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A New Spiritual Lens for 2025
Over the past year I’ve been experimenting with church, trying to discern what a church-without-walls could look like. I tried hosting...
johnvansloten
Dec 31, 20243 min read


An Upside-down Church
The Upside Down Church , Dennis Oppenheim, Calgary, Alberta When I was a boy, I struggled to fit into the faith of my Dutch immigrant...
johnvansloten
Dec 13, 20243 min read


Celebrating Yourself (Down Syndrome Style)
Last night I attended an annual awards ceremony hosted by Edward’s day program, Chrysalis. For most of the night Edward was subdued,...
johnvansloten
Dec 6, 20242 min read


The Season of Small Things
Here's an article I wrote for the Calgary Herald on how a Foldscope paper microscope helps us bring the spirit of advent into sharper...
johnvansloten
Nov 30, 20243 min read


Receiving Edward's Forgiveness
Edward looked a bit shocked when he came up our walkway yesterday afternoon—an unsettled mix of exhaustion and pain. Stepping into the...
johnvansloten
Nov 29, 20244 min read


Will Edward Always Live With Us?
At the pool yesterday I talked with a father who was swimming with his disabled son. While I’d said ‘Hi’ many times over the years, this...
johnvansloten
Nov 18, 20243 min read


A Down Syndrome Antidote for Panic Attacks (Calgary Herald)
Several years ago, I experienced my first panic attack; the first of a series that would upend my life for months. I didn’t understand what was happening. I couldn’t breathe. Was I losing my mind? If you’ve been there, you know the feeling. It was the worst experience I’d ever had. I prayed it would never happen again. Then it happened again, early last Thursday—waves of panic that wouldn’t stop. My breathing exercises weren’t working. I paced the house, went outside, trying
johnvansloten
Nov 2, 20243 min read


When Edward Saved Me from a Panic Attack (original blog post)
Several years ago, I experienced my first panic attack; the first of a series that would upend my life for months. I didn’t understand...
johnvansloten
Oct 22, 20245 min read


Reaching Your Dreams
As I was sorting notes for my book on Edward’s life (‘Seeing God through Down Syndrome’), I came across a photo that was taken when he...
johnvansloten
Oct 2, 20243 min read


Kindling your Imagination
Over the past few weeks I’ve been slowly reading George MacDonald’s 19th century book, Phantastes— with the hope that it would kindle my...
johnvansloten
Sep 26, 20243 min read


Deconstructing Your Faith?
“In order to be prepared to hope in what does not deceive, we must first lose hope in everything that deceives.” Georges Bernanos If...
johnvansloten
Sep 23, 20244 min read


Judgmentalism (and Down syndrome)
Earlier this week, I was out walking with Edward, and we were listening (together) to Disney’s soundtrack, The Hunchback of Notre Dame ....
johnvansloten
Sep 18, 20243 min read


Will We Have Enough?
Will we have enough? I’ve been asking this question a lot lately—mostly in relation to finances. When God called me into the ministry 30...
johnvansloten
Sep 12, 20242 min read


A Water Crisis Wakeup Call
I wrote this OpEd for the Calgary Herald about the spiritual lessons of our city water crisis: I’ve always had unlimited access to fresh...
johnvansloten
Jun 22, 20243 min read


Finding God through Disability
Here's an article I wrote about how God has worked in our lives through our son Edward. When I first learned of my son’s Down syndrome...
johnvansloten
Jun 8, 20243 min read


What’s Keeping Us from Helping People Find a Home?
"We believe that everyone has a right to a roof over their head, as long as that roof doesn’t cast shade onto our residential status...
johnvansloten
May 25, 20243 min read


How God used Supertramp to Save my Life
This is a picture of Supertramp co-founder Roger Hodgson holding a screengrab of me preaching a sermon on him (taken by the CBC). The...
johnvansloten
May 18, 20244 min read


The Cautionary Parable of Bacteria that Cause Lyme Disease
Here's an OPED I wrote for the Calgary Herald on how biology and spirituality illumine one another re: the nature of parasitic brokeness.
johnvansloten
May 4, 20241 min read


The Parable of the Bacteria that Cause Lyme Disease
Here's the link to a cool interview I did with U of C researcher Dr. George Chaconas re: the spiritual lessons that the bacteria that...
johnvansloten
Apr 30, 20241 min read


A Review of my Book "God Speaks Science"
Here is a nice review of God Speaks Science by Christian Courier.
johnvansloten
Apr 17, 20241 min read
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