Category Religion
Santa’s Flight and Santa’s Fight
It was 1983, which meant there was still a news wire in the radio station newsroom. I was working Christmas Eve and was keeping watch for breaking new stories. It was a quiet night, except for the recurring item from the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD), which was tracking Santa Claus’ flight across North […]
The Christmas Pageant
It was the three-year-olds on stage that impressed me. Not with their cuteness, though that seemed to be what most adults were focusing on. It was their poise. I didn’t pay much attention to the song, “Away in a Manger,” I think. They weren’t singing; that was the older children’s job (further back on the […]
York Minster V – Rest In Peace
I have no idea what plans my children have, if any, for my earthly remains. Since I am planning on living forever, or at least a good long time, the subject hasn’t come up. How we deal with the physical shell that is our body post-mortem does vary from culture to culture and time to […]
York Minster IV – The Tour
Like most churches, York Minster depends on volunteers to provide much of the labour that needs to be done. The tasks though for the 500 volunteers can be rather different from what you would find in most churches. I’ve never been asked to give a guided tour of my church, though on occasion I have […]
York Minister III – The Undercroft
Underneath York Minister Cathedral is a wealth of information, an historical museum with information that spans almost two millennia. For me that alone was worth the price of admission to the cathedral – the magnificent architecture and artwork were a bonus. This is a site with a rich history – the cathedral having been constructed […]
York Minster II – Renovations
Our visit to York Minster Cathedral stirred up conflicting emotions, to put it mildly. I still haven’t worked through exactly how I feel about the place. I was impressed by the dedication to worship and Christian witness. But the financial implications of maintaining such a heritage building are staggering. Certainly I recognize its historical significance. […]
York Minster I – Evensong
Sometimes it is the little things that catch your attention. In this case it was a worn step. Stone is a pretty durable substance. I can only imagine how many hundreds of thousands of feet it must have taken to leave an impression, to wear down the step in the choir of York Minster Cathedral. […]
Greyfriars Abbey, Dunwich
It is in what could be considered the middle of nowhere, definitely off the beaten track, though admittedly there were a lot more people around in the 13th century. In rural Suffolk you can find the ruins of a medieval Franciscan friary, founded in 1277 and in use until 1538. I assume it was closed […]
Looking For A Legacy
We have a craving for eternity, a longing for something that transcends this mortal coil. We know our time on this planet is limited and we want to be remembered. Those seeking to leave a legacy for future generations frequently fail to achieve their goals, perhaps because they try too hard or fail to understand […]
Three Countries, Six More Churches
Last Sunday’s post,”Five Countries, Five Churches” got a fair amount of appreciation, and I thought since it is Sunday I might once again post a photo essay of sorts of some of the churches we visited on our travels in Europe this past summer. We’ll start with the church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, located on Trafalgar […]
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