Blog & News

Unless you’ve been living under a rock the last while, you’re aware there was a relatively important election south of the border, in fact. Like me, you’ve perhaps had a political convo or two with friends or family that may have revealed a perspective that left you confused and bewildered. Like, “How on earth do they see reality like that?” There are a number of reasons for this utter disbelief, but maybe at the top of that list is the collective media each of us consume on a daily basis. Because don’t kid yourself, the goal of the media will always be to make bucks even at the expense of truth. The more division they sow, the more dollars they make. Whether it’s social media or a favourite news source, our media now weeds out anything that might cause us to stop viewing or consuming, giving us only what we want to hear and thus making it exceptionally challenging to attend to any unbiased take on what the other side might say.
This week I wanted to just share the story he tells of this girl and the waterfall. I could tell the story but instead I’ll just paste the video here and you can watch.

This past week I went down a rabbit hole of sorts. I was reading a chapter on mimetic desire and rivalry (don’t ask) which was developed by philosopher and all around towering intellect, René Girard. So naturally I started reading about him which led me to a student of mimetic theory, Andre Rabe, who runs a ministry called “Always Loved” which then led me to his YouTube Channel, in which I watched a video entitled Icons of Beauty in which he tells a simple story about a girl and a waterfall and this story has sat with me all week. (I know I’m not alone when I say this is what Interneting looks like in 2024 for many of us. Sigh.)

This week I wanted to just share the story he tells of this girl and the waterfall. I could tell the story but instead I’ll just paste the video here and you can watch.

It almost seems a tad cliché to say this but the CHURCH is the people–not a building–and this past Sunday, we demonstrated this unequivocally. How did we do this, you may ask? Because even though we were physically located in a very different space than where we were used to meeting on Sunday mornings, there was no mistaking the fact that the vibe felt in this space was still genuinely Grassroots!Perhaps this is the first time you’re hearing of this or perhaps you’ve got a few more questions. Here are a few questions that you might have:

This past Sunday I spoke on how the Good News of Jesus helps heal our wounded images of God. There was a lot to be said about this topic and the problem with Sunday sermon preaching is that I don’t always get (read: never) enough time to fully expound on thoughts and themes to my satisfaction. And I get enough flack as is with how long I preach 😉 This is why this little corner of the newsletter is handy!
Perhaps this is the first time you’re hearing of this or perhaps you’ve got a few more questions. Here are a few questions that you might have:

Remember elementary school math problems like this? You either rub your hands together, excited to dive in and solve the equation or you look at this and your eyes gloss over…. or your heart races and you begin to twitch at the prospect of having to solve this. Personally, as an adult, I find these questions humbling because, ugh, where do I even begin? Fortunately, that question is answered simply enough using the order of operations acronym – BEDMAS (Brackets, Exponents, Division, Multiplication, Addition, Subtraction).
Perhaps this is the first time you’re hearing of this or perhaps you’ve got a few more questions. Here are a few questions that you might have:

So last week we received our first Neighbour2Neighbour (N2N) request. An individual in our community asked for a hand with some gardening. Within minutes, some amazing human in our community responded and said they could help meet the need. And so they did. And the need was met. And it’s really that simple! Cool right?

Perhaps this is the first time you’re hearing of this or perhaps you’ve got a few more questions. Here are a few questions that you might have:

We say we start church at “10ish.” And honestly, I like this. I like the laid back way of getting things going around 10:10-10:15. It feels relaxed and casual, which is definitely the vibe we are trying to foster on Sunday mornings. And I know you like it, too, because the sanctuary is relatively empty at 9:57. People start to trickle in after 10 and we hit critical mass at about 10:10 typically, which is about the time we begin our announcements. A few more folks will arrive right up until about 10:30, usually. On one hand, this is all fine and dandy if everyone in the community is on the same wave length and understands the very relaxed start time of our Sunday morning services. 

These are some days of celebration for me as of late! This week Rhonda and I celebrated 20 years of marriage, which, when I was a kid and my parents did the same, I remember thinking they were ancient. This means, I guess, that I’m now firmly on the trajectory toward becoming “ancient” if you were to ask my kids. Sigh. And in other celebratory news, this week coming will be my official 1 year anniversary as the pastor at Grassroots!

Hi friends! Our family is back from holidays, rested (ha!) and ready for serving this beautiful community the rest of the summer. So if you missed it, last week we held an inspiring service at Trowbridge Falls, immersing 4 of our community members into the waters of baptism. It was seriously wonderful and if you missed it, I’m really sorry! Baptisms are maybe my favourite part of being a pastor I think. The whole thing is just packed with meaning and significance but underlying all of it is blissful celebration.

We’re having an outdoor service at Trowbridge Falls on July 21st and, as is tradition in our community, if someone is looking to be baptized, we’ll make that the focus of our morning together. Baptism is a bit of an odd thing to our modern sentiments and maybe we don’t appreciate or recognize its significance in the life of the Christian. Maybe we see it as a sort of “nice to do” rather than any sort of prerequisite for life in Jesus. And to be fair, Jesus will never reject us if we don’t get baptized but this is not to downplay the importance of this sacred act.