Sharing stories of life, faith, and ministry in the United Church and beyond.

When I acquired HIV in 1987, it was “a death sentence”. One of the first comments made by my GP in 1990 in Regina, when he gave me the HIV+ test result, was that I…

continue reading
The End of AIDS by 2030?" href="/blogs/round-table/end-aids-2030"> Some of the chaplains at the 22nd International AIDS Conference.

At the ACT Alliance General Assembly, the church continues to twist itself in knots about sex and sexuality.

The Struggle for Inclusion Continues" href="/blogs/round-table/struggle-inclusion-continues"> A heart shaped illustration with human figures of all different colours.

A reflection on the speaker selection for a gender justice panel at the ACT Alliance General Assembly in Uppsala, Sweden, which consisted of a majority of…

continue reading
Making Space for Gender Justice" href="/blogs/round-table/making-space-gender-justice"> A photo of the gender justice panel at the ACT Alliance General Assembly shows it consisted of five men and two women.
Time is such a precious commodity, and we often complain about not having enough of it.

Last weekend when the GC43 Executive Elect met to continue discerning…
continue reading
Note from Nora: Traffic Jam Prayer" href="/blogs/round-table/note-nora-traffic-jam-prayer"> A photo of a car dashboard during a traffic jam, when the speedometer reads zero.

Ignoring the call for justice is simply not an option for followers of Christ. On this International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on October 17, I…

continue reading
The Call for Justice is Not an Option" href="/blogs/round-table/call-justice-not-option"> A discarded orange teddy bear sits atop an old bicycle tire and other garbage in a dump.

The word “formation” makes me think of fashioning something out of raw material — perhaps with the hands, like a piece of wood or a lump of clay or a garment.…

continue reading
Being Formed" href="/blogs/round-table/being-formed"> A potter's hands covered with wet clay and shaping a vessel on the pottery wheel in India.
Values of solidarity and justice shape United Church connections with the people of El Salvador.
The Power of Reciprocity" href="/blogs/round-table/power-reciprocity"> A detail from a mural at Monseñor Óscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport in El Salvador, showing Archbishop Oscar Romero and several children, one holding a sign that says "Mi amor es el pueblo" ("My love is the people.")

After two years of pondering and waiting, hoping and praying, training and studying to serve as an ecumenical accompanier (EA), my…

continue reading
Walking through Jerusalem" href="/blogs/round-table/walking-through-jerusalem"> An Eastern Orthodox priest in an orange robe swings a censor in The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

Author Aimee Gavin writes about teaching her son to understand colonization and its impacts.

On “White Jesus” and Being an Ally" href="/blogs/round-table/white-jesus-and-being-ally"> A young boy waves a Canada flag enthusiastically at a Canada Day celebration.
By season, fall is a time of endings, but in most of our lives, and certainly, in our regular church cycles, it is a time of new beginnings.

For us in The…
continue reading
Note from Nora: Endings and New Beginnings" href="/blogs/round-table/note-nora-endings-and-new-beginnings"> A tree is shown in the lowering sunlight, with autumn colours of red, yellow, and green swirl around it.