It’s a story I’ve told many times over the last number of years: how we became “The Dale”. 2012 began a real season of change for us and we knew that it was going to include a new name. At the time I asked people what this community meant to them, even in just one word. I got many responses, the most consistent being, “safe”.

A dale is a valley. It is common for a dale to run alongside or even through a mountain. If I decided to climb a mountain and during the ascent found myself bracing for an incoming storm, I would go back down to the dale to be safe. God promises to walk with us through valleys, including the one that is in the shadow of death. All of this, along with our rootedness in Parkdale led us to becoming The Dale Ministries.

I recently had the opportunity to tell this story to a community member who had never heard it before. Joanna and I were just about to head out to pick up a donation when he strolled up and wanted to briefly chat, specifically about our name. As I explained it, he kept his hands in his pockets and kept looking up at the sunlit sky. He finally interjected, “but don’t you think the dale would fill up with water during the storm?”.

It’s a good observation. The reality is, we cannot claim The Dale is completely free of danger. In fact, I’ve become fond of saying The Dale hopes to be as safe as possible. We can’t promise zero conflict. We can’t guarantee a place where everyone agrees, where no one fights, where pain doesn’t leak out, where the shadow of death doesn’t exist, where the waters don’t rise. We can work diligently to interrupt the many isms that threaten to strip people of their dignity and foster an environment where all people can come and be fully embraced.

The other day Dion and I were watching a show called World’s Toughest Race. During an interview one of the players was admitting that people wonder why anyone would put themselves through something as hard as this race. The answer? The challenge, especially when faced alongside teammates, develops something really deep inside. At The Dale we are a group of people learning to risk coming as we are before each other and God, even when the flood waters are intensifying. I believe it to be true that something really deep is developing inside this valley, the one we call The Dale Ministries.

You can read about the original process of finding our new name here: Finally, Our New Name