When I was 18 or 19, I lived in a small apartment in Toronto, Ontario. I was in my second year of seminary. My roommate and I didn't have laundry facilities in the building in which we lived so we had to walk a few blocks up the street to a laundromat. One evening, as I sat in the laundromat, a young man sat down beside me. He noticed what I was reading—a book that was on the required reading list for one of the courses I was taking. We started to talk and the conversation qu

There was a time, long, long ago, when my brother and I would eagerly await the arrival of Fall and every train that rolled into our northern Ontario hometown. We knew that on one of those trains there would be wonderful gifts with our names on them. No socks, shirts or pajamas—at least not on the train. Fall meant that a box of apples and another one of pears from the farm of one of our uncles would surely be arriving any day. Fresh fruit was hard to get and expensive up no

It came up again this morning during a Zoom meeting. It's one of those things we seem to want to avoid acknowledging. " Simon, Simon,...

This title is from an old popular song to which I know only a few words, but it came to mind this morning as I sat down to write this...

Grumbling is so often easier than gratitude. Heavens knows there is a lot to complain about in life. Tyrants, taxes, and troubles,...

Recently a friend mentioned to me that as she has grown older she has come to realize more and more that the only thing important in life...

Discover the Beauty Take a sometimes whimsical journey with me to explore the wonder of the God we worship. Shades of God is a...

Image by Mo ein from Pixabay I received an astonishing message from an American FACEBOOK friend this week. He wanted me to know that he...

On the agenda of the new administration in the United States is the rooting out of corruption at all levels of government. Such an...

The flood that hit my office at the end of 2024, just before Christmas break, was nothing compared to this. I could have cried at the...

“Let there be light” and the darkness gave way. The brush was raised to paint the blue of heaven’s sky and water’s hue. But no dull...

Ben stretches, reluctantly shaking himself awake. Here and there, others are stirring. He knows that once Ren appears, even the shy ones...

“It looks dead to me.”   The larger of the two buzzards circled once more, keeping a sharp eye on both today’s object lesson and on the...

I linger in the blackness, seemingly invisible to passersby. My night is cold and lonely, devoid of the warmth of human touch. There is...

On Tuesday, July 11, 1911, the Porcupine Camp felt the breath of hell. In the hurry to wrest the riches of gold and silver from the...

Mary Moffat stood in silence in the doorway to her home. The baby, her namesake,* whimpered in her arms, aware of a tension she was too...

The beginning … Drusilla: “Hello? Anyone there?” Dabney: “Who’s that?” Drusilla: “Me.” Dabney: “Who’s you?” Drusilla: “Beside you.”...

His parents recognized his potential from childhood. Teachers delighted in him: the perfect student, quiet, attentive, and bright. He...

I hate those few moments in the service when the worship leader instructs the congregation to turn and greet all the people sitting...

The cart lurched, throwing Abel off his stride. He stumbled but kept his grip on the shafts between which he walked. He pulled to the...