Podcasts about Nanaimo

This week we head to Hockeytown to take a look at the 2007-08 Detroit Red Wings, a team that may have been the last great dynasty of the salary cap era. With Lidstrom, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Holmstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall, Franzen, Cleary and Osgood, plus the sage leadership of Chelios, Hasek, Draper and Maltby - the Wings sipped from Lord Stanley once again, defeating a young Sid The Kid!Next, we ask why Stevie Y, why?  The Red Wings legend stepped away as Red Wings GM seemingly out of the blue and we wonder why now, and what's next? We also get into Cole Perfetti's new deal, a bunch of other RFA signings, debate the rise of the NHL schedule reveal, and congratulate Uncle Fester on landing in Montreal as an assistant coach.In the third, we answer a great question from listener Justin in Nanaimo, and rip into the final Parkhurst Pack Attack - plus we talk Wax Pack Tournament plans, which all goes down next week!

Monique Anstee from The Naughty Dogge in Victoria, BC, chats with Melody Shaw from Kuri K9 Trail and Train in Nanaimo, BC. They dive into the insights from their recent Bootcamp and Shadow Week experience, and here are some Key Takeaways1. **Atmosphere Matters**: A positive, engaging environment fosters learning.2. **Direct Communication**: Open dialogue enhances understanding and reduces defensiveness.3. **Transformation is Possible**: Both reactive dogs and owners can experience significant growth in a supportive setting.4. **Fun is Essential**: Rediscovering the joy in training leads to better relationships with our dogss.5. **Innovative Techniques**: Embracing new methods can reinvigorate training practices.I hope you enjoy the listen, and please share this podcast with your dog clubs and friends.

Telling the Story: Part 1 Acts 7:1-16 by William Klock Last Sunday, in Acts 6, we saw Stephen confronted as he preached in the synagogue.  We don't know exactly what he was preaching, but from the accusations that were made against him, he was—of course—preaching that Jesus is the Messiah, but must also have been talking about the way in which Jesus and the Spirit fulfil God's promises to Israel, the law and the prophets, the torah and the temple.  We can surmise that, because what they accuse him of is saying blasphemous things against God in general and specifically against Moses.  They accuse him of saying that Jesus will destroy the temple and change the customs that Moses had handed down to them.  We can surmise this, too, because this is what we've been hearing Peter preach in the earlier parts of Acts.  Never in the early church do we see the apostles or anyone else just launching into a sermon about Jesus.  They always and consistently preach Jesus as part of the story of the God of Israel and his people.  That's important.  In fact, it's critical; it's essential.  Leave out the story that leads to Jesus and you just may lose Jesus himself.  That's what happened with Marcion of Sinope back in the Second Century.  His was one of the very first heresies the church had to confront.  He threw away the Old Testament.  He believed the God of the Old Testament was an evil, sadistic god and not the same God we see in the New.  So he just unhitched the Old Testament and left it behind.  And that heresy has been cropping up throughout church history in one form or another ever since.  A few years ago, ex-evangelical pastor, Andy Stanley, caused a big stir when he preached that the church has to unhitch itself from the Old Testament.  Even if we don't cut out the Old Testament from our Bibles, even if we cherish the Old Testament, if we lose the story it contains, we're going to get ourselves into trouble.  Men like Tertullian and Justin Martyr addressed Marcion and he was eventually excommunicated.  The church would always hold tenaciously to the Old Testament.  But it wasn't even a hundred and fifty year later that we started to undermine its story-telling.  As the church became increasingly dominated by gentiles, we started to read the Old Testament (and the New), not as the story of the God of Isreal and his people, but as a book of moral allegories and of types that pointed to Jesus.  We flattened it out and made it abstract.  We “spiritualised” it.  We knew the story of the God of Isreal and his people was there, but we denigrated it.  That was the simplest, the least important, the least “spiritual” way to read the Bible.  And by the grace of God we didn't lose the gospel, but gradually we started putting the em-PHA-sis in the wrong places. What we see in the Bible, in the Gospels, in the teaching of Jesus, and in the teaching of the apostles in their epistles, and in the examples we see through Acts, is that the good news about Jesus is deeply rooted in the Old Testament and in Israel's story.  You cannot separate the old and the new.  The story tells us the problem of human sin and rebellion and of the corruption of Gods' good creation.  The story shows us how God has stepped into the world to set it to rights.  The story shows—long before we ever get to Jesus—the goodness and faithfulness of God.  The story shows why the Israelites could and should trust the God who spoke through Moses and the Prophets—and eventually through Jesus and the apostles.  The story prepared them—and it prepares us—for Jesus, for his death and his resurrection and his ascension and his kingdom and it prepares us to know the Spirit and to be the temple, purified by the blood of Jesus and made a dwelling place for God, to be a the truly heaven-on-earth people God had promised to make Israel; to be the beginnings, the firstfruits of his new creation, his new age, his kingdom. That's what Stephen was getting at when he reminded his fellow Jews about the day when Jesus had said that he would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days.  It wasn't about the end of Moses or torah or temple; it was about fulfilling them.  They were signposts point into God's future—a future in which God would live with his people, not in a building, but actually in them, and a future in which the law would no longer be carved on stone tablets, but written on human hearts.  But they refused to hear.  They drummed up false witnesses and they dragged Stephen before the Sanhedrin, the governing body of the Jews.  Look at Acts 7.  [Page 1086 in the pew Bibles.]  Having been dragged before the Sanhedrin, “The high priest addressed Stephen.  ‘Are these things true?' he said.  ‘Brothers and fathers, hear me,' replied Stephen.  ‘The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he moved to live in Haran.'” Let me pause there.  Notice how Stephen is going all the way back to the beginning.  He speaks first of the God of glory, which might not seem very important to us, but it's noteworthy that “God of glory” is not a common way to speak of God in the Old Testament.  In fact, Psalm 29:3 is the only place this title is used.  On the one hand, I suspect Stephen uses it to make the point that he has no interest in denigrating or blaspheming the God of Irael.  Stephen is invested in proclaiming the glory of God, and that's exactly what he's about to do by reminding them of their own story—and, most importantly, how it ends with Jesus and the Spirit.  But Stephen is also invoking Psalm 29 as it ascribes glory to the God of creation, the God who is enthroned, sovereign over the seas and over the forests, sovereign over the nations, the God who blesses his people as they cry out in his temple, “Glory!”.  This is the God of creation.  And then to mention Abraham in the next breath is to set the opening scene.  God created the heavens and earth.  God created human beings to serve as his stewards and his priests in this creation.  And we rebelled.  We broke it.  We corrupted it.  We introduced darkness where there was supposed to be light.  We drove a great wedge between heaven and earth, between God and man as we claimed his creation for ourselves, to do with as we pleased, to try to rule it as if we are gods ourselves.  To write our own stories instead of living in the one he's given us. And it was into that darkness, into that void in which men and women had lost all knowledge of their creator and had turned to idols, God spoke.  And he called to Abraham.  That call was the beginning of a new story—a story to set creation and to set humanity to rights.  A story that would, one day, culminate in God returning to dwell with his people.  It's the story that everyone in Israel new, inside-out, backwards and forwards, top to bottom.  And yet something had gone wrong in the telling.  Because when God returned, Israel had rejected him.  Because when Stephen proclaimed Jesus and the Spirit, the people accused him of blasphemy. Because as faithful as they were to the story, they hadn't got it quite right.  Remember last week I talked about how you might take a trip to the other side of the country.  You drive your car to Nanaimo, then you leave it there and take a ferry to Horseshoe Bay, then you get off the ferry and take a bus downtown, and then you get off the bus to get on Skytrain to the airport, and then fly in airplane to your final destination.  That journey might break down at any number of points.  We might really, really like to drive our car and we can't bear to think of leaving it parked at the ferry terminal and taking a ferry instead.  And so we refuse to stop driving.  When our friend tells us you can't drive on water, we get angry.  We accuse him of being a car-hater.  We accuse him of saying that cars are bad and evil and no good.  And we wait for the ferry to leave and then we drive full-speed down the ramp and crash into the water and drown.  Not because cars are bad, but because cars were simply never designed to drive across water.  That's what's going on with Stephen's accusers.  Stephen never said that torah or temple were bad things.  They were good things.  They were wonderful, spectacular, glorious gifts of God's great grace.  They were signposts leading Israel to Jesus.  It's just that in this new age, God's given something even better.  There's a new law and a new temple.  Those things were the promise, but now the fulfilment of the promise is here.  But they don't want to hear that. But let's image you managed to transition from car to ferry to bus to Skytrain and you get to the airport, but instead of looking at the departures board to find your gate, you just walked down the concourse.  And you looked for the gate you liked best.  You stopped at one and you looked out the window and on the horizon, across the Strait, you could see Vancouver Island.  And it was comforting and you decided this was the right gate.  You could sit and wait for your plane to Montreal and never lose sight of the Island.  And you waited and waited, but no plane came.  And eventually you asked a gate agent, and she said, “Oh, you're at the wrong gate.  Your flight's leaving from such-and-such gate.”  But you didn't listen.  You liked this gate with the view of home.  And a while later they announced your flight—and the gate—but you ignored it.  Eventually you even heard them page you: “Passenger So-and-so, this is your last call for boarding at gate such-and-such.”  But you just sat there.  This gate was nice.  Everyone else was wrong.  Eventually the plane will come.  And that's what most of Isreal did.  The Messiah came to fulfil the law and the prophets, but people already had their ideas of who and what the Messiah was be and to do.  Because they'd got the story wrong.  Not all wrong.  