I have cherished memories from my earliest days, memories I return to more often the older I get. One of the greatest treats of childhood was taking the train from Summerside to Coleman on Prince Edward Island, Canada. The train was magical, but what awaited us at the train stop was even more so. As the train halted for the minute or two it took us to get off, we could see in the distance a horse and sled driven by my Uncle Lawson. He had just driven through the woods from the Brae nearby, which was our destination for the day. Much begging on my part had him agree I could take the reins for the trip home. My uncle turned to my apprehensive mother and said, "Don't worry, the horse knows the way home."

Decades later, the memory still warms a winter's day. What warms my heart even more is the assurance that I have One Who knows the way home and promises to get me there safely. I don't need to be troubled or worried about getting lost. I often think I have the reins in my hands and everything is up to me, but, just like my uncle smiled at my confidence that I was in control, Jesus has a smile or two for me and for you as He reminds us that He knows the way, that He is the Way.

2 Corinthians 5:1 – For we know that if the tent, our earthly home, is torn down, we have a building from God — a home not made with human hands, eternal in the heavens. (TLV)

Prayer: God, even the word "home" resonates with us as we consider its deeper meaning in our lives, the importance of belonging, of welcome, of family. We are grateful that our final home is in Your love, for that is where our hearts are. So, we ask that our hearts be not troubled today as we travel toward home. Amen.

"The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned." – Maya Angelou

Refugees — the same today,
all yearning for new life,
leaving countries so war-torn,
escaping from the strife.

Refugees — we welcome them
as they begin anew.
We show hospitality
and love in what we do.

       – John Wesley Oldham

World Refugee Day, declared by the United Nations to be marked on June 20, is a call for communities around the world to work toward peace and security for all, remembering especially the millions of people who are displaced or forcibly uprooted from their homes. This year, in particular, we remember those in Gaza and throughout Palestine, the very land from which Jesus had to flee. Jesus Himself began life as a refugee Who escaped with His family from the violence of King Herod to the unfamiliar landscape of Egypt. We sometimes forget that no one is a refugee by choice, and as the church of Jesus Christ, it is part of our mandate to reach out to refugees, to pray for their welfare, and to seek solutions to the conditions that create the refugee crisis in the first place. So many of our churches have made the support of refugees a prime ministry and mission. I still celebrate those efforts by my former church in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and the work that my wife was able to do with churches in nearby Dartmouth. We give thanks for their commitment and dedication! We are grateful for the open doors that our country makes possible for people who are experiencing war, the effects of climate change, and the turmoil that is found throughout the world.

"Migrants and refugees, despite the pains and losses that come with our displacement, can rejoice. We, the displaced, are not alone. God is with us everywhere — in both the old country and the new, in both lamentation and praise, in both rootedness and displacement." – Hannah Keziah Agustin, What does it mean to follow God in our displacement?

Prayer: God, be with the refugee, the displaced, the migrant, seeking a place in a world that makes little room for them. May we be agents of Your love to all such people as given opportunity. Amen.

Years ago, I was on a summer placement in the backwoods of Nova Scotia, Canada. Believe it or not, the phones were the old crank style and, more amazing, connected everyone in the community so that any and all could listen. No conversation could be considered private. While there, I received a call informing me of my uncle's death. For the next week, I was offered condolences from almost every member of my small community, even though I had not shared that information with anyone!

Party line! Listening in was quite a pastime for many. People tend to speak more guardedly when they know that their conversation is being overheard. This event actually saved me many embarrassing moments for the rest of the summer, as I was aware that every word spoken would be heard throughout the community.

Now, fast forward twenty years to the decade that I spent being a "party liner" as a reporter for the CBC Radio show Information Morning in Nova Scotia. I shared news and information about our community to any and all who were listening, knowing that my words would be repeated over and over by early morning listeners to those who had missed it. I was often "the talk of the town", and that was exactly what I wanted.

People listened in on Jesus as He shared the message of God's love. Sometimes, He was simply talking to His disciples privately — or maybe not so privately — and He would make things plain to them.

Mark 4:33-34 – With many stories like these, he presented his message to them, fitting the stories to their experience and maturity. He was never without a story when he spoke. When he was alone with his disciples, he went over everything, sorting out the tangles, untying the knots. (MSG)

Jesus used stories as the vehicle to spread His message.

