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# Pennies and Sparrows

Central Saint John Community Ministry

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://penniesandsparrows.org/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [Blog](https://penniesandsparrows.org/home/blog/)
- ["Here is a Glutton and a Drunkard!" A Reflection on the Eucharist](https://penniesandsparrows.org/here-is-a-glutton-and-a-drunkard-a-reflection-on-the-eucharist/) - Years ago I stumbled on a documentary about a certain entrepreneur marketing what he claimed to be the richest, most nutritious milk shake ever made— a drink so replete in proteins, vitamins and minerals that it could be substituted entirely for a solid diet. In one segment of the show, the inventor railed against the
- [The Secret Lives of Clergy Couples](https://penniesandsparrows.org/the-secret-lives-of-clergy-couples/) - The hardest times are when we have to be in three places at once. This Tuesday evening, for example, I’m scheduled to be online for 7:30, hosting a Bible Study for a small group of newcomers learning English as a second language. Meanwhile, Jasmine needs to be at the church to chair a committee
- [Can Churches Double as Homeless Shelters? A Response Based on Painful Experience](https://penniesandsparrows.org/can-churches-double-as-homeless-shelters-a-response-based-on-painful-experience/) - The City of Saint John is at present mired in a mounting homelessness crisis. In the forgotten spaces of our city’s urban core, under bridges and stairwells, in dingy nooks and crevices that only the desperate know, a growing number of unfortunate souls have been forced to make their refuge. Those who labour among them—
- [Why Give Up Social Media for Lent?](https://penniesandsparrows.org/why-give-up-social-media-for-lent/) - I’m old enough to remember when social media suddenly became ubiquitous and everybody— from preteens to their grandmas— were signing up for Facebook accounts. At the time, I saw this as a good thing. Like everybody else, I was reconnecting with people I hadn’t seen in years. Eventually, I also came to see how social
- [On Disgraced Church Leaders and the True Meaning of Saintliness](https://penniesandsparrows.org/on-disgraced-church-leaders-and-the-true-meaning-of-saintliness/) - Over the past year we have witnessed the discrediting of at least two towering Christian leaders and their ministries: On the protestant side, Ravi Zacharius, the world renowned Christian apologist and author of dozens of best-selling books and, on the Catholic side, Jean Vanier, founder of the global L’Arche Community. After a cursory glance at
- [Remembering Steve Owens](https://penniesandsparrows.org/remembering-steve-owens/) - On the evening of Monday, February 15th, I lost my friend, Steve Owens, to cancer. Steve was one of the first people Jasmine and I met when, in the fall of 2014, we settled into Uptown Saint John to launch Pennies and Sparrows. A longtime parishioner of Stone Church (our sponsoring church community) Steve was
- [Miscarriage: A Father's Story](https://penniesandsparrows.org/miscarriage-a-fathers-story/) - Buried somewhere on a fifty acre stretch of woodland near Bouctouche, New Brunswick is a small, earthenware container no larger than a soap dish. In it are the tiny remains of the 8-week old foetus that my wife lost in the first trimester of her pregnancy— the second miscarriage that we’d suffered since the healthy
- [The Blessings of Home](https://penniesandsparrows.org/the-blessings-of-home/) - Epiphany (referred to by some as “Little Christmas”) falls on January 6th and commemorates the Magi’s visit with the Christ Child (Matthew 2:1-12). Our family does a couple of things to mark this occasion— one of which is a traditional Epiphany house blessing. This typically involves a short benediction and the chalking of the door.
- [A Sermon On Racism](https://penniesandsparrows.org/a-sermon-on-racism/) - Good morning Stone Church. This is a sermon about racism. Believe it or not, in the fifteen years that I have been an Anglican Priest, I have not preached on the subject of racism. But today I am. I’d like to start by sharing a couple of experiences with you— experiences that might give you a snapshot
- [The Church: What Does It Mean To Be Essential](https://penniesandsparrows.org/the-church-what-does-it-mean-to-be-essential/) - Since the outbreak of the pandemic, our policy makers have had to make a number of tough calls; among them, which services ought to remain available to the public and which services ought to be, for the time being, closed down. In short, they’ve had to come up with a list of essential and non-essential services.
