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Thoughts on Sabbath

Tonight we are talking about Sabbath at Graduate Christian Fellowship. As preparation, I glanced through MaryAnn McKibben Dana’s book, Sabbath in the Suburbs. I read the book a number of years ago, when I first had a child, and found it deeply encouraging. While I love the idea of Sabbath as being restful and contemplative, the reality is that it’s often a day when it’s hard to stop from the pressures and realities of the rest of life (and when you do stop, doing nothing or binging feel like the best activities). And practising Sabbath can be hard, irrelevant of whether you are a parent of a small child or a single person. Dana’s book felt like a gift, a recognition that some things are worth trying to (continue to) do, even if/when we can’t do them at the level we think (or feel pressured) to do.

Here are a number of quotes from the book to provide encouragement and fodder for thought, in the hopes that they help you imagine practising Sabbath in your life:

  • Sabbath as a “day of giving up trying to change things;” a day of “not trying to improve oneself: no progress” (15), a day when we have all the time in the world, to be fully present;
  • it is ” a disruption in the liturgy, a break in the rhythm” (28)
  • a day of wonder and delight (even with food); a day “free of obligation and ‘should'” (33)
  • Sabbath hacks:
    • work/errands as a possibility (when that’s the reality), but doing it differently: slowly and intentionally, unhurried, contemplatively;
    • “find the one most important thing that must be done and to put parentheses around it in order to protect the rest of the day.” (98)
    • “another approach to Sabbath – to go about one’s day as usual, even if that includes work or errands, but to fast from one thing.” (85)
  • It can help to create a list of possible Sabbath activities, including trying something new or novel; such as “pursuing an unfamiliar or nonroutine task” (75)
  • a day of saying yes [to the children’s requests];
  • “the Jewish Sabbath emphasizes bringing one’s best self to God… but maybe we also show respect for the Holy in our lives when we bring our real selves, not our clean and made-up ones.” (107) a day to be our authentic selves, without the mask or being ‘on’
  • “Sabbath feels like a dance between the impulse for togetherness and the needs of the individual.” (110) This challenge is different but just as true for those who are single.
  • a day to “help me remember that I’m not God… help me not to be consumed by good work.” (115)
  • “on one day, we should do our utmost to let go of the annoyance and anger – even anger at things we’re justified in being angry at.” (122)
  • a pre-Sabbath prayer: “what has been done has been done, what has not been done has not been done; let it be.” (128) from New Zealand prayer book
  • a day “to make time our friend, not our enemy” (42) of “trying to make time my friend again – a real friend, not the friend I only call when I need something.” (135)
  • “letting one thing go each day is a way of acknowledging that perfection will always be beyond me. It also helps me find a little bit of Sabbath each day.”(135)

Some reflections from Dana on her experience:

  • Dana: “Sabbath seems designed to make life as inconvenient as possible…. Sometimes, I can see a holy purpose iin the inconvenience. Other times, I’m just annoyed.” (83)
  • Dana had thought Sabbath would provide rest so that she could do more, but Sabbath isn’t so we can pack the rest of our week; “Sabbath is making me want to do even less the rest of the time.” (91)
  • “There isn’t ever enough time. Even when we strip away all the inessentials – even when we focus only on the things that are good and nourishing and important for ourselves, our families, and the world – there is still not enough time. But our hope is not in there being enough time but in there being enough grace to muddle through the scarcities or our days.” (150)

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The Crisis of International Students in Canada?

“On Friday, November 14, 2025, Global Scholars Canada hosted its 3rd Annual Word & World Symposium entitled “The Crisis of International Students in Canada and Christ’s Call to Peacemaking.” International students make up 30% of Canada’s enrolment in colleges and universities, which has created a complex of crises in Canada, triggering a largely negative response from the Canadian public and significant policy shifts from the Canadian government.”

One question raised was this: are international students a crisis, or do they present Canadians with an opportunity? Specifically, is there an opportunity here to serve, to learn, and to make peace in our troubled world?”

