Corinne Plett with news from the 3rd annual summer camp

Who knew “extreme croquet” could be so much fun!  Yes, extreme croquet!  This was just one of the uniquely creative ideas campers came up with for the 3rd annual saint benedict’s table day camp.  The camp ran August 9-13th, and what a fantastic week it was!  Fourteen kids, aged 9-15, eagerly arrived each day and were met by our four kids.  Some of the campers were from St. Ben’s, others came as a result of a connection to our family, and five of the campers were African immigrants who came through The King’s School transitional program, their participation in the week made possible due to donations.

More news and a link to a wild slideshow comes after the jump

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a concert review/reflection by Rudy Regehr

saint ben’s regular Rudy Regehr has recently moved to BC, but is staying very much connected to us through this website and by e-mail. He recently had the opportunity to attend a unique house concert, and we asked him to write about the experience for our site.

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hen David Bazan released his first EP as part of the group Pedro the Lion on Tooth & Nail records in the mid 1990s, he caught a lot of people by surprise. His ability to tell stories with his music made it clear, from the beginning, that Bazan was a unique songwriter. Bazan tells a different side of the story than what some are used to, though. His lyrics have often been ironic, exploring important perspectives about a variety of subjects such as drug addiction and infidelity, but also about doing one’s best to live a good life. Bazan’s songs were never preachy, but instead took the route of making points by telling parables from the point of view of the character of the story. As Bazan explored his thoughts on life and morality, his outside-the-box thinking was refreshing for those who were tired of pat answers. Bazan was a Christian artist who always stayed true to himself. He didn’t feel it was necessary to blow his own horn by counting the number of times he said “Jesus” in his songs, but rather explored Biblical subjects. He was the most recent prophet the Christian faith had in North America.That’s why it was so surprising to his following of fans in the faith when Bazan’s most recent album came out. (more…)

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I invite the community into a time of prayer. We give you thanks for the world, O God, in all of its beauty and variety.  We ask your blessing on the land through which you sustain our bodies, and on the people who through their labours and love feed us.  We pray also that you would be present in the hearts of leaders everywhere, urging them always toward justice for the least among us.

Lord, in your mercy… hear our prayer. (more…)

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On Mike Koop’s latest adventures in the recording studio

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ver heard a Hammond B3 organ? Actually, we can pretty much guarantee that you have. Hammond organs provide that classic sound on so many recordings from the 50s through the 70s and beyond. Think “Green Onions” by Booker T. and the M.G.s, or “Gimme Some Lovin’” by the Spencer Davis Group. Think Santana, Three Dog Night, The Allman Brothers, and Tom Petty. Now, think Mike Koop’s Multitude of Sins. Actually, listen to a sample of Al Fehr’s work on a Hammond B3, recorded just this past weekend at Signpost Studio.

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Mike’s version of “I Woke Up this Morning” by Roosevelt Graves

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aint ben’s regular Robert Johannson is mounting a one-man play in this year’s Winnipeg Fringe Festival, and we wanted to pass along a bit of information regarding the production. Entitled Power, the production is written and performed by Robert, and focuses on the person and character of the key Winnipeg social reformer J.S. Woodsworth.

This is what the playright has to say about his production:

Caught up in an epic struggle for political power, J.S. Woodsworth retells the story of January 1926. Woodsworth, leader of the Independent Labour Party meets for dinner with William Lyon McKenzie King, the Liberal Prime Minister and ledaer of the first minority government in Canadian history. King invited him to dinner to discuss religion, politics, unemployment, the Winnipeg General Strike, the Ludlow Massacre, and King’s intentions in regard to Old Age Pensions and Relief for the Unemployed. A look at the timeless issues of principles, politics and raw political power.

Power runs at Venue 5: Son of Warehouse seven times during the festival; for details on dates and times, just click here.

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Heavenly Father, we pray for your holy catholic church. Govern us by your Holy Spirit so that we may live in truth, faith and righteousness for your name’s sake. We pray for your Chosen People of Israel and for the peace of Jerusalem. By your grace we have been grafted onto this holy tree of life. Honour your eternal covenants with your Chosen Ones so that your glory will be revealed in Zion and all nations will know that You are God.

Lord, in your mercy…Hear our prayer (more…)

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A note from Jamie Howison:  Realizing that this post reflects my own personal tastes and biases, and that not everyone will share my sense that jazz music has the potential to “enact” theology and to embody something of the human search for the sacred, I still wanted to put this out there as a way of encouraging our commitment to connecting the arts to the life of faith. If you’re wanting to explore some of these themes a bit more, you can check out two other posts: “God’s Mind in the Music” and “Jazz and the Holy.”

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he Winnipeg Jazz Festival is just about to kick into high gear, offering up various opportunities to hear some great live music. Last night the legendary Sonny Rollins played what was billed as a “festival preview concert,” and it was a very fine way to kick things off. Very fine. Rollins will turn 80 in just three months, and while he walked and moved like an older man, he played with a startling level of  passion and power. His fresh and imaginative solo in the opening song ran close to 15 minutes, and never once was there any sign of his tiring. Great stuff.

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Last week when I was at General Synod in Halifax, we were treated to the debut performance of a unique theatre project written and performed by group of five young people. Coming from various church backgrounds, this theatre troupe has created a production built around the stories of some 70 people from across the Canadian church. By turns funny, poignant and provocative, “Roots Among the Rocks” takes its audience on a searching tour through questions of life, faith, doubt and struggle. The troupe will be in Winnipeg on July 3.

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ow do we find life, faith and authenticity in an ever-changing world, where faith, religion and ‘going to church’ are questioned on every side? Who is Church? Why do we continue to gather in this way? Roots Among the Rocks, a brand new play, explores some of these questions and opens up a whole lot more.

The show has been built using a process called collective creation, where the performers gathered stories from over seventy people, ages 11 – 95 from all over Canada. The stories were gathered from people in church, out of church, people who have stayed or left or struggle to find answers to deeper questions in life. Five actors and two directors have spent a month in the collective theatre process listening and talking, praying and laughing to bring to you the stories that they have heard.

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Over the past two years, saint benedict’s table has cultivated a bit of a  relationship with a vibrant mission in Haiti, and what follows here is the latest update on how things have unfolded over these challenging months of rebuilding after the earthquake. Not only have we offered financial support to this work, but we have a personal connection through Pierre Plourde and Krista Waring and their family, who have a longstanding relationship to this ministry.

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e have had two teams travel to Haiti this past month.  Everyone is now back home and those who got sick have either fully or mostly recovered.  Both the EMAS (Education, Medical Aid & Service) team and the eMi (Engineering Ministries International) team were made up of incredible individuals who worked remarkably well together.  Between the two teams, the El Shaddai community hosted a total of 18 people.  This involved organizing accommodation, meals, transportation, telecommunications, and security for both teams.  Our hosts did a remarkable job!

Photograph: El Shaddai Church after the earthquake

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Two members of the saint benedict’s table community – Jamie Howison and Dan Draper – are currently acting as delegates to the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada, which is meeting in Halifax from June 3 through 11. From time to time over the week, we’ll be posting brief updates and reflections from the gathering.

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esterday the delegates at our General Synod were shown a new video produced by the Anglican Church of Canada, and I wanted to get a sense from the folks who log into this site as to how this bit of new media strikes you. Titled “Catch the Buzz,” you can watch this three and a half minute video on YouTube, and then weigh in with own opinion through the comment feature at the bottom of this post.

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