posted on November 1, 2005 in News

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Canadian Presbyterians immediately responded to cries for help from the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, donating more than $77,000 as of September. The money will help Church World Service and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the relief wing of the Presbyterian Church (USA), clean up the devastated areas, meet the immediate needs of survivors and assist in the rebuilding process.

posted on November 1, 2005 in News

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Purpose Driven Life, What on Earth Am I Here For?
Rick Warren
Zondervan Press, $18.50

Heart of Christianity, Rediscovering a Life of Faith
Marcus Borg
Harper Collins Press, $22.00

Matthew for Everyone, Part 1 and Part 2
Tom Wright
SPCK Publishing, $24.25

Way of the Labyrinth, A Powerful Meditation for Everyday Life
Helen Curry
Penguin Compass, $23.25

Bully, the Bullied and the Bystander
Barbara Coloroso
Harper Collins, $21.00

Thinking Theologically about Haves and Have Nots
Youth Study
Abingdon Press, $11.50

World Religions Access Guide
Michael Keene
Lion Publishing, $18.95

Purse Driven Life, It Really is All About Me
Anita Renfroe
Nav Press, $16.75

W. Stanford Reid: An Evangelical Calvinist in the Academy
A. Donald Macleod
McGill-Queens University Press, $31.50

Jesus and the Twelve Dudes Who Did
Mindy Macdonald
Multnomah Kidz Pub., $16.50

posted on November 1, 2005 in Presbytery Profile

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Multiculturalism isn't something one historically equates with the Presbyterian church. But the Presbytery of West Toronto is changing that. It boasts four congregations that cater to distinct groups — Ghanaian, Hungarian, Spanish and Portuguese. Several other congregations have significant multicultural contingents. They even have a church in Bermuda. "The Presbyterian church is currently holding services in 17 languages on a typical Sunday," said Gordon Haynes, associate secretary for Canada Ministries. "That's phenomenal. And West Toronto has picked up on that."

posted on November 1, 2005 in Features

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The Ghanaian Presbyterian Church of Toronto is growing so quickly they have had to move from one building to the next, trying to ease their bursting seams. Since a few people first gathered in a living room 11 years ago, their growth hasn't stopped. "These people were homesick for the way they worshipped back home. They missed the dancing and the African touch," said Rev. Enoch Pobee, the Ghanaian church's minister. Word travelled fast and before they knew it, they had moved three times as more parishioners flocked to the church. "They finally thought, 'We can't keep moving. What's stopping us from getting a place of our own?'" said Pobee, who is in his third year of service.

posted on November 1, 2005 in Michael Coren

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The first question is why Celine Dion was on the Larry King show at all. Presumably Larry's team of producers did not sit around all day discussing who would be the most astute commentator on the New Orleans disaster, settling not on a state governor or a Nobel laureate engineer but on a singer from Quebec.

posted on November 1, 2005 in Features

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When secular society doesn't give churches their due, it is churches that tend to fight for recognition. This is exactly what the Toronto diocese of the Anglican Church did when it appealed Toronto's official plan for failing to specifically mention places of worship. The appeal (along with 162 others from various organizations) was heard by the Ontario Municipal Board which accepted the diocese's modifications. Because other appeals have yet to be heard, a final decision approving the church settlement could take a year or more, but the contingent order is still a victory for churches.

posted on November 1, 2005 in For the Journey

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Horn Lake is my favorite place in the entire world. It is three hours to the west from the nearest village of Williams Lake. It forms the headwater of the west branch of the Homathko River or Mosley Creek on the very western edge of the dry interior Chilcotin Plateau. It is 80 kilometres from the Pacific Ocean where the Homathko empties into the deep fiord of Butte Inlet whose entrance is just north of Desolation Sound and guarded by Quadra and Cortez Islands. Once thought to be the best option for a rail-linked seaport with the rest of Canada, the Chilcotin-Homathko-Butte Inlet alternative lost out to the much longer and more difficult route through the Fraser Canyon and the much lesser natural harbour of Vancouver in Canada's most famous political scandal called the C.P.R. The results were that the rough gravel road now ends just beyond Horn Lake and access to Butte Inlet is still by water or ancient Indian trail.

posted on November 1, 2005 in News

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Rev. Richard Fee was formally inducted into his new position as General Secretary of the Life and Mission Agency on Sept. 28. He succeeds Rev. Ian Morrison, who has retired. Fee was previously executive director of Presbyterian World Service & Development.