Mark 5:19b-20 – "Go home to your own people. Tell them your story — what the Master did, how he had mercy on you." The man went back and began to preach in the Ten Towns area about what Jesus had done for him. He was the talk of the town. (MSG)

There are times when gossip can be embarrassing, as when I received that call many years ago. There are other times, as when I was a "party liner", that the story is meant to be shared far and wide.

We have a story to tell, and we hope that others will be listening in! "I love to tell the story of unseen things above, of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love." (Katherine Hankey)

Prayer: God, help us to be sensitive to the need for privacy, but also help us to realize that the gospel is always personal, but never private. Help us to share the good news wherever we go. Amen.

Have you ever heard of the Tree of Heaven? What a beautiful name! The scientific name is Ailanthus altissima. Native to China, it is now found worldwide, often appearing as an invasive species. It is said to symbolize perseverance and hope amidst hardship. That sounds good until you realize that this tree often causes hardship for native plants, choking out flora and fauna with thick growth and rapid reproduction. National Geographic actually calls the Tree of Heaven "a hellish invasive species". So, how did it get its name? The name appears to come from the tree's ability to reach up to the sky very quickly, so that makes some sense and maybe explains why many folks in British Columbia, Canada, cultivated it, at least for a while. It has also been called the Paradise Tree. Where it has shown its deadlier side it gets names like varnish tree, copal tree and stinking sumac — names not so complimentary!

What's in a name? That's a good question. I am writing this the day before the birthday of our firstborn, a son. We had waited more than seven years for him. We wanted to spend time in thought and prayer before we gave him a name that would be part of his identification for the rest of his life. The hospital had other ideas. We were politely told that we could not take home our new bundle of joy until he was properly named. So much for deep thought and prayer!

We had a couple of days before my wife would be released and this gave us a little time to try to get this right. After all, we had never done this before. Newborn son, as the prophet of old said, we "called you by name; you are mine"!

As we signed out of the hospital, we proudly spoke his name for the first time to others: Jonathan David Kenneth Stright. His name embodied a biblical promise and a heritage from both sides of his family, and the hospital was satisfied enough to let us go.

That baby has grown into a wonderful man who brings honour to the four names that identify him! God has given us such a blessing in him, and he remains beloved of God and beloved by his parents, sisters, wife and all who know him. He is a comely man!

We are invited to remember that we are beloved of God and that we have been called by name. The names of those who answer His call are written in the Book of Life. Thanks be to God Who makes all this possible through Jesus Christ Who calls us His friends!

Prayer: You have called me by my name even in my mother's womb, and You have walked with me all the days of my life. I am grateful, Lord God, that You know me and love me and call me by name. Amen.

Of late, I have become somewhat obsessed with the dawn, the morning clothed in ever-changing radiance, which I have captured scores of times with my camera — and still, I cannot do it justice. One of my favourite shots is of the first sliver that heralds the dawn, that moment when the world is still in total darkness, yet, without a doubt, the end of the night is guaranteed by that barely discernible glow. That glow changes everything.

There is a story from the Hasidic tradition about a rabbi who was asked one day by a student, "How can one tell when the new day has come?"

The rabbi reversed the question and asked his student, "You tell me how you can know."

The student guessed, "Is it when the rooster crows to signal a new dawn?"

"No," the rabbi answered.

"Is it then perhaps when one can discern the silhouette of a tree against the sky?"

"No," he was told.

"The surest way to know when the night is over and when a new day has come is when you can look into the face of a stranger, one who is so different from you, and recognize him as your brother. See her as your sister. Until that day comes, it will always be night."

The dawn broke for us when the glimmer of light first came in the Word made flesh. All the powers of the night were futile with the dawning of the age of the Son of God.

With this dawning day, we are invited, once again, to see the face of Christ in everyone we meet, and to pray that everyone we meet may see even a glimmer of the Christ in us.

