The gene pool cards
“In your 50s, you find out what ‘cards’ you got in the gene pool,” I’ve heard it said. In the past year, this truism took on personal meaning. Unusual chest pains sent me to my doctor. The results of an EKG and a subsequent stress test—which I “failed”—revealed that my heart bears an unsurprising family…
Everything we need
“Pay now . . . or really pay later.” This recent Winnipeg Free Press headline pointed to the close relationship between investing in education and healthcare for the very young, and the lifelong costs of healthcare, crime prevention and social support required by those who fall through the cracks. The article’s message was clear: If…
Readers write: Jan. 6, 2014 issue
Daughter of Pembina Place resident disputes ‘quality of care’ comment Re: “Bethania Group dismisses CEO,” Oct. 14, 2013, page 23. I read with interest the article outlining steps Bethania and Pembina Place personal care homes will be taking to remedy the Ray Koop incident. My father was placed in Pembina Place two years ago due…
How the Grinch saved Christmas
Next to biblical nativity stories, How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss is one of my favourite seasonal tales. We read it as a family every Christmas Eve. While we typically view this vintage Dr. Seuss yarn as a reminder that there is more to Christmas than its trappings, it offers something unexpected too.…
Guadalupe: A story to heal a hemisphere
Every Advent I recall December 2003 when I found myself swept along in the tide of pilgrims advancing toward one of the world’s most visited holy sites. The crowds were drawn by the gravity of a story that dates back to 1531 and a little hill in Mexico. By 1531, colonization and Christianization of the…
Hope for a doubting disciple
We just got back from a church lunch. Sitting at our table was our young family, a couple in their early 30s and three people in their senior years: a couple and a widow. While our life situations were different, I am learning to pay attention to moments where young and old listen to each…
The question the church needs to answer
Every other Saturday evening the discipleship group our family participates in meets. Various ages, including a boatload of energetic children, gather to enjoy life together, be encouraged, and seek ways to meet the needs of one another and our community as followers of Jesus. While the big people talk and drink copious amounts of coffee,…
Avoiding meaninglessness
What is the nature of the church today and the nature of the church to come? Will it continue to be important to organize our churches into denominational bodies or is there another way for God’s people to come together? These are some of the questions that the Future Directions Task Force grapples with. Recently,…
Readers write: Dec. 16, 2013 issue
Reader finds issue ‘disturbing’ Three items in the Oct. 28 “peacemaking” issue disturbed me: • I deplore that Dennis Gruending’s corrective of the Sept. 16 “Holy Contradiction” feature was made necessary. Thanks for printing his “A little humility is in order” letter. • In “Let nobody judge them,” I appreciate the courage taken in examining…
Attunement
If, according to the gospels, baptizing people with the Holy Spirit was Jesus' primary mission, what exactly is Spirit baptism? I believe it has little to do with spectacular gifts like tongues, signs and wonders. I'm not saying that being filled with the Spirit never results in these gifts, but what I do believe is…
