Putting Flesh on the Message of Francis

                                                             Sculpture of a Seated St. Francis

 Most High, all-powerful, good Lord, Yours are the praises, the glory, and the honor, and all blessing,

To You alone, Most High, do they belong, and no human is worthy to mention Your name.

Praised be You, my Lord, with all Your creatures,
especially Sir Brother Sun, who is the day and through whom You give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor; and bears a likeness of You, Most High One.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars,
in heaven You formed them clear and precious and beautiful.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind,
and through the air, cloudy and serene, and every kind of weather, through whom You give sustenance to Your creatures.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water,
who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
through whom You light the night, and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.

Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth,
who sustains and governs us,
and who produces various fruit with colored flowers and herbs.

Praised be You, my Lord, through those who give pardon for Your love, and bear infirmity and tribulation.
Blessed are those who endure in peace for by You, Most High, shall they be crowned.

Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death,
from whom no one living can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin.
Blessed are those whom death will find in Your most holy will, for the second death shall do them no harm.

Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks
and serve Him with great humility.

Canticle of the Creatures -- Francis of Assisi, 1226

No, no, no, no!!!

I've noted that this year marks of the 200th anniversary of the death of Francis of Assisi. He is the Roman Catholic patron saint of ecology because of his expansive love for all God's creatures and he universe itself. Francis chose a life of austerity whilc at the same time celebrating the abundance of Creation. As the Franciscan and Poor Clare orders took shape around him simplicity was a guiding principle. Francis' Canticle of the Creatures is considered by some to be the first poem in Italian. 

                              The bones of St. Francis, preserved in a nitrogen-filled plexiglass case

My multiple "no's!" are because the skeletal remains of Francis (c'mon, are they really?) have been brought from the crypt in the baslica dedicated in his honour for viewing to mark this Special Year. The bones will be displayed in a nitrogen filled case and pilgrims can book online to see them at a clip of 1500 an hour. By my math that's 25 a minute, so only a few seconds of viewing, hardly a profound contemplative experience.

Honouring Francis is a wonderful notion but we might all do better to read the environmental encyclical of the late Pope Francis called Laudato Si, inspired by his namesake. Or to take on a personal commitment in this year to heal and nurture Creation. I do like that there are many events in this celebratory year exploring Indigenous perspectives on the Canticle and a Muslim/Christian dialogue on Francis and his focus on peace. 

At Trenton United folk have been invited to be Bird-Brained with St. Francis in Lent, recording the birds they see during the season. I'm delighted by those who've enthusiastically spoken to me about the birds they've sighted.

To pass by ancient bones in a crowd does not honour Francis, in my estimation. Francis can be our inspiration, not a lucky charm...maybe that's St. Patrick? 

                                               Francis and Clare with the Creatures -- artist unknown

Jews and the Swedish Connection of WWII

He has told you, O mortal, what is good,
    and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice and to love kindness
    and to walk humbly with your God?

                Micah 8:6 NRSVue 

This week we came across  a film called The Swedish Connection on Netflix and almost gave it a pass because the reviews suggested it was okay but not brilliant. Yet the subject matter of this drama intrigued us, the efforts by lower-level bureacratic officials in officially neutral Sweden during the Second World War to save Jews from their own country living elsewhere. Later they extended the effort to bring Jews to Sweden from other Scandanavian countries.

When I checked, the principal characters were actual people who were engaged in this merciful and sometimes perilous work. One of them, Gosta Engzall, faced resistance from his political superiors because of the risk of antagonizing the Nazis, yet in the telling of the story he went from being timid to bold in his efforts and was instrumental in protecting 100,000 Jews. Happily, he lived to be one hundred. The film was inspiring and we pondered the courage of everyday people, including Christians, to live out practical compassion for those who they didn't know and were of a different religion. 

In October 1943, the Danish underground initiated an operation to transfer Jews to the Swedish coast in boats, thereby saving most of Denmark’s Jews. Gilbert Lassen ferried the Jews in his boat to a ship waiting about 200 meters from the shore, which took them to Sweden.

