I grew up in town of Niagara-on-the Lake, before the Shaw Festival arrived. In the 1960’s the town was a sleepy place, where the town encouraged its residents to park in the middle of Queen Street, so it would make the town seem busier. Since the Shaw Festival came to the town, it has been transformed with many boutique shops, bed and breakfasts and tourists from all over the world.
Niagara was the first place I met God. God has always been there, but God was revealed to me in my childhood. God was all about place for me. There is a spot where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, and it seems the river is flowing in the wrong direction. There is also that spot at the end of the fourth hole (now the fifth hole) on the golf course, that on a clear day you can seen the skyline of Toronto.
Shirley and I returned to Niagara-on-the-Lake this past weekend. We met God again. We stayed at a bed and breakfast in Virgil. The b and b’s in the Old Town were all full. We met a family from Ohio who were also staying there. I said to my wife, we are not going to talk politics, but the family brought it up. The younger man told us he carries a gun, to protect himself from the federal government. I could not imagine when he would determine when the government crossed the line, and who would he shoot? God was there in the discussion somewhere. The family was not religious.
We were walking in the Old Town, and came across a Fred Penner concert, Penner was on the CBC as a kid’s performer. He helped raise us, and our kids. The concert was full of kids and young parents. He sang familiar tunes, and it was great. The concert was a fundraiser for the community to raise money for a Syrian refugee family. The family has arrived and there were pictures of them having a picnic in one of the town parks. God was there for me in the concert, and is in the community as it welcomes the refugees into their homes. For me, God is about music and about justice. We encountered both at the Royal George Theatre. And Fred Penner signed his book for our grandson Levi, and the next one that we are expecting in December. God was there.
The reason we went to Niagara was to attend a Bruce Cockburn concert. It was an intimate outdoor venue at the Jackson-Triggs Winery. It is always great to have Bruce in the house. He started the concert with “Lovers in a Dangerous Time.“ He played mostly his old stuff like, “Pacing the Cage” and “Lord of the Starfields,“ and so it was a great evening. In the background, there were frogs also playing their own song. Bruce noted that frogs sing in a certain key throughout the world. Cool. He ended his concert with a new song. I think it is called “Jesus Train.“ The refrain went like this, “I am on the Jesus train, headed for the city of God.” Bruce has also had an interesting spiritual journey that comes out in his songs. God was there.
On Saturday morning, before we left for home, we watched the birds on the shore of Lake Ontario. Swallows, seagulls, cormorants, and terns were among swooping, diving, and talking birds that we experienced. Then there were the peaches, plums, grapes, nectarines that were being sold along the roadside. God can be seen throughout the creation. At least this is what I try to believe.
I was with my lovely wife, and I got to see Fred Penner, hear Bruce. Life does not get any better. I do not know why I have been so blessed. “I am on the Jesus train, headed for the city of God.“ I do not know where I am going, but I know who I am with, while here on this earth.