Tedwalks: Rev. Robert Cooke on life, faith and humour

Rev. Robert Cooke delivers messages of weighty subjects of life and death, god and Jesus — with a dose of humour.

Cooke said he likes expressing his faith in a lighthearted, humorous way and is happy to find a congregation community that is open to his approach.

"When I read the gospels, I see Jesus using humour. The way he treats his opponents the Pharisees and Sadducees, often times he's poking fun at them," he told CBC radio host Ted Blades while walking along the Virginia River Trail for an episode of the Tedwalks podcast.

You might know Cooke's church — St. Mark's Anglican — from it's chuckle-worthy sign along Logy Bay Road in St. John's.

"Most of the messages we put up, we try to be funny, we try to show the lighter side to religion, to the church."

Cooke was ordained in 2010 but has spent the last 13 years with St. Mark's.

"Even as a kid I was looking for something more celebratory, more joyous, that something that makes a difference in people's lives," he said.

Pub theology

A lot of the things that Cooke has introduced in his parish he doesn't know if others would be open to, like pub theology — Christians meeting in a bar to drink beer and talk about God.  

As for the people who go to church, Cooke believes they are people who enjoy being there.

"Younger people are there because they want to be there, not because there's some cultural expectation that there's some guilt behind it, some fear of eternal damnation," he said.

For Cooke, it's exciting — people having a choice in how they express themselves when it comes to religion or spirituality.

"Look at the number of people doing yoga ... We're now one choice among many," he said.

To listen to the full episode of Tedwalks with Rev. Robert Cooke, click here

Listen to the entire Tedwalks series here at cbc.ca/onthego.