Presbyterian Record » News

‘Because I See Hope’

web admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:00:45 +0000

Israeli soldiers confront Palestinian villagers during a raid on the market in Hebron.

One of my first memories as a child is from the Holy Land. My parents were studying at Tantur (an ecumenical institute for theological studies located right between Bethlehem and Jerusalem) for a few months in 1989. All I really remember as a three-year-old were the abundant sheep and the shepherds on donkeys, whom I would point to and yell, “Look! It’s Jesus!” every time I saw them. I must have seen at least 15 of these Jesus look-alikes!

Read more on ‘Because I See Hope’…

New Neighbours at Wynford

web admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:00:39 +0000

An artist’s rendering of the Ismaili cultural centre, museum and gardens. Image copyright: Imara (Wynford Drive) Ltd

A $300-million Ismaili cultural centre is now under construction across the street from the Presbyterian Church’s national offices in Toronto.

Read more on New Neighbours at Wynford…

Quebec’s Presbyterian Bill

web admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:00:35 +0000

Under a bill adopted by the National Assembly of Quebec in June, Presbyterian College, Montreal, has been authorized to grant Master of Divinity and Master of Theological Studies degrees under its own charter. Previously, the college granted such degrees in partnership with the Montreal School of Theology.

Churches Must Help Fight AIDS

web admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:00:35 +0000

Faith leaders can play a key role in the fight against the HIV pandemic if their public statements help combat stigma and discrimination, a meeting of faith groups in Vienna in advance of the 18th International AIDS Conference has heard.

News – September 2010

web admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:00:35 +0000

‘Because I See Hope’, by Laura Ashfield

New Neighbours at Wynford

Churches Must Help Fight AIDS

Quebec’s Presbyterian Bill

Kortright Finishes Renos

Taiwan Honours Minister

Ordaining Homosexual Clergy

Letter from Haiti: The Long Road to Recovery, by Alex Macdonald

The Healing Begins, by Peter Bush

WCRC is Born

Cooking Up Controversy, by Amy MacLachlan is the Presbyterian Record’s senior writer.

Calvin is My Homeboy, by Bradley Childs

G20 No Problem for PCC

Caring for the Community

Kortright Finishes Renos

web admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:00:34 +0000

An $800,000 building renovation is finished at Kortright, Guelph, Ont. The federal government provided funds through its community adjustment fund grant (with the congregation kicking in an extra $39,000), enabling major repair work on the roof, heating system and interior spaces.

Read more on Kortright Finishes Renos…

Taiwan Honours Minister

web admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:00:31 +0000

Rev. Chiun-Chia (Paul) Tong was named Outstanding Alumnus by the Taiwan Theological College and Seminary on June 18 during the convocation of the 2010 graduating class.

Tong said he is humbled by the award and wishes to share it with his wife, Suzie for being responsible for half of his ministry. He dedicates the award to the many Canadian Presbyterian missionaries who went to Taiwan since the 18th century, starting with Rev. Dr. George Leslie MacKay, who founded the seminary.

Ordaining Homosexual Clergy

web admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:00:29 +0000

The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has approved a measure that could allow those in committed same-sex relationships to be ordained as clergy.

The proposed change to the denomination’s polices must still be approved by the church’s 173 presbyteries. In 2009, 94 of the local bodies voted against the change following a similar decision by the 2008 assembly.

Letter from Haiti: The Long Road to Recovery

web admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:00:27 +0000

Claudette Auxin sells limited items after her store was destroyed by the earthquake in Haiti.

“Outside help is necessary for us. I need you to tell my story.”

The Healing Begins

web admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:00:25 +0000

The first national event of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission began with great expectations as hundreds of people gathered round the sacred fire at the Oodena Celebration Circle at the Forks in Winnipeg. A pipe and drum ceremony along with Christian prayers in Cree, French and English set the stage for the sharing of stories.

WCRC is Born

web admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:00:24 +0000

Rev. Stephen Kendall signs the new WCRC commitment statement.

On June 18, 80 million Reformed Christians from 230 denominations were joined together as the World Communion of Reformed Churches was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Cooking Up Controversy

web admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:00:23 +0000

While she doesn’t actively cultivate a career of controversy, Dr. Margaret Somerville’s track record with the media belies the truth: during a particularly prolific four-month span, the ethicist, Samuel Gale Professor of Law, professor in the Faculty of Medicine, and founding director of McGill University’s Centre for Medicine, Law and Ethics was mentioned by the media more than 13,000 times.

Calvin is My Homeboy

web admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:00:09 +0000

Hip-Hop Church
The House is an urban teen-oriented, non-denominational church in Chicago and is an extension of Lawndale Community Church. The House sees itself as a missionary experiment within the U.S. hip-hop community and as its guiding principle, it cites God’s call of Ezekiel to peoples whose language is known to him. The church serves around 500 teens in a service where all of the music is either hip-hop or rap.
thahouse.org/index2.html

G20 No Problem for PCC

web admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:00:08 +0000

G20 security on King Street, Toronto. photo: The Canadian Press Images/Christian Lapid

St. Andrew’s, King Street, Toronto, was about as close as one could get to the G20 meeting in June. But despite being in the midst of the frenzied security and violent protests, the church opened its doors for Sunday morning service — without any problems.

Caring for the Community

web admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:00:06 +0000

St. Andrew’s, Nanaimo, B.C., is rediscovering its connection to the community. The congregation feeds about 100 people twice a month — about 80 of those are students from the high school across the road.

Read more on Caring for the Community…

First Regent College-VST Grad

web admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:00:00 +0000

This spring, the first student enrolled in a joint Master of Divinity program graduated from Regent College, armed with a diploma from the Vancouver School of Theology, and a degree from Regent.

Food Aid Reform

web admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:00:00 +0000

Seven countries, including Canada, and the European Union previously promised to provide about five million tonnes of food aid each year to countries in need. However, the Food Aid Convention — the name of the international agreement — is in need of change, and after several years of delays, the member countries have agreed to begin negotiations on reforming the convention, hopefully by this December, and concluding by June 2011.

Crieff Hills Renovations Get Underway

web admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 05:00:52 +0000

More than $14,000 was raised at an auction on May 15 for the Building a Place Apart Campaign,
which supports the planned renovations of the Crieff Hills Community Retreat and Conference
Centre. Participants bid on quilts, furniture, paintings, gift certificates and other items. The official
groundbreaking also took place during the event, with representatives from the MacLean Estate
Committee, the Capital Campaign team and honourary campaign advisors present.

Presbyterian Takes Top Award

web admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 05:00:51 +0000

“I was both surprised and thrilled that a dissertation in the humanities, with the words ‘dance,’ ‘music,’ and ‘Presbyterian’ in its title, was given full recognition as a rigorous scholarly work,” said Clara Henderson of her winning doctoral dissertation, Dance Discourse in the Music and Lives of Presbyterian Mvano Women in Southern Malawi.

Anglicans Issue Pastoral Statement on Sexuality

web admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 05:00:41 +0000

General Synod 2010 of the Anglican Church of Canada decided almost unanimously to issue a pastoral statement on human sexuality rather than create any new legislation that might have permitted or inhibited same-sex blessings in the church.