The pundits called it ...

We enter the day with a minority conservative government. Our province of Ontario has gone from 24 to 40 Conservative seats in parliament. Unfortunately for all Canadians a minority government will likely mean another short lived government. With such a close split between the parties, it will be quite difficult for the Conservatives to pass laws, etc.

To all my friends I would offer the following suggestion:
Pray for your (new?) MPP. This is doubly true if you didn't vote for them, because that only goes to show they need the extra help.

Secondly, drop them an email of congratulation, recognising their hard work and efforts in campaigning to be your voice - independent of their political stripe! Again - even if you didn't vote for them, you can still recognise the effort they put into getting where they are.

After all, these are the people you will want to contact, encouraging them to speak your voice in our government, for as long as it lasts.

Well folks - have a good day.

... and this just in ...

Well, the Mrs. and I are just back from casting our civic duty to the wind. Let's see, I think the predictions are pretty obvious:

• a minority government for sure, meaning a short lived government, with an average life span of approx. 2 yrs.
• if (and this is a considerable if) the polls are correct it'll be a Conservative government, which will be interesting, considering this would be the first time that this Conservative party would take office, since the old Progressive Conservative and Reform parties merged.

I think that the Canadian concept of 'conservative' is a bit skewed. Consider the number of years that many people considered the two words Progressive and Conservative as aptly placed beside each other.

Furthermore, I wonder if those who vote for our recently formed Conservative party are actually casting a vote toward conservation? Are they, or the party they're supporting, truly aiming towards conserving the status quo?

I often ponder a situation I am faced with at the polls, and its one that can border on inspiring pessimism, if I let it. It's more of a conundrum really. I go to the polls, year after year, to exercise my vote, confident in the knowledge that the candidate I vote for will never see the light of office. This does not mean that I think my incumbent is particular bad, or negligent ... in fact ... as an individual, I think he does a fair job ... for a politician. It has more to do with the fact that I can't ethically support his party, so I am forced to vote for the BIG picture, fully expecting that my vote will not mean much, locally.

Of course, when it comes do it, six months from now, when everyone else is complaining, I can throw my arms up, and self-righteously exclaim "Don't blame me ... I didn't vote for 'em!".

Have a good night folks, and don't stay up too late watching the news, it is a school night after all.

Classes resume ...

Yesterday marked the beginning of classes. I am rounding out my electives in both the Bible and History categories by taking two courses in each. For those who've asked I've signed up for:

• Intro to Old Testament (John Course)
• Pauline Ethics (Ann Jervis)
• The Birth of Theology (aka the History of Patristic Theology) (D. Neelands)
• 17th, and 18th C. Evangelical Spirituality

This will also be the first semester that I'm spending so much of my time at my home college. The first three courses are all at Trinity, all on Thursday, and the first two are even in the same room.

More good news is that I've just received an email to interview for my CPE component, which I'm hoping to do at Scarborough Grace, this spring. CPE is, essentially, a chaplaincy internship usually done at either a hospital, jail, or some other institutional environment.

I'll be glad to get it started, because it represents a major component in my education - kind of a milestone, in a way. I'm also kind of crossing my fingers, a bit, because in the entire city of Toronto, there are only 15 spots, spread over 3 centres, for students to take this course, so there's a bit of jockeying to be done.

Well, I suppose I ought to make an effort at getting back to the books, a little, before turning in. The one thing about this time of the semester is that it can seem quite overwhelming ... a lot to do.

G'night.

"What I did on my Christmas Vacation"

Do you remember those essays you wrote in grade school? As our butcher asked me about my vacation, today, I realised it's been a few days since I submitted a posting.

Well, I received a new digital camera as an early Christmas gift, and I'm lovin' it. This was the big coup of the season! (Photos courtesy of the new toy.) Needless to say, there were plenty of opportunities to play, before classes began.

As well, I received the latest installment of the Harry Potter series "The Half-Blood Prince", which I stayed up until 11:30 last night to finish, so that I could be done before classes resume this Thursday. I read it's six hundred pages in slightly over two days, and thoroughly enjoyed the adventure, although the twist ending was somewhat disheartening.

Last but not least, I also received a copy of "For All the Saints", a list of readings and collects for use in the Anglican liturgy. This tome, compiled by my theology professor, Fr. Stephen Reynolds, sets out to provide a brief history, and selected prayers and readings, that commemorate the work of our forefathers in the faith. It's an excellent resource for any [aspiring] clergy person.

There were also gift certificates from kind friends and family, which I am sure will come in handy.

Until next time ...

"In the news today ... Oh Boy!"

We Canadians are in the throes of an election. The current government was a minority, and historically, they are short lived. It is the price we pay for being indecisive and failing to turn out at the polls.

