Church Isn’t
March 20th, 2012
What is the church?
Check out this video from a youth group in Southwestern Ontario asking what church is, and what it isn’t.
News
Invisible Children, Joseph Kony and Complexity :: Part 3
March 9th, 2012
Rattling around in my brain last night were words from the second chapter of St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians:
Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
And I wondered, sitting around the table with friends over a shared meal, what, if anything, this whole Kony campaign had to do with the way of Jesus. Read more…
Invisible Children, Joseph Kony and Complexity :: Part 2
March 8th, 2012
Yesterday, almost as soon as I hit ‘publish’ on my previous post, I had the sense that I would need to write a follow-up. The thing is, I know that it’s really easy to rail against a group or an organisation, to write someone or something off. Maybe we don’t agree with their mandate, their approach. We all have biases. We all have different ways of understanding the world.
I know that I have mine. And as someone who serves with Word Made Flesh – a global movement dedicated to serving Jesus amongst the most vulnerable of the world’s poor – I have to take my share of responsibility for my role in both dialogue and response.
Yet, I am convinced that each of us is called by God to engage the world, to participate in it, and if we subscribe to Jesus’ words in Matthew 25, there is something important about the way in which we treat those who have been pushed to the margins.
But it’s not about fixing people. We are not saviours, and we desperately need to get that through our heads. Read more…
Invisible Children, Joseph Kony & Complexity
March 7th, 2012
Many of you have probably heard the hype by now. I’ve seen links to the cleverly marketed Kony 2012 video come through my feed from multiple unrelated sources. It’s come from men and women, young and old, and mostly white. If you haven’t yet seen it, my guess is that you’ll see it pretty soon.
I bring it up for a number of reasons – not least of which is because the issues raised by this video are intimately connected to our attitudes and approach to short-term missions.
Here’s why: Hype, a false sense of empowerment and simplistic answers can obscure the truth of the situation. Read more…
Old Enough to Know
March 7th, 2012
Recently over at The Community – the Anglican Church of Canada’s online forum for meeting and talk about life in the church – one of the members posted a question:
What are your thoughts on a young person’s spiritual growth as it relates to their age? Is there such a thing as ‘too young’ for confirmation?
In response, I agreed that these were important questions, questions that we’ve begun to address in some way on this blog here and here and here. I went on to say that my biggest concern, the thing that I’m often the most worried about, is the readiness or willingness of any given church community to guide and mentor young people. I’m often more worried about our accountability and role in the baptismal vows than the young person’s sense of preparedness. Read more…
Luther Seminary Confirmation Discussion
March 5th, 2012
Our friends over at Luther Seminary have posted a panel discussion on the confirmation process. Head on over to www.firstthird.org to watch the video.
You’ll also want to poke around their website to find all kinds of resources on faith formation in the first third of life, focusing on Formation, not just Information.
Be sure to share your thoughts with us right here!
The Heart of Mission
March 5th, 2012
Why does a film like Crash get hold of our hearts and minds, and move us in ways that a textbook on racism never could?
How is it that a week-long camp experience sends young people home with a deeper desire to live out their faith, where conversations about faith at home sometimes falter?
Why does a random encounter with a community organizer in New Orleans send young people home to tackle issues of injustice where news reports and statistics go in one ear and out the other?
And why is it that if we stop at abstract conversation about issues of injustice, we get no closer to redressing the wrongs on our own doorsteps?
Troubled Waters :: Part 2
February 27th, 2012
In this blog series, Christian and I will try to unpack some of the issues around short-term mission trips. We’ll be using my experience as a trip organizer and leader as backdrop, and if he’s worth his salt, Christian will poke some significant holes in my own motivations as a leader.
After several months in my job as Missioner for Youth Formation and Vocation in the Diocese of Ottawa, I noticed something. I noticed a clear lack of ministry amongst young adults. It was happening in an ad-hoc way, but there appeared to be few opportunities for young adults to gather, to explore their faith and its connection to the common good.
A number of thoughts went through my mind about how to respond to this challenge. Top of the list was to journey with a group of young adults to visit friends in the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana. My friend, the Rev. Rich Clark – a priest in that diocese – had invited me to bring a group of young people. With an open invitation, a knowledge that there would be friendly faces on the other end, and that it could be a great opportunity to learn and grow, we began planning the trip. Read more…
Troubled Waters
January 25th, 2012
In February 2009, and again in February 2010, I co-led two successive trips to New Orleans.
Both times, we travelled during University reading week. Both times the trip closely coincided with Mardi Gras.
I wonder why the students came.
Was it pure altruism? Was it a process of self-discovery? Was it the story of a city neglected by its own mayor, state politicians and federal government?
Was it the plea from our friends and partners in the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana? What was it, exactly that brought two separate groups together to travel to New Orleans? Read more…
CLAY 2012 Registration Opens!
January 16th, 2012
Registration for the 2012 edition of the Canadian Lutheran Anglican Youth Gathering opened today, and you can access it online!
Be sure to visit www.clay2012.ca for more information on registration, and all of the exciting new opportunities to participate this year!
We can’t wait to see you and the young people from your community at the gathering.
Recent Comments