WSC Blog
3 Ways to Discern Desire as Women of God
What do you want?
It’s a question that begs a lot of other questions. Like, how do you feel when you read this question? Does it stir feelings of excitement, or confusion, or guilt? Is it a question you know how to answer? ? Or, perhaps more poignantly, do you believe the answer to this question even matters?
Women Who Went First: The Women at the Resurrection
As a new week began after Jesus’ death, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome were walking together, wandering and wondering what the future held for them. These women weren’t hoping to find a miracle, they were headed to a tomb—a tomb that had been purchased for someone else, but had become the final resting place for Jesus after his crucifixion. With them, they carried spices to anoint his body in the traditional Jewish fashion.
Women Who Went First: The Women at the Cross
Throughout the story of Jesus’ life, his female disciples are mentioned only a handful of times. The narrative focuses primarily on his relationship with his 12 closest disciples and friends. However, even the scant mention of these female disciples tells us that they were most likely with Jesus regularly throughout his ministry.
Women Who Went First: The Women Who Anointed Jesus
In all four gospels Jesus is anointed by a woman before his death. There is some debate among biblical scholars on whether this is the same event told in four different ways or multiple anointings. While we can’t know for certain, we can reflect on this profound act of worship and how such devotion informs our own worship during this Holy Week.
Women’s History Month: A Call to Action for the Global Church
As we embark on Women's History Month, we pause to look around at the world we live in and reflect on the historic narrative of humanity. In doing so, we find a recurring theme that we cannot ignore: the silencing of women’s voices. Like an echo that reverberates throughout history, it reminds us that for far too long, women have been told to stay quiet, stay small, and stay out of the spotlight.
Reimagining Love: Four Transformative Shifts for a Justice-Filled Advent
Many years ago, in the month of November—just one week before Advent began—love saved my life.
In fact, the reason that I'm even here today, doing the work of God, is because someone audaciously chose to venture beyond the comforts of their church walls and consistently reflect the love of God to those on the streets. This type of love was welcoming, accepting, and free of judgment. It looked like relationship building—like coming alongside with more listening than there ever was talking. It looked far less like preaching and more like a hot chocolate and a donut. This reimagined, out-of-the-box display of God's love changed my life forever.
Reimagining Joy: An Act of Resistance in the Ordinary and Unexpected
It’s hard to write about joy right now. In my own city, homelessness is on the rise and we have already had two people freeze to death on the streets before the full arrival of winter. Food insecurity has doubled, if not tripled. Loneliness and depression are at an all-time high. COVID-19 is not quite done with us yet. These harsh realities in my own city are mirrored by the mass decimation of Palestinians in Gaza and the displacement of millions in Sudan… meanwhile I am just trying to get along with my extended family and not swear at the driver who took the parking spot I was eyeing after circling Costco for fifteen minutes.
Reimagining Peace: From Iconic Symbol to Inexpressible Shalom
In 1941, the world was changed forever when a former Belgian Minister of Justice suggested in a radio broadcast that Belgians use a gesture representing the letter V as a sign, a rallying emblem for victory and freedom during the second world war. In doing so, the occupier would see the sign, infinitely repeated around the country, and understand that he is surrounded by an immense crowd of citizens eagerly awaiting his moment of weakness and watching for his failure.
Reimagining Hope: Longing for Liberation, Groaning for Glory
I have never longed for the Christmas season like I have this year. The last few months have been nothing short of gut-wrenching, as we have borne witness to the groans of creation. In this digital era, we are bombarded 24/7 by horrors that our bodies were not meant to hold. Yet, the days wage on, and it is with hopeful expectation we arrive at the doorstep of Advent.
Going to the Margins: From Sideline Sympathy to Sweat Equity
I’ll never forget where I was sitting when I heard those words. It was one of those moments that will forever be etched on the inside of my soul. My brother had been in and out of halfway houses, treatment centers and 5150 holds (involuntary psychiatric hospitalization due to a mental health crisis) for 12 long years, battling the complexities of mental illness and a life lived on the streets. Our family had called every possible lead and was left with silence. But on that day, we got the blaring news.