It sparked a memory of seeing a small fishing boat at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. It had belonged to one of the hundreds of fisherman who embarked on a night-time evacuation of 8,000 Jews and non-Jewish spouses in Denmark to Sweden when news leaked of a plan by the Nazis to round them up. 

In the film there were fleeting glimpses of Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who issued passports to hundreds of Hungarian Jews so they could escape the Nazi occupied country. Also, Dag Hammarskjold, who was involved in saving Jews and went on to become the second Secretary General of the United Nations. 

While Wallenberg and Hammarskjold have received considerable recognition, Engzall and his determined team have only more recently been acknowledged.

Before his death in a plane crash in the 1950s Hammerskjold was championing displaced Palestinians. He was committed to justice, wherever that led him.

All these points of connection were "cause for pause" for two ordinary viewers who as Christians want to be "brave", or at least engaged in the issues of our time, following a moral compass inspired by Christ's compassiom.  

                                                                         Dag Hammarskjold

Truth-Telling in Black History Month

 

Illustration from the New Yorker article What the Royal Family's Links to Slavery Mean in the Age of Epstein by Sam Knight 

As Black History Month draws to a close I'm pondering a specific event from nearly 20 years ago and the larger picture of enslaved people in the British Empire. 

Somehow I missed the coverage of a worship service that took place in Westminster Abbey in 2007 to commemorate the two hundredth anniversary of the abolition of slavery in Great Britain and eventually through the Empire. 

The monarch, Queen Elizabeth II was in the congregation, as was Prime Minister Tony Blair. Lady (Kate) Davson, the great-great-great grand-daughter of William Wilberforce, who led the abolition movement, read a House of Commons speech made by her ancestor.

According to the BBC the eloquent Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, offered a reflection describing  slavery as:

...an offence to human dignity and freedom and "the greatest cause of grief to God's spirit".

Dr Williams told the congregation that slavery was not a regional problem in the world, but was "hideously persistent" in our nations and cultures. "We, who are the heirs of the slave-owning and slave-trading nations of the past, have to face the fact that our historic prosperity was built in large part on this atrocity," he said.

"Those who are the heirs of the communities ravaged by the slave trade know very well that much of their present suffering and struggling is the result of centuries of abuse."

                                                                          Toyin Agbetu in 2007

Near the end of the service a human rights advocate name Toyin Agbetu began shouting: "This is an insult to us." He addressed the Queen saying "You should be ashamed. We should not be here... I want all the Christians who are Africans to walk out of here with me! He condemned African Christians for taking part and told them to walk out. Although he was visibly angry he was escorted out the Abbey without incident. Nearly 20 years later Agbetu is still involved in human rights issues. 

From what I've read, Queen Elizabeth I first involved the royal family in the slave trade despite her personal misgivings because England was teetering on bankruptcy and the enticement of wealth through trafficking human beings was more than she could resist. While King Charles III has expressed remorse for the scourge of slavery the immense wealth of the royal family was enhanced by the trans-Atlantic slave trade as was the prosperity of so many other "lords and ladies." 

What should the consequences be in terms of reparations? The Church of England has embarked on what has been a controversial initiative to raise £100 million for an investment fund to help repair damage caused by its historic links to slavery. The Anglican Church had invested large amounts of money into a company that transported tens of thousands of slaves.

While a report says this is not enough for "healing, justice, and repair"  others argue that a struggling Church can't be held liable for the sins of the past. 

We can't consider Black History without acknowledging the racist wrongs of past and present. What is our responsibility to atone for those sins?

Day-by-Day With the Creator

 Day-by-Day with the Creator: Getting Started 

February 25 & March 4 at 10 AM

 

There is a wealth of books which are daily reading, retreat, sensory, and seasonal guides for the connection between love of Creator and Creation in regular devotional reflection.

 Some of them are intended to be used outdoors but that isn't necessary. 

Which one makes sense for you? 

 

Join a discussion during two sessions led by David Mundy on some of the best of the bunch. 

No book purchase is required and you'll be introduced to samples from these guides to help you decide what might be best for you.

