Faith Fort McMurray, AB
In December, Faith Fort McMurray, Alta., held its Sunday morning Christmas pageant and surprised the minister, Rev. Lisa Aide with a birthday cake. The young people in the pageant helped her blow out her candles.
Authorcommunications
South Kinloss, Lucknow, ON
The Grade 7-8 Sunday school class of South Kinloss, Lucknow, Ont., raised money for PWS&D to help the indigenous Maya people of Guatemala. Together they studied the people, culture, religion, agriculture and daily living. They grew tomato and bean plants, played traditional children’s games, and made corn tortillas and watermelon shakes. In the words of two students, “The food was awesome!” Their class raised over $170 to help women and children build better futures! Way to go!
St. Andrew’s, Westville, NS
George Brimicombe, senior elder in St. Andrew’s, Westville, Nova Scotia, was presented with a Democracy 250 medal by MLA Clarrie Mac Kinnon for his service to our country in the Second World War. These medals were presented on behalf of the Government of Nova Scotia, as they celebrated Canada’s First Parliamentary Democracy in Canada (1758-2008).
St. Andrew’s, Wainwright, AB
St. Andrew’s, Wainwright, Alta., rallied together to raise $7,000 to build a well in Malawi. It began with the Sunday school students collecting money from their allowances, depositing it in a small wooden well in their church foyer. It grew when the Ladies group and generous congregational members joined in the efforts, and finally the church held a fundraising breakfast to support the endeavour. What began as pocket change has now turned into a life changing gift! Thank you St. Andrew’s!
Camp Geddie
At Camp Geddie brunch is Mary MacLeod, South Haven; Mary Anne Grant, Tatamagouche; Frances McClure, Sydney, Nova Scotia. All attended the John Bell (Iona, Scotland) Seminar, sponsored by Synod of Atlantic Provinces. It was held at First Presbyterian Church, New Glasgow, N.S. in February.
Sedgwick, Tatamagouche, NS
People and Places sometimes argues it is the most educational section of the magazine—where else can you learn how to be imaginative in raising funds for the needy in the world? Sedgwick, Tatamagouche, N.S., held a kitchen party—there are variations of this tradition across the country—to help raise funds for Helping Hands, that assists people in the community. The necessary tools for a successful party are a fiddle, munchies and refreshments. That’s Lucas Kittilsen on drums and Emily Kittilsen leading Rev. Mary Anne Grant on the dance floor.
Westville, NS
An Irish sing-song on St. Patrick’s Day lead by Rev. Jeanette Fleischer at lunch time during the Pictou Presbytery Meeting, Westville, N.S. Revs. Iona Maclean, Glenn Cooper and Richard Sand at front table.
Calvin, North Bay, ON
Gary Stevens and Sandra Beattie were married in November, at Calvin, North Bay, Ont. Instead of receiving gifts, they asked guests to make a donation to PWS&D’s Community-Based Orphan Care Centre in Malawi, which Sandra had visited in 2004. In total, $380 was raised. Since they were so busy with the wedding, Gary and Sandra did not have time to buy Christmas gifts, but instead they gave a Gift of Hope to children in Malawi in honour of their eight grandchildren. Congratulations Gary and Sandra!
Creation Genesis
Artist: Donald Jackson with contributions by Chris Tomlin
Thank you to our Donors!
The Record is grateful for the support of our donors who raised more than $100,000.
Sharing Rejection
When Andrew Faiz (Pop Christianity, May 2008) mentioned “a powerful letter … which spoke of the loneliness and pain a homosexual person felt within the church,” he touched a nerve for me.
I first came alive to the reality of homosexuality in my early 50s. I was then back at university as a mature student preparing to be a marriage and family therapist. One of my courses was on human sexuality and the professor spared us little as he introduced us to the variety and complexity of human behaviour. He brought three lesbians to address the class with their personal stories, in particular how they came to realize their sexual identity. As I listened, I experienced a jolt of identification as I realized: these people can no more help who they are than I can change the colour of my skin.
