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Noticings – March 1, 2023

NOTICINGS… March 1, 2023 How’s your church-talk these days? Is it upbeat and hopeful? Is it downbeat and fatalist? Is the cold, snowy weather after a tease of mildness messing with your outlook on things? Covid worries are slowly waning…

Noticings – February 21, 2023

NOTICINGS… February 21, 2023 You may have ‘noticed’ that this Noticings has come to you on Tuesday instead of its usual Wednesday. It’s because today is Shrove Tuesday, better known as Pancake Tuesday, and tomorrow is Ash Wednesday which is…

Noticings – February 15, 2023

NOTICINGS… February 15, 2023 I have written and spoken of my deep admiration for theologian Howard Thurman many times. As February is Black History Month, and this week had Valentine’s Day, I thought I would combine these and share an…

Noticings – February 1, 2023

NOTICINGS… February 1, 2023 One of our congregants asked me recently about the Lord’s Prayer. Their question was about why we’ve added in the words “and Mother” in the first line when we say it in church on Sundays. I…

Noticings – January 25, 2023

NOTICINGS… January 25, 2023 It’s that time of year again. Annual report time. Each year all the Chairs of our various Committees and groups write up reports on what happened in their group over the last year. It’s part accountability…

Noticings – January 18, 2023

NOTICINGS… January 18, 2023 In the midst of a very busy week I am buoyed by the blessings that a community of faith provides. It’s not the grand gestures that make such a difference. It’s the little things, done in…

Noticings – January 11, 2023

NOTICINGS… January 11, 2023 The realization dawned on me last Thursday just before noon. Something felt different. Not different bad; different good. It was as if something unfamiliar had become familiar again. Faith United was preparing for the funeral of…

Noticings – January 4, 2023

NOTICINGS… January 4, 2023 This year I decided to make a whole bunch of little resolutions at New Years. Nothing major, or dramatically life-altering, just little course corrections and reframings that I think will help me navigate my life more…

Noticings – December 28, 2022

NOTICINGS… December 28, 2022 Howard Thurman, an African-American theologian, educator, and civil rights leader, is one of my very favourite theologians and poets. This familiar poem has been adapted into a hymn called “I Am the Light of the World,”…

Noticings – December 21, 2022

NOTICINGS… December 21, 2022 It didn’t go exactly as planned. I mean, it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the way I wanted it to be. At our Faith United Christmas concert last weekend, I played and sang my very favourite…