For the 4 Sundays of Advent this year, I’m focusing on Luke chapter one up until Mary’s Song. Last week, we looked at Zechariah. This week, Mary. Third week, Elizabeth. And then we’ll conclude our Advent reflections with Mary’s Song. Mary: Questions Energize Faith Read: Luke 1: 26 – 38 Gabriel’s visit to Mary finds…
For the 4 Sundays of Advent this year, I’m focusing on Luke chapter one up until Mary’s Song. This week, we’ll be looking at the character of Zechariah. Next week, Mary. Third week, Elizabeth. And then we’ll conclude our Advent reflections with Mary’s Song. Zechariah: Unbelief and the Silencing of Patriarchy Read: Luke 1: 5…
It was with some trepidation that I (Beth) approached our second annual West Coast Generous Space Retreat at Camp Squeah in Hope, BC. I tend to approach the second time doing something with the pressure of the expectations established the first time around, and the drive to make it even better. I knew we had 65…
Fifteen years ago, when I took the role of Executive Director, people took it upon themselves to warn me about Brent Hawkes. It was 2002 and the Canadian debate about marriage equality was heating up. At that time, the ministry held a traditional theological position on marriage. And Rev. Hawkes was a gay clergy person,…
A new website launched last week called churchclarity.com, and already there is a lot of buzz. Simply said, this group is looking for churches to be clear about their policies regarding LGBTQ+ inclusion. As they say on their home page, “We believe that ambiguity is harmful and clarity is reasonable.” Through crowdsourcing, they want to…
After nearly two years of conversation and planning, last Friday we partnered with Shalem Mental Health to co-host a one day conference entitled, “LGBTQ+, Mental Health, & Faith: Exploring the Intersections.” Each of the three arenas we were considering can be fraught with assumptions and stigma. And yet there is such a tremendous need for…
Generous Space Retreats are highlighted with many moments of resonance as we share our stories with one another. There’s something precious about that ‘aha’ moment when you hear another lgbtq+ person share a question, a fear, a doubt, or an experience that you are intimately acquainted with – it makes you feel less alone. At…
Since the release of the Nashville Statement (NS) on August 29, 2017 there have been many supportive and encouraging responses for LGBTQ+ people. See: Denver Statement Liturgists Statement Christians United Statement While my sense is that the NS was intended to rally momentum and power among a certain group within the U.S. church, what it…
Young Adult (YA) novels have always been some of my favourite books to read. Sometimes I’ve pretended that my book choices have been for the sake of research, since I’ve always been involved in youth work with teenagers, but the truth is I genuinely love this genre. I love the intensity of the drama, I…
Intersectionality has become an important point of growth for our community as we seek to love each other well and pursue justice together. At the retreat two years ago, we had the opportunity to learn from three guests who gave voice and expression to the realities of multiple marginal identities: Michael Blair, Jordan Sullivan, and…