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I tried my hand at writing an intercessory prayer for church this Sunday. The narrative lectionary had us in Luke 15:1-32 and the theme of the service was Christ collides with our priorities. Prayer Creator, Good Shepherd, Loving parent, Celebrator of lost things found: We are living in interesting times plagued with economic uncertainty, climate crisis, violence and despair. Minister to our anxious souls. Awaken us to our capacity to act and equip us to live courageously. Creator, Good Shepherd, Loving parent, Celebrator of lost things found: We experience pain and illness and challenges. Bring healing to our troubles. Pour out your spirit of mercy and compassion and help us to bind up wounds. Creator, Good Shepherd, Loving parent, Celebrator of lost things found: We hear of violence in the world: our hearts break... for our MB brothers & sisters in amid war in Ukraine, violent chaos in Eastern DR Congo and paramilitary threats in Choco, Colombia; for members of Bible Missionar...

I send a lot of letters.  To help the message reach a little farther, I’ve decided to share them on my blog here so others can read these perspectives.  This one is written by the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute with some additional commentary by me. CFPI will likely forgive me for plagiarizing their letter, especially if you click the link in the comments to sign and send your own version. You can enter your email address and send as is or go into the letter text and adjust the wording to match your voice and sentiments. Dear Defence Minister Bill Blair, Canadian pride is on the rise these days and folks are proudly sharing the old iconic Molson “Joe Canadian” commercial with the powerful line, “we believe in peacekeeping not policing.” Indeed. Contrary to the clamour, this is NOT the time to pour money into the well of destruction that is the military. And certainly not to any support for the US military. Until Donald Trump stops threatening to annex Canada the mili...

 Dear Prime Minister Carney Congratulations on taking on the mantle of leadership of the Liberal Party, and with it, Prime Ministership of Canada, with such a resounding lead. It's never an easy job and you have taken it up at a particularly difficult time. Tonight, along with many other Canadians, I am beyond heart-sick at the news that Israel has broken the ceasefire. This is unconscionable. They are already credibly accused of war crimes and genocide and now they can't even keep a peace deal? The leaders of the nations of the world must condemn this decisively and with alacrity. Disregard for international rule of law and flagrant unconcern for human life must not go unremarked upon. Please show us your political courage and moral fortitude by speaking against this human tragedy.

With apologies to Canadian Foreign Policy Institute, Just Peace Advocates, and World BEYOND War whose letter I plagiarized below with some customization.  I trust they’ll forgive me, especially if you click the link below to sign and send your own version: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/cancel-the-f35-fighter-jet-contract-canada-shouldnt-spend-billions-on-us-made-and-controlled-weapons-systems Photo by Guy Seela

  What do you do when a creepy fun project on a little Nazi episode in your hometown uncovers an uncomfortable fact? If you’re Andrew Wall of Refuge 31 films, you make it your next project! Well, actually, about a decade and many other projects passed before Wall got to make this film about his great-grandfather’s Nazi episode. But the timing of the release of The Devil’s Handshake is perhaps exactly right for a film that asks what motivations, what history, what blinders lead us to support extremist movements that should be anathema to us. In the talk-back after the screening at U of W, Wall and several audience members concluded the point was that you can’t judge folks in history because they have all kinds of reasons for why they do what they do. But I don’t think that’s quite what Wall is doing. After all, he made the movie. It there was no valuation that something was off about what his great-grandfather supported, there would be no point to film. All that e...

Peace Train Canada painting by Norma Emerson To the leaders of Canada’s political parties: I write to you to echo Elizabeth May's call for Canada to endorse the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. “Although Canada does not possess nuclear weapons of our own, engaging with the TPNW is Canada’s opportunity to be a global leader in moving disarmament forward by influencing our allies with our decisions ,” she writes. “The threat of nuclear weapons being used once again is becoming more real every day.” “We cannot afford to sit on the sidelines any longer. ” Canada has a reputation for being a country that supports peace. We must not rely on reputation only but continue on many fronts with proactive statements, policies and initiatives to declare that violence solves no problems. At both individual and state levels, peoples of the world must recognize that human flourishing requires peace, not war. At this crucial moment in history, rather than raining destruction upon...

Image skimmed from Plain Bicycle’s e-shop. Don’t you wish you had one of these? Wouldn’t a nice government rebate help? Dear Minister Jagmeet Singh I saw your online petition regarding tariffs on Teslas – and I agree and all – but as for the $10,000 rebate for buying a Canadian-made EV instead (does such a thing even exist?), can I suggest something that would have a far greater impact on reducing Canada’s transportation emissions?  A cash rebate on the purchase of an ebike.  Maybe something like $2,000 on the purchase of an ebike; $3,000 on a cargo bike. The numbers may not be quite right. Maybe they’re a little low. Maybe they’re a little high. You have people who can figure out the correct amount. But the point is, for a much lower dollar amount that you are giving away on EVs, you could have a much bigger impact on greenhouse gases.  EVs still do tremendous road damage and cause tire shed – more than ICEs mostly likely due to their greater weight.  EVs...

  The budget survey conflated a lot of ideas which made it hard to vote accurately. For example, on “Lowering costs for people”, “cutting the gas tax” was looped in with “freezing Hydro rates, providing relief to renters and homeowners, finding more ways to help families pay the bills at the end of the month.” Although I understand many Manitobans are finding bills too high to pay, and I support the government taking steps to lower those costs as possible, I’m fully convinced that pollution pricing on carbon consumption is not the problem. Costs will keep going up as climate change worsens, causing more disasters and more instability. Hydro rates may be difficult to keep artificially low if water levels are completely unpredictable due to climate change. Food will only become more expensive as extreme weather regularly wipes out crops in entire regions. It is imperative that we do what we can to fight climate change, and research shows that pollution pricing is one of ...