Speaking Out

Three weeks ago, the world lost one of the kindest, most thoughtful, intelligent, adventurous people to walk the planet — and I lost a friend.

It was 10 years ago at Tony Romo’s Steakhouse Restaurant in Calgary.

I was scrolling through my news feed on Twitter last week when I stumbled upon a quite shocking meme.

The week of Sept. 6 was the first time many Canadian undergraduates were back on campus for in-person classes for the better part of two years — and for some like me, it was our first week ever on campus.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (KJV) tells us that “to every thing there is a season.” As the days grow shorter and the nights colder, it is time to reflect upon summer accomplishments and prepare for the months ahead. Doing so allows us to become more in tune with the seasonal movements God created for us, and by extension, more in tune with His wishes for our lives. 

With the bizarreness that has been 2021 to date, the shortest campaign for an election season we’ve ever experienced seems par for the course.

One Sunday last month, I stood in my home church in Barrie, Ont., that was overflowing with visitors. It was truly a great sight to see and reminded me of pre-COVID days when churches were often full like this.

In light of the unmarked graves found at residential school sites across Canada this spring and summer, different groups have sought apologies and atonement from the Catholic Church for its contribution to residential schools.

Everyone stumbles in aspects of their life, but some individuals are called to weather more arduous day-to-day challenges than others.

Take a moment and reflect on the last three conversations you had. Was COVID-19 the subject of any of them? If not, give yourself a pat on the back. Clearly, you’ve been making an effort to avoid the topic. But if you’re like myself and many others, pandemic conversation has become a serious problem.