The Parish

As we journey, we may encounter approaches to faith that appear to be polar opposites - but which one is right? Perhaps the answer lies not in either-or but in both-and.

The past couple of weeks have been filled with so much tragedy it can make us wonder how God can ever heal this world so broken.  But perhaps God is not trying to heal the world for us as much as healing it with us.  This may change everything.

Whether our notions of 'god' are personal projections or inherited traditions, author and theologian Brad Jersak proposes a radical reassessment, arguing for A More Christlike God: a More Beautiful Gospel. 
Here is the Video version of his Message: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zts7t5PMO9g

Some of us have travelled far, some of us have worked hard and we may feel that we deserve a party. But the best party ever is when we come home to the Father's love.
 

The question. "Who is my neighbour?" is an old one, but we may need new eyes to get the answer right.

Sometimes you have the good fortune to find something that you had thought was lost forever, When you do, you may find that it's even more precious to you than it was before.
 

We may all have dreamed about finding buried treasure - or at least a loonie under the couch cushions. But what if we could get the treasure without having to find it or dig it up?

We weed our gardens to get rid of the plants we don't want so that the good plants can grow. But sometimes weeding is more harmful than helpful.

Yeast granules are unattractive and insignificant looking. But despite that, they can have a transformative impact.

Welcome to week two of Christa's series on the soul.  This message includes several spiritual practices.  "Spiritual practice is to pierce the illusions that God is distant or absent"  ~Thomas Keating
So we practice these not for perfection but for presence.

What is the soul?  And where would we look to find it?  Our Guest Christa inspires us today in this busy chaotic time to slow down enough to catch not just a glimpse, but the experience of our Souls.

Misperceptions of what God wants generally grow out of a kernel of truth yet they can, nonetheless, be misleading. But don't worry, God is great at busting out of any box we try to confine Him to!

Orphan Trains and the power of community with Charlie Mashinter (Bishop of our Denomination the Be In Christ Church of Canada).

As we try to live a life of faith, we get the opportunity, in a myriad of individual decisions, to let fear keep us stuck where we are or, instead, to move forward toward joy.

Everybody loves a parade. But not all parades are created equal and some require a commitment to more than just waving a palm branch.

Feeling broken and bruised doesn't mean we're done or useless. In the good news story of Jesus, not only are you allowed to feel broken, but you're a perfect candidate to do good in this world. 

When we follow Jesus, he calls us to deny ourselves - a call to loss. But the paradox of the kingdom of God is that the space created by that loss is filled by a new joy we couldn't have expected.