Theology

I saw Religious Broadcasters Association’ spokesperson Daniel Darling was fired for his support for vaccinations on a cable news channel. After Darling wrote in USA Today, “we are experiencing a deficit of trust in our institutions.

Standing among the other dancers in the studio, I aligned my body in first position (heels together and toes pointed out.) Sternums lifted, lengthening through the back of our knees, we  spoke together: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” And then stretching one pointed toe to the right, lowering the heel, recentering weight between each foot, heels now shoulder-width apart in the second position of ballet, we continued: “and the second is like it.

Disability is a theological topic, because people of every kind of ability are created in God’s Image; moreover, through both our limitations and our gifts, people with disabilities indicate the uniqueness and breadth of God’s Image. Disability is a political issue too, because people with disabilities long for equity—freedom and human flourishing—for people of all body types. In this short post, I’m going to do two things. First, I’m going to briefly define disability, ableism, accessibility, and justice.

In this episode, Dr. Sylvia Keesmaat shares the theological underpinnings that inspire the sustainable efforts and regenerative agriculture practices at Russet House Farm. She and Chris also discuss worshipping outside, eating locally, times of Sabbath and Jubilee, and caring for creation as we long for God’s ultimate goodness for our world and our neighbours.

This is an excerpt from a sermon I recently preached at the CRC’s Campus Ministry at the University of Toronto (my alma mater!).

Words spoken by the wise bring them favor, 

    but the lips of fools consume them.

The words of their mouths begin in foolishness,

    and their talk ends in wicked madness;

yet fools talk on and on.

At nine years old, I decided I wanted to become a journalist. It was the same time my brother Fred and I started delivering the Chicago Daily News. The newspaper was the third largest circulation behind Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times. Fred and I had twelve streets of subscribers.  We’d deliver the latest news of crime, sports, and advice from Ann Landers. My brother and I tied the papers into travel size and threw them on the porches of two storied brownstones or trekked into apartment building mazes to make sure seniors had their sacred crossword puzzles. 

I want to bring to your attention a matter of importance from the healthcare community.  Last month, Federal Parliament passed Bill C-7, further expanding euthanasia* access in Canada.**  As a rural family physician, I have had a front-line view on the implications of the changing legislation regarding euthanasia.  I recently sat in the home of an elderly man in my practice.  His body is failing, and he is facing the reality that he can no longer live independently.  Though not terminally ill nor in pain

As the world is beginning to reopen and life picks up again, I’m asking the questions: Should life go back to normal? If not, what is the new normal? Have we learned what we should have? Where do we go from here? 

The answers to these questions hold lots of implications. From a political stance- what have we learned? From a racial reckoning stance- what is the new normal? From a pandemic stance - where do we go from here? While I don’t have all the answers to these questions I think I have a starting place. 

I have been following a few different topics that, I believe, have a common intersecting point: re-attachment.  The Canadian government is discussing a newly proposed Bill C-15 to implement UNDRIP.  And the global pandemic has caused further struggles in seeing action to counter climate change.  As the Christian Reformed denomination is working to renew both the relationship to land and Indigenous Peoples I believe we must look to principles of engagement and re-attachment in order to see positive change.  To