published in the Bruce Peninsula Press, July 29, 2026 On June 23, a fire in the Bradley H. Davis Senior Apartments in Tobermory displaced all of the residents. Some have been able to move back in after a month; others will have to wait longer. The level of damage in the apartments is variable, from catastrophic to very little damage. Tobermory Community Outreach has partnered with the Meeting Place to establish a fund to help residents with essential needs as they return to t

Haven’t got your ticket yet for the Summer Chicken BBQ on August 1? There are tickets still available. The Summer Chicken BBQ, always held on the Saturday of Civic Holiday weekend, is a Tobermory tradition that goes back more than 50 years. The BBQ is different now -- drive-through pick-up, rather than a communal dinner – but the meal is the same: a mouth-watering barbecued half chicken, baked potato, coleslaw, sour cream, roll and dessert. Tickets can be ordered by calling 5

When you eat a meal, do you customarily say a blessing? If someone asks you to offer a blessing before a meal, do you feel prepared or panicked? In this, the third week of our summer worship series on sacred space, we explore the sacred space of where we live and the culture of our homes. We’ll look at the text in Matthew where Jesus takes five loaves of bread and two fish and feeds the multitudes. Did the fact that he blessed his meagre supplies have anything to do with it?

This sermon is called If a Tree Falls. It is based on Genesis 2:4-9 and 15-17 and it was preached on July 19, 2026.

At some point, will I stop being surprised by how the Holy Spirit works? I think not. That’s the Holy Spirit’s job, to show up in ways we could never have imagined, to place us in awe and a state of incredulity, our jaws dropping to the floor. What I’m talking about is how this Sunday is the second service in our series called “Sacred Space,” and how this Sunday we’re exploring the idea of the sacred space of the natural world, and how our text is about the sacredness of the

I was driving home from a meeting in Pike Bay on Tuesday evening, when Martha Aitkin called me. “Have you heard,” she said, “that there’s been a fire at the Brad Davis apartments?” “No, I have not,” I replied. “The folks are gathered at the Community Centre,” Martha said. “Everyone’s safe,” No injuries.” Thank goodness. The people who live at what most people just call “the apartments” are a stalwart bunch. Dislocated, having to leave their homes in a moment’s notice, and yet

Published in the Bruce Peninsula Press June 24, 2026 Tickets will become available for the Tobermory United Summer Chicken BBQ on July 1 for the event, which will take place Saturday August 1. The Chicken BBQ has been a beloved Tobermory tradition for more than fifty years! Tickets are $26.00, and each meal includes a barbecued half chicken, baked potato, sour cream, roll, coleslaw and dessert. Though the meal used to be a sit-down affair, it’s now a finely-tuned drive-throug

This sermon is called Sing a New Song. It is based on Psalm 104 and it was preached on June 21, 2026.

Many thanks to everyone who filled in for me in any way while I was away last week. I had dear friends visiting from Pittsburgh, so I got to be tourists with them. We hiked, went on a boat tour, ate ice cream, and it was so much fun! It was also an opportunity to see my life and the community in which I live and work through my friends’ eyes, and wow, I am blessed. It was good to step away for a week. It’s good to be back. This Sunday falls exactly on National Indigenous Peop

The Pride flag is flying brightly above the entrance to Tobermory United Church. It will stay there for the month of June, its rainbow colours a visual symbol of what Jan Mac Donald’s hand-painted sign already communicates: All are welcome in this place. Tobermory United’s annual Pride service is something that we take seriously. Preparations for this year’s service have been happening over the past many weeks. It all began with a conversation that occurred at the Jeff Bird c

I just looked at the forecast for Tobermory. There appears to be sun and double-digit temperatures forecast for the upcoming week. Hallelujah! It still seems unusual not to find a weather alert, after so many days this winter with sometimes multiple alerts on the same day… The birds, the green, the flowers, it all seems somewhat miraculous. In fact, even though I’m not a birder, there have been birds of such beauty in my backyard this week that I had to find their names. It w

Published in the Bruce Peninsula Press May 27, 2026 Many, many thanks to everyone who purchased tickets to the Spring Chicken BBQ and apologies to those who wanted dinners but weren’t able to get one because tickets were sold out. Next year, we’ll order more chickens! Thanks also to the many volunteers -- the bakers, ticket sellers, coleslaw makers, traffic directors, delivery drivers, and others – who make the BBQ not only an efficient operation, but a lot of fun! Special th

I almost always write the word Pentecost followed by an exclamation mark. It’s because it was just that kind of day. There Jesus’ followers are, having a meeting (this practice began early) when the Holy Spirit shows up with wind and tongues of fire! See, the exclamation mark is needed! Suddenly, everyone can understand one another, no matter the language. Suddenly, it is obvious that Jesus’ followers are to boldly take up his mission, though Jesus himself is no longer with t

Many, many thanks to all those who helped with the Spring Chicken BBQ on May 13, and especially to the 402 people who purchased dinners! When I tell folks that we served 400 dinners on Wednesday, if they are people who are not familiar with the process, they gasp. But for those who are familiar with the process, the ones who fill the sour cream containers or run the dinners out to the cars or sell tickets to everyone they know, it’s just what we do. Everyone does their job, a

Have you ever read about the origin of Mother’s Day? It is actually the brainchild of feminist social activist, author and poet Julia Ward Howe, back in 1870. The carnage of the American civil war was still fresh on everyone’s mind at that time, then the Franco-Prussian war began. Howe and many others had had enough of war, so Julia Ward Howe wrote the Mothers’ Day Proclamation, an appeal to women around the world to unite for peace. Believing that women had a duty to use pol

This sermon is called Better Than Jewels. It is based on Proverbs 8:1-11 and it was preached on May 10, 2026.

This Sunday, we celebrate Mental Health Sunday. This is a relatively new celebration on the liturgical calendar, but important, indeed. I have come to believe that mental health is like physical health, it ranges on a continuum on any given day for every person on the planet. Celebrating Mental Health Sunday, as the worship page on the United Church of Canada states, “is part of the church’s effort to create communities of radical belonging for all people, including those li

Published in the Bruce Peninsula Press April 29, 2026 The Tobermory Thrift Shop, a community initiative of Tobermory United Church, will be receiving donations May 15, 16 and 17 (Victoria Day weekend) 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., and then Monday to Saturday (except Wednesday) from then on. In fact, the Thrift Shop is thrilled to announce that for the 2026 season, it will be open Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays – for both sales and donations, with the sales season be

Has Spring actually arrived? Has it? There are daffodils blooming in Owen Sound. Not quite here yet, but at least it is now reasonable to believe that it’s a possibility! My goodness, Spring seems like an absolute miracle when it’s been such a long winter… It seems appropriate that we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday this Sunday, as lambs also are a sure sign of Spring. Did you know that the most-painted depiction of Jesus in the catacombs in Rome is of him carrying a lamb on h

Many thanks to all who filled in for me while I was away last week, I haven’t watched the service on Youtube yet, but I hear through the grapevine that Holy Humour Sunday was well celebrated! I was told one of the jokes today, and I’d include it here, but I never remember jokes, so I can’t. But, it was funny! This Sunday, we celebrate Earth Sunday, in honour of Earth Day, April 22. It’s so appropriate to celebrate Earth Day at this time of year. I’m not even a birder, but it