Staying put

Today was the day in the SA in Canada/Bermuda when officers would find out whether or not they are moving or not this year. We are not and happily enter year 9 of our time here in Elliot Lake. We are very happy with this as we are just in the middle of a time of great transition which we want to continue to be involved in. Added to that, I found out that one of my best friends from college days has been appointed (along with his family) to Sault Ste Marie. They’ve been in Flin Flon for the past 9 years, so we haven’t seen much of them recently. We look forward to lots of catching up.

If the moves are something that interest you click here.

Some random thoughts

The current economic situation should bring us freedom and simplicity, but for the people that I work for it seems to be bringing a barricading in mentality.

A cold shower first thing in the morning can be a good thing, but it’s not best if it is spraying out of the back of the toilet.

I dislike being told that I ‘have to participate’ in something that I believe is not good for me or for those around me.

The one good thing about the Leafs always missing the play-offs is that it frees up my evenings after the first week of April.

Reading books can seriously challenge one’s complacency and that’s what I like the most about it.

If I’d known what I know now, I may not have chosen the path that I did, but did I really have a choice at the time?

‘Unknown Caller’ is one of the best U2 songs ever.

It all boils down to ‘Love God and love your neighbour as yourself’. Without that nothing else really matters or makes a difference.

Happy Easter!

Spine Beach - Easter 2009

I managed to get up in time this morning to head down to one of the local beaches for a sunrise service at 6.40am, which was led by the local United Church. It was a bit chilly, but there was no wind, so it was a fairly pleasant morning. About 30 of us huddled together and shared in song and prayer as we celebrated our risen Lord. If we’d wanted, we could’ve literally still walked on the water today. We then all headed back to the United Church for some well-appreciated coffee, hot cross buns and Finnish bread. It was a great start to the day and by the time I got home the rest of the family were up and had some freshly baked croissants waiting for me.

This morning was our final gathering in our present location. We were expecting it to be fairly low key, as we knew there were a few who would be away for Easter. To our surprise the place was fairly packed and it was a very uplifting time of sharing together for the last time on Dieppe Ave. During the sharing time there was a good mixture of memories, Easter experiences and hopes for the future. Then most people just hung around and fellowshipped over coffee, tea, cake, vegetables and cookies.

Our new location is not ready yet, but we felt that Easter Sunday would be a good time to bring our present location and what we do there to an end. We might be able to gather in our new place on the first Sunday of May, if all goes according to plan. If not then we will definitely be fully moved in before the grand opening on May23. Some people have been worried about what to do in the next few weeks as far as getting together goes. In response a few people have offered their houses for informal gatherings over the next few weeks. This will hopefully give people a taste of the informal more ‘organic’ type of gatherings that we hope to have in our new place, where we hope to move towards a model of the ‘priesthood of all believers’ that goes beyond the talk to actual practice.

Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, however you celebrate, I trust that you have a blessed and happy Easter.

A question?

Earlier this week I was given cause, by an English friend of mine, to reflect upon an ethics paper I wrote a couple of years ago on the topic of same-sex marriage. Having reflected upon what I wrote, I feel that my approach to the topic was fairly compassionate and, hopefully, in line with the way in which Jesus would have his followers live in this world today.

As I thought about this topic again, it got me thinking about how unfortunate and sad it is that the two hot-button topics (same-sex partnerships and abortion) that seem to define Christianity in the minds of the general public are things that didn’t seem to be on Jesus’ mind as he ministered on this earth almost 2,000 years ago. So my question is this:

Why, as Christians, have we allowed two seemingly non-issues in the mind of Jesus paint a distorted picture of what is supposed to be the greatest message of love ever, ignoring very often the things that Jesus actually commanded us to do?