- [A Faith of Flesh & Blood: Why Online Church Will Always Fall Short](https://penniesandsparrows.org/a-faith-of-flesh-blood-why-online-church-will-always-fall-short/) - In the weeks that have past, Jasmine and I— like so many other church leaders all across the world— have sought to provide online services for our parishioners, now sequestered in their homes during this time of necessary social distancing. After six weeks of doing so, the process has become a familiar, almost comforting, pandemic routine:
- [The Need To Watch & Pray: A Maundy Thursday Homily](https://penniesandsparrows.org/the-need-to-watch-and-pray-a-maundy-thursday-homily/) - It’s the evening of Jesus’ arrest. After supper with his disciples, he goes to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives— a familiar place that all of his disciples (including Judas Iscariot) knew well. Jesus knows that Judas will lead a group of armed men to this place to arrest him and yet
- [How To Survive Social Isolation In 5 Easy Steps](https://penniesandsparrows.org/hello-world/) - If Jasmine and I had a super power it would be this: Drawing ordinary people into small, life-giving communities that meet together, face-to-face, in the real world. We run book clubs, support groups, Bible studies, child and youth programs and community drop-ins. We encourage people, not only gather together, but pray together, eat together, share
- [Addiction & Hope](https://penniesandsparrows.org/addiction-and-hope/) - Addictions are ruthless and destructive. That’s a lesson I’ve known for most of my life but, for some reason, God has seen fit to reinforce over the course of these past two weeks of my ministry. A short while ago— on a brisk, overcast day when the temperature had dropped to something like minus 15
- [The Comfort Of Ashes](https://penniesandsparrows.org/the-comfort-of-ashes/) - “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return” – These words from the Ash Wednesday service are meant to be jarring. A reminder of our unsubstantial nature, a reminder of death. The ashes themselves are the crushed and burned palms of hope and joy that once waived in the singing of “Hosanna”.
- [Like A Thief In The Night](https://penniesandsparrows.org/like-a-thief-in-the-night/) - The most ominous picture the scriptures paint of Christ’s second coming is found in the Revelation to Saint John: “Behold, I am coming like a thief!” (Rev. 16:5). It’s not a picture I’m fond of dwelling on: The Lord as home invader, coming unbidden in the quiet hours of the night, prowling about unseen
- [Changing The Question. Rewriting The Story](https://penniesandsparrows.org/changing-the-question-rewriting-the-story/) - Years ago when I worked at an After School Program I remember a mom catching her son in some act of misdemeanour yelling “What is wrong with you?” as she hurried him out the door. Those words “What is wrong with you” have been used on a very frequent basis with a whole host of
- [When Your Conscience Knocks On The Door](https://penniesandsparrows.org/when-your-conscience-knocks-on-the-door/) - “The homeless are our conscience” – I forget now who said this to me, but I heard it while I was living in Toronto where year round outdoor living is made (barely) possible by the Subway heating vents and the occasional unlocked doorway. Anywhere I walked I passed by our conscience. In Saint John the
- [The Art Of Holy Listening: A Lenten Discipline](https://penniesandsparrows.org/the-art-of-holy-listening-a-lenten-discipline/) - If there’s one technological innovation of the past decade that has effected me the most it would have to be the ability to download audiobooks or podcasts onto my phone and to listen to them anytime of day. For me, this has made mindless tasks far less mindless. While washing the dishes, tidying-up the living
- [At The Crossroads: A Self-Guided Spiritual Retreat For People Turning 40](https://penniesandsparrows.org/at-the-crossroads-a-self-guided-spiritual-retreat-for-people-turning-40/) - For my fortieth birthday, Jasmine gave me a gift that any introverted, middle-aged priest would appreciate: a private, 48 hour spiritual retreat at a nearby Cistercian-Trappist Monastery— specifically, our Lady of Calvary Abbey in Rogersville, New Brunswick. It’s a special place for both of us— a place whose very atmosphere itself has been worn thin by
- [Welfare Is...](https://penniesandsparrows.org/welfare-is/) - What do you think when you hear that someone is on “Welfare”? For most the word “Welfare” has become associated with shameful or unfavourable connotations. We may think of people in line ups for assistance, people who are poorly dressed or unkept. The more embittered may think of able bodied men and women who get
- [The Streets Age You](https://penniesandsparrows.org/the-streets-age-you/) - THE STREETS AGE YOU: The Correlation between Poverty and Ill Health Gary* and I are roughly the same age and have a decent amount in common. We both have children in second grade; we both share the same perverse fascination with American politics; we both have asthma, suffer from an allergy to pet dander and
