The WCC works towards ecumenical cooperation
posted on November 1, 2006 in News
Upon my return from the central committee of the World Council of Churches in Geneva, Switzerland, I read a rather interesting comment from a Presbyterian minister friend, written in response to the newly elected WCC moderator, which spoke about the need for “new life” in the ecumenical movement. My friend wrote, “Like a probe sent to Mars, finding life may be a product of where you look for it. I see it all about me in my city. It is here that I see so much vitality and growth in ecumenism, along with growing acceptance and sharing.” After all, he suggested, the local expressions of ecumenism, in his city, are vibrant and healthy. People of different backgrounds regularly worship together, work on issues of common concern and have, through those involvements, broken down many of the historic divides in the Body of Christ. What more is needed on a national or international scale?
posted on November 1, 2006 in News
Dr. Ernie Regehr was named the 2007 recipient of the E.H. Johnson Award for someone working on the “cutting edge” of mission. Regehr was a co-founder of Project Ploughshares where he was worked diligently over the past several years. He is also adjunct associate professor in Peace and Conflict Studies at Conrad Grebel University College, University of Waterloo. Next year he will teach a course on “disarming conflicts” at Wilfrid Laurier University. Regehr publishes widely on peace and security issues and maintains a broad range of international engagements related to nuclear non-proliferation and regional conflicts. He has served as an NGO representative and expert advisor on a variety of Government of Canada delegations to multilateral disarmament forums and, among his current appointments, he is a Commissioner on the World Council of Churches Commission on International Affairs and a member of the Board of Directors of the Africa Peace Forum of Nairobi, Kenya.
posted on November 1, 2006 in News
ENI – German chancellor Angela Merkel has criticised as “self censorship” the cancellation of a Mozart opera in Berlin because of concern that a scene featuring the severed head of the Prophet Muhammad could lead to attacks by Muslims.
posted on November 1, 2006 in News
“This is a real marriage of theology and architecture,” Dwight Duncan, Ontario's energy minister told architect Roberto Chiotti who designed the “green” St. Gabriel's Roman Catholic Church in Toronto.
The Presbytery of Niagara seeks to go into the world at large
posted on November 1, 2006 in Presbytery Profile
The Presbytery of Niagara was host to the national church twice this year, bringing hundreds of volunteers together. Brock University in St. Catharines was the site of the 132nd General Assembly in June and Canada Youth 2006 in July. The presbytery has 19 charges and 23 congregations, some with a handful of adherents and others with more than 400 members. But each shares the goal of congregational renewal and re-visioning. Many churches are looking to expand their outreach. Rev. Tijs Theijsmeijer, presbytery clerk, says a future project with Arabic ministries is under consideration. “Hopefully within the next year it'll be an established ministry,” he says.
posted on November 1, 2006 in Features
And looking at those who sat around him, he said,
Probing the history of the heart of Canadian Presbyterianism
posted on November 1, 2006 in Books
No Small Jewel: A History Of the Synod Of Southwestern Ontario
posted on November 1, 2006 in News
A long friendship in Christ was confirmed in September, when a twinning covenant was signed by the Saskatoon Native Circle Ministry and The Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, Montreal.
posted on November 1, 2006 in Education, Features
Tara Bentall King, co-ordinator of student recruitment at the Vancouver School of Theology, recently attended a conference on spirituality in the Pacific Northwest.
posted on November 1, 2006 in News
ENI – Hungarian church leaders have urged politicians to show greater responsibility, following days of street protests calling for the resignation of the country's premier after he admitted telling lies about the economy.
Bryden calls out a challenge to the church today
posted on November 1, 2006 in Books
This is a top-notch piece of historical scholarship. But it leaves me haunted by a disquieting question — so what?
The book evaluates Bryden insightfully and highly as a prophetic presence and a dynamic teacher across the second quarter of the 20th century. But Vissers seems constrained to leave that life and that work lying in the past tense. I write these lines for two reasons:
Read more on He's dead but he won't lie down…
Two projects encourage random acts of kindness
posted on November 1, 2006 in Mission Knocks
If you go down to the mall today, you're in for a big surprise. If the mall is somewhere in Ajax, Ont., and if it's 1 p.m. on the first Saturday of the month, someone may just hand you a Tim Hortons gift certificate and say, “Have a coffee on us.”
Mission is also about learning and fundraising
posted on November 1, 2006 in Features
Rev. Dr. Glen Davis was the interim minister at St. Andrew's-Chalmers, Uxbridge, Ont., last year. During that time he was also leader for a mission trip to Malawi. In December, Glen spoke at a Saturday morning breakfast about his trip; what he observed of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and how the church is responding. This event was open to the community and many people from outside the congregation attended and were moved by Glen's presentation.
Hope is the ground from which real and meaningful environmental care can sprout
posted on November 1, 2006 in For the Journey
Very late last night, as I was driving home from house church at Sheridan Lake, I saw something I have never seen before and reckon will never see again.
posted on November 1, 2006 in News
The choir of the Hungarian Theological Seminary from Romania, under the direction of mission staff person Brian Johnston, arrived in Canada in late September and performed to standing ovations across the Maritimes and Ontario for two weeks. In introducing the choir to church office personnel, Annemarie Klassen thanked Johnston and the choir for bringing their ministry to Canada. A choir member later returned the compliment by thanking the Presbyterian staff for supporting them in their mission.
posted on November 1, 2006 in News
A diverse coalition of religious and civil liberties groups spoke out against a U.S. House bill in which a provision was passed stating military chaplains should be mindful of the pluralistic nature of the army and provide non-sectarian and inclusive prayer if necessary. Chaplains or their endorsing groups filed no complaints. However, the civil liberties coalition felt the provision was “unnecessary and unwise.”
John Visser's biography of Walter Bryden is an important book for our times
posted on November 1, 2006 in Books
The Neo-orthodox Theology of W.W. Bryden
posted on November 1, 2006 in For the Record
Get some Christians talking about their faith and sooner or later the question is raised: how do I live out my faith in the world? What can I do to make a difference? It's a way of talking about Christian mission—knowing we are loved by God and proclaiming that love to the world.
Exploring the depth of experience in Grenada
posted on November 1, 2006 in Features
Welcome to CANACOM YAM work camp 2006 from the spice island of Grenada! Grenada is known for its spices—nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cinnamon and cocoa—and the scent fills the air at Saturday markets. The theme for our work camp came from our particular context: Enabling the Spice Within (using the gifts of the Spirit for the mission of the church). Every three years CANACOM (of which The Presbyterian Church in Canada is a founding member) sponsors a work camp for young adults ranging in age from 18-30, which is hosted by one of the member churches.
posted on November 1, 2006 in News
ENI – Members of Canada's largest Protestant denomination are going to drink tap water at future meetings and not the bottled variety that has become institutionalised at gatherings, if church leaders have their way.
