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…
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.
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…
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…
This is a bit of a paper / presentation I wrote as part of my entry into the United Church of Canada outlining the history of radicalism (as opposed to progressivism or liberalism) in the United Church. Here’s a link to the pdf of the presentation.
Way back in January 2016, in my heady Anglican years, I co-authored this ‘tract’ – a tongue-in-cheek manifesto of sorts, with my friend Matthew Cook – with some edits and support from Meagan C. and Jess Z-C, of course. Within a few weeks, it had jumped to over 13,000 views and numerous comments and emails…
I’ve been reflecting a bit on the direct actions for social and ecological justice that I’ve been a part of over the years that have shaped me as a human being. Here are some ‘snapshot’ memories of many of them: Student Days of Action – Toronto, ON – February 7, 1996. This was my very…