social justice starlings winter Stonehill Archives

The Horse and His Boy

In 2010 a band known as A Horse and His Boy released an EP entitled Trilogy. From that recording is a haunting song called “Kramer’s Wall.” Jackson Harper (formerly Seth Harper) calls himself a “scrappy Narnian” and thus identifies himself with a genre of literature and music that sees light and darkness, and right and wrong in…

Restorying Canada

The University of Ottawa, Institute of Canadian and Aboriginal Studies, put on what they called a conference and public event in May of this year entitled Restorying Canada: Reconsidering Religion and Public Memory in 2017. They invited several participants to present papers and/or speak at the event. The focus of the conference was religion and…

Celebrate This Heartbeat

I have previously sung the praises of Randy Stonehill and in particular the Welcome to Paradise album of 1976. A recently performed Living Room Concert streamed live on Facebook reminded me of his 1984 album Celebrate This Heartbeat. The title song reminds us that every day is a gift from the Lord. I encourage you…

Randy Stonehill – Turning 60?

Randy Stonehill is “turning sixty,” no, wait, next March he will be 65! This will be another major milestone for the young man who wrote “Turning Thirty.” Randy Stonehill came along at just the right time for me in my musical appreciation. In 1976, I was 16 years old when I discovered Randy’s album, “Welcome…

Bridge of Spies

Most everyone wants to do good things in this life. We want to feed hungry children, sit with someone during their last hours of life, help someone become employable, or release hostages from torture. Some would want to do these things without public recognition, while others would want the fame and acclaim for wonderful things…

Winter is Coming

“A Hazy Shade of Winter” (listen to it here) was written by Paul Simon in the early sixties and appears on Simon & Garfunkel’s fourth studio album, Bookends (1968). The song is a metaphor for a life which draws upon the transition from fall to winter. It speaks of a person who once had great…

Locked In A Cage

A friend of mine wrote a story that is a helpful discussion starter and I asked him to guest blog today. The story is a metaphor of life and the followers of Jesus. I share it with you here. Let me know how this story affects you. Picture us as a group of people locked…

Justice In A Dangerous Time

I first came across the International Justice Mission when Jamie McIntosh was establishing the Canadian arm of the mission in Canada. It was 2002 and Jamie was thoroughly convinced of the message he had been given for the people of Canada. The mission of IJM Canada is “To protect the poor from violence by rescuing…

Everybody Wants To Rule The World

Let me put it out there for all to read: I want to change the world! But then, everybody wants to change the world. In fact, in the words of “Tears For Fears,” “everybody wants to rule the world.” In my natural self, I want a world that works for me. In this perspective, world…

People Turn to Religion

John Stackhouse says that “People turn to religion only if they have a good reason. The instrumental reasons are gone with the wind.”1 That is, people no longer believe that they must go to church to increase their social standing or to impress their business constituents. He points out that in one particular panel discussion…