posted on November 1, 2005 in News

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Losing a minister is never easy. Losing three is even worse. That's exactly what happened at St. Andrew's, Kitchener, Ont. Despite the setback, the congregation is regaining its footing and looking to the future. "The dust has settled, people got to speak their minds and got questions out of their hearts," said Rev. Aubrey Botha, interim moderator. "They're ready to move on; to start being new and doing new things. They're very excited."

posted on November 1, 2005 in For the Record

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"We have to be Canadians first, and then other things are secondary or third degree. Multiculturalism up to now has been fantastic, it has brought us to a very important level, but we now have to take this to the next stage."

posted on November 1, 2005 in Education, Features

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In the multicultural post-Christian era, theological schools across the country are taking a long look at how they prepare students for active ministry — changing not only the curriculum, but also how it is delivered to a widely diverse group of students.

posted on November 1, 2005 in Features

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Growth in the Presbyterian Church is largely handled by Canada Ministries, which oversees and approves new church developments, discusses growth ideas with presbyteries and hands out grants to get new congregations started. It's not an easy endeavour, and can sometimes be a bit of a game of hit-and-miss. Still, success somehow manages to eventually triumph. "It doesn't always happen, but of course we hope all new developments will become flourishing congregations," said Mathew Goslinski, administrator at Canada Ministries.

posted on November 1, 2005 in News

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Mysteries abound in a sad story concerning vandalism in a once-Presbyterian cemetery in southern Ontario. In mid-summer, vandals toppled 31 headstones in Primrose Presbyterian Cemetery and two other closed cemeteries. No one knows who the perpetrators are, but neither does anyone seem to know who even holds the deed to the property – and therefore, the repair bill.

posted on November 1, 2005 in News

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Food aid agencies like the Canadian Foodgrains Bank can now use 50 percent of their federal funding to purchase grain from developing countries. Prior regulations allowed only 10 per cent of these funds to be used for foreign grain. The announcement was heralded by CFBG executive director Jim Cornelius.

posted on November 1, 2005 in From the Moderator

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I never really understood the power of Remembrance Day until I led a service in a long-term care centre on November 11. Paying attention to Remembrance Day has been part of my life since I was a child either by attending services at school, or at the local cenotaph. Church services that I have attended, or led, early in November, always had at least a portion dedicated to remembering the lives of those who died in war, and also included prayers for peace. Those services have been memorable and important for me, but not transforming. Perhaps it was because there was always a distance, a chasm, that separated me in time and experience from the pain and suffering of war. When called to remember, I was casting back over decades in an act of respect.

posted on November 1, 2005 in News

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Under the influence of Marxism, Cuba was an atheist state. Constitutional reforms in 1992 made it secular. This opening of the churches has created a sudden growth. Pastor Dora Valentin, middle, of Iglesia Presbiterina Reformada, Luyano, has seen her congregation grow 200 per cent over the past quarter century. According to her, there is a well-educated generation but it knows nothing about the church. Church is something to which they feel called, but of which they have no experience. Of the 600,000 church goers on the island, half are Protestant, though most were born Roman Catholics. Presbyterians are an active presence in this new Cuba.

posted on November 1, 2005 in Pop Christianity

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I received letters in response to my July/August column. Some were offended I would suggest Sunday morning service is often a waste of time. Others agreed. I present one of these letters in place of my column this month. It is by Rev. Laurence DeWolfe, of Saint David's, Halifax. He also teaches preaching at the Atlantic School of Theology.

posted on November 1, 2005 in News

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Project Ploughshares, an ecumenical peace agency of the Canadian Council of Churches, is launching a campaign advocating the control of the sale of small arms and light weapons. The public awareness and education campaign is designed to inspire Canadians to call for greater governmental commitment to control small arms and deal with the underlying conditions of the weapons problem. "We're hoping that Canadians will see that these weapons need to be controlled and in places where they are already causing problems on the ground, that the government is making an effort to fix the problem," said Lynne Griffiths-Fulton, program associate at Project Ploughshares.

posted on November 1, 2005 in News

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The World Council of Churches has urged nations to strive for a world without poverty as it called for an International Day of Prayer for Peace on September 21, the same day as the United Nations International Day of Peace.

posted on November 1, 2005 in Phil Callaway

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I have been a husband for nearly 10 years now, so needless to say I know virtually everything there is to know about my wife's needs. For instance, I know that she can get by without food for 40 days and 40 nights, but definitely not without chocolate. I also know that she needs clean laundry, flowers, nurturing, romance, protection, a listening ear and clothes that fit. Whereas my basic needs are…well, pizza.