• The Four Seasons problem
    Jun 30 2026

    The Premier of Ontario is all about building more prisons, getting rid of encampments and shutting down safe comsumption sites. Like a lot of things, Jesus has a story for that.

    • Link to "A Safer Ontario" ad from the Government of Ontario.


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    Wilderness Times is co-created with Broadview, an award-winning Canadian publication known for thoughtful journalism that attends to spirituality, justice and the questions that tug at our collective conscience.

    Broadview is a registered charity and has made this Substack freely available because we believe that thoughtful, justice-seeking journalism should be accessible to everyone. Creating this space — and keeping it free — takes time, skill and resources. If this space nourishes you, please make a tax-deductible donation.

    Your support empowers Broadview to tell more courageous stories and helps build a more just and compassionate world.

    Donate to Broadview

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    13 mins
  • The state killed a man on behalf of the people. Almost none of the people came.
    Jun 2 2026

    Some messy thoughts as Bri-anne attends Texas' 600th execution carried out in the Modern Era of the Death Penalty.

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    Wilderness Times is co-created with Broadview, an award-winning Canadian publication known for thoughtful journalism that attends to spirituality, justice and the questions that tug at our collective conscience.

    Broadview is a registered charity and has made this Substack freely available because we believe that thoughtful, justice-seeking journalism should be accessible to everyone. Creating this space — and keeping it free — takes time, skill and resources. If this space nourishes you, please make a tax-deductible donation.

    Your support empowers Broadview to tell more courageous stories and helps build a more just and compassionate world.

    Donate to Broadview

    Show More Show Less
    12 mins
  • When “protecting women” is really about power
    Mar 8 2026

    On this episode, we ask a difficult question: what happens when the language of protecting women is used to harm others instead? Through politics, scripture, and the story of Dinah in the Book of Genesis, we explore how easily protection can become a mask for power.

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    Wilderness Times is co-created with Broadview, an award-winning Canadian publication known for thoughtful journalism that attends to spirituality, justice and the questions that tug at our collective conscience.

    Broadview is a registered charity and has made this Substack freely available because we believe that thoughtful, justice-seeking journalism should be accessible to everyone. Creating this space — and keeping it free — takes time, skill and resources. If this space nourishes you, please make a tax-deductible donation.

    Your support empowers Broadview to tell more courageous stories and helps build a more just and compassionate world.

    Donate to Broadview

    Show More Show Less
    9 mins
  • The lentiest Lent
    Feb 22 2026

    There is a particular kind of loneliness that comes from being the only awake person in a house where someone is dying. This episode tells the story of my father’s final year during COVID and asks what happens when grief is carried without witnesses.

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    Wilderness Times is co-created with Broadview, an award-winning Canadian publication known for thoughtful journalism that attends to spirituality, justice and the questions that tug at our collective conscience.

    Broadview is a registered charity and has made this Substack freely available because we believe that thoughtful, justice-seeking journalism should be accessible to everyone. Creating this space — and keeping it free — takes time, skill and resources. If this space nourishes you, please make a tax-deductible donation.

    Your support empowers Broadview to tell more courageous stories and helps build a more just and compassionate world.

    Donate to Broadview

    Show More Show Less
    11 mins
  • Repentence & Atonement on Death Row
    Apr 21 2023

    Rev. Bri-anne shares an interview with her spiritual advisee in the days leading up to his scheduled execution. They talk about faith, his desire to donate one of his kidneys, and how he sees it as a means to atone for past mistakes.

    More complete shownotes can be found on our website.

    BIBLE BITES
    "Keeping Awake within in the Prison Cell"


    MUSIC
    Gravity of Love - The Brilliance
    Foxes & Birds - Amick Cutler


    RELEVANT LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE

    A Texas death row inmate is seeking a 30-day reprieve to donate a kidney. An appeals court has issued an execution stay for a different reason

    On Death Row, He Is Grasping at Grace

    Broadview Magazine Article



    WILDERNESS TIMES' LINKS

    Wilderness Times Website

    Jubilee United Church Website
    Jubilee United Church - Facebook
    Jubilee United Church - Instagram
    Jubilee United Church - YouTube
    Jubilee United Church - TikTok

    Resistance Church Website
    Resistance Church - TikTok
    Resistance Church - Instagram
    Resistance Church - Facebook
    Resistance Church - YouTube

    Wilderness Times and Resistance Church are digital ministries of Jubilee United Church, an Affirming (2SLGBTQ+ positive) congregation of the United Church of Canada, committed to the work of being an anti-racist congregation, as well as Right Relationship with Indigenous Peoples. The space on which we work and gather is the land of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnaabe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples, and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples from across Turtle Island.

    Resistance Church reaches out to those for whom traditional church models are not always relevant or accessible. Rest. Hope. Community. Subversive faith & radical love in response to extraordinary times.

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    35 mins
  • L'chaim! Advocating for Life with Michael Zoosman
    Feb 8 2023

    Rev. Bri-anne sits down with Cantor Michael Zoosman to talk about L'chaim: Jews Against the Death Penalty and the importance of advocating against Captial Punishment.

    More complete shownotes can be found on our website.

