What Makes a Good City?
Paul MacLean is executive director of Potentials, a sort-of church think tank, based in Toronto. I wouldn’t characterize these [urban church things] as problems. They’re […]
Magazine
Community of Compassion
A ministry of the Presbyterian Church in Canada celebrating its centennial in 2013, Evangel Hall is a place of hope where the individual’s heart is what matters, where someone can find understanding and strength to make a new life, where someone can find a sense of belonging.
Forcing the Issue
Rev. Douglas duCharme is a United Church of Canada minister at a church on Danforth Avenue in Toronto. He was formerly a minister with the […]
God and the Holy Spirit
We tend to be quite casual when it comes to the Holy Spirit. It is not that we don’t believe in the Holy Spirit; we do, but we generally tend to pay less attention to the Spirit than to other aspects of our doctrine and church life.
Serving Hospitality
It would have been easier if St. Andrew’s, Sutton, Ont., had done nothing. But then they went and did it, they looked into their hearts, they discerned the Spirit at work in their community, and they decided to launch a mission.
Witnessing the Message
We’ve gone beyond the day where we build a building and people will come. Church buildings don’t necessarily attract and increasingly I find congregations are saying it’s when we go out of the building that we are church.
The Threat of Resurrection
Theologian Karl Barth once preached a sermon in which he described the resurrection of Jesus as a threat. I like that.
Our Lady of Scars
Notre-Dame de Noyon stands only a street away from the site of Calvin’s childhood home. He would have grown up with the sound of the church’s bells
and the shadow of its towers.
Community News – March 2013
Restoring Oldest PCC Church in Western Canada John Whiteway and June Thompson are two of the Friends of Historic Kildonan Church, a group dedicated to […]
Minding the Minister
I have heard too many ministers say they have neglected to take off the time to which they are entitled. They always give reasons. Some are good; but most are insufficient.
The Called Out Community
The question we constantly ask ourselves is: What is God calling us to do here? How do we read the signs of the times (Matthew 16:3) in our city in light of the biblical and reformed tradition on which we stand?
On Submission
I was not looking for God, Jesus or salvation and had no idea at the time what was happening to me; except I knew I needed to repent.
God Is Not Waiting For Us
In my journey around Toronto I found some churches rallied to address the needs of the city and were primed to take advantage of the potential this new reality offers, yet others seemed unable or unwilling to face the urban landscape.
Fast Society, Slow Church
Rev. Glen Soderholm is a musician and minister serving with Two Rivers Church, a church plant in Guelph, Ont. Having been a parish pastor in […]
Deaths and Resurrections
The younger son says, “Father, I can’t wait for you to die!” That’s not exactly what Jesus says he said, but that’s what people hear!
Receptive to the Word
The main scripture used to be Matthew 28; go make disciples of all nations, that was our evangelism verse. Now Luke 10 has become the new text for the missional church; go out as lambs among wolves, go out without money.
When There’s a Cow in Your Attic
“Do either of you have any idea of how to get a cow out of the attic?” exclaimed Elsa in her delightful German accent.
“Say what?” I said.
Translating Calvin
When we scrape away the mythology and see John Calvin for what he really was, something unexpected emerges.
A Tale of Two Churches
Both churches have faced similar challenges. Why is one still open and the other not? Here, I believe, are some pertinent elements.
Urban Missions
What is the Flemingdon Gateway Mission? It is an urban mission that is run by the Presbyterian Church in Canada and it is under the […]