Year: 1997

"Old age, to the unlearned, is winter; to the learned, it is harvest time." I minister to an older congregation and they continually astound me with the joy of living to an old age. I am in my forties and … Read more

The chemistry student was given the assignment of discovering the concentration of metal in an ore sample. This was to be done by heating the sample until there was no further loss of weight, which would indicate that the metal … Read more

What Jesus was saying was, "Believe me when I tell you that if anybody accepts my words and keeps them will never experience death at all; he shall never know what it is to die." "What is it like to … Read more

One day centuries ago, a British lord overheard one of his kitchen servants remark, "If only I had five pounds, I would be perfectly content." He began thinking about this remark, and decided that he would like to see someone … Read more

A beautiful day for sailing! It couldn't have been more perfect until the fog bank came down the harbour, shrouding us in white. There was not a sound, not a breath of wind, not a single object to be seen. … Read more

Twenty-five years ago, before the environment was a public concern, my brother Martin was a Park Naturalist in one of the Rocky Mountain National Parks. When he first arrived, he was instructed in the various issues of ecology in the … Read more

While I was studying at the Vancouver School of Theology, I attended a Bible study at Richmond Presbyterian Church that fielded a fascinating question. We were talking about the opposition from the Pharisees that Jesus faced during his ministry. Then … Read more

My last two weeks have been spent in back-to-back World Council of Churches meetings in Geneva, involving a great deal of last-minute document preparation. Each morning I had to get up early to finish what had to be done for … Read more

I got up this morning with a craving to clear out the girls' dressers and closets and send a bunch of clothing to the Salvation Army. Only Alyson was witness to this and shed a few tears to see some … Read more

On one especially stormy night, the playhouse audience was so slim that there were only a few people in the very back seats of the theatre. Chief among the cast for the play was Edwin Booth, the great Shakespearean actor. … Read more