New Ministry, New Challenges

Hello Friends,

I’ve moved from native ministry on Christian Island to a wonderful congregation in the heart of Ottawa – Glebe-St. James United Church. GSJ is an Affirming Congregation in the United Church of Canada – which means that they are deliberate in welcoming everyone who comes in the doors. What particularly interested me was their commitment to social justice and, in particular, their desire to understand and support the neighbouring First Nations communities.

They are also interested in using social media to reach further into the community. To that end, not only can you visit this blog, you can also find us on Facebook and, Lord forbid, on the web at www.glebestjames.com. Our intrepid church administrator is busy at work linking all these items together.

Watch this space for reflecting on the Truth and

The Pentecost Rainbow

by Teresa Burnett-Cole • 10 June 2019
Today is Pentecost Sunday. The day we see and hear about some of the great symbols of faith. The day we all see red! Traditionally Pentecost is about being surprised, and being fully enlivened by God’s spirit, as Jesus was. And Pentecost is about hearing and experiencing the present-ness of God in a language we can understand... Not just in English or French or Korean or German, but also in the language of unemployment, television commercials, supermarket shopping and school playgrounds.

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

by Teresa Burnett-Cole • 28 April 2019
Alleluia, Christ is Risen! Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia! This morning, I want to say a word about Easter, a word taken from one of the great Eastern images of the mystery of the resurrection, an icon that has been a part of the Christian vision of what the Resurrection is all about since around the year 600. I have been powerfully drawn to this icon lately, and I want to talk about it a bit this morning. Let’s take a look. Remember: icons are about the theological meaning of people and events; they aren’t representative art like we might typically encounter. Icons are never depictions of exactly what happened. They’re pictures of what things mean. So, an icon of the Resurrection doesn’t show what the resurrection might have looked like back then—an icon of the Resurrection shows what it means now.