Authors: Susan Lukey

“As we begin this jamboree, I acknowledge the Butchulla people as the Traditional people of this area.” I was attending the Australian National Scout Jamboree in January 2025 as part of the Scouts Canada contingent. With similar words, each of the speakers at the opening ceremony began their welcome to...

On Thanksgiving Sunday, we began worship with “Now thank we all our God.” As the first note came out of my mouth, I found myself caught in amazement. Counting the number of times I have sung would be like counting the stars. Yet, at this moment, I was caught up...

Confronted by tragedy, grief, and loss, we are too often bereft of ritual in White North American culture. What do we do when the fickleness and frailty of life has devastated us? The call came on a Friday afternoon. The caller was crying uncontrollably, but then we understood. An 18-year-old...

I was caught off guard by a question on this year’s annual statistical forms for The United Church of Canada: “How many volunteer hours are contributed by people in your congregation?” This question led to an interesting discussion by our church council. Are we volunteers at church, or do we...