They'd got to the airport after all, but wrong enough that they were convinced it was this gate, not that one. So Stephen's going to do what Jesus had done and what he'd heard Peter do.  He's going back to the very beginning of the story and he's going to tell it again.  He's going to tell it so they can understand that leaving the car and getting on the ferry doesn't mean you hate cars or think they're evil—and that the same goes for Moses and the Prophets and torah and temple.  And he's going to tell it so that when they do get to the airport, they be willing to trust the departure board and the gate agents and the pages about the right gate—so that they'll see how the story was, all along, leading them to Jesus.  The real key here is to pay attention to the bits of the story that Stephen—inspired by the Holy Spirit—decides to emphasise.  There are a thousand parts to this story, but—Stephen is saying—look at it this way and you can't help but recognise that in Jesus, the Messiah has come. So, again, picking up at verse 2: “The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he moved to live in Haran.  ‘Leave your land and your family,' he said to him, ‘and go to the land which I will show you.'  So he left the land of the Chaldeans and went to live in Haran.  Then, from there, after his father's death, God moved him on to this land in which you now live.  God didn't give him an inheritance here, not even a place to stand up in.  Instead, he promised (when Abraham still had no child) that he would give it as a possession to his seed after him.  This is what God said to him: that his seed would be strangers in a foreign land, that they would serve there as slaves, and that they would be afflicted for four hundred years.  But God said that he would judge the nation that had enslaved them, and that they would then come out and worship him ‘on this mountain'.  And he gave them the covenant of circumcision.  So Abraham became the father of Isaac, and he circumcised him on the eighth day.  Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of the twelve patriarchs.” You can't understand Judaism or Christianity without understanding Abraham.  This is where the story of God's rescue begins.  With this call, God's plan to set the world to rights begins to unfold.  Israel wasn't just some random nation in history.  God's calling Abraham out of the darkness of ignorance and sin and idolatry is what sets the story on its trajectory to Jesus, it's what establishes that this is the story of how God will rescue human beings and fix his creation that we broke.  It's like Stephen is answering the charge of blasphemy by affirming that, no, he is actually affirming the story they knew; he's affirming God's call; he's affirming the special status of Israel.  Just because we also had to take a ferry, doesn't mean the car was a bad thing or that it didn't have a good and useful purpose. And Stephen makes a point of zeroing in on Genesis 15.  That's the part of Genesis where Abraham has been faithful to God and followed him to the holy land, and God responds by establishing his covenant with him.  We see this, too, over and over in the New Testament, especially with Paul in Galatians 3 and Romans 4.  This is a vitally important part of the story that leads us to Jesus.  And so Stephen stresses: God promised the land to Abraham's descendants.  The most Abraham would ever have it was a burial plot that he had purchase.  But after his descendants had been strangers in a foreign land for four hundred years—he's talking about Israel living as slaves in Egypt—he would judge that land and its people, and he would bring Abraham's children out of Egypt to worship him “on this mountain”.  Why was that important?  Because it shows how God works.  He makes promises and he keeps them, but he does so in his own good time.  If Abraham hadn't know better, he might have thought God had failed.  Moses might have said, “I don't think this is what was promised.”  But instead, Abraham trusted.  Instead, Moses believed and followed God as he did a new thing.  And I think that's why Stephen phrases this bit about “on this mountain”—that was originally God's promise to Moses that he would bring the Israelites back to the place where God had met him in the burning bush and they would worship there, but Stephen connects that with the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.  Already—long before Jesus—God was fulfilling his promises in ways that were unexpected.  Mount Sinai points to Mount Zion. For Jews in the First Century, the temple had become a symbol of the land of Israel and of God's promise to Abraham.  That's why they were so angry at Stephen when they thought he was blaspheming the temple and saying it was no good or that it would be destroyed.  You might as well say—in their thinking—that God was going to abandon his promise to Abraham.  So Stephen connects this all together.  He affirms the promise; he affirms the covenant; he affirms God's promise of the land; and most of all he affirms the temple.  Most importantly, what he's doing is affirming that God has called this people and given them a purpose.  Through them he's going to save the world.  They knew that, but they'd muddled the story just enough that they'd got the “how” part of it wrong. Stephen's on his way to Moses now.  We'll look at that part of what he says next week.  There's too much to his speech to cover it all in one sermon.  But on the way to Moses, Stephen pauses.  He needs to remind them of the part of the story about Joseph.  Look at verses 9-16: “Now the patriarchs became angry with Joseph, and were jealous of him.  They sold him into Egypt.  But God was with him, and rescued him from all his troubles an gave him grace and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, making him ruler over Egypt and over all his household.  But then there was a famine over the whole of Egypt and Canaan, which resulted in great hardship.  Our ancestors couldn't find food to eat.  Jacob, however, heard that there was grain in Egypt, and sent our ancestors there on an initial visit.  On their second trip, Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and revealed to Pharaoh what family he was from.  So Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his family, seventy-five people in all.  Jacob came to Egypt and he and our ancestors died there.  They were brought back to Shechem and buried in the tomb which Abraham had bought with silver, at a named price, from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.” Before Stephen gets to Moses, there's Joseph and Joseph's story. Abraham (and Moses as we'll see next week) point to Jesus through their calling and the promises God made to them.  Joseph points to Jesus another way and he's particularly relevant to the current situation.  Joseph was rejected by his brothers, but it was precisely in that rejection that God was work.  It was through his rejection and through Joseph's unjust suffering that God raised him to govern the whole land of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh.  When famine came to Canaan and Egypt, it was Joseph whom his brothers came to for food—the man they'd been jealous of, the man they'd abused, the man they nearly murdered, the man they sold into slavery.  And yet, what happened when they came to Joseph.  Instead of being angry, instead of retaliating, instead of getting revenge, Joseph was gracious.  He wept for joy to see his brothers again and invited them to come and live with him in a land of plenty. I hope that sounds familiar.  I hope you can hear echoes of Jesus there. I can't help but think of the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son and the rejoicing that Jesus says happens in heaven when sinners repent.  I hope you can see in Joseph's story, particularly as Stephen tells it, how God was preparing his people for his son.  This is how God works: through humility, through rejection, through letting sin and evil and human rebellion do their worst, and then rising triumphant.  This is how God works, Stephen declares: He is loving and gracious and merciful toward those he has created.  One day, when he finally finishes the work of setting creation to rights, it'll mean wiping from its face all those who persist in their rebellion, who persist in sin and evil.  God does not rejoice in the destruction of those he loves.  And so he rejoices—just as Joseph did—to welcome the repentant, to welcome those who want to be part of God's new world, to welcome those who come to be washed clean in the blood of Jesus and to be filled with his Spirit, to become new creations themselves, to become part of his new temple.  Stephen's pointing back to Joseph to tell the Sanhedrin: There is grace, there is forgiveness for you too—even for those who cried out “Crucify him!” I suspect there were some men there in that meeting of the Sanhedrin that day who saw where Stephen was going with this.  Like I said, this is as far as we'll go with Chapter 7 today.  It's too much for one sermon.  But the real takeaway from these first sixteen verses is, I think, simply to understand what Stephen, inspired by the Spirit and steeped in the scriptures, is doing here.  This is—or it should be, because it sadly usually isn't—this is the great art of Christian apologetic and Christian preaching and the proclamation of the good news about Jesus.  It's to tell the story of God and his people, to have the wisdom to know which of the thousand and one details is relevant to the immediately situation or immediate audience, and then to tell that story as the story that leads to Jesus as its fulfilment and its climax on the one hand, but that also proclaims God's glory by showing his goodness and faithfulness in the story that brings us to Jesus.  Brothers and Sisters, the Old Testament is not just a collection of useful stories for teaching morals nor is it a collection of allegories that foreshadow Jesus.  It is, first and foremost, the story of how God has been at work to save us and to save his creation from sin and death.  And we need to learn it.  We need to learn it well.  So that we can tell the story in a way that doesn't leave us behind as the ferry sails away or that leads people stranded at the wrong gate at the airport.  We need to tell the story in way that honours the old covenant, torah and temple, but we also need to tell it in a way that reveals Jesus as the fulfilment of them, a story that faithfully follows the signposts as they lead us to Jesus and to the Spirit, to the cross and to the empty tomb, to the ascension and to the creation of this new temple, not made of stones, but made of people washed clean by Jesus and filled with God's own Spirit.  We need to learn to tell the story so it gives glory to God for his goodness and faithfulness, for his grace and mercy, not just when we get to the part about Jesus, but at every step of the way: from Abraham to Joseph to Moses to David to Jesus—and then to you and to me, and to those who are lost and whom God so longs to rejoice over. Let's pray: Father, in the Collect we acknowledged your goodness and your promises that exceed all we can desire.  Remind us always that we know your goodness, because we know your story.  Capture our hearts and minds, we pray, by the glory of that story, that we might immerse ourselves in it, that we might meditate on it, that we might in habit it, and that we might tell it over and over and over until the whole world knows your glory.  Through Jesus our Lord, through the one who embodies your glory in all its fullness, we pray.  Amen.

