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2024 WALKING TOGETHER Lenten Devotionals

Walking Together Lenten Devotionals

For the Lenten season, Walking Together, our weekday online devotional, expands to include Saturdays and we invite guest writers to contribute.

This devotional is intended to draw us together in seeking God's wisdom and guidance and to remind us of the good news of Jesus Christ and the relevance of the wonderful promises of God.

To have Walking Together delivered directly to your email inbox, subscribe today, and it will arrive in your inbox from Monday to Saturday every week during Lent. After Lent it arrives Monday to Friday. To have the Walking Together delivered directly to your email inbox, subscribe today, and it will arrive in your inbox from Monday to Saturday every week during Lent. After Lent it arrives Monday to Friday. To learn more about the devotional and to subscribe, click here>

Introducing this year's guest contributors:

February 17: The Rev. Dale Soble
February 24: The Venerable Jennifer McKenzie
March 2: The Rev. Sarah Dulley
March 9: The Rev. Dr. Casey Barton
March 16: The Rev. Adrian Gardner
March 23: The Rev. Laura de Jong
March 30: The Rev. Dr. Stephen Farris

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BIOGRAPHIES

February 17
The Rev. Dale Soble

The youngest of three children to Bill and Carol Soble, Dale was raised in Belleville, Ontario. The family's home church was Victoria Avenue Baptist Church where Dale was baptized when he was thirteen years old. After high school, Dale attended McMaster University, thinking he would eventually turn toward a career in journalism, but he was drawn or pushed into ministry in his final years of arts. Following graduation, Dale enrolled in McMaster Divinity College. His first church was a small country church, Wainfleet Baptist. While there, Susan and Dale were married in 1978 and had their first child, Nicholas. They were called to Lakeside Heights Baptist Church in the West Island of Montreal during which time their children, Katie and Nathaniel, were born. From Montreal they were called to First Baptist Church, Ottawa, where Maggie was born. The next adventure in ministry came when Dale became one of the Area Ministers for the CBOQ, watching over 80 plus churches in the southern part of Ontario. After ten years as Area Minister, Dale accepted the call to Murray St. Baptist Church in Peterborough. Since retiring in 2015, Dale writes weekly blog posts at theunconventionalbaptist.blogspot.com. Susan spent part of her childhood at Yorkminster Park when her father, the Rev. Dr. Bruce Neal, served on our ministry team. Susan retired in 2022 and their seven grandchildren keep them busy and happy and proud. For several years Dale and Susan have been part of our online congregation, and we are honoured that they have now joined our church.

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The Venerable Jennifer McKenzie, a 2004 graduate of VTS, has been a priest in The Episcopal Church since 2005. As a parish administrator and lay youth worker in the 1990's she served churches in California and Virginia. As seminarian, transitional deacon and priest, she served churches in Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia. In 2015 she was collated as Archdeacon of Wigan & West Lancashire, a senior cleric in the Liverpool diocese (UK), where she oversaw the mission and ministry of 60 parish churches and missions and was a canon at Liverpool cathedral. She returned to the US permanently in 2021 and is serving part time as Dean's Advisor for New Initiatives at Virginia Seminary and is the founder of Church Re-Imagined, LLC, a church consulting firm that works to transform churches and strengthen leaders.

Jennifer's husband Ken serves on the vestry of All Saints in Sunderland, MD. They are parents of three young adults, and two giant Leonberger dogs.

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March 2
The Rev. Sarah Dulley

The Rev. Sarah Dulley is currently serving as the first female Rector of the Clustered Parishes of Maitland and Telarah-Rutherford in the Diocese of Newcastle, Australia. Sarah has been immersed within the church all of her life. She began serving her communities as Music Teacher and then went on to teach in Special Education and Learning Support prior to moving into fulltime ministry. Her studies have taken her through The Arts, Education, Leadership and Management, Theology and Kinesiology. Sarah is currently undertaking a course in Spirituality.

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March 9
The Rev. Dr. Casey Barton

The Rev. Dr. Casey Barton serves as Assistant Faculty and Director of the Pastoral Ministry Program at Lancaster Bible College | Capital Seminary and Graduate School, in Lancaster, PA. He is Ordained to Word and Sacrament in the Evangelical Covenant Church and, before joining the faculty of LBC|Capital in 2022, served in various roles in pastoral ministry in Mississauga, ON, San Jose, CA, and Hilmar, CA. He is the author of Preaching Through Time: Anachronism as a Way Forward for Preaching (Cascade, 2017), and various articles focused on preaching hope and lament, preaching and eschatology, and preaching with courage. Mostly, Casey enjoys spending time with his wife Sarah and two sons, Eugene and Theo, snowboarding, riding bikes and kayaking. He also enjoys loudly rooting for the Red Sox, especially against the Yankees.
A California native, Casey attended college at Briercrest College; then Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (MDiv, ThM: Homiletics); earned an MTh in Practical Theology (Homiletics) at New College, University of Edinburgh, Scotland; and a PhD in Homiletics from Emmanuel College of Victoria University, in The University of Toronto, in 2010.

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March 16
The Rev. Adrian Gardner

The Rev. Adrian Gardner serves as Director of Canadian Partnerships with Canadian Baptist Ministries. Prior to joining CBM he served as Associate Pastor at Grand Bay Baptist Church and as Associate Director of Youth and Family Ministry with the Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada. In September 2015 he became CBM's Discipleship Programs Facilitator, then took on the role of Team Lead for Church Engagement in 2018 and was appointed to his current position in October 2020.
Adrian has a deep passion for the local church and international ministries. His heart is to connect the Canadian church with the church in the Global South through meaningful partnerships and relationships.

He has a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Education from the University of New Brunswick and a Master of Divinity from Acadia University.

Adrian and his wife Nicole live in Milton Ontario and are members at Kings Community Church. They have two young adult children, Elijah and Grace, who are completing their postsecondary education.

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March 23
The Rev. Laura de Jong

The Rev. Laura de Jong is a pastor in the Christian Reformed Church of North America with a passion for worship and ecclesiology. She served as pastor of Second CRC in Grand Haven, Michigan, for four years before returning home to Southern Ontario where she now serves as Pastor of Preaching and Pastoral Care at Community CRC in Kitchener. Laura is a regular contributor to the Reformed Journal Blog, and enjoys reading, writing, and watching the Jays. Laura is a graduate of Calvin University (History and Congregational Ministry Studies) and received her M.Div from Calvin Theological Seminary.

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March 30
The Rev. Dr. Stephen Farris

Stephen Farris is a semi-retired Presbyterian minister and is presently serving as Visiting Professor of Preaching at Knox College, University of Toronto. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto, Union Theological Seminary in Virginia, and Cambridge University, England, from which he received his PhD. He is Dean Emeritus of St. Andrew's Hall, Vancouver, and Professor Emeritus of Preaching of Vancouver School of Theology. Dr. Farris was elected Moderator of the 140th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, has served on the Executive Committee of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and as President of the Academy of Homiletics, the international association of teachers of preaching. He has preached and taught internationally and nationally, and is the authour of four books, many academic and popular articles, and a murder mystery short story. His most recent book is So, Tell Me a Story: The Art of Storytelling for Preaching and Teaching.

Stephen Farris is married to Patricia Farris, a retired school principal, and has two sons, two daughters in law, and four grandchildren.

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