Kathy Twynam

Okay, okay, I know there are those of you who would question a Canadian setting foot in the USA these days given the current political climate, but after much reflection I was not willing to sacrifice a holiday we loved, that had been a large part of our family history since Bob and I honeymooned in Miami Beach in 1969. (Holiday Inn, right on the beach, $12.00 a night in those days.) So, after much discussion, and consultation with our…

There are still a few of us present at Graceview who remember Jack Fenwick and Len Swatridge, the original founders of our church newsletter/magazine Graceviews.. It started its life as “Amazing Grace”.  At the amalgamation of the Grace and Hillview congregations in 2000, it was given a new name, and Pat Krieger joined Len and Jack as assistant editor.    The copy that I have chosen as an example is from 21 years ago, March 2005. In it, there is…

“Shrove” is the past tense of the verb “to shrive”, meaning “absolve from sin”, and seems to be currently used only in relation to “Shrove Tuesday”, the day before Ash Wednesday.  In the Middle Ages, on Shrove Tuesday morning the church bell would ring, calling Christians to church to confess their sins and be “shriven” – in other words, receive absolution or forgiveness.  This was especially important at the start of the Lenten season, a forty-day period leading up to…

Email from my sister Lynne: I thought you might be interested in this. I found it in a little booklet of devotions for Advent that was given out at church today.  Note from me: You know I am a big fan of C.S.Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. (Feel free to roll your eyes and think, “There she goes again.”) I thought it interesting that this appeared in a booklet of devotions given out at a Catholic Church on Marco Island, Florida,…

Centuries after his death, Martin Luther’s deep affection for home and children still lives on in his writings. In 1530 he wrote the following letter to his four-year-old son Hans. I was intrigued by it, by the gentle, loving, sensitive message to his little boy, from a man we know as the brave, determined monk who transformed the Christian church and changed the Christian world.  To my little son, Hans Luther, grace and peace in Christ. My heart-dear little son:…

“The giver of every good and perfect gift has called upon us to mimic God’s giving. by grace. through faith, and this is not of ourselves.” St. Nicholas of Myra, patron saint of children, sailors and merchants.   St Nicholas is a revered Christian saint who is celebrated for his piety, generosity, and numerous miracles. Little is known about the historical Saint Nicholas. The earliest accounts of his life were written centuries after his death and probably contain legendary elaborations.…

The previous issue of Graceviews contained an article in which I described aspects of my twelve years of Christian education in the Catholic school system.  I wasn’t sure how much interest there would be in such a personal story, and I was surprised that a number of you commented on it and told me you enjoyed it. One person, who I would have thought unlikely to send me an email but did, said that he could relate to it, having…

Did anyone happen to see the article that appeared in the Toronto Star on October 4, 2025, under the above headline, announcing the appointment of the first female Archbishop of Canterbury? Sarah Mullally, Bishop of London, was chosen as the Church of England’s spiritual leader; her appointment will be made official in a formal ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral in January. What a milestone for a five-hundred-year-old church dominated by a male hierarchy that, in England, ordained its first female priests…

 One of my favourite hymns in our Book of Praise, which unfortunately we very rarely sing, is And Can it Be That I Should Gain, by Charles Wesley. We sing many of Wesley’s hymns, and I have often wondered just who he was, that he seemed to be able to provide a hymn for every occasion. Our Book of Praise contains 19 of them. The Methodist hymn book Hymns and Psalms contains 150.  I had a vague idea that he…

This is one of my favourite prayers. As I read it, I picture a family, father, mother, several children, and perhaps grandparents, sitting around a table in reverent attitude as one of their members thanks and beseeches God in this perfect prayer of thanksgiving and intercession. It would be equally suitable for our church family as we assemble each Sunday for worship.  Lord, behold our family here assembled. We thank thee for this place in which we dwell; for the…