The Face of an Angel Acts 6 by William Klock I hate doing administration stuff.  I'm really glad that John handles our finances so well and makes sure all our bills get paid.  I don't like filling out annual parish reports and get annoyed when I have fill out one for ACNA and another for the REC.  Why can't they just ask the same questions and share the information?  Our church register is stuffed with Post-It notes going back five or six years so I know what to enter in it whenever I eventually get around to sitting down to make all the entries for baptisms, deaths, weddings, membership, and all of that.  And I wonder if Peter had his own First Century Post-It note system for dealing with the dreaded admin work that was perpetually threatening to cut in on his preaching and praying.  Because that's what we come to in Acts 6.  The church has been growing quickly.  There's something like 5,000 Christians in Jerusalem.  We don't know how they were organised.  We know that the apostles and presumable some others regularly spent time in the temple.  But they met together in their homes.  Were they divided into what we might think of as “churches” or “parishes” with an apostle or two overseeing each—or maybe each apostle overseeing two or three groups?  We don't know.  But what we do know is that the twelve apostles were overseeing everything.  They were preaching, they were teaching, they were praying, they were pastoring, they were making sure everyone's needs were met.  And it got to be too much, even for twelve of them.  I get that.  I have a friend who pastors a Baptist church of about 950.  They figured out thirty years ago that they need one elder to every hundred people or so in order to pastor well.  In Acts we're talking at least 500 church members per apostle.  People started falling through the cracks and complaining.  Look at Acts 6.  [Page 1086 in the pew Bibles.] “Now, in those days when the disciples were increasing in number, the ‘Hellenists' raised a dispute with the ‘Hebrews' because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.” As we've seen in Chapters 2 and 4, these first Christians were very aware that they belonged to a new family and they lived accordingly.  They were the beginnings of Gods new Israel.  The Spirit had filled them with love for each other—the kind of love that torah had always envisioned for the people of Israel—and so they began to live it out.  They fellowshipped with each other.  They shared meals together as Jesus' family and they shared with their brothers and sisters who were in need.  They weren't just overflowing with the love and mercy of Jesus; despite most of them having little, as a people they were overflowing with generosity and abundance. And there were plenty who were truly in need.  Widows would normally be looked after by their own family, but when people joined the church—just as in some parts of the world today—it meant being cut off from their families and the support they once had.  The church suddenly found itself providing for a large number of widows.  Maybe it was a language barrier or maybe it has something to do with social connections, but the Hellenists—the Greek-speaking widows—the ones who had come to Jerusalem from the great Jewish diaspora—they were falling through the cracks.  It surely wasn't deliberate.  It was growing pains.  The sheer scope of the church's charity work had become too much for the twelve to handle efficiently.  So the Greek-speaking members of the church take up their cause with the apostles.  The fact that their fellow “Hellenist' believers take up their cause with the apostles, suggests it was a language problem.  Maybe these widows didn't know how or when to ask for food or where to get it and there were simply so church members, that the apostles were no longer able to know the personal needs of everyone.  Whatever the case, the apostles realise they have to do something.  Luke goes on: “So the twelve called the full number of disciples together.  ‘Listen,' they said, ‘It wouldn't be right for us to leave the word of God to serve tables. So Brothers, choose seven men from amongst yourselves who are well spoken of and filled with the Spirit and wisdom.  We will put them in charge of what needs to be done in this matter.  We will continue to pay attention to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” The apostles knew what their primary calling was.  It was to study and to teach and to preach the word and to pray.  Sure, they could do some other things.  But when those other things became so big that it meant taking significant time away from their ministry of the word and their time in prayer, well, it was time for the church as a whole to pick up the slack.  To sort of quote Paul: God gave some to be apostles and other to—well—to fill the other multitude of roles that need filling in the church.  Some are eyes and ears and mouths, others are hands and feet and finger and toes.  The body needs them all.  And this was common sense.  But it also—and I think Luke deliberately frames it this way—it had precedent in Israel's own story.  Think of Israel in the beginning, in the wilderness, just delivered from Egypt, and Moses trying to rule over a thousand and thousands of people and feeling totally overwhelmed.  Luke wants us to see the fledgling church as the new Israel and so he shows us the apostles in the position of Moses.  It's time to choose some well-respected men from amongst the people to help.  Verse 5: “The whole gathering was pleased with what they said.  They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus (a proselyte from Antioch).  They presented them before the apostles, and having prayed, they laid their hands on them.” It's worth noting: the seven names are Greek names.  One of these men was even a proselyte, meaning he was a gentile who had converted to Judaism and was now a Christian.  Presumably the seven were meant to serve the whole church, but the church chose seven men who were especially able to help with the problem at hand: the Greek-speaking widows.  So the church elects these men, brings them before the apostles for their approval, prays for them, and then it's the church that lays hands on them.  Now, almost every English translation says that it was the apostles that laid hands on these seven, but the Greek text doesn't really bear that out.  It says they, the church, elected the men and brought them to the apostles and there's absolutely nothing in the text that indicates a change of subject before Luke says that “they” laid hands on the men.  The church—probably a representative few—laid hands on the seven, not the apostles. And when we look at what was involved, it suggests even more that it was the church doing the laying on of hands.  There are several words in Hebrew that, in English, all get sort of generically translated as “to lay hands”, but the Hebrew behind the idea here, has the sense of pressing down on something—as if you're sharing or transferring something of yourself to another: your sins to a the scape goat, or the people of Irael “pressing down on” the Levites who will represent them and fill in for their firstborn sons, or Moses pressing his hands down on Joshua and making him his representative and successor.  Remember, the whole point of this is that the apostles knew “serving tables” wasn't their job.  Their job was word and prayer.  It was the job of the wider church to look after the welfare of each other and so it's appropriate that the church not only elects these seven men, but also “ordains” them, if you will. And what were the seven?  Traditionally we've called them deacons.  Deacon comes from the Greek word to serve—in this case to serve (διακονεῖν) tables, which is symbolic of making sure the widows get their charity.  But otherwise, what we see these men doing doesn't look all that much like what we see deacons doing later in the New Testament.  In fact, when the apostles talk about “serving tables”, there's a probably a word play there—“tables” is a banking or accounting term, not just a word for a literal table—that suggests that what these men were really doing was overseeing, administering the distribution of food and, more broadly, the resources of the church.  And if that was the case, they look a lot more like bishops.  I could be wrong, but what I would tentatively suggest, is that these seven men were the first men to be appointed to pastoral office in the church, before that role had split into bishops on the one hand and deacons on the other.  I think these guys were, more or less, both proto-deacons and proto-bishops.  And while their primary duty was to oversee the church's charity, the church chose them because they were full of the Spirit.  And in Acts, what that means is that they were bold and unafraid proclaimers of the good news about Jesus. So, writes Luke in verse 7, because of the apostles could now be devoted to the word to prayer and because these seven men were now ordained to ensure the church was being what the church is supposed to be, “The word of God increased and the number of disciples in Jerusalem multiplied greatly.  This included a large crowd of priests who became obedient to the faith.”  Brothers and Sisters, when the church—the people and the leaders—are boldly proclaiming the word of God and are diligent in prayer, God will multiply it.  We might miss it, but Luke makes the point: It's not us.  We don't grow the church.  It's God.  The power lies with him.  We need to trust his word and we need to proclaim it.  We need to pray and entrust our ministry to him.  Not gimmicks, not money, not all the other things churches often do to try to make themselves effective.  Just preach God's word and pray.  He'll bring fruit from it.  And be patient, because God works on his own schedule, not ours.  And, we might miss it: Luke makes a point of telling us a significant new step in the church's growth: now it's attracted a crowd of priests.  And that would not have gone unnoticed by the leaders of the temple.  Luke doesn't say anything here, but this means the Jewish leaders are getting more concerned, getting more angry, becoming more inclined to violent action. But, first, Stephen's story.  Look at verse 8: “Stephen was filled with grace and power and performed great signs and wonders amongst the people.  But some from the Freemen's Synagogue, as it was named, and from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and Asia stood up and disputed with Stephen.  They could not, however resist the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke.”  Stephen preached in the gospel in the synagogues.  And here's the thing.  Luke makes a point of saying that Stephen wasn't just full of power; he was also full of grace.  We've all heard people speak who are full of power, but are short on grace.  They can be jerks.  Maybe they're right, but just the way they speak makes people angry.  But that's not Stephen.  He's speaking with great grace.  But the folks listening still aren't having any of it.  Not that Palestinian Jews were any more receptive, but Luke kind of gives the sense that maybe these folks—they're all hellenised, diaspora Jews like Stephen—maybe they're overly defensive of their Jewish heritage because they feel deficient in some way for not being Palestinian Jews.  Whatever their motivation, they're angry with what he says and they get even angrier because they couldn't resist him.  And then they get even angrier—we've all seent his happen—they're even angrier, because he's not angry in response. He's full of grace  They couldn't refute what he was saying.  But rather than concede, they dig in and at that point there's only one thing left to do: they make false accusation of blasphemy.  Verse 11: “Then they put up men to say, ‘We heard this man speaking blasphemous words against Moses and against God.'  They aroused the people, the elders, and the scribes.  They set upon him, seized him, and took him in front of the assembly.  They set up false witnesses to say, ‘This man never stops speaking words against this holy place and the law.  We heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses handed down to us.'  Everyone who was sitting in the assembly looked hard at Stephen.  They all saw that his face was like the face of an angel.” It sounds a lot like the accusations against Jesus, when he was accused of saying he would destroy the temple and rebuilt it in three day.  Of course, yes, he said that, but his point was that God was doing something new, that God was about to fulfil his promises, and that God would establish a new temple in which he would come to dwell with his people.  But the Jewish elders didn't hear it that way, not because Jesus wasn't clear, but because they couldn't accept that God was fulfilling his promises through Jesus.  If Jesus was the Messiah, he was doing it all wrong, at least so far as they were concerned.  He couldn't be the one. And now exactly the same thing is happening to Stephen.  We don't have his words, but based on the false accusations against him as well as his defence that will follow in Chapter 7, we have a pretty good idea what he was saying and it was closely related to what Jesus had said.  Just like Jesus, just like Peter, just like the preaching we see through Acts, Stephen told the story of God and his people and how it leads to Jesus. There were four things that were all-important for the Jews and that marked out their identity.  There was the temple; the torah or law; the land of Israel itself and especially Jerusalem, where the temple was; and there was their ethnic identity as Jews—the sons and daughters of Abraham, delivered by God from Egypt when Moses led them through the Red Sea to Mt. Sinai.  Those things marked them out as God's people.  Those things marked them out as separated, as different from the pagan peoples and nations around them.  Compromise those things, and you'd be sliding down a slippery slope into the same idolatry that had got their ancestors exiled to Babylon.  So when Stephen spoke, as any of the Christians would have, about God establishing a new temple or about Jesus fulfilling torah, out came the angry charges of blasphemy. But those first Christians—just like Jesus—were never attacking the temple or the law.  The problem was that Israel—despite knowing her own story so well and so thoroughly—had forgotten where it was going and then failed to recognise how Jesus was bringing it to its climax.  When Jesus or when Peter or when Stephen said that God was doing a new thing, what people like the priests and the scribes, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, people like Saul of Tarsus heard was that these Jesus people were saying was the law and the temple were bad. What Stephen (like Jesus and Peter before him) was trying to say is that the word of God tells a story and that this story was moving forward and, as it moved forward, new things would happen.  This didn't mean that the old things that had happened were bad.  Just the opposite!  They were good.  They were necessary to get the story to the point it's at now.  Imagine you take a trip to Montreal.  First you drive your car to Nanaimo to get to the ferry, then you take the ferry to Horseshoe Bay, then you get off the ferry and get on a bus that takes you downtown, where you take SkyTrain to the airport, where you finally board an airplane that flies you across the country.  The fact that you left your car parked in Nanaimo to get on a ferry or that you left Skytrain to get on an airplane or even that you stopped travelling once you arrived in Montreal, none of that means that the car or the ferry or the bus or the airplane or even the trip itself was bad.  You couldn't get where you are without them!  And, just so, God gave Israel the law.  God gave Israel the temple.  And they were good things.  They were necessary things.  They were gracious things.  They were things that prepared the people for and brought them to the part of the story where Jesus became a part of it. But they tuned this part out.  Some modern Christians do the same.  I'm not sure where it comes from.  Maybe it comes from listening to Luther with only one ear.  But we get the idea that the old covenant was a bad thing.  People will get the wrong idea that the old covenant was about being saved by works and that's why Israel refused Jesus, who came to offer salvation by grace.  A thousand time, no.  If that's what Stephen had been saying, the Jews would have been right to be angry with him, because he would have been wrong.  The status of God's people has never been because of works; it has always been because of grace.  That's part of how the old covenant prepared people and led them to the part of the story where Jesus enters. Other times we just ignore God's story altogether and try to write our own.  But what's often even more dangerous is when we know God's story to a point, but then we lock it down and refuse to let him take it in a new direction.  We do that.  And that's what these folks mad at Stephen are doing.  Jesus just couldn't be where the story they knew was heading; instead, Jesus became a threat to their version of the story. And yet Stephen persisted.  Even as they dragged him before the Sanhedrin with a slate of false witnesses against him.  And think about that.  They're convinced they're in the right.  They're convinced that they represent God and everything that is good and right and true.  They think they're the heaven on earth people.  And yet what do that they do in response to his preaching?  They lie. By their actions they condemn themselves.  And in contrast stands Stephen.  For all his speaking with power, he's full of grace.  And as he stands before the Sanhedrim, as false witness after false witness testified against him, the Spirit, God, transforms—almost transfigures him—to the point that the whole assembly is left staring at him.  Luke says his face became like the face of an angel. As far as literal appearance, I don't know what that means.  But the important thing is that everyone recognised what was happening and in that moment, the Spirit revealed Stephen—and along with him the church—for what he, what they, what we really are: In that moment Stephen was revealed as the face of Jesus' heaven on earth people.  He was actively part of the church living out heaven on earth.  He was preaching the good news about Jesus and he is the fulfilment of God's promise to bring heaven and earth back together.  And in the middle of this controversy, in the middle of the false accusations, in the middle of these men who, despite all the evidence, were digging in their heels and refusing to accept the message about Jesus, refusing to let God lead the story they new so well in a new direction, God himself vindicated Stephen and made him a manifestation of heaven on earth.  Stephen was full of the Spirit, a little temple in miniature full of God's presence.  As if the shekinah—the cloud of glory visibly representing God's presence that had been missing from the temple ever since Israel's exile—suddenly became present with Stephen.  God announcing: “In this man, in this people, through my son, in this gospel I am fulfilling my promises.  Listen to him.” Brothers and Sisters, this should be a picture of us.  The bit where Stephen was transfigured and looked like an angel—whatever that means—that was unique.  But the rest of it, that ought to be us.  A people committed to be a covenant family, not just overflowing with talk of love and grace and mercy, but a family of people where love and grace and mercy are abundant in real, practical ways.  A family where we make a point of doing what needs doing to make sure that nothing gets in the way of that love and grace and mercy.  We ought to be a people of word and of prayer who are bold for the gospel, because we know that the power lies not with us, but with God.  His word, not ours, brings life.  His Spirit has the power to renew minds and regenerate hearts.  And so we pray, entrusting ourselves and our ministry to him and we proclaim not our word, but his.  We tell the story that leads the world to Jesus.  And if we're doing all these things, that word, that story will have power, but our telling of it will also be full of grace. The world, the flesh, and the devil will do their worst.  People will dig in their heels.  People will tell lies about us and about the story and the good news we proclaim.  People may even violently persecute us one day.  But remember: It's all of grace.  The story that leads us through the law and the prophets, through torah and temple, is all about the grace of God towards rebellious sinners, and so is the story that leads to forgiveness and life with God, the story that leads us to Jesus and the Spirit and eventually to the New Jerusalem.  Brothers and Sisters, it's all of grace.  Live the story of God's grace and the light of heaven will permeate the church.  Proclaim the story of God's grace, and that light will being to permeate the world. Let's pray: Lord, fill us with your grace.  And don't just fill us with it; ensure that we're ever and always overwhelmed by the knowledge and understanding of your grace, so that we will live it out in practical terms as your church and so that we will go out with boldness to proclaim your good news, not to win arguments, but make your grace known.  Through Jesus we pray.  Amen.

