i was fortunate enough to be in ottawa this past week, and so i was able to attend the parliament hill portion of the state funeral for jack layton.

a few things stand out for me as special moments, and i thought i'd share them.  i invite all of you to share your moments or thoughts, positive and negative as well.

Please don't get me wrong. I think Jack Layton was a man to be respected in life as a politician and as a man.

But I am curious why the country seems to have gone mad over the coverage. Since his death, that is all that CBC, CTV and Global have been covering in their newscasts Could it be that they are following the lead of our American neighbours.

I wish that we could learn to send the accolades to people as they live and not only after they die..

No disrespect only curiosity.??

Is your church considering opening its doors and inviting people together to watch Jack Layton’s funeral on Saturday? It will be broadcast on TV and is a good opportunity for churches invite the community in. If so, please let us know what you have planned.

by Christopher Lind, www.christopherlind.ca

In a resolutely secular society like Canada, one of the jobs of a theologian is to point out where the new theological language is emerging. One of those places is in Jack Layton's final letter to Canadians. There he provides a synopsis of his own theology.

"Love is better than anger
Hope is better than fear
Optimism is better than despair"

What most Canadians will find difficult to articulate is where they've heard that language before. Consider the following passages from Christian and Hebrew Scriptures.

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18)