Worship Blog
Living Our Diversity
In the wake of Don Cherry’s divisive and hurtful statements, Rev. Dr. Paul Douglas Walfall asks, “Why is it that immigrants and people of colour have become the punching bag for some in our society?”
Challenging Our Assumptions
Paul Douglas Walfall writes that if we are to claim diversity, we need to challenge our assumptions about who and what is normative in Canada and in the church.
A Conversation toward Inclusion
Sharon Ballantyne shares about a conversation on inclusion, in which participants sought brave and safe space to engage with each other with all their hearts.
Considering Accessibility
I have a new perspective on life.
While I am waiting for two hip replacements, my mobility is decreasing – in direct proportion to the increase in chronic pain I am managing. These two factors, along with the long wait for joint replacement in the Ontario health care system, have come… Read more
Our Diverse Heritages Are Gifts to Give and Receive
For Asian Heritage Month, YoonOK Shin writes that our diverse heritages are gifts to give and receive, transforming bleak cultural boundaries.
As Purple to Lavender
Row on row we stood… in the brand new courtyard… row on row of young girls in navy tunics or navy skirts, white starched shirts, ties, and polished oxfords. I wore my new navy blazer with its red school crest, because it was a special occasion. The Honourable Lieutenant Governor… Read more
Facing the Past, Transforming the Future
“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” —Maya Angelou, “On the Pulse of Morning”
Disability, Who Me?
People sometimes share that they forget I am a person who is totally blind. I experience this as a good thing, an acknowledgment that they feel acceptance, and embrace me for who I am, my abilities and disabilities.
When I or others are not focusing on my disability and “forget” it, so… Read more
Accessible Canada Act Is Long Overdue
Almost 3.8 million Canadians (about 14 percent of the population) identify as having a disability. The United Church is committed to becoming an open, welcoming, and accessible church, and to… Read more
A Proud Heritage
I am a third-generation Japanese Canadian living in southern Alberta among the third-largest concentration of Japanese in Canada; the other two concentrations of population are in Vancouver and Toronto. In my city of Lethbridge, no one questions our presence here, because people have grown up… Read more
