bonjour/hi

I am Jean-Daniel (zhawn-danyell), like John Daniel, but in French. I live in Montréal, Québec, Canada. Professionally I am a pastor and a playwright. Those are independent, but interrelated. They are both ways of telling stories to tell truths bigger than the story itself, ways of exploring and expressing empathy, ways of building communities that last into the future on the foundation of ancient traditions. Less nobly, both are a lot of fun, most of the time.

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I am a high school drop out who failed at staying out of school, and now I hold undergraduate degrees from Harvard University and a master's degree from Yale University. God willing, I will complete a Ph.D. that I started at Université de Montréal. 

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I make YouTube and TikTok videos, write essays, preach at churches, lead workshops, and lecture at universities. I want to help people make sense of the world, feel loved, and understand one another better.

 

I'm openly, and sometimes unashamedly, Christian, Québécois, Canadian, queer, autistic, and awkward. I get particularly passionate about making sure church and society do better at welcoming those who speak minority languages and those who think in marginalised, neurodiverse ways.

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I have a service dog named Rilla Blythe, a beautiful border collie, who helps me stay alive; two amazing teens who make my life worth every challenge, and two ungrateful cats who keep me humble. I now serve professionally as the national pastor of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Canada.

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Outside of work, I love to hike and swim, obsess over Broadway musicals, re-read the Anne of Green Gables series each year, collect antique books, photograph hundreds of things a day, and weep at the cuteness of animals.

 

Disclaimer:

The church I lead professionally is a diverse religious tradition in which each member follows Jesus as they discern God is calling them, so I do not speak for anybody else in my church community on this website! Or frankly even, in our tradition, at when I speak at church.