At the Redeemer, we know that asking deeper questions and exploring issues of faith help us grow both as individuals and as a community.
Our smorgasbord of informal 45-minute explorations, where we listen, learn, discuss, contribute, and get to know each other better, returns for the Spring Session. Gathering at 9:30 AM in the boardroom, the conversations are lively, and the coffee is ready and waiting!
Sunday, May 3 – The Night Spirit and the Dawn of Air
In this session, Paul Pynkoski will lead a discussion considering this question: What happens when we approach the Book of Creation with contemplative eyes and ears? We will engage the opening section of Thomas Merton’s “The Night Spirit and the Dawn Air,” in hope of discerning the contours of a spirituality of attention that simultaneously gives priority to the wisdom of creatures and fuels our prophetic voice.
Sunday, May 10 – What is the Lectionary?
For those needing guidance on how Lectionary readings are determined, Judith Newman will address that very issue during the May 10th Explorer session in response to these questions: Where did the idea of a lectionary originate, and why do we follow it? What do the readings have to do with each other? Which parts of the Bible didn’t make the cut?
Watch Previous Events on our YouTube Channel
Compassionate Communities: Addiction, Recovery and Their Connection to the Poor
Jim Willis, Case Management and Support Worker, Amanda Hintzen, Addictions Counsellor, Dr Jonathan Wong, ICHA street doctor, and Nithyen Manohar, ICHA street nurse, discussed the challenges of addiction, the paths to recovery, and how it affects the most vulnerable in our communities on Wednesday, March 4. You can watch this panel discussion online through YouTube.
Face to Face with the People of Palestine
Imagining the Life of Julian of Norwich
Encampment as Community and Toronto’s Underhousing Crisis
On Wednesday, September 24, The Rev’d Maggie Helwig of St. Stephen’s in the Fields, and author of the acclaimed recent book Encampment (Coach House Press), reflected on experiences of love, solidarity, hope, mutual support, and the enlivening presence of the Holy Spirit in and around her congregation and the tent community it hosted, before its forced removal by the City of Toronto.
On Wednesday, June 26, 2024, Jon Allen, former Canadian Ambassador to Israel and Senior Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, delivered a talk: Violence, Polarization, and Hope for a Better Future. The live stream is available through our YouTube channel.
About Redeemer Explorers
Our congregation offers a rare and rich diversity of learning opportunities. These include the initiatives of committees and ministry areas like Creation Matters and the Indigenous Solidarity Working Group (ISWG), as well as offerings from outside the parish, such as the courses led by Sylvia Keesmaat and Brian Walsh through Bible Remixed.
Redeemer Explorers aims to complement these offerings with opportunities for small-group discussion and reflection, experiential learning events like labyrinth walks, and occasional one-time programs on specific topics.
