Monday Music Appreciation #57: A Hosanna I'd never heard

I meant to tack this video (click here, email subscribers) onto yesterday's post, as it was the beautiful melody with which we ended our Palm/Passion Sunday service. (I learned it in a hurry.) 

Enjoy!

Sunday Reflection: a Holy Week meditation

Today was my Sunday to offer a reflection for the Community of Emmanuel in our inner-city. Because our next service is on Easter Sunday, it didn't seem enough to just focus on Palm Sunday -- but we also didn't really have time to read the entire passion of Christ (we like to include time for a smudge and leave room for the prayers of the community, which were many today). We also didn't have any palm branches, so I braved water in my boots in a ditch near Leduc last week to pick pussy willows for the occasion.

As is my habit, after the Palm Sunday reading of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey's colt and a joyous Hosanna to the Son of David, I invited the community into a guided meditation meant to briefly summarize the rest of Holy Week from the Gospel of Luke's perspective. What follows here is the reflection I offered. May it be a help to your own observance of the week ahead.

* * * * * * *

I invite you to sit and settle in as comfortably as you can. Rest your feet flat on the floor, and relax your shoulders, your arms, loosen your hands. Straighten your spine if you can. Take a deep breath in and gently release it… If you want to, close your eyes, or lower them and relax their focus. Settle into your body and listen... 

In our imaginations, let’s walk through the week ahead with Jesus… 

Look. There is your friend, Jesus, riding a donkey’s colt, being celebrated by great crowds of people filling the streets and welcoming him to Jerusalem, singing Hosannas… 

There is your friend, Jesus, throwing over the tables of unjust merchants who are cheating the poor in the temple courtyard. The clatter of the coins on the pavement and the noise of the crowd rings in your ears. Jesus is shouting against those who turn religion into a money-making scheme rather than a way to help people know about God’s great love for them… 

There is your friend, Jesus, sitting across from you at a cooking fire where you are staying with all his followers and him. He is saying that God cares for you like a hen cares for her chicks, tucking them under her wing. He talks about how bad things may happen in life, but Creator is near to all who suffer. He speaks of God as a forgiving father who runs to meet you, who wants to love you. His words fill your heart, and he smiles at you… 

 There is your friend, Jesus, praying alone in the garden every night, getting up early to go to the Temple every day, telling so many stories about God’s love. Healing people. Listening to them. People are hanging on his every word, and you feel so proud to know him, so happy that he is your friend… 

 There is your friend, Jesus, kneeling at your feet with a towel and a basin of water. He smiles up at you, and your heart is full of gratitude for his friendship. He is pouring water over your dusty, dirty feet, washing them carefully and lovingly, and wiping them dry with a soft towel. His gentleness fills your heart with deep joy. “Serve one another, love one another,” he says… 

There is your friend, Jesus, sitting across from you at a meal, looking at you with a love like no other, passing you a chunk of bread, holding a cup of wine for you to take a sip of its deep sweetness. “This is a sign of my love for you and all people,” he says. “When you share food and drink together, remember me, and God’s deep, wide love for you…” 

There is your friend, Jesus, praying alone again in the dark of night, asking you to stay awake, but the excitement of the week and the Passover feast and wine make you sleepy… 

 There is your friend, Jesus, rising from his prayer of surrender to Creator, “Let your will, not mine, be done,” he says… 

There is your friend, Jesus, surrounded by soldiers and other people with torches, betrayed with a kiss on the cheek. He looks to you, his friend, both fear and courage in his eyes as the crowd hauls him away… 

Where is your friend, Jesus? Where are they taking him? You try to follow, but they rush him along, and you can’t see where he is in the middle of the mob. You run after him, but they take him into a large building, and soldiers prevent you from going in… 

Where is your friend, Jesus? It’s been hours of sitting in the cold courtyard, and the sun is rising. The crowd waits, and a man is brought out between two soldiers. He has been badly beaten, bloody, and he can barely stand, but he lifts his head and looks at you. Then another man stands on a balcony and says loudly, “What shall I do with this Jesus of Nazareth?” And many voices, some who sang Hosannas just days ago, shout, “CRUCIFY HIM!...” 

 There is your friend, Jesus, surrounded by soldiers, carrying a heavy cross along a winding street leading to the hill outside the city where he will die. He falls. You push through the crowds to be near him and lift him up. His eyes rest on your face and he recognizes you, but before you can say anything, the soldiers shove him forward again… 

 There is your friend, Jesus, being nailed to a cross. Hanging there in terrible pain. For hours. Hanging between two criminals, his blood running freely from his hands and feet and the crown of thorns on his head… 

There is your friend, Jesus, in deep agony. His pain is great, but even so, he looks with love at the women standing near him. He looks... with love... at you… 

Your friend, Jesus, speaks. He speaks from a heart of deep, deep, deep love, asking God to forgive those who brought him to the worst and most painful kind of death… 

He speaks to one of the men on the cross beside him, a man sorry for his crime, telling him, “Today you will be with me in paradise…” 

The wind blows, and clouds darken the sky… 

Your friend Jesus speaks one last time, in a loud voice, to be sure that God hears him, saying, “Creator, into your hands I give my spirit…” 

 There is your friend, Jesus, who was more than a friend. Who loved everyone, even those who hated him. Who laughed at your jokes. Who made the weak strong. Who helped the poor know God’s richness in their lives. Who gave sight to the blind. Who healed people, and raised them out of shame and misery and death. Your friend, Jesus, the most wonderful person you’ve ever met. The son of God… 

There is your friend, Jesus, being carefully removed from the cross. His mother reaches for him and holds him for a few moments, weeping and wailing for her son. The women with her gently take Jesus from her and wrap him in a long linen cloth, as tenderly as if he were a small child. Then everyone takes a corner of the cloth to carry him to a tomb. As you walk, the women sing a psalm of lament… 

There is your friend, Jesus, wrapped in a shroud, being laid in the tomb. Everyone moves outside, and works together to roll a great stone across the entrance… 

* * * * * * * 

And now, I invite you to gently return to this room. 