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from feeding lunchmeat to a baby. Dr. Don - risky ☣️ Professor Ben - risky ☣️

One of the most closely watched decisions of the year came down today from the U.S. Supreme Court. Surrey is getting a new arena. This 10,000-seat venue would become the Vancouver Giants' new home. A Nanaimo woman has been reunited with a cherished ring thanks to some school staff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gina Moore of Nanaimo came to the defense of her dwarf goats by kicking a wild cougar. Jill shares the story of a harrowing experience while caught in the middle of a police pursuit. One of the rarest marine animals on the planet was spotted off the B.C. coast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Too often, when people talk about Jewish life in Canada, they are really talking about Jewish life in Toronto and Montreal. But the truth is more than a quarter of Jewish Canadians live outside those cities. Yes, many still live in large cities, but Jews live in mid-sized and smaller communities, from the coasts of Nanaimo, B.C., to Sydney, N.S. These communities have a different texture, richness, set of challenges, and needs than those in the largest Jewish population centres. Today on Not in Heaven, our resident rabbis talk about some of the work happening to support Jewish life and leadership in smaller communities. We'll discuss the Jewish Federation of British Columbia's Community Connector program, which partners with local Jewish leaders across the province to facilitate whatever Jewish culture looks like in their grassroots community, and the Shalom Hartman Institute's Courageous Leadership Canada Initiative, which brought together lay and professional leaders from small and mid-sized communities to study, collaborate, and reflect on common challenges. Credits Hosts: Avi Finegold, Yedida Eisenstat, Matthew Leibl Production team: Zachary Judah Kauffman (editor), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Socalled Support The CJN Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to Not in Heaven (Not sure how? Click here )

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - At their June 11 meeting, the Electoral Areas Service Committee (EASC) heard a staff report on tiny home initiatives in the Regional District of Nanaimo. This followed an ongoing discussion that began with a motion from Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney of Area C last November. Director Mawhinney: “I noticed that in other regional districts, temporary use permits are being used for a variety of purposes—potentially to permit tiny homes as long-term temporary accommodation, if you want to call it that. “I couldn't find a policy, or even an application form, for a temporary use permit at the SRD. I'm wondering if we could have a report on our current policy on temporary use permits, and also how they're used in other regional districts.” John Rice (Regional Director of Area D):“I'm curious about the use of temporary use permits. My understanding is that the province is already moving toward new legislation for small-footprint homes. I believe that the Cowichan Valley is accepting them, so I'm not sure why we want to explore temporary use permits if the province is moving to make this more legal anyway. I could be wrong.” Director Mawhinney: “Well, I haven't heard that—that's great news. The reason I was interested in temporary use permits as a potential solution for housing is because I've witnessed in my community that someone is willing to offer a place for a tiny home to be used as a home temporarily, and then they have to tell the tiny home owner they can't live there because their home insurance won't permit it on their property. “I've been wondering whether a temporary use permit—typically available for up to three years, with the possibility of renewal—could provide more legal assurance for insurance companies. That, in turn, might expand the possibility of providing non-traditional housing options in our electoral areas.” Gerald Whalley (Regional Director of Area A): “So, just to confirm—are these smaller than a typical mobile home?” Director Mawhinney: “I think they often fall under the RV category because they're on wheels. They aren't always on wheels, but they often are. Mobile homes are on wheels—that's why they're mobile. But I think mobile homes are often moved and then the wheels are removed and the unit is anchored to the ground. It just seems like there are a lot of questions that staff could answer.”

What happens when you lean into your curiosity, notice the little joys, and get playful? Today on Now or Never, Ify Chiwetlu and Trevor Dineen find out why intentional whimsy might just be necessary. After feeling stuck, Toronto's Chara Ho decided she didn't want life passing her by. She's now on a mission to find her spark again, by challenging herself to do something new every day. Ify Chiwetelu joins her on her latest adventure.He was rescued from a pile of parts, became a Nanaimo neighbourhood celebrity, survived a mysterious disappearance, and even found love. Meet Gunner, the mannequin draped across Brian and Terry Neevay's fence, who proves small acts of joy can have a big impact. “To have whimsy you need safety and silliness,” said Eddie Ayoub, artistic director of Art City, a non-profit community centre run by artists in Winnipeg's West Broadway neighbourhood. Imagine a place full of paint, fabric,and art supplies where everyone is welcome to come and create. Today they're preparing for their annual parade that injects whimsy into a community that needs it.When a mysterious orange line of paint showed up in his Toronto neighbourhood one day, Pete Morey and his 7-year-old daughter set off on an adventure to follow the line, and try to solve the mystery of who's behind it.

After years of construction work, new shelter space is expected to open this month in downtown Nanaimo. The Salvation Army Centre of Hope is located at 19 Nicol St. Formerly known as the New Hope Centre, it houses a shelter and other support programming. Construction has been ongoing since 2023 for a new four story […]

Yegg are a Nanaimo-based death metal band that has quickly emerged as one of the most vital and aggressive metal acts from the burgeoning Vancouver Island scene, making the finals of the Wacken Metal Battle contest and making their first appearance at the Armstrong Metal Festival in 2025. Listen in as vocalist Kephren Jorgensen and guitarist Kyden McCormick talk frogs, the story of Carl Panzram, and recording their debut LP Rotten with storied Vancouver producer Matt Roach.Once More With Feeling is a new series made by James Olson, producer Felix Fung of Little Red Sounds, and a talented videography team. Available now, only on YouTube with new episodes every other week.Keep up with the show on Facebook and Instagram.Credits: Hosted and produced by James Olson. Edited and mixed by Will Chernoff. Powered by Chernoff Music.

Cam and Christa Moore didn't have a launch team, a big budget, or a perfect plan. What they had was a clear call from God—and the courage to say yes.In this episode, they share their journey from the Bible Belt to Nanaimo, British Columbia—one of the most irreligious cities in Canada—and what it looks like to plant a church from scratch through simple faithfulness.From prayer walking neighborhoods to starting conversations with strangers and opening their home to anyone who walks through the door, the Moores are discovering that obedience isn't glamorous—but it's powerful.If you've ever wondered what it looks like to follow God into the unknown, this conversation will both challenge and inspire you.

In Episode 136, we explain why Nanaimo, British Columbia got our 2026 Municipal Muzzle Award for censoring Ben Bankas' comedy show, and we explain the status of Bill C-9, which would chill religious speech and may now also outlaw residential school 'denialism.'Stories and cases discussed in this week's episode:CCF's Municipal Muzzle Award Calls Out Nanaimo for Cancelling Comedy (TheCCF.ca)Share Your Thoughts With Nanaimo City Council (CCF Letter Writing Campaign)Nanaimo's Port Theatre cancels controversial comedian's show (CHEK)Bill C-9 amended to criminalize "residential school denialism" (Juno)Criminalizing denialism is not the path to truth (Globe and Mail)CCF Petition: Tell the Senate to Fix Bill C-9 (TheCCF.ca/fixbillc9)Not Reserving Judgment is a podcast about Canadian constitutional law hosted by Josh Dehaas, Joanna Baron, and Christine Van Geyn, with help from Alexander Surgenor.The show is brought to you by the Canadian Constitution Foundation, a non-partisan legal charity dedicated to defending rights and freedoms. To support our work, visit theccf.ca/donate.

Yo Bro Yo Girl co-founder Joe Calendino is working to prevent young people from leading the life he used to live. A few decades back, Calendino was a full patch member of the Hell's Angels. Dealing with drug addiction, and involved in a high profile fight in a Kelowna casino in 2005, he was kicked […]

Matthew investigates the under-construction STACK data centre at 3650 Danforth Avenue in Scarborough, two miles from his home, tracing what he finds through concentric circles of capital, neglect, hype, and deception. When complete, the 56MW hyperscale facility will draw the power of 50K Ontario homes. But it was built without public consultation, environmental monitoring, or any info on who the tenants will be. Its financing and ownership details track back through a web of investment firms with connections to both the Ford (provincial) and Carney (federal) governments. Show Notes STACK Infrastructure — About National Observer — One data centre or one million homes? Mapping Ontario's proposed hyperscaler boom Dirty Data — Environmental Reporting Collective ASME — Data Centre Ambient Heat Study, May 2026 Environment Canada — Heat Warnings City of Toronto — R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant Ontario Environmental Registry — Bill 40 Toronto City Council — Motion MM39.47 Democracy Now! — Karen Hao Interview AI Resist List Data Center Watch Indigenous Insider — Kevin O'Leary and Wonder Valley Parksville Qualicum News — BC Greens oppose Nanaimo data centre AI is Capital - Jodi's Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gabriola Island Travel Guide: British Columbia's Peaceful Gulf Island Escape + Camping, Cafes & BeachesIn this immersive episode of the Winging It Travel Podcast, I head over to beautiful Gabriola Island in British Columbia for a peaceful weekend of camping, beaches, coffee shops, sunsets, ferries, and slow island living. Located just off the coast of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, Gabriola is one of BC's hidden gems and the perfect nature escape from Vancouver.Gabriola Island is a scenic, tranquil Gulf Island in British Columbia, Canada, located just a 25-minute ferry ride from Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. Known as the "Isle of the Arts," the island is celebrated for its lush forests, rugged coastline, and vibrant community of working artists.This episode is a mix of travel guide, solo storytelling, and immersive soundscape audio as I share exactly how to get to Gabriola Island, ferry costs, campsite information, what to do on the island, where to eat and drink coffee, and why this laid-back Gulf Island completely won me over.From camping at Descanso Bay Regional Park and relaxing at Sandwell Provincial Park to visiting local cafes like Mad Rona's and Ground Up Cafe, this trip was packed with wholesome moments, nature, and plenty of ocean views. I also share practical travel tips, ferry advice from Horseshoe Bay and Nanaimo, and honest thoughts on whether Gabriola Island is worth visiting.If you're planning a weekend getaway in British Columbia, looking for Gulf Islands travel inspiration, or simply want an immersive travel podcast experience, this episode is for you.Support Winging It Travel PodcastIf you enjoyed this episode:⭐ Leave a 5-star rating or review on your podcast app☕ Support the show at buymeacoffee.com/wingingit

Harbinger Showcase is a weekly podcast featuring highlights from Canada's #1 coast-to-coast community of politically and socially progressive podcasts. On this episode we explain how the new NATO-aligned global weapons bank will make Canada's economy reliant on endless war on THE BREACH SHOW, ask what Avi Lewis's Win Means for Socialists on VICTOR'S CHILDREN, explore strategies for countering authoritarianism on a visceral level on MOBILIZING DATA FOR JUSTICE and subjects ourselves to favourite books of United Conservative Party ministers and Western Standard columnists in search of the intellectual basis for justifying an independent nation on ALBERTA ADVANTAGE.The Harbinger Media Network includes 89 podcasts focused on social, economic and environmental justice and featuring journalists, academics and activists on shows like The Breach Show, Tech Won't Save Us, Press Progress Sources & more.Harbinger Showcase is syndicated to community and campus radio and heard every week on CKUT 90.3FM in Montreal, at CFUV 101.9FM in Victoria, at CIVL 101.7FM in Abbotsford, at CHLY 101.7FM in Nanaimo, on CJUM 101.5FM and CKUW 95.9FM in Winnipeg, at CiTR 101.9FM, CJSF 90.1FM and at CFRO 100.5FM in Vancouver, at Hamilton's CFMU 93.3FM, at Radio Laurier in Waterloo, at CJTM 1280AM in Toronto, at CJAM 99.1FM in Windsor and at CJBU 107.3FM in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Find out more about the network, subscribe to the weekly newsletter and support our work at harbingermedianetwork.com.