- [An Unholy Purge: Reflections On The Holocaust And Other Acts Of Genocide](https://penniesandsparrows.org/an-unholy-purge-reflections-on-the-holocaust-and-other-acts-of-genocide/) - This past Monday evening, Saint John’s Jewish community observed Yom Hoshoah — Holocaust Memorial Day— at the Shaarei Zedek Synagogue. The keynote speaker was Dr. Cheryl Fury, a professor of history at the University of New Brunswick, who in 2010 participated in an organized tour of Germany’s and Poland’s concentration camps known as The March
- [The Failure Of Confirmation Class (And We Need To Do To Make It Work)](https://penniesandsparrows.org/the-failure-of-confirmation-class-and-we-need-to-do-to-make-it-work/) - If you’re a parish priest in the Catholic, Anglican or Lutheran tradition, you’re no doubt quite familiar with the following scenario. Carter and Mckayla— brother and sister— have, within the last few months, turned 13 and 11 years old respectively. Since then, you’ve gotten at least three phone calls from their mother— a stay-at-home-mom and
- [Resurrecting Religion: A Book Review](https://penniesandsparrows.org/resurrecting-religion-a-book-review/) - When Terence and I first began attending Sanctuary’s Sunday evening service we were young seminary students. In our hoodies and ripped jeans, we were mostly attracted by the relaxed atmosphere and the fact that the band had a washtub bass. At first we didn’t even stay for the sermon. Having already been to our morning
- [How The Canada Summer Jobs Application Form Is Affecting One Saint John Non-Profit](https://penniesandsparrows.org/how-the-canada-summer-jobs-application-form-is-affecting-one-saint-john-non-profit/) - Its remarkable how something as prosaic and mundane as a government application form— crafted, as I imagine, by staid government bureaucrats toiling away somewhere in an Ottawa office tower— can be fodder for such divisive public debate. But here we are, roughly a month into the “kerfuffle” surrounding the Canadian Summer Jobs application form and—
- [On Being Called A Racial Slur](https://penniesandsparrows.org/on-being-called-a-racial-slur/) - I have very high standards when it comes to defining what actually constitutes an act of racism. Mounting a reasoned critique of the fairness and efficacy of affirmative action is, in my opinion, not racism. Objecting to certain elements of the Liberal Party’s refugee policy is, in my opinion, not racism. Likewise, meeting me for
- [Living Amidst The Tombs: Mental Illness Among The Homeless Of Saint John](https://penniesandsparrows.org/living-amidst-the-tombs-mental-illness-among-the-homeless-of-saint-john/) - Robert* is a thirty-five year-old schizophrenic man whom I first met through my volunteer work at the homeless shelter. With his well groomed, neatly trimmed beard, fashionable glasses and intelligent gaze, he did not fit my stereotype of what a homeless, mentally ill man is supposed to look like. It was only by observing his
- [The Democracy Of The Dead: Reflections On All Saints Day](https://penniesandsparrows.org/the-democracy-of-the-dead-reflections-on-all-saints-day/) - I know Saint Paul personally. Or that’s the way it felt roughly fifteen years ago when, for two whole semesters of my theological education, most of my academic reading centred entirely around the Apostle. That year, whenever I had occasion to preach, I’d invariably base my sermons on excerpts from his epistles. In preparation for
- [Pet Loss, Grieving, And The Church](https://penniesandsparrows.org/pet-loss-grieving-and-the-church/) - I’ve never been a pet lover. For one thing, like every other member of my birth family, I have a penchant for neatness and order and couldn’t abide a dog, for example, gnawing away at my loafers or shedding hair all over my furniture. More pertinently, though, is an allergy to pet dander— an allergy
- [Praying At The Turner-Brewer Memorial In Saint John's Rainbow Park](https://penniesandsparrows.org/praying-at-the-turner-brewer-memorial-in-saint-johns-rainbow-park/) - Rainbow park sits near the tip of Saint John’s Southend Peninsula and looks, to someone strolling by, like any inner-city playground. Steel and plastic play structures— their once vibrant colours bleached from two decades worth of wind, rain and sun— rise from levelled plots of sand and gravel. On summer days the smell of chlorine
- [A Brief History Of My Prayer Life (How Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Prayer Book)](https://penniesandsparrows.org/a-brief-history-of-my-prayer-life-how-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-prayer-book/) - Introverts like me take naturally to prayer. We’re comfortable spending long hours in our own heads, working out our problems using our inner selves as sparring partners. What disposition could possibly be more conducive to prayer— an act which is nothing more than a kind of inner-wrestling with a God who— as well as transcending
- [Urban Dreams](https://penniesandsparrows.org/urban-dreams/) - Six months ago we moved with our 3 year old son into a 96 unit apartment building in the inner city of Saint John. We’d been living in the rural outskirts of the city for 6 years but in the last year had felt an urgent call to move and change our lives completely. If
- [Rainbow Park](https://penniesandsparrows.org/rainbow-park/) - Soon after we moved to the city, I took my son to rainbow park. There were only a few wispy clouds in the sky. I had a sense of freedom as we walked. We talked about important 3 year-old things like how pigeons can be scary and if there will be bubbles to play with.
