I have met him in Brandon at Samaritan House Ministries, at Food Banks Canada meetings in Toronto, and now tonight when David, Marla (the exec director of Samaritan House) and myself were able to share a meal together with Marla's daughters and my son Noahkila.

It was a fitting ending to a day that began with me reading some material on the Sacrament of Communion while preparing the Communion liturgy for Sunday's Service ... Communion - the simple action of sitting at table with one another and breaking bread and sharing the cup, is one of the holiest actions we have as a Church and a people of faith, and it is something we actually re-enact daily. Communion is not meant to be separated from our day to day lives, but to affirm the Holy Presence WITHIN our day to day lives.

Today, as the six of us broke bread (figuratively speaking) at a Chinese Food Buffet in Kitchener, we celebrated and enacted the Holy Presence in our fellowship around the table ... we laughed, we reminisced, we shared life's highs and lows, and we affirmed the importance and the value of the work David and Marla and others do every day in addressing the violence of poverty in our society.

There was more than a little silliness ... laughter that brought looks of disdain from other tables ... and along the way I suggested that we go to those tables and apologize by introducing David ... "Oh we're sorry we've been so loud ... this is David Northcott, the executive Director of Winnipeg Harvest Food Bank, and a recent recipient of the Order of Canada!!" I think the reactions would be priceless!!!

Yes, David - a friend, a hero and a helluva guy - was recently awarded the Order of Canada for his 30 plus years battling hunger in Manitoba and across Canada ... in the truck on the way to the restaurant as I congratulated him on his wonderful achievement he expressed his typical humility by acknowledging that it is NOT his Order of Canada, but it is the Order of Canada for the work of Winnipeg Harvest and all the staff and volunteers and donors who struggle day to day to counter the poverty and hunger that has become a familiar part of the landscape.

I started today in a very cynical and grumpy place ... but thanks to my esteemed colleague and friend Doyle, and thanks to David Northcott O.C., Marla and the others, I end my day hopeful that our struggles to address poverty, and to enact Social Justice in our world are NOT in vain ... one day, the Kingdom we envision and are working for, will not only be revealed - we will savour being a citizen ...

Thanks for sharing your evening with us David ... and thank you for your commitment and dedication to the people lingering on the margins of our communities and our society. Enjoy the Order of Canada - you have earned it, and you continue to inspire others!!

Today, we broke bread together and shared a communion of laughter, food, fellowship and most importantly FRIENDSHIP - and for that we are very blessed !!!!

Dayenu !!!!! Dayenu!!!!!

Yes WE Can !!!!

WOW!!!

President Obama uttered a long overdue truth, and segments of American and Canadian society are having a fit because of it ... ALL because as a father, Barack Obama looked into the eyes of his daughters, and like Rev. Martin Luther King Jr 60 years ago, saw the necessity of speaking out against an injustice and speaking instead a truth - that ALL people are of equal value, and sexuality is not an issue that should divide us!!

In the days since President Obama spoke his conscience and offered his support to same sex marriage, I've gained EVEN MORE respect for him as a person, as a leader, as a father, and as a President.

I've been a fan of Obama since his election victory, and I've worried that he may become a one term president because of the fear that  is gripping North American society. But I think the strength of leadership Obama offers is much needed in our world today.

We need people like him who are willing to speak up and speak out, and stand for true justice.

In 2008, the Obama campaign spoke daringly of 'Hope' in a world dark with fear. His chant "Yes, We Can" was about more than just American Pride - it was about revisioning the world in an audacious way, and opening wide the doors for ALL people.

This week, Obama stepped up and did the right thing ... unfortunately, there are still many who fail to see that hate, prejudice and fear have too much say in our world, and hinder and limit the Children of God in hurtful and abusive ways.

My one regret is that the leadership in my country has chosen a path of fear rather than hope ... and I continue to hope that our southern cousins continue on this marvelous path of Hope being guided and inspired by a remarkable man named Obama!!!

(Check out what Pastor Blake has to say about President B. Obama by clicking here)

Twenty Comments about God's Love for Goths ...

It will soon be the 6th Anniversary of the fire that destroyed the Building housing the congregation of Minnedosa United Church. A new building has replaced the old, but the congregation has never been allowed to truly heal ...

I marvel at how prophetic the advice received by an American pastor I contacted after reading his book about a Church fire he experienced truly was ... he cautioned that the fire would, if handled poorly, be the least of the problems the congregation and I faced ... hmmm, six years on I look back and see the painful truth in those words - words offered in love and care and faith ... words that the leadership waved aside and ignored.

In 2007, in response to an internet site that claimed God condemns and hate those with Goth leanings, I offered a reflection on what I believe in this regard. This posting (found here) continues to generate responses from people who follow the links from that hate-filled (and unfaithful site) through to my reflection. This past week I discovered the TWENTIETH comment offered. The comment (copied at the bottom of this posting) reminds us that issues of faith are seldom easy, and challenge us to grow past the status quo.

Yearning for things that are comfortable and familiar is not in itself a bad thing, but when we stand in a place of trauma we need to embrace the fragments of the comfortable while being open to the dynamic change that is possible when we experience the transformation faith promises. God calls us to much more than we can imagine ... in Minnedosa six years ago, we were offered the opportunity to cast aside the past and embrace the future ... but anger settled in, and the response within the community was often not that different from the nonsense sputtered by web pages that claim that God hates Goths or anyone else who is different than the writer. In the case of Minnedosa, the hatred was masked with a civil smile and couched in the bureacracy of the Institutional Church ... the end result remains the same - some are acceptable and accepted, while others are rejected and discarded ... In both cases though, God weeps and trusts in the work of the Spirit to continue to transform our world despite the best efforts of humanity to the contrary.

Over and over, I continue to marvel at the truth held in the simple statement: "With God ALL things are possible."

