Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! On Easter Sunday our time of worship began with this traditional greeting and response. We said these words together another six times in our worship liturgy that morning, once more at the start of my sermon, and I heard people greet one another with these words before and … Continue reading Wishing You a Blessed Easter Tuesday
Last night I went outside to look for Jupiter. "Look to the east," I was told. "After sunset, Jupiter will be the brightest thing in the sky." "You can see it even from the city." The great planet was brighter than usual last night because it was the closest it's been to earth in 59 … Continue reading When You’re Longing for Light, Where Do You Look?
Have you ever walked away from a conversation obsessing over what you should have said instead? What would have been better? What could have been clearer? I felt that way after last week's webinar on Living Well After the Pandemic hosted by Faith Today. It was an honour for me to be invited as one … Continue reading Pandemic Lessons to Carry Forward
Lift Every Voice: Contemplative Writers of Color is a new book club launched this year by Abbey of the Arts. What a delight to learn that Four Gifts had been chosen as the feature title for May! And as a resource for the book club, I loved talking with the Abbey's Christine Valters Paintner and … Continue reading Lift Every Voice: Four Gifts
For 2020, my word of the year was journey, and I thought of it mainly in terms of my journey more deeply into the writing life. I was about to complete my first year as resident author with a liturgical worship community, and looking forward to developing further partnerships with other churches where I might … Continue reading We Long for Healing
What is the Christian perspective of self-care?, asks Amelia Warkentin in her award-winning speech for the C. Henry Smith Oratorical Contest. I love the way she frames her answer with her own experience, research, and reflection on Scripture, including her reading of my book, Four Gifts: Seeking Self-care for Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength. It's an … Continue reading Finding Peace Through Self-Care
"To sing is to pray twice" is often attributed to St. Augustine, but just as I've seen different versions of the quote, I've also seen it variously attributed to Martin Luther and anonymous sources. Whoever said it first, and how ever we put it---"the one who sings prays twice," or "singing is praying twice," or … Continue reading To Sing is to Pray Twice
We admire those willing to die for what they believe, and we pay attention to the last words of those we admire. The book, Martyrs Mirror, consists primarily of final messages from Christians in jail, joyfully waiting to die for their faith. - Introduction to Martyrs Mirror I've generally thought of martyrdom as "the ultimate act of … Continue reading Is a Hidden Faith Just as Genuine as the Faith of a Martyr?
April Yamasaki 