Yesterday was an emotional day. Those who know me know that I do not show my emotions (I think that was something ingrained in me from childhood, and I have never really expressed my feelings openly). However, yesterday . . . yesterday I was touched . . . and while those in attendance at the service may have thought that I was pretty close to as staid as I normally am, my heart swelled (the joke in our family is that I . . . from an old comedy sketch . . . was verklempt. I . . . felt). Thank you, Trinity Church. Thank you for your ...

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In a touching memorial service Saturday afternoon we bade our final “farewell” to Reverend Al MacMillan – to Pastor Al.  The service was filled with song, tribute and remembrance. Greetings were shared from the General, District, and local Church of the Nazarene. Members of the family reflected on Pastor Al’s influence on their lives and on the lives of people that he met before the service ended with a hymn of promise: Because He Lives! This man after God’s own heart touched the hearts of many and h...

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Our District Assembly – the administrative work of our church in Ontario – has come and gone. It was a “hybrid” Assembly again this year: the morning business session was held on-line via ZOOM (click here to view the proceedings), the evening ordination service was held “in person” (click here to view the service). A District “Family Reunion Service” was recorded and broadcast on the district YouTube channel Sunday afternoon (click here to watch). I once again had the privilege of bei...

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Sometimes I wonder . . . Do people get tired of hearing me say that Sunday was “another great day”? Do they think that I’m just saying that because it’s what I want them to believe? Except . . . I’m not the only one that attends our services, so when I say “another great day” or “another great service” I would expect people to say “huh? you really think so?” if it weren’t – but no one has! So when I say that Sunday was “another great day” . . . i...

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There’s an old joke that asks something like “how do you tell a happy motorcycle rider?” The answer: “By the bugs in his teeth”. Yesterday was a good day . . . a good day of worship, a good day of celebration, and a good day of ministry. We welcomed the Ottawa Misfits Motorcycle Group to our service for what we called the Fourth Annual/Second Actual Misfit Motorcycle Rally Day (pandemic restrictions limited us from meeting years two and three).   Keith Green established the Misfits in 2009 as a no...

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Ice Storm. Tornado. Windstorm. What next? It was an . . . interesting . . . weekend, wasn’t it? How did you fare? How are you fairing? Us? Well . . . I’m careful when it comes to our family. Probably too careful at times. I try not to make things about “us”. I try not to focus attention on our family, and sometimes (unfortunately) that means I underemphasize what our family is going through. I don’t celebrate our successes and triumphs as much or as often as I should. So graduations and marriages an...

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It was almost 28 years ago that the Chouinard family followed a moving van to a house that I hadn’t seen to meet people I did not know. Pastor, they called me. I hadn’t earned that designation yet. But they welcomed me. They welcomed our family. You welcomed me. You welcomed our family. Over the years we have grown together, pastor and congregation, friends, co-labourers in Christ. And Trinity Church has became my church home. So, in yesterday’s message it felt . . . off . . . for me to say that I was sharing my l...

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Some older (not “old-fashioned” – that implies an acceptance) ideas of the place of women both in society and in the church are still accepted. As an example, I recently spoke with someone looking for a church home but who decided not to become part of Trinity Church because our denomination ordains women. These ideas were – were – a central part of the philosophy of life in general and influenced life in the church . . . but were (I go so far as to say) wrong. As I shared last week (and again in servi...

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Last Thursday was Earth Day. Yesterday was Earth Day Sunday. While some wonder why we as the church of God should follow the lead of worldly teachers when it comes to climate change, a better question might be why the church is not taking the lead in creation care – after all, after God created all living things: He created mankind in His image and told them – us – to be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth  [Genesis 1:28] In yesterd...

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This is the post-Easter edition of our Monday Musings. I almost want to call this the “Oh Come On” edition as it is snowing once again – mid April! However, we know that “this too shall pass” and soon we will celebrate the warmth and sunshine of Spring. The “tag line”/purpose of this weekly newsletter is that this is our attempt to keep everyone up to date with what is happening in the life of (and the lives of the people of) Ottawa Trinity Church. Admittedly, the attempt is only as good as...

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