Faith

A Girl up There!

Wilma Welsh

Out of the mouths of babes! What a joy to have the opportunity to talk with the little ones during Sunday worship. There are always delightful surprises. Recently I worshipped in St. Andrew's, Victoria, and one of the children seemed rather surprised to see a woman in the pulpit and told her grandmother, “There is a girl up there.” She is the great-great-granddaughter of a former moderator, Rev. Dr. Lewis MacLean. How wonderful it is to visit with families who continue to worship together, many with three generations.

What is the Church?

afaiz

We are the prize churches and movements struggle to gain. The more of us — in the pews, in the pulpits — there are inside a particular building means that church, that denomination, that movement is active, alive. Our numbers are interpreted as vibrancy, as authenticity. And often that is true. Human beings seek the light, the fun, the energetic. Nobody wants to congregate in a mausoleum. Human beings also seek community; they want to be in the company of others who share their interests. But community can be a double-edged sword — all communities are gated in their own way. Several writers this month make that case.

Continue to marvel

Wilma Welsh

What great stories I am hearing as I visit the Church. In January while in Prince Edward Island I visited two congregations, Tyne Valley and Victoria West. Despite their small numbers they share an enthusiasm and an excitement for mission. As we travelled through the countryside it was disappointing to see how many church buildings are no longer in use. However, at the presbytery meeting, we learned of one congregation that has gone from a half-time ministry to a three-quarters time ministry and now with the assistance of Presbyterians Sharing, through Canada Ministries, they proceeded with a call for a full time minister. It is good to be able to celebrate such great stories. I am not facing all doom and gloom but a new excitement for ministry within our Church.

I Just Want to Belong

Calvin Brown

A sense of belonging is at the core of Christian experience. It includes not only the grace-filled belonging in the personal fellowship within the Godhead, as John speaks of in Chapter One of his first letter, but also belonging to the fellowship of believers. In the Apostles' Creed, which outlines the essentials of the faith, we declare our belief in the Holy Catholic church and in the communion of saints. These confessions affirm our basic human need to belong. Even in the creation story we are reminded that in the Creator's perspective, even though He was pleased with all He had made, yet it was not good for the man to be alone and so Eve was created from Adam's side to be a companion and helpmate.

A great new venture

Jo Ayers

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, “Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.” He said “Put your hand into the hand of God; it shall be to you better than a light, and safer than the known way.”

Acknowledge the responsibility

davidharris

According to a native adage, you have to walk a mile in another person's moccasins before you can understand them. No one said how far you have to walk to understand their pain if you take their moccasins away. • Our cover story, Sharing the Pain, is an attempt to reveal some of the pain caused by residential schools and some of the ways the church is trying to address it.

Wishing it was Sunday

Wilma Welsh

At the close of a service, I was shaking hands and greeting members. I was delighted to hear in words what I have felt as I visited in many of the congregations within our church. The member said to me, “Since our new minister came a few years ago I wish everyday was Sunday so that I could come to church.” I could tell from the look on his face how sincere he was.

That wee small voice

Wilma Welsh

During these past few weeks, my travels as moderator have taken me to Alberta, Nova Scotia, and British Columbia as well as to several places in Ontario. I have visited synods, presbyteries and congregations. I have participated in meetings of the national church and the Women's Missionary Society. I am encouraged by the life and vitality of our Church and its congregations; the faithfulness of our members, their warmth and their caring for each other. I have come away from each visit with a feeling of excitement about the health of the congregations within The Presbyterian Church in Canada.

Debating the virgin birth

Calvin Brown

It is interesting to reflect that faithful followers of both Islam and Christianity can confess that according to their scriptures Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary. But at that point their theology diverges. Orthodox Christians believe that the virgin birth, which is confessed in all the historic and widely used creeds, is a clear declaration that Jesus is not only Son of Man but Son of God — that Jesus has co-existing natures and that it is accurate to say he is truly human and at the same time truly God. Christians do not believe he is half God and half man, but as Living Faith tries to explain it: “God's nature is expressed in Jesus, the very Word of God … Jesus Christ is Lord. He is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit.”

