Sharing stories of life, faith, and ministry in the United Church and beyond.

Across the United Church, there are many approaches to marking Remembrance Day. In contributing a new selection of prayers for use…

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What Do We Celebrate on Remembrance Day?" href="/blogs/round-table/what-do-we-celebrate-remembrance-day"> Remembrance day poppies atop stone wall.
A sacrament is a visible sign of an invisible grace.
What Makes Us Protestant: Why Just Two Sacraments?" href="/blogs/round-table/what-makes-us-protestant-why-just-two-sacraments"> A diverse group of leaders pull a young person holding his nose out of the baptism waters. A number of people in the background await their turn to be baptized.

The following recounts the experience of one of our United Church of Canada’s ordained ministers (used with the person’s full permission).

Who is Minister to the Minister?" href="/blogs/round-table/who-minister-minister"> A person holds a purple, four-pointed fallen follow in their hand.

Most of the reformers left it up to individual Christians to decide whether signing was an appropriate expression of faith, but there were some who condemned it as a…

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What Makes Us Protestant: To Sign or Not to Sign?" href="/blogs/round-table/what-makes-us-protestant-sign-or-not-sign"> A white hand with fingers in the position of making the Sign of the Cross in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, with three fingers together.

Reformers disagreed about whether to reject or use the crucifix, to adopt an unadorned cross, or to discard the symbol altogether. Most Protestant churches…

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What Makes Us Protestant: Lift High the Cross?" href="/blogs/round-table/what-makes-us-protestant-lift-high-cross"> A stone cross standing outside, in front of the a background of green trees.

The Millstream Pastoral Charge in New Brunswick may…

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150 Ways to Help" href="/blogs/round-table/150-ways-help"> Millstream Pastoral Charge "blessing bags" of supplies for those on the street.

For the first thousand years of Christianity, and particularly since the Council of Ephesus in 431, Mary has held a special place in Christian faith. But for just as…

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What Makes Us Protestant: What about Mary?" href="/blogs/round-table/what-makes-us-protestant-what-about-mary"> A black and white image of the face of a Mary statue as she looks out beneath a cloudy day.

Did you know that October is Clergy Appreciation Month? It was introduced in the United States in the 1990s but throughout church history people have…

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10 Ways to Celebrate Clergy Appreciation Month" href="/blogs/round-table/10-ways-celebrate-clergy-appreciation-month"> A mosaic featuring the faces of diverse United Church ministry personnel.
A colleague mentioned that the salmon were spawning in the Humber River yesterday, so I chose that route for my run this morning. I stopped near a small waterfall and…
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Giving Thanks" href="/blogs/round-table/giving-thanks"> A large salmon jumps up a short waterfall on the Humber River in Toronto.
Reformers helped us see the vastness of God.
What Makes Us Protestant: Teachings That Matter" href="/blogs/round-table/what-makes-us-protestant-teachings-matter"> The sun bursting through the clouds.