Harbinger Showcase is a weekly podcast featuring highlights from Canada's #1 coast-to-coast community of politically and socially progressive podcasts. On this episode we meet new journalism co-op Defacto on THE NORTH STATE, learn how to defend democracy across borders with Progressive International's David Adler on The Broadbent Institute's PERSPECTIVES, talk about what bold ecosocialist policy looks like with BC Green Party leader Emily Lowan on SRSLY WRONG and unpack how Alberta's unique relationship with Charter Schools relates to broader changes happening in the province's public education system on ALBERTA ADVANTAGE.The Harbinger Media Network includes 89 podcasts focused on social, economic and environmental justice and featuring journalists, academics and activists on shows like The Breach Show, Tech Won't Save Us, Press Progress Sources & more.Harbinger Showcase is syndicated to community and campus radio and heard every week on CKUT 90.3FM in Montreal, at CFUV 101.9FM in Victoria, at CIVL 101.7FM in Abbotsford, at CHLY 101.7FM in Nanaimo, on CJUM 101.5FM and CKUW 95.9FM in Winnipeg, at CiTR 101.9FM, CJSF 90.1FM and at CFRO 100.5FM in Vancouver, at Hamilton's CFMU 93.3FM, at Radio Laurier in Waterloo, at CJTM 1280AM in Toronto, at CJAM 99.1FM in Windsor and at CJBU 107.3FM in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Find out more about the network, subscribe to the weekly newsletter and support our work at harbingermedianetwork.com.

Svitlana Kominko, co‑founder and CEO of Maple Hope Foundation, describes the Heal a Mother's Heart campaign and the organization's extensive bereavement support work for mothers and widows of Ukraine's fallen. A major component of this campaign is Ukrainian-designed silk scarves, which help to raise funds for this critical work.She also discusses the program's community‑building, its support for women experiencing loss, and the upcoming charity webinar featuring well-known American grief educator Joanne Steen.To support the important work of Maple Hope Foundation visit their website here.---------------------Originally broadcast on Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio in Vancouver on May 2, 2026, and in Nanaimo on May 6, 2026.--------------------Subscribe to the podcast and share it with others to stay connected to new episodes. You can hear the full weekly broadcast on MixCloud, and please visit our online home nashholos.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In This Episode: What happens when a trusted source of information challenges something you've built your entire worldview around? Seryna is mid-certification in somatic psychedelic integration when a single quote stops her in her tracks — and sends her straight to the microphone. In this honest, unscripted solo episode, she unpacks the question she didn't expect to be asking: is personal transformation the same thing as spiritual awakening, or are they genuinely different paths? And more importantly — does it even matter? This episode is about challenging your assumptions, holding your truth without needing to recruit anyone else to it, and what it really means to teach from a place of integrity rather than certainty. What You'll Discover: The quote from Seryna's psychedelic integration training that made her stop everything and hit record The key distinction between personal transformation and spiritual awakening — and the metaphor that makes it click Why willingness may be more powerful than any framework, lineage, or method you could follow Where shadow work lives in relation to both paths — and why it's the place the lines start to blur The responsibility that comes with having a platform, even a small one, and why Seryna is committed to teaching rather than preaching How to receive information that challenges your beliefs without needing to make the other person wrong Episode Highlights: 00:32 - The certification moment that launched this episode 02:15 - Is personal work the same as spiritual transformation? Seryna's honest answer 04:00 - Renovating the house vs. asking who the homeowner is 06:10 - Why willingness matters more than method 07:45 - Shadow work: where personal and spiritual paths start to blur 10:00 - Calling herself out: the assumptions she's been making as a teacher 12:30 - The Kyle Gray retreat and the room that couldn't let him be wrong 16:00 - Your permission slip to hold your truth and let others hold theirs 19:00 - Seryna's invitation: how do you define the distinction? On Assumptions, Frameworks, and Trusting Your Knowing: There's a quote that landed in Seryna's training notes and wouldn't let go: humans are born with an innate capacity to heal from trauma, and healing can become a catalyst for profound personal and spiritual transformation. For most people, that sentence flows right by. For Seryna, it stopped everything — because she realized she'd been treating "personal" and "spiritual" transformation as the same thing, without ever stopping to ask if that was actually true for everyone. The distinction, when she unpacks it, comes down to this: personal transformation is about working on the self — healing patterns, integrating wounds, changing behaviours. Spiritual awakening is about questioning the self doing that work. One is renovating the house. The other is asking who the homeowner even is. And she's clear: neither is deeper or more advanced than the other. They're different in intention and framework, not in value. But here's where it gets really interesting. Seryna argues that willingness — the genuine, uncomfortable, embodied kind — may be the most powerful force in either path. Someone who has never opened a spiritual text but is willing to sit honestly with their own suffering might access something that a seasoned practitioner chasing peak experiences cannot. Because intellectualizing without integration is just another form of bypassing. And then there's shadow work, which is where the lines between personal and spiritual start to blur completely. Surface-level, it begins as personal inquiry. But follow it deep enough — into the exiled emotions, the lineage, the systemic threads — and something much larger starts to crack open. What this episode is really about, though, is what Seryna does next. She doesn't double down. She doesn't dismiss the challenge to her worldview. She sits with it, examines it, and shows up to share the messy middle of that process — not because she's changed her mind, but because her responsibility as a teacher is to be transparent about what she knows to be true without assuming it's true for everyone. That's the teaching underneath the teaching: you can be secure enough in your own knowing that someone else's different truth doesn't threaten yours. Resources Mentioned: Somatic Integration of Psychedelics certification (currently in progress) Energetic Consent — Seryna's upcoming book (final touches in progress) Sacred Anger (previous book) Free Unshakeable Self Starter Kit Continue Your Journey: Deep Dive: Ready for transformational coaching? Apply to work with Seryna Explore In-Person: Energy healing, angel readings, and spiritual guidance at Golden Soul Sanctuary in Nanaimo, BC Join Community: Monthly gatherings and events for local seekers Connect: Follow Seryna on Instagram or Tiktok @serynamyers for inspiration, behind-the-scenes moments, and daily tools for stepping into your power

On this weeks podcast I have a 5th generation Shellfish Farmer, Malindi Taylor. The Taylor name is synonymous with some of the best oysters in the Pacific Northwest and they also own and run Fanny Bay Oysters, their shellfish farm north of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. They also own and operate many restaurants in Washington and in Vancouver. The one here is Fanny Bay Oyster Bar & Shellfish Market. The best place for fresh oysters and a bottle of wine in town. I hope you enjoy my chat with Malindi and get a glimpse of her unbridled passion for the business and all things shellfish. Send us your feedback

Are we raising funds for this great campus and community radio station this week?Oh baby for sure!  We'll talk a little bit about the 1969 California Golden Seals - but then we're jumping right into the pledge talk!  We've got all sorts of awesome hockey related prize packs from our pals at Garage League, Apuckalypse and Bag Skate Hockey Club, tonnes of vintage books and packs of cards, Talkin' Hockey shirts and stickers - and even a ticket to join Tom and I at a Jets game.  Are you Crankin' The Coffey or are you Beatin' The Babych - get your cash together and make a pledge before Friday at 8PM!Teebz from The Hockey Show and Jingleman Justin from Nanaimo join us to talk Playoffs thus far, and we go over the OT goal that may have buried the Oilers - plus we've got the Parkhurst Pack Attack and an update on the Talkin' Hockey Playoff Pool!and since it's Pledge-O-Rama - The Hockey Song served up 4 ways for your listening pleasure!

Harbinger Showcase is a weekly podcast featuring highlights from Canada's #1 coast-to-coast community of politically and socially progressive podcasts. On this episode we discuss the surging attacks on Indigenous rights in British Columbia and across Canada on THE BREACH SHOW, investigate the ways AI impacts our lives and the environment on BERRYGROUNDS, explore the importance of the Palestinian Exception to on-campus repression on STUDENT POWER and look at how Referendum questions fuel anti-immigrant feeling in Alberta on REDEYE.The Harbinger Media Network includes 89 podcasts focused on social, economic and environmental justice and featuring journalists, academics and activists on shows like The Breach Show, Tech Won't Save Us, Press Progress Sources & more.Harbinger Showcase is syndicated to community and campus radio and heard every week on CKUT 90.3FM in Montreal, at CFUV 101.9FM in Victoria, at CIVL 101.7FM in Abbotsford, at CHLY 101.7FM in Nanaimo, on CJUM 101.5FM and CKUW 95.9FM in Winnipeg, at CiTR 101.9FM, CJSF 90.1FM and at CFRO 100.5FM in Vancouver, at Hamilton's CFMU 93.3FM, at Radio Laurier in Waterloo, at CJTM 1280AM in Toronto, at CJAM 99.1FM in Windsor and at CJBU 107.3FM in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Find out more about the network, subscribe to the weekly newsletter and support our work at harbingermedianetwork.com.

Are we raising funds for this great campus and community radio station this week?Oh baby for sure!  We'll talk a little bit about the 1969 California Golden Seals - but then we're jumping right into the pledge talk!  We've got all sorts of awesome hockey related prize packs from our pals at Garage League, Apuckalypse and Bag Skate Hockey Club, tonnes of vintage books and packs of cards, Talkin' Hockey shirts and stickers - and even a ticket to join Tom and I at a Jets game.  Are you Crankin' The Coffey or are you Beatin' The Babych - get your cash together and make a pledge before Friday at 8PM!Teebz from The Hockey Show and Jingleman Justin from Nanaimo join us to talk Playoffs thus far, and we go over the OT goal that may have buried the Oilers - plus we've got the Parkhurst Pack Attack and an update on the Talkin' Hockey Playoff Pool!and since it's Pledge-O-Rama - The Hockey Song served up 4 ways for your listening pleasure!