Comments like the one that follows reminds me to trust in God not in human creations like the Church ... thankfully, the Gospel calls us to embrace all, not just a select few. Regretably, this sentiment is too often forgotten in the Church ...

I do not consider myself emo but many if fellow students call me emo. I am a strong Christian. I feel that when many people who claim Christianity don't reach out to the other gothic and emo kids they are not dong there duty to share the love of God. Infact most "Suburban Gangsters" and "normal kids" make fun of me for not listening to Eminem or Lil Wayne. These kids normally cka Christianity. I try to explain that I don't worship Satan, cut myself, or any of that stuff. I just don't like dressing Un neon colors and listening to Hip-Hop. I'm glad that a minister (other than my dad) thinks I'm (not) just going to hell. And GOD BLESS YOU REV.

And the colour of the day is:

My friend and fellow blogger, a Pastor I have deep respect for has posted today on the call to wear purple in memory and in honour of our Gay, Lesbian and Trans-Sexual sisters and brothers who have faced hatred, violence and bullying because of something that is part of who they are ... I would have worn purple as the requests on Facebook suggested, but alas, I have no purple in my wardrobe ... so, instead I will offer this link to the wise and inspiring words of my friend and brother in faith, who says it far better than I could:

The Laughing Pastor - a day for purple (click here)

Front Line Issues: Poverty in Canada ... (part two) ...

Lindalee Tracey, in her book "On the Edge" published in 1993 observes:

Governments the world over are bowing to the demands of these huge corporations, relinquishing precious sovereignty and national dreams, ceding control over environmental and social policies. National economies are being streamlines for the convenience and plunder of the transnationals. It's a kind of suicide, the pathetic attempts of an anorexic to achieve beauty by denying herself sustenance.

We're offering our most vulnerable citizens as human sacrifices to global restructuring, institutionalizing Third World poverty within what remains of our borders. Working people are being slapped back a generation, and the poor and unemployed cannot hope to ever move ahead. This isn't the dream my mother fed me on, nor the country she scraped and sacrificed to include me in.

Poverty is getting worse in Canada because there's no political will to stem it, because we insist on our social amnesia, because we're looking out for our own narrow interests. But a nation of poor people is a dangerous and menacing thing - just step outside on the sidewalks and see.

There is no lack of good and workable ideas about sharing fairly in the county's wealth. Many are election promises made and reneged on: a national day-care program, affordable housing initiatives, a real retraining effort, a decent minimum wage, a guaranteed annual income that could loosen welfare's chokehold on 2.5 million Canadians. But if the very notion of social justice is cut out of the national heart, if we perceive our national programs as an obstacle to economic progress (an unfair subsidy, an unfair tax, a financial drain); if the poor continue to be caricatured as parasites, then there is no place to begin again, but at the beginning - in the stinking bog of social Darwinism. Is this our Canada in the 21st Century? Is this the legacy we want to leave for our children?

(One the Edge: journey into the heart of Canada by Lindalee Tracey. Douglas & McIntyre 1993)

Four Years ago today ...

He and his buddies used to live in a basket in the basement, that several days a week rang with the laughter and chatter of happy nursery school students ... They would be dumped, unceremoniously out on the floor and in the rush that comes with the under-5 crowd, they would be played with, dropped, abandoned, retrieved and put back in the basket for another day of play ... His was a contented existence for a toy ...

.

Then in the early morning hours of February 12th 2006, his world changed ... upstairs at a back window gasoline was poured on the floor and a match dropped to light it ... the first couple of attempts were unsuccessful ... then after retrieving deposit envelopes from a nearby ATM the fire took hold ... the flickering glow of flames through the stained glass windows was noted by a passing vehicle whose occupants had come to investigate why there were people lurking on the roof of the church on such a bitterly cold night ... using their cell phone they called in the suspicious activity and the fire that they could see dancing behind the stained glass windows ...

.

The police were called ... the fire department was dispatched, and the two young man in the car followed the suspects through town until they lost their trail somewhere in the streets and back alleys ... a description had been called in ... the Police were on thier way ...

.

By the time the phone rang at 5:58am and the former editor of the local weekly paper told me that "your church is on fire" ... the fire men had been on scene for over and hour fighting valiantly, though in vain to conquer the flames ... the RCMP had the suspects in custody ... and news was seeping through town ...

.

By the time I stood outside the Church at 6:05, we knew several things ... the fire was spreading ... it was arson ... the police already had someone ... and Sunday Services were going to be cancelled ...

.

At 7 am the bell tower crashed through the roof and the building was a loss ... by 7:15, I had sent out an email to Presbytery and to other contacts asking for prayer and strength for the journey ahead ... by 10 am we had been offered space to gather in the basement of the Catholic Church ... and at 11 we broke bread, shared the cup and wept at what we had lost ...

.

The following week, the basement of the sanctuary a blackened pit of shattered and burnt debris, we gathered across town in the sanctuary of the Catholic Church, who had graciously and generously taken us in as sisters and brothers of faith ... in that moment we whispered Hope ... we set out face on the journey ahead and dedicated ourselves to experiencing the resurrection that our Faith embodies ...

.

Early that week the salvagable items were removed from the remains of the building, an office was set up across the street, and an attempt was made to resume our life and ministry ... the food for the food cupboard that had been lost (over 1500 lbs) was restored by the our sister organization Samaritan House in Brandon ... new Hymn Books were ordered ... Bibles were delivered ... and the donations, letters, and notes of support and care began to pour in ...

.

But in the midst of the Resurrection the toxic legacy that has long dogged this place gained a toe hold ... in the rush to heal and return to wholeness, the unresolved issues of generations were ignored and overlooked ... darkness and light began a battle that would consume far more than the fire claimed ...

.

