It’s my third day at the airport trying to get a flight out of Mexico City. This morning has started with its own frustrations. Moving from [non-working] kiosk to [wrong] line to [non-working] kiosk to [correct] line, I finally checked in my bag and found the gate. But my flight’s been delayed again. I’m taking the opportunity to write. It’s not in the setting that I’d planned, but I’m able to...
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Yesterday I landed in Mexico, a week in advance of the Baptist Peace Fellowship conference I’ve been looking forward to all year. Planning to meet a friend in Mexico City before proceeding to a writing retreat at the ocean, I booked a one day stopover in the city. When his plans changed last minute and he canceled our meeting, I tried to cancel my layover, anxious to start my retreat. When that...
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As we face the war on terror, the terror of war, and hatred among religions and races, now more than ever we must heed God’s call to peace. But how do we accomplish such a monumental feat? For answers, I visited Jean Vanier, a hero of faith, humanitarian service, and a champion of peace building. Jean Vanier shared his personal outlook, which has held true for him for more than fifty years:...
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I have the audacity to believe that we can all make a difference, and I want to devote my life to promoting peace. Indeed, I believe it's the work God called me to do. I've spent years dreaming about what might make a difference, and people resonate with my passion and ideas. But alone, I can just blog, tweet, share my experiences, and fan the "smouldering wicks" of people whose faith in peace on...
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I had a remarkable experience recently attending a press conference announcing that Toronto will host the next Parliament of the World’s Religions in 2018. What made it remarkable were the conversations I had in one of the most religiously diverse groups I’ve ever been in. And this is just a foretaste of the parliament next year!
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Last week I attended chapel and heard a very inspiring message from a woman who's had cancer. Looking young, vibrant and beautiful, I would never have known she was sick if she hadn't shared it. But there were many days when she was neither vibrant nor beautiful, and struggled to know where her worth lay then. A woman of faith, she strongly believes in the inherent worth of all people, but when...
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A friend recently asked me how my back was. “Good,” I replied. “No more pain; that’s over with?” he responded. “I wouldn’t say that, but it’s better,” I answered. This led to a conversation about the healing power of positive thinking, and how proclaiming my pain-free present and future self could help actualise it. My friend expressed surprise that that my strong Christian faith didn’t result in...
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Thank you to Daniel Lefebvre, who shared this post.
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I love spending Saturday mornings with a cup of tea listening to the radio. That's how I heard an excellent program on CBC called Day 6 recently. In 30 minutes it covered diverse aspects of peace, from a journalist sharing how to distill the real versus propoganda in the siege of Aleppo, to a mother leaving a gang to give her unborn child a better life, to ways Chicago mirrors a war zone, with...
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This week, I was invited to give a Facebook Live interview to share some of the stories and experiences I've had travelling in pursuit of peace. I had the chance to explain what motivated me to start CryPeace, some of people who have particularly touched and inspired me, and my hopes and dreams for the future. Brief highlights include:
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