(ENI) — Israel is set to relocate a jail in Megiddo after an ancient church was discovered on its grounds last November. Although the historical claims have been debated, it is believed to be the oldest church ever found in the Holy Land.
(ENI) — “To be at peace with God means knowing that we do not have to strive all the time for power over each other,” said Rowan Williams, while dedicating a new cathedral in southern Sudan.
The Presbyterian Church in Canada is in the midst of revising its residential schools agreement with the federal government, dropping the cap for compensation from $2.1 million to $1.32 million. Although not finalized, Rev. Stephen Kendall, principal clerk, told Assembly Council he is optimistic and, at press time, was looking forward to final approval from Cabinet in April.
Up until last summer, I never understood the Bible's hatred for darkness. Every second passage seemed to be praising God for giving us light, singing songs of hope for morning and proclaiming daytime to be better than night. Why? I thought. I like nighttime. I love to hide in the shadows and wonder what unseen things might be hiding there with me. So what's the deal with these Bible people obsessing over having oil in their lamps?
Presbyterian World Service & Development has a new long-term agreement with the Canadian International Development Agency that will increase its funding for development programs by 15 per cent.
Presbyterians and others gathered for the dedication of Evangel Hall's brand new $13-million facility in downtown Toronto on February 5. Construction began in June 2004 and replaces the building the mission had been using since 1913. The new six-storey facility includes 84 low-income housing units, as well as a medical clinic, commercial kitchen, counselling space, expanded thrift store, chapel and wheelchair accessibility. About 50 – 200 people drop in for meals daily, with many more gathering for fellowship, worship, addiction support, community dinners and special outings and activities. All programs started running in the new building in mid-February, with residents moving in by March. About 200 people attended the service at the new drop-in centre.
The Presbyterian Church's work in tsunami-hit areas was highlighted on Vision TV in February. Day by Day, Step by Step documents what the Presbyterian, United, Mennonite and Anglican tsunami rehabilitation project is accomplishing. The documentary follows the impact of the tsunami on the fishing village of Indintakarai in south India, and shows how the churches are helping the community rebuild and the challenges that still exist.
Moderator Rev. Jean Morris received the Alberta Centennial Medal at a surprise presentation in January. "Jean's contribution to the church, community, the province and our country are insurmountable," said Harry Chase, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Calgary-Varsity. The medal celebrates Alberta's centennial and is presented to Albertans whose achievements have made a significant contribution to their fellow citizens, their community and their province.
ENI – Roman Catholics in Japan are celebrating the 500th anniversary of the birth of St. Francis Xavier, the Catholic missionary who brought Christianity to Japan in 1549. The saint was born on April 7, 1506.
ENI – Thousands of residents in Aceh — the area hardest hit by the December 2004 tsunami — remain in tents and other temporary shelter provided by the United Nations and international aid agencies. Such tents are common in the neighbourhood of Lampaseh Kota, a particularly affected area of the provincial capital of Banda Aceh.
The Presbytery of Essex-Kent is at a crossroads. In the midst of the heartbreak that comes with closing congregations, it must forge ahead, nurturing remaining parishioners and pushing through the comfort levels of healthy congregations that can cause stagnation. Rev. Scott McAndless, presbytery clerk and minister at Knox, Leamington, understands this challenge. At 80 per cent of its capacity, the presbytery must expand to make room for newcomers. "We are as full as we can be given the present structure," said McAndless. "We like how we are though, so any discussion about changing to allow for real growth will be difficult."
Every few years or so the culture presents us with another empty mantra, intended to dismiss opponents of the status quo and ridicule their arguments. Not long ago we had the racism fetish. Conservatives and everybody else on the assumed right were racist and their policies based on racism.
ENI – Slovakian bishops have welcomed a drop in viewing figures for TV reality shows, after Christian groups accused them of eroding moral values.
Some congregations support food banks. Others raise funds for HIV/AIDS programs. St. George's, London, Ont., does both. The congregation has partnered with the AIDS Committee of London for the past eight years, helping the agency operate its Country Cupboard food bank for people living with HIV.
It was a dark, wet and lonely night. The taillights winked at us from the creek bottom deep in the canyon as we wound our way along the road above. There was no road down there. It didn't look good. I was terrified, but as we eventually drove our pickup truck along the Salmo-Creston highway to a point directly above those little twinkling lights, I knew I was going to have to go down there and look. I stopped, got out of the pickup and weakly asked Linda to pray. I could see the skid marks on the pavement. I gingerly clawed my way down the deep canyon. The trail of destruction left by whatever had gone over the edge was awful. I could see the red taillights and eventually I was able to scale the cliff down to what was left of a pickup truck. The body of a teenage girl lay in the shallow water of the creek, some of her clothes and both of her shoes torn off from impact. A teenage boy was holding another male teenager beside the truck. The boy was dead in the arms of his weeping brother, who had a broken hip. The two dead bodies in the beam of my flashlight unnerved me, but oddly they did not freak me out. In fact, they seemed to capture my attention. Eventually the weeping and groaning of the lone survivor shocked me into action. I found some articles of clothing, covered the bodies as best I could, especially their faces, and went to work trying to help the survivor. Thank God an ambulance arrived sometime after that to take charge.
ENI – Church leaders in Malawi, disturbed at the rate of domestic violence underlined by the recent case of a wife having both arms chopped off by her husband, are joining hands across denominational lines to find ways to halt the scourge for their society.
Congregations, individuals, study group leaders and educators have a new resource thanks to a website launched in February. The site offers more than 50 adult study units on topics ranging from The DaVinci Code to same-sex marriage to stem cell research. See www.TheThoughtfulChristian.com.
It takes an Internet search engine a quarter of a second to locate more than 32,000 references to the phrase “crisis or opportunity,” probably about the same time it took Henry Kissinger to come up with the quip, “There cannot be a crisis next week; my schedule is already full.”
Kenneth Kim will be the new director of Presbyterian World Service and Development. He succeeds Rev. Rick Fee, who became the general secretary of the Life and Mission Agency last year. Kim will officially assume the position on Aug. 1. Kim said he is looking forward to working with the staff and "contributing to one of the most dynamic programs within the church."
Project Ploughshares, an ecumenical peace centre sponsored by the Canadian Council of Churches and based in Waterloo, Ont., is accepting applications for six-month internships with peace and security non-governmental organizations around the world.