My most cherished nativity scene (of which I have many!) is one from Malawi that I brought back with me in 1998. This nativity scene almost got me arrested — or worse! Let me tell you the tale. I'd spent over two weeks visiting mission … Read more
Pregnant with our last child, I begged my husband to stop sending the Unwed Mother Worker from her job with Children's Aid to visit me whenever she was near the tiny village where we lived temporarily. My husband was her boss, so she had … Read more
Decorating the Christmas tree is an integral part of the celebrations each year. I once helped out at a commercial Christmas tree farm near Ottawa, Canada, in December. It was an impressive operation: planting spruce, balsam fir, and pine … Read more
Do you enjoy Christmas decorations and lights as much as I do? When I see the gentle snowflakes falling and accumulating on the branches and outdoor decor, I can't help but be thankful for such beauty! But, in reality, even though these … Read more
The gifts circled the tree in a wide radius and reached toward the ceiling. Early Christmases escape my memory, but the later ones I remember fondly. My grandmother worked at the local hospital as a nursing assistant, and my grandfather … Read more
Recently, I listened to an episode of the BBC series, A History of the World. It described an amazing sculpture, The Throne of Weapons. In 1992, an Anglican bishop, Rt. Rev. Dinis Sengulane, one of Africa's greatest peacemakers, … Read more
As we walk through the store aisles, the girls scan the rows for all the latest toys arriving for the Christmas season. Their anticipation of what lies ahead in a few more weeks is piqued high with excitement. They are waiting — waiting … Read more
A year ago, early in Advent, on December 3, 2020, I took part in a Zoom dialogue with our Prime Minister and 400 faith leaders from across Canada. "I have been proud of our fellow Canadians to make it through this pandemic, but we have … Read more
When I studied preaching at seminary, we had the opportunity to spend three hours with Marshall McLuhan, who coined the phrase, "The medium is the message." In 1964, he proposed that the form of the message determines the way in which that … Read more