Wow…that’s a lot of religious-sounding language for such a small space!  Fear not – we’re still exploring religion(s), and sometimes that will take us into the terrain of language that is recognizably from such spaces. But as with anything that is rooted in cultural and linguistic traditions, words evolve and it’s important to pay attention to those shifts if we want to have a growing understanding of what the language now conveys. So exploring we will go, in this instance entering through the front door of religion – sacraments and the sacred.

We’ll gather online this week (and next), but then on June 12th we’ll be test-driving a venue we haven’t used before. More about that in the weeks to come.

I enjoyed the long weekend (the yard got some much-needed attention) and hope you did as well, but it felt like a loooog break and it’ll be good to see you on Sunday.

One of the things I’ve learned (and keep re-learning) in my conversations with people is the power of a compelling and timely question. At The Table, asking questions “is us”. I’ve got a sticker on my desk, a gift from someone in this community, that says, “Questions Are The Answer”. So this is familiar terrain in some ways. What might not be as familiar is the thought that if religion is doing its job well, it can serve as an interesting, even inspiring, source of compelling questions. We’ll poke around in that a bit in the Talky Bit this week.

Yes, this Sunday is Mothers Day. It’s not too late to buy flowers. Just saying…:)

This Sunday, we’ll be meeting in person. I would like to say that we’re meeting in person because it’s Mothers Day, but that wouldn’t be true. It’s been a much more pragmatic process than that. However, I think it’s rather lovely that it’s turned out that the first time we meet in a public venue in years, it’s on a day that marks the role of significant relationships. I know that “mother” isn’t necessarily a happy designation in all of our lives, but it’s usually an important one. And it does tend to be personal and embodied. Kinda like community, when you think about it. That’s an interesting intersection.

We’ll meet at 10:45 a.m. for some music (LIVE!) and some Community Time (LIVE!), followed by the Talky Bit (prerecorded…just kidding!). Our location will be the Bourkevale Community Centre, 100 Ferry Road. That’s close to Polo Park, but on the opposite side of Portage Avenue, if that helps you get oriented. Lots of free parking right beside the building, full accessibility with no elevators required, and a big play area adjacent where we can run around and feel the feels of spring. (I’m ignoring the forecast, but it’s a willful, chosen ignorance). It’s also relatively near the river, as an FYI to both those that love being near water and those that have young and highly mobile kids.

Speaking of whom – this location does have a room where the Littles can gather separate from (but very near) the rest of the group. We will not have any designated programming this week, but will continue to work at providing that at our in person gatherings going forward.

We’ll keep you posted about what our in-person / online mix will be like in the weeks ahead. This location is an experiment, so if you are able to attend in person please feel free to offer your opinion on how you feel it worked for our group.

Other Details:

-We will also put up the podcast early in the week following. That can be found on our website here, or on Itunes and other locations where podcasts gather.

-There will NOT be “And Lunch After” this week, but the Wednesday Evening Zoom Hang is on for 7:45 p.m.

I’ll see you on Sunday!

Oh yeah…see that “Part 1” in the subject line? Not “Part 1 of 20”, lest you are concerned. Just a couple too many ideas to fit into one Talky Bit.

The Wednesday Evening Table Hang Out – https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85777988652?pwd=UGR2ZkxtWklEaFZ5bXE1b3RkdUJXdz09

Hey everyone – as I’m writing this, I’m looking out at (grrr) wet snow that is slowly turning to rain. There are things in life that we count on – things like the frequently cited “death and taxes” – to make the world feel a bit more predictable. “The sun will come up tomorrow” isn’t just a line from a musical. It’s an affirmation of hope, of a future. In this part of the world, the changing seasons are in that category. “Spring will come” can get you through a lot of January…and February…and March. But when it has to get you through a lot of April as well, the lack of affirming evidence can begin to precipitate a crisis of faith. “Will spring actually come this time?”, is starting to feel like a plausible question.

Other details: There will be no And Lunch After this week (come and hang out in person, if you are able), but there will be a mid-week zoom hangout. The URL for that is at the bottom of this email.

I’ll see you (actually see some of you!) on Sunday. We’ll livestream the gathering here as well, because we don’t want anyone to be left out, and there will be a podcast of the Talky Bit posted the following week, as usual.

Peace,

Happy “almost Easter” to you all. I have fond memories (and I really don’t think time has burnished these into fantasy) of being outside in a t-shirt at this time of year, rather than in my winter garb following my hard-working snowblower down the driveway. Gotta say, I like the memories better.

But looking backward isn’t usually the key to moving forward. Resiliency, determination, hope…these are the sorts of things that tend to get us unstuck when circumstances aren’t going the way we would wish them to. This Sunday, both in the Music time and the Talky Bit, we’ll be exploring the stories of two women whose situations are dire, but whose future is full of intriguing possibilities. We’ll also consider (indirectly, so bring your imagination with you) what sorts of experiences might be powerful enough to keep us looking ahead with our eyes up and our hearts beating in anticipation more than dread.\

Sometimes, at least upon review, it feels like history turned on some rather individual decisions. This week we’ll be exploring a particular turn in the history of the Christian tradition, and doing some speculating about both how things might have gone otherwise, and what might happen if we act as if they did.

Also, we’re in the midst of possibly booking a “public” space in which to gather on May 1st. More info to come as the details are confirmed. In other venue news, it looks like the balance of April will be online for a variety of reasons, including our family heading out to Saskatoon next weekend for another visit with my mom. I’m grateful beyond words for the flexibility and support our community has provided in this season. I don’t take it for granted.

I think that’s it for now. I’ll see you on Sunday!

Hey folks – this is an “in-person” week! This Sunday we’re gathering at the Plett house. A bit more of the snow has melted, so now the driveway is mostly muddy. Go slow and you’ll be fine. Just don’t wash your car, unless you want to wash it again on Sunday afternoon. Come all the way down the driveway and park wherever you want to / can. If you need the address, just email me and I’ll send it to you.

Here’s the URL for the Wednesday hang:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85777988652?pwd=UGR2ZkxtWklEaFZ5bXE1b3RkdUJXdz09

I’ll see you on Sunday!

Hey folks – this week I want to invite the old-timey idiom “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater” to guide us into a renewed consideration of the ways in which we might continue to hold complicated positions in a world bent on “either/or” rhetoric and posturing. This is, among other things, one of the best sorts of exercise for the muscles that we use when we want to breathe the air of what we might call “spirit”; the oxygen of mystery, the life-sustaining intake of what we may use “god-language” for. This Sunday, we’ll explore why that is.

Our schedule going forward still has a couple of little wrinkles to iron out, but watch this space for details about a mix of on-line and in-person gatherings as we get it sorted.

In the meantime, I’ll see you on Sunday.

Sometimes I wish that the subject line came with instructions for preparation before consumption. As in, “season the above with a dash of hope and bake in a sauce of irony. Do not eat until cool”.  Or something like that. Because the ideas that all our anxieties can be controlled or life completely mastered may be compelling aspirations, but they are unlikely to become fully realized experiences. In light of that, what shall we make of some of the “all or nothing” religious ideas we may have grown up with surrounding challenges like handling anxiety and worry? At a time where those experiences are garden-variety common, it feels like this might be worth some consideration. That’s what I’ll be digging around in on Sunday, aided by some timeless advice from the 1930’s.

Next Sunday will be online only. April 3rd is scheduled to be in-person at the Plett house. Watch this space for details going forward, but know that we’re aiming at that every-other-week-live rhythm at this point. I’m excited to see some of you in person on Sunday. It’ll be good to be together!

Peace,