I heard in the news, today, that our Conservative candidate suggested that all major Canadian cities would have an increased military presence. My first reaction was to balk - which surprised me, as I think of myself as a small 'c' conservative. I had visions of Kent State ... free voice vs. 'the man'.

Then I got to thinking ... arguably a dangerous practice ... considering the gun violence plaguing our streets, and our own lack of ability to police ourselves. If we can control it ourselves, without some type of outside intervention, why does it continue? How badly do we want this situation to change and what type of radical alternatives are we willing to consider to make that happen?

Just a bit of fodder for the mind.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Okay Everyone ... this is going to be a quick post ....

Merry CHRISTmas ... Please remember who we're celebrating.

Peace!

A history of Christmas ...

Many of my readers (... oh the presumptions!!!!) already know that the Christmas holiday grew out of the Christian celebration of Jesus' birthday. Whether this event actually occurred on December 25th is rather beside the point - the issue is that a date was chosen to commemorate the event.

I thought I'd take a little opportunity to enlighten my presumed readers on the history of Christmas being celebrated on the 25th of December. What you might not know is that Christmas Day celebrations (formally "The Celebration of the Nativity of Our Lord") grew out of the celebration of "the Epiphany of Our Lord". The celebration of which is on January 6th, and celebrates the arrival of the Wise Men from the East arriving to worship Jesus as the Christ. What many celebrate as Advent (the penitential season of four Sundays before Christmas) was added even after Christmas.

The celebration of Easter pre-dated Christmas by approximately four centuries! That's right, the early church saw Jesus' death and resurrection as more important/worthy of celebration than His incarnate birth.

So then, what we now celebrate as Christmas, the early church merely presumed. For if it weren't for Jesus birth there would be no celebration of His crucifixion (and more importantly His resurrection) at Easter.

All this is not to diminish the celebration of Jesus coming into the world - a truly magnificent event. However, I hope that by attaching a bit of history, we can see that the celebration of Jesus birth ought not to be an isolated event. Look forward to Easter - which is the purpose behind Christmas.

I wonder if the best Christmas gift could be to wish someone a Happy Easter?

How many sleeps to go?

Are we there yet? Is it soup yet, mom? How long til Christmas?

As we crawl towards Christmas, I remember how long the holiday used to take to "get here" when we were young. It seems as though we were taunted by toy departments from about mid October.

Starting four weeks before Christmas, with the season of Advent, we would run home from shool each day to open the next window in our Advent Calendar. Some years, each day would be rewarded with a choclate treat, but usually just a pretty little picture.

A couple of weeks before "The Big Day", dad would treat us to a hot chocolate, in Simpson's cafeteria (long gone now, kids) while mom finished shopping. This would involve having abandoned our station wagon at a suburban subway station, and fought the crowds, and subway to get downtown. As suburban kids, this trip was a rare gem.

On the fateful day, when Christmas had finally arrived, we would wake early, after having wrestled with our excitement all night. We would run into our parents bedroom and beg to open something! Of course, we would be told to wait until after breakfast, which always seemed to involve an interminably long cup of tea.

The point is ... all these little things were ways to mark time, to look forward to something bigger, like a flat stone skipping across a calm lake, toward a big splash. But you see, it all had a point. Mom & Pop would say it taught us patience, but I hardly recall being patient about any of it. I do know that it built up toward something.

As I spend the day with my two year old, keeping her in from the bluster, recovering from a cold, I feel that sense of expectation returning, after a long time. I wait for my wife to come home from a hard day, I wait for gatherings with friends and family. Sometimes it's nerve racking, but feels somehow right as well.

As adults, I wonder if this expectant waiting has been replaced with something else ... something manic, frantic, shopping in an attempt to fill ... to fill something, either in us or in others.

Trinity College, Lady Chapel

This well lit, cozy, side chapel is the place where many students (yours included) have had the opportunity to test their homiletic prowess.

Smaller than the main chapel, most of the midweek Eucharist and Offices (prayer services) are conducted here.

Chapel Entrance

Side entrance to the Trinity Chapel:
This is the entrance to Trinity College's main chapel, from Hoskin Ave. Frankly this portal is seldom used, but I thought it was picturesque. Hmmm.... there's a comment in there somewhere ... seldom used portals ... picturesque ... go and ponder my friends.

Greetings!

Greetings all! Well ... the madness has begun! For some time I've been contemplating a personal website, of some sort. But to what end? The answer may lie in my choice of monichers - The Digital Gnome - a small voice in a large, and sometimes wild place.

For one thing, I'm an amateur photographer, looking for a place to display some of my better "work", realising that email attachments can become both cumbersome and annoying.

For another, the blog provides a place for other forms of expression. Let's wander down the path, and see where it leads.