I am often asked to share a song or a poem at variety nights or campfire gatherings. Typically I call up memories of British comedy classics from Flanders and Swan. Over the years I have offered my own version of Hoffnungโs The Bricklayerโs Lament. I really need to broaden my scope to include some Canadian... Continue Reading →
“Trump is worse than anyone in our history” Ty Cobb
Shared by Stephen Greenhouse on Facebook Former Trump White House lawyer Ty Cobb made some withering comments about Trump, writing, "He is worse than anyone in our history." Cobb wrote: "Trump is worse than anyone in our history in my experience and opinion. As people seem to have forgotten, I was very critical of Biden... Continue Reading →
An economy of place โ The Fogo Island story
How one of Canadaโs richest women transformed the island of her birth Highlights from Deirdre McQuillan in The Irish Times Sun Aug 24 2025 Having made a fortune in fibre optics, the โculturally responsibleโ entrepreneur Zita Cobb helped reverse the fortunes of Fogo island, Newfoundland At the age of 13, in 1971, Zita Cobb, an... Continue Reading →
Make your world bigger, not smaller
Arlene Dickenson on Facebook Anaรฏs Nin said life shrinks or grows in proportion to oneโs courage. I think about this a lot when I see adults, at any age, settling into smaller and smaller worlds. The same coffee order, the same daily routines. The same conversations with the same people about the same safe topics.... Continue Reading →
Andrew Coyne on the dictatorship of Donald Trump
Andrew Coyne in the Globe and Mail, updated By now it should be clear that the subjection of the United States to the dictatorship of Donald Trump is no longer a theoretical possibility or even a distant probability. It is an imminent reality. It is not here, quite โ critics of the President remain at... Continue Reading →
Kathy Galloway, fondly remembered
I have long lasting ties with Scotlandโs Iona Community. During the 1990s while ministering at Sooke on Vancouver Island I discovered their music and liturgies. Initially created by John Bell, Graham Maule, and the Wild Goose Worship Group the liturgies were scripturally based, socially relevant, and justice-centred. The music was very well crafted, easy to... Continue Reading →
When the Gates of Hell will open who will be there to notice?
A few days ago I published a blog describing Pope Leoโs citation of the faithful witness of the Algerian Martyrs during the Algerian civil war between 1994-1996. Mission, the pope insisted, is never โa form of self-display, in opposition of identities, but the gift of self, even to the point of martyrdom, by those who... Continue Reading →
Pope Leo and the witness of the Algerian martyrs
I first learned of the Algerian martyrs through the movie: Of Gods and Men, a film centered on a true story that happened in the monastery of Tibhirine, Algeria, where nine Cistercian monks lived in harmony with the largely Muslim population of Algeria, until seven of them were kidnapped and assassinated in 1996 during the... Continue Reading →
Competition: Who is worse? Trump or Vance? โ A horrible competition
[Ken Gray โ One way or another; Trump wonโt be around forever; this means J D Vance could assume the presidency. Eileen Workman probes this horrible possibility below.] [Eileen Workman] For all my friends who fear that JD Vance would make an even worse leader than Trump, I say: follow the energy thatโs already in... Continue Reading →
โNo one calls me Daveโ โ An appreciation of the life and ministry of David Crawley 1937 – 2025
Posting on Davidโs Facebook page, Joan Bubbs, Davidโs wife shared the sad news: โI have signed on to David's Facebook page to share the heartbreaking news that David died yesterday [Sunday], after a short illness. Some of you will also know that David was suffering from severe dementia. The combination of physical and mental deterioration... Continue Reading →