Prayer: Let the rain come and wash away the ancient grudges, the bitter hatreds held and nurtured over generations. Let the rain wash away the memory of the hurt, the neglect. Then let the sun come out and fill the sky with rainbows. Let the warmth of the sun heal us wherever we are broken. Let it burn away the fog so that we can see each other clearly, so that we can see beyond labels, beyond accents, gender or skin colour. Let the warmth and brightness of the sun melt our selfishness, so that we can share the joys and feel the sorrows of our neighbours. And let the light of the sun be so strong that we will see all people as our neighbours. Let the earth, nourished by rain, bring forth flowers to surround us with beauty. And let the mountains teach our hearts to reach upward to heaven. Amen. – Rabbi Harold S. Kushner

Is there anything special about the address you call home? Today's verse suggests that it is no accident that you are where you are.

Since moving to Petpeswick Inlet, Nova Scotia, Canada, my wife Jeanne and I have developed a daily practice. Each day begins with our morning prayer over food, including thanksgiving for place — this place in which we live and move and have our being during most days. Our day ends by going out to our deck overlooking the inlet and simply absorbing the land and seascape before us with a silent and not so silent prayer to the Creator of the land before us, the waters of the inlet, and the star-studded sky above us. We encourage one another and celebrate the "boundaries of the places where [we] live". This place helps us "search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him — though indeed he is not far from each one of us."

Placefulness is simply a word inviting us to be aware of where we live and to connect with the creation immediately around us. It is more than awareness, in that it is the beginning of a contemplative practice of placefulness. Like any spirituality worth its salt, that means integrating the good, the bad and the ugly in the places that we live, especially as climate change takes a deeper hold on the world.

How might the idea of placefulness affect our approach to our meditative and prayer life? On a very earthly level, placefulness invites us to get to know better the place that we call home and how we can be good stewards. Connect with all the living things around you, from the grasses that grow and the birds that soar, to the people who make up your community. Do you ever think of the impact that your daily living has on the immediate world around you, like where your garbage and recycling goes and where your sewer flows? To celebrate Earth Week (April 21-28), a faith-based coalition is engaged in For the Love of Creation which takes us beyond our immediate "place" to the entire creation that God has given us.

There are times when I find myself breathless as I look at the world around me and in awe of the beauty that the Creator authored from the beginning of time.

This earth may not be our home, as the old hymn reminds us, but it is the place that God has planted us, rooted us, and given us the task to nourish and tend. "To be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognized need of the human soul." (Simone Weil)

Prayer: God, You've placed us here on this plot of holy ground, and we give You thanks. In deepest gratitude, we acknowledge Your presence in this place, in every rock and reef, in every season and solstice. Amen.

Can you see them — three little plants poking out of the ground? They are strange sisters, but sisters indeed. Like sisters at their best, they support and encourage one another. First, sister corn pokes out of the ground and begins a journey that will take her six or seven or even eight feet into the air. Next, comes sister bean, who needs a helping hand to leave the ground and climb to the heights. Finally, sister squash joins her sisters and spreads broad leaves over them all, helping to keep down weeds and retain moisture.

It's spring, and time for my Three Sisters Garden, a gardening technique taught to us by Indigenous people, who gave this type of gardening a spiritual significance, as the three sisters are seen as gifts from the Creator to sustain life on earth. Not only does each plant support the efforts of the others, but also when harvested and eaten together, corn and beans have all the amino acids of a complete protein with squash adding sweetness and further nutrition, making an ideal vegetarian meal.

The Bible teaches the importance of the gifts that God has given us, which support each other in helping us to be all that we were meant to be as we grow into the people God would have us to be. Such an expression of interdependence can be found throughout the Bible in such places as Micah 6:8b – "What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (NRSV) The number three is often a sign of completion in the Bible.

Today, consider how to cultivate three biblical sisters into your daily walk with Christ: faith, hope, and love. They are the foundation of Christianity and have been expressed in symbols representing each: the cross for faith, the anchor for hope, and the heart for love.

Remember back in the day when the airwaves played songs like The Bible Tells Me So, sung by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, with the lyrics, "Have faith, hope, and charity. That's the way to live successfully. How do I know? The Bible tells me so!"

That's a garden of gifts which, if allowed to grow, would produce an abundant harvest in a world hungry for the things of God!

Prayer: Day by day, dear Lord, of Thee three things I pray; to see Thee more clearly, to love Thee more dearly, to follow Thee more nearly, day by day. Amen. (attributed to Richard of Chichester, 13th century)