Entries by Alison

What Mr. Church Health Wants for Christmas

December 19, 2019 /in ,

So I know what you all are asking. What can we get the Church Health guy for Christmas?   That’s easy, a puppy. However, if you are asking from a Church Health perspective rather than a personal one I do have a list of things I would like to see as we move through Christmas […]

First Response Bags

December 11, 2019 /in

Thornbury, ON is a small community of 2,200 located at the intersection of Beaver River and Georgian Bay. Erika and Jason Mills moved to Thornbury two years ago to co-pastor Blue Mountain Community Church. The church wanted to focus on children and youth ministry, so Erika started following the local schools on social media to […]

Are You a Light in the World?

November 28, 2019 /in ,

My son recently preached a sermon from the Gospel of John talking about the idea that Jesus is the Light of the World (a theme in John’s Jesus story), and he talked about lights in Advent. It was all good, but it got me thinking… Jesus did say He was the light of the world, […]

Tell Your Stories

October 31, 2019 /in

I have written before that I am a big fan of stories.  I love a good story. But I have noticed that more and more we seem to be telling mostly “bad news” type stories.  We talk about what’s wrong, what needs to be fixed, how bad things are, and stuff like that. Our focus […]

The Corner Church

October 25, 2019 /in

Two years ago, The Freeway in Oshawa, ON went through the Lifeplan process and discerned that God wanted them to find a permanent facility to use for their ministry.  Up until that point, The Freeway met in school gyms on Sunday mornings and had a small office in downtown Oshawa. “Our original vision was to […]

Things Rarely Drift Towards Good and Healthy

September 26, 2019 /in ,

So here is a thing I am slowly learning, and this will seem obvious but hang in with me. I have a great family.  What I have noticed is that when stuff gets bumpy in my family it has an effect on me.  Now, when I say bumpy, I don’t just mean between us. It […]

Random Things Collide

August 29, 2019 /in ,

A few seemingly random things collided inside my head the other day, and I was reminded of something very important regarding this Kingdom work that we have been called to, created for and commissioned to.  Here, in no particular order, are the things that were rolling around in my head. I will attempt to put […]

I Don’t Know Who Needs to Hear This

July 25, 2019 /in ,

Full confession: I stole this idea from my friend Loreli, but I didn’t ask her so don’t say anything.  Also, writer’s block is a thing. Sometimes when I do get a writing idea I talk myself out of it. I think, “I should say this, but that sounds real close to a conversation that I […]

Building Bridges into the Community with Robotics

July 17, 2019 /in

Malvern is located in the northeast corner of Toronto. It is one of the most ethnically diverse neighbourhoods in Canada with over sixty different cultures represented including Caribbean Canadians (mostly Jamaican, Trinidadian, and Guyanese) and South Asian Canadians (mostly Sri Lankan Tamil, Indian and Pakistani).  Malvern also has the highest concentration of 12 to 24 […]

The Table

July 9, 2019 /in

Rachel and Logan Runnalls live in Caronport, SK, home to Briercrest College and Seminary and easy driving distance from the city of Moose Jaw. They have a close and active friend group of thirty-something families who are in and out of each other’s homes for meals, celebrations, book clubs and house concerts.  Over the last […]