Some Essays by Douglas Tennant

For the birds A Sunday morning sermon about the Great Mystery By Doug Tennant  June 21, 2020 Do you have a favourite Gospel? I think my favourite one is Matthew. For the most part I think it reads more easily than the other 3 and perhaps it is its mixture of sayings from Jesus and the connotations to the Jewish law. Plus, it has the full sermon on the mount in chapters 5-7. The reading from Matthew’s gospel has a lot packed into it. - The message that we are in it together - A message about not being fearful or full of fear. “Do not fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell”. - There is a story about birds. - There is a story about the hair on your head. More applicable to some rather than everyone if you know what I mean. - Another message sort of about being in this journey of life together. - There is the clarification that Jesus came to upset the norm, to cause division between the old and t...

Community Mental Health Emergency Response By Doug Tennant Photo by Doug Tennant Originally published in the North Renfrew Times on Wednesday July 1, 2020 Imagine if you called 911 and they asked “police-ambulance-fire-mental health”? Imagine if the local Mental Heath Crisis team was deemed emergency services. These are the imaginings of Jackie Lee Agnew and others and they are gaining traction in these changing times. According to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), www.camh.ca , 20% of us would normally experience a mental health problem or illness in a given year. During the current pandemic, approximately 22% of Canadians between the ages of 18-59 are experiencing moderate to severe anxiety. Our friends, neighbours and family members, maybe even you, are having a rough go in life. When rough times become a crisis/emergency due to mental wellness it is becoming clear that the emergency response needs to be from a mental health team a...