Dr. Bruce Harding

For his annual sermon on “Five Gold Ring Day” (the Sunday after Christmas), Dr. Bruce Harding once again invites the congregation into the subversive practice of celebrating the Twelve Days of Christmas – continuing to wish others a “Merry Christmas” right up until 12th Night (January 5) and resisting the urge to discard all signs…

On this Sunday following Christmas, Dr. Bruce led the congregation in the traditional (for Crossroads) Christmas Carol request extravaganza, and offered a short homily. In it, he invited the congregation to be “countercultural” in the sense of actually celebrating Christmas AFTER December 25, instead of shopping and preparing for it for the there months before…

For the first Sunday after Easter, Dr. Bruce Harding preached on John 20:19-31, the narrative featuring the disciple typically called “Doubting Thomas.” Bruce began by singing the song by the same name by Nickel Creek, then offers the congregation an extended testimony on the value of doubt in the Christian tradition, by the United Church…

The Trinity, the three-fold mystery at the heart of Christianity, has been a metaphor for diversity for centuries, encompassing the three primary ways we experience the Holy: through God, through Jesus, and through the Holy Spirit. The United Church of Canada itself is also an example of diversity in action, being the first inter-denominational union…

Ephesians 4:25-5:2, our lectionary epistle lesson for the day, outlines the basics for how we are to live in community with each other. Four seemingly simple elements: being truthful with ourselves and others, learning not to hold onto anger unnecessarily, practising forgiveness, and living with compassion and kindness. It sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Not!

For the Sunday after Easter, Dr. Bruce Harding reflects on the text from Luke 24:13-35, the story of “the road to Emmaus.” He first lifts up the moment of recognition, when the Risen Christ breaks the bread and the two disciples know that it is Jesus with them. Then he notes how early sharing food…

“What? How can you say Jesus was racist?”, you may ask. Jesus’ humanity shines through in our gospel story for today, Matthew 15:10-28, as he shuns an indigenous Canaanite woman, calling her a dog, whereupon she challenges him and his eyes are opened: Jesus confronts his racism and becomes an anti-racist. How can we as…

Dr. Bruce Harding preached and led worship on this day, using the texts for the day from the Revised Common Lectionary. The sermon focussed on Luke 12:49-56, Jesus’ words about interpreting the present time. Bruce asks, with Jesus, “Can we afford to ignore the signs any longer?”

Why do we sing in the church? Dr. Bruce Harding answers the question variously in this sermon: We sing because singing is a cultural universal – something common to all cultures, and therefore in our DNA All three of our founding traditions in The United Church of Canada were important contributors to the repertoire of…