We are lucky. We know that there is a happy ending to this story. Jesus’ followers didn’t know that.

 In the week ahead, I think we need to stay with them, and with Jesus in his suffering, as he always stays with us in ours, and not rush to the happy ending just yet. 

 We can reflect on how Jesus knows what it is to be human, to struggle, to die, and we can offer our struggles to God like he did. We can forgive like he did. We can love like he did. 

 And if we spend the week ahead doing those things and remembering how Jesus gave his life for us, we can celebrate next Sunday with deep, deep gratitude and joy. That’s what I’m aiming for in the holy week ahead. 

 Let your palm or pussy willow branch be a reminder to remember Jesus’ love for you, a love that took him to the cross… and beyond.

Monday Music Appreciation #56: Tommy Emmanuel

I worked four nights out of five at the Francis Winspear Centre for Music last week, all excellent shows. But the one that really blew me away was the concert by Tommy Emmanuel, a 69-year-old Australian guitar miracle-man. I've never heard so much sound out of a single instrument! He joked that he's saving money on the band that doesn't have to travel with him, as in this video of Blue Moon (click here). 

It was almost too much to take in at times, and I had the feeling that he could play mash-ups of any guitar music you care to name. Below is a mixture of Beatles tunes and Classical Gas, a guitar piece that has always amazed me. There are many more of his videos online if you want to hear more. My thanks to the person who posted this video. Enjoy!

Email subscribers, click here for the video below.

Not April Fool's jokes

I only wish it was an April Fool's Day joke.

But no, as promised, the Bissell Centre Community Space is closed today. It has been a place where vulnerable people who are homeless could access washrooms, showers, laundry facilities, a cup of coffee and a warm space to be together. 

Now it stands empty, helping no one, a criminal waste of resources that helped so many up until yesterday!

Simply because we have a provincial government who would rather pretend that it's solving the homelessness crisis by offering "navigation centres" that make people feel like they're being processed to go to jail, and shelters that are more problematic than helpful (read: unsanitary, unsafe, unstable) for too many people who have no homes.

The other horrible not-an-April-Fool's-joke is this business of taking snacks from children in cancer care in order to be more "efficient." Like a few cookies and crackers are going to balance the books???

Please remember these inhumane acts when the next provincial election comes around and vote out the UCP. A government that doesn't care for the most vulnerable doesn't deserve to govern. 

Monday Music Appreciation #55 : A little bit of Jim Cuddy

I've always liked Jim Cuddy's music, though I had never seen Blue Rodeo or him live until back in November when I worked his concert at the Francis Winspear Centre for Music. Now that I think about it, I was planning to post a song of his then, but somehow it never happened.

But today I am moodling about a very different song than the one I had thought about sharing back in November. Or maybe I'll put both songs up, so if you've heard the first, you can listen to the second (which I thought was really beautiful at the concert).

As a proud Canadian, I am deeply saddened by the unfolding chaos in the United States, and also extremely concerned about the threats to turn Canada into the 51st State. I certainly don't want to be governed by people who care so little for migrants, refugees, trans people, people who are homeless, gun control, healthcare, ordinary citizens who are struggling to make ends meet, employment, other nations' self-determination, and the list goes on... 

Billionaires and wanna-be oligarchs should not be running any part of this planet as they tend to believe that it's theirs to exploit and that they are invincible. But neither is true. 

I have many friends in the United States, most of whom are deeply disturbed by the trade wars, tirades, and insults bouncing around. We feel for each other, and I think Jim Cuddy's song, "We Used to Be the Best of Friends" (email subscribers click here) is a pretty good summary of what has been a good Canada-US relationship up until recently. If you haven't heard Jim's ditty yet, have a listen right to the last words. And if you have heard it, maybe you'd rather listen to his second song, "Wash Me Down" (click here). It's been around for at least 5 years, but it's a very pretty tune, in my humble opinion (and they did it unplugged on the Winspear stage in November, which was really beautiful!)

I hope you enjoy one or the other -- or both!

Monday Music Appreciation #54: A man named Pacho Flores

I had no idea what I was in for when I went to work at Friday night's Trumpet and Tequila concert at the Francis Winspear Centre for Music. Had I known, I'd have purchased tickets for my youngest kid, just turned twenty-five, who still plays the trumpet for their own enjoyment. Pacho Flores is a phenomenal trumpeter!

On Friday night, a junior high school from Winnipeg filled fifty-three seats where I was stationed for the concert, and the reaction of those kids was instantaneous with the final note -- their immediate standing ovation told me that they knew they were in the presence of a great musician, and the entire chamber was in agreement for several standing O's! 

Márquez's Concierto de Otoño has three very different movements that Flores played as if they were his favourite desserts. A little tomfoolery toward the end was a real audience pleaser. In the video below, the audience helps with Eine Kleine Nachmusik at 18:50, but fitting with the name of the Edmonton concert, we all got to shout, "TEQUILA!" with the melody by The Champs.