Out of the ashes one cold afternoon tumbled my little friend ... his bright green garb was a stark contrast to the blackened debris that had entombed him ... smiling I plucked him from the icy grip of the devestation, and pocketed him ... a lone survior of the baskets of toys that for years had entertained the nursery school hosted in the basement ...

.\

Months later ... after my ministry was unceremonial ended ... after the heart was ripped from the community by the actions of those who have travelled the path before with my predecessors ... after the pronouncement was handed down that "everything is fine now" ... after I found myself ostracized, cast out, marginalized and despised by the "good" church people ... one day he tumbled out of a box of stuff in my office ...

.

I lifted him ... the smell of smoke still clung to his plastic clothes ... my fingers were smudged with the ashes and soot that still stuck to him ... I smiled, tears welling in my eyes ...

.
"Hello Buddy," I said as I sat down on the floor of my garage and examined him more closely ...

.

Like me, he was a forgotten survivor ... like me he had been cast off and tossed aside ... like me, he was left to his own devices forgotten, unwanted and discarded ... like me he had been pushed into a lonely dark place as the voices in control and authority announced - "It's ALL better now!!!"

.

Inadvertently, he tumbled out of the dark to lie blinking (figuratively) in the light ... through my tears of sorrow, hurt and remembrance, I gave thanks that he had returned in such an unexpected way ... I gave thanks that, even if he is only a tiny plastic toy, he knows what it is like to experience a loss that has neither ended, nor has been fully acknowledged by the very people who claim to be messengers of the Good News ... I gave thanks that I am not fully alone in the journey I have found myself on ...

.

Today I cherish my little friend ... he survived the maelstrom ... he tumbled out of the debris ... and he triumphantly emerged from the darkness back into the light as a reminder that despite the best efforts of the fearfilled and the toxic, the Spirit shall not be thwarted, and the cosmic Karma will not be denied ...

.

My little buddy - whom this day I name 'Job' - reminds me today, not so much the horrid event that began my day four years ago today ... but reminds me that one day I will emerge from this journey of marginalization, isolation, loneliness, and rejection and like those whom God has called to carry a prophetic message that disturbs and frightens many, I will one day find my life restored as the Biblical Job experienced ... and when that day comes my little friend will sit on my desk as a reminder of the journey we've been on ...

.

The resurrection will come ... one day ... just not today ...

.

A Tale of Four Emails ...

This is Lingelbach United Church. It stands in rural Ontario on the north side of Hwy 7&8 between New Hamburg and Shakespeare. The year 2010 will mark Lingelbach's 170th Anniversary as a worshipping community. The year 2010 will also mark Lingelbach's LAST year as a worshipping community.

In the grand scheme of things, the pending closure of Lingelbach United Church is just the loss of yet another rural pastoral charge that can no longer sustain itself. But on a personal scale the loss of this worshipping community renders me completely homeless spiritually.

Kitty corner to the Lingelbach Church is the Cemetary where my father, my uncles, my cousin, my grandparents, my great-grandparents and numerous members of my extended family rest. Across the road from Lingelbach, opposite the cemetary is the rolling farm that my paternal family called home for close to 150 years before it passed from our family hands ... Lingelbach is where my Grandparents were married, my father was baptized, my parents were married, my brother was baptized, my father was buried, I was dedicated in the Evangelical United Brethren Church, my grandparents were buried, and my extended family marked all of life's passages from burials to baptisms to weddings, and attended Church, Sunday School and other special events for decades ...

And soon, it will be yet another foot note in history ...

As I learned of Lingelbach's fate joining the other significant sanctuaries in my life that have moved from real to memory, I read an astounding column from Michael Coren in the Toronto Sun. Coren wrote of the election of the new Moderator for the United Church, noting the failure of the Church to be a Church.

Read the article by clicking here.

I was struck by the line in Coren's column that read:

"Behind the smiles and the hugs is a nasty, exclusive ideology that speaks of tolerance and love but is in fact rigid and harsh."

When I read that line I laughed and I cried ... it rings too true, and for many of the folks in the United Church, particularly the leadership - they fail utterly to see the truth of this statement. A statement offered by a voice from OUTSIDE. We ignore such warnings at our peril.

I wrote Mr. Coren to thank him for his thoughtful and thought-provoking piece and received a prompt reply. Coren noted in his email to me: "The response to my column from the United Church was quite abusive. Says a great deal."

Yup. Abusive replies from within the Church who would all fociferously deny that they are nasty, exclusive, rigid or harsh doesn't surprise me in the least. I've lived that journey for the last three years, and any time I open my mouth, or put words to "paper" that imply that the response is swift, brutish and nasty.

The notion of owning up to the short-comings of the Church is simply and utterly lost on the leadership, both lay and clergy, in the United Church of Canada. Yet the evidence of this reality is compelling and enormous.

Some of this evidence arrived in my inbox within minutes of the reply from Mr. Coren when I recieved an invitation to the ground-breaking for the new Minnedosa United Church.

Aside from wondering WHY??? I had to shake my head in sadness.

Minnedosa United Church has become a shadow of its former self. The planned building is a fraction of what could of, and would have been if JUSTICE had prevailed instead of a biased, one-sided dog and pony show that was designed to remove me and appease a toxic leadership that had once again decided it was time to heave a minister who could not be tethered and controlled by them ... Instead of wrestling with the inter-generational conflict and toxicity that marks Minnedosa United Church, the Church took the easy road and piled the sins and misdeeds on MY shoulders and drove me out into the wilderness ...

The proof of this was underscored in a third email I received today from a friend in Minnedosa who chronicled the repeating pattern of a "gentleman" in Minnedosa who is nothing short of a toxic Drama Queen who has become very edept at blaming everyone else for his failures and short-comings rather than taking a much needed look in the mirror and owning his crap. Once again, rather than owning his responsibility and involvement in the miserable outcome of his life, he is again blaming someone else for what's wrong in his life - choosing to spread his toxic nonsense around by trying to destroy the reputation and life of another person ...

