The months of May and June 2022 were two of the most difficult months of my life. On May 29th, 2022, St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, Hillsdale had its final service after 171 years of service. The church served Hillsdale and surrounding community right from pioneer years and through multiple generations. I had been their lay…
The Census Canada notice for this latest census arrived in the mail early last week. Just seeing the notice triggered a wave of raw emotions from when I worked as a census enumerator in 2011. It was such a challenging time of my life. In 2008 my decades long factory job ended after the factory…
As a lay pastor, I do make a lot of effort to be well read up on culture and what is happening in the world. There are good things happening out there. But we live in a broken world where there is much sorrow and many concerns about our world, our governments, wars, intolerance and…
It is amazing how much we have advanced in the medical field during my lifetime. Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for drowning victims goes back to the 17th century. However it was only in 1959 (the year after I was born) that the chest compression technique was approved for humans. The acronym is called CPR which is for Cardio…
Growing up in elementary and high school, history was one of my least favourite subjects. My thoughts were, “What’s the point. It happened in the past”. Over the years I had an “about face” and have come to realize we learn from history. And I also have learned to love and appreciate history. Unfortunately history…
It is Christmas. Today marks the birth of Jesus Christ. Today is one of the most celebrated and significant events in human history. It also marks the beginning of the Christian faith. Millions of people observe the day in some form around the world. For myself, this has been one of the quietest Christmas seasons…
Last week I did something I have never done before. Despite hundreds of millions of people or perhaps billions of people (if you go back to the beginning of time) having done it. For me, it wasn’t necessarily one of those must do before I die events. But I decided to do it anyways. So…
Well, summer is winding down. Tomorrow I will be back on busy Highway 93 for my school crossing guard duties. And 3 Sunday’s ago I returned to the pulpit to preach at the three churches of the Uptergrove Charge after our 4 week summer break. It’s been a good summer break. Other years I have…
Well Father’s Day has come and gone for another year. I always can’t wait to see it done and over with. Perhaps it is because of my own shortcomings as a father. Perhaps because there is always a sadness of having lost my own father when I was the young age of 15. Maybe it…
Ahhh springtime. I love witnessing the vivid greens of the bursting buds of the deciduous trees. And walking into a hardwood forest where the forest floor is grandiosely carpeted by the delicate, and exquisitely beautiful white trillium. I particularly love going into a forest during or right after a rain. That piquant, musky “earth smell” emanating the air, and…
Fifty years ago I would never have expected I would be lay pastor at three wonderful rural Presbyterian churches in Oro-Medonte and Rama Townships in Ontario, Canada. I’ve always been a bit of a shy soul, awkward in social settings. And after my dad suddenly died from a heart attack in 1973 when I was…
Back when I was a child, an item I had written on Santa’s list at least a couple of times was a certain Lego set. When it wasn’t to be found under the tree on Christmas Day, I just couldn’t understand why. All year I tried to be a good boy. It was only when…
For as long as I can remember, I have always had jigsaw puzzles kicking around. They are one of those things where I have to be in the right frame of mind to work on.. If I am in the right frame of mind I might just pull one out and start the puzzle. There…
Our skin is so amazing. As our bodies largest organ, it acts as a barrier between us and our environment, insulating, protecting the organs, muscles, veins and bones from external threats. So everything from dust and dirt to bacteria and viruses can’t just go walking in. Even when it gets a cut, if we clean…
Seven weeks ago I was able to complete the notoriously tough 50k Pick Your Poison Trail Race for the 7th consecutive time. Although the course stays always the same, it seems that every year the race gets harder to complete. This year’s race I ended up as the 3rd last finisher out of 99 starters.…
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