The congregation of Knox, Cannington, Ont., celebrated 144 years of Christian witness in its community on May 4. Joyous celebrations were held that day, and Rev. Paul Johnston, Moderator of the Presbytery of Lindsay-Peterborough, was the guest preacher. Special musical guests were on hand, and lunch followed the service.
Whenever I meet new people in my day-to-day life, our conversation usually begins with typical small talk about the weather or something else generally trivial. That is until the other asks “So, what do you do?”
My iPod crashed – long story, not terribly interesting – and I have to rebuild. A good opportunity to bringsome theology to my music. Here's my opening salvo; I could use your help for more.
A new Conference Fund administered by the Life and Mission agency is available for anyone in the Presbyterian Church planning a small or large conference. Conference planners may apply for up to one-third of the cost of the conference to a maximum of $8,000. Those submitting an application must provide a proposed budget for the event, along with goals and expected benefits to the church, in order to be considered. Since the fund's inception about a month ago, it has already assisted the Body, Mind and Soul Conference held in May in Montreal, the Canadian Association for Parish Nursing Conference also in May in Ingersoll, Ont., and a Presbyterian Church of Taiwan/Presbyterian Church in Canada Theological Consultation to be held in Vancouver this month.
A love of nature led the late Don Elliott and his wife, Heather to ensure a rare and mature seven-hectare woodlot in southern Ontario's Oro Moraine was conserved and protected for future generations. Known as Elliott Woods, the land was donated to the Couchiching Conservancy in November 2006, whose mandate is to uphold the natural features of the forest while sharing it with the community. It's exactly what Don Elliott had hoped for the area.
On a recent Sunday night I returned from a trip and noticed that the customary sparkle in my wife's eyes had been replaced by sadness. “I have bad news,” she said, putting an arm around me. “Cordell is gone. Killed in a car accident.”
ENI – A Japanese study group of Christian educators and doctors say sex education should be promoted from Christian perspectives.
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.
CNW – The Canadian International Development Agency and Canadian Lutheran World Relief are contributing $632,000 to improve access to essential health care in the Palestinian Territories. The funding will be directed to the Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem, the only institution offering specialized medical services like cancer treatment and dialysis to Palestinians.
The Presbyterian Record was awarded third place in the general excellence category for denominational magazines at the recent Canadian Church Press awards ceremony and convention in Cambridge, Ont., and narrowly missed placing in the same category at the Associated Church Press in Dallas just two weeks before that.
Wendy Read was sexually abused by her father. The damage done by daddy dearest caught up to her, as it does with all victims. “The demands of life grow and eventually there is simply not enough energy to keep all the bad feelings, disappointments and memories under control.” Read had to deal with what happened. This book is a part of her process.
Rev. Bob Graham at Knox Presbyterian church in Alliston, Ont. learned of a Canadian invention which could purify dirty water and make it drinkable. The invention had been donated to Samaritans' Purse by the inventor in hopes that it could help the suffering people in some third world countries. The device was very simple and could be built on location where it was needed with training by volunteers. Dirty water poured in the top is filtered through sand and gravel which traps dirt and parasites which then feed upon one another. Clean water is forced up a tube and comes out drinkable.
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.”
ENI – The rice shortage, which the Philippines, an agricultural country, has been experiencing since March, is not only a matter of scarcity but also the result of a spiritual crisis, says an activist Roman Catholic priest.
Reading Scripture Rightly God creates, accosts and sustains the church by means of Holy Scripture. by John Vissers Prophets in the Pulpit A collection of […]
Janice Carter, editor of The Presbyterian Message, died on March 17 after a three and a half-year battle with cancer. She was 50 years old.
Rev. Cheol Soon Park of Toronto Korean has been named moderator-elect for the 2008 General Assembly this June in Ottawa. After he is formally voted in just after the assembly's opening worship service, Park will become the assembly's first Korean moderator. Park moved to Canada in 1983, received his Master of Divinity degree from Knox College in 1987, and is currently enrolled in a Doctor of Ministry program. He is also clerk of the Presbytery of Eastern Han-Ca, and has served on the Committee on Church Doctrine, the Evangelism Committee, the Centre for Asian-Canadian Theology and Ministry at Knox College, and the Board of Governors of Knox College.
The federal policy of assimilation had its origin in the Gradual Civilization Act of 1857, which was reinforced by the Indian Act of 1876 and sanctioned by successive parliaments of Canada. The Roman Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian and United Churches provided staff and administration to the schools established by the government.
Al Jazeera.net – A Catholic Church has been erected and was consecrated on Easter weekend in Doha, Qatar. The Church of Our Lady of the Rosary will serve Doha's nearly 150,000 Catholics, comprised of expatriate workers mainly from South Asia and the Philippines.
Barna – Seventy-eight per cent of American adults get married at some point in their life, and among those who have been married, one out of three have been divorced at least once, according to a new study from The Barna Group.