By the dawn's early light Ruth and I were removing snow from our driveway and decks for what may not  be the thousandth time this Winter but certainly felt like it. As readers know, we love snow but we are now in the "enough already!" season, anticipating some signs of...what do we call it?... oh yes, Spring. 

Today I'll drive to Trenton to lead a study/conversation on the subject described above and I have no idea if there will be any interest, other than on my part. I came to realize that I had many of this sort of guide, most of them excellent and varied in approach. 

As always the preparation was good for rekindling my own passion for a subject and I know from life experience that having guides for devotional reading and reflecting are helpful. I'm not sure how many others will feel motivated to join me, but away I go, into the wild, white yonder. 

A Solemn Anniversary for Ukraine

 Holy, Holy, Holy God of life, justice, and love, You who hear the cries of the suffering and remain faithful, We come before You in prayer, united with our brothers and sisters in Christ—those near to us and those across Canada. 

Today we lift before You, with particular urgency, the people of Ukraine: women, men, elders, and children created in Your image and likeness, now enduring the suffering of war, trauma, and grief. 

We lift before You the children who have been forcibly taken from their families. Protect them, preserve their identity, and bring them home. We remember also prisoners of war, held in captivity and far from comfort and care. Be near to them, strengthen them, and guard their lives. We remember Your Church—its clergy and faithful, worshipping under threat. Sustain them in courage, witness, and hope. 

We commend to Your compassionate mercy the land of Ukraine itself—its cities, villages, and homes, its rivers, fields, mountains and seas—part of your beautiful world now scarred by violence, destruction, and loss. 

God of justice and truth, we pray for a just and sustainable peace and for righteousness and justice to prevail over evil and hatred. 

Bring an end to this war, bring peace, justice and healing to Ukraine. And turn the hearts of those who perpetrate this war toward repentance and restoration. 

In these days of lament, O Lord, we live in hope that you will strengthen Your Church with your holy faithfulness and creativity to act with compassion, courage, and generosity as instruments of your active healing. 

Grant that we might participate with all that we are in the beating of swords into ploughshares so that for all people and creation justice will roll down like water and righteousness as an ever-flowing stream. This we pray in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen

On the weekend an annual event called Savour the Chill took place in downtown Belleville involving restaurants competing with their best soups. In the end both the judges and the "peoples choice" included The Kefana in the top three. The Kefana is a Ukrainian restaurant which has established its presence in the past few years and is also contracted to provide meals for the outreach program in the downtown. The restaurant is a strong supporter of Ukrainian culture and independence in light of what is now a brutal four-year attempt at invasion by Russia.

We know that along with a long history of Ukrainian presence in Canada there are many people who fled the country to other nations because of the war, including here. The estimate is six million displaced citizens in total, some who now hope to take up permanent residence in Canada while others who hope to return someday. 

World Central Kitchen volunteers dole out bowls of hot stew to Ukrainians without heat thanks to Russia’s targeting of energy infrastructure. Caitlin Doornbos/NY Post

On this fourth anniversary of the conflict we can join in the prayer from the Canadian Council of Churches to mark this solemn occasion. Russia is waging a military assault on many fronts and is using drones and missiles to destroy sources of heat and light for millions of civilians. The brutality is stunning and democratic nations must continue to support the people of Ukraine. 

We can also pray that 300,000 displaced Ukrainians living here under the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel program. are allowed to renew permits which begin expiring late next month. 

Eddie Carvery & Black History in Canada

I saw last week that Eddie Carvery, described by an author as the Hermit of Africville, had died at the age of 79. Eddie was the lone Black resident who continued to live on land that once belonged to the Carvery family, a name once synomymous with the Black community which existed on the Bedford Basin adjacent to Halifax. 

The city refused to provide proper services such as sewer and water to the village and in the 1950s situated a garbage dump nearby. A rail line was pushed through the community. In 1965 the residents were removed by the city and their community bulldozed, including the Seaview African Baptist Church, established in 1849. 

In 2002 Heritage Minister Sheila Copps came to Africville to announce that the park where Africville once stood would be a national historic site and this promise was eventually fulfilled. We lived in Halifax at the time and I was there that day and I imagine Eddie was as well. It was a powerful moment.as former residents and their children and grandchildren sang. 

