outWORD by Matte Downey

House in Charlottetown, PEI This past month, I had the privilege of setting foot in parts of Canada that I have never been to before. I traveled to Prince Edward Island for a Vineyard gathering and got to spend some time wandering the streets of Charlottetown, strolling along the scenic boardwalk, and eating the best ice cream in the nation (that's what it said right on the store window). As I walked around the quaint city, I had a faint sense of not belonging, of being a stranger. It was a bit odd because I don't usually feel that way, even in foreign places, so I decided to look into the idea of "belonging." Be-long : be (an intensifier) + longen (old English, "to go"). Basically, "belong" means to go along with, to properly relate to. In our common usage, the word denotes acceptance (of a person) or possession (of a thing). However, the original meaning of the word is much more active than our contemporary, more passive usage. Instead of h...

Image from http://oisedeansconference.wordpress.com/ Last week Dean and I (along with a bunch of others from Montreal) went to the Vineyard National Celebration, a gathering of Vineyard churches from all across Canada. This big family party only takes place every four years and this time it was in Kitchener. It was a blast! We saw people we have not seen in years, made new friends, ate together, talked, prayed, worshiped God together, and even slept a bit here and there. Lots of cool things happened but one of the most significant take-aways for me had to do with leadership. Cheryl Bear, an award-winning recording artist, singer, songwriter, and storyteller who comes from the NadlehWhut'en First Nation in British Columbia (that's what her website says), spoke to the large gathering one night. She and her husband have been making their way across North America with the goal of visiting all the First Nations communities; so far they have visited about 600 out of 1000. Let m...