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Park Moderator-elect

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Rev. Cheol Soon Park of Toronto Korean has been named moderator-elect for the 2008 General Assembly this June in Ottawa. After he is formally voted in just after the assembly's opening worship service, Park will become the assembly's first Korean moderator. Park moved to Canada in 1983, received his Master of Divinity degree from Knox College in 1987, and is currently enrolled in a Doctor of Ministry program. He is also clerk of the Presbytery of Eastern Han-Ca, and has served on the Committee on Church Doctrine, the Evangelism Committee, the Centre for Asian-Canadian Theology and Ministry at Knox College, and the Board of Governors of Knox College.

Audacious Hope : The Gradual Civilization Act

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The federal policy of assimilation had its origin in the Gradual Civilization Act of 1857, which was reinforced by the Indian Act of 1876 and sanctioned by successive parliaments of Canada. The Roman Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian and United Churches provided staff and administration to the schools established by the government.

Qatar Opens First Church

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Al Jazeera.net – A Catholic Church has been erected and was consecrated on Easter weekend in Doha, Qatar. The Church of Our Lady of the Rosary will serve Doha's nearly 150,000 Catholics, comprised of expatriate workers mainly from South Asia and the Philippines.

Marriage Is Normal

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Barna – Seventy-eight per cent of American adults get married at some point in their life, and among those who have been married, one out of three have been divorced at least once, according to a new study from The Barna Group.

Children Matter

Peter Bush

My interest was piqued by the Education for Discipleship report to General Assembly. The report noted that nearly 20 per cent of congregations in the Presbyterian Church had no Sunday school in 2005. In 2006, 164 out of 932 congregations (reporting statistics) were in that situation. This suggests that Presbyterians are not reaching the next generation of Canadians.

A Challenging Call

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A document that has “the capacity to change the World Council of Churches” was the subject of discussion at a series of meetings held in Toronto in early April. Called To Be One Church challenges churches to act upon the unity they seek with each other, Rev. Canon Dr. John Gibaut, Director of the WCC's Faith and Order committee, told an assembly of members from the United States and Canada. The brief document – at 2,300 words it is a filtering down of various other statements on the nature and purpose of the church dating to 1998 – “challenges us with 10 questions” that set the WCC's 349 member churches on “a call to journey … an arduous yet joyful path.”

Audacious Hope : The Weight of Sin

Judith Farris

Reconciliation: Grand Chief Ron Evans called it a “journey we have to take” in his welcome to those gathered at the Remembering the Children event at the Forks Market in Winnipeg. Comparing reconciliation between the church and First Nations people to a journey did not surprise me, realizing it was a journey I myself have to take. I was prepared for polished presentations from church and aboriginal dignitaries signifying their willingness to cooperate with each other. As the Gaudry Boys opened the evening with fiddling, I settled into my chair prepared to observe the production with polite detachment.

The Likes of Him

Emily Wierenga

Presbyterian Record readers are familiar with Phil Callaway and now so are American soldiers. The U.S. Army has purchased 30,000 copies of Callaway's Be Kind, Be Friendly, Be Thankful, a children's book about two best friends who are forced to say goodbye and the lessons they subsequently learn.

Audacious Hope : A Heavy Page

Kathleen Bolton Konrad

It was a “historic and sacred moment in the history of Canada,” said Rev. Dr. J. H. (Hans) Kouwenberg, reflecting upon the second stop of the Aboriginal and Church Leaders' Tour to Prepare for Truth and Reconciliation, held at the University of British Columbia on the evening of March 5. Beginning at the Vancouver School of Theology, well over 300 attendees were led by the beat of a Musqueam drummer, Victor Guerin, on a ceremonial walk to the Museum of Anthropology. It couldn't have been a more suitable setting for this time of truth-telling, listening, learning and healing – sitting in the great hall with the totem poles as a backdrop, in the area that had once been the site of a Musqueam warriors' village. Garan informed the audience that his people's warriors were first and foremost peacekeepers.

Audacious Hope

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“There is an emerging and compelling desire to put the events of the past behind us so that we can work towards a stronger and healthier future. The truth telling and reconciliation process as part of an overall holistic and comprehensive response to the Indian Residential School legacy is a sincere indication and acknowledgement of the injustices and harms experienced by Aboriginal people and the need for continued healing. The truth of our common experiences will help set our spirits free and pave the way to reconciliation.”