The Oaks of England

It is our last day in England and Tom and I have just returned from a wonderful walk along the Thames at Richmond.  Part of our walk went past Deer Park where the kings of England once hunted for deer – dating back centuries.  I was particularly struck by the beautiful old oaks some of [...]

This is the International Year of Biodiversity

Last week I was sent an email reminding me that not only is this the Time for Creation but it is also the International Year of Biodiversity.  I am embarrassed to say that I did not know.  But now that I have remedied my error I thought that it was important to provide all of us [...]

God may we in all things seek you

We are now at CCDA (reports to follow) and as so often happens when I travel I find that writing prayers is very therapeutic for me.  Here is one I wrote during our flights as I thought about all that I am looking forward to at this conference – the challenging presentations, the renewal of [...]

Help Us Make Soap… In the Ukraine

Some of you may remember that a couple of months ago I shared the story of Cindy Todd who started volunteering with us at Mustard Seed Associates at the beginning of this year.  Cindy started a small soap making business in order to help provide financially for this work.  She has even developed a Mustard [...]

A Weekend in British Columbia

Tom and I have just returned from a great weekend in Abbotsford British Columbia. I started Friday evening with a Spirituality of Gardening seminar at Highland Community church.  The church is about to break ground for a community garden and so it was exciting to be able to help the participants think about their garden [...]

Second Friday of Advent – Waiting Without A Calendar by Kristin Tennant

I am writing this from our favourite doggie friendly motel the Islands Inn at Anacortes Washington.  Unlike many doggie friendly motels these days it does not charge an arm and a leg for our Bonnie girl.  We have just had a great Dutch breakfast (fresh baked bread, boiled egg real English marmalade and chocolate sprinkles) [...]

Meeting the Twelve Apostles

Tom & I have now arrived in Adelaide, after a long (1000 km) but spectacular 2 day trip along the coast between Melbourne and Adelaide.  I last made this trip with my family when I was 12 years old so as you can imagine there was a great deal of nostalgia and remembering for me. [...]

Report from Down Under

It is hard to believe that the first week of our trip Down Under is over.  Much to my discouragement the weather here in Sydney has been cold and wet – not much fun for Black Stump where most of the speaking was in tents.  I came back to my mother’s with very muddy shoes [...]

What I Have Read This Week

With all the work involved in getting our Lenten guide completed you can imagine that you usual reading discipline has been rather curtailed.  Probably the book that has most held my attention this week is Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson an David Oliver Relin.  This is a must read for anyone interested in [...]

Urban Earth

This is amazing – an opportunity to walk across some of the biggest cities in our world with Urban Earth Stroll through London, Mumbai. Mexico City , and Bristol.  Hmm not sure about that last one is it really one of the world’s biggest cities?