So today I leave my readers with Pacho Flores, the Venezuelan who impressed us all (the Edmonton Symphony was excellent, too, on Friday, as is the Minnesota orchestra here). Enjoy!

Worry less, hope more

I have yet to see Damien, the man I wrote about a few weeks ago after I learned he had lost all his fingers and one thumb to frostbite. Pastor Quinn and I went looking for him at his favourite haunt, the library, the next day, without luck. So Quinn sent him an email offering care and support, unsure if Damien would be able to reply. 

That same afternoon, Quinn received Damien's brief reply and forwarded it to me. It told us that Damien was doing well thanks to many prayers, the professionalism of nurses, and his own efforts to come through and be well. His optimism and gentle nature shone through his two sentence email.

The final line of it has become my mantra of late. It seems unrealistic and yet absolutely essential by turns as we see so much chaos, unnecessary suffering, and division in our world right now.

But if Damien, a gentle homeless man who has suffered a serious setback, can make this his motto, I can too:

"Worry less, hope more." 

A snowy puppy's delight

We're at the tail end of winter, it's a snowy day, and Remi-pup loves snow. I do too, because it wears him right out, and I can get things done while he naps. He's napping now, and I'm sharing his delight with the fresh stuff that's covering the mounds of icy snow in our back yard. He's hilarious.

Monday Music Appreciation #53: The Great River from The Lord of the Rings

Have I mentioned lately that I love my job? (My job refers to my work as usher at the Francis Winspear Centre for Music, but my vocation is being associate pastor for Inner City Pastoral Ministry. I love them both! But it's the usher position I'm referring to today.)

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of working two shifts in a series of five sold out concerts featuring the music from The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. The shows were amazing, featuring two hundred voices (made up of choirs Korora, Oran, Shumayela, and the Cantilon Chamber Choir), and nearly a hundred musicians in the orchestra, with over 100 instruments crammed on the stage like I'd never seen before. Soprano Kaitlyn Lusk Reddington had the perfect vocal range to sing the ethereal laments, and there were many goosebump moments as we listened to the music of Howard Leslie Shore, the Canadian composer of epic LOTR music. 

Here's a taste of what we heard, a choral piece that really moved me in its beauty and solemnity. Enjoy!

Email moodlings subscribers can click here.

Sunday Reflection: Filling our God-shaped hole

Today's reflection is brought to you by

Luke 4: 1-13.

Our service at the Community of Emmanuel this morning was very special, due in no small part to Jesse's reading of the Gospel.

Jesse is a young man with a crew cut and horn-rimmed glasses who shows up every Sunday wearing a big smile. He sits close to the front if he can, and pays close attention to everything that's going on.

Today was my Sunday to lead a morning prayer service for the community, and I went to Jesse once he found his place at the front table with his coffee. "Do you like to read?" I asked him. "

"I read all the time," he replied.

"Do you like to read out loud for others?" 

"Yes," he said, his eyes flashing with excitement.

"Would you read the Gospel reading for me today?"

"I would love to!" he said.

When I called Jesse forward to proclaim the story in the Gospel of Luke about Satan's efforts to tempt Jesus after his forty days in the desert, he introduced himself, then said, "I'm not an actor. But there are two voices in this story, and you'll have to figure out which is which."

Then he launched into an incredible sharing of the story, complete with different postures and voices for the Devil and Jesus. It was all I could do not to laugh out loud with delight! Before I started my reflection, I leaned over the podium and said, "Oh, Jesse, that was incredibly good! Well done!" Had I been thinking, I would have led the applause like Jesse so often does whenever we sing.

Here is the reading Jesse read, slightly adapted from the First Nations Version of the New Testament:

From the river where Jesus (Creator Sets Free) was baptized, the Spirit guided him into the desert wilderness. There, for forty days, he would be put to the test by Accuser, also known as Satan, the evil trickster snake.

For forty days and nights Jesus ate nothing. His body became weak, and his hunger grew strong.

“Are you really the Son of Creator?” Satan hissed. “Prove it by turning these stones into bannock.”

“It is written in the Sacred Teachings,” Jesus said, “Bread is not the only food for two-leggeds.

Then Accuser, the evil snake, took Jesus up to a high mountain and, in a moment of time, showed him all the great nations of the world. “All of these, their power and beauty can be yours!” the snake said smoothly. "They were given over to me and I can give them to anyone I choose. If you will bow down to me and my ways, they will all be yours!”

“Go away from me, you evil trickster!” Jesus answered. “For it also says in the Sacred Teachings, “Creator is the only one people must bow down to and walk in God’s ways.

Then the evil snake took Jesus to Creator’s sacred lodge, the Temple in Jerusalem. He took him to its very top, high above the village. “Prove you are the Son of God and jump down from here!" The snake taunted him. "Don’t the Sacred Teachings also say, “His spirit-messengers will watch over you to keep you from harm. They will not even let your foot hit a stone?”

“Yes,” Jesus said, “But they also say, ‘Do not put Creator to a foolish test.”

Jesus had passed every test. The evil snake could think of nothing more, so he slithered away to wait for another time.

First Nations Version: 

An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament 

(Downer's Grove IL: InterVarsity Press 2021, ISBN 978-0-8308-1350-6).

What follows is my reflection on today's Gospel reading, a slightly different take than you might have heard in your own church... mainly because I was speaking to an audience for whom security, wealth and power are very hard to find.

* * * * * * *

When I hear this story, it’s not hard for me to imagine Satan, or Accuser, the evil snake, as a bully that just won’t get out of Jesus’ face. We’ve all run into bullies in our lives, right? Even if they don’t hurt us physically, they get into our heads and often make us feel bad about ourselves. And through my life I’ve learned that when I fall into negative thoughts and feelings, that’s Accuser at work, bullying me and making me forget that I am God’s beloved child. 

