That's the message from Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, marking 1 September as both the start of the Orthodox ecclesiastical year and the Day of Prayer for the Protection of the Natural Environment, an observance the Ecumenical Patriarchate established in 1989 and which now brings Christian communities together worldwide: "a symbol and practical promotion of the unity... Continue Reading →
by Jim Hodgson - Reposted from Unwrapping Development More than 42 years after my first visit to Haiti, I can’t disagree with that assessment. It was offered June 16 by UN secretary general António Guterres near the end of his one-day visit to Port-au-Prince. The visit came 40 years after the fall of the Duvalier family dictatorship;... Continue Reading →
From The Guardian daily newsletter, Monday, Aug 31, 2026 - Hettie O’Brien, FIRST EDITION Over the weekend, rescue workers in Nepal and Tibet raced to find people who are still trapped in villages affected by catastrophic flash floods. As of this morning, the death toll stands at 903, and more than 4,000 people are missing.... Continue Reading →
A Poem on Hope It is hard to have hope. It is harder as you grow old, for hope must not depend on feeling good and there’s the dream of loneliness at absolute midnight. You also have withdrawn belief in the present reality of the future, which surely will surprise us, and hope is harder... Continue Reading →
A reflection from the late John O’Donohue For the First Day of the Season of Creation 2026 Also our first experience of the Feast Day of Creation in the calendar of the Christian Church Listen to John’s beautiful reflection here https://vimeo.com/203378234?fl=pl&fe=cm Video transcript: I'm John O'Donohue. I'm a writer. I live here in the west... Continue Reading →
Chef Ned Bell (left) and Farmer Thomas Tumbach started the Summerland Sauce Project to turn veggies into help - Photo: Summerland Sauce Project Casey Richardson - Aug 29, 2026 / From Castanet A project that bought crops from Okanagan farmers impacted by the Bald Range wildfire and turned them into seasonal sauces and preserves raised... Continue Reading →
The Tyee joins a helicopter crew on a critical day in the battle to stop the Ainslie Creek wildfire. Tyler Olsen is a senior editor at The Tyee. He lives in Lillooet. For the full article in THE TYEE go here. Additional images and comment. Highly recommended The helicopter tilts right, then banks hard to... Continue Reading →
Longtime faith columnist & reporter with the Winnipeg Free Press, John Longhurst, recently revisited a March, 2025 a column he wrote asking why faith groups were silent about Trump’s trade war and tariffs. “In light of the failed negotiations yesterday, (Sunday, August 23, 2026) I wonder if some groups might step up now. Or we... Continue Reading →
Friends, I’m very sad to report the death of one of the people I’ve idolized since I was old enough to idolize anyone: Dolly Parton. To me, Dolly Parton represented the very best in America. Her kindness, compassion, laughter, love of life, hardscrabble beginnings, humanity, ambition, and extraordinary talent were what this country is —... Continue Reading →
Photo by K K on Unsplash Thoughts from Eileen Workman Trump seems entirely incapable of getting out of his own way. I say this because, as I’ve observed: Mr. “Art of the Deal” seems unable to make any sustainable deals that actually help the American People. His fallback is always to use force, punishment, shaming,... Continue Reading →
