A little while ago I was asking if maybe violence was necessary sometimes.  For myself, I still take a perspective of non-violence is a discipline and direction that I want to live my life, but in that article I was questioning the forcing of non-violence on others.  This is specifically a problem when non-violence is …

In Support of Non-Violence that Looks Like Violence Read More »

Potlucks is the oldest and most consistent tradition that we have at theStory. From our very first meeting as a community, we met in each other’s homes and ate together. The importance of such a practice for us usually goes unnoticed for a while. Many new folks that first join our community show up to …

A Sermon on Potlucks And Sharing Meals Read More »

This excerpt is from Sapiens: Any large-scale human cooperation – whether a modern state, a medieval church, an ancient city or an archaic tribe – is rooted in common myths that exist only in peoples collective imagination. Churches are rooted in common religious myths. Two Catholics who have never met can nevertheless go together on …

The Universe Is Made Up Of Stories Read More »

Faith by it’s very nature is a choice to hold to something that cannot be proven. It is a choice of hope despite the lack of evidence that any exists or does not exist. Those of us that hold onto faith are making a decision that hope is better than no hope, or ambivalent hope. …

Is True Consciousness Possible When You Hold Onto Faith? Read More »

When you allow yourself to explore all philosophical and religious angles, you will come face to face with the world of nihilism. And after exploring all the different options, nihilism becomes quite attractive because it demands nothing. The author of Ecclesiastes would agree. So don’t argue. It’s biblical. When you give it an honest effort …

Nihilism vs Faith Read More »

I wrote this because organizations like Wawanosh Enterprises should be defended on issues like this. Turning a service like this into a political and economic issue hurts everyone involved. It ends up becoming about making a point that only serves to benefit one individual temporarily while it sucks money and energy away from everyone else. …

Sheltered Workshops Fulfills a Need Read More »

A few years back, this guy with big, dark rimmed glasses sat in our church with his friends. One year later, he sat quietly in a living room in Saskatoon across from me. At some point while listening to records and drinking the home brew created by our host, I told him that he should …

Dallas and Celeste Read More »

It’s a nice Sunday afternoon, I’m reading through the news. An insane image shows up of a man on fire on the front page of the Observer forty minutes ago with the headline “Flames at Ipperwash.” The entirety of the news article was mostly about the situation twenty years ago, with only one sentence about …

A Perfect Example of Why The Sarnia Observer Needs To Die Read More »

We all wake up every single morning. We all go to bed at night. We all eat. We all breathe. We all live in houses. We all have relationships. What ends up happening with all of us, is that we take all these things that we all have, and we get into routines. Some of …

Living An Intentional Life: A Sermon On Intention Read More »