Now, just imagine that snake following Jesus around the desert for his entire forty days there, plotting how to drag him down. Then, when Jesus is at his lowest point, energy-wise, because he hasn’t eaten for forty days, Accuser, snake, the devil, or however you want to call it, shows up with three big temptations for Jesus. Security in the form of immediate food, then wealth, then spiritual power.

The Accuser snake thinks it has God’s superpowers, and tries to make God-like promises using sacred teachings to back them up, but because Jesus has been walking with, praying to, and trusting in Creator’s care for forty days, he is so plugged into his relationship with Creator, he’s not fooled.

Jesus knows that when God made human beings, inside every one of us, God left a God-shaped hole. Now, I can't say what God’s shape is like exactly, but since our Creator is bigger than the universe, a God-shaped hole is a pretty huge hole to fill, and nothing can fill it except God’s love for us and our love for each other, in the way we form community and help each other.

In facing the first temptation to turn stones into bread, Jesus refuses. Why? What is he thinking? He's so hungry!! But perhaps he can say no because he knows that food tastes best when shared. People need more than bread to live on, Jesus reminds the snake. We also need community, friendship, and love, to be God-with-skin on for each other.

Facing Satan’s second temptation of all the treasures in the world, and living under King Herod and the Roman Empire, Jesus saw first-hand that the people who amass treasures and power often become cruel to protect their privilege and authority. They start thinking of themselves as favoured, as better than everyone else. But Jesus knows God is a mother, or a father, if you prefer, who loves all God’s children equally. There are no favourites because we are all God’s favourites.

And facing the third temptation, Jesus knows Creator isn’t about spiritual magic, either. She is like a mother hen, all about love as she holds her chicks (that's us) tenderly under her wings. He is a protector, caring for his children through our challenges even more than our successes, encouraging us to live in joy, peace, and harmony with creation. Jesus doesn’t need to test whether Creator cares for him or not. He knows that Creator cares for him. And because of his teachings, we know that Creator cares for us, too.

Yes, Jesus certainly could have turned stones to bread so he wouldn’t be so hungry, and he could have agreed to bow down to Accuser to win all the world’s wealth, or he could have taken Accuser’s dare and jumped off the top of the Temple to prove that he would be caught by angels as he fell.

But none of that meant anything to Jesus, because he knew that nothing can fill the God-shaped hole in each of our hearts -- except God. It makes me think of the very wealthy people in the world whose main purpose in life seems to be trying to get more and more money, power, and privilege.

What they don’t seem to understand is that Creator’s good road exists where people share and love like Jesus did. Our lives are not about collecting things or money or power, but about doing like Jesus did, giving our lives away to others in love. Our brother Farley used to sing a song that went like this… “What can you do with each moment of your life, but love till you’ve loved it away.” (from Thanksgiving Eve by Bob Franke).

So when we meet the Accuser in our lives, Jesus is our model. He walks away from the Accuser's efforts to make us feel bad about ourselves and our world, and he walks away from the temptation to cling to fake treasures. He shows us the truest superpower -- the power to let go of things that divide us, the things that make some people think they are winners and other people are losers. We’re all winners in God’s eyes, we just need to remember that and make it true for everyone.

Satan wanted Jesus to depend on wealth and power and privilege, but Jesus was saying, “I depend only on God.” He chose to love and walk with all the people in the world who do not have security, power, wealth, or spiritual authority. Which is most of us. We walk with each other as community, and there’s nowhere I see it more clearly than here on 96th Street in the Community of Emmanuel.

So as we begin walking through these forty days of Lent, let’s take a walk through the wilderness with Jesus.

Relax, sit comfortably, and close or lower your eyes if you like. Feel your feet on the floor.

Breathe in deeply, and out gently as is comfortable for you.

Imagine that you are walking along a hot, dusty desert path, following Jesus. See the scrubby vegetation covering the ground beside the path all around you.

Feel the dry breeze blowing into your face as you climb a steep and rocky hill. Jesus looks back and sees that you are struggling over some rocks, and reaches out his hand to help you.

His eyes are full of love for you.

As Jesus leads you over the top of the hill, you smell a sweet fragrance, and see a small stream surrounded by trees in the bottom of the valley below, and a million tiny pink flowers on the hillside’s scrubby bushes that are giving off the sweet scent. The desert is in bloom in this valley.

You descend the hill behind Jesus. Reaching the edge of the stream, he dips his hand in, takes a drink and then splashes water over his head. You do the same, and you smile at each other.

There are some rocks to sit on. As you and Jesus slip your dusty feet out of your sandals and into the cool water of the stream, he turns to you and says, “Wherever your treasure lies, there you will find your heart.”

Take a few moments to silently tell Jesus what is on your heart…

As your conversation comes to a close, Jesus says, “Leave all that with me, beloved child of God, and let me care for your heart.”

 

I invite you to come back into this room… to open your eyes if they were closed, and to continue to breathe gently.

 

And I invite you to pray with me:

Creator,

We thank you for your loving care for us.

Please walk with us and help us in these forty days of Lent that lead to Easter.

Helps us to listen to you and ignore the Accuser when he tries to make us feel bad about ourselves and our world.

Help us to remember that you are with us, always, and that you invite us to put aside the things that divide us.

Help us to find our treasure in knowing that we are your beloved children, and in living out that love in our relationships with you and each other.

