Authors: Alydia Smith

Happy fall, everyone! A quick October note to let you know about three new improvements to GatheringWorship.ca that we’re excited to share with you! You asked for easier access to the upcoming weekly services, and we are excited to deliver the new colour-coded tiles (based on the liturgical season) to...

My mom loves to recount the story of a little Alydia in a very cute dress with matching hat, gloves, purse, and frilly socks, climbing over the pew to tell the very proper church women singing behind us to “shut up because my mom says so” during the singing of...

On Easter Sunday, the music minister at my church weaved The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” into his postlude, and it felt so right, because wow, it has been a long, cold and lonely winter. And wow, it feels like years since the sun (and The Son) have been here...

When I was in university, I had a friend who was a devoted atheist. At the time, I was a very enthusiastic Christian, full of the Holy Spirit, ready to turn the world around! Late one night, she asked me, a little sullenly, why I had never tried to convert...

Lenten Greetings, I remember someone once telling me (or perhaps I read it) that intentionally saying no to something was a purposeful way of saying yes to something else. In these Lenten days, many of us will chose to say no to particular habits, indulgences, practices, or even words so...

Blessings, Gathering Community. Recently I have been discerning what faithful discipleship and vital worship looks like in such a time as this. It is humbling work, especially during the seasons of Lent and Easter, when we are invited into the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Who would Jesus have...

Happy New Year, Gathering Community! May 2025 be filled with the gifts of hope, peace, joy, and love. As always, thanks for being here. Without you, there is no Gathering. Your presence, contributions, and ongoing support are deeply appreciated, and I look forward to another year of worship leadership together...

“Oops, sorry,” I said to my mom as we lovingly packed up our Christmas tins last year. “We have an extra tin now.” Christmas tins are priceless treasures in our house. We never have enough; between craft sales, friends, families, and neighbours, we always have more cookies than tins. Homemade...