It’s time to start something new
At New Leaf, we support, equip and connect church planters, spiritual entrepreneurs and missional practitioners in post-Christian Canada.
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START SOMETHING
Welcome to the New Leaf table. We’re so glad you’ve stopped in.
Whether you’re starting from scratch or leading an existing community, we want to help you start something new right here in Canadian soil.
We’ve got a hunch that our ever-increasing post-Christian culture is begging for new forms of cultural engagement, neighbourhood connection and mission innovation. We believe it’s time for Canadian Jesus followers to unite together, equip each other, cultivate our voice and start something new from coast-to-coast.
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Participate in the weekly Learning Centre: a virtual gathering of Canadian leaders and practitioners where current issues concerning ministry in the Canadian landscape are processed, together.
Attend a New Leaf Event, read a New Leaf Press book, listen to a podcast from the Podcast Network or lean into new ministry models in the emerging Multivocational landscape.
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From the Writing Collective
New Leaf Writing Collective Articles
Here we are on Christmas Day, the end of Advent, but also the beginning of the season of Christmas, not just a single day. For some, a season of Christmas means the season of social over-commitment. Where the season is extended because there are so many family and friend gatherings that the celebration extends into January. But, in the church calendar, the season is marked by the time between the Feast of the Nativity on December 25 until Epiphany on January 6th….
On November 11, I trudged slowly through freshly fallen snow, to the front door of the long- term care facility, my Mom’s home for almost three years. The walk was slow, deliberate, knowing this would be the last time I passed through the door. Before sunrise that morning, her caregivers called, well acquainted with moments like this, letting us know it was time to return after days of keeping vigil by her bedside. My mother’s long journey with dementia was nearing its end…
Hope is an audacious thing. It’s this fine silver thread that weaves itself in and through our hearts and binds us to Possibility in a way that defies reason and explanation. We trust Hope, against all odds. We see it, that fine silver thread, glimmering in the darkest of spaces, and its beauty is so heartbreakingly breathtaking that all we can do, sometimes, is weep in its presence….
This felt like the worst year of my life. Maybe in retrospect it will not even crack my top five, and I doubt it will crack 2025’s global top billion, but my therapist says not to gaslight myself by making it a competition. In any case, I don’t feel like writing on the Advent Reader themes of Coming Light or Hopeful Presence right now….
I love the unexpected twists in today’s Gospel reading. These departures in the narrative from what we might expect keep us rooted in Advent’s true discipline—watching and waiting in the real, messy details of our lives and the world around us….
What is a true prophet? The frail reed is the religious system of oppression (amongst others) of Creator Sets Free Day. This is Jesus pointing out the failings of a system of life that created barriers to community, barriers to being viewed as a full person, worthwhile in life. He points out that these things are happening not because cure is the only way to be included in life and have value….
For me, reflecting on 2025 is filled with moments of excitement and joy, but also moments of deep personal sorrow. Maybe that's why I was drawn to the lectionary reading of Ruth. It’s the resilient story of two women, Ruth and Naomi, daughter-in-law and mother-in-law. After experiencing the deep sorrow of losing their husbands, they find themselves in a period of placing one foot in front of the other, despite the unknown destination…
“Dear Nick,” one fan wrote. “I’m feeling empty and more cynical than ever. I’m scared to pass these feelings on to my little son.” Australian rock legend Nick Cave, 68, invites fans to ask him anything, typically responding with deep compassion to one person per week. The letters are honest and raw, shot through with spiritual longing…
The vision that unfolds in Isaiah 11:1–10 is heart-stopping. We begin with a picture of new life, new possibilities springing from death: “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.” This isn’t just poetic language. It’s a promise that when all seems lost, God brings something new….
In the British comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail, there is a scene that is ancient and yet so contemporary. The legendary King Arthur appears before a peasant named Dennis to ask for directions…
Here’s an ancient and revolutionary idea I’d like to introduce to you this Advent season: You are the light of the world.
You may read this and say, “Really? What’s so revolutionary about that? Did Jesus not say that?”
Yes, he did…
Welcome to the 2025 New Leaf Advent Reader. We have been offering Advent reflections from the New Leaf community since 2018, and we are glad to bring you reflections again this year. Here at New Leaf, the team is so grateful for the community that contributes …
Every year since my kids were old enough to anticipate Christmas, I have hoped to add practices to our family routines to mark the days of Advent with a touch of the sacred among the commercialism that crowds in at this time of year. So far, I have had little success making space for my idealism, and this year is no exception…
I start decorating my home for Christmas early. It isn’t really out of excitement, more practicality. Thanksgiving is actually my favourite holiday, so over the years, I’ve collected a bunch of decor for the earlier celebration. Orange is my favourite colour, fall is my favourite season and way back when I was a varsity athlete, Thanksgiving was the only weekend in the fall term I had enough days off in a row to go home. Then as a pastor, it was the main holiday I had the most flexibility around my work…
Water is life. We need it to survive. A hot July afternoon has us craving for multiple glasses of the cold stuff. Water is also comfort. Nothing beats a steaming cup of chai on a chilly December morning. But water outside my body, especially deep water, is a different matter altogether. It presents itself as danger…
There is a big difference between a paper cut and a stab wound. Though some might argue that a papercut hurts much more, it heals quickly, and soon you forget all about it. It was just a little cut and, after all, the paper didn’t mean to hurt you. Stab wounds, on the other hand, are rarely accidental…
Welcome to this place outside where you were told the Light lived.
