Holyscapes
Is Jesus the icon of the Christ that we must look for in every culture? Or is Jesus Christ the one true image of God for all human beings everywhere? Read more
Is Jesus the icon of the Christ that we must look for in every culture? Or is Jesus Christ the one true image of God for all human beings everywhere? Read more
Vancouver has recently seen a very unusual arctic front that has not only dropped several inches of snow, but has plunged temperatures below freezing, turning streets and sidewalks into slick ice skating rinks. and leaving city officials totally unprepared for even a basic response. In this winter weather, before the holidays, I spent a lot of time inside binge watching a TV series on Netflix called “The 100.” Though the post-apocalyptic sci-fi is set in Northeastern United States, it was filmed... Read more
On November 1, I wrote that our ancestors are asking for forgiveness through us. News that the US Army Corps of Engineers denied the final permit needed for the Dakota Access Pipeline to cross Lake Oahe which forms part of the Stand Rock Sioux tribe’s sacred land, which was desecrated with the 1960s era dam that created the lake in the first place. Monday, as spirits were high, and it looked like the pipeline route was either being rerouted or... Read more
We have an endless supply of nuance for our own group, and none for the other side. Read more
[Seminar Presentation delivered at the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES) at the University of British Columbia November 11, 2016. It summarizes by PhD Dissertation at this point.] Introduction At 4:13 AM I stumble in the pale darkness to my choir stall. When I finally look up through the west facing window of the Abbey Church, the luminous full moon is setting through a light haze. We begin to chant the early morning Divine Office of Vigils, a ritual... Read more
Feeling my Reaction The Gospel reading for November 9th, the day after Donald Trump won the US Presidential election, was from the second chapter of John: “When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of... Read more
During the Pagan celebration of Samhain, the veil between the worlds is said to be thin. It is a time when we can speak with our ancestors, to give or receive messages. For most of my life, I have not had a relationship with my ancestors, scattered across North America, and the British Isles where my people came from. With both my grandparents on my mother’s side dying over the past two years, I had been thinking more about those... Read more
Thinking of an opening line for this post, I walked to the sink to fill up my canteen. I don’t have any direct connections to the Standing Rock Sioux, but want to express my support. As the water resonates inside my stainless steel canteen, I mutter a short prayer of gratitude for clean water. The obvious occurs to me. My connection to Standing Rock is all of our connection to Standing Rock: a right to clean water. A right to... Read more
Crossing a small pair of train tracks, the smell of fish grows stronger and the screech of gulls grows louder. I walk to the end of a small alley, and duck around an open fence where a tiny patch of green hides an even tinier stretch of river bank. From what I could tell on Google Maps, this was the only place for miles that I could access the Fraser River on foot. Walking the 3.5 miles at a leisurely... Read more
One of my spiritual practices, is, some days after work, instead of taking the bus directly, to walk through Pacific Spirit Park to a bus stop farther from campus. It helps be get out of my head, grounds me in the changing seasons, and fills my lungs with clean cool air. I usually take a long trail that transects the section of gorgeous second growth douglas fir forest between University Blvd. and 16th Ave. This week, mushrooms are popping up... Read more
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