The oldest and largest fair trade organization in North America marked its 60th anniversary this year. Ten Thousand Villages, based in Ontario, is an initiative of the Mennonite Central Committee, the relief and development agency of the church, and has been working around the world since 1946. Today there are 43 stores, along with hundreds of festival sales, selling products from over 120 artisan groups in 35 developing countries.
The problem is these are very good books. Oh yes, that is a problem—because a book with the title The Bible for Dummies sounds like a punch line for some petty, mean spirited joke. Even more so Catholicism for Dummies or Islam for Dummies; as if either Catholicism or Islam are for idiots or that rich theological learning has been dumbed down.
The hour of battle had finally come. After months of training and a rough crossing with high seas Canadian soldiers were about to attempt an unprecedented attack. It was August 19, 1942 and the target was the French port town of Dieppe. Since April 1940 Nazi Germany had reigned unchallenged as the undisputed dictators of Europe, but now, almost two and a half years later, that was about to change — and the job was given to the Canadians. The attacking force of 4,963 Canadians included a Presbyterian minister, Honorary Captain John W. Foote, the Protestant military chaplain attached to the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry.
Summertime means choir tours, of course, and the Ontario Presbyterian Chorus spent theirs in Newfoundland. Seventy-four members sang their way through June, helping churches raise funds for local projects. St. Andrew's, St. John's, raised $1,000 through ticket sales and applied it to their renovations fund, on top of the offerings collected. The Salvation Army Citadel, Deer Lake, got $300 for the Ecumenical Relief Fund.
Ever since he was knee-high to a Doberman, the boy was fearless. Take him to the ocean and he'd jump in looking for sharks. Take him to the mountains and he'd see how high he could climb. One day when he was five, I watched in horror as he jumped off a roof—a garbage-bag parachute duct-taped to his back. We couldn't be more opposite, my son and I. I believe God put us on dry land and said, “Lo, I am with you always.” Not Stephen. The higher he climbs, the more he believes God is with him.
ENI – Two Scottish Protestant churches have signed an agreement to help promote good relations between the denominations.
ENI – Christians must stop squabbling and face the common enemies of disease and poverty, Anglican Bishop Dinis Sengulane of Lebombo in Mozambique said. He was celebrating the centenary of an Anglican association to help what are now former Portuguese colonies in southern Africa that are listed by international organizations as countries with some of the most difficult living conditions on earth today.
Angela Cluny, centre, of Leaside Presbyterian, Toronto, measures drywall along with Lynda Marshall of Good Shepherd Community Church and Victor Aguius of Chinese Martyrs Catholic, while Rev. Dan West, right, of Runnymede Presbyterian, Toronto, screws drywall to the ceiling at the Fourth Annual Faith Leaders Build for Habitat for Humanity.
Twentieth Century Fox, the studio known for such television shows as The Simpsons, Prison Break and Celebrity Duets, and for the Star Wars movies, has announced a new division directed to a Christian audience. FoxFaith will release up to a dozen religious-themed films each year, with budgets ranging from $3-million to $20-million. Most of these will be released directly to DVD, though some might be available in local theatres.
ENI – A group of indigenous people from all over the world has urged the Lutheran World Federation to establish a program to help uplift the lives of a group of people often not accepted in mainstream societies.
Resolving complaints from former students of Indian residential schools is getting trickier as time goes on. The federal government has been sending out $8,000 compensation cheques to former students over the age of 65, but has rejected numerous claimants, saying there isn't any proof they attended a residential school. To make matters worse, the first of nine provincial court hearings, held in Toronto at the end of August and required to okay the federally-approved Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, criticized the process.
Safe water is critical for survival. That's why Water Partners: Safe Water for All invites children and youth to “board a water craft” and zoom around the world visiting Tanzania, India, Indonesia, Nicaragua and the Cariboo Region of British Columbia. At each stop, the youth will discover how five of the Presbyterian Church's partner countries are ensuring safe water, and how the church is helping them. Through Bible lessons, personal stories, crafts, recipes, music and games, young people and their leaders will raise money for water projects and learn how they can participate in keeping water safe in their own community. A water challenge, given in calendar format, helps children learn how their daily actions impact water supply and what they can do to make a difference. Written by Anne Miller, the resource was mailed free of charge in the August PCPak but extra copies of the booklet (along with a DVD or VHS) can be purchased from the Book Room by calling 1-800-619-7301. – Dorothy Henderson and AM
ENI – “Why is it that religious institutions and religious leadership seem to be an obstacle for peace-building rather than a solution?” asked Rabbi David Rosen, international director of inter-religious relations with the American Jewish Committee and the International Jewish Committee at the Assembly of the World Conference of Religions for Peace in Kyoto.
ENI – The World Council of Churches, a grouping of 348 mainly Protestant and Orthodox denominations, representing more than 560 million Christians, concluded its central committee meeting in early September with statements on several world issues:
The Presbytery of Algoma and North Bay is very big — not in number of churches or ministers but in sheer physical size. The challenges […]
No Small Jewel: A History Of the Synod Of Southwestern Ontario
ENI – The Rev. Soritua Nababan, a Christian leader in the world's most populous Muslim nation, says the stereotyped idea of Islam tied to “oil and terror” should be rejected and he believes strengthening Muslim moderates in their own communities through dialogue can help reduce conflict.
ENI – The World Summit of Religious Leaders, the largest interfaith gathering to meet in Russia since the time of the Cold War, closed its July meeting by passing a resolution condemning terrorism, economic inequality, environmental abuses and the denigration of moral values in the modern world.
This is a top-notch piece of historical scholarship. But it leaves me haunted by a disquieting question — so what? The book evaluates Bryden insightfully […]
A father's death. A mother's mission. A family's desire to share its music with others. Put these ingredients together and you get The Scott Woods Show — a six-person ensemble playing old-time fiddle music, helping churches raise money, and hopefully drawing non-church-goers into a sanctuary for the first time. “This is music that brings fellowship, and brings people together who may not otherwise come to church. It's uplifting, and maybe we're making things seem a little brighter, and maybe people leave with a bit of inspiration,” said Scott Woods.