Born a Roman Catholic in Italy, he joined a Presbyterian church only five years ago in Montreal, and now Giancarlo Fantechi has accepted a call as minister of Word and Sacrament at La Mission St-Paul, a French outreach in Sherbrooke, Que., after graduating with distinction in the Master of Divinity program at Presbyterian College.
We live in a world of disconnections and, often, these disconnections threaten to undo our sense of community as human beings and as Christians. There are increasing disconnections between the people among whom we live or work or worship or play. These are often different people, different circles of acquaintance.
Knox College faculty visited the Evangelical Seminary of Theology in Matanzas, Cuba, in May to discuss a renewed partnership between the two schools, including a yearly trip to Cuba that will help students from both schools gain a broader perspective on the role and struggles of the church around the world.
Assembly is a good time for meeting friends and sometimes saying goodbye to them. One friend from my intervarsity days is annemarie Klassen, who is stepping down from her good work as associate secretary of stewardship and education in mission; another is Pauline brown, who is nearly a legend as a missionary, serving over 55 years in India and who has always encouraged me through my years at the renewal Fellowship. Pauline, although retired, will return to India and continue to do the work she has been doing, now on a volunteer basis. The three or four standing ovations indicated the high respect, love, and deep honour the church holds for her. another friend in the leaving mode is Jim Czegledi who worked as associate secretary of evangelism and Worship for most of the last decade. Others and I have deeply appreciated his leadership in this field. Finally, my friend Hans Kouwenberg was elected moderator of assembly and we wish him every blessing in the year ahead as he emphasizes grass root ministry in congregations as the core ministry in the church's mission.
May 17, 2060: White lines snake from my head to the little portable device slipped into my pocket. I'm wearing the new technological device that inputs electromagnetic impulses into my brain, stimulating my temporal lobe. As the waves build in intensity, I feel a calm come over me. It's a spiritual experience, without the bother of praying for hours. I sense a presence beside me.
The Presbyterian Church's Rev. Rick Fee was one of more than 570 religious leaders and activists who signed a letter to the heads of the G8, asking them to act on the promises they made in 2005 to help eradicate HIV and AIDS.
The Canadian Foodgrains Bank welcomed Catholic and Anglican agencies into its membership, making it one of the most ecumenical organizations in Canada working to end world hunger. It now represents almost all Christian denominations in the country, including 15 evangelical, mainline protestant, and catholic churches, with more than 17,000 congregations and parishes connected to the effort.
On my refrigerator are pictures of friends and family and animals and one of my dad falling off a chair laughing. There are magnets too. Imitation cabbages, cauliflowers, bittermelons, and pumpkins — all fitting the decor of the kitchen. The dieter's favourite Bible verse is there: “He must increase but I must decrease.” Here are a few of my favorite fridge magnets:
Divided Heritage: The Presbyterian Contribution to the United Church of Canada by John Webster Grant; Gravelbooks. This is a marvelous book, a fitting final testament […]
Rev. Susan Johnson was named the first female national bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. “I'm just overwhelmed by this incredible honour,” Johnson said after her election in June at the denomination's national convention in Winnipeg. She will succeed National Bishop Raymond Schultz, who will retire in September.
Rev. Linda Ashfield of Knox, Waterloo, Ont., spoke at the 174th anniversary dinner in May at St. Andrew's, Cobourg, Ont., about the 40th anniversary of the ordination of women in The Presbyterian Church in Canada. Ashfield was among the first women to live at Knox College. She was ordained in 1979.
ENI — A Japanese theologian has made an unlikely connection between the Bible and the classical Japanese drama form called Noh. In Noh Drama And The Bible — