Category Religion

Turkish Politics and You

With the world concentrating on COVID-19, you may have missed Turkish President  Tayyip Erdogan’s latest not so subtle move to reshape his country. He wants to turn a museum into a mosque. Not just any museum though, but a UNESCO world heritage building, the Hagia Sophia. This is a popular move in a country where […]

The Micro Church

When we first arrived in southern Germany we saw a number of small churches dotting the landscape. usually situated right beside some very large farm houses. Why would anyone build something like that? The friend who was driving us through the area explained that back when the weather was more extreme and roads less passable, […]

Are You Still Here?

We’re halfway through the week, and if you are reading this the world hasn’t ended. You probably didn’t realize global apocalypse was on the schedule this week. You may remember a decade ago there was much speculation about the Mayan calendar. Supposedly it predicted the end of the world for December 2012. I seem to […]

Instructional Video for the President

I avoid YouTube. It can suck up so much of your time. Some of my friends send me links to YouTube videos on a regular basis. There are political commentaries and music videos and some stuff that is just fun. Usually I don’t watch them. It isn’t that I don’t want to. But there are […]

America Burning

There are race riots in the streets of America. Again. We have seen this before. Does anything ever change? As an older white Canadian, I doubt I can fully understand the challenges faced by young Black American males. I grew up with the idea that the police were my friends, not the people most likely […]

Thursday Fart Joke

My first thought was that six-year-old boys would probably roll on the floor in laughter – but only if they speak English. German children wouldn’t see the humor. It’s another holiday in Germany, one that I never remember being mentioned in Canada. It is Ascension Day. For some reason, until this week I never heard […]

Virtually Marching For Life

Canada’s federal politicians are ecstatic Parliament is not meeting in Ottawa today. The second Thursday of May is the day they most dread. In ordinary times the annual March For Life would wind through Ottawa’s streets to Parliament Hill this afternoon. There would be at least 20,000 people calling politicians to account on Canada’s lack […]

Singing The World Into Being

Everyone lives forever – we just have to choose where – John Elefante (former lead vocalist for Kansas) A friend texted me, asking if I would write a short reflection for his FaceBook page. He gave no guidelines, and this is what came out. Not typical material for this space, but it is Sunday so […]

Celebrating Easter 2020

For those in the Orthodox and Coptic traditions (and a few others) Easter is celebrated a week later than other Christians. In recognition of that, some reflections on the Easter we celebrated last Sunday. Someone in Sulzburg had a great idea, though I’m not sure how successful the execution was – but that may be […]

Easter Morning

Today is a day of celebration. Forget the pandemic and dance with joy – today is Easter! I was looking for an Easter graphic to use in a different publication when I came across this post from Easter Sunday 2015. A lot has changed in my life and in the world in the past five […]