Be with us Lord, and keep us safe in your care.  

+AMEN.

Monday Music Appreciation #52 -- Eternal Light

There's a new musician who has joined our Inner City Pastoral Ministry's Community of Emmanuel. His name is Evan, and he's an extremely talented pianist with a music degree behind him. He loves to play jazzy tunes, so Sunday morning coffee time has been the scene of a bit of dancing in recent weeks (whenever I can convince a community member to dance with me!)

Evan is a true musician who listens to a lot of music... and sends many videos to me to check out as possibilities for our new ICPM music book (the old one is down to its last original copies and is pretty dated, so it's time to build a new one -- if you have any song suggestions, let me know!)

Since joining our downtown music ministry, Evan has shared several songs by Porter's Gate, which seems to be a collaborative effort by Christian musicians, but he didn't send me this one. It came to me via the online 5Rhythms mindful movement group I've been dancing with for almost five years now.

 Last Tuesday, I found myself grooving in my kitchen to Eternal Light (I dance where the dog can see me and know he's not alone in the house as we're still working on separation anxiety). Moving to this song felt so good that I looked it up -- and laughed out loud. Lo and behold, it's a tune by some of the musicians contributing to Porter's Gate, the group that Evan likes so much. 

It's a great morning stretch song, or at least it works for me. Liz Vice's voice is warm and mellow, Paul Zach's harmonies feel so right, and who among us doesn't need a little eternal hope and less darkness these days?

I hope you can appreciate today's Monday Music. Turn it up and groove (or not) as you please!

Does life have to hurt this much?

I've known Damien (not his real name) for a couple of years now. I first met him on a sunny August morning at Table Time, the almost weekly outreach that Pastor Quinn and I are able to offer thanks to the donations that Inner City Pastoral Ministry receives from supporters who care about our homeless community members. 

On that particular Tuesday morning, Damien crossed the road to say hello to us. He wished us an enthusiastic "Happy Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God!" and we had a little chat about his connection to the Ukrainian Orthodox church before he started talking philosophy with Quinn. I soon realized that Quinn and Damien had engaged in several such conversations in the past. 

In subsequent encounters, Damien struck me as a rather brilliant renaissance man, well-read and well-educated on many topics, and there was nothing he loved more than sharing what he was learning. Usually, he was coming or going from the library when we saw him. I often wondered why he didn't have a home, but whenever Quinn asked him about getting into housing, he said he was content where he was living (at Hope Mission's men's shelter, though his beliefs don't exactly fit with Hope's evangelical bent).

It has been so cold in February that there were a few Table Times that Quinn and I missed. When it's -30 with a -40 windchill, there's no point standing on the corner near Bissell Centre to hand out clothing, snacks, or toiletries because homeless people are holed up trying to stay warm in the library, malls, LRT stations or tarp/tent shelters -- wherever it's warm and bylaw officers are scarce. 

Yesterday, we learned from Bissell West staff that sometime in the recent weeks of extreme cold, Damien experienced frostbite so severe that all his fingers and one thumb had to be amputated. And my heart immediately broke for this sweet fellow who has no real home, and now, a serious disability that could have been prevented. How will he hold his beloved books and turn their pages?

What makes Damien's story even harder to bear is that the Bissell Centre West community space, which, for many years, has held a drop-in for people who are homeless and precariously-housed, is being closed on March 31st. City and province are no longer willing to support its essential services. 

Make no mistake, the community space is essential. It offers warmth on cold days, a place to get out of the blazing sun on hot days, not to mention washrooms, showers, laundry facilities, nurses who offer first aid, a clothing closet, an Indigenous cultural space, coffee, snacks, and a few other amenities that most of us who live in comfort take for granted. 

Perhaps more important than all those things, however, the community space offers a place where people can connect with their friends, and where they can receive help from staff members who have the right blend of humour and heart to really care for community members who come in. The Bissell staff I know are exceptionally kind people who go far beyond their job descriptions. I suspect that for them, working in the drop-in is a vocation more than a job. They worry when regulars don't show up. 

And regulars are people just like you and me except their lives have unraveled through no fault of their own -- people suffering from deep poverty often complicated by mental health issues, physical and/or mental disabilities, intergenerational trauma, addictions, and other challenges. Every individual has a heartbreaking story, and many, like Damien, don't talk about it.

It hurts that when the Community Space closes on March 31st, there is one less place for homeless sisters and brothers to safely gather and connect. Their supports are consistently being eroded by governments that would rather pretend they don't exist, or who want to force them all into detox facilities before they have the appropriate supports to be psychologically ready for substance-free living. The Public Spaces bylaws passed by Edmonton City Council this week will make life even more difficult for them. And I'll be surprised if people who are homeless are even mentioned in tomorrow's provincial budget.

Their supports are consistently being eroded. Yes, I'm saying it again.

And nobody is stepping up to say, "This is Wrong!"

Yesterday I sat on my back steps and sobbed for Damien and his stubs of hands, and tears also ran down my cheeks for the wonderful Bissell staff members whose hearts are completely broken -- and who are about to be laid off -- but who are still talking about a March memorial service for people who have died on our streets in the last four months. The staff know and care for the community one-on-one and don't want lives to end unremembered. 

My tears have dried up long enough to write this post, but I am left with a burning anger that chokes my throat and stings my eyes. 

That's nothing compared to Damien's pain from losing all his fingers and a thumb in the past weeks.

Does life have to hurt this much in a wealthy city and province like ours?

It shouldn't. That's why I'm telling you, friends, about what's going on. The Bissell staff's hands are tied by policies preventing them from speaking out. 