- [Do Not Fret](https://penniesandsparrows.org/do-not-fret/) - “Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices. Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret—it leads only to evil.” Psalm 37:7,8. There are many passages in the Bible (such as Psalm 37) where we
- [Who Has Dignity?](https://penniesandsparrows.org/who-has-dignity/) - There are days where I get a lot done. Sometimes it’s calling non-profit housing to get a move-in date for my friend when they won’t give her any answers, or calling the E.R to get some help when social services aren’t reacting or going to clothing depots for another friend whose mobility is limited. I
- [Giving Up Trolls For Lent](https://penniesandsparrows.org/giving-up-trolls-for-lent/) - Like many of you, I delight in the free and open communication that has come through the information revolution and, more recently, the advent of social media. Never before have we been exposed to such an astonishing breadth of varied and competing ideas. Our culture is like a virtual version of the Athens that the
- [There is no Certainty; There is Only Adventure. ROBERTO ASSAGIOLI](https://penniesandsparrows.org/there-is-no-certainty-there-is-only-adventure-roberto-assagioli/) - It’s snowing. AGAIN! The Maritime provinces have been blasted by storm, after storm, after storm this year. We’d all had high hopes as Christmas came and went without much more than a dusting. Perhaps we thought that enduring the severity of last year’s winter would grant us a reprieve. But after 166 centimeters were dumped
- [The Alpha-Omega Male (or Female)](https://penniesandsparrows.org/the-alpha-omega-male-or-female/) - Among animals, the alpha male is the lone male within the pack who possesses the physical and mental prowess to dominate and control the weaker males and females around him. He’s the top dog or the silverback. Although I can see the merit of using the term to describe gorillas and hyenas, I get irritated
- [Free Blog!](https://penniesandsparrows.org/free-blog/) - I have a strange relationship with free things. As a missionary kid, free things were frequently being given to me. Some of them were nice and some of them were used cast aways that were only good enough to be cut up and used as clothing for dolls or animals. It was always a weird
- [Keeping The Christ In Midlife Crisis](https://penniesandsparrows.org/keeping-the-christ-in-midlife-crisis/) - Beginning around the fall of 2011, I went through something of a personal crisis centering mostly around my church ministry and where I felt it was (or, more accurately) wasn’t going. I was serving in a good parish with good people but often found myself doing work that, at times, felt empty- work that I
- [Easter Isn't About Joy](https://penniesandsparrows.org/easter-isnt-about-joy/) - Sunday School teachers and parents everywhere had the great challenge yesterday of trying to pry our children’s thoughts away from chocolate and bunnies long enough to get something of the meaning of Easter into them. As they fidgeted we can only hope that they gave us the answers they believe and not just the answers
- [Partying In Hitler's Bunker](https://penniesandsparrows.org/partying-in-hitlers-bunker/) - Perhaps you’re familiar with the movie Downfall: Hitler and the End of the Third Reich, directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel and starring Bruno Ganz as the Fuhrer himself. Ganz brilliantly portrays Hitler much as he was in the final days of his life- a tottering ruin of a man, crumbling both physically and mentally, sealed in
- [Is There Beauty Here?](https://penniesandsparrows.org/is-there-beauty-here/) - Tuesday night was graduation night for the ladies at the Holistic Journey program run out of Trinity Church. I was privileged to attend their last meeting. They have met every Tuesday for the last 9 months to learn, eat, share and make art. As we talk about their future plans, they discuss their desire for
