Archbishop Linda Nicholls

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ARTICLES

Called to self-examination

On Ash Wednesday we committed ourselves to a season of “prayer, fasting and self-examination.” We all know that we fail to fully live into our

The dilemma of MAID

The conversation about medical assistance in dying (MAID) in Canada began out of a desire to ease the transition to death for terminally ill people experiencing intractable pain and suffering. After discussion and debate, Canada in 2016 legally permitted access to MAID for adults facing imminent death due to terminal illness, if they were deemed to be suffering intolerably.

Feed your soul, and let God be revealed

Teachers quickly discover there are a variety of learning styles in any classroom. Some students need to move; they experience learning through their bodies. Others

Saying yes to God’s call—one seed at a time

In 1979, 16-year-old Jadav Payeng dreamt of reforesting an island in the Brahmaputra River near his home in India. More than 40 years later, 550 hectares of forest now is home for wildlife and lost biodiversity has been restored. He did that by planting one tree every day since 1979.

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Is Lambeth worth it?

Why is the Lambeth Conference important? It’s one of the “instruments of unity” for Anglicans. We have repeatedly learned that the most important element in sustaining unity is meeting with one another.

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Through brokenness to the kingdom of God

As a young Christian I was captivated by Jesus’ vision for our human community rooted in love and lived with mercy, compassion, justice and human dignity. Jesus called as his disciples a diverse bunch of people, yet he drew them into a community of apostles who would change the world after the resurrection.

Giving back to the gracious other: a Lenten prayer

The last few months have been hard. Although I am an introvert—and introverts have had a built-in advantage during pandemic restrictions—I have had enough of uncertainty and lockdowns. I know I am not alone in that sentiment!

Seeing through the pandemic’s haze

I left home very early that morning to prepare for the 8 a.m. Eucharist at the parish I served, driving in a dense fog. As

Epiphany and our call to inner sight

Seeing is a prominent theme in the stories and parables of Jesus. Although sometimes it is in the context of stories of the healing of physical blindness, it is also used as a metaphor for insight into truth.

Christmas and the seed of our hope

One of the gifts of our Anglican tradition is the liturgical calendar. Every year we cycle through its seasons following the life of Jesus and his teachings. Every year we are invited again into Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Pentecost and Ordinary time, ending with the Reign of Christ. We walk with Jesus and all those whose lives he touched to deepen our own understanding and life in Christ.

The illusion of control—and the reality of hope

One of the great illusions when life is stable is that we are in control. The pandemic has shattered that illusion; a tiny virus broke through all our expectations. Plans were disrupted; families separated; and many of the ways in which we manage our lives were no longer effective. We discovered our vulnerability, and that we need each other for survival and are not in control.

The church’s need for pruning

It is the task at the heart of John 15:2: “God cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”

Listening for the Spirit in a liminal time

As I write this on the cusp of the spring equinox, I am so deeply grateful for the gift of light as the spring sunshine has melted the snow, is greening the grass and is offering such promise for warmth and renewal.

‘In sure and certain hope’

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the event that defines Christian faith. It is the unique event that affirms Jesus’s identity; and confirms, with power,

‘A piece of the continent, a part of the main’

At Ash Wednesday we were invited “to observe a holy Lent by self-examination, penitence, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, and by reading and meditating on the word of God.” Yet we have, in a sense, been in an extended Lent through the past year as the COVID-19 pandemic has invited us, through radical disruption of our lives, to examine ourselves and the world around us in light of the gospel.

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