But mine aren't.

Of course, my writing isn't enough unless it motivates good people like you to do something. At the bottom of this post are the email addresses and phone numbers of the Alberta Premier and various ministers who should have a stake in caring for ALL Albertans, as well as Edmonton's city councilors and mayor, who need to be reminded to spend public money on care for the homeless rather than ineffective police and cleanup crews. I've put all this information together in one place to make contacting officials easier. 

Please -- send emails demanding that the Bissell Centre West Community Space be kept open and well-staffed, and that services for homeless people be expanded rather than cut, copying your message to your own MLA, too. If you have a few extra minutes, it would be great to follow up your email with a phone call. And if you would be so kind as to share this post among your own friends and family so that they can also help, you'd be adding numbers to these efforts. We all know there is strength in numbers.

If you live elsewhere, please consider writing and calling your own politicians demanding an increase in services for people who are homeless in your area, as well as supportive and affordable housing for all.

Life doesn't have to hurt this much. 

Not if we all work together for positive change. 

* * * * * * *

With many thanks to Jim Gurnett for his helpful words.

Provincial contacts:

premier@gov.ab.ca (Danielle Smith, Premier of Alberta) (780) 427-2251

SCSS.Minister@gov.ab.ca (Jason Nixon, Seniors and Community Services) (780) 643-6210

PSES.Minister@gov.ab.ca (Mike Ellis, Public Safety and Emergency Services) (780) 415-1550

MHA.Minister@gov.ab.ca (Dan Williams, Mental Health and Addiction) (780) 427-0165

Health.Minister@gov.ab.ca (Adriana LaGrange) (780) 427-7164

Minister.MunicipalAffairs@gov.ab.ca (Rick McIver) (780) 427-3744

IR.MinisterOffice@gov.ab.ca (Rick Wilson, Indigenous Relations) (780) 422-4144

City of Edmonton contacts:

aaron.paquette@edmonton.ca (780) 496-8138

andrew.knack@edmonton.ca (780) 496-8122

anne.stevenson@edmonton.ca (780) 496-8333

ashley.salvador@edmonton.ca (780) 496-8140

erin.rutherford@edmonton.ca (780) 496-8136

jennifer.rice@edmonton.ca (780) 496-8132

jo-anne.wright@edmonton.ca  (780) 496-8148

karen.principe@edmonton.ca (780) 496-8128

keren.tang@edmonton.ca (780) 496-8142

michael.janz@edmonton.ca (780) 496-8146

sarah.hamilton@edmonton.ca (780) 496-8120

tim.cartmell@edmonton.ca (780) 496-8130

amarjeet.sohi@edmonton.ca (No phone number that I could find)

Monday Music Appreciation #51: Those Rebellious Elevators

There's been lots of great symphonic music at the Winspear Centre for Music these last weeks, so much so that I'm finding it hard to choose just one video to share. So I'm taking a different tack this Monday Music Appreciation Day, sharing the music of my own kids.

Christina and Landon co-wrote a fun piece of music some time ago, and a few years later, Christina got a bunch of friends and family to contribute toward recording studio time as a birthday gift for Landon. They call themselves The Rebellious Elevators (due to living in a high rise on the 14th floor at the time the song was written). Their recording of With You finally came out on Christmas Day, and I've been meaning to share it here ever since. The problem is that I'm not sure how to share a piece from Spotify so that it's accessible, except to publish the link.

If you'd like to hear With You, click here... and I hope something happens! If not, blame your low tech moodler! If you don't already have access to Spotify, it might ask you to sign up for a free account (which is what I have). And if you'd like to buy the track to support local talent, that would be great.

What I really love about this tune is how the kids invited so many family and friends to contribute their talents. There's a list of all the people who helped make this music on the site, and it was fun for me to be part of it and sing the low harmony on the refrain. It's been years since I've been to a recording studio, and wow, have things evolved thanks to computers. Have a listen and see what you think!

Hope Stoves to warm cold people

It's bloody cold out there these days. And there are far too many people without homes. Yes, some of them stay in shelters for the homeless, but during the daytime, they are forced out to wander the streets looking for warm places to spend their time. Imagine for a moment what that would be like.

There are also a lot of people who refuse to stay in homeless shelters. On Sunday morning when I went down to Inner City Pastoral Ministry, there were a few folks outside the Bissell Centre trying to stay warm under tarps and blankets because they don't feel safe in the shelters even if they are warmer spaces. They were the first to come in when we opened our doors. That they'd rather sleep outside and risk frostbite says a lot about the shelter system. (I've seen some pretty ugly frostbite this winter...)

So a few friends gathered on February 9th to make "Hope Stoves." Basically, they are unused, empty paint cans that have air holes in the top half and are half-filled with wax and five wicks. They are safer than propane burners or other flammable materials, but light those wicks and they warm the can enough that you can boil water on it, and if it gets kicked over, it just goes out.

The idea originated with Mike Hay, a BC Contractor who likes to keep warm while camping, and who wants those living rough to be able to stay warm too. Each stove burns for about 12 hours. They can boil water. And they can carry messages of hope, besides.

Here's Mike and his Hope Stove tutorial (click here, moodlings subscribers), in case you want to offer a simple form of help to any folks who might be living rough in your neighbourhood...

Monday Music Appreciation #50: Laudate Dominum

Wow, we're up to 50 music appreciation moodlings! And I've chosen this particular piece because we had such a great time singing/praying it last night at our local ecumenical evening prayer.

