writings and blogging reflections as they come to me. opinions are strictly my own.
Blog / Writings
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Years ago, at the height of my activist years, on the verge of a second or third burnout, I stumbled across a quote from that amazing, broken, paradox-filled Trappist monk, hipster, vow-breaking, activist, poet and monastic – Father Louis – known more popularly as Thomas Merton. This is the quote: There is a pervasive form…
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I’d suggest that there are, ultimately, four expressions of Christian faith: As you can see, when I’m speaking of expressions, I’m not talking here about the number of denominations in Christendom. I would suggest, that all four of these expressions exist in many, if not all, of the world’s denominations or divisions. Though the…
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These are some of my favourite hymns and spiritual songs from the Christian tradition – at least they’re my favourites for today – as this can change a lot. They’re in no particular order – with a bit of commentary, story and links to some of my recommended versions. If you want to see a…
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It’s hardly a secret that, in spite of some history of cultural diversity, The United Church of Canada is known as a denomination that is predominantly middle-class, ‘white’1, anglo and liberal. It’s also got quite a reputation for aging and being in decline. However, I think that something is quietly changing – if you can…
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This week, I had the great joy of being interviewed by Dr. Ashley Boggan of the United Methodist Church’s General Commission for Archives and History for the Un-tied Methodism podcast which explores the roots of global Methodism – and how it shapes our Methodist witness today. Our conversation touched on me being an “Anglican leaning…
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it’s been amazing to work with the incredible Amy Haynes on this Vocare Podcast which asks a simple question: where did you first experience the call to do what you’re doing now? for our latest 2 episodes (we’ve done 7 now), we turned the mic on each other. we’ve just posted my episode, here.
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Why would someone like me, drawn so deeply to that great ‘mystical’ sacrament of the church – holy communion or the eucharist – by choice, become a minister in The United Church of Canada? Regular communion has become a central part of my spiritual sojourn – drawing me toward communities who celebrate it at least…
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Originally Published In Touchstone: Theology Shaping Witness June 2025 The Great Methodist Dumpster Salvage For me, the great dumpster salvage began one afternoon when there was no one around. I surreptitiously entered the abandoned church library in a building that had, until recently, housed a once-strong United Church of Canada congregation. Knox-Wesley United[1] was the…
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The good folks at the Clowns of God ‘zine recently asked me to be interviewed for their upcoming Advent issue. Here’s what I said: Tell us about yourself! What do you spend your time doing? I’m Rob Shearer – I guess I’m a bit of a walking contradiction of being a proudly nonviolent anti-fascist anarchist…