As I read the email I couldn't help but think of the line delivered by Kevin Klein in "My Life as a House" when he notes of his character's father "It didn't matter how small he was, he had to tear me down lower than he was ..."

This clown falsely blamed me for everything that was going wrong in his life instead of going and getting the help he needed and his wife and children deserved. He was instrumental in destroying my reputation and my career by falsely accusing me of things ... I am pretty sure he was responsible for the violence against my house, my van and my person ... and he was quietly supported by the leadership of the Church who not only listened to him, but actively encouraged him, all the while denying any contact and/or involvement with him ... and when the moment came when the Board and Leadership of the Church SHOULD have stood up and said - "Enough, this is false and we'll have none of it ..." THEY instead shrugged and went on spreading these rumours, and falsehoods at the curling rink, the hockey rink, coffee row, and wherever they could find an opportunity to spread their salacious crap.

And ALL the while, the Greater Church did nothing ... they chose to ignore the blantantly obvious, and continue to pretend Minnedosa was fine and the problem rested solely on MY shoulders ...

Well people of the United Church - today we have proof that the source of information about ME is clearly a deeply troubled and likely disturbed individual who is STILL spreading lies and nonsense about ANYONE who he deems "responsible" for his pathetic existence. The good Church folks who listened to him and his family, and who took what they had to say seriously should be deeply ashamed of themselves, and should be asking some hard questions of themselves, their leadership and the outcome of the kangaroo court that began by noting many pre-existent problems in Minnedosa and ended 48 pages later by blaming me for EVERY problem past, present and future ...

Then came the fourth email, from one of the few colleagues I respect and love in the United Church. They noted dryly of my reply to the invitation to the Ground Breaking in Minnedosa:

"Your bitter bone is poking through. Sorry about that but this is one of those times when you have to lose your life to find it, I think. Let it go and bless them in their efforts. God doesn't judge nearly as harshly as you do."

I'll own that my bitter bone is poking through.

AND I know why.

I can look back on a 40 year history with the United Church and count too many moments when the Church has utterly failed me ... my home congregation of Centennial United Church in Stratford was simply awesome. They were a rag tag group of loving and lovable mis-fits who
wrestled with thier demons and struggled with their issues and at the end of the day LIVED THEIR FAITH with humility, love and care. They set me up for failure because they were NOT like any Church Congregation I've encountered since save one.

Since then I've been battered, beaten and bloodied by the United Church, and through it all I've picked myself up, wiped my wounded, and gone back in the fray committed deeply to the Gospel and to sharing my faith through the Ministry I've been called to. And every step of the way the Church has repeatedly failed me, itself, the people I've been ministering amongst, and those who seek something more than warm pink fuzzies from the Church ... and instead of doing ANYTHING to address those failings the Church blames me for having expectations that are TOO high, or denies its mis-deeds and failures.

I remember being TOLD that I couldn't preside at a wedding happening days after my disciplinary process had begun because "rules are rules." The outcome of that daft decision by the powers that be, was not justice. It was adherence to an archaic rule that left a Bridal couple, their family and over 300 friends and family members laughing at the STUPIDITY of the United Church ... Any outreach among that group of close to 350 people would now be pointless. They've witnessed what the Church is about, and they want NONE OF IT.

It is this very thing Mr Coren is speaking of. So obsessed with the latest cause, fad or how-to-process, the Church has lost sight of its mission to be the living Body of Christ to the World.

Rather than wrestling with the cries from the margins, and hearing the prophetic voices amongst us, the leadership instead demonizes those who ruffle feathers and who make the status quo untenable, and we drive out those who won't simply play nice.

Instead of seeking justice - true earth shattering justice - we smile nod and do NOTHING.

My reply to my colleague was as follows:

One day I would like you to read the Friedman book Generation to Generation - AND - some of Bruggemann's stuff on prophetic preaching ... when you read Friedman ask youself 'what could Presbytery have done DIFFERENTLY in Minnedosa ?' that wouldn't have left half the community and congregation sighing and saying - "here we go again ..." while the SAME three or four families invoke THEIR will on the rest of the congregation ...

My bitterness is about the FAILURE of the Church at ALL levels to truly wrestle with the issues that were unfolding in Minnedosa ... I was the lightning rod - NOT to sole problem ... I did what was asked of me - but NO ONE else was CALLED to task for thier sins ... where's the justice in THAT?

I had people --- standing in thier self-righteousness judging me ... the whole concept of speck, log and eyes comes into play ...

I bore my sins ... I still bear my sins ... I've been driven out like the good and dutiful scapegoat, and like J.H. said - the difference between me and the biblical scapegoat is that I refuse to bear my load with graciousness and subservience AND I refuse to just wander off and die ...I'll gladly bear my sins - I've taken my lumps, I've watched as almost everything has been stripped from me ... but I WILL NEVER stand silently while others who are equally culpable and responsible are left free of consequences.

Minnedosa deserves better than it has gotten. ---- has been co-opted by the very process -- should have been confronting - but then -- is of the opinion that Friedman and his view of the generational transmission of conflict and victimizing doesn't happen in the UCC - and sadly they are NOT alone ... --- shares that view as do others ...

I will say it AGAIN - listen to the voices of those who are broken and hurt by the "good church folks" in Minnedosa and hear what they have to say ... Gord Turner outlined in his work in the 80's when he struggled with the concept of "outside looking in" - and listened to the stories of hurt, alienation and outright ABUSE that drove people away.

The Church is NOT a democracy.

Just because a small segment used fear and gossip to prevail doesn't make them right. Just because they are still the Board doesn't make them just.

The Church is about being faithful - and God's judgement is harsh - read the Prophets, read Jesus' own words - read Rabbi Heschel ... a church that tries to pretend everything is warm and pink and fuzzy WILL die ...