Eddie began his occupation in 1970 and lived to the end in a trailer on the land even though it was supposedly illegal. The historical site was eventually established and a replica of the Baptist church now stands there, serving as a place of worship and interpretation centre for both Black history and the racism that ended the community.

Eddie Carvery was determined to hold on to the claim to this land and as quixotic as his quest was he should be remembered with respect during this Black History Month and beyond.

Here is the link to a blog I wrote about Africville a few years ago 

https://lionlamb-bowmanville .blogspot.com/2020/02/africville-black-history-month.html

                                               The Original Seaview Baptist Church

I Have a Dream

                                                 Joseph's Dream -- Rembrandt

 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt  and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

Matthew 2:13-18 NRSVue

I have a dream
A song to sing
To help me cope
With anything
If you see the wonder
Of a fairy tale
You can take the future
Even if you fail

[Chorus]
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
I'll cross the stream.

I have a dream -- Abba!

Yesterday's Globe and Mail newspaper had the colour splash photo and headline Going for Gold and most Canadians know that the Olympic men's hockey final is this morning. 

There was another article tucked away in this edition about dreams and it was a good reminder that most of us have a dream life, although it is often submerged. The author, Karen van Kampen is the author of The Brain Never Sleeps: Why We Dream and What It Means for Our Health. Here is an excerpt from the article:

But what about our dreams? Why does it matter that many of us are dream deprived? In this accelerated world where busyness is currency, we don’t stop and think about our dreams, and we’re robbing ourselves of their many benefits. Dreams fuel the body and the mind while we sleep and also into the next day. Instead of dismissing these nightly stories as nonsense, we should prioritize our dream sleep and value our dreams to improve our waking lives.

The dreaming brain is busy at work while we sleep, helping to consolidate memories and strengthen learning. In dreams, we practise new skills and have our own study sessions as we review new information to make memories stick. One idea is that dreams help us remember by connecting recent events with our current catalogue of memories, which gives this new information deeper meaning. “It’s the equivalent to our brain opening all these drawers in our semantic knowledge and our autobiographical memories and going, does it fit in here and here and here?” says Montreal dream researcher Antonio Zadra. “That’s how we build our knowledge of the world. And it does it in a way that we can’t do in wakefulness because we don’t have that neurochemistry when we are awake.”

                                               Jacob's Ladder -- Herrad of Landsberg -- 12thC nun

I found this piece intriguing because we are going through a tumultuous time in our family with illness in body, mind and spirit for several people we love. There have been deaths in our extended family as well. We realize that we're living in a mild and not-so-mild state of apprehension much of the time. Not surprisingly, I suppose, I've experienced several months of the wildest and most unsettling dreams I can recall. They are vivid and sometimes I awaken because of them, although I don't remember them later, for the most part. 

In our Western culture we tend to use the term "dreams" as a metaphor for wishes, or hopes, rather than actual dreams. Yet in many aboriginal cultures dreams are valued and interpreted. Where does Dr King's biblically inspired vision fall into all this? 

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together. 

Martin Luther King Jr. 

I wish that I'd done a series of sermons on the dreams of the bible because there are a lot of them. There was Joseph, and Jacob, and anothr Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus. A lot of "Js" here! These weren't just "that was bizarre" dreams. They changed the trajectory of our Judeo/Christian faith 

Decades ago I earnestly started a dream journal and kept it at my bedside. I was inspired by a book by Morton Kelsey but I soon fell off the dream wagon. Maybe I need to revive the practice. For now I'll "dream" of a gold medal for Canada, even though a loss would be a nightmare. 

Black History & The Faith Dreams of a Free People

 It seems that every year I renew my resolve to read lots of books about Black History during the designated month of February. And as I get closer to the end of the month I feel somewhat guilty that I haven't done better in my reading and in my writing through this blog. 

