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 You also have withdrawn belief in the present reality of the future, which surely will surprise us, and hope is harder...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 →
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 →
Here's the good news. The Bald Range wild fire is now held. Hallelujah. Back home in Summerland most residents have now returned to a new post-evacuation experience of "normal." Though not all; some are still unable to access their homes or work places. Many are negotiating with insurance companies; others continue to wonder about next... Continue Reading →
by James Adair, BROADVIEW, Aug. 6, 2026 [I find the concepts below compelling. As churches often claim they are cocunter-cultural to my eye they simply mirror the capitalist culture that surrounds and feeds them . How often have I preached on the Parable of the shrewd Manager trying to avoid praising the servant who took... 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 →
Few people, if any, name their plants; I am likely the only one. I named my Tropical Green Blood Leaf plant with pink stems Larry for no particular reason. The name felt right at the time. I bought him (gender assigned) from a local greenhouse back in the Spring thinking he could fill an important... Continue Reading →
On December 13 1776, in the dark days of the US War of Independence, Thomas Paine wrote a little book called “The Crisis”. He began with these words - “THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country;... Continue Reading →
