Isaiah 30: 15 “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength….” Repentance, in the original Greek the word metanoia, means “to change one’s mind.” Following spiritual transformation, repentance is the action of changing how one lives because one’s heart has been converted. Repentance as a spiritual practice of Lent…
DetailsIsaiah 58: 6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?” “What are you giving up for Lent?” If you’re connected to a congregation that observes the church year, this may…
DetailsLuke 4: 1 “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.” Lent reminds us that even in death there can…
DetailsA guest post from Jessica Williams. “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves. . . Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions…
DetailsThis Lent we are inviting church people to give up the comfort of silence and speak up in support of their LGBTQ+ siblings in Christ. The challenge is to tell your pastor that you affirm LGBTQ+ people in the church! Many have felt helpless watching church politics and decision making bodies wound LGBTQ+ people again…
DetailsRecently, I was dealing with some insecurities about my identity. Identity insecurity is an unwelcome but regular visitor in my life, especially as someone who today identifies as “queer” and “female” and “pastor” in a world that often considers their coexistence to be oxymoronic. Some days holding those identities together feels like trying to assemble…
DetailsTwo years ago, I sat down with the community at St. Stephen University (SSU) to share about our journey as a Generous Space community. They filmed it and I recently re-discovered it. I thought I’d share it here on the blog for a few reasons: It gives a good sense of GS’s journey into understanding…
DetailsHi everyone, I’m Jamie! As part of my introduction as Generous Space’s newest staff member, Wendy asked me to prepare a post about some of my writing and publishing so far. Ever since I was a kid I knew I was meant to be a writer. That was no surprise to anyone, as writing was…
DetailsRadical self-love, to me, isn’t love that is blind to our flaws and failures, it is profound acceptance of them and proclamation in the face of them that we are enough, and in fact deeply worthy of love and belonging – first and foremost from ourselves.
DetailsWelcome to part 4 of our “Let’s Talk About Sexual Ethics” series. The first two posts consider the evolution of the sex ethics conversation in the Generous Space community. If you haven’t already read them, I invite you to do so here and here. In these posts, I unpack how a values-centered approach to sexual…
DetailsLast week, I posted a two part reflection (which can be found here and here) as a precursor to the release of this video in which I unpack centred-set sexual ethics. Included in this video are some of the key reflection questions that I invite people to consider if they choose to incorporate this framework.…
DetailsIn Part 1 I introduced the shift that Generous Space has made from a rules-based approach to sexual ethics to a values-centered perspective. Now I want to unpack more specifics about how that takes shape in our community. Our first retreat six years ago was where I encountered the reality of polyamory in the context…
Details[image description: a cartoon chalkboard that reads “Let’s Talk Sex”] For anyone who denies that God has a sense of humour, I wish they could be privy to the dialogue I have with the divine about the increasing opportunities I have to speak on the topic of sexual ethics. While I protest in Moses-esque questioning…
DetailsBecca Sawyer is our Events Manager (you can read more about her here!). Becca delivered a sermon entitled “All Things Hold Together” at the 2018 West Coast Generous Space Retreat. You can watch the full sermon below as a part of our Queer Sermon Series. “He is before all things, and in him all things hold…
DetailsGenerous Space community member Robbie Walker brings us the second sermon in our Queer Sermon Series. We launched our first East Coast Generous Space Retreat in July 2018 and Robbie blessed us with his sermon, “We Are The Beloved,” during our Sunday morning Communion Service. You can watch the full sermon below:
DetailsSunday mornings at the Generous Space retreat are a rich time of connection and community through worship, preaching, and celebrating Communion. Without fail, God shows up and strengthens us as those who are Beloved and those who Belong. We’re excited to share with you this collection of sermons from these special retreat services and look…
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