God’s Crucified Messiah
When I graduated from seminary, my first pastoral assignment included chaplaincy service on the children's ward of a local hospital. There, on a weekly basis, I encountered the pain and sorrow of families struggling with seriously ill, sometimes dying, children. Often I sat with parents whose questions were poignant and painful: “Why?” “How could God allow this to happen to us?”
As a young minister, I soon realized that the usual theological answers were anemic. The mystery of evil, the reality of suffering, and for many, the absence of God, can be overwhelming.
The Scottish Reformers
How did one Frenchman, John Calvin, who died basically a refugee in a foreign city and was buried in an unmarked grave, come to have his name and thought so closely associated with Scotland? For generations, Scottish Presbyterianism has been seen as Calvinist or Calvinian. The origins of this association have centered at the popular level around John Knox's great praise of John Calvin's work in Geneva in those now virtually immortal words: “The most perfect school of Christ that ever was in the earth since the days of the Apostles.” Knox's time in Geneva was certainly of paramount importance for shaping his vision for reformation in Scotland.
The tracing of the influence of Calvin upon Scotland's Reformation and subsequent generations is sometimes easy to identify and at other times more complex. The reality is that there were diversities within the Calvinian family due in part to national contexts and the personalities and limitations of the locations.
Don’t Be Silly
We have a dog by the name of Mojo, which is a Bible name, of course. Named after Moses and Jonah (Moses who stuttered, and Jonah who ran away from home a lot), this Maltese-Shih Tzu lap dog does not appreciate my laptop computer. When my father was alive, Mojo was his biggest fan, following him around their suite, grinning up at him past crooked teeth, and pouncing on his lap. The two sat by the window happily munching bananas, lost in a one-sided conversation.
Dad loved the old saying, “If you can start the day without caffeine, live without complaining, eat the same food every day and be grateful, relax without liquor, and sleep without the aid of drugs, you are probably the family dog.”
One night, as Alzheimers' began to rear its ugly head, Dad asked, “Do you have any books on doubt?”
Find the meaning of Easter!
Click here for this month’s Called to Wonder.
The Most Incredible Tomb
Pyramid, Great Wall, Roman Colosseum, Machu Picchu, Angkor Wat of Cambodia, Petra of Jordan, Chichen Itza, Teotihuacan of Mexico, and more. Do any of these names sound familiar to you? These ancient structures are amongst those listed by the BBC as the 50 places you must visit before you die. They are truly incredible. It is hard to even imagine how these structures were built without any modern equipment.
Kettle Talk
Brigadier General David Kettle, (centre, in uniform) Chaplain General of the Canadian Armed Forces, spoke to staff and students at Presbyterian College, Montreal, in January. […]
College Convocations
Vancouver School of Theology on May 11, 2009; Knox College, Toronto on May 13, 2009; and Presbyterian College, Montreal on May 7, 2009.
Letter From Galilee: A Hotel Like No Other Hotel
In 1885, Dr. David Watt Torrance, a 23-year-old Scottish surgeon, arrived in the Galilean city of Tiberias and began work to establish a mission hospital. Planning and permissions took some time, but on January 1, 1894, the hospital was opened ending years of working from rented rooms in the city. Herbert Watt Torrance joined his father at the hospital in 1920 and took over from him four years later. The hospital was always honest in its mission to preach the gospel of Christ and offered its service to all from the beginning, regardless of race, creed, class or colour. That same understanding of the unconditional nature of the gospel message forms the foundation of very different work today.
In 1959, the government of Israel established a public hospital nearby. The mission hospital was no longer needed. The building remained and the witness of worship remained – as did support for the Messianic Jewish movement.
Talking Calvin
Presbyterian History – The best way to study Calvin’s 500th anniversary is to actually read him. The committee on history is making that task easier.