Breakouts
Here I endeavour to set down ideas as kernels with the aim of growing and testing them over time. These nubs are sketched here for exchange and conversation with publishers and editors. They may be freely shared as links with other potentially interested publishers, editors and advisors.
The Age of Aquarius
I was just thirteen at the ‘Dawning of the Age of Aquarius’. This infectious song still seems to permeate western culture with its moon-struck optimism and idealism. Freedom, peace, innovation, equality, rights and justice are the bi-words of a boom that refuses to go bust.
Patriarchy
Every human heart is riven by sin — in every class, gender and race. Patriarchy has been a problem, not because it’s some grand conspiracy, but because of a lack of good will. And good will seems in increasingly short supply in today’s hostile, intersectional struggles. What we need is
Father Feito
It is indisputable that I have north Netherlands Catholic roots. I can trace many family lines back to the sixteenth century (almost all in the same neck of the woods), and thus, by extrapolation, to undocumented ancestors in the fifteenth century.
Nikolaikirche
St. Nicholas Church prayer meetings in the 1980s became a sanctuary for dissatisfaction with communism, culminating in the Monday demonstrations that began September 4, 1989. These quickly grew in size and caught on in other cities as well.
The Wilderness that Was
I like to imagine what it was like then — my neighbourhood, or ravine-riven Toronto, or the Sarnia savannah. It would be nice, just once, to hike through old woods from the lake shore to the escarpment or High Park to Forest Hill, or along the beach from Centennial to
Vennekerk ’23
We often fail to appreciate the formative influences that churches may have on youths (beset instead by negatives). But my parents (and their families) spoke fondly of the church where they worshiped, attended catechism classes and where my father played organ. And they spoke often of their love for Dominee
I am Indigenous
The parallels between indigenous peoples, like those in Canada or northern Holland, are significant. Up until a century ago, most lived modest, simple lives. They were people of the land, in tune with nature. They were industrious, sophisticated (for their time and place) and spiritual. They were tied into large
City on a Hill
Try as I might, I cannot relive Amiens Cathedral. In spite of having spent time there last summer, loitering long within its cavernous space and taking a great many photos, the experience has receded to the realm of recollection — a meagre substitute for the real thing.
Worship Songs: 2007 – 2010
Here's at least a three year snapshot of all the songs sung in one church's worship services.
Talkabout – Living in Faith
A talkabout ministry, in an organized yet organic way, could facilitate the fellowship of people who need to talk about things. It would open doors between people with common concerns and offer some guidance for talking about those concerns.
Herman de Jong – Prose
Prose by Herman de Jong (1932 - 2004) - A set of six short prose poems on matters of faith.
Terschelling
Perhaps my father was lucky. There is a place in the world that he called his own. It's a wonderful place that he could visit and remember and which never lost its essence throughout his own variegated life.
Keep in the Castle
Build walls to keep out the bad and you have a small garden of Eden — ‘paradeisos’, literally, an enclosed park. Castles and their compounds, cities with walls and even humble homes are meant to be places of peace and well being, protecting us from threatening forces. They are not
The Hanseatic League
It’s a stretch to think of my grandfathers as being in league with Europe’s Hanseatic cities. They were both people of the land — one a farmer to the core and the other a land reclaimer. But they stem from people who lived close to the Hanseatic sea routes or
Reservations
This page offers some reservations, and the links below are to older unpublished, unposted works by Henry de Jong, along with some Breakout ideas, that are held in reserve for reference and for exchange with publishers and editors. They may not be used without conversation or permission. They may be
Breakouts
Here I endeavour to set down the kernels of various ideas with the aim of growing and testing them over time. The nubs are sketched here for exchange and conversation with publishers and editors. This page may be freely shared as a link with other potentially interested publishers, editors and
A Song Transformed
This moment, which I have also experienced in other Bach cantatas, is, for me, consistently hair raising. I'm always aware of course that the choir will come in (it is a chorale after all). And, at the concert, I watched the one hundred choir members ready themselves by standing when
The Minstrel’s Journey
I don't know when the minstrel came to our household or from where. But it was ages ago and he's been with us ever since. In 1976, when we were still living in Sarnia, he was there.
Discovering Jordan B. Peterson
A common refrain among those who are taken by Peterson is that he says things that they've always known but didn't know how to express. That's certainly true for me. There has been no radical change in my beliefs, just a deepening.
Creation: Creativity and Logos
In the beginning, there was nothing, but God. God is good. So God created a universe, chock full of potential and form, where once it had been formless and empty. Creation continued for a very long time and continues to this day.
By Grace Alone
But I am blessed. I have experienced this-worldly salvation and power throughout my life. I attribute it to God. It is indeed by God's help that I am where I am -- this I confess, and for this I thank God.
The van der Laan Venture (PDF)
Memoirs of Harm and Dina van der Laan. A printed book made available here in a PDF flip-book viewer.
Seerveld on Genevan Psalmody
The Gift of Genevan psalmody for today sprung from its historical context. Calvin Seerveld
speaking about Genevan Psalm 47 as sung by the Pax Christi Chorale