christmas eve preaching

After thirty-five years of preaching on Christmas Eve I am not spending the days before Christmas sweating over a sermon. It was always a struggle, one that I enjoyed even as I fell short of the challenge. The challenge included a packed house, many young and excited children, much music and little time for a sermon. In fact, some wondered if a sermon was really needed or desired. Yet on the occasion when the church gathers to wonder that the Word became flesh it seemed strange not to name the Incarnation of the Word with some honest words. So I imagined the sermon as a short form offering in the midst of the children dressed as angels and shepherds around Mary, Joseph and the infant (always the youngest baby in the congregation that year). The results were mixed, given the noise levels of the children and my capacity to find words fit to host the Word.

Looking back I see that the Christmas Eve sermons preached after my diagnosis with myeloma seemed more crucial to me. Perhaps because I knew that my time as a preacher was now limited. I dared not leave the message unspoken even if the kids were noisy and the evening was filled with carols. The Word needed to be proclaimed.  Here are five of those Christmas Eve sermons ...

pomalidomide (cycles nine, ten & eleven)

This week I began the twelfth monthly cycle on pomalidomide, dexamethasone and cyclophosphamide. Yesterday was in to see my hematologist for a regular visit. The good news is that there is nothing new to report since my last visit in August. All is continuing to go well. My blood reports show that the free light chain count has remained below 100 (going as low as 35, rising to 95, currently at 58). This means that the amyloidosis and myeloma is being well controlled by the trio of drugs. It also means that I continue to experience the side effects of the dexamethasone. As you know, it is not my favourite thing! But it is a necessary part of the treatment and the treatment is working.

Perhaps you have not heard the news that four new myeloma drugs have been approved for use in the United States this year. It is an unprecedented number of new drugs, with more on the way. It will likely be some time (perhaps a couple of years) before the drugs are approved for use in Canada. Once approved it is not certain that they will all be funded. While these new drugs hold great promise they are also very expensive. I hope that I will be able to have access to one or more of them in the future if, and when, I may need them. In the meantime, I feel very fortunate to be living with these diseases in the golden age of myeloma drug development.

advent trouble, newness, life

The new Christian Year begins this coming Sunday. Looking ahead to the upcoming season of Advent here are the opening paragraphs of three posts that explore Advent trouble, newness and life as we have lived it over the years at University Hill Congregation. Click on the link at the end of each paragraph to visit the original post ...

salt of the earth: a christian seasons calendar 2015/2016

Good news - the 2015/2016 edition of Salt of the Earth: A Christian Seasons Calendar is now available. This unique venture had its beginnings in 1999 as we at University Hill Congregation imagined a calendar that begins with Advent and turns with the Christian seasons. The calendar continues to grow year after year by word of mouth.

You can find the calendar at the Christian Seasons Calendar website where you can view sample pages, read reviews and order online. Single copies of the calendar cost $15.95 (plus shipping and applicable taxes). There is a 20% discount on orders of ten or more and a 40% discount on orders of twenty five or more. Many people purchase in bulk and then give the calendars as gifts or make them available in congregations at a reduced rate.

We are grateful for your assistance in spreading the word about Salt of the Earth: A Christian Seasons Calendar 2015/2016 to friends and colleagues, near and far.

pomalidomide (cycles seven & eight)

I was in to see my hematologist today for a regular visit. The good news is that the addition of cyclophosphamide to my treatment (in addition to dexamethasone and pomalidomide) has resulted in a significant reduction in my free light chains over the past two months. In June the free light chains were at 225, in July at 111 and this month at 80. We have been aiming at getting the number below 100 so this is very good news. It means continuing with the three drugs for the foreseeable future. Since the main side effects of this treatment come from the weekly dose of dexamethasone my doctor suggested that I try taking a half dose. I am hoping that this, along with more exercise and watching my diet, can help me cope with weight gain related to the dex. It is not guaranteed that I will experience a lessening of the side effects but it is worth a try. In any case, it is good to know that living with side effects of the medications is worth it ... that the drugs are having the intended effect on the myeloma and amyloidosis.

looking back, looking ahead

Thirty-five years after my ordination as a Minister of Word, Sacrament and Pastoral care in the United Church of Canada I have come to the end of active ministry ... in other words, I have retired. It is hard to imagine Saturday nights without anxiety about the sermon and Sunday mornings without the responsibility and privilege and joy of presiding. When I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and amyloidosis four years ago I feared that illness might prevent me from departing from ministry on my own terms. Now, twenty years after arriving at University Hill Congregation, it is the right time to stop and to begin a new life on the other side of congregational ministry.

to the other side

June 21, 2015 was my final Sunday at University Hill Congregation after twenty years as its Congregational Minister. Thirty-five years after my ordination I retired from full-time congregational ministry. Here are the notes for the sermon I preached on the occasion.

Mark 4:35-41

Today we find ourselves at the end of twenty years together. For me it is the final Sunday in the pulpit and at the table thirty-five years after ordination. How appropriate that the lectionary brings us to this miraculous story on the sea … a story that has functioned as a root gospel narrative for the church. When memory fades, when communal amnesia takes hold and we forget the gospel we can return here, to the story of the stilling of the storm.