Two years ago today, I retired; and so, I re-open this blog to write about the past year and to speculate what a third year of retirement might look like.
A lot of my retirement has been focused on the care of our aging dog Coco. But all that changed four weeks ago on April 3 when — just shy of her 19th birthday — we asked the local veterinarian to put Coco down. Kim and I both feel bereft in this “critter-less” state even as we give thanks for the years we got to care for, enjoy, and learn from Coco. We are also glad her discomforts and sufferings are now finished.
Despite our grief, we don’t plan to get another cat or dog. Instead, we will enjoy the animals in the neighbourhood and look forward to a time when Kerry or Katrina might make dog- or cat-sitting requests. We also hope to expand into the greater space we now inhabit – to travel, to engage more with friends, and to focus on all the wonders, pains, and joys of this weird moment in Edmontonian, Albertan, Canadian, and world history.
Last July, I offered a Sunday reflection – Children of the church — at SSUC, my first since May 2022. I am so grateful that a thriving, expanding, and non-theistic community like SSUC exists just a 10-minute drive south of our house, and that I can continue to grow there.
One of this past year’s highlights for me was the speech that Rev. Nancy Steeves, who retired from SSUC in January 2023, gave at the convocation ceremony for St. Stephen’s College on October 23 here in Edmonton. I highly recommend Nancy’s talk, “To Live in Widening Circles.” It helps illustrate, I think, why SSUC is such an enlivening community – and why it is so unlike the rest of the United Church of Canada.
The latter will limp into its centennial year with a worship gathering at 4 pm ET on June 9th at Metropolitan United Church in Toronto. I have great memories from services I attended at Metropolitan United between 2006 and 2011 – this was when the Rev. Malcolm Sinclair was its lead minister. But I doubt next month’s service, or the 12 months of centennial events to follow it, will stir me. Malcom’s sermons made me laugh and reflect more deeply on the faith we grope for in this pain- and grace-filled moment. But a denomination that is unable to acknowledge its own mortal-woundedness has completely misunderstood the Way of the Cross, in my opinion, and so I imagine little good will flow from its centennial.
Meanwhile, social developments continue both to drive us to joy and to grind us into despair. For the latter, the now 7-months of Israeli genocide in Gaza holds central place. I take the phrase “we are all Gazan’s” seriously even as I know my privileges as a citizen of Canada have so far spared me the utter terror of Gaza.
On the other hand, I greet the student uprisings in North American campuses against the genocide with joy. I particularly appreciate the contributions of participants who are Jewish. Take, for example, what Naomi Klein said during an anti-genocide Seder last month in New York City – An Exodus from Zionism. I recommend everything that Klein writes, including her latest book “Doppelganger,” which she published last September, and which is my favourite articulation of how the COVID-19 pandemic has helped usher us into a new, disturbing, and hard-to-fathom set of realities.
But despite bright lights like Klein and uprisings in support of Palestine all around the world, many troubles remain. World population has risen past 8.1 billion; carbon has surged past 420 ppm in the world’s atmosphere; drought continues in Alberta; and fascist politicians like Danielle Smith and Donald Trump continue to spread racist, sexist, and anti-science nonsense. We might not be in Gaza, but none of us is safe.
I applaud every attempt to turn back the tide of immoral racism and colonialism that lies behind Israel’s destruction of Palestine; and I look forward to the success of non-fascistic politicians wherever that might be. I also know how a competitive and wildly destructive economic system guarantees the future will contain many elements we don’t want.
Still, life goes on. I have now passed the 10% mark of my own late father’s retirement. Ethan continues thrive in Calgary as he prepares for a third birthday this month; and Vinny and Katrina are planning to welcome another child, our second grandchild, this August.
On May 12, I will sing Mozart’s Mass in C Minor with Richard Eaton Singers at the Winspear Centre. On May 26, I will sing in a light-hearted concert called “Pop Goes the Chorus” with Edmonton Metropolitan Chorus at First Presbyterian. On June 2, I will experience the delight of singing the final six minutes of Mahler’s Second “Resurrection” Symphony with RES. Following that, all three of the choirs of which I am a member – RES, EMC, and SSUC– will have a summer hiatus.
So, if Edmonton doesn’t burn down, and if wildfire smoke doesn’t hinder our ability to enjoy time outdoors, many great things might occur. I will try to engage with them all.
In retirement, as during my career, my motto remains, “May love flow.” Ian
Notes and sermons from Edmonton 