Nelson United Church

Jeremiah 18:1-11 I love the image of God as a potter and we as clay creations. Perhaps this is because my mother worked as a potter for part of my growing up. I watched her spinning clay on a wheel, centring it and pulling it up and down, shaping it until it met the image read on →

         We live in a complex world these days.  That’s a truism that hardly needs stating.   A part of the complexity is that our language is changing. Like many, I’ve become a fan of the Swedish student, Greta Thunberg, who landed safely in New York after a 2-week journey across the sea.  She has talked read on →

Spirituals Sunday Vignettes taken from a worship service prepared by Alydia Smith with some additions and editing by David Boyd. A HISTORY IN SONG The 1600s Slavery existed in Canada, as it existed in colonies throughout the world. The first documented slave in Canada was named Olivier Le Jeune in 1628. (However, there are reports read on →

         This sermon arises out of today’s theme, which is about Celtic music.  I’m reflecting on my own Celtic roots and the Celtic roots of one part of the United Church.          In a little book I’ve come to love, Celtic Christian Spirituality: Essential Writings Annotated & Explained, there’s a chapter called Blessing as a read on →

         Hope is a difficult thing. But, it’s an important thing, perhaps the most important thing.  Remember that line near the end of the movie, The Shawshank Redemption? Tim Robbin’s character, Andy Dufresne, is at his wit’s end and says some alarming things to Red, played by Morgan Freeman.  But he talks about hope as the most important read on →

         I read an interesting and funny little blog in The Christian Century magazine about the passage from Luke’s Gospel, which starts with a question asking Jesus to intervene in a family dispute.  Garret Keizer wrote, What if we were given only the first part of this story and were required to supply the ending? read on →

         When I was a lad, certainly before I was a teenager but old enough to walk on my own, I did just that. I walked.  I walked a lot.  Around the streets of Kenora, in the winter over a winter bridge to Coney Island, a summer place for swimming, but a quiet place in the read on →

         I spoke last week about the Apollo missions to the moon; I hope you’ve enjoyed watching the footage and the reflections on that moment 50 years ago.  The Guardian newspaper has had some interesting reflections about hope and trying to get to the moon and what it means for us today.  I’m going to read on →

         Where were you July 20th, 1969?  This month is the 50thanniversary of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walking on the moon for the first time.  There have been a few specials about this on TV and it has been interesting to remember the history of the Moon Missions.  The Apollo missions started in the read on →

         When I was in Palestine 6 years ago now, I bought a little resource called The Spirit of Sumud: Resilience, Grace and Beauty in Palestine.  It was a packet of pictures and text based on a photography exhibit.  The pictures displayed Palestinian life: significant village moments, the landscape, farming practices and flowers, religious places read on →