Spirited Reflections
Spirited Reflection: Pondering the apocalypse
November 14, 2018
Mark 13:1 As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” 2 Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will…
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Spirited Reflection: Finding Rev Saul in Muddy Waters
November 7, 2018
In my work with Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) over the past 10 years, I have become very aware of the influence that Christianity has had in colonization around the world. Through the voices of our partners from Colombia, Iraqi Kurdistan,…
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Spirited Reflection: Unbinding All Saints
November 1, 2018
Recently, news has come to us from a global partner, news of the increased threat of violence to them for their important work for human rights and peace. The situation is so fraught that I feel unable to share the…
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Spirited Reflection: Ancestors, spirits and reconciliation
October 29, 2018
Reconciliation is a huge task, a deep responsibility, a seven-generation work of covenant renewal. Reconciliation involves decolonization and reparation. It calls for a massive act, or series of acts, of confession and (hopefully) forgiveness. There are no short cuts, and…
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Spirited Reflection: Getting past ecological grief
October 12, 2018
On a cool, windy afternoon in early September, speakers took to the microphone at Waterloo Public Square joining people on seven continents to “Rise for Climate.” When two young adults took their turns, their tears and cracked voices stirred something…
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Just and inclusive tables: KAIROS Thanksgiving video message
October 4, 2018
As Thanksgiving approaches, I would like to share with you a short video message about our common work of setting a just and inclusive table. I invite you to take a moment to watch it and share it with your…
Post filed in: Executive Director, Migrant Justice, Spirited Reflections
Spirited Reflection: Fruit Trees and Nuclear Weapons
September 22, 2018
September 26 is the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons – and in 2018, this is an exciting day. In recent years, the international focus on nuclear weapons has shifted away from the security concerns of nuclear-armed…
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Spirited Reflection: Orange Shirt Day
September 18, 2018
Orange Shirt Day is on Sunday, September 30. The day is inspired by Phyllis Jack Webstad’s experience. On her first day at residential school in 1973, Phyllis was stripped of her new orange shirt, a shirt that had brought her…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Spirited Reflections
Spirited Reflection: Youth and children: raising hope and making change
September 12, 2018
World Council of Churches Week of Prayer for Peace in Israel Palestine Timing is everything, so they say, and the truth of this applied in the coincidence of reading a review of a book about the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian…
Post filed in: Middle East, Spirited Reflections
Spirited Reflection: From reconciliation to reckoning
August 1, 2018
August 9th is the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, the day set aside by the United Nations to promote the protection of Indigenous rights and to mark the day, thirty-six years ago, that a working group focused on…
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Spirited Reflection: The grace of giving
June 28, 2018
Second Corinthians 8:7-15 talks about giving, and it has a message for us today. The church in Jerusalem had fallen on hard times financially. It started off great, with believers sharing everything they had in the belief that Christ would…
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Spirited Reflection: What do we pray for when we pray for peace?
June 24, 2018
Photo credit to Jonathan Sears. This year, some Muslims celebrated the end of the month of Ramadan under a cloud of fear, dislocation, and suffering. I’d been speaking again with a friend of twenty years from Mali, a majority-Sunni Muslim…
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Walking the Red Road – National Aboriginal Day (June 21st)
June 20, 2018
I thank Creator for making me who I am and guiding my steps as I try to walk “the Red Road” in “the Way of Jesus.” Then, I say thank you to the Mohawk people of the Iroquois Confederacy who…
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Psalm 138: Thanksgiving and Praise – of David
June 8, 2018
1 I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise; 2 I bow down towards your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness; for you have exalted…
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Spirited Reflection: Beholding a turtle
June 4, 2018
Sunning itself on a log near the shore of Six Mile Lake in Muskoka was a small turtle with its eyes closed. I crept up closely and gently picked up the turtle in my hand. Immediately, its little legs danced…
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Spirited Reflection: Finding ways to walk together in faith
May 23, 2018
Photo of The Rev Dr. Margaret Mullin was taken by Vivian Ketchum. Reconciliation between Indigenous People and the Church will be a centuries-long journey. I am committed to that journey by virtue of my DNA, Ojibway and Irish/Scottish I…
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Spirited Reflection: Wandering from post to post
May 2, 2018
Reflective people question everything. It came as no surprise when I set out to examine my theological assumptions. I am not sure if it was inspired by Phyllis Tickle’s idea that every five hundred years or so the church has…
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Spirited Reflection: For the beauty of the earth
April 18, 2018
Glistening pine needles, sunlight dancing; wind through trees, branches flailing wildly; chipmunks scampering over the forest floor; whitecaps whipping across blue waters; greyed white clouds scudding across blue skies; painters’ brush, daisies, poppies in woods and fields; green hills and…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Spirited Reflections
Spirited Reflection: Revaluing Creation – Looking towards Earth Day
April 9, 2018
Humans put value on Creation based on what it can do for us – how can it feed us? How can we sell it to grow the economy? This attitude – our present development model – has led to the…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Spirited Reflections
Easter video: Come and witness first light
March 27, 2018
Dear Friends, I invite you to take a moment to watch the KAIROS Easter video. Share it with your family and friends, post it on Facebook and tweet it. Share it on your congregation or community e-lists. Show it in…
Post filed in: Executive Director, Spirited Reflections
Spirited Reflection: Kenosis and Watersheds
March 19, 2018
Photo: Gordon Finney Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself… Philippians 2.5-7a,…
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Spirited Reflection: Renewing our relationship with the watershed
March 13, 2018
Wherever we live, we are part of a watershed. Watersheds are interdependent ecosystems nested within larger ecosystems, which are also watersheds. Tiny creeks and tributaries are nested within the watersheds around Hamilton, which are nested in the larger Great Lakes/St….
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Spirited Reflections
Spirited Reflection: Gun violence – where will we stand as a community of faith?
March 5, 2018
Yet another violent massacre has happened in a school, this time in Florida. Every week, every month, every year this happens, and on a gut level, it feels like it is happening on a more regular basis. Over the past few…
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Spirited Reflection: In an age of diversity, how do we deal with differences?
February 23, 2018
“Earlier this year, National Geographic put a call out to photographers from around the world to capture images that would close ‘a widening empathy gap between us and those who have life experiences that differ dramatically from our own’. The…
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Spirited Reflection: Coming down from the mountain
February 14, 2018
Have you ever been to a conference, retreat or gathering of like-minded souls, and wanted it to go on and on? A place where you felt understood, where you were with “your people”? A moment when you hear a speaker, a greater leader, that inspires and challenges…
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Spirited Reflection: Good News – Black History
February 14, 2018
Peter Haresnape has written a Bible Study Resource for Black History Month 2018 for those who, like him, are seeking to be allies to people of African descent. It is part of the materials created by the United Church of…
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Spirited Reflection: The gift of flexibility and softness in the face of injustice
February 1, 2018
When I think of my experience when it comes to generational wisdom, I feel slightly at a crossroad. In one sense, I can see that I have many people in my life who are mentors, whose wisdom I am still learning to recognize and appreciate. I…
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Spirited Reflection: Bearing witness to the light
January 30, 2018
I returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the spring of 2013, 17 years after my arrival in Canada as a refugee. The goal of my trip was to see my mother, whom I hadn’t seen in 21 years. I also wanted to…
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