Sometimes we have to be harsh to be faithful ... we of the UCC have generally forgotten that - we've become a nice country club for complacency that says swilling a couple of bottles of wine every night in your hot tub is fine and NOT problematic and NOT a sign of alcoholism and dysfunction ...

Instead of holding a morality everything has become relative ...

Funny, but when I read the Scriptures, I don't see a relative Gospel - I see a Gospel that calls people to transform their lives, their relationships and the world to what GOD wants, not what our egos want ... but that's just me.

Today I'm in a good place ... the four emails I've received over the last 24 hours have shown me that the Truth WILL in time prevail and those who believe they have been faithful and loyal will be surprised ... My one regret is that Minnedosa and Minnedosa United Church was never given the help it needed and deserved to overcome the hurt and grief that has marked the last twenty or thirty years ... If the United Church was truly a place of tolerance, acceptance and faith Minnedosa would be breaking ground on the building they DESERVE not the building the current Board and Leadership can afford ...

Me thinks they ousted the WRONG folks ... but what do I know ... I'm no longer welcome in the Inclusive and Friendly United Church !!!

Fortunately, all of this in the hands of the Holy Spirit ... thanks be to God !!!

Class Act ...

I'm not a fan of Country Music - I've admitted to that previously ... I will however also admit there are certain Country and Western musicians who have won my respect for showing a strength of character. The Dixie Chicks have been amongst that category for their outspoken honesty around the Bush administration and the consequences of speaking a TRUTH.

This past week, I've been following a story about Charley Pride, a country musician I know by reputation more than exposure to his music.

It seems that a woman in Leduc Alberta heard of Pride's upcoming concert and went online to buy tickets for herself to attend ... when the credit card bill came through she paid in excess of $1200 for TWO tickets worth about $138!!!!

The story is at CBCnews.ca (click here to read it) - so I won't revisit all the details ... the outcome that vaulted Charley Pride into the category of a "Class Act" in my opinion was his trip to Edmonton to pay Mrs Sharp back the money she lost out of his OWN pocket, he gave her two front row tickets to his show, and spent some time visiting with the gob-smacked woman.

NOW, Mr Pride is expressing his outrage at those who would use people like him to glean excessive profits from the unsuspecting ... after reading the follow up story on CTV.ca, I can't help but say - Charley Pride is DEFINiTELY a class act!!!

Way to Go Mr. Pride !!!!
I'm sure Mrs Sharp will enjoy her concert experience!!!!

Moral responsibility in the face of Injustice ...

On April 12th 1963, a group of well intentioned, and no doubt capable and competent Clergy people in Birmingham Alabama wrote an open letter to those in thier community who were engaging in acts of civil disobedience. The authors of the letter maintained the rightness of their stance, and insisted that the status quo was just fine ... Thankfully in the fullness of time a young preacher by the name of Martin Luther King Jr replied, and the rest as they say - "IS HISTORY."

From St. Augustine thru Gandhi to King, Tutu, Mandela, Wallis and others the message is CLEAR - crystal clear - 'an unjust law is no law at all'.

Just because the majority says it is thus, doesn't mean justice is served.

Just because the rules and regulations are being followed doesn't mean justice is being served.

Just because the process has ground away at an issue doesn't mean a just solution has been reached.

Checks and balances exist for a reason.

Systems, processes and people are corruptable and often mis-informed and simply WRONG.

Civil disobedience, even within institutions like Churches is a necessary part of maintaining the never ending quest for justice.

There are those who would sooner quiet the voices like mine that will not cease in pointing at injustices (even minor ones) and challenging ALL to seek a better way.

Thus far, the better way has been denied in the United Church of Canada not just in my life, but in the lives of others ... the list grows by the day ... the drive for unionizing clergy is a clear indication of the need for a better way ... the dramatic increase in 363 Reviews (which are utterly devestating to those experiencing them) is a clear indication of the need for a better way ... the insistence that I "move on" while ignoring the reality that my experience in not one, but two Pastoral Charges was not unique but was shared by OTHERS who experienced the SAME things from the same people and families is a very very very clear indication that a better way must be sought ... (I had behaviours that needed addressing - and that in the fullness of time has happened - but there are others who are in need of having their own behaviour addressed too - and justice is NOT served by pretending this can not, should not, or won't happen!!)

We can hide our heads in the sand, or we can be faithful and seek that better way ...

In 1963, from a Jail cell The Rev. Martin Luther King jr penned his reply to the Clergy who no doubt wanted him to move on and let go. They likely also felt that his incarceration was fully justified and RIGHT.

Sometimes the majority is simply, utterly wrong ... and the letter written on April 12th 1963 lays that reality bare:

A Call for Unity

We the undersigned clergymen are among those who, in January, issued "an appeal for law and order and common sense," in dealing with racial problems in Alabama. We expressed understanding that honest convictions in racial matters could properly be pursued in the courts, but urged that decisions of those courts should in the meantime be peacefully obeyed.

Since that time there had been some evidence of increased forbearance and a willingness to face facts. Responsible citizens have undertaken to work on various problems which cause racial friction and unrest. In Birmingham, recent public events have given indication that we all have opportunity for a new constructive and realistic approach to racial problems.

However, we are now confronted by a series of demonstrations by some of our Negro citizens, directed and led in part by outsiders. We recognize the natural impatience of people who feel that their hopes are slow in being realized. But we are convinced that these demonstrations are unwise and untimely.

We agree rather with certain local Negro leadership which has called for honest and open negotiation of racial issues in our area. And we believe this kind of facing of issues can best be accomplished by citizens of our own metropolitan area, white and Negro, meeting with their knowledge and experience of the local situation. All of us need to face that responsibility and find proper channels for its accomplishment.

