About Dea. Richard

This author has not yet filled in any details.
So far Dea. Richard has created 703 blog entries.

Letting Go

2026-01-15T11:08:55-06:007 May 2009|Tags: , , , , |

I was recently at a meeting and it was, as has been the case over the last two years, a meeting in which there was a lot of energy. This particular group of men and women have been meeting to review where the congregation has been, discussing where it currently is, and imaging where the Spirit might be guiding. In times of such intentional reflection there is always richness. This group, as with most that engage with leadership, modelled self-challenge, as well as comfort in listening to ideas that were either new or difficult. I suspect that many who are in leadership, either Ordered or Lay, have been in this place. And, as my own experience has evidenced, there are moments of profound insight, perhaps even revelation …

Choices

2026-01-15T11:09:42-06:002 April 2009|Tags: , , , , |

In my last Blog, Oh, the Temptation ..., I ended it with the following observation: “In the end, while mumbling below my breath, it all revolves around choice and to my frustration, I do not remember Jesus ever pushing someone through a door, merely pointing out that there were and are many doors on the journey of our lives...”

Lent|Opt-In or Out?

2026-02-21T11:06:33-06:0011 March 2009|Tags: , , , , |

So there I was at a meeting of the one of the levels of the Court of the United Church of Canada (there are four fwiiw: Pastoral Charge, Presbytery; Conference; and General Council). These Courts are not intended to be hierarchal, in fact when they work well; it lives out a way of being – of governance – that operates from the bottom -> up.

The Cookie Monster

2026-01-15T11:12:48-06:0012 February 2009|Tags: , , , |

I remember clearly the “One of these things is not like the others” Sesame Street song from the Cookie Monster a little too often since entering into a formal process toward accountable ministry in the United Church of Canada. Of course it is only now, as I have considered this latest blog why that would be ...

Temptation!

2026-01-15T11:13:35-06:008 January 2009|Tags: , , , , |

The last time I wrote a blog was prior to my trip to Israel-Palestine with Christian Peacemaker Teams. To say that it seems a long time ago that I wrote those words or that the intervening days since my return have been full of challenge and reflection would be an understatement. With the recent escalation of violence and political double speak coming out of Israel and Gaza, it would be fair to say that my cynicism with our human institutions and endeavours has been fed well.

How Then Shall We Lead?

2026-01-15T11:16:01-06:0013 November 2008|Tags: , , , , , |

So I am leaving soon, in fact in less than a week. By the time you read this, I will hopefully be a member of a Witnessing Delegation in Israel-Palestine with Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT). I have requested, at the suggestion of CPT, that this Blog and my correspondence with Winnipeg and Tamarack Presbyteries of the United Church of Canada not be released until after the 18th of November.

So, are you happy?

2026-01-15T11:16:56-06:003 October 2008|Tags: , , , , |

Well? Does the word happy convey you to memories of smiling or are you trying to figure out exactly what that means and, in turn, if it actually means anything in your life? Apparently, if you are a religious person, with all of the nuances that word conveys, you might actually be happy, you might actually be able to process what that means in your life.

Living in Fear

2026-01-15T11:18:14-06:003 September 2008|Tags: , , , |

It’s true – this is the place in which we live, breathe, love, cry and die … or so the Shadowed World purports. A world where it’s me against you, us against them, where he who yells loudest wins the precedent, where she who wields the largest weapon gains the right to become sovereign – for a day, a week, forever …

Go to Top