If you're a regular moodlings follower, you'll know that for the past 14 years or more, I've been organizing an almost monthly prayer evening because of my love for the music of Taizé and the Taizé community's very simple style of prayer. Silence, scripture and song, with no preaching, just a chance to let God's voice ring in our hearts. And last night's Prayer for the Marginalized was extra special somehow... 

When I arrived to set up at the church that was hosting us, the pastor told me that the furnace wasn't heating the church sanctuary, so we'd have our prayer in the basement where it was warmer. So we rearranged some chairs and tables and set up in a low-ceilinged hall, and people filed down to the basement to pray with us. Somehow, I had no matches to light our candles, but God provided a friend with a lighter last minute!

It was a cozy and intimate prayer space, and because we were closer together, the sound was incredible, as was the silence for meditation. There were many heartfelt prayers for all those being marginalized in our society and world, and I felt a very strong sense of community in praying with the people who came, many of whom are familiar faces from different churches in our area and beyond.

We ended the evening with the chant below, and it filled me with so much joy that I couldn't stop myself from singing the Alleluia descant with Mackenzie, who certainly didn't need my help! The musicians in our little Taizé group have been playing together long enough that they seem to intuit exactly what should happen next. When we got to the last ostinato of Laudate Dominum, Mackenzie glanced over at me, we dropped volume together, then ended the last half at full volume and with big smiles. Such a rush!

If you live in our city, and have yet to join us for our evenings of Ecumenical Prayer, our Lenten Prayer will be held at Spirit of Hope United Church (7909 83 Ave) on March 16 at 7 p.m. Bring friends and neighbours if you like!

The version of Laudate Dominum I am sharing today is in French, but it has gorgeous nature scenes and amazing French descants that outstrip the English ones we have by miles, praising God's greatness for restoring us to life, saving our feet from stumbling, and so many other good things you can say when praising God!

Because I can't send this video via the mailchimp program (sorry, email subscribers), here is the link to it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAgT4bPJ5W4

But if you are looking directly on www.simplemoodlings.blogspot.com, you should be able to see it below. Have a wonderful week and stay warm!

Monday Music Appreciation #49: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor by Camille Saint-Saëns

It's been a while since I've worked a shift at the Winspear, and I'm somewhat grateful for that fact because I've had my hands full learning the ropes for being associate pastor at Inner City Pastoral Ministry. I didn't pull any usher shifts for January, but February is definitely busier, and that's okay because I've been through all my other work responsibilities at least once and feel like I have my feet under me once again -- so that I'm able to give full attention to both roles when I'm in them.

On Friday night, for my first 2025 Winspear shift, Sara Davis Buechner was guest pianist for a one-hour "Piano and Prosecco" pairings concert ("Pairings" are designed to give a taste of symphonic music and a lovely beverage or treat to all who come to the concert hall, geared especially toward new, younger guests). So I had the pleasure of taking tickets at the door, and giving every attendee a second ticket for a beverage from the bar or a treat from the coffee and desserts kiosk. It's a lovely way for people who have never attended a symphony to try one on for size.

And Friday's concert was a treat in itself. The first half was Schubert's Symphony No. 6 in C Major, and the second half, Saint-Saëns' Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, played by the always amazing Sara Davis-Buechner. It's standing ovation material when she comes to play with the ESO every single time.

Saint-Saëns' symphony is an incredible piece of music, and I wish I could show you Sara's dramatic rendering of it. But in the video below, Ann Liu does a beautiful job, making me wish I'd stuck with my piano lessons all those years ago. It must be such a thrill to make music like this. See what you think!

Monday Music Appreciation #48: This Joy

I am appreciating so much in my life these days, including good music. And here's a great tune that I love to dance around my kitchen to, written by Shirley Caesar and sung by the Resistance Revival Chorus at the height of the pandemic. It's hard not to clap and move to it, and it's easy to catch on and sing along. See what you think! (And don't miss the little animated message at the end!)

Playmates?

Looking back through my moodlings, I'm realizing that there have been no Budgie Updates since my first moodling about Rocky, the bright blue budgie that joined our household last January. 

He's a character, our Rocky is. We had his wings clipped when we got him from Baker's Bird Shop, and it took a good ten months for his cut feathers to grow out, so he had to rely on us to carry him around the house for a long while.

Early on, we attached a perch to the outside of his cage, and discovered that he liked to sit on it near the front window, where he could yell at the wild birds outside. He usually just sat, but sometimes he'd get excited and try to fly, and we'd find him on the floor, or sitting on the dvd player cord near the floor by the TV. He'd go missing occasionally, and we learned to look for him either behind the stereo cabinet, or on the floor near the front door because, as his wing feathers grew out, he'd fly crooked and end up in those places somehow.

But now that his feathers are full he can go anywhere he likes, and Suzanna found a window mount perch where he loves to sit if we open his cage door. He roams fairly freely, and isn't really interested in conversation with us human beings, but he'll sit and call to the neighbourhood magpies or talk back to CKUA radio announcers all day long.

And... since Remi has joined our household, Rocky is very, very interested in the puppy, and, not surprisingly, the puppy in him! There's a blooming bromance about which we're not sure what to think! If the dog goes to sleep in his fenced off area in the kitchen, sometimes the bird does a flypast, looking for his friend. Other times it seems that Rocky flies around just to catch Remi's attention, teasing him a little if the dog follows him from one part of the room to another. Whenever we're playing fetch in the living room, the bird comes out and sits on the edge of the TV tray under his cage and watches the activity, burbling away in approval.