Speakers at the event included:

  • Dr Ruth Hayhoe, “50 years of Student Exchange”
  • Yixin Jiang, “Intensification of Institutional Procedures”
  • Isaac Bekoe, “A Personal Story, coming from Ghana”
  • JesusMiracle Chiadika, “Mental Health and Mental Illness”
  • Dr. Gang Li, “Sojourners Within Your Gates,”
  • Dr Grace Karram, “Off-Campus Supports”

See summaries of the talks, including responses, at The Crisis of International Students in Canada: An Opportunity for Peace in a Troubled World? by Peter J. Schuurman

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Advent Resources

Advent Resources for 2025.

Taizé Meditations, Prayers, and Blessings

A collection of songs and prayers in the Taizé style for contemplation throughout Advent.

Seeking God’s Face

A daily, contemplative devotional, rooted in ancient traditions of Divine Office and lectio divina, with daily posts to their website.

Keening for the Dawn:

Weekly Zoom course with Brian J. Walsh

Taught by former chaplain Brian J. Walsh, this weekly course will have teachings about Advent, lament, and song, with opportunities to ask questions in the chat.

The Coming Light: Daily Devotionals

Delivered every day to your inbox, the Advent Reader considers the Hopeful Presence of Jesus in Advent.

Kate Bowler

This year Kate Bowler is providing these free daily devotionals through her Substack. Register at katebowler.com

Trans Advent: Resource from Unbound

Free daily devotionals written and inspired by trans people of faith, from Unbound:Intersections of Faith and Justice.

Advent Conspiracy

Free and paid resources about celebrating Advent and Christmas humbly, beautifully, and generously.

Jan Richardson: Poetry and Blessings

One of Carol’s favourites, Jan Richardson has several books of poetry and blessings for the liturgical year, including Advent and Christmas. See some of her blessings on the GCF Instagram feed every week.

The Gift of Advent

Inspired by the True Gifts of Christmas by Megan Alexander, these free devotionals from Loyola press come to your inbox daily.

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Pressure to stay single?

The challenges facing young adults have shifted over the years. While many of the young adults we know will receive questions at family gatherings about their relationship status (alongside of their studies and job prospects), they [particularly women] are likely to feel more pressure to not commit to a permanent relationship from other corners of their lives (from peers, academia, and society in general).

Freya India, in a recent substack article on the pressure to stay single notes that she’s rarely asked about when she’s settling down, but instead has “only ever felt the opposite, an overwhelming pressure to be single. In the secular liberal world I used to think there were no expectations, no pressure. There is, though: the pressure today is to avoid anything that might stick, to run through life without getting snagged on any responsibilities, without getting tethered to someone else too early.”

In her world, “the young woman who settles down has always been seen as wasting her potential; the single, childfree, even divorced woman is strong, wise, knows her worth. Most of the time people aren’t wondering why young women aren’t having kids but why we would at all. Nobody really mentions it, let alone pushes it. And I’m sure it wasn’t always like this, but lately I see young men praised for committing, while young women are warned.”

She points out that this is a natural outworking of our culture: “Fundamental to liberalism is a suspicion of restraint, which inevitably becomes suspicion of human relationships. It promises liberation from every last tie until we are free of everything, including each other. The position we idolise is one of being permanently suspended, in time, in place; voluntarily stepping out of that state and making yourself vulnerable is suspect. Both sexes feel this, I think, but because women were seen as having more to be liberated from, our devotion in particular became dangerous, a liability. The dominant pressure in liberal culture, then, is to delay, to detach, to stay permanently available. We are permitted only one loyalty, and that’s to ourselves.”

I expect that these expectations are affecting not only young adults but all of society, with each of us being somehow affected by this strange call to love ourselves without loving our neighbour (or God).

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Hope as the best sort of apologetics

Gretchen Ronnevik has the following encouraging words for parents as they prepare to send their children off to university. The words of fear she names below, the warning that you might ‘lose your faith at university’ are ones that multiple students in the ministry have expressed hearing from well-intentioned Christians.

“After launching two of our six kids into adulthood, I’ve been astounded at the things other adult Christians have said to my children as they left our house to pursue the vocations God had prepared for them. There’s a consistent theme of fear and discouragement: If you go to that college or move to this place or aren’t super careful, you’ll lose your faith.

These statements come from a place of genuine and justified concern. Many young Christians go to college and never return to church. We’ve all heard of a young person who’s moved out of the house, begun dating an unbeliever, and rejected their faith to live a different life. We know the data. We know the stories. And we are filled with fear. So we impress that fear on our children, urging them to draw their apologetic swords.