A 130-year-old Record

davidharris

In 1866, as the Fathers of Confederation were working on drafting the British North America Act that would lead to the creation of Canada the following year, a Montreal businessman and journalist, James Croil, was appointed an agent of the Presbyterian synod in connection with the Church of Scotland “to devise

Much joy in villages

Wilma Welsh

Last month I wrote to you while on the first leg of a visit to Chennai in southern India. Our time there was followed by much joy and several special events in the villages on the Bhil field in central India, beginning with celebrations at the airport in Indore where a large group gathered to welcome us.

Mission is our life

davidharris

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.

Our gifts relieved suffering

Wilma Welsh

I am writing this from India. I am traveling with Ron Wallace of International Ministries, Sarah Kim of the Women's Missionary Society and Amy MacLachlan of The Presbyterian Record. As we visit projects, organizations and institutions, we have been warmly welcomed. We have met many friends of the PCC, both old and new. They have asked me to extend their warm greetings and deep appreciation to the members of The Presbyterian Church in Canada.

Men, cease your childish ways

davidharris

At the recent international AIDS conference held in Toronto, speaker after speaker pointed out that AIDS need not be nearly so widespread and destructive as it is. • Why then is AIDS so widespread and spreading? • The answer you get depends on who you ask, as Andrew Faiz's in-depth report in this issue reveals. Some people blame poverty, some politics. Some point fingers at homosexuals, others at prostitutes and intravenous drug users.

The mission of today

Wilma Welsh

I have just returned from attending the Ecumenical and Interfaith pre-conference meeting held prior to the International Aids Conference in Toronto. It was an incredible experience to have the opportunity to talk to individuals from all around the world who are committed to “Keeping the Promise” to do everything possible to help stamp out HIV/AIDS; to work together Towards A World Without Aids including encouraging governments to take up this challenge. We as a denomination have responded exceptionally well to the financial campaign in raising over $750,000 – our goal was $500,000. Congregations are to be commended for the creative initiatives they have taken in having special events to raise funds and awareness of this serious HIV/AIDS pandemic. This is the mission of today by people of all faiths, to stamp out this dreaded virus. Many of the participants at the conference are living with the HIV virus and shared their stories. Many have lost their loved ones to AIDS. Grandmothers, some with as many as 30 grandchildren, are bearing the responsibility of raising young children. It is so hard to comprehend the vastness of this problem. In the developed world most have the privilege of getting the drugs needed to sustain a quality of life. In the developing world the drugs are not available to everyone, so an affected person's only expectation is death, a suffering death. We need to help make it possible for everyone to have the opportunity to receive the needed drugs.

Beatings, hugs, shunning

Calvin Brown

The media has made much of the Conservative government's promise to crack down on violent crime and impose mandatory sentencing on perpetrators. The arguments in the press usually focus on whether the proposal is just a bunch of smoke and mirrors or whether it will be effective in stopping violent crime.

Youth inspired to ‘hit the road’ at church’s largest gathering

communications

Talk about a lesson in contrasts. In early July, more than 600 youth, young adults and youth leaders descended on Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont., ready for some singing, playing, dancing and worshipping (amidst flashing lights, electric guitars and giant projection screens), and yes, for some learning too. Exactly one month prior, Brock was home to the 132nd General Assembly, where playing and dancing were farther from the ho-hum agenda than thoughts of snow to a cottager lounging by the lake.

Jesus walks with you

Kristine O’Brien

You know better than I do that being a teenager these days is far from easy. There is a lot of pressure from your parents and teachers. Life moves faster now than in any other generation and that brings with it more demands on your time. There is increasing violence in society and even in schools, you have readier access to drugs than ever before and diseases like AIDS make the world a scary place. Add to that the pain of heartache and the need to fit in that every young person has to cope with, and life can totally suck sometimes.

We must stomach world hunger

Erin Woods

This year my church’s progressive dinner was scheduled during the 24-hour famine my youth group organized to combat world hunger. The nerve! So while nine youth and five adults were starving, the rest of the congregation was indulging in a five-course meal. And we had to sleep on a hard floor that night, and our youth band had to play in the service the next morning, when all of its members were hungry and light-headed. Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to complain. For one thing, our congregation helped us to surpass our $2,000 fundraising goal by more than $400. For another, I just don’t deserve to whine. I live in North America, where all youth are rich, spoiled and lazy. That, according to the World Vision Famine website (www.famine.ca), is the judgment pronounced on us by youth of other continents. Ouch. Sadly, though, I agree. We have no idea what hardship is.