Monthly Archives: April 2016

Slim anthology adds Christian narrative to First Nations voices

27 Wednesday Apr 2016

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First Nations Christian Writers Low res COVER for webIncreasingly, First Nations issues such as the suicide crisis in Attawapiskat, the results of the Truth and Reconciliation report and increased federal government funding to deal with these issues are headlining the news almost daily.

Into this myriad of voices comes a small anthology that brings a different perspective to these issues. First Nations Christian Writers – Volume 1 features 16 writers, from 14 year old Joshua Heath to two 78 year olds: Bernard Mason and Sylvia Polson. The diversity of writers from a variety of First Nations tribes and communities, ranging from Point Pelee, Ontario in the south to Cross Lake, Manitoba in the North, is one of the book’s strengths.

Most of the stories and poems are first-hand accounts, like Joshua’s look at the effects of the foster care system on his life or Mason’s account of how God answered his prayer a successful hunt in order to feed his family. Other stories look at some of the key issues facing First Nations people from both their ethnic and spiritual perspectives such as 19-year-old Naomi Peters submission, look at the missing and murdered women and Benjamin Paul’s experiences in a residential school.

The diversity of writers, with a wide-range of writing experience from novice to experienced, does make the flow in this anthology slightly uneven at times. While this can make it a bit difficult to read, it’s worth the effort. And don’t let the slimness of First Nations Christian Writers – Volume 1 fool you. There’s a lot to digest in those 80 pages.

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For more information on First Nations Christian Writers – Volume 1 check http://goldrockpress.com

To listen to an interview with First Nations Christian Writers – Volume 1 editor, Dorene Meyer, go to http://tinyurl.com/jdm2snz

 

Lost & Found Theatre scores with “Pocket Rocket”

23 Saturday Apr 2016

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Lost & Found Theatre - Pocket RocketThere are any number of hockey cliches that could be used to describe Pocket Rocket: A play in three periods currently being staged by Kitchener’s Lost & Found Theatre. Using any one of them (except in this blog’s head) would detract from the excellence of the production.

The first act, or period, took me back to my own adolescence in small Southwestern Ontario town where road hockey was the pastime of choice. I recognized (and remembered who was) the play’s characters:

  • Steve (Andrei Preda) – the jock who thought he was better than everyone else and let everyone know it.
  • Paul (Mark Kreder) – the physically and socially awkward teen with overprotective parents who desperately wanted to fit in.
  • Dave (Matt White) – the vulnerable one whose family circumstances leads him to look for a family in his friends.
  • Cindy/Sid (Hannah Ziss) – the tomboy on the brink of becoming a young woman.
  • Ifty (Suchiththa Desilva) – the new kid on the block and the outsider who changes the group’s dynamics.

Pocket Rocket is  filled with humour, pathos and heart-wrenching emotion that will find you laughing one moment and deep in thought the next.

With Act 1 set in 1967, “Canada’s last great year” pronounces Steve, Pocket Rocket opens with our 14-year-olds – Steve, Paul, Dave and Cindy – saying good-bye to an old friend, hello to a new friend and discovering more about themselves than they want to. Playwrights Lea Daniel and Gary Kirkham have written a script filled with humour, pathos and heart-wrenching emotion that will find you laughing one moment and deep in thought the next.

In Act/Period 2, now set in 1981, the friends gather to help Dave move and, for old times’ sake, have another game of road hockey. The tensions – sexual, personal, familial and otherwise – introduced in Act 1 continue to simmer until they explode. By the end of the act everything has changed leaving everyone wondering if life will ever be the same. The shift in time gives the cast a chance to showcase their acting muscles from convincingly portraying adolescents to maturing adults.

Act/Period 3 opens 14 years later with the friends gathering for another farewell and one last road hockey game. Some of the old tensions remain, while others have been resolved. If I had one criticism of Pocket Rocket it’s that the play’s denouement seemed somewhat rushed in this act leaving some of the plays issues (especially around Dave and Steve) unanswered.

Pocket Rocket is another stellar effort from Lost & Found Theatre. To riff on Steve’s opening line, all I can say is “I love this play.”

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Pocket Rocket continues until April 30. For more performance and ticket information check http://www.lostandfoundtheatre.ca/#!performances/ffiv7

“More Than Miracles” more than a simple history of the Scott Mission

14 Thursday Apr 2016

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More Than Miracles coverThe Scott Mission first came to my attention in the late 1990s when I worked in the Salvation Army’s public relations department in Toronto. At the time, I saw the Scott as one of the myriad of Christian social service ministries serving those in need in the city.

Reading Toronto-area freelance journalist Ben Volman’s new book, More Than Miracles: Elaine Zeidman Markovic and the Story of the Scott Mission, gave me a new appreciation for the Scott, its ministry and the people who have served there.

Volman, with the eye of a journalist and heart of a pastor (he’s also the Toronto director of Chosen People Ministries and the spiritual leader of Kehillat Eytz Chaim/Tree of Life Messianic Congregation) tells of the triumphs and trials of the Scott and those closest to it: the Zeidman family.

A challenge of those writing histories is the delicate balance between glorifying the subject or tearing it apart. Volman manages to balance hagiography with the reality of the Scott’s struggles (especially after the untimely death of Alex Zeidman, its second director.)

While other histories of the Scott have been written – a fact noted by Volman – More Than Miracles recounts its history through the eyes of Elaine Zeideman Markovic, one of the four children of mission founders Morris and Annie Zeidman.

Markovic, along with her brothers Alex and David (who both became directors) and sister Margaret, all contributed in some way to the ministry of the Scott. In her 50-plus years of working at the Scott, Markovic filled a variety of behind-the-scenes roles and Volman sensitively recounts her own struggles with her place in ministry and her ultimate resolution to serve God in whatever role He chose.

One of the strengths of More Than Miracles is Volman’s choices as a writer. As someone who has also written organizational histories, I know the challenge of choosing which document or interview to quote from and how much should be quoted. Volman as struck the right balance between narrating the story and choosing from the myriad of Scott Mission’s ephemera and interviews he’d held. Volman has an uncanny knack for knowing when to speak as the author and when to let a diary entry, letter or person speak.

This sensitivity has led to a well-written book that was a joy to read. Whether you are familiar with the Scott Mission, or just have a passing knowledge of the “Miracle on Spadina,” More Than Miracles should take a place on your to-read list.

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For more information on More Than Miracles check http://castlequaybooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=101