by Anastasia Bartlett of St. Aidan's Orthodox Church

Back when I was single and had only myself to worry about, I was introduced to a fuller understanding of stewardship. I had always equated stewardship with tithing, giving to God one tenth of any money I received, 10% for God and 90% for me (which seemed fair enough since I was the one who had worked to make the money).

By Anastasia Bartlett

Christ is here!

The twinkling lights speak of His presence. His birth returns light to the world as He illuminates every shadow of darkness in the world and within us.

Christ is here!

The evergreen speaks of eternal life, the candy canes display red and white stripes of blood and purity.

Christ is here!

The feast of favourite foods and drink is as dust in the mouth without the bread of life, the wine of gladness and the water of eternal joy.

Christ is here!

By Tonia Howell, St Nicholas Orthodox Church, Kamloops

For those of us who have been drawn back year after year to the Orthodox Women's Retreat, our expectations of the serenity of the grounds and gathering areas and of the care from the organizers and staff and of the wisdom imparted by the speaker and clergy, are faithfully filled to overflowing. For those who made their first retreat this year, I trust that their outward senses and inward being were touched by the beauty of both their physical surroundings and the messages intended for their hearts.

By Anastasia Bartlett

We are creatures of linear time, always moving forward, only glancing back imperfectly at the past. We dream of travelling at will along our time line. Whether it is Superman reversing the spin of the earth, the Enterprise creating slingshot effect around the sun, wormholes intersecting with solar flares or the time vortex contained within a blue box, we have imagined a multitude of ways to visit our past, interfere with theoretical parallel time lines or recreate our future.