The Parish

gesture | Aaron Holbrough

We need gestures that embody things that cannot be adequately expressed.  Baptism is a 'here, let me show you what I mean' kind of thing.  

STORIES+SONGS | HANNAH | Stigma | Jan Hux

Hannah was wounded by the words of those who stigmatized her for her childlessness. But then she met one whose words brought blessing and hope.

STORIES+SONGS | the FIERY furnace | Idea-olotry | Aaron Holbrough

Spirituality is often seen for its faithfulness to a set of values and ideas behind us.   But faith is tethered by an invisible force that is guiding us forward not holding us backwards. Humanity and culture are adapting and evolving, faith by its nature is ahead of us, not behind us and change is apart of that.

STORIES+SONGS | Psalm 25 | Unfailing Love | Jan Hux

David writes a song that doesn't allow the reality of God's love to diminish the reality of his present suffering... and a psalm that doesn't allow the reality of David's sin and distress to put an asterisk on God's love for him.

STORIES+SONGS | NAOMI | Been there, done that | Steve Kennedy

If you’ve ever been tempted to attribute the suffering you face in this life as evidence of God’s hand against you, this ancient story of Naomi might be the story for you.

STORIES+SONGS | CAIN wasn't ABLE | a scary story | Aaron Holbrough

In a world that makes us forget we are all connected-this story offers us a stark warning, that in those moments when we don’t think we are Able,....to not become a Cain

STORIES+SONGS | Hagar Two | Eyes Opened | Jan Hux

Hagar had great faith. But it was faith in what she imagined to be God’s plan rather than faith in God’s self.

STORIES+SONGS | Psalm 57 | Spiritual Resilience | Aaron Holbrough

This Psalm and the circumstances surrounding its writing offer us a glimpse of what Spiritual Resilience can look like.  Where our hope isn't rooted merely in what we are feeling, but in what we have come to know.

STORIES+SONGS | Hagar | Being Seen | Jan Hux

Hagar felt all but invisible in her world. Then she was found by the God who sees her.

STORIES+SONGS | Believing is seeing | Aaron Holbrough

The most spiritual moments in your life won't be when you feel God has shown up, but instead when you realize that God had never left.

STORIES + SONGS | A song for enemies | Jan Hux

David delighted in the fact that he was intimately known by God, but when it came to his enemies, he wasn’t willing to look past the colour of their uniforms.

STORIES + SONGS | Jonah can be hard to swallow | Aaron Holbrough

The story of Jonah helps make our own experience comprehensible by offering us a a new way to perceive not only God but ourselves

PICKLES | Aaron Holbrough

Preserving is not the same as hoarding, it is knowing what is worth keeping.

al-to-geth-er | UNBURDENED | Jan Hux

Jesus offers rest to followers who are weary and burdened. But it isn't found in a hammock under a shade tree.

al-to-geth-er | BREAKING A SWEAT | Aaron Holbrough

Motivation is what gets us started, but it is discipline that keeps us going.

al-to-geth-er | AN ACQUIRED TASTE | Jan Hux

God wants to fill our emptiness and has hidden the divine in all sorts of places so our spirits can be nourished.
 

al-to-geth-er | INTRODUCTION | Aaron Holbrough

What if planted in our everyday ordinary lives are the secrets that can actually produce a better one.  

IN THE SAME BOAT | Aaron Holbrough

We all might be in the same boat, but depending on where you are sitting, it might be a completely different storm.