Welcome to a place of fear-filled change, mighty rest, or rebellious hope…
I live in Regina, SK, on Treaty 4 Territory, where it is pretty dark this time of year.
I love it.
I savour it.
When it starts to dissipate, I find myself thinking fondly about when it will return the following year…
This year, four of my closest friends are navigating their first Christmas after separating in their respective marriages. As a child of divorced parents myself, Christmas is always a reminder of relationships unravelled. This year our community is unravelling further still. My heart yearns for the contrast of cold weather and warm homes, for hot drinks over long conversations, for a peaceful break from the hectic rhythms of the year, while my mind knows some of those conversations will be heavier this year…
Christmas records appear in heavy rotation when the calendar hits December 1st at my house. I can't help it; I'm just a sentimental fool for Christmas music. I have some well-worn favourites, but my most cherished cuts will always be the jazzy classics. Give me Bing Crosby and Carol Richards crooning out "Silverbells," and I'm already imagining decking the halls of my house with garland and lights…
I teach World Religions at a Christian university in Ontario, and the course material often disrupts the Christianized world of some of the students. For many, taken-for-granted notions about other religions and their adherents are shaken up, and mostly in a good way…
It has been such a pleasure walking through the Advent season with you. This has become such an important resource for so many across North America. We continue to be surprised and delighted by all the folks who choose to take this annual advent journey with us. So thank you from the bottom of our leafy hearts for being a part of this…
Take a moment and read Luke 1:68-79.
There once was a man, trained in the scriptures and a tradition, who could not bear children with his wife. One day they received a word from God that they indeed will have a child. What’s more, this child will DO something. This child would somehow be a catalyst for change in their world. And their world needed a catalyst…
I stopped being a child in 2018. I stopped seeing the sun in 2019. I stopped knowing the difference between truth and faith in 2020. I stopped living in 2021. Time had turned on its head and flipped me off. This was the battlefront, and I was ill-equipped…
I came across a google doc in my files the other day called “Christmas in our Bubble!”
Don’t be fooled by that exclamation mark. It’s not true enthusiasm but a stubborn attempt to force some cheer onto our family’s plans for December 25, 2020…
Welcome to the 2024 New Leaf Advent Reader, Advent Undone: When the Mysteries of Christmas Have Come Unravelled. In the coming weeks, reflections will be coming to your inbox and online from writers and artists across Canada. As we wait for the arrival of Jesus on Christmas day, the season of Advent makes space for our complicated emotions and complex situations.
From the Podcast
The New Leaf Project
Slow down, pay attention, and listen to the words as writers share their Advent Reader reflections on Known and Unknown: Dwelling in the Mystery of Advent.
Elle Pyke shares her reflection for Christmas Day - The Embodiment of Christmas
Music by Canadian Award Winning Singer/Songwriter Drew Brown www.drewbrownmusic.com
Slow down, pay attention, and listen to the words as writers share their Advent Reader reflections on Known and Unknown: Dwelling in the Mystery of Advent.
Rohadi shares his reflection for the fourth Saturday of Advent - Advent Solidarity
Music by Canadian Award Winning Singer/Songwriter Drew Brown www.drewbrownmusic.com
Slow down, pay attention, and listen to the words as writers share their Advent Reader reflections on Known and Unknown: Dwelling in the Mystery of Advent.
Jared Siebert shares his reflection for the fourth Friday of Advent - The Road Marked Unease
Music by Canadian Award Winning Singer/Songwriter Drew Brown www.drewbrownmusic.com
Slow down, pay attention, and listen to the words as writers share their Advent Reader reflections on Known and Unknown: Dwelling in the Mystery of Advent.
Sonia Reid Noble shares her reflection for the fourth Wednesday of Advent - Getting Comfortable with Uncomfortability
Music by Canadian Award Winning Singer/Songwriter Drew Brown www.drewbrownmusic.com
Slow down, pay attention, and listen to the words as writers share their Advent Reader reflections on Known and Unknown: Dwelling in the Mystery of Advent.
Stella Chung shares her reflection for the fourth Monday of Advent - What’s Birthing Behind the Fog?
Music by Canadian Award Winning Singer/Songwriter Drew Brown www.drewbrownmusic.com
Slow down, pay attention, and listen to the words as writers share their Advent Reader reflections on Known and Unknown: Dwelling in the Mystery of Advent.