- [Strangers Among Us](https://penniesandsparrows.org/strangers-among-us/) - “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2). My father immigrated to Canada in the late nineteen sixties, leaving his native Guyana to pursue higher education at the University of New Brunswick. At the time, he was newly married and the father
- [Unwelcome!](https://penniesandsparrows.org/unwelcome/) - The Blog I was going to publish today was all about how unwelcoming churches in general can be. I wrote long paragraphs about how difficult it can be to walk into the doors of a church for the first time. I wrote about the insecurities some of us have and how hard it is to
- [The Irresistible Cool of Big Brothers Or Sisters](https://penniesandsparrows.org/the-irresistible-cool-of-big-brothers-or-sisters/) - I’m watching my four-year old son, Sam, dueling with Eric, the ten-year old boy from the apartment unit immediately bellow ours. At the moment, Sam has the high ground and, hence, the advantage. He stands perched atop the brown leather coach that sits in the corner of our living room by the bookshelf. He’s clutching
- [Kingdom Turf](https://penniesandsparrows.org/kingdom-turf/) - This time of year is known locally as “cruise ship season” in Saint John- a time of year when the little buildings of our seaside town are dwarfed by the colossal luxury ships that dominate the harbour. These days, as I walk the streets of my neighbourhood, I find myself asking, “Why would a wealthy,
- [The Time It Takes](https://penniesandsparrows.org/the-time-it-takes/) - If you’re reading this, then you’re probably online. And you know what we’re like when we’re online. We want things to appear instantaneously. If we have to wait to see the loading line run along the screen, or if we see that annoying coloured spinning circle, it irks us. Sure some of us can remember
- [Not The Promised Land](https://penniesandsparrows.org/not-the-promised-land/) - How can we sing behind glass windows When children know such sorrows? With half in this city Assailed by poverty? How can we argue Over preferences, styles and liturgy Over seat and pew And for others have no energy? How can we wear Sunday bests Stitched by caged workers in Bangladesh? How can we stand
- [A Shrunken World](https://penniesandsparrows.org/a-shrunken-world/) - Around this time last week, the southend of Saint John where I live and work began to feel small, noisy and stifling. I wanted out. So, rather than taking my four-year-old son to our standard neighbourhood haunts, we hopped in the car and drove twenty-minutes away to the town of Quispamsis where we went to
- [What Costs $16.5 Million, But Is Uninhabitable?](https://penniesandsparrows.org/what-costs-16-5-million-but-is-uninhabitable/) - There are 1900 names on the waiting list for affordable housing in Saint John. 1900 out of a population of 70,000. 1900 individuals and families who once rent is paid, have very little to live on. Some are on assistance, some are working full time, some are in decent apartments, some in rooming housing with
- [Protect Your Family From The Church](https://penniesandsparrows.org/protect-your-family-from-the-church/) - Shortly before my ordination as a church deacon in the fall of 2005, I sat down with a mentor of mine (himself an Anglican clergy) for lunch at a local Chinese restaurant. Over the course of our conversation we reflected upon our chosen career, each from the opposite perspective. He, on the verge of retirement,
- [That Good Old Monasticism](https://penniesandsparrows.org/that-good-old-monasticism/) - Last week I spent a couple of days at a French Trappist Monastery in Rogersville New Brunswick. Terence first introduced me to Our Lady of Calvary Abbey over 10 years ago and while I haven’t been in a while, we used to visit about twice a year. The Trappists are part of the Cistercian Order.
