I challenge you:

This month: watch a film made by a Black director 

or with a predominantly black cast,

Or

Read a book by a Black author

Or

Read about one aspect of Black culture or history.

Join me in donating to a local Black community organization, such as the Canadian Caribbean Association of Waterloo Region, 

The African Community Wellness Initiative 

or the Black Youth Helpline.

How do we deal with conflict and disagreements?

How do we relate to people who annoy us?

How do we act when people disrespect us?

Best in all these situations is to let patience and kindness shine through,

Whether we are setting boundaries or trying to remove them.

And that’s hard.

When your temper is boiling it’s difficult to take ten deep breaths and say something kind and be patient 

when really you just want to tell the person off

Yet despite everything,

No matter what, 

no matter that the earthly things 

we rely on in hard times disappoint us,

Still God loves us, 

and that is what really matters.

In this story of magi and gifts,

it all comes down to these two questions, I believe:

Can we point to the true source of Life, Emmanuel, when we are asked?

Can we bring our selves, truly and wholly, as Gifts to this Emmanuel?

No more can be asked of us, as followers of Christ: 

but to reflect Christ’s light as best as we can.

Grace and peace be unto you from God our Father,  

and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Mary went with haste to a town in the hill country

to visit her aunt Elizabeth.

Well actually we don’t Elizabeth was Mary’s aunt,

we just know she was a relative,

but Elizabeth was really old,  

and her having a baby was a miracle,

so she...

In this Advent season leading to Christmas,

Probably most of us are feeling at best a cautious joy.

It’s maybe kind of like how we’re singing in worship,

We’re not singing much or full out, we’re masked, 

and we’re not really in the mood.

Almost 40 years ago, a film deemed by an ABC poll to be the 5th greatest film of all time, appeared on screens in movie theatres worldwide. The movie, by director Steven Spielberg, was E.T., The Extra-Terrestrial.

Some of you might have even seen it.

“The author of the novel on which the screenplay was based has indicated that she intended...

When someone says something horrible one is often too shocked to know what to say. So what does the woman respond?

Does she insult him back, and tell him to go back where he came from, back to the sticks, back to the backwoods of Galilee?

Does she confront him and say “how dare you call me a dog”?

Anger, in certain circumstances, is completely justified. 

But it shouldn’t lead.

It should follow listening, and talking, and dialoguing.

I could just play it safe and hoard my privilege to myself, 

or I could make myself more vulnerable and take some risks, 

potentially take some flak by standing up a little for those people who rate lower on the privilege scale: women, LGBT, People of Colour, 

because they have to endure harassment and discrimination on a scale that I never have had to experience.