Angela Reitsma Bick shares her reflection for the fourth Sunday of Advent - Joseph, First-Time Dad
Music by Canadian Award Winning Singer/Songwriter Drew Brown www.drewbrownmusic.com
Slow down, pay attention, and listen to the words as writers share their Advent Reader reflections on Known and Unknown: Dwelling in the Mystery of Advent.
Tim Tang shares his reflection for the third Saturday of Advent - Hear us, Shepherd of Israel…
Music by Canadian Award Winning Singer/Songwriter Drew Brown www.drewbrownmusic.com
Slow down, pay attention, and listen to the words as writers share their Advent Reader reflections on Known and Unknown: Dwelling in the Mystery of Advent.
Phil Reinders shares his reflection for the third Wednesday of Advent - Christmas fear
Music by Canadian Award Winning Singer/Songwriter Drew Brown www.drewbrownmusic.com
Slow down, pay attention, and listen to the words as writers share their Advent Reader reflections on Known and Unknown: Dwelling in the Mystery of Advent.
Jessica Stefick shares her reflection for the third Tuesday of Advent - The Mystery of Dead Ends
Music by Canadian Award Winning Singer/Songwriter Drew Brown www.drewbrownmusic.com
Slow down, pay attention, and listen to the words as writers share their Advent Reader reflections on Known and Unknown: Dwelling in the Mystery of Advent.
Ellen Duffield shares her reflection for the second Saturday of Advent - Mary’s Magnificat: Praise, Pain, Prophecy and Prayer
Music by Canadian Award Winning Singer/Songwriter Drew Brown www.drewbrownmusic.com
Slow down, pay attention, and listen to the words as writers share their Advent Reader reflections on Known and Unknown: Dwelling in the Mystery of Advent.
Keith Dow shares his reflection for the second Thursday of Advent - The long, slow mercy of Christian hope
Music by Canadian Award Winning Singer/Songwriter Drew Brown www.drewbrownmusic.com
Slow down, pay attention, and listen to the words as writers share their Advent Reader reflections on Known and Unknown: Dwelling in the Mystery of Advent.
Kyra Schat shares her reflection for the second Wednesday of Advent - Do You Believe
Music by Canadian Award Winning Singer/Songwriter Drew Brown www.drewbrownmusic.com
Slow down, pay attention, and listen to the words as writers share their Advent Reader reflections on Known and Unknown: Dwelling in the Mystery of Advent.
Kyra Schat shares her reflection for the second Tuesday of Advent - A Crisis of Faith and Its Friends
Music by Canadian Award Winning Singer/Songwriter Drew Brown www.drewbrownmusic.com
Slow down, pay attention, and listen to the words as writers share their Advent Reader reflections on Known and Unknown: Dwelling in the Mystery of Advent.
Matthew R Green shares his reflection for the second Monday of Advent - Waiting in Desolation
Music by Canadian Award Winning Singer/Songwriter Drew Brown www.drewbrownmusic.com
Slow down, pay attention, and listen to the words as writers share their Advent Reader reflections on Known and Unknown: Dwelling in the Mystery of Advent.
Cathleen Getchell shares her reflection for the second Sunday of Advent - Four-letter Word
Music by Canadian Award Winning Singer/Songwriter Drew Brown www.drewbrownmusic.com
Slow down, pay attention, and listen to the words as writers share their Advent Reader reflections on Known and Unknown: Dwelling in the Mystery of Advent.
Robin Ingham shares her reflection for the first Saturday of Advent - In Greener Pastures
Music by Canadian Award Winning Singer/Songwriter Drew Brown www.drewbrownmusic.com
Slow down, pay attention, and listen to the words as writers share their Advent Reader reflections on Known and Unknown: Dwelling in the Mystery of Advent.
In this episode Lea Wilkening shares her reflection for the first Friday of Advent - No One Waits Alone
Music by Canadian Award Winning Singer/Songwriter Drew Brown www.drewbrownmusic.com
Slow down, pay attention, and listen to the words as writers share their Advent Reader reflections on Known and Unknown: Dwelling in the Mystery of Advent.
In this episode Jordan Majeau shares his reflection for the first Wednesday of Advent - Life After Judas
Music by Canadian Award Winning Singer/Songwriter Drew Brown www.drewbrownmusic.com
Slow down, pay attention, and listen to the words as writers share their Advent Reader reflections on Known and Unknown: Dwelling in the Mystery of Advent.
In this episode Paul Lucas shares his reflection for the first Wednesday of Advent - What If?
Music by Canadian Award Winning Singer/Songwriter Drew Brown www.drewbrownmusic.com
Slow down, pay attention, and listen to the words as writers share their Advent Reader reflections on Known and Unknown: Dwelling in the Mystery of Advent.
In this episode Matte Downey shares her reflection for the first Monday of Advent - Birds, Blurry Lines, and Becoming
Music by Canadian Award Winning Singer/Songwriter Drew Brown www.drewbrownmusic.com
Hinge Point
Learning to navigate a racialized society, together.