No doubt most of you who read this blog were not expecting a new post. The last you heard from me, we were living in a cute little white house in Richmond Hill. As you can see, we still live in a white house, but now we have moved as far east in Canada as you can. We are now in St. John’s in the beautiful province of Newfoundland and Labrador, affectionately known as "The Rock" (the observant among you might have guessed that by the change in this blog's title).
As I said, this province is beautiful, and when I have a chance I like to go for a hike along the coast, trekking the rugged shore and even clamboring up and down the rocky hills. This past week I took advantage of a staycation to hike the North Head Trail which runs from the Battery neighbourhood at the far end of the harbour up to the top of Signal Hill. It is quite the climb, the equivalent of going up the stairs of a 20 story building, but it is worth it for the views. Or at least it would have been if fog had not rolled in just as I began.
The walk was still amazing and when the fog lifted on my way back down, I was rewarded with amazing views.
The experience prompted me to start this blog up again as I begin an adventure that motivated this blog's genesis some 8 years ago. At that time I was on sabbatical during which I explored new forms of worship known as Fresh Expressions. My interest in them hasn't waned even as the concept has not gained much traction in Canada. That lack of traction has intrigued me and so I enrolled at the Toronto School of Theology to begin working on a Doctor of Ministry.
I took three months for my sabbatical but this new venture will be 4 to 5 years. It takes that long to thoroughly delve into your project. Like the beginning of my trek along the North Head Trail, I presently have an idea of what I hope to discover, inklings about why people have not taken to Fresh Expressions here unlike the relative "success" in the UK and the USA beyond the common wisdom that we don’t have an evangelism tradition in Canada. Are there other factors like disillusionment for historical abuse that have joined together with secularization? Perhaps. But for now I am looking out at fog, unsure of the real factors, not jumping too quickly to conclusions.
But I am also confident that at the end of my studies and I start doing research, the vista will become clearer. And that will make it worth all of the effort.
