Kathy Twynam

 few months ago, I was tidying up a bookcase in my home that is dedicated to all the beloved and much-read books of my childhood and youth, books that should have long ago been passed down to my nieces or my grandnieces but that I have never been able to part with. One shelf holds the eight novels that make up the Anne of Green Gables series, authored by Prince Edward Island’s most famous Presbyterian, Lucy Maud Montgomery. A ragged,…

The Story of a Successful Amalgamation of Two  Amalgamation is not palliative care.  In a time when many churches are struggling to stay alive and when options to close or amalgamate often lead to the inevitable demise of the congregation, it is nice to know that it does not have to be that way. Amalgamation can be highly successful and can breathe new life into a church community that thought there was no hope for its survival.  In the Year…

I look around my house these days, and it’s easy to get discouraged at so much clutter! It’s not a big house, as houses go. It’s a fairly basic three-bedroom bungalow of about 1800 square feet, built in 1955, and it’s pretty dated. In 1994 we moved in, and in 1998 gutted and replaced the original kitchen. In 2002 we did the same to the main floor bathroom. The updated version of both is now outdated. The kitchen is large,…

So far in my life, which has included service not only to our church but to other organizations in which I have served as an executive member, such as the now defunct Home and School Association, my long-ago bowling league, and Let There be Music Choir, I have always managed to steer very clear of anything to do with looking after other people’s money. Taking care of money and making financial decisions just wasn’t happening, no matter in what other…

Susan B. Anthony Paves the Way  Adapted from an essay by Joanna Strong and Tom B. Leonard  Kathy Twynam  It has been rumoured that sometime within the next year,  Ontarians will be facing an election – perhaps provincial,  perhaps federal, perhaps both, if our politicians can ever get over themselves and decide what to do. And many of us followed the recent compelling US election with great interest, knowing that the repercussions were bound to spill over into Canada no matter who won. …

The year was 1970, and Grace Church was struggling. Its minister, Rev. Bill Mitchell, retired on December 31 that year,  leaving the pulpit vacant until the arrival in September 1971  of Rev. R. Campbell “Cam” Taylor. Cam served as Grace’s beloved minister for almost five years, until May 1976, and after retirement in 2001 returned with his wife Sandy to the newly amalgamated Graceview as Minister in Association and later Minister Emeritus.   We tend to think of churches as thriving in those days fifty years ago,…

In mid-February we will celebrate the Feast of St. Valentine,  a day on which, traditionally, people express their love for each other, sending Valentine’s cards or giving gifts, often of candy or flowers. In schools, children send greetings to their classmates, and often an entire week is devoted to Valentine activities such as the decorating of special bags to hold one’s messages of friendship. Sometimes, there is a classroom party, with special treats such as cinnamon hearts or pink iced cupcakes. Oddly enough, although in many public…

As many of you know, I am fond of Victorian children’s literature, owning in hard cover such volumes as Little  Women (1868 – Louisa May Alcott), the entire Little House series (1932 – Laura Ingalls Wilder) and the entire Anne of  Green Gables series (1905 – Lucy Maud Montgomery). I first read all of these as a pre-teen, and have re-read every one many times since. They have places of honour on my bookshelf.   Little Women and Anne of Green Gables are fictional; The …

Are there any opera fans out there? I was very interested to see that the Canadian Opera Company was staging  Giuseppe Verdi’s Nabucco this year, which has never been performed by the COC. Reading the article in the Star, I was intrigued enough to look up the Biblical passages on which parts of this opera are based. One thing led to another, and I  found myself researching Nebuchadnezzar in sources other than the bible.  Nebuchadnezzar is the 6th century BCE King of Babylon who was responsible for…

The beaches of  Juno Beach, Normandy stretch for many kilometres across the northern coast of France. Miles away, across the  Channel, is the southern coast of  England. The beaches are calm and quiet on these cool September mornings, glassy seas lapping on seaweed-littered sand.   Standing on those quiet beaches, thinking back to what it must have been like for the thousands of soldiers, sailors,  and airmen who had trained for many months in 1943/44 for  D-Day – the invasion of Europe by the Allied forces – was a very moving…

Getting the Words Out, Part 2…The Debt I Owe You Kathy Twynam A few weeks ago, it was my turn to read the scripture passages in our worship service. As I was standing at the lectern, reading with almost perfect fluency and no anxiety, I was thinking about how, only a few years earlier, I could not, and would not, have even considered doing such a thing. For all my years of involvement in church affairs, the one thing that…