Pretense, Hypocrisy, Smugness
Bald eagles are diving lazily into the Pacific, outside this cottage on a northern Gulf island, three ferry rides away from Vancouver. In a few […]
Magazine
On Being Presbyterian… : Church Shopping
I grew up Presbyterian. My mom made sure my sister and I went to church every week, and participated in Sunday school and the junior choir. As I got older, I continued to attend St. Andrew's, Cobourg, Ont., and am an active churchgoer.
Holy Land needs transformation
ENI — Rev. Samuel Kobia, head of the World Council of Churches, urged ordinary people in the Middle East to take action to promote peace and justice in the Holy Land.
Prayer unifies Korea
ENI — Christians from both parts of divided Korea have prayed together for the reunification of their country, which has been split in two by a militarized demarcation line since the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War.
A Focus on Sharing
You could say that I've worked in youth ministry for over a decade. That's not entirely accurate, though. A decade ago, I was a youth. Yes, I was involved in youth ministry, but it was more about being involved with the church and hanging out with people my own age. Today, I work for the church, still spending a lot of my time with young people. I'm not sure that makes me a professional. But development is a good thing, so when I had the opportunity to attend the Princeton Forum on Youth Ministry at the beginning of May, I jumped at it.
T.E.E.N.S.
Someone asked me recently what I do. I said, “I follow teenagers around the house. I shut lights off. It's a full-time job.”
We are a SITCOM family: Single Income Teenage Children Outa Money. Squinty-eyed prophets of doom programmed us to believe that when teenagers arrived I would lose my sense of humour, my dignity, my wallet, and my hair. They were right about the first two. Oh sure, we've had our moments of fear and uncertainty. We've shed some tears, bought some headache pills and lost some sleep. But five keys have kept us thriving at a time when so many are just surviving. Here they are:
PWS&D Mops Up
Hundreds are dead, thousands are injured and hundreds of thousands of people are homeless or displaced after tropical cyclone Yemyin brought torrential rains, massive flooding […]
Summers in Ethiopia
Barb Summers, newly-hired communications coordinator for PWS&D, is shown in Ethiopia in 2005. Summers travelled there with her previous employer to celebrate the opening of a new school. Although the Presbyterian Church doesn’t work directly in Ethiopia, it supports work in the African country through the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.
Who Needs Sleep? : Anatomy of a PYPS Weekend
Photography by Alex Luyckx There are a few key things about a Presbyterian Young People's Society weekend that make it, well, a PYPS weekend. First, […]
PYPS People & Places
Photography by Alex Luyckx
First woman elder dies
One of The Presbyterian Church in Canada's first woman elders died on June 15. Joan McInnis (nee Watkin) was an elder at St. Andrew's, Arthur, Ont. McInnis was ordained on the same day as Mrs. J.M. Thomas of Fallingbrook Church, Scarborough. They were ordained in 1966, the same year General Assembly gave the go-ahead for women to hold such positions.
Sharing a vision for mission at WMS
Discussions about mission, new directions and the future of the Women's Missionary Society ensued at the WMS' annual council meeting in May. After the 2008 mission exposure tours (to India and Eastern Europe) were announced, Rev. Rick Fee, General Secretary of the Life and Mission Agency, shared a vision he has for mission.
Salman's Sir insensitive
ENI — Church groups in Pakistan and India have condemned Britain's decision to honour author Salman Rushdie with a knighthood, and claimed it risks inflaming hatred against Christians in their countries.
UCC/US studies divestment
ENI — The United Church of Christ in the United States argues it has not changed its policy on the Middle East after accepting a resolution that its executive council consider “ongoing balanced study, commentary and critique” about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
133rd General Assembly : Varied Voices
“I marvel as I look out among you at such a disparate and varied group. you are young and old, come from all corners of the nation and world, but you are also one. your passion and perception is a credit to your congregations and presbyteries.”
133rd General Assembly : India is Her Destiny
As a young girl, Pauline Brown dreamed of going to India. Years later, while a navy nurse, she met a man with gangrene who used to be a missionary in India. She told him of her dream to travel there, and his encouragement made the pull even stronger.
Concrete faith
ENI — More people in the world are living in cities than ever before, and this is leading to renewed interest in religion, according to a new UN report.
133rd General Assembly
“I want to see a mighty flood of justice; a torrent of doing good.” Amos 5:24
Mission to Malawi
Last March, five members of St. Andrew's, Streetsville, Ont., realized a dream when they travelled to Blantyre, Malawi, to see first hand the operations of the Community Based Orphan Care Centres, which is a project of the Church of Central Africa, Presbyterian. This was a big undertaking as the five paid their own travel and accommodation expenses. Each of them struggled with the decision to go: could the money be put to better use for the centres? The congregation has supported the project through Presbyterian World Service and Development for the past four years, raising in excess of $28,000; and was supportive of the five people to visit and report on what they'd seen.
Life Imitates Fly Fishing
I stumbled over a friend at a local trout fishing hole the other day. We share shopping privileges at a local Cariboo-Chilcotin cow town and normally only get to visit at funerals and on town day. It was a treat to chat without the usual pressures. Noticing my relaxed demeanor, Randy immediately tried to steal one of my fishing secrets. Because of it, he almost came to a delightful end.