Remi's interest in Rocky so far has been mostly from a distance, but because he's grown a fair bit, he can now reach the edge of the TV tray where the bird cage sits. So far Rocky has been careful to stay out of the puppy's reach. I feel a bit anxious if they get too close to each other, but when we lock the bird in his cage, he's unhappy, and seeing his delight in the dog makes us hope that, somehow, he'll be smart enough that the two can co-exist peacefully.

Of course, we know that there's a danger to letting dog and budgie mix, the danger all toward Rocky, but so far, so good. Today, when I took the picture above, Rocky was happily lecturing Remi in Budgerigar, and Remi seemed to be listening carefully.

So, we hope for the best -- that Rocky remains vigilant, and Remi learns to control his chase and capture impulses, and we continue to have the two enjoying each other into the future. I guess we'll see.

Word of the Year for 2025

It's taken me long enough to write out this moodling, though I have been thinking about it for the past three weeks or so. Of course, I didn't even get myself a 2025 wall picture calendar until last week, and had to search in the back of the store because, well, there weren't many left, and most people get their calendars before a new year begins. So I guess what I'm saying is that it's taking me a while to settle into even the idea of 2025.

But in my reflections about what this year ahead means for me, I've come to the conclusion that my word for the year is Teamwork, simply because it feels like teamwork is the story of my life right now.

Somebody got a haircut last week!

Lee, Suzanna and I are the team training Remi-pup, working together with help from a course through the Edmonton Humane Society, to get him socialized and behaving himself. We all have to work together to be consistent in our methods, so that he knows what we expect of him in different situations. We really want him to be a joy to everyone he meets.

Being associate pastor for the Community of Emmanuel at Inner City Pastoral Ministry also requires a new kind of teamwork for me. Because I've been part of the community for almost five years, most of what I am and will be doing has come pretty naturally, but now that my role has been "formalized," more effort is required to communicate with my co-pastor and other folks simply because we have more shared responsibilities. 

As lunch coordinator for ICPM, my work was separate from daily operations and I was able to fill gaps around the edges for our two pastors most Sunday mornings, but now I'm in the thick of things (and loving it, for the most part!), tied down to music ministry or helping to lead the service. There are a few other weekly things, like Table Time for handing out donated supplies to the folks in Boyle/McCauley, Thursday Bible study, and a monthly Women's Group where I'm in charge of leading the ladies in spiritual discussions. What's great is that other good people are stepping forward to fill the gaps that Pastor Quinn and I can't cover. Our team is expanding with more wonderful volunteers joining in our teamwork!

I've also been thinking a lot about the teamwork in my marriage with Lee. He's been hugely helpful with so many things since he's semi-retired, especially family gatherings and other events that require a lot of effort on my part. The days of doing everything myself (and having a bit of a martyr complex because of it at times if I'm honest) seem to be in the past. Lee and I work really well together. We always have, but now that we're both getting older, maybe I'm just appreciating it more. I love him so much, and appreciate his care for me, especially when I'm too tired to do much but stare into space, which has been the case for much of the last three weeks as I settle into all the new things I'm learning and doing.

Fortunately, things are leveling out now, and there will be room for a few other teamwork possibilities that may or may not be landing on my plate. With the federal and municipal elections coming up this year, I expect there will be more to do to make the need for affordable housing an election issue through the Edmonton Coalition on Housing and Homelessness. And a team of "good neighbours" is forming around a new supportive housing building for homeless/low-income folks that will open in April in our neighbourhood. So teamwork opportunities are abounding in my life.

Teamwork is a pretty obvious choice for my word of the year. How about you? What is your word of the year?

Monday Music Appreciation #47: Carrie Newcomer's Writing a Better Story

I've had a couple of very busy weeks, so it's no surprise that I haven't moodled here since January 6th. Stepping into the shoes of our retired associate pastor has felt a bit like being hit by a firehose because I had what felt like a pretty sedate life up until I started as associate pastor on January first. There's been a lot to get my head around, so I've had very little brain power to sit at my computer for any reason beyond dealing with details related to my new role. But things are settling down, today is my day off (I've decided every Monday will be), and I'm enjoying having time to moodle.

Today's music appreciation is a song by Quaker musician Carrie Newcomer. I keep running into her music because of the Morning Mindful Movement group that I dance with on Zoom every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday that I can. (If you're interested in dancing with us, the invitation remains open -- just send me a note and I'll send you a link). I've heard this particular tune a few times, and love the idea of it and the richness of her voice.

What's your new story line for 2025? Have a listen and enjoy your week...

(If this moodling has arrived in your inbox via email, here's the video link.)

Monday Music Appreciation #46: Bob Dylan's Blowin' in the Wind, sung by Jessica Raye and the Ramshackle Parade

Yesterday's service at the Community of Emmanuel was extraordinary. Though we celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany, we also gave a lot of love to our local wise man, recently retired Pastor Jim.

If you know Jim at all, you know that I'm not using the wise man title lightly. Jim's wisdom runs deep, whether he's standing up for the marginalized, demanding housing for all, seeing the everyday saints around him, or paying attention to the extraordinary hidden under what appears to be ordinary, as Pastor Quinn pointed out in his sermon.

Besides being a wonderful human being, Jim is a fan of Bob Dylan, and we had some beautiful moments when the entire community sang Blowin' in the Wind in honour of Jim. It's a song I've loved from the first time I heard it at a family sing song, and I found this lovely version by these Canadian artists, Jessica Raye and the Ramshackle Parade. They are a parade I'd happily join... and I will definitely check out their other music too.

Click here if you receive this moodling by email to access the song. Otherwise, enjoy below!