This summer, I worked with a group of teenage ESL students. I remember the first time I taught them our national anthem. Everyone was ok with what we were doing, except one young woman. I’ll call her Emma. After we sang “O Canada,” I had the students work through an anthem-related activity. Once we were […]
Author Archives: Claire
Losing My Religion: Flat Earth Faith
NOTE: I started to write a disclaimer for this post, but then I erased it. Honestly. What do I have to apologize for? My main focus in this post is on trends that I’ve noticed among certain Christians. If this post doesn’t apply to you, then trust me. I’m not talking about you. Whether they […]
Losing My Religion: Foreword
I’ve been thinking about the future of my page. In the days to come, I’d like to dig deeply into self care and spirituality. But before I move forward, I really feel the need to take a look at what I’m running away from. I’m going to begin by offering an honest look at my […]
Very Necessary: Rob Bell’s Book
Over the years my thoughts on religion (Christianity) have evolved. I’ve been working on putting some of my feelings into words. Meanwhile, not too long ago, I’d heard that Rob Bell had released another book. And then I discovered this interview. I listened to it in podcast form, and I’m sure it’s worth watching. Religion has […]
Handwringing and History
Every time I feel like going off on social media, I remind myself that I ought to channel my energy into a blog post. This is one of the rare times when I’m attempting to follow through. Have any of you seen this?: I was following a contact’s thread on one of the confederate statues […]
The Handmaid’s FAIL?
Millions of years ago when I was in school, I read The Handmaid’s Tale. And I’ll confess–as with all of Margaret Atwood’s works, it gave me the creeps. I don’t remember every precise detail of its story. However, I still have enough of it with me to recall its overarching themes. It deals specifically with […]
The struggle is real.
A few days ago on my Instagram account, I spoke about facing yourself. Last week I was really moved by Pepper Brooks’ latest blog post. In case you don’t click to read, in “It’s easier to be a Workaholic” Pepper wrote a bit about one of the masks that she wears. I was struck by […]
Mission? In progress.
The air around me is rife with people talking about their purpose. A couple of weeks ago my mentor Krista Foss encouraged me to write down my mission. I left our meeting thinking. As a writer, what am I passionate about? What do I want to achieve? I, Claire would like… To honestly discuss topics of […]
Flashback Friday: HERstory in video
I’d heard there were videos that captured the HERstory in Black experience, but I’d completely forgotten. Then one day, I caught a clip on on How She Hustles’ Instagram account. Jully Black led the ladies as they sang “This Little Light of Mine”. I can feel the sisterhood in every frame of this video. Be […]
Introducing: Erin Dunham
If, like me, you live in Paris, Ontario, you probably know the Arlington Hotel. But do you know Erin Dunham? Erin is the Co-Founder and CEO of The Other Bird Restaurant Group . The Other Bird owns our beloved Arlington, as well as five Hamilton-based restaurants: Two Black Sheep, Burro, The Mule , Black Sheep Snack Bar , […]
