So, I spent the weekend in Uganda. Now that’s something I never thought I’d say. I was invited to be the guest speaker at the annual missionary retreat for Wesleyan Missionaries who serve in Africa. Not a large group but they came from all over the continent to be together with others who had a…
But it works. . .
The other day I was working on my laptop and after doing a fairly standard cut and paste in the document I had open, I had a startling revelation. I had no idea how the computer did what it did. I mean it wasn't exactly putting someone on the moon, but still, how did this…
What’s Your Emergency?
I’m sure it seemed like an emergency at the time. When the 911 operator, in Leeds Ontario, answered the phone with the familiar line, “911, what’s your emergency?” they probably weren’t expecting the reply. It seems that a 21-year-old woman from Quebec had spent the night gambling at the Shoreline Casino and suddenly she realized…
Spring has sprung. . . or Not.
Spring is here, spring is here, spring is here. I figure maybe if I use the word spring enough, that maybe spring will come, and warmer weather will spring forth, flowers will spring up and springs will thaw out. I just looked outside, and it seems to be working. During last week’s snowstorm, someone asked…
They will hate you. . .
What makes the difference between simple vandalism and a hate crime? This past weekend, Easter weekend, two Catholic churches were defaced with misspelt obscenities profaning the name of Jesus. A couple of things I noted. The first was the lack of interest from the media. Apparently, a church being defaced isn’t as newsworthy as a…
Whose fault is it?
How responsible are we for our bad behaviour? Tyler Hatch of British Columbia has recently filed a lawsuit against the B.C. Lottery Corp (BCLC) claiming they failed to intervene in the gambling addiction that cost him over half a million dollars. Hatch’s suit alleges “As a result of his compulsive gambling addiction and the failure of…
It’s how you say it
I was reading an article on Cross-Cultural Church Planting awhile back and came across a statement that read, “America has the second largest African American population next to Nigeria.” Maybe I’m just being picky, but my first question was; how many African Americans do they have in Nigeria? It’s interesting how our language changes and…
Winter. . . Yuck!
Have I mentioned lately how much I hate winter? My mother says I have always hated winter but that's not true. There were four years that I kind of enjoyed winter. Of course, those were the four years that we spent in Australia. And the past couple of storms haven’t helped. However, there are a…
Giving it up for. . .?
So, what did you give up for Lent? Anything? I gave up brussel sprouts, snow shovelling and Barry Manilow music. In some churches, that are more traditional than we are, Lent is the 40 days (less Sundays) before Easter and has traditionally been seen as a time to “fast” or give something up for God.…
I’ve been Robbed
I was robbed and it happened when we were on vacation. While we were away we had the opportunity to attend a couple of presentations that we had been looking forward to. In both cases they didn’t start when they were supposed to start. When the staff finally got around to starting the session they…