Just as we formerly pointed out that "hatred and violence have no sanction in our religious and political traditions," we also point out that such actions as incite to hatred and violence, however technically peaceful those actions may be, have not contributed to the resolution of our local problems. We do not believe that these days of new hope are days when extreme measures are justified in Birmingham.

We commend the community as a whole, and the local news media and law enforcement officials in particular, on the calm manner in which these demonstrations have been handled. We urge the public to continue to show restraint should the demonstrations continue, and the law enforcement officials to remain calm and continue to protect our city from violence.

We further strongly urge our own Negro community to withdraw support from these demonstrations, and to unite locally in working peacefully for a better Birmingham. When rights are consistently denied, a cause should be pressed in the courts and in negotiations among local leaders, and not in the streets. We appeal to both our white and Negro citizenry to observe the principles of law and order and common sense.

Signatories
C. C. J. Carpenter, D.D., LL.D., Bishop of Alabama
Joseph A. Durick, D.D., Auxiliary Bishop, Diocese of Mobile, Birmingham
Rabbi Milton L. Grafman, Temple Emanu-El, Birmingham, Alabama
Bishop Paul Hardin, Bishop of the Alabama-West Florida Conference
Bishop Nolan B. Harmon, Bishop of the North Alabama Conference of the Methodist Church
George M. Murray, D.D., LL.D., Bishop Coadjutor, Episcopal Diocese of Alabama
Edward V. Ramage, Moderator, Synod of the Alabama Presbyterian Church in the United States
Earl Stallings, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Birmingham, Alabama

Got Your Toque ????

Today - Tuesday February 3rd is Raising The Roof's Toque Tuesday, wherein they challenge Canadians for the 13th consecutive year to "wear your toque proudly ... to show you care about Canada's Homeless !!!"

Click here to visit Raising The Roof's Toque Campaign Website. Check out the public service announcement video on the side bar link too !!

And today wear your toque to show you care!!!

Flute's even getting in on it !!! She got her hat in Brandon at Home Depot ...

Read the press release on Toque Tuesday by clicking here.

Hmmm ... maybe it's time ...

Let's see ... slashed tires ... shots at my house and my vehicle ... anonymous calls to Children and Family services levelling false accusations of beating and abusing my children ... hate-filled anonymous emails accusing me of all manner of action and sin ... gossip and lies being told and re-told around a community ... a shattered reputation and the loss of my job to say nothing of my career ... bearing the lions' share of the blame when small minded toxic souls are allowed to continue thier reign of terror and error unfettered ... and a totally unresponsive and uncaring Presbytery and Conference when these things are occurring ...

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Then like a cherry on top of a nasty unpalatable sundae, my colleagues continue to BLAME me for all that occurred in Minnedosa rather than hearing the voices from within the community and those who have experienced the EXACT same thing over and over ...

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Today I had a conversation with someone who not only understands what I've been through, and the experiences that the last three years represents, they have first hand knowledge of the places and personalities involved ... and they came inviting me to re-consider my opposition to the Unionizing of the Clergy of the United Church of Canada ... after a long and frank conversation and the reflective review of what I had endured at the hands of a "caring, inclusive and liberal" denomination, I can't help but wonder if it may be time ...

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Time to seek justice in the Church.

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Time to cast my lot in with the Union movement ... if the last three years have taught me nothing else, it has taught me that Clergy are disposable in the eyes of the Church, and there is simply no justice in that ...

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And JUSTICE is foundational to our faith ... and perhaps the ONLY way for that to happen is by Unionizing the Clergy and protecting others from the abuse and violence to the body and soul that I and others have endured ...

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Time to break free of the box ...

The lot in Minnedosa still sits vacant ... I've heard people say - "well, we'll have nice windows and a great piano ... but no where to put them ..."

I've heard other people say, "why both building it at all? We don't want to go there any more any way ..."

And I've lost track of the number of folks who have said to me that the outcome of my ministry in Minnedosa was NOT what they wanted ... "a shitty deal" was the latest label applied by a now former member of the congregation who said "they won't see a penny of my money now ..." Sadly, this is not the first time I've heard this ... and yet those voices are continuing to be ignored and overlooked ...

Aside from wondering where there is JUSTICE in any of this, I weep for what might have been ...

But, my role in the drama that is Minnedosa United Church and its attempt at rebuilding has drawn to a close. Despite pleas from many voices in the Minnedosa area to establish an independent congregation where they can worship and feel included, the time is fast approaching when I will close the back doors on a moving van and pull up my roots and leave the toxicity of Minnedosa behind ... I want to see these excluded, rejected and marginalized people included ... but the Greater Church in its infinite wisdom has chosen to marginalize me along with them, and cast us all out into the darkness in the hopes that the neat, tight and convenient story that the "good" folks of Minnedosa tell themselves will not be challenged ...

I can't help but wonder though - WHY ARE WE SO HELL BENT ON PRESERVING THE STATUS QUO? and WHY DON'T WE TRY TO REVISION THE CHURCH BEYOND THE REBUILDING OF A BUILDING THAT WILL INVOKE MEMORIES OF WHAT ONCE WAS, BUT THAT WAS LOST TO THE FIRE??

ALL over the world there are example after example of Churches facing the changing community around them by embracing that change and stepping outside the heavy wooden doors that keep our sanctuaries safe and comfortable, and meeting the community on their terms.

Today I read with interest a posting at "A Church for Starving Artists" that mused on the use of Church space, property and resources to be MORE than just a worship and meeting space for Congregations. How do we better utilize the resources we have was the underlying questions with Jan reflecting on WHAT WE COULD BE DOING. It's a very good and very eloquent posting well worth checking out ... (click here for the post)

I have recently explored examples where Church Congregations have chosen openly and willingly to rethink their physical requirements to move beyond the creation of under-utilized worship space. It begins with the decision to create a multi-use space that can be adapted for any number of uses.

It continues when you chose NOT to install fixed pews, but rather use seating that can be moved and altered easily, or even removed.

