Author: Jim Cantelon

There’s no denying “the elephant in the room”- the turmoil in the Middle East. It’s troubling, polarizing, and painful. For our family it’s personal because Jerusalem is our hometown. We lived there for seven years, planted King of Kings Church in the heart of the city, raised our children and thrived in its history, culture, and friendship. Indeed our family history will be forever impacted by the “Holy City”. In my sermons I would occasionally refer to what is called “the second coming” of Christ. This topic had immediate relevance for us because the sites of the crucifixion, burial,...

As Westerners we tend to think our ways are best. We are often guilty of seeing poorer, developing nations in a dim light, in need of our superior expertise in the “art” of civilization. Sometimes with the purist of intentions we condescend. It’s more than a wake-up call however to immerse oneself in one of these “needy” cultures as Kathy and I did last month. Out in the rural areas of Malawi, visiting orphans and widows who are provided Home Based Care by our dedicated Somebody Cares volunteers we saw again the sincere child-like joy of the poorest of the poor as they sang and danced their...

Kathy and I recently visited a child-headed household in a remote rural village in Malawi Africa. Our WOW ministry has taken us to hundreds of similar situations over the past 23 years yet this visit touched us deeply. Sitting on the ground at the entrance of her one room mud-brick home was a small 16 year old girl with a 6 month old baby daughter in her lap. She was frail and all alone. She told us her parents had abandoned her when she became pregnant. As for her boyfriend, the father of her tiny daughter, he had moved to another village. She was destitute, sad, and totally vulnerable to...

There’s an old saying “big doors swing on small hinges”, referring to outcomes in history that are often predicated on seemingly inconsequential decisions by unknown or even anonymous people. There are any number of examples, perhaps one of the most extreme being the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914 by one bullet shot from the gun of a disgruntled unknown Serb precipitating WW1. Closer to home would be the unknown arsonist(s) who has plunged present day Greece into the worst wildfires in EU history. It’s a serious truth that a single individual can literally impact...

As many of you who follow us on our website know, WOW has been providing Home Based Care (HBC) for at-risk orphans and widows (Mainly because of HIV and AIDS infections) in sub-Saharan Africa for 23 years. The Covid 19 pandemic exacerbated the need, to say nothing of the ongoing crisis of opportunistic diseases that victimize patients without immune systems. For the past 5 years we’ve also been very involved in the care of “the least of these” in a nation that for security reasons shall remain nameless. One other nation we’ve been involved in is Ukraine since Russia invaded over a year...

I received a report recently from one of WOW’s partner ministries with a few pics covering the gifting several of their volunteers with bicycles. These volunteers, in some cases, have been walking up to 20 kilometres a day to provide home-based care (HBC) for seriously ill and/or dying orphans and widows. Most of the afflicted ones are suffering from HIV and AIDS with the added complication of opportunistic diseases such as tuberculosis. WOW’s volunteers are mostly widows themselves although there are a few men ( mainly pastors) who provide HBC care as well. They minister faithfully every...

A year ago, the James Webb telescope was launched into space. It’s been sending spectacular high-definition pics that have amazed both astronomers and lay people alike. The most stunning so far was just released: the “Rho Ophiuchi” cloud complex, a star forming region in space 400 light years from earth. The entire image is about half a light year across or 4.7 trillion(!) kilometres. It more than boggles the mind. It’s incomprehensible, truly an example of “I don’t believe what I’m seeing”. Psalm 8 comes to mind: “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the...

My wife and I recently celebrated our 53rd(!) anniversary. Hard to believe it’s been that long. Seems like only a few years. Mind you there are those who see any marriage lasting more than 10 years as an anomaly. I remember a nurse  3 years ago who was doing a blood test saying,”50yrs ?! In my world that’s 5 marriages!” Then there was the waitress last year on our 52nd asking,” Do you mind if I ask how you’ve done it? When my girlfriends and I get together all we do is trash our husbands.” I have no glib answers. But what I can say is that a covenant is a commitment-a decision for life, a...

You’ve no doubt read about the school board in Utah who removed the Bible from their regional  libraries because of its “violent and vulgar”content. They opined that it was hurtful for their elementary school pupils. But now they’ve reversed that decision after significant pushback from parents. The fact is that the Bible, especially the Old Testament, pulls no punches in its descriptions of human behaviour. It’s a history book. One can find all kinds of disreputable and “hurtful” material in any and all history books in the libraries of the world. No need to target the scriptures. History...

I’m sitting in a church conference as I write( during a coffee break). I’ve just listened to an overview of 1200 Canadian churches’ strategy to reach the world with the Gospel of Jesus. Pretty big vision! But that’s the point: vision. The Bible says that where there’s no vision people “cast off restraint”. Think about it…vision gives purpose and direction to life. Without it we’re simply coasting, navel gazing, and marking time. The famous author C.S.Lewis said his one fear as he aged was that he “merely continue”. And I totally agree. I’m not against retirement but I do value purposeful...

The daily posts re: Artificial Intelligence warn us that we are under threat of a takeover. A touch alarmist no? But the warnings are fuelled by fear and insecurity. In a world that appears under siege by war, climate change, and state failure we are truly vulnerable to worse case scenarios. Throw in the ubiquitous conspiracy theories and you have a perfect storm for anxiety. And after almost three years of Covid isolation we’re socially disconnected too. We’re out of balance. I often think of Jesus’ words re worry: “Think not what the morrow bringeth…sufficient unto the day is the evil...

Like millions of others I watched the coronation of King Charles lll. It was gripping, must-see TV. The pomp and circumstance was appropriate and regal, the beauty of Westminster Cathedral awesome. The biggest impact for me was the biblical content of both liturgy and music. It was uplifting. I found myself moved to tears at times. The theme of “service” captured what is missing in most of our world’s ruling classes. Power, domination, corruption and even “kleptocracy” seem to be the motivation of dysfunctional leaders these days. Indeed “what’s in it for me” appears to be the underlying...