In This Episode: What if your anger isn't something to manage, suppress, or spiritually bypass — but one of the most direct pathways to your truth? In this rich conversation, Seryna is joined by clinical herbalist and plant folklore enthusiast Claire Bonin, who blends medicine, mythology, and magic into her work with emotional healing. Together they explore why rage is the language of growth, how herbs can bridge us back into our bodies during intense emotions, and what it actually means to extract wisdom from your anger instead of being consumed by it. There's also a detour into divine feminine goddesses, a very satisfying rant about Deepak Chopra, the one herb Claire recommends for activist burnout, and details on their upcoming collaborative workshop. What You'll Discover: Why herbs aren't tools to treat anger — and what they're actually for How the body became "the final boss" in spiritual development (and why so many of us are still operating neck-up) The difference between acting out of rage and letting rage inform you Why people who've been in profound darkness actually create the most safety for others The Chinese medicine five-element perspective that reframes anger as the energy of growth Divine feminine archetypes of rage: Sekhmet, Kali, and the full mythological arc from destruction to abundance What community witnessing does that one-on-one healing simply can't The best herbal ally for compassion fatigue and burning out on a world that's on fire Episode Highlights: 00:01 - Welcome + introducing Claire Bonin: clinical herbalist, folklore nerd, and Nanaimo legend 02:16 - The anger-embodiment connection: why intense emotions pull us out of our bodies (and herbs as the bridge back) 08:13 - How rage became the focus of Claire's workshops + anger as a portal to your own divinity 18:46 - Anger is the language of growth 22:30 - On Deepak Chopra, the Epstein list, and the abuse of spiritual authority 26:51 - The 4-week workshop as a hero's journey through plant medicine 37:30 - Plant folklore and the archetypes of feminine rage: Sekhmet, Kali, and the full cycle from destruction to abundance 46:45 - Claire's top herbal ally for compassion fatigue + workshop details 50:40 - What does being unshakeable mean to Claire? About Rage as a Pathway to Truth: Most of us were taught that anger is low-vibe, dangerous, or something spiritually evolved people have moved beyond. But both Seryna and Claire know from lived experience — and from sitting across from clients and workshop participants — that the opposite is true. The people who've integrated their darkness create the deepest safety. The emotions we reject most fiercely are the ones most likely to come out sideways. And rage, in particular, carries precise intelligence: it knows what's out of alignment, what boundary has been crossed, what can no longer be tolerated. That doesn't mean living in rage. Claire's workshop is intentionally sequenced — four plants, four weeks — to first nourish the nervous system enough to hold the work, before moving into the more potent territory. The folklore thread running through it matters too. When we have archetypes to anchor to — a Sekhmet, a Kali — we can see that this journey through fire into clarity isn't new. It's ancient. And it's ours to take. This episode is also, quietly, about the courage it takes to stop performing okayness. To show up as you are. To be in community with people who've also been somewhere dark and came back with lanterns instead of lectures. About Claire Bonin: Claire is a clinical herbalist and witch. She has been working with herbs since 2015, graduating with her Community Herbalist Certificate and Diploma of Phytotherapy from Pacific Rim College in 2019. Through each adventure and misadventure life has presented since then, there has always been a herb friend patiently waiting to guide her back home to herself. This love affair with plants is the backbone upon which she has built a following of over 100k on tiktok, and her craving for community, connection, depth, and long form love notes to plants drives the classes and client work she does.   Workshop Details — Rage + Herbalism with Claire Bonin and Seryna Myers*: Online (botanical focus): Fridays in June | 5:00–6:30 PM Pacific | Via Zoom | Herb kit mailed to participants In-Person Nanaimo (botanical + *energetic/emotional work): Sunday mornings in June, 9:30 AM–12:00 PM | Golden Soul Sanctuary Registration details: https://www.markedbyawitch.com/about-5 Resources Mentioned: Claire Bonin's herbal workshops  Sacred Anger — Seryna's book on extracting wisdom from anger Unshakeable Self-Starter Kit — free download  Oat straw / milky oats — Claire's recommended herbal ally for compassion fatigue and activist burnout Continue Your Journey: Deep Dive: Ready for transformational coaching? Apply to work with Seryna Explore In-Person: Energy healing, angel readings, and spiritual guidance at Golden Soul Sanctuary in Nanaimo, BC Join Community: Monthly gatherings and events for local seekers in Nanaimo (and Vancouver Island) Connect: Follow Seryna on Instagram and Tiktok @serynamyers for inspiration, behind-the-scenes moments, and daily tools for stepping into your power Follow Claire: Find her on Instagram and Tiktok @markedbyawitch or visit her website: markedbyawitch.com

Harbinger Showcase is a weekly podcast featuring highlights from Canada's #1 coast-to-coast community of politically and socially progressive podcasts. On this episode we discuss the US and Israel's illegal war on Iran and Lebanon on BUBBLE POP explain how Doug Ford's new FOI law throttles reporting in Ontario on PRESS PROGRESS SOURCES, discuss the strategy behind Prime Minister Mark Carney's push for a majority through floor-crossing on THE NORTH STATE and examine the province's reactionary backlash targeting trans people and children on ALBERTA ADVANTAGE.The Harbinger Media Network includes 89 podcasts focused on social, economic and environmental justice and featuring journalists, academics and activists on shows like The Breach Show, Tech Won't Save Us, Press Progress Sources & more.Harbinger Showcase is syndicated to community and campus radio and heard every week on CKUT 90.3FM in Montreal, at CFUV 101.9FM in Victoria, at CIVL 101.7FM in Abbotsford, at CHLY 101.7FM in Nanaimo, on CJUM 101.5FM and CKUW 95.9FM in Winnipeg, at CiTR 101.9FM, CJSF 90.1FM and at CFRO 100.5FM in Vancouver, at Hamilton's CFMU 93.3FM, at Radio Laurier in Waterloo, at CJTM 1280AM in Toronto, at CJAM 99.1FM in Windsor and at CJBU 107.3FM in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Find out more about the network, subscribe to the weekly newsletter and support our work at harbingermedianetwork.com.

In This Episode: This one might ruffle some feathers – and that's okay. If you're an intuitive, a healer, or anyone who moves in spiritual circles, chances are you've either given or received an unsolicited reading, energy transmission, or prayer. In this episode, Seryna names what the spiritual community doesn't like to talk about: that energetic consent is non-negotiable, and that bypassing it – no matter how gifted or well-meaning you are – is a boundary violation. This is a compassionate but direct conversation about spiritual arrogance, ego in service clothing, and what it actually looks like to honour someone's free will and agency. What You'll Discover: Why "just because you can doesn't mean you should" is the most important principle for intuitives and healers How unsolicited readings – even loving ones – can be destabilizing, intrusive, and even retraumatizing The shadow motivation hiding beneath most unsolicited readings (hint: it's about the reader, not the recipient) Why sending healing energy or prayers without permission is still an energetic boundary violation – and a grace-based workaround What enthusiastic energetic consent actually looks like in practice How professional power dynamics make unconsented readings even more problematic Episode Highlights: 00:32 - The unpopular opinion: why your gift doesn't give you permission 01:14 - What unsolicited readings actually look like (and why we've normalized them) 02:17 - The shadow beneath the service: proving energy and the need to be special 04:05 - Unsolicited readings defined: messages, downloads, and blurred professional lines 06:03 - Sending healing and prayers without consent – and how to use the laws of grace instead 08:23 - Why accessing someone's energy field without permission is a boundary violation 11:24 - Free will as one of our greatest gifts – and what it means to rob someone of it 12:23 - When mediumship gets personal: a real example of destabilization 16:07 - The uncomfortable truth: unsolicited readings are about the reader's ego 18:52 - What enthusiastic energetic consent actually looks like 22:01 - The nuance: spontaneous insight, intuitive relationships, and knowing when not to use your gift 24:51 - Announcement: Due North intuitive development program may be returning this fall About Energetic Consent and the Spiritual Community's Blind Spot: The spiritual community has a consent problem – and the reason no one talks about it is because it's dressed up as love, service, and gift-sharing. When someone stops you to deliver a message from Spirit, or quietly tunes into your energy during a conversation, or sends you healing you didn't ask for, the intention is almost always good. But intention doesn't determine impact. Accessing someone's energy field without permission is a boundary violation. Full stop. It doesn't matter how gifted you are, how accurate the reading might be, or how much you feel called to share what you're receiving. Energy is information – and to read it without consent is to access something intimate that wasn't offered to you. What makes this particularly difficult to address is that the behaviour is often rooted in something we don't want to look at: the need to validate our gifts, to be seen as special, to prove that we have something meaningful to offer. This isn't conscious for most people. These are genuinely heart-centred, service-oriented individuals. But the shadow is there, and when the person whose feelings get hurt over a declined reading, that's the tell – it wasn't really about service at all. Resources Mentioned: Golden Soul Sanctuary – Angel Cafe and intuitive community events in Nanaimo, BC Due North intuitive development program returning this fall – join the waitlist here Continue Your Journey: Deep Dive: Ready for transformational coaching? Apply to work with Seryna Explore In-Person: Energy healing, angel readings, and spiritual guidance at Golden Soul Sanctuary in Nanaimo, BC Join Community: Monthly gatherings and events for local seekers on Vancouver Island Connect: Follow Seryna on Instagram @serynamyers or Tiktok @serynamyers for inspiration, behind-the-scenes moments, and daily tools for stepping into your power.   TAGS: energetic consent, spiritual community, unsolicited readings, intuitive gifts, spiritual arrogance, mediumship, healing ethics, boundaries, personal transformation, spiritual growth, shadow work, unshakeable self

Harbinger Showcase is a weekly podcast featuring highlights from Canada's #1 coast-to-coast community of politically and socially progressive podcasts. On this episode we unpack why the economy is so uneven on SRSLY WRONG, introduce the Catholic roots of Quebec's social democratic tradition on the Broadbent Institute's PERSPECTIVES, explain why public health care advocates are protesting in response to Alberta's new two-tier health care law on REDEYE and celebrate the triumphant return of UNMAKING SASKATCHEWAN.The Harbinger Media Network includes 89 podcasts focused on social, economic and environmental justice and featuring journalists, academics and activists on shows like The Breach Show, Tech Won't Save Us, Press Progress Sources & more.Harbinger Showcase is syndicated to community and campus radio and heard every week on CKUT 90.3FM in Montreal, at CFUV 101.9FM in Victoria, at CIVL 101.7FM in Abbotsford, at CHLY 101.7FM in Nanaimo, on CJUM 101.5FM and CKUW 95.9FM in Winnipeg, at CiTR 101.9FM, CJSF 90.1FM and at CFRO 100.5FM in Vancouver, at Hamilton's CFMU 93.3FM, at Radio Laurier in Waterloo, at CJTM 1280AM in Toronto, at CJAM 99.1FM in Windsor and at CJBU 107.3FM in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Find out more about the network, subscribe to the weekly newsletter and support our work at harbingermedianetwork.com.

Harbinger Showcase is a weekly podcast featuring highlights from Canada's #1 coast-to-coast community of politically and socially progressive podcasts. On this episode we unpack the big Avi Lewis win at last week's NDP leadership convention on THE BREACH SHOW, explain how to save Canadian healthcare on PRESS PROGRESS SOURCES, look back at the repression of pro-Palestinian encampments at University of Calgary and University of Alberta on STUDENT POWER and talk strikes, picket lines, labour boards and more in an overview of labour action basics on ALBERTA ADVANTAGE.The Harbinger Media Network includes 89 podcasts focused on social, economic and environmental justice and featuring journalists, academics and activists on shows like The Breach Show, Tech Won't Save Us, Press Progress Sources & more.Harbinger Showcase is syndicated to community and campus radio and heard every week on CKUT 90.3FM in Montreal, at CFUV 101.9FM in Victoria, at CIVL 101.7FM in Abbotsford, at CHLY 101.7FM in Nanaimo, on CJUM 101.5FM and CKUW 95.9FM in Winnipeg, at CiTR 101.9FM, CJSF 90.1FM and at CFRO 100.5FM in Vancouver, at Hamilton's CFMU 93.3FM, at Radio Laurier in Waterloo, at CJTM 1280AM in Toronto, at CJAM 99.1FM in Windsor and at CJBU 107.3FM in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Find out more about the network, subscribe to the weekly newsletter and support our work at harbingermedianetwork.com.

