I (Richard Manley-Tannis aka me) began blogging with the United Church of Canada (UCCan) during the Emerging Spirit Programme in 2008. Though I approach the world through a Christian lens, I celebrate that all human truths fail to fully appreciate a universe & reality that cannot confine the Holy. In A Deacon’s Musing, I meander & ruminates, reflect & challenge. Hopefully some of it makes sense & I invite you to ask questions, push me to clarify & listen with intention!
I have journeyed journeyed with alternatives to the Canadian adjudicative judicial system & continues to endeavour to merge my practical conflict resolution & organisational development experience with appropriate theological & academic explorations. As well, I really appreciates the nuances of organisational & systems analysis. In such pursuits, I utilise such tools as Appreciative Inquiry & the Enneagram. In 2014, I began my PhD with The Taos Institute & Tilburg University. In this next journey of learning, which ended in 2020 with my graduation in the Netherlands, the completed project was an academic exploration of shifting the UCCan’s narrative from one of deficit and fear to one of abundance, mission and hope. The project ends with a practical application (i.e. workshops) to assist congregations live out the findings of the dissertation.
Since 2018, I have had honour to fill the role as Principal of St. Andrew’s College in Saskatoon, SK, Canada. In this capacity I am excited to be part of a team that is engaged in nurturing and preparing leadership in the church through the explicit lens of justice!
Now I am wide-eyed-open to where Creator is next inviting me …
#MicroPoetry|April ’18 Verses
Every month I tweet #MicroPoetry! In 140 characters, they are part prayer, thought, reflection, challenge or something in-between. I look forward to sharing them with you and hope that they may lead to reflection, musing
#MicroPoetry|April ’18 Memes
Too often it seems that words and images are placed against one anther. The gift of a meme, when hopefully done well, is that the word and the visual serve to complement and enhance
#MicroPoetry|April ’18 Reflections
#ShineOn The #MicroPoetry of the blog began as a creative practice in 2012. Using the confines of twitter's 140 characters, this discipline has been a generative opportunity to use words to poetically
Spoken Word|Shadows
Light Shadow'd There they gather: they are always in our midst. Sometimes barely discernible in the midst of light bright and laughter present. Other times, they swirl and sweep
Children
Creator's Children This last Sunday I offered the Prayers of the People during the Annual Service of Celebration for the Centre for Christian Studies (CCS). This service marks the graduation of Diaconal Ministers
Feather’s Fall|Stephen #4
A Deacon’s Musing Serial-Story – Feather’s Fall – began in the blog Stories: Funny Things. As the Serial-Story unfolds, it would be a gift to hear any feedback, thoughts, feelings and/or challenges that might arise for you.
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