It reaches its culmination when the "welcome" sign that is hung on the door is NOT conditional and so amended with rules and regulations, but rather keeps the doors open and the building vital and alive to the community around it ...

The boldness of this way of envisioning church space is being found increasingly in groups like the Scottish Churches Housing Action who are finding amazingly creative ways of transforming Church space into usable HOUSING through out Scotland.

In Canada McClure United in Winnipeg and Parkdale United in Toronto and their Green Phoenix project stand as just two examples of what is possible when Churches are bold enough to accept their reality and begin to think outside the box.

And my absolute favourite example is St Matthew's Community Church (Anglican) on Maryland in Winnipeg has the audacity to propose building 21 affordable housing units INSIDE their sanctuary space to serve the people of the Spence Neighbourhood. Recognizing that they are a people out of space, in that they are a tiny worshipping congregation in a vast and cavernous building, they have brought in partner congregations to share their space, they have converted their basement to a dynamic and lively community centre, and now, recognizing a need that sits on their door step, they are seeking to create living space filled with housing within a historical and majestic building !!

What better Sacred Space can there be than housing for the homeless and those at risk ???

To me groups like Habitat for Humanity are creating sacred space with each house or housing unit they provide to a needy family ... The Church backed Westminster Housing Society in Winnipeg with its commitment to affordable and secure housing in the inner-city neighbourhoods is creating sacred space with each house and housing unit they renovate and create and offer to those in need ... AND Our Place in Victoria BC that provides food and shelter to the most vulnerable and marginalized is more of what Sacred Space is supposed to be than any example one can find under the auspices of the United Church ...

Yet in the majority of our Congregations, Minnedosa United Church included, there is a definite LACK OF VISION and COURAGE. Rather than embracing what will be, nostalgia kicks in, and what once was is recreated in a more modern efficient version ...

It's immensely sad ... a vacant lot sits on Main St in Minnedosa ... one segment of the congregation wants to build a recreation of the church that was ... one segment of the congregation sits bewildered and brutalized by the machinations that have transpired and lead to the dismissal of the minister ... and one segment of the congregation has simply thrown up their hands and walked away ... add to this a community that has failed to understand much less comprehend what has transpired ... members of the community who have actively engaged in creating, perpetuating and sharing toxic and untrue rumours, gossip and stories ... and too many community people for whom the last two and a half years are a familiar story in the life of Minnedosa and the United Church (a story that has been oft repeated and never dealt with in an open and transparent way) and you have a vacant lot that represents much more than just the loss of a building ...

The vacant lot is a loss of hope ... a loss of potential ... and for many a loss of faith ... looking into the teary eyes of a church elder for whom "the church" has been a central component of her life and hear her say - "I don't really care any more because this is NOT what faith is about ..." breaks my heart ... and perhaps most sadly of all - it would seem I am the ONLY one who cares enough to listen. The Vacant Lot is a loss of what could have been if fairness, justice and OPENESS prevailed ...

In today's church is would see that the status quo must be maintained ... what was must be preserved ... and the way things were must be continued ... change and transformation have no place here ... the Church leadership can not be proven WRONG.

And yet, every day the vacant lot where the Church once stood stands as a stark reminder that failing to embrace reality as it is, and thinking in new ways as we move into the future will merely make the Church increasingly irrelevant and unimportant ... we can wrap ourselves in the comfort of believing the story we tell ourselves - but as I've noted in my readings and reflections of Tolle - when it is the ego and the pain-body fueling the moment - the falsity of the story is never challenged ... and the truth is never set free ...

Thinking outside the box is happening ALL around us ... the call of faith is clear ... our challenge is to embrace that change and to step not just outside the box, but to leave the safe comfortable confines of the box far behind ... We don't need new sanctuary spaces ... we need sacred spaces where ALL people feel welcome and included, not just the chosen few ...

That is perhaps the hardest lessons for a Faith Community to learn ... I know that today in Minnedosa, there are many who understand it ... but those holding tightly to the reigns of power have yet to hear it, much less listen to it ...

But ALL of this is in the hands of the Spirit ... and the Spirit will come and recreate the Church, not as fragile human egos envision it, but as God does ... and that is perhaps the BEST NEWS OF ALL!!!

Come Holy Spirit Come!!!

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What Would Jesus Do?

Yesterday over at The laughing pastor, Pastor Blake mused aloud about the tension between being passionate and compassionate focusing on the question - "what would Jesus do?" in regards to the problem of homelessness ...

Beyond an obvious resonance with the whole issue of homelessness, I began wondering about the question "what would Jesus do?" and how that could be applied to modern life in more than a superficial - "LOOK at how Pious I am" kind of way ... I wonder how the Modern Church would stand up to such a rigorous measure of faith ...

Working to address issues of homelessness and poverty I marvel at the mediocre support afforded to social and outreach programmes like food banks, soup kitchens and emergency shelters by our faith communities. These programmes have become vital to the survival of too many amongst us and yet they function on a razor thin margin of donations from other charities, rather than sustainable and assured funding. ... Too often Churches practise 'cheque book charity' wherein they offer a small cash donation to appease their conscience while hunkering down in their "homes" taking stock of their toys and investments and hoping the poor among us will stay away ... I don't have to even ask - "what would Jesus do?" ... I know the answer ... he would deal with our modern Churches and their stinginess in the same way he spoke to the people of Nazareth, Chorazim and Bethsaida ... his words would sting ... but the truth would be undeniable ...