Harbinger Showcase is a weekly podcast featuring highlights from Canada's #1 coast-to-coast community of politically and socially progressive podcasts. On a special new interview episode John Howard Society of Manitoba's John Samson Fellows (The Weakerthans, Propaghandi) and Emily Leedham (Press Progress, Rank & File) join host Andre Goulet for an exclusive conversation about faith, carceral justice, colonialism and reconciliation. The Harbinger Media Network includes 89 podcasts focused on social, economic and environmental justice and featuring journalists, academics and activists on shows like The Breach Show, Tech Won't Save Us, Press Progress Sources & more.Harbinger Showcase is syndicated to community and campus radio and heard every week on CKUT 90.3FM in Montreal, at CFUV 101.9FM in Victoria, at CIVL 101.7FM in Abbotsford, at CHLY 101.7FM in Nanaimo, on CJUM 101.5FM and CKUW 95.9FM in Winnipeg, at CiTR 101.9FM, CJSF 90.1FM and at CFRO 100.5FM in Vancouver, at Hamilton's CFMU 93.3FM, at Radio Laurier in Waterloo, at CJTM 1280AM in Toronto, at CJAM 99.1FM in Windsor and at CJBU 107.3FM in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Find out more about the network, subscribe to the weekly newsletter and support our work at harbingermedianetwork.com.

Today, our first letter comes from Tom: Tom wants to support his wife and stepdaughters as they navigate serious health challenges and years of survival-mode living. He asks how to help shift their household from constant crisis and scarcity into greater steadiness, support, and possibility. Our next letter comes from Lee in Nanaimo, Canada: Lee has worked hard to forgive someone who manipulated, slandered, and even injured them—but the anger and anxiety return every time they cross paths. They ask how to uncover what's still stuck so they can finally release the emotional charge and find true forgiveness. Next, Michael leads a guided meditation to expand our awareness and elevate our frequency. ✨ What's your Life Question? Have questions about your relationships, finances, life purpose, or how to understand  world events through a spiritual lens? Submit your Life Question to podcast@michaelbeckwith.com — your question could be featured in an upcoming episode to inspire others on their journey! ✍️Love Take Back Your Mind? This podcast grows through your support. If you've been inspired by an episode, we'd love to hear from you! Consider leaving a 5-star review or drop a comment. It helps others join this journey of growth and connection.

The Hub, a temporary winter shelter and drop-in centre in Nanaimo, is closing at the end of March. The social service organizations that run it have a plan to move to a new permanent location— they just need the funding from B.C. Housing. We'll hear about the plan, why they want the City's support, and why not everyone is on board.

Harbinger Showcase is a weekly podcast featuring highlights from Canada's #1 coast-to-coast community of politically and socially progressive podcasts. On this episode we map the Manosphere on POLITE CONVERSATIONS, explain why ‘unapologetic socialism' can revive the NDP on THE BREACH SHOW, connect the 1919 Anglo-Persian Agreement and the British-organized coup overthrowing the Shah of Iran on ANTI EMPIRE PROJECT and meet the radical mid 20th Century father-son duo who became two of British Columbia's left-wing pioneers  on the Perspective Journal's SOCIAL DEMOCRATS OF THE NORTH.The Harbinger Media Network includes 89 podcasts focused on social, economic and environmental justice and featuring journalists, academics and activists on shows like The Breach Show, Tech Won't Save Us, Press Progress Sources & more.Harbinger Showcase is syndicated to community and campus radio and heard every week on CKUT 90.3FM in Montreal, at CFUV 101.9FM in Victoria, at CIVL 101.7FM in Abbotsford, at CHLY 101.7FM in Nanaimo, on CJUM 101.5FM and CKUW 95.9FM in Winnipeg, at CiTR 101.9FM, CJSF 90.1FM and at CFRO 100.5FM in Vancouver, at Hamilton's CFMU 93.3FM, at Radio Laurier in Waterloo, at CJTM 1280AM in Toronto, at CJAM 99.1FM in Windsor and at CJBU 107.3FM in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Find out more about the network, subscribe to the weekly newsletter and support our work at harbingermedianetwork.com.

Christina is a dog trainer and aggression specialist out of Nanaimo, BC — and she just had her best launch ever. After over a year of stalled online enrollments, she joined Sold Out Group Programs, overhauled her sales webinar, and followed the Buzz Blitz system. The result? Eight clients in her Dream Dog program, including complete strangers who found her through her webinar for the first time.This is a must-listen if you're great at what you do but can't figure out why people aren't signing up — or if you've been trying to crack the group program code on your own for way too long.Connect with Christina at https://positive.dog/ and catch her podcast, Something to Trot About._____________________Enrollment for Sold Out Group Programs The Mastermind is OPEN!Apply and either enroll OR book a Next Steps Call by Sunday, March 22 at 11:59pm ET to get the Done-For-You Launch Build bonus. APPLY HERE: https://stephcrowder.com/sogpConnect with StephInstagram: @heystephcrowder

Ninety-seven American healthcare workers have accepted jobs on Vancouver Island since the province began recruiting across the border last spring. That includes a nurse practitioner from Kentucky, who was inspired by Nanaimo content creator Tod Maffin to make the move. We'll hear from them both, as well as B.C. Health Minister Josie Osborne on what's needed to address the systemic issues still plaguing the island's health staffing shortages.

Harbinger Showcase is a weekly podcast featuring highlights from Canada's #1 coast-to-coast community of politically and socially progressive podcasts. On this episode we discuss the costs of Canada's growing partnership with India on THE BREACH SHOW, explain why Oil & Gas interests lie about the future of their projects while profiting from the war in Iran on Sierra Club Canada's THE ENVIRONMENT IN CANADA and unpack the fallout from Vancouver mayor Ken Sim's  false accusations that city councillors are dealing drugs on REDEYE and talk about American-style Charter Schools and how they relate to the broader changes happening in the public education system on ALBERTA ADVANTAGE.The Harbinger Media Network includes 89 podcasts focused on social, economic and environmental justice and featuring journalists, academics and activists on shows like The Breach Show, Tech Won't Save Us, Press Progress Sources & more.Harbinger Showcase is syndicated to community and campus radio and heard every week on CKUT 90.3FM in Montreal, at CFUV 101.9FM in Victoria, at CIVL 101.7FM in Abbotsford, at CHLY 101.7FM in Nanaimo, on CJUM 101.5FM and CKUW 95.9FM in Winnipeg, at CiTR 101.9FM, CJSF 90.1FM and at CFRO 100.5FM in Vancouver, at Hamilton's CFMU 93.3FM, at Radio Laurier in Waterloo, at CJTM 1280AM in Toronto, at CJAM 99.1FM in Windsor and at CJBU 107.3FM in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Find out more about the network, subscribe to the weekly newsletter and support our work at harbingermedianetwork.com.

John Lee joins the show between his two nights at Frankie's Jazz Club at the end of February. He talks about playing organ, how he developed a personal language on multiple instruments, the positions of learning music in different generations, and hosting educational drop-in sessions in his home city of Victoria. John grew up in Nanaimo and is known for his prowess on four rhythm-section instruments in jazz: drums, keys, bass, and guitar.Become a member for free today at rhythmchanges.ca. You'll get the free weekly email with upcoming events from the gig list, plus artists, events, or recordings for you to enjoy and share. Sent every Tuesday morning at 6:00 AM Pacific Time.Hosted by Chris Fraser. Edited and mixed by Will Chernoff. A Chernoff Music podcast. Theme music: "Lutin" by William Chernoff.

First released in 2022. Reposted now for listeners exploring Canada's enduring commitment to Ukraine.Readers who are interested in international relations, Ukrainian history, Canadian-Ukrainian relations, as well as Canadian politics will be intrigued by this analysis. Researchers will definitely appreciate the addition of a Chronology of the Harper Government's response to the Ukrainian Crisis.Stephen Harper's response to the Ukrainian Crisis of 2014 was robust, and his rebuke of Russian aggression was powerful. He famously told Putin to "Get out of Ukraine" when other world leaders at the time turned a blind eye.Harper argued that Putin's actions in Ukraine would only embolden him in the future. Unfortunately, this turned out to be true when Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022.Full transcript here.Purchase the book here. (Affiliate link.)***********************Tune in to the Vancouver edition of Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio—every Saturday at 6pm PST on AM1320 CHMB and streaming at www.am1320.com.And to the Nanaimo edition on Wednesdays at 11am air at 101.7FM or streaming online at CHLY Radio Malaspina.Full episode archives now on MixCloud.For transcripts, additional commentary and links to reputable Ukrainian charities visit our website here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Harbinger Showcase is a weekly podcast featuring highlights from Canada's #1 coast-to-coast community of politically and socially progressive podcasts. On this episode we talk Alberta separatism on PRESS PROGRESS SOURCES, investigate The Narwhal's ongoing lawsuit against the RCMP on THE NORTH STATE, explore political activism of Olympic athletes on THE END OF SPORT and discuss the costs of Canada's growing partnership with India on THE BREACH SHOW.  The Harbinger Media Network includes 89 podcasts focused on social, economic and environmental justice and featuring journalists, academics and activists on shows like The Breach Show, Tech Won't Save Us, Press Progress Sources & more.Harbinger Showcase is syndicated to community and campus radio and heard every week on CKUT 90.3FM in Montreal, at CFUV 101.9FM in Victoria, at CIVL 101.7FM in Abbotsford, at CHLY 101.7FM in Nanaimo, on CJUM 101.5FM and CKUW 95.9FM in Winnipeg, at CiTR 101.9FM, CJSF 90.1FM and at CFRO 100.5FM in Vancouver, at Hamilton's CFMU 93.3FM, at Radio Laurier in Waterloo, at CJTM 1280AM in Toronto, at CJAM 99.1FM in Windsor and at CJBU 107.3FM in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Find out more about the network, subscribe to the weekly newsletter and support our work at harbingermedianetwork.com.

This conversation was recorded in early 2025. Event references reflect that date.Ukrainian newcomer Olena Lavrishcheva speaks with Pawlina about her family's extraordinary journey from Kyiv to Nanaimo, their experience of the full‑scale invasion, and the community work now emerging on Vancouver Island.Olena recounts how she, her husband, and two of their daughters were unexpectedly outside Ukraine—on a cruise in Dubai—when Russia launched its brutal assault. Their four younger children and son‑in‑law were still in Kyiv. What followed was a frantic, days‑long effort to reunite the family at the Romanian border, followed by months of displacement in Turkey and Germany before finally settling in Nanaimo. Today, eleven family members are here.Before the war, Olena ran a private school in Kyiv and worked with youth through a missions foundation, including educational programs in Turkey. In Nanaimo, she is a teaching assistant at Nanaimo Christian School, while her adult daughters—also trained educators—have secured teaching positions. Alongside work and family responsibilities, Olena has helped launch a new community organization: the Canadian Alliance of Ukrainian Workers.She explains that the Alliance was created to unite Ukrainians and Canadians who want to support humanitarian needs in Ukraine and help newcomers integrate and contribute locally. The group brings together people with Ukrainian roots and local supporters who want to take meaningful, practical steps—small but impactful—to assist those affected by the war.Olena also describes the organization's early initiatives, including a community cultural event held in February 2025 to mark the third year of the full‑scale invasion. The gathering featured music, reflections on Ukraine before and during the war, cultural presentations, video segments, and Ukrainian food. While the event has passed, the goals behind it remain central: to remember, to inform, to celebrate Ukrainian culture, and to strengthen community connections.Listeners wishing to learn more about the Canadian Alliance of Ukrainian Workers or to get involved may contact Olena by text at 778‑674‑8771. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nik is going to Burning Man, Christina is Grand Canyon bound, TJ is headed to Nanaimo, and there's some health concerns with family to discuss. There is a lot planned for 2026. Hopefully we survive the year. nowherestaff@gmail.com Music courtesy of Yoo Soo via Songfinch

