Year One Winnipeg students (October, 2020) Overview If you enjoy meaningful conversation, listening to others (particularly relative to their relationship with God), and long to companion people well as they seek to deepen their experience of God, the School of Spiritual Direction (SSD) may be for you. The SSD is a two-year certification program which … Continue reading School of Spiritual Direction (Fall 2021)
Fear: A Discernment Checklist
Photo by José Ignacio García Zajaczkowski on Unsplash I am not usually prone to fear. I am an Enneatype 4 which, by virtue of being in the relational/heart triad, means that my Achilles heal is typically shame. Shame - that underlying sense of somehow being inherently wrong or deficient or not good enough - is … Continue reading Fear: A Discernment Checklist
Schools of Spiritual Formation (Fall 2020)
This fall, I will once again be teaching two Sustainable Faith schools - the School of Spiritual Direction and the School of Mercy and Justice. Both have a wonderfully contemplative and communal ethos and involve excellent readings, individual and group exercises, receiving spiritual direction, and practising spiritual disciplines.If you would like to have some conversation … Continue reading Schools of Spiritual Formation (Fall 2020)
Best of 2019
Despite not posting much this year, I could hardly forfeit the customary (see previous year-end lists below) opportunity to compile a best-of list. Here are a few general observations from the compiling:I didn't see a single film in the cinema this year, for the first time since I can recall. The films I did see … Continue reading Best of 2019
Witness: From Thin to Thick
Photo by M.T ElGassier on Unsplash The following was written for and presented at a plenary panel on "Work, Worship, and Witness" at the tenth annual Society of Vineyard Scholars conference, May 2, 2019, Minneapolis. Early on the morning of the resurrection, while it was still dark, the Gospel of John tells us that Mary … Continue reading Witness: From Thin to Thick
Schools of Spiritual Formation (Fall 2019)
Over the last few years, I have had the great privilege of being involved with an organization called Sustainable Faith. It's no understatement to say that the organization, the schools it facilitates, and the friendships I have made therein have transformed my life. As a result, I am not the same person I was even … Continue reading Schools of Spiritual Formation (Fall 2019)
What is Lent?
Photo by Fancycrave on Unsplash Dear People of God: The first Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord’s passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the Church to prepare for them by a season of penitence and fasting. This season of Lent provided a time in which converts to the … Continue reading What is Lent?
Driven into Wilderness (Year One, 1 Epiphany, Monday)
Photo by Kiwihug on Unsplash After much reflection and research, I purchased a lovely two-volume set of "Revised Office Readings" in preparation for 2019. There are various lectionaries (or collections/lists of scripture readings appointed for any given day of the year) and I have found them useful both in deciding what to read, and in … Continue reading Driven into Wilderness (Year One, 1 Epiphany, Monday)
Becoming a Father
I've always wanted to have children. When Jennifer and I got married, I was slightly reticent if only because I wanted to prolong marital bliss and because I assumed that the second we started trying, we'd get pregnant. We fawned over baby clothes, imagining how cute our beige child would look. We even bought some tiny, … Continue reading Becoming a Father
Prayer as Movement
When I lived in Israel, my favourite "holy site" - by far - was the Garden of Gethsemane. Christian tradition holds Gethsemane as the place where Jesus heaved in gruelling prayer (even sweating drops of blood, according to the gospel of Luke) prior to being betrayed and arrested. Suitably, the episode is often described as "the Agony." … Continue reading Prayer as Movement
Writing Is Prayer 