I have books that I haven't yet delved into but one I read last summer while in outport Newfoundland is called Night Flyer: Harriet Tubman and the Faith Dreams of a Free People by Tiya Miles. The title alone captivated me but this creative biographical book was praised in reviews so I bought it and took it with us on vacation.

I was far from disappointed and there is an almost mystical quality to the way Miles explores the life of Tubman who came into this world as Araminta or "Minty" Ross. Miles maintains that 

Harriet Tubman is arguably the most famous Blackwoman ecologist in U.S. history, although she has not traditionally been viewed that way. She was a student of organisms(human and nonhuman), habitats, and inter-relationships. Her sources of strength were as much natural as they were "supernatural." And more than that, her "repeated journeys into slaveholding America" required "ecological confidence" in the words of Kimberly Ruffin. She studied the elements of nature around her, connecting with plants, trees, animals, and stars...

I could quote so much more but the confines of a blog entry limit me. What is astonishing is that while Harriet Tubman was illiterate she had a profound knowledge of scripture and a never-ending sense of God's presence with her, providing the courage to liberate herself from slavery and many others, journeying from the safety of Canada and the free states back into danger in order to do so. 

One reviewer desribes the book as brilliant and spectacular and I certainly agree. 

I have yet to read another acquistion about Tubman, the Pulitzer Prize winner titled Combee by Edda Fields Black.  Sooo many books, so little time...

Jesse Jackson: "I am Somebody!"

 

                                                     Jesse Jackson on Sesame Street 1972
I am...somebody! 

This was the beginning of a stirring "call and response" used in many settings, including Sesame Street, by Baptist preacher, Civil Rights activist, and presidential candidate Jesse Jackson. Jackson died earlier this week at the age of 84. He had faded from public view as he aged and dealt with Parkinson's Disease yet he was a significant figure in America for many years.

 From left, civil rights advocates Hosea Williams, Jesse Jackson, Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph Abernathy standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis on April 3, 1968, a day before King was assassinated. (Charles Kelly/AP)

Jackson was accused by critics of being a performer, of stretching the truth at times, and of personal moral failure, but he was at the front lines of change during the turbulent 1960s and beyond. Of course, similar accusations have been made against Civil Rights icon, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Jesse grew up poor and Black in the South and found his was into the non-violent movement of Dr. King that often put him in danger. 

While Jackson's two attempts at securing the Democratic presidential nomination failed he arguably opened the way for President Barack Obama, even though they didn't always get along. 

I admired Jackson despite the criticisms and he deserves to be recognized for his oratorical prowess and ability to help the dispossessed believe that they mattered. That is so important to an authentic gospel message that is still needed today.

I heard Dr. Jackson when he came to Sudbury's Laurentian University in the early1990s as a guest of the lecture series. It wasn't long after he'd appeared on Saturday Night Live, the late night sketch comedy show. Theodore Geisel -- Dr. Seuss -- had recently died so Jackson read a portion of Green Eggs and Ham as part of the SNL news report. During the Q & A at Laurentian someone in the audience asked him to reprise that moment and actually had a copy of the book with him but Jackson graciously declined. 

Thank God for Jesse Jackson. 

A Board of Peace?

President Donald Trump and other world leaders attend the signing ceremony of the Peace Charter for Gaza at the 56th World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 22, 2026. Credit - Harun Ozalp—Anadolu/Getty Images

They have treated the wound of my people carelessly,

    saying, “Peace, peace,”
    when there is no peace.

            Jeremiah 6: 14 NRSVue 

We're all in favour of peace in our world, aren't we, including those of us who are followers of Jesus, the Christ, the Prince of Peace? We celebrate the end of conflicts and engage in peacemaking through international bodies.

So, shouldn't we be enthusiastic about the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace convened in the United States today. This is the "brain child" -- is this an oxymoron -- of President Trump who has decided that the United Nations Security Council which deliberates within a building in his country isn't up to the challenge of brokering peace in the world. This board will be the greatest ever, because that's the way he talks, and he will chair it and be the boss of everyone else. Those who choose to participate are expected to pony up billions of dollars to be part of the club.