“We found Terry.”
Radical Love and Inclusion
As a Chinese-Canadian woman, I find myself thinking alot about representation. You see, after the murder of George Floyd, D.E.I. initiatives took off as there was an awakening to the huge amount of racial justice work that had to be done in so many spaces across North America. All of a sudden, there was a real awareness of how spaces of power were mostly held by white or white-passing individuals, and there was an increased desire to include diversity and representation.
Radical Welcome and Making Space: The Truth About Our Tables and the Kingdom of God
Have you ever experienced a moment so profound that it shook your beliefs and redefined your understanding of ‘welcome’? During my time as a seminary student in Toronto, I interned at a church that also functioned as a low-barrier community center. Within those walls, I encountered a moment that would forever etch a new understanding of compassion and acceptance in my heart.
Equity: A Seat at the Table
I remember being at a community gathering; it was one created for individuals to talk about their experiences in supporting homeless people and low-income families. It was framed as a place where all were welcome, with chairs set up around a table in a little back room within a church space. People started to arrive and took their seats. Then Stacey (name changed) arrived in her wheelchair. There was no wheelchair ramp, nor was the door wide enough to fit her wheelchair. So despite all the chairs that had been set up, there was no seat for her.
All were welcome… except Stacey.
Rest as a Spiritual Rhythm: Finding Your Flow through Sacred Pauses
You’ve journeyed through the past seven weeks with us resisting what everyone around us tells us is normal. You’ve paused. You’ve practiced Sabbath. You’ve slowed down, even if just for the time it takes to read these blogs.
Although our journey through the Revolution of Rest ends here, this revolution can continue in your own life. We invite you in this final week to incorporate rest as a Spiritual Rhythm.
Rest As Purpose: Embracing God’s Intentional Design for Our Flourishing
The rhythms of rest and work are intricately woven into the fabric of the created order, reflecting God's design for human flourishing. From the necessity of sleep at the end of each day to the dormant period that follows a harvest, daily and yearly rhythms of rest are embedded in nature.
Rest as Strength: Trading In Superficial ‘Strength’ for the Superpower of Rest
What if I told you that rest makes you stronger? Would you believe me?
In today's hustle culture, the value of rest is often overshadowed by our endless pursuit of productivity and success. We think that if we keep pushing, keep striving, and keep accomplishing bigger and better things, we’ll show the world (and ourselves) how truly strong we are.
Rest as Freedom: Breaking Free from the Chains of Busyness
“You're so busy!”
Maybe, like me, you hear these words whenever you turn down an invitation or decline a request to volunteer in some capacity. People don’t like hearing “no” for an answer, and when they do, folks often assume it must be for a “good reason.” In other words, they conclude that your time is already spoken for by some other responsibility or project.
Rest as Healing: Rediscovering the Miraculous Return to Wholeness
Picture yourself as being made up of a series of wells. These wells contain your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual energy. From each of these wells, you draw on the energy you need to live. Each day you take from these wells, neglecting to replenish the energy in each one, so that eventually there is nothing left to draw on, and you begin to break down, to deteriorate, to suffer.
Our wells all have different capacities. Some of us can feel that depletion almost immediately, while some of us may be able to operate with our wells close to empty for a very long time.
Rest As Resistance: Rebelling Against the Hustle to Reclaim Our Identity
As our world continues to increase its pace and drive, we find ourselves in the race of our lives… trying desperately to keep up, to achieve, to not miss out on anything. Sadly. for so many of us, the word ‘rest’ has become a four-letter swear word.
In a society that glorifies busyness and productivity, the idea of rest is looked down on or dismissed as a waste of time. We find ourselves, like the hamster in the wheel, in a relentless cycle of work, busyness, and achievements. Not only does overwork become our norm, but it becomes our identity.