But however good the intent, these warnings communicated something more to my kids: Have fear, not hope. Your faith is delicate. It’s fragile. It’s glass. At any moment, it could shatter forever.

… When people ask us about our hope in Christ, that is the surest thing we know, and we can be ready with an answer. We can be ready to explain our hope—our confidence that Jesus will never leave us or forsake us, our trust that we can’t be separated from his love.

I don’t ignore the data about loss of faith in young adulthood, but instead of speaking fear and doubt to our kids as they leave home, we equip them by speaking hope and assurance over them. …

Don’t be afraid. Your children’s salvation does not rest in their own hands; it rests in the hands of Jesus. It always has, and it always will. Their hope—and ours—is not in having the most articulate answer or the government leaders we want, getting into the right school, having our professors’ or bosses’ approval, or leading a suffering-free, easy life. 

Our hope comes from Christ, and Christ alone. Our hope is not in the strength of our faith but the object of our faith. There is nothing more certain we can give our kids.”

Taken from Emptying the Nest in Hope, not Fear – Christianity Today, September 25, 2024.

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Campus Life in the Netherlands compared to Canada

Student life is a very significant department at most Canadian (and American) universities. A positive housing experience, including a strong push by most universities that first-year students to live on campus, is also part of the Canadian university experience. Most campus ministers/ministries in Canada, with the exception of those closely associated with a local church, tend to be connected to Student Life, either through the ministry being recognized as student group or with the chaplain working directly with a division of Student Life, such as wellness, a mult-faith centre, or even international student support. 

In the Netherlands, however, student life is more likely to refer to “how you spend your leisure time at university” than look like a Canadian Student Life department. The exception to this is a growing focus on wellness, particularly with pressure being placed on universities in response to studies showing students are not doing well.

Furthermore, most universities in the Netherlands do not provide housing for students. The few places that do have ‘student housing’ available generally work with housing corporations and tend to limit the availability to international students. (Dutch) students are given free travel on public transit on either weekdays or in the weekend. This means that many students are at home frequently during their studies, either through living at home or by travelling home most weekends.

Given the significant differences in campus life, it should be no surprise that campus ministry in the two different countries looks quite different. At the same time, there were interesting parallels and opportunities to learn from each other, which I’ll say more about as I continue to reflect on my Sabbatical experience.

– Brenda Kronemeijer-Heyink

this entry has been cross-posted at Brenda’s personal blog.

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Sabbatical review – Brenda’s initial thoughts

My Sabbatical has been a gift of perspective. It was an opportunity to be far enough and long enough away, so that I could let go of the regular burdens and weariness that I carried. And embark on this adventure that was a gift from my community and God. 

It was truly a Sabbath, a time away to help me let go of my sense of being needed so I could remember what was good. Those I left behind were more than able to care for things when I wasn’t there. I had enough distance from the hard things to remember what I love about my job and our life in Canada. I know people have been praying for us as we’ve been gone, and we’ve received encouraging notes and many reminders that we are not the only ones looking forward to us coming home soon. 

I received so much hospitality: from the people who offered us a place to stay in the Netherlands to the many people who I could talk to about campus ministry or bibliodrama to the meals and childcare provided by my in-laws. How can I not return with a sense of wanting to share that hospitality, particularly after having my own cup overflow? 

We got to have adventures as a family: the kinds which involve trains, mountains, museums, castles, bikes, and good food. We connected with friends and family, delighting in our daughter’s ability to communicate with others (part now in Dutch) and her getting to really know Matthijs’s family. 

Like many of my projects, there are things I didn’t get done. In the last two weeks, I felt pressure to work as hard as possible to finish them off, forgetting that the projects of the Sabbatical were a means to an end: learning to practice listening to the nudges of the Spirit and pay attention to where God is working and how best to use my gifts and experiences. A Sabbatical won’t make me a different person, so much as it has hopefully helped me be more content with who I am and the life that I already have, even as I hope to continue to grow and change in good and holy ways. 

The hope is that the campus ministry’s blog (and my own personal blog) will be a place for me to write more about the Sabbatical: as a way of remembering and processing, as well as sharing this gift I’ve received with others.