- [Remembering What?](https://penniesandsparrows.org/remembering-what/) - Remembrance Day is not as straight forward as we may think. In the Anglican churches I’ve been a part of, there is usually some observance of Remembrance the week of November 11th. My own role in these services has at times let me to inner conflict. The need to honour those who have risked their
- [In Praise Of Bandaid Solutions](https://penniesandsparrows.org/in-praise-of-bandaid-solutions/) - My friend Julie works for AIDS Saint John- a non-profit organization that, among other valuable services, offers contraceptives, clean syringes, sterile crack pipes and hugs to the neediest and most desperate people of my city. On any given weekday, there’s an ongoing parade of folks (mostly intravenous drug users and sex trade workers) trudging up
- [Handeling Christmas](https://penniesandsparrows.org/handeling-christmas/) - It took me a few tries before I really caught onto the opening words from Georg Friedrich Händel’s Messiah. I was still settling into the hard church pew, slowly pushing away the distractions and thoughts in my mind, before I remembered to concentrate on what the Tenor was singing. “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
- [Are We Safe?](https://penniesandsparrows.org/are-we-safe/) - When Rose Hamid held a silent protest at a Trump rally by wearing a T-Shirt that said “Salam, I come in Peace” she told the media that she was trying to show those in attendance that Muslims are not scary. What was scary, for her and for all of us, was how quickly hatred was
- [Local VS. Foreign](https://penniesandsparrows.org/local-vs-foreign/) - Help is needed at home first. Until we have things sorted out here, how can we expect to be of use to others? How can we keep welcoming refugees when we are already being pushed to our limits? How can we house foreigners when we have well over a thousand people on our waiting list
- [Class Warfare Starts Now](https://penniesandsparrows.org/class-warfare-starts-now/) - On February 2nd CBC published a news story about parents waiting in line overnight in Montreal to try to secure a Kindergarten spot at Royal Vale School. The article states “Some parents have been lined up in the frigid cold since noon Sunday, hoping to secure a coveted kindergarten spot for their children. At Royal
- [Space](https://penniesandsparrows.org/space/) - It’s hard to find good space. Good space for me has no visible traces of mice, is warm enough, has floors that aren’t made up of cracked linoleum. Good space doesn’t smell bad or make me sneeze. Good space makes me feel safe and offers the potential to relax. Good space has comfortable seating and
- [An Inconvenient God](https://penniesandsparrows.org/an-inconvenient-god/) - So a homeless man barges into your church after hours and starts talking in circles and making demands. What do you do? On most days I would say that I would invite him in and offer him a seat and a coffee and see how I can help. But the day this gentleman walked in,
- [The Amazing Fabiola Martinez!](https://penniesandsparrows.org/the-amazing-fabiola-martinez/) - Fabiola Martinez is the artist behind our watercolour painting of Saint John that we’ve posted on our blog and that we use on our business cards. The painting was a gift from one of our mutual friends for my birthday. It was this same friend who urged me to get to know Fabiola. The first
- [Roots In The Port City](https://penniesandsparrows.org/roots-in-the-port-city/) - It’s a Monday evening in mid-July- an unusually balmy summer evening for a coastal city perpetually air-conditioned by the chill sea breeze blowing in off the Bay of Fundy. Jasmine and I are sitting around the diner table with our son, Sam, and a newlywed couple who are themselves about to embark on their own
- [Coming To A Street Corner Near You](https://penniesandsparrows.org/coming-to-a-street-corner-near-you/) - She’s standing on the corner of Coburg and Paddock street in Waterloo Village. Her back to the traffic. Her long shinny hair noticeable from a block away. As we get close, I can tell that although her expression is one of resignation, her eyes are full of fear. She doesn’t speak, she doesn’t utter a
- [A Church Without Masks](https://penniesandsparrows.org/a-church-without-masks/) - I first met my friend Gary (not his real name) sometime during the initial year of my ministry here in central Saint John- not through any particular church program- but simply through our frequent encounters on the street. Gary might fall under the category of what many would call “the working poor”- those who toil
- [Elitist Veggies](https://penniesandsparrows.org/elitist-veggies/) - It isn’t easy to have a well balanced diet when you live in the South End of Saint John. It’s not impossible, just not easy. Since I have the luxury of owning a car, I usually drive to get groceries. But last Saturday I decided to do what many of my neighbours do every week
- [A Food You Don't Know About](https://penniesandsparrows.org/a-food-you-dont-know-about/) - While chatting with a friend the other day, the subject turned to how things were going in our respective churches. As we spoke, it gradually became clear that my friend wasn’t entirely happy with his church life. A number of complex, overlapping issues had made his involvement in this church challenging- so challenging that he