Having experienced a vast spectrum of violence against my person, ranging from libelous and slanderous emails sent out to my friends and associates, a slashed tire, shots fired at my home and vehicle, threats uttered, rude gestures, physical intimidation and last week being forced off the road ... I don't ponder 'what would Jesus do?' in regards to the small-minded perpetrators of these actions, but rather I would posit on the shoulders of those who have closed their eyes to the utter nonsense enacted by others ... The leadership of the Church in Minnedosa who said so flippantly - "oh, that didn't happen ..." or "that's not because of the Church" have never wrestled with the question - 'what would Jesus do?', for Jesus would not side with the malicious perpetrator of violence, but would stand in the middle with a firm and resolute - "STOP!" ... He, like ALL people of faith, would condemn the violence and toxicity, and not deny it, or worse enable it by doing NOTHING to confront the perpetrators and call them to account ... but alas, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that too often the very people who SHOULD and COULD stand opposed to the violence physical, spiritual and emotional, are often part of the cause ... and have themselves shared in the mob mentality that has created this milieu ...

Looking more deeply at my former Pastoral Charge and its earnest yearning to rebuild the structure it lost in 2006 to arson, I wonder what would Jesus do?? Would he continue to press forward blithely pretending that ALL is WELL, and that the building should and could continue? Or would he recognize the anguished voices of pain that are crying out from the margins of that Community of faith, and pause to rebuild the SPIRIT and the HEART of the community before trying to build a building?? I hearken back to a comment by a ministerial colleague who, as the crises that lead to my departure began to unfold said softly - "Shawn, the new building will never rise on the corner until the Spirit wills it to happen, and until Minnedosa United Church heals the rift within its souls and brings its congregation back together, there will be no building ..." Two years on, his words sound prophetic and accurate ... One can not build a "Church" if the heart of the community is rent and broken ... and I hear from too many people for whom the Church is no longer home, to see a Community of Faith building a new structure to house itself ...

Wandering the streets of Minnedosa, I have marvelled at the "warm and welcoming" responses I continue to receive from the citizens of the community ... averted glances, avoidance and outright shunning are common ... many of those who become visibly uncomfortable are the "good" church folks who have lapped up the vicious and UNTRUE rumours, gossip and innuendo that has been spread far and wide and accepted as fact ... I have mused countless times - "what would Jesus do?" if he heard the untruths and lies being perpetuated and spread - would he pass them on, or would he put his foot down and take a stand ... I opt for the latter ... unfortunately the cowardice and complacency of the Church, particularly the Church in Minnedosa has chosen to spread the rumours and add to them ...

What would Jesus do is a hard question ... it takes to the heart of our faith and our understanding of who and what Jesus was about. If ours is a 'gentle Jesus, meek and mild,' our response will be bland and beige and insipid, but if ours is a Jesus of action - the guy who kicked over the tables in the temple, and who confronted the crowds by challenging the status quo ... our response to the question would be life-altering and passionate ...

Jesus' compassion was not merely worn on his sleeve and hauled out at opportune moments ... his compassion under girded his passion and was motivated by his faith, and by his desire to the see the world more closely aligned with the Kingdom of God as he understood it ... a place of radical inclusion ... a place of healing and wholeness ... a place of boundless GRACE.

The church divided is not a place of Grace.

A church that averts its eyes to even one member is not a place of Grace.

A church that casts out one for any reason is not a place of Grace.

A church that relishes rumours and gossip over truth is not a place of Grace.

A church that prioritizes being a social club over changing the social order is not a place of Grace.

A church that will not live its faith and welcome in ALL people is not a place of Grace.

A church that lacks Grace is not a church at all ...

And today a vacant lot in Minnedosa reminds many of the cost of losing Grace ...

What would Jesus do?? It's a terribly uncomfortable question for those among us for whom faith is nothing more than a label we wear ... fortunately, there is ample evidence that faith is FAR MORE than just a label ... poverty, homelessness, inclusion, living the welcome ... the issues that we confront in our daily lives, and how we live our lives are all indicators of our faith ...

Looking around in today's world ... many of us are not even willing to consider the simple question - "what would Jesus do?" much less live an answer that sees us embodying Jesus's message in our day to day lives ...

There's some work to do ... and regrettably, the whisper - "what would Jesus do?" has been lost ... but we are a people of the Resurrection, and the Resurrection is about new life, even in the face of death ... As Bishop Desmond Tutu once said to a crowd gathered under the nose of the Apartheid regime of South Africa - that which opposes the Will of God will not prevail ... Tutu even brashly invited the police recording his sermon to "come and join the winning side" because they had already lost. Many years later his words proved prophetic ... that which opposed the will of God - a will of inclusion, welcome, justice, fairness and most of all LOVE had fallen and in its place arose, with hopeful optimism the possibility of MORE ...

At the end of the day, it's all about faith ... faith without works is dead, and works that are NOT faithful and faith-FILLED are dead ...

What would Jesus do ??? ... he would live his faith and expect no less from us ...

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When there is a problem in the world ...

I found this image last week as I was beginning my new work adventure ... It struck me then, as now as an ICONIC visual of what homelessness in Canada can truly mean ...

The mean streets are down right vicious when it is in the minus temps, the snow is falling and the wind is howling ... and yet for thousands of people across this nation, this is the simple reality they find themselves having to endure ... We need to stop asking "WHY?" ... and embrace fully the notion of Housing First, in our collective efforts to address not just homelessness, but also hunger, poverty, and the housing crises that are gripping our nation ...

As I've considered this image, and shared it with those I am working with I keep recalling the words of Palestinian Melikite Priest Father Elias Chacour, who in his book Blood Brothers, shared the following story:

My mentor shared the story; "... if there is a problem somewhere , this is whathappens. Three people will try to do something concrete to settle the issue. Ten people will give a lecture analyzing what the three are doing. One hundred people will commend or codemn the ten for their lecture. One thousand people will argue about the problem. And ONE PERSON - ONLY ONE - will involve himself so deeply in the true solution that he will be too busy to listen to any of it ... NOW," he asked gently, his penetrating eyes meeting each of ours in turn, "which person are you?"

It remains a question that haunts me ... which person shall I be ???

Which person are you ???