When the church seeks to discern its way, people like Walter Bryden and Stanford Reid challenge us to examine our deepest convictions. They prod us to recover something of the creative dynamic of our Reformed heritage. They believe that theology is not only essential but eminently practical.
Matthew 28:1-8 (9-20)Easter Day, March 23, 2008
The Group of Eight countries have made a lot of promises “in good faith” a political science professor said at a public gathering in Winnipeg, but they “have now fallen badly behind. However, they have delivered big in the past and still control their own fate. But from their people they now need a push and advice on what their priorities and path should be.”
Teenager Beth Yando spent part of February in Geneva, Switzerland, as a steward at the World Council of Churches' central committee meetings. The committee meets occasionally between assemblies to further discuss the council's policies, programs and budget. For Yando it was an eye-opening experience as she joined young people from around the world with very different points of view but all committed to ecumenism. “The very process of dialogue enables each of us to become more comfortable in our own faith stance and secure enough in our relationship as Christian churches to open ourselves even further in inter-religious dialogue and relationships.”
I am writing this column before I participate in a national aboriginal and church leaders tour to highlight the need for healing and reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. From March 1-10 we are scheduled to visit Ottawa, Saskatoon, Winnipeg and Vancouver. (There will be extensive coverage of the tour in next month's Record.)
The Ontario branch of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year with a celebration on June 22 to be held at Country Heritage Park near Milton, Ont. A catered chicken and rib barbeque will be served at 5:30. Seating is limited and tickets are available before June 8 for $30.
My shirt bears the logo of a popular designer who came to the fore 20 years ago. I paid about $30 for it at a discount clothing store which sells overruns and the previous year's fashions. The shirt would have cost me about twice as much if I had bought it in season. It was “tailored” in Indonesia. I have no idea where the cloth was made, where the button were manufactured, but I'm pretty certain it wasn't in the United States where the company which slapped on the logo is based.
As stewards of the earth, Presbyterians are increasingly becoming aware of our need to walk more gently on the earth, to use energy wisely and not squander the financial resources we have been given. But while most citizens of Canada have been pushing governments to move toward sustainability, many congregations have been reluctant to invest in measures to save energy. However, now that energy prices have begun to increase at rates far above inflation, congregations and individuals have begun to realise the value in energy conservation and renewable energy sources. Congregational budgets are already tight enough without paying higher heating bills.
St. Andrew's Hall at the Vancouver School of Theology Date: Monday, May 12, 2008 Time: 7:00 p.m. Location: Shaughnessy Heights United Church Speaker: Dr. Robert […]
ENI – Kenyan Methodist, Rev. Samuel Kobia, effectively resigned from his position as general secretary of the World Council of Churches in February during a regular meeting of the central committee. Kobia was expected to run for a second term.
Have you ever wondered how Adam got his name? Given all the possibilities, and the obvious importance of naming, we need to know why this particular name was given and not some other. As it turns out, all the clues we need are found in the story itself.
Jeff is our youngest child, a big tough stylish kid, handsome and strong, the teenager all the little kids love and the kind girls phone to discuss math problems with (or at least that's what they tell us when they finally get past our customer service department). His laugh was enough to bring the house down when he was a boy, but that contagious laugh began to vanish by the time he turned 12 and was completely extinct by his 13th birthday. It's a horrible thing to watch someone view life wearing the glasses of a teenager, trading in joy because it isn't so cool.
Our kids have always laughed a lot, partly because they got their sense of humour from my wife's side of the family, whose motto is this: “It's all funny until someone gets hurt. Then it's hilarious!”
The fate of Trinity, Oro, Ont., has been decided. At a meeting of the Barrie Presbytery in February, the interim moderator, Rev. Neal Mathers, reported Trinity is healthy and warrants continuation.
A young member of the Bull Rock Dancers enlivens the Grand Entry Procession in Ottawa's Museum of Civilization where the Aboriginal and Church Leaders' Tour had its first stop on March 2. An estimated 500 people were in attendance. The second stop in Vancouver was also very well attended. The Record will feature the tour in the May 2008 issue.
Dr. Richard Allen is frustrated. “Canadians have the means and opportunity to learn and keep current about the situations of various countries and peoples in the world, but unfortunately they often remain uninformed,” says the Sarnia, Ont., native who has been working with the Presbyterian Church in East Africa since 1994. “One would hope that the fairly wide reporting in the media of the present Kenyan crisis will encourage Canadians and others in the future to follow similar world problems more closely.”
The indefatigable Rev. Dr. John Johnston died on January 10, seven weeks after suffering major injuries in a vehicle accident. He was 80. About 1,000 people attended his memorial service a week later at McNab, Hamilton, Ont.
Presbyterians Sharing … contributions were down slightly from 2006, but have surpassed givings for the three years before that. The final tally for 2007 is $8,734,120 – with almost $2 million of that received during the first two weeks of January.
ENI – Lithuanian bishops are clashing with the country's media mavens over their support of laws restricting advertisements for alcoholic beverages.
ENI – A proposal to make religion a required subject in the first seven years of school has triggered severe criticism from religious and secular quarters in Bulgaria – officially atheist in the years of communist rule but in which most of the 7.7 million population profess allegiance to the orthodox church.
Who do congregations call when they have a problem, need assistance, or are seeking information? Regional staff, of course. Highly trained and deeply motivated, the 14 regional staff across the country encounter little they aren't capable of tackling. “I offer support, workshops, resource material and consultations among congregations and presbyteries in matters such as strategic planning, natural church development, elders, congregational and pastoral care, conflict resolution, evangelism and mission outreach, and session and presbytery retreats,” said Wayne Stretch, regional minister with the Synod of B.C. “I also support and encourage new church development and renewing church strategies, and offer pastoral care and support to clergy and other church professionals within the synod.”