The original notion was to develop and effect a reconstruction plan for devastated Gaza but since then it has careened all over the map, quite literally. Most European countries have declined invitations to take part, in some cases noting that their constitutions do not allow them to be part of a body with one nation calling the shots. Some will send observers. Canada was invited and then disinvited (pout, pout) a development I consider a badge of honour. 

Among the nations agreeing to get on board are Saudi Arabia and Turkey, hardly shining examples of peace and good government. Israel, the country which has destroyed Gaza will also be represented. Russia also received an invitation but there is the small issue of an international warrant for Putin's arrest as a war criminal. It seems that there will be a number of foxes in this henhouse. 

Scripture, both in the Older Testament and the New Testament, offers warnings about bogus

 claims of peace by false prophets. Hmm. While I suppose we can pray that some good comes from this meeting and the ones to follow, seeing is believing. 

Oh yes, the Vatican has declined the invitation to join the Board of Peace, to the annoyance of the White House. 

When Lent and Ramadan Coincide

 

You desire truth in the inward being;

    therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
    and blot out all my iniquities.

                   Psalm 51: 6-9 NRSVue

This is the first day of the Christian season of Lent, although the Trenton United Church Ash Wednesday service has been pre-emptively cancelled because of an impending snow storm. This is ironic given that the psalm for this solemn day includes the phrase "wash me, and I shall me whiter than snow." Perhaps an Ash Wednesday snowball skirmish would have been a refreshing change.

It was traditional during the 40 days of Lent to do some serious fasting as a form of repentance and contemplation.I recall chatting with a brother in a Cistercian monastery about the rigours of doing farm work during Lent and the blessed relief that came with breaking the fast at Easter.  In the United Church we've never been big on fasting and we'd probably be more inclined to hold a potluck dinner to earnestly discuss why it wouldn't be just to make some people abstain from food.

I see that this is also the beginning of the Islamic observance of Ramadan, 30 days of fasting which Muslims definitely take seriously. Can there be common ground between these two religious traditions? 

There is a little gem of an article in the latest issue of Broadview magazine by Samuel Dansokho called Fasting Toward Resurrection. Samuel grew up as a Christian in Senegal where 90 percent of the population is Muslim. He loves fasting in Lent as a time of vulnerability and awareness, his hunger and thirst as an offering rather than deprivation. I recall chatting with a Muslim teenager at our local mosque about his first Ramadan during which he fasted and how important this practice was for him. 

I don't imagine I'll take up fasting from food at my advanced age but i do respect those who do so in both Christianity and Islam. 

I would happily fast from snow removal but I better make sure the batteries for my electric snowblower are charged up and ready to go -- whiter than snow, whiter than snow...

The Apostle, Robert Duvall

None of the three contestants in this recent episode of the Jeopardy Invitational Tournament figured out the correct response to this Final but it was Boo Radley, the enigmnatic figure in the 1962 classic film, To Kill a Mockingbird. 

The actor was a young Robert Duvall (first film role) who has died at the age of 95. Duvall went on to be nominated for an Oscar a bunch of times and won for Tender Mercies. He was in The Godfather and Apocalypse Now and so many more roles where one says, "right, he was in that!" One headline described him as a chameleon because he could shift into just about any role in any genre.

He was also Academy Award nominated for playing the evangelical preacher Sonny Dewey in The Apostle. Duvall fincanced it, wrote the script, directed, and starred in the picture because he was fascinated by the theatricality and the flawed yet sincere faith of many of these preachers. Here is an excerpt from a 1998 article and interview:

What does Duvall think of southern Christianity and revivalist preachers in general? He has a fascination for them which began more than thirty years ago when he visited a Holiness church in the small town of Hughes, Arkansas. He says that he was intrigued by the cadence, rhythms and honest faith he witnessed in the songs and tent meetings there. For Duvall, these revivalist tent meetings are “an important part of American culture.” The preaching is “a distinct American artform.”

“The best preacher I ever met,” says Duvall, “was a 96 year-old black man from a little church in Hamilton, Virginia. He seemed to me more spiritual than the Dalai Lama or Mahatma Gandhi. This guy was great. He had a great cadence of preaching, a great honesty.”

