Feature

An Imitation of Christ

Ian S. Wishart

One of the keys to John Calvin's enduring influence is his practical advice on Christian living. He understood ordinary people in the midst of ordinary life. “If we live, we must use the necessary instruments for life. We cannot avoid those matters which serve our pleasures rather than our needs. But that we should use them with a pure conscience, we should observe moderation.” Calvin did not advocate withdrawal from the world. He built no monasteries – no wandering the highways with a begging bowl. He was a city man, and projected a way of life for urban men and women. As a devotional writer, he can speak to a modern world.

Christmas Around the World : Christmas in Jamaica

Joyce Gladwell

In rural Jamaica, where I grew up seven decades ago, going to church was at the heart of Christmas in my family. In my memory the night was moonlit or bright with stars, the air warm and soft, as we walked home together after the midnight service on Christmas Eve. Sounds of merriment were distanced by the hilly country as our neighbours set off fireworks in celebration. I felt secure and satisfied because the preparations were over, the baking and preserving done, gifts of new clothing and food distributed to the poor, and our parents, who taught school and served in church and community, were at leisure at last. The feasting and visiting could now begin.

Christmas Around the World : Christmas in Jamaica

Sybil Mosley

As a child growing up in rural Jamaica, I found Christmas a very exciting time – a lot of fun. I looked forward to getting a new dress to wear to church on Christmas Sunday. Christmas chorals would be coming from every radio as early as November. The men would be standing or walking with their transistor radios on the highest volume. One could feel the fever in the air. It was a time of getting together with families and friends to celebrate more than just material things, of which we didn't have much, but rather life. The Christmas story was a meaningful and essential part of my life as a child. While we knew that our little gifts did not come from Santa Claus, because we did not know such a person, we knew that Jesus was the reason for Christmas.

How Poverty Wounds the Soul

Glenn Inglis

Twenty five years ago when I walked through the Blantyre Mission, the school children would run toward me shouting, "How are you?" They were practicing their English, trying to get that pesky 'r' right, and they would giggle with delight when they got a response from me. Today, the children of those students look me in the eye and say, "Give me money!"

Iraqi Refugees in Syria : Make love your aim

Glynis Williams

The original walled city of Damascus still stands and its kilometres of narrow streets with overhanging balconies and street level shops is a strange and wonderful world. Some of the original gates to the city can still be seen and as one walks through Bab Touma, the Christian quarter, it is easy to imagine the adventures the Apostle Paul had in his day. My road to Damascus experience was less dramatic though full of blessings – but it was also a window into a tragedy of enormous proportions.

Warm & Caring

Judith MacLeod

In our common Presbyterian understanding Calvin is a dominant but not a really sympathetic figure. We think of a lawyer-like preacher, a clear but rigid theologian, and an imposing but isolated man. We'd rather have coffee with Martin Luther.

Medicare Under Attack

Jack Boan

Canada faces a shocking threat to Medicare's existence and Canada's traditional way of life. The battle is being waged by a mindset featuring an evil ideology, highly organized and supported by big money. On the other side are millions of disorganized citizens who, for the most part, are oblivious to the danger facing them in the joust.

Good News

Charles Fensham

How far back in the Bible do we need to go to find the idea of evangelism? Perhaps the first moment of evangelism in the Bible can be found in Genesis 3:9. There we find God calling out to the human, "Where are you?" God's search for us, like for the hiding humans in this story, does not always seem like good news! Yet, there is no better news than God the Creator seeking us out despite our destructive tendencies. Over the last two months we looked at some of the new insights that developed on the theme of mission in the 20th-century, particularly the idea that mission is in the first place God's activity, or The Mission of God-Missio Dei. Last month we looked at definitions of mission and learned how our mission joins God's mission of peace and justice as the church crosses frontiers in humility and service and looks for the new things God is doing. Mission is the church joining the reign of God that is coming to us in Jesus Christ. In joining God's reign, working in faith for peace and

Church as Surprise

Charles Fensham

Last month, we explored the checkered history of the term "mission" and we sympathized with Bishop Stephen Neill who complained that if everything is mission then nothing is mission. This month, we will look at some helpful definitions of mission. All these definitions must be understood in the context of the idea of the Mission of God (Missio De).

Children Matter

Peter Bush

My interest was piqued by the Education for Discipleship report to General Assembly. The report noted that nearly 20 per cent of congregations in the Presbyterian Church had no Sunday school in 2005. In 2006, 164 out of 932 congregations (reporting statistics) were in that situation. This suggests that Presbyterians are not reaching the next generation of Canadians.

Against Empty Prayers

Jonathan Scott

It's not everyday that I am prepared to say “well done” to a politician. But Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty wins my support. The premier-cognizant of the diversity and freedoms of Ontario as the most culturally rich area of the world – wants to write a more appropriate public reflection for the legislature.

To Be Sent

Charles Fensham

Stephen Neill once said, “If everything is mission then nothing is mission.” The way we use the word “mission” around the church does perhaps reduce it to something so familiar that it loses its meaning. What is mission? In churches we speak of “mission statements,” or we talk about participation in a “mission project” when we make a trip to Central America to paint a school. Sometimes we speak of a “mission” when our congregation reaches out into the community in service and witness. Others in the church associate the word mission with something churches do overseas, and we tend to call our overseas church personnel “missionaries.”