- [One Good Thing](https://penniesandsparrows.org/one-good-thing/) - There are seasons in life when things are just hard. It could be emotionally, financially, spiritually, or any of the many factors that affect us. We can probably all think of a time when we’ve thought “Can’t anything go right for me?” In these times we have our coping mechanisms- our supports that help us
- [The Trouble With Martha. Volunteer burnout In The Church](https://penniesandsparrows.org/the-trouble-with-martha-volunteer-burnout-in-the-church/) - It was at an inner city Toronto soup kitchen on a September evening in 2003 that I first came face-to-face with the reality of volunteer burnout. I was working behind the kitchen counter with a fellow helper named Ken- a middle-aged hospital administrator who had been serving here on a twice weekly basis for as
- [Ladies & Gentlemen: David Watkins (Homeless Shelter Worker)](https://penniesandsparrows.org/ladies-gentlemen-david-watkins-homeless-shelter-worker/) - At around 7:15 this evening- on whatever day you happen to be reading this post- a knot of roughly half-a-dozen men will begin to form by the heavy oak doors of the former baptist church on Waterloo Street- now the headquarters of Saint John’s only men’s shelter, operated since 2015 by Outflow. As the hour
- [Why I Was Ashamed Of My Kid's Mouth](https://penniesandsparrows.org/why-i-was-ashamed-of-my-kids-mouth/) - My wife and I were first made aware of our son’s poor teeth when we took him to see the dentist over a complaint concerning what we naively thought was just one cavity. As Sam lay beneath the sterile glair of those fluorescent white lights, the dentist probed his open mouth, speaking to him in
- [The Peaceable Kingdom. One Man's Vision Of The Perfect World](https://penniesandsparrows.org/the-peaceable-kingdom-one-mans-vision-of-the-perfect-world/) - The following blog post is based upon a sermon preached at Stone Church for the 2nd Sunday of Advent. The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. – Isaiah 11:6 The Peaceable
- [Church. What's The Point?](https://penniesandsparrows.org/church-whats-the-point/) - Christendom has left us with an heritage of large buildings that rarely are full to capacity and that cost extraordinary amounts to heat and maintain. For the shrinking congregations who remain in these buildings the struggles are vast and ongoing. They need new members and yet are faced with a society that while still somewhat
- [We Are Expecting. But...](https://penniesandsparrows.org/we-are-expecting-but/) - Terence and I have the very wonderful joy of expecting a baby. She is due sometime in mid July. While we are over the halfway mark and things are looking good, we have been hesitant to share the news for a few reasons. The first reason is fear. The truth is that I’ve been pregnant
- [A Peculiar Odor](https://penniesandsparrows.org/a-peculiar-odor/) - I can smell him before I see him – the odour of cat urine and stale cigarettes reaches all the way down the stairs. He is always wearing the same leather jacket and black baseball cap. When he opens his mouth to speak his yellowing beard reveals a number of missing teeth. His words come
- [A Day In My Life](https://penniesandsparrows.org/a-day-in-my-life/) - If I want to enjoy a moment of quiet and solitude in the morning, I need to be out of bed well before my six-year old son— himself an early riser for whom a seven o’clock wakeup time constitutes a leisurely sleep-in. This means that my phone is set for 5:30 AM, wrenching me from
- [A Few Good Men: Father Absence In The City Of Saint John](https://penniesandsparrows.org/a-few-good-men-father-absence-in-the-city-of-saint-john/) - With Jasmine well into the third and final trimester of her pregnancy, we decided that a lengthy and exotic vacation was out of the question for this summer (not that we could afford one, anyway). Instead, we opted for a destination a little closer to home: The seaside town of Saint Andrews, New Brunswick— a

## Pages

- [Home](https://penniesandsparrows.org/) - Please designate all donations to the:Central Saint John Community Ministry Repairing the social fabric of our community, one person at a time. What We Do Serving the downtown core (or Uptown as locals call it) of Saint John NB, Pennies & Sparrows seeks to care for those in unstable circumstances and on the margins of

## Works

- [Drop-In](https://penniesandsparrows.org/works/dropin/) - Friendship for those who are struggling.
- [The Emmaus Way](https://penniesandsparrows.org/works/emmausway/) - Friendship for those who are struggling.
- [ESL Bible Study](https://penniesandsparrows.org/works/esl/) - improve your english skills & deepen your faith About The Program The ESL Bible Study is for anyone wanting to know more about the Bible while improving their language skills. The study takes place in a small group setting where we read and discuss a passage from the Bible. New English words and terms will
- [Kid's Lead](https://penniesandsparrows.org/works/kidslead/) - Become a catalyst for positive change in your community program outline Week 1What is community development? Why do we do it? How does it help? Week 2-5Tour five non-profit organizations in Central Saint John. Learn what they do and hear them ‘pitch’ a project to us. Week 6Look over the projects we have heard about
- [The Art Of Prayer](https://penniesandsparrows.org/works/the-art-of-prayer/) - What is the art of prayer? The Art Of Prayer is an 8 week program that helps participants connect to God using a wide variety of prayer methods and that spans a number of traditions. Our next program runs September 25- November 13, 2020 Interested? Send Us A Message

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