Welcome to season 7 of Rector’s Cupboard! Do you sometimes feel like all we do is talk about America? While many Canadians would see Canada as distinct from the States, we are influenced by our neighbours to the south. In Alberta, the provincial government is supporting the banning of books. Some of the political and religious currents in Canada look very similar to those in the United States. In the first episode of our new season, we speak with a Canadian writer and professor who has described the relationship of the neo-charismatic Pentecostal movement and the rise of Donald Trump. André Gagné is Chair of the Department of Theological Studies at Concordia University in Montreal. He is also a host of Spirit, State and Society, a podcast exploring how the global Pentecostal and charismatic movements intersect with politics, culture and society. We speak with Gagné about his 2024 book, American Evangelicals for Trump: Dominion, Spiritual Warfare, and End Times. Gagné’s book is enlightening if somewhat disturbing. His work speaks not only to the American context, it also brings to mind similarities and differences in Canada. If you’d like to find Gagné’s work, such as his podcast and recent articles, you can check out his Concordia faculty page.   Definitions: Expository Preaching – this style of preaching that seeks to detail the meaning and intent of a particular biblical passage.   Articles Discussed: “A shadow war on libraries”, CBC The Fifth Estate, February 7, 2025 “New Alberta school books order bans explicit images of sexual acts”, CBC, September 8,2025 “Man arrested after driving child-size pink Barbie Jeep through Prince George, B.C.”, CBC, September 8, 2025   Tasting Notes: We kicked off the season with two tastings. The first was a lovely 15-Year-Old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whiskey from Balblair Distillery, in the North of Scotland. For our second tasting we went a bit more local with Barrel-Aged Family Reserve Gin from Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery. This gin is not your typical gin. While we tasted it neat, if you wanted to mix this, Ken suggests trying a blueberry tea cocktail, with hot tea and an orange slice to bring out the citrus and oak notes in the gin.