George MacDonald

I've just been revisiting George MacDonald's collection of poems "Diary of an Old Soul' which offers an eight line poem for each day of the year. The poem from July 10 gave me the title for my second album 'By Faint Degrees'. He was such a wonderful writer, and his writing was grounded in a beautiful (though not uncontroversial) theology. In the first part of these poems from July he deals with the importance of small things and I'll reproduce here the verses of July 4 & 5:

Master, thou workest with such common things-
Low souls, weak hearts, I mean - and hast to use
Therefore, such common means and rescuings,
That hard we find it, as we sit and muse,
To think thou workest in us verily:
Bad sea-boats we, and manned with wretched crews-
That doubt the captain, watch the storm spray flee.

Thou art hampered in thy natural working then
When beings designed on freedom' holy plan
Will not be free: with thy poor, foolish men,
Thou therefore hast to work just like a man.
But when, tangling thyself in their sore need,
Thou has to freedom fashioned them indeed,
Then wilt thou grandly move, and godlike speed.

Amazing stuff. Hope that whets you appetites.

Life Transitions

There are events that become significant markers on one's life journey and I have just been involved with two of them. Last week we celebrated my Mom and Dad's 50th Wedding anniversary - wow! What a legacy! It was a wonderful afternoon at the splendid Nassagweya Farm retreat centre, where approximately 90 family and friends passed through to wish my folks well. I know they were thrilled with the day, and I appreciate all those who took the time to come out.
The second event is that tomorrow we will be driving our oldest daughter Danielle to Ottawa to begin university. She will be going to Carleton U. to study Public Affairs and Policy Management, and we're thrilled for her. It will be strange not having her around here, and her sister Julia will miss her especially, but it is the new phase in Danielle's expanding map of the world. We pray that she will find solid friends, and be able to make sense of what she's learning from the perspective of a Christian worldview.
I don't whether all this stuff has heightened my senses or what, but the muse has come upon me strongly this last week, and I'm writing some new songs. It feels good to nurture the imagination and see what emerges; hopefully some work that will last!

News

We had a great time in Thunder Bay, Ontario this past weekend. Our friends James and Inez Collie had us up to sing at a 25th Wedding Anniversary house concert. We were joined by our friends Brad & Greg Woods (of the Great Wooden Trio) and had a marvellous time telling stories, singing songs, and enjoying fine beverages and food.
We flew out of T-Bay at 6:30 in the morning to get back to Monck, Ontario for an afternoon concert at the Baptist church there. Thanks to Tim Medhurst and his folk for being gracious hosts.
I have been in correspondence with folk from New Zealand and Australia who are starting to use 'The Peace of Christ' in their worship down there. It's cool to see where these songs end up being offered in worship!
Our good friend and producer Roy Salmond has been involved in the latest project from Leigh Nash (voice of Sixpence None the Richer "Kiss Me" fame) called Fauxliage. He co-wrote 8 of the tunes and seems pretty pumped about it; check it out on her web-site.

I'm Back

My sister in law Bonnie Filipchuk lovingly admonished me for neglecting this blog. I can't fully explain why I drifted so far out of the communication orbit, but like anything, this has to become a discipline if it's going to work; so I will try to be more responsible at keeping interested parties up to date.
We're all doing pretty well this summer.
Highlights for the last month include hearing Jean Vanier speak at the Prison Fellowship International convocation; I have tremendous admiration for this modern day saint. He probably broke every modern communication rule going, but his integrity and the fact that he didn't need for us to like him (you could just tell), freed him to communicate a word from God that was deep and profound. I was very moved.
Those of you who get our MFR newsletter know that we had informed our support base that we needed $10,000 in donations to make our budget work for the summer (and whole year really). Well, I'm thrilled to report that as of today, $9,000 has come in so far. Wow! I am filled with gratitude to God our provider and the many friends who have come through. Of course, the need doesn't end there, but, I think people realize that this is a good kingdom work which is worth getting behind. That's real encouragement to David and myself.

Steve Bell

Last Saturday night, David and I played with Steve Bell at St. David's Presbyterian in Campbellville, ON. It was a nostalgic evening, as it was the first time I had ministered in that sanctuary for almost three years (after pastoring there for thirteen years). It was the place where Steve played a number of times in the early years of his career, and where we forged our friendship. I love that room! Besides the terrific acoustics, beautiful decor, and great people, it is a place where God's Spirit seems to have the freedom to move.
Afterwards, I reflected on the success of Steve's career and calling. He was struggling to remember lyrics that night (he's got so many songs in the repertoire) and while he can be the consummate professional when he needs to be (extraordinary fingerstyle guitar, evocative vocals, and superb storytelling) he is disarmingly human in the end. Yet, for whatever distractions those gaffes bring, it does not mitigate what to me is the essential character of a Steve Bell concert - an event which opens the possibility for an encounter with the holy. It is because of Steve's lack of self-consciousness, that the listening participant is freed for God-consciousness. It is because he is tuned into a Christ-centered spiritual frequency, we are allowed to listen in and receive. I've probably played with Steve at least fifty times over the last twelve years, and these things prove themselves over and over. I am proud to be associated with him, Dave Zeglinski and the great folk at Signpost; their friendship is one of our great treasures.

He is Risen!

We've been having some technical difficulties with our web-sites, so I'll use that as an excuse for this absence, but now that we are in the season of Easter, there's new hope for blogging!
I love walking into a church on Resurrection Sunday, and without saying anything else, just launching an 'He is risen!' and having an 'He is risen indeed!' come back at me! It says a great deal about the connectedness of brothers and sisters in Christ across time and traditions as well as regularly astonishing me at how such a simple exchange explodes into worlds of meaning and deep joy. It's the secret handshake of the community of Christ, but as Lesslie Newbigin so beautifully put it - it is an 'open secret', one we should have no desire to keep hidden.

A Man for all Seasons

I have a post card on the bulletin board above my desk that is a reproduction of a famous painting of Sir Thomas More by Hans Holbein the Younger. I viewed this breathtaking portrait firsthand at the Frick Gallery in NYC on a family vacation a few summers ago. It is an exquisite rendering of a an extraordinary human being, and the image keeps rewarding prolonged reflection, I can't wait to get back to see the original again. I remember Brennan Manning telling me that 'A Man For All Seasons' is his favourite movie, so I purchased a copy - it's well worth the view. More was an example of integrity; in the face of personal loss and ultimately, death, he stuck to his principles and gave the glory to God. While I'm equally fascinated by and sympathetic to fallen heroes with feet of clay, it's worth spending time with those who make the right choices and allow them to inspire us.