Why the Church Cares

Recently I settled  my youngest son into a semester of study in New Mexico – near the Navajo Nation. It has been good to see him begin to be immersed once again into our culture, our foods, our language, and our beautiful red soil & rocks.

By now you’ve probably seen the meme about Jesus’ greatest miracle—that he had 12 best friends in his 30s– apparently first told by John Mulaney on SNL. The memes that make their rounds do so because their relatableness and candor make them both funny AND true. As a person in their 30s with friends in their 30s, we have all laughed at this meme and attested to this great miracle. But why is it so difficult to have close friends as you age?

During our annual staff retreat in June 2023, we reckoned with the fact that we are each other’s neighbours. Jesus causes us to recognise the needs of others and the call to be a neighbour irrespective of the differences in ethnicity, location, and other social factors. 

On Monday, July 24, 2023, a retired Christian Reformed pastor was charged in a murder case. Rev. David G. Zandstra (now 83) was the pastor at Trinity Chapel CRC in Broomall, Pa., in 1975 when 8-year-old Gretchen Harrington was kidnapped and murdered on her way to Vacation Bible School. While Zandstra denied involvement at the time, he has now confessed to the murder.

The Southern Baptist Convention just booted several prominent churches from their denomination because of their allowance of women pastors and preachers. “Shiny Happy People”, the documentary giving an inside look into the Duggar Family and the harmful practices of the Institute in Basic Life Principles, is streaming on Amazon Prime and it currently has a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. More churches and worship leaders are rethinking singing music from Hillsong and Bethel because of scandals and controversy surrounding their ministries. 

In the summer of 2015, as I was walking out of the subway station at Bloor and Dufferin in Toronto, and about to get groceries for dinner, I heard a soft voice behind me. A young woman with dusty blonde hair called out to me; I thought she had an Australian accent but couldn’t be certain. She had noticed that I had cerebral palsy, and asked if she could pray for my “difficulty.” I told her that I was a systematic theologian, and didn’t really need prayer, but she was welcome to pray anyway. She did so passionately for a few moments, and graciously asked if I’d felt anything.

When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

I have spent years visiting art galleries, and for a portion of my career I had the opportunity to work in an art gallery. I am the person who stands reading the labels in art galleries, curious to understand what the artist is wanting to express through their art. Art can convey visually what words simply cannot. Art can evoke a wide range of emotions from the viewer and invite people to share in an experience together through those feelings. Often, art becomes a vehicle for contemplation for me in a way that words simply cannot.

The Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) has been receiving increased attention as Canada recently announced additional protocol that came into effect on March 25, creating significant barriers to those seeking asylum in Canada. The STCA is an agreement between Canada and the US that was implemented in 2004. The agreement between the two countries recognizes each other as a safe country and stipulates that asylum seekers must make their refugee claim in the first safe country they arrive in. 

This year for Lent, my local congregation planned an overall theme titled, “God's Great Reversal.” In that spirit I chose to reflect on a subtext of reversal that I have experienced from emptiness to fullness… or how I have called it, glass half emptiness to an ongoing process of filling.