This week on Baking Scraps, Lisa and Cristina are joined by Joanne Mandet, winner of Season 9 of The Great Canadian Baking Show, talking travel, coming home, and the kind of joy that lives in simple, beautiful moments. Jo shares what it was like for her to compete on the show: the nerves, the lack of sleep, the balancing act with family and work, and the quiet decision to trust her own style instead of chasing something flashy. We talk about growth through the audition process, the importance of a solid support system, and what happens when you focus on the process instead of the outcome, and learn from the bakers around you without losing yourself.And, of course, we play This or That. Butter tarts or Nanaimo bars. Swiss meringue or American buttercream. Chiffon or sponge. Jo's answers spark stories about childhood desserts, cultural roots, favorite travels, and the small rituals that make food meaningful.It's warm, honest, reflective, and full of laughter...an episode about why sometimes the simple things really are the best things. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Nanaimo NightOwls and the Nanaimo Bars are one team that plays in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Their nicknames are a tribute to local wildlife and a confection named for the area. This week on the podcast: Jim Swanson, Managing Partner, Nanaimo NightOwls/Bars Reuben Butterfield, Round 3 Agency Ranger Amy Burnett, Insta @therealrangeramy Dan Simon, Studio Simon: www.studiosimon.net, Insta @studio_simon Find the Baseball By Design podcast online: Instagram @baseballbydesign Threads @baseballbydesign Bluesky @baseballbydesign.bsky.social Facebook @baseballbydesignpodcast linktr.ee/BaseballByDesign

Harbinger Showcase is a weekly podcast featuring highlights from Canada's #1 coast-to-coast community of politically and socially progressive podcasts. On this episode we examine fascist aesthetics on GREEN PLANET MONITOR, concern troll the far-right on BUBBLE POP, unpack No Arms in the Arts' BDS victory over Scotiabank on THE ORCHARD and explore the role Ukrainian ultra-nationalists have played in Canada's history on ALBERTA ADVANTAGE.The Harbinger Media Network includes 86 podcasts focused on social, economic and environmental justice and featuring journalists, academics and activists on shows like The Breach Show, Tech Won't Save Us, Press Progress Sources & more.Harbinger Showcase is syndicated to community and campus radio and heard every week on CKUT 90.3FM in Montreal, at CFUV 101.9FM in Victoria, at CIVL 101.7FM in Abbotsford, at CHLY 101.7FM in Nanaimo, on CJUM 101.5FM and CKUW 95.9FM in Winnipeg, at CiTR 101.9FM, CJSF 90.1FM and at CFRO 100.5FM in Vancouver, at Hamilton's CFMU 93.3FM, at Radio Laurier in Waterloo, at CJTM 1280AM in Toronto, at CJAM 99.1FM in Windsor and at CJBU 107.3FM in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Find out more about the network, subscribe to the weekly newsletter and support our work at harbingermedianetwork.com.

This week, Rob Biernacki is back! In this episode, Rob explains the 90/90: a yoga-style "pigeon pose" position ideal for defending leglocks and getting to the running man escape (AKA the "Captain Morgan").Follow Rob on Instagram:https://instagram.com/islandtopteamTrain with Rob at Island Top Team in Nanaimo, BC:https://www.instagram.com/islandtopteambjjhttps://islandtopteam.comLearn online with Rob at BJJ Concepts:https://bjjconcepts.netMental models discussed in this episode:3 Joint Rulehttps://bjjmentalmodels.com/3-joint-ruleKnee Linehttps://bjjmentalmodels.com/knee-lineMyopiahttps://bjjmentalmodels.com/myopiaPrevention Over Curehttps://bjjmentalmodels.com/prevention-over-cureUniversal Defenseshttps://bjjmentalmodels.com/universal-defensesProximal and Distal Controlhttps://bjjmentalmodels.com/proximal-and-distal-control⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!The world's LARGEST library of Jiu-Jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:https://bjjmentalmodels.comNeed more BJJ Mental Models?Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter:https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletterLearn more mental models in our online database:https://bjjmentalmodels.com/databaseFollow us on social:https://instagram.com/bjjmentalmodelshttps://threads.com/@bjjmentalmodelshttps://bjjmentalmodels.bsky.socialhttps://youtube.com/@bjjmentalmodelsMusic by Enterprize:https://enterprize.bandcamp.com⚠️ NEW course from BJJ Mental Models!MINDSET FOR BETAS, our new Jiu-Jitsu audio course with Rob Biernacki, is now available on BJJ Mental Models Premium! For a limited time, get your first month FREE at:https://bjjmentalmodels.com/beta

Harbinger Showcase is a weekly podcast featuring highlights from Canada's #1 coast-to-coast community of politically and socially progressive podcasts. On this episode we argue that Canada's expansion of medically-assisted dying reflects a deeper neoliberal logic on THE BREACH SHOW, assess the legacy of the Climate Emergency Unit on GREEN MAJORITY, examine how Anti-feminist narratives impact housing choices for women on REDEYE and enjoy an unforgettable highlight from part VII of the spectacular SRSLY WRONG saga 'Genocide, Apocalypse - The Injured Boy Inside'.The Harbinger Media Network includes 86 podcasts focused on social, economic and environmental justice and featuring journalists, academics and activists on shows like The Breach Show, Tech Won't Save Us, Press Progress Sources & more.Harbinger Showcase is syndicated to community and campus radio and heard every week on CKUT 90.3FM in Montreal, at CFUV 101.9FM in Victoria, at CIVL 101.7FM in Abbotsford, at CHLY 101.7FM in Nanaimo, on CJUM 101.5FM and CKUW 95.9FM in Winnipeg, at CiTR 101.9FM, CJSF 90.1FM and at CFRO 100.5FM in Vancouver, at Hamilton's CFMU 93.3FM, at Radio Laurier in Waterloo, at CJTM 1280AM in Toronto, at CJAM 99.1FM in Windsor and at CJBU 107.3FM in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Find out more about the network, subscribe to the weekly newsletter and support our work at harbingermedianetwork.com.

⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains open discussion of suicidal ideation, mental health struggles, domestic violence, and abuse. Please listen with care and find the support resources at the end of these show notes if you need them. In This Episode: What happens when you write the book you desperately needed as a child – and then the world doesn't get to read it? Author, book coach, and mental health advocate Rocky Callen joins Seryna for a conversation that refuses to sanitize anything. They talk about carrying suicidal ideation since age 11 with no one knowing, how writing A Breath Too Late became a reckoning with everything she'd hidden, and what it really looks like to bet on yourself before the world is ready to bet on you. Plus: the difference between vulnerability and vulnerability porn, why life is always in revision, and why your first draft – of a book or a life – is always worth celebrating. What You'll Discover: Why glossing over mental health struggles doesn't protect people – it isolates them The survival self hiding behind high achievement and the shiny mask of ambition The difference between sharing your trauma and sharing what you're holding within it What it looks like to bet on yourself before the world is ready to do the same Why life – and writing – is a process of revision, not a race to the finish line The reparenting practice of treating your fumbles the way you'd treat a baby learning to walk Episode Highlights: 00:53 - Meet Rocky Callen: author, book coach, and co-conspirator in dismantling the polished projection 05:14 - Why sanitizing mental health conversations is dangerous – and what we actually need instead 08:17 - Writing A Breath Too Late in a week, sobbing every day, and finally naming the suicidal ideation she'd carried since age 11 13:02 - The difference between trauma dumping and purposeful storytelling 17:21 - The book's wild ride: pandemic release, critical acclaim, and going out of print 20:30 - Getting the rights back, Times Square, and re-releasing September 2026 for World Suicide Prevention Day 38:24 - Life as revision: taking the red pen to the story you're living 56:37 - Being vs. doing: the big exhale this whole conversation builds toward About Vulnerability That Actually Heals: There's a difference between vulnerability and vulnerability porn. Rocky names it clearly: if you're going to share the hard things, share what you're holding within them – not just the terrible thing that happened, but the question, the insight, the messy uncertainty you're sitting with. That's what creates connection. That's what makes someone feel seen instead of spectated. Rocky spent a lifetime performing competence. Interned at NASA at 12. College at 16. Exceptional by every external measure – while quietly carrying suicidal ideation since she was 11 years old. Not even her husband knew. It wasn't until she wrote A Breath Too Late that she began to reckon with what she'd been hiding. And then the letters came: from young people navigating suicidal ideation, from people inside domestically violent homes, from mothers who had left those homes and remembered how it felt. One letter described a young person who read the book, brought it to their mother, and together they left. That is the medicine of stories told with honesty and care. And it's exactly why Rocky fought to get this book back into the world. Resources Mentioned: A Breath Too Late by Rocky Callen (re-releasing September 2026, World Suicide Prevention Day week) Rocky's Bali Writing Retreat (one spot remaining – DM Rocky on Instagram to inquire: https://www.instagram.com/p/DSF7TTLkTfT/) The Unshakeable Self book (Seryna's in progress) Golden Soul Sanctuary – Seryna's in-person space in Nanaimo, BC Find Rocky: Website: rockycallen.com Instagram: @rockywrites Continue Your Journey: Deep Dive: Ready for transformational coaching? Apply to work with Seryna Explore In-Person: Energy healing, angel readings, and spiritual guidance at Golden Soul Sanctuary in Nanaimo, BC Join Community: Monthly gatherings and events for local seekers on Vancouver Island Connect: Follow Seryna on Instagram @serynamyers for inspiration, behind-the-scenes moments, and daily tools for stepping into your power

Geoff, Gavin and Andrew talk about nicknames, eggs are chicken, Popeye's chicken sandwich, casserole, quiche, backwards land, broth, zucchini, height lies, phantom cck of the earth, communal ruler, foot stick, weenuses, the heights that exist, free money, community support, zoo, Nanaimo lion, Mount Benson, sandal hiking, hiking percentages, mystery dog, Philly Cheese Stakeout, how many weenuses in a Dinklage, backwards ears, rooms you've been in, F*kface mystery, have you seen this dog puzzle, cat warmth, and falling in the snow. Sponsored by Zocdoc. Go to Zocdoc.com/regulation and download the Zocdoc app to sign-up for FREE and book a top-rated doctor.  #sponsored Support us directly at https://www.patreon.com/TheRegulationPod Stay up to date, get exclusive supplemental content, and connect with other Regulation Listeners. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind as we hit the road (not in a car) to promote our new book, Life After Cars, in some of the greatest cities of North America including San Francisco, Washington, DC, Seattle, Vancouver, BC, Nanaimo, BC, Portland, OR, San Diego, and Los Angeles (as well as our home base of NYC, of course). Getting to visit all these cities in person, often walking and riding the streets accompanied by local advocates and elected officials, was a real joy and a privilege. We saw a lot! And maybe not surprisingly for a couple of podcasters, we had some thoughts about all of it—from excellent bike lanes and public spaces to transit service that left a lot to be desired and the horror that is Interstate 5.  Our tour continues! Find out where we'll be next at lifeaftercars.com.  Our upcoming schedule: Providence, RI: 12/2 Austin, TX: 12/4 and 12/5 Houston, TX: 12/10 Denver, CO: 12/12 Boulder, CO: 12/13  Support The War on Cars on Patreon and receive exclusive access to ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, Discord access, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers! Thanks to Cleverhood for sponsoring this episode. Listen to this episode for the latest discount code and get the best rain gear for walking and cycling. Order our new book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile, out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House.