We cannot say we value rest when those who are bound by disease, prejudice, oppression, inequality or our ignorance are excluded from experiencing rest. It is exactly our conviction about the sabbath—holistic, restorative rest–that motivates our work for healing, release and justice. We cannot say we value rest when some among us are excluded from experiencing that rest because of something that is limiting their wholeness. Continue reading
Pentecost 8c Luke 12:13-21 Preached at Hilldale Lutheran Church, Thunder Bay, on the occasion of a pastor’s retirement Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus. Amen. In our gospel reading today, Jesus is speaking to his disciples as a crowd gathers. Jesus knows that his time with them will… Continue reading
Trinity Sunday–Year CJune 12, 2022Sherwood Park Lutheran Church, Winnipeg, Manitoba Today is Trinity Sunday—a day to focus on a concept that we use to explain what we know is complex and unexplainable. We can’t confine the Trinity—this idea that God is 3 separate but united ‘persons’—to one Sunday. Just like we… Continue reading
Day of Pentecost-Year CActs 2:1-21; John 14: 8-17 [25-27]Brandon Lutheran Church, Brandon, Manitoba Grace, mercy and peace to you in the name of Jesus. Amen. Today, we come to the end of the Easter season. Pentecost Sunday is the 50th day of the Easter season, the season that began with Mary… Continue reading
Easter 7CJohn 17:17-24May 29, 2022 Grace, mercy and peace to you in the name of Jesus, Amen. Today is the final Sunday in the season of Easter. But instead of a resurrection story, our gospel reading today takes us back to the evening before Jesus is arrested, tried and crucified. In John’s… Continue reading
Easter 5CMay 15, 2022John 13:31-35 Although we are in the season of Easter, our gospel reading goes back to the night the disciples are gathered in the upper room with Jesus, which we also read on Maundy Thursday. He hasn’t been arrested yet, but he seems to know that something is… Continue reading
A sermon based on Mark 10:35-45, Oct. 17, 2021 If your home was anything like mine, there was more than one sibling spat about who got to sit where. I grew up with brothers, and we would regularly compete for the best seats at the table, in the car, or even… Continue reading
We don’t need new programs, expensive curriculum, or charismatic staff to nurture and support faith formation with children. We also don’t need to hold on to metrics of success anchored in old models. We DO need to clarify our purpose for wanting to engage children, become comfortable telling our own stories of transformation, take seriously the promises we say together at baptism, regenerate a commitment to tend to our own faith, and continue to respond to the Holy Spirit’s presence in our communities. Continue reading
a reflection prepared for a service of remembrance marking 2 years of pandemic. Organized by the spiritual care department at the University of Manitoba. March 2022. What is hope? Hope is stepping into a new job and a new community—even during a pandemic. It’s forming relationships and making connections through Zoom,… Continue reading
This devotion was initially created for publication in Eternity for Today, a devotional resource from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, for the week of March 12, 2022 Psalm 63:1-8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. (Ps. 63:8) Do you remember learning how to ride a… Continue reading