This blog is an experiment. In past years I used to preach occasionally, and found that preparing a sermon — that odd and antiquated art form — the best way to marshal my unruly thoughts, and then see them refined through the response of others. I left my church a couple of years ago, but I still feel sermons brewing. So I’d like to test whether a blog can generate the same good discussions I have enjoyed with my church friends. And I’d also like to test whether the things we “church people” talk about can prompt discussion among a wider circle of friends and colleagues.
I am Joy Connelly. I worshipped at Danforth Baptist Church in Toronto from 1987 to 2008, and now attend a Quaker meeting in Toronto. I am married with two adult children, and work in the non-profit sector.
Guest bloggers:
Paul Connelly is Joy’s husband. He worships at Holy Name Roman Catholic Church, and also works in the non-profit sector.
Rosemary Gray-Snelgrove is having a go at retirement in St. Catharines with her husband Dave, after 36 years in Toronto: their adult daughter Laura is soon leaving Montreal to live in New York for a few years. She considers herself a “wobbly” Roman Catholic, having converted to the faith 36 years ago.
Jamie Perttula lives with his family in the east end of Toronto and they worship at Church of the Resurrection. He works for the Ontario government. Jamie has known Joy Connelly since they met in a cell group in the early 1990s.
A Bigger Circle 
Hi Joy,
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog on this wintery Sunday morning when home projects got in the way of getting out to the service at our local Anglican Church. Ran into the minister and some members of the local congregation at the coffee shop on Friday, and had a chat, so didn’t feel a huge urgency to get there today.
I would like to pass on your blog to a couple of friends who I think would be challenged by how you have framed your thoughts and those experiences that many of us can relate to. Is that okay? Deborah