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In this time of social distancing, we may think wistfully back to the days when we were able to congregate in church, in theatres, and in protest. It was only six months ago that people from all strata gathered at the Manitoba Legislature for the Strike for Climate Action, inspired

An old bush-trail cuts through the back of my neighbour’s property, weaves its way around various hollows and high places, and opens at an old, grassy roadway, on the other side of Coney Island, on Lake of the Woods. The roadway connects a small seasonal community, a large beach, and

In May’s issue of RLN, we’re taking a Walk. Alex Jackson takes us down forest paths; Hannah Foulger explores the nature of protest when one isn’t able-bodied enough to participate in the march; and Chris Trott reflects on the amount of time Jesus spent just walking. Download the pdf or

Jean Vanier was a hero to many, myself included. When I was in my undergraduate and master’s degrees, I was a live-in caregiver for persons with mental challenges. I later volunteered at at L’Arche community. I came to see Vanier’s theology of disability as not only a pastoral theology, but

A nurse asked me a question during my first unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at the Ottawa Civic Hospital 19 years ago. The question involved her expectations that chaplains provide primarily religious support to patients. This expectation often surrounds this job. I knew it then, and the intervening years have

Our minds like patterns and predictability, so we seek to establish routines and rituals to bring order and meaning to our lives. We use words to frame our understanding, but our vocabulary, like our understanding, is limited. We pretend our days start at a given time, or that our activities

“I’ve tried. You know I’ve tried. For the past few years I’ve tried everything I could think of and now I’m ashamed to admit that I think the situation is hopeless. There isn’t anything left for me to do except admit it’s hopeless.” My spiritual director leaned in, smiled, and

In April’s issue of RLN, we’re exploring “Endings.” No, this issue isn’t as bleak as the title would suggest. Alex Jackson offers a reflection on how endings can be moments of transformation. Rachel Twigg Boyce writes about how to recognize when something does truly need to end. And, Helen Holbrook relates her

One is a music therapist, recently graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University. The second is a spiritual director from Hong Kong. And the third, from Lethbridge, Alberta, is discerning a call to the religious life. Three women from different backgrounds, but with one thing in common: they are all spending a

I was a teenager when I first heard it, a song released several years earlier. As Depeche Mode’s “Somebody” spun off of the cassette tape to my ears that first time, all I could do was sit there, still, with a lump in my throat. Rewind. Repeat. Rewind. Repeat. It

We love to welcome guests to our monastery chapel to join us for morning or evening prayer, which consist of reciting the psalms in choir. The Psalms are the prayer book of the Bible; there is one for every occasion, emotion, question, joy, and sorrow. Truth be told, though, there

The Psalter speaks to real-life situations. It encourages faith (Psalms 11, 23, 27), models praise (Psalms 29, 103), reveals wisdom (Psalms 1, 19, 119), and accompanies pilgrim people (Psalms 120–134). John Calvin’s description of the Psalter as “An Anatomy of All Parts of the Human Soul” in Commentary on Psalms is

In March’s issue of RLN, we’re exploring “Psalms that Suck.” Lissa Wray Beal and Mary Coswin both tackle the imprecatory psalms, or cursing psalms. Jaylene Johnson writes about how songs can act as modern psalms. Lastly, Stuart Mann, Communications Director of the Diocese of Toronto, offers a look at the

I moved to Canada with my family in the early 2000s as a refugee from Palestine. I was 16 years old, the eldest of my four siblings that had joined me on the journey from our home to the cold, unfamiliar land. At the time, I was not aware of

All cultures have wisdom traditions, safeguarded by sages and prophets as well as common sense, household wisdom, and the wisdom of the royal court. We could call this conventional wisdom, which seeks understanding for prudent living in various life situations. Wisdom also offers instruction for the avoiding unnecessary anxiety, living with

In every season, I have deeply valued those times when people I respected were willing to share their wisdom with me: their perspectives, insights, or hard-won knowledge. In just 26 years, I’ve been blessed with so many excellent teachers: parents, educators, supervisors, artists late and living, clergy, friends, a brilliant

In February’s issue, we’re exploring different facets of Wisdom. John Stafford explains how we can approach and interpret Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, and Beth Downey offers insights into how to seek wisdom. This issue also has some important information regarding Diocesan Synod, which will take place in October 2020. And, in

In December 2018, Rupert’s Land News introduced the six pilgrims from St. Margaret’s – three youth and three adults – who were heading off to walk the Camino de Santiago. Here are their stories from the trail. – KN Becky Slater I was one of the six pilgrims from St. Margaret’s