Rev. Deacon Ed Maddock, St. Thomas Anglican Church, Morden, MB
The Rev. Deacon Ed Maddock has served God as a deacon for 45 years as of April 21, 2020. I am honoured to serve alongside such a faithful servant and perhaps our oldest serving Deacon in this diocese, and possibly in Canada. Ed is 94 years old and faithfully reads
Walking: A Soliloquy
I am one of those people who much prefers to read about walking than to actually walk. I am not talking about those healthy “hike a nature trail across half of North America” types of walking books, but rather those that reflect on philosophy and walking, or perhaps the philosophy
Walking, Marching, Protesting
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
Walking on Sacred Ground
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
May Magazine 2020
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
A Theo-Politics of Coercion – The Heresies of Jean Vanier
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
End of Life – Reflections from a Spiritual Health Practitioner
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
Reflecting on Endings
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
It’s Hopeless
“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
April Magazine 2020
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
