There is nothing about the true Christmas story that is sentimental and nice: it is a tough as nails, hard-fought battle for redemption that can power each of us through the brokenness and carnage of our world. -Sam Chaise … More What would Mary think?

About a week ago, I downloaded an app to my phone called, We Croak. I had read about it in The Atlantic, and wanted to try it for myself. Weary of all the fuss about mindfulness apps that encourage you to slow down and breathe in the middle of the day, this one promised something … More Don’t forget, you’re going to die

As we near the end of our lenten Plastic Fast, I find my heart heavy. I am freshly aware of the destruction we are visiting upon the gift of God’s good earth. I have seen whales die with bellies full of plastic and plastic islands floating in the oceans. I have seen our own plastic … More Tonight, I lament.

Plastic. It’s political. Of course. It always is. A couple of weeks into our Lenten plastic fast, and a number of things are becoming obvious. For one thing, I never imagined that our family cutting down on plastic would have a massive impact on the planet. We engaged this exercise to become more aware, more … More Plastic is Political

A lenten ritual for me will be going to the Wolfville Farmers’ Market every Saturday in order to buy bread, baked goods, milk and meat with as little plastic as possible. Some look forward to this experience, as evidenced by the crowds packed into the market hall. For me, Saturday is the only leisurely morning … More Plastic Fast: Market Day

This is turning out to be more of a journey of awareness than a plastic-free jaunt. It pervades our lives more than I could imagine, and I never anticipated avoiding all of it. But I have been surprised just how much plastic invades the everyday, and how big my footprint is on this planet, plastic … More Plastic lent report: Two steps forward, two steps back

It all seemed to be going so well. I dared to think for a moment that it would be easy. After all, I’m almost always at work or home, and don’t tend to shop much or buy plastic very often anyway. I avoided the water bottles at the Simpson lectures. I used a real fork … More First plastic fail of lent

This year for lent, our family is committing to reduce and limit our use of plastic. Our goal is to not bring any new plastic into the house during lent, and not to use any plastic already in the house that would have to be thrown away, like plastic wrap, for example. This allows us … More Plastic Fast: Can I give up plastic for lent?

I thought then about how a word like this points to so much that is wrong with the church. Not that church in particular. Not even churches in general. Just church people and churchy language and why can’t we just be normal? … More Luncheon: Everything that’s wrong with the church. (Ok maybe not quite everything.)

I haven’t blogged here for awhile as I’ve been populating the MacRae Centre website and blogging over there. But this one got me today, and I had to say something out loud as I think it through… One thing about current gender debates and discussions that has not vexed me is the matter of gender-neutral … More Washroom Politics: It’s not what I thought.