Don’t put Family First
Other than as an alliterative phrase meaning that healthy families of various sorts are immensely important for human wellbeing, or that Christian worship should be welcoming to all ages, “family first” can be idolatry.
Feature
Everyone is Important
Portland Place is a long-term housing facility in downtown Toronto undergoing some changes after 24 years of growth.
Who Knows This McKenzie?
We inquired at the Pine Hill Divinity College (Atlantic School of Theology), asking, “Who knows this McKenzie?” He ministered in Korea in 1895.
Changing Church Culture
Rev. Alex MacLeod talks with Graham Singh about faith, church planting, and why it matters.
Discipleship and Soil
Andrew Faiz talks with Revs. David Moody and Alex Douglas about their vision and call to “replant” Heritage Green Presbyterian Church.
A Rejuvenation
Planting and growing a church geared toward university students proved to be quite different from serving a more traditional Presbyterian congregation.
Tilling and Seeding
While the congregation faced dwindling resources and discouragement, Rev. Alex Douglas saw pure potential. The unimposing, single-story church sits across the street from a profusion of new suburban houses—a mission field just beyond the doorstep.
Green Fields
Congregations want change without changing; they want young members without making room for them. More than one clerical career has crashed against lazy and desperate congregational expectations. So, the best way to revitalize a church is to start from the beginning.
Poetry, Hymns, War
Last summer I took a meandering tour to explore some of the history hidden in plain sight amongst the Presbyterian churches of Waterloo-Wellington presbytery.
Reaching Out Through Music
When I was approached by session two years ago about restarting a junior choir, my first thought was, “With whom?” Did they expect me to have a choir of four? Then I remembered El Sistema
Healing Nations
Paris had a trying 2015—there was the shooting at the Charlie Hebdo magazine offices in January, and then the attacks in November. A few weeks […]
There is Always Room at the Top
The Designated Women First, I want to respond with my gut feeling about being a woman leader in the PCC today. We’ve certainly come a […]
Energy and Hope
After four years of work and waiting, Westmount Presbyterian in Edmonton is set to become the site of Canada’s first zero-net energy townhouse development, providing energy efficient homes for low income and refugee families in the city.
‘I Was Led to Do This’
Pauline Brown’s story is of God calling an unlikely candidate to do God’s work, and the willingness to answer that call. It gives me goosebumps.
Shouting for More
I’ve been wanting to do this issue on women in ministry for ages. We’ve wondered how to do it, what would be helpful, what wouldn’t. We spoke with others. Did we get it right? I don’t know. But I do know it had to be done.
Joyful and Heartbreaking
This was the third time in four days that Canadian troops had gathered to say goodbye to friends in arms. This piece of tarmac in Kandahar is holy ground, as chaplains from Canada and allied countries have said many prayers, and comforted many more soldiers.
The Gender Imbalance
This year will mark the 50th anniversary of women’s ordination in the Presbyterian Church in Canada. So after half a century, what does the gender balance look like among our church’s ministers?
Counting Contradictions
“If you come to Hungary, do not take our jobs,” the government billboards scream—in Hungarian—a language Syrians cannot read. “If you come to Hungary, obey our laws.” No outsiders welcome; at least not at the cost of the insiders.
Escape from Pakistan — One family’s story of faith, fear and flight to Canada
“I told them I know the consequences of blasphemy. Blasphemy is a big issue in Pakistan. I’m a literate guy, I’m a professional, I have good relationships with the Muslims. Why would I do this?”
On the Road: Meeting refugees as they search for their future
She asks me to call her Mahad. That’s not her name. She’s afraid for her family in Syria. Like so many others I meet, she wants very much to tell her story. Her story is all she has right now.