    GUESTS
    Cantor Michael Zoosman

    BIBLE BITES
    The Final Three Plagues
    Bri-anne specifically reads:
    Exodus 11 from outside the former Don Jail


    MUSIC
    See the Love - The Brilliance
    Let Healing Swiftly Come - Bri-anne Swan

    RELEVANT LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE

    L'chaim: Jews Against the Death Penalty

    Bo: Softening the ‘Hardened Hearts’ of Pro-Death Political Leaders

    Gov. DeSantis’ Death Penalty Pledges for Holocaust Remembrance Day


    “The Banality of Execution”



    WILDERNESS TIMES' LINKS

    Wilderness Times Website

    Jubilee United Church Website
    Jubilee United Church - Facebook
    Jubilee United Church - Instagram
    Jubilee United Church - YouTube
    Jubilee United Church - TikTok

    Resistance Church Website
    Resistance Church - TikTok
    Resistance Church - Instagram
    Resistance Church - Facebook
    Resistance Church - YouTube

    Wilderness Times and Resistance Church are digital ministries of Jubilee United Church, an Affirming (2SLGBTQ+ positive) congregation of the United Church of Canada, committed to the work of being an anti-racist congregation, as well as Right Relationship with Indigenous Peoples. The space on which we work and gather is the land of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnaabe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples, and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples from across Turtle Island.

    Resistance Church reaches out to those for whom traditional church models are not always relevant or accessible. Rest. Hope. Community. Subversive faith & radical love in response to extraordinary times.

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr
  • Faith, Identity, & Authenticity with Cynthia Vacca Davis
    Nov 16 2022
    With a few audio issues (oops) Rev. Bri-anne sits down with author Cynthia Vacca Davis as they discuss Cynthia's newly released book Intersexion, as well as Cynthia's journey of allyship, and the cost of being Intersex in a complicated church landscape.More complete shownotes can be found on our website.GUESTSCynthia Vacca DavisBIBLE BITESPsalm 138:14read by Julian | King Julez from Toronto, Canada.Julian is chair of Affirm United S'affirmer EnsembleMUSICMommy Issues - Don't Leave Me Here on My OwnEmorie - LighthouseRELEVANT LINKS FROM THIS EPISODEDefinition of "Intersex" from PlannedParenthood.orgIntersexion: A Story of Faith, Identity, and Authenticity: Lake Drive BooksAmazon CanadaAmazon USIndigo"The Gospel of Rope" by Rev. AnonymousThe Canadian Journal of Theology Mental Health and Disability 2 no. 2, Fall 2022WILDERNESS TIMES' LINKSWilderness Times Website Jubilee United Church WebsiteJubilee United Church - FacebookJubilee United Church - InstagramJubilee United Church - YouTubeJubilee United Church - TikTokResistance Church WebsiteResistance Church - TikTokResistance Church - InstagramResistance Church - FacebookResistance Church - YouTubeWilderness Times and Resistance Church are digital ministries of Jubilee United Church, an Affirming (2SLGBTQ+ positive) congregation of the United Church of Canada, committed to the work of being an anti-racist congregation, as well as Right Relationship with Indigenous Peoples. The space on which we work and gather is the land of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnaabe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples, and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples from across Turtle Island.Resistance Church reaches out to those for whom traditional church models are not always relevant or accessible. Rest. Hope. Community. Subversive faith & radical love in response to extraordinary times.
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    48 mins
  • Naming the Complexities of Medical Assistance in Dying with Daniel Hayward
    Oct 26 2022

    Rev. Bri-anne sits down with Rev. Daniel Hayward as they discuss disability justice, the United Church of Canada’s statements on Medical Assistance in Dying, and some thoughts about balancing the rights of the individual against the welfare of the collective.

    More complete shownotes can be found on our website.

    GUESTS
    Rev. Daniel Hayward
    Dan's Twitter

    BIBLE BITES
    Jeremiah 29:7
    Read by Landon Hammet of South Carolina, from a trade show in Chicago.

    MUSIC
    Timbre Choir - Come and Go
    Emorie - River

    RELEVANT LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE

    • United Church of Canada's Statements on Medical Assistance in Dying

    2017 Statement
    Revised Statement (2021)

    • The Rooster Crows Podcast from Lawrence Park Community Church
    • Woman with chemical sensitivities chose medically-assisted death after failed bid to get better housing – CTV News: April 13, 2022
    • How poverty, not pain, is driving Canadians with disabilities to consider medically-assisted death – Global News: October 8, 2022
    • Ethics of medically-assisted death questioned as some turn to it as an alternative to poverty – CityTV: October 14, 2022


    WILDERNESS TIMES' LINKS

    Wilderness Times Website

    Jubilee United Church Website
    Jubilee United Church - Facebook
    Jubilee United Church - Instagram
    Jubilee United Church - YouTube
    Jubilee United Church - TikTok

    Resistance Church Website
    Resistance Church - TikTok
    Resistance Church - Instagram
    Resistance Church - Facebook
    Resistance Church - YouTube

    Wilderness Times and Resistance Church are digital ministries of Jubilee United Church, an Affirming (2SLGBTQ+ positive) congregation of the United Church of Canada, committed to the work of being an anti-racist congregation, as well as Right Relationship with Indigenous Peoples. The space on which we work and gather is the land of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnaabe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples, and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples from across Turtle Island.

    Resistance Church reaches out to those for whom traditional church models are not always relevant or accessible. Rest. Hope. Community. Subversive faith & radical love in response to extraordinary times.

    Show More Show Less
    58 mins