The reason I’m an atheist …
… in case you missed it. Last night, I celebrated with a family the first birthday of their beautiful, strong, one year old daughter. She was born here in Canada, far from her parents’ families and friends, the first Canadian in a refugee family. Her early birth, a year ago, brought them joy in a time of loss […]
My Response To Being Found To Be Unsuitable
This past Thursday, my lawyers, Julian Falconer and Akosua Matthews, the Chair of West Hill’s Board, Randy Bowes, and about fifty supporters from West Hill and the wider church accompanied me to a meeting of Toronto Conference’s sub-Executive Committee. West Hill and I had been invited to make presentations to the Committee in response to the […]
Sea Change in the United Church: Part Two
The Definition of Effectiveness Reviews of Ministry Personnel In the United Church, there are only two reasons a minister can be disciplined. One is for insubordination – pretty straightforward. The other is for effectiveness – maybe not so obvious. The processes for both are covered by the handbook, Pastoral Charge and Ministry Personnel Reviews. In […]
Sea Change in The United Church of Canada: Part One
The process that led to the review of my effectiveness Over the next few days, I’m going to be posting material pertinent to the United Church disciplinary process that has come to light because of the current review of my effectiveness. That may be of little interest to some of you, especially if you’re not clergy in the […]
My Answers to the Questions of Ordination
Yesterday was a big day. I met with the Toronto Conference Ministry Personnel Committee. Well, they were actually members of the Toronto Conference Interview Committee which normally interviews candidates for the ministry, but that committee had been seconded to act as the committee that would hear my beliefs and decide whether or not they constituted […]
Bangladesh
It is no secret that I first identified as an atheist in 2013 because of the arrest and threatened execution of four Bangladeshi bloggers following the brutal murder of Rajib Haider that February. My theological beliefs had long since morphed my understanding of God from a supernatural being who could intervene in the natural world […]
Half the World
West Hill was privileged to host a fundraiser this past weekend to raise money for Bangladeshi asylum seekers. The situation in Bangladesh is terrifying for secular authors and bloggers who each risk a brutal death whenever they are in public. Some have fled the country, others remain hidden. If you’d like to make a donation […]
Walrus Talks Spirituality
Beyond the Beliefs that Divide It was a privilege to be able to participate in the Walrus Talks Spirituality event that took place at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre for Faith, Justice and the Arts early in April. Joining me on the dias were Bishop Michael Ingham, Bishop Lewis Cardinal, Joan Garson, Natalie Bull, Timothy Caulfield, and […]
Here All Belong
It has been months since I wrote new words to a well-loved tune but yesterday morning, three hours before the service started at West Hill United, I felt inspired to do so. It is the first song I’ve been able to write since the review of my effectiveness was initiated by The United Church of […]
Revisioning the Bible
A project based on the Bible For over a year now, I’ve been working on a project that has me reading the Bible on a weekly basis. I had to take a break for several months to deal with The United Church of Canada‘s review of my effectiveness simply because I could not write during the first many […]
How many atheists?
I received the following query from Richard Bott, a colleague in The United Church of Canada. Richard is exploring the question of how many clergy in the UCC may be atheists and invited me to share whatever knowledge I had. My response is also posted below. Please feel free to share your thoughts on these […]
Looking for a church like West Hill?
Let’s build a list for people looking for a church like West Hill. In the aftermath of my interview with Wendy Mesley, I wanted to make sure that anyone who checked out my page looking for a congregation in their area might learn about some places they may feel welcome. This post is to make sure […]
A Media Page – Finally!
I have so needed to do this and for so long! Finally, I managed to finish the job today and now have a single page with links to media sources listed on it! Yay! Say hello to my new Media Page! (You’ll need to click that link to get to it!) There are a number of links on […]
Torching the Bridge
Are we programmed to hang on when we should be letting go? [Tweet “Whatever life takes away from you, let it go. Miguel Ruiz”] I was on Goodreads, scanning for some quotes to use in two upcoming funerals and clicked that I liked this one by Miguel Ruiz. I had just copied a quote by Kate […]
A Letter to the Seekers after Truth
A Letter Modeled after Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, “Paul’s Letter to American Christians” This year, as we approached Martin Luther King, Jr, Day, something that, I know, is usually only celebrated in America, I returned to one of my favourite pieces of King’s writings, a sermon he preached in November, 1956. It […]
Sanctioned: The Episcopal Church
Twenty-eight years ago, I was in my first year of theological education at Queen’s. It was a vibrant time in The United Church of Canada whose General Council – the highest court of the church – was meeting that summer. The conversation was all about the ordination of gays and lesbians, as we then referred to […]
Atheist What?
Hi there and welcome to my website. Many of you have been here for awhile but there are others for whom this is your first visit. I hope this short post helps you find what you need and encourages you to engage. I know it sounds crazy to many people to think an atheist filling […]
The Longest Night
I recall the longest night as one of almost utter darkness when, in my early twenties, I lived north of the Arctic Circle for three years. The sun set over the white landscape surrounding Inuvik on the sixth of December. It didn’t rise above the horizon again until the sixth of January; a month of […]
Getting Your Religion at the Gym?
For many, something other than religion meets the definition of religion It’s true. Fewer and fewer people in North America are heading to church on Sunday morning. Religion, well, its Christian iteration, is on the wane. But for hundreds of thousands of those who avoid church, alternate sources of inspiration, engagement, community, and well-being exist. We […]
Between Tradition and Altruism
A tribute to Dr. James Fowler, 1940-2015 I was alerted to the death of James Fowler by this cartoon by David Hayward. Like David, I, too, was highly influenced by Fowler as was the late Marcus Borg who focused the attention of liberal Christians on three of Fowler’s mid-stages, renaming them “Pre-critical Naivete, Critical Thinking, […]
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