Duvall invited a Jewish film-director friend and his Catholic wife to hear him preach. “It was terrific,” Duvall recounts. “The director told me a year and a half later that he could never get the preacher entirely out of his mind. He was that impressive. A lot of these preachers are phony, but a lot of them are not.”

The Candian talk show host, Dini Petty, did a great interview with Duvall back and he describes how some of the other preachers in the flim are the real deal. So here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXVCSCtzT_o

                                                                     Boo Radley and Scout 

Water at the Bon Echo Rock

                                               Ruth in Repose in Bon Echo Provincial Park (note the sign)

The LORD said to Moses, ‘Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.’ 

                      Exodus 17: 5-6 NRSVue

Three days in a row last week we visited different Ontario Provincial Parks -- Presqu'ile, Bon Echo, and Sandbanks. The days were sunny and cold and we had a feeling that the weather would some become milder and our truly Winter opportunites might come to an end. 

At Bon Echo we cross-country skiied in to the narrows of Mazinaw Lake, a spot with a wonderful view of this large body of water with it's cinched waist. To the north is the majestic cliff rising 100 metres, a place considered sacred by Indigenous peoples for hundreds of years with pictographs along the base. In another time it was also the site of a lodge which catered to Christian clergy and artists, including members of the Group of Seven. 

                                                            Old Man and the Ski(s)

There was plenty of snow on our way through the pine woods to the lake and the surface was frozen after a prolonged cold spell. Still, we chose cautin and travelled along the shore to the narrows which were open. We've experienced this open water in other years, even when we were sufficiently confident to ski across to the cliff. 

The narrows can be incredibly busy during camping season with inexperienced paddlers doing their bumper car imitation. On Friday we sat in the silence with no one else around and savoured our "communion" picnic of sandwiches and tea. The sun reflecting off snow and ice and open water was stunning and we felt blessed. 

Today's psalm reading was from Psalm 78 and refers to Moses striking a rock in the wilderness to miraculously provide water to God's people. Even though our wintry moment was half a world away from the parched Negev Desert there was a sense of the miraculous in our experience. We make a point during our outdoor excursions to pause and acknowledge the Creator, taking nothing for granted. 

I assure you we did not drink from the icy waters of Mazinaw Lake, nor did we swim. I did take the plunge last October -- holy Moses! -- but I wasn't even slightly tempted on frosty Friday. 

                                                         Bon Echo -- AJ Casson, Group of Seven 

The Discipline of Walking in the Light

 

A scoundrel and a villain goes around with crooked speech,

 winking the eyes, shuffling the feet, pointing the fingers,
 with perverted mind devising evil, continually sowing discord;

on such a one calamity will descend suddenly, 

   in a moment, damage beyond repair.

 There are six things that the Lord hates,
    seven that are an abomination to him:
 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
 a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that hurry to run to evil,
 a lying witness who testifies falsely, and one who sows discord in a family.

Proverbs 6:12-19 NRSVue

This passage from Proverbs was one of the daily readings this past week and for some reason a certain politician came to mind as I read about crooked speech and sowing discord, the latter phrase twice. Proverbs is not a book of the bible I'm inclined to visit but these verses were so powerful in this discordant, violent time we find ourselves in. 

I chatted about this with Ruth over our morning coffee (I'm a fun guy to start the day) and we touched on the phrase in the Prayer of Jesus, "deliver us from evil." We repeat it every Sunday morning to the point that it becomes rote but it is essential. 

It's hard not to be discouraged these days when it does seem that feet run toward evil yet the writer of Proverbs goes on to offer encouragement, Yes, we need to be clear-eyed about the threats we face but the values of our forebears and the presence of God will sustain us and guide us in our sleeping and our waking. 

Walking in the light is a discipline and our hope in Christ. 

20 My child, keep your father’s commandment,
    and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
21 Bind them upon your heart always;
    tie them around your neck.

22 When you walk, they  will lead you;
    when you lie down, they will watch over you;
    and when you awake, they will talk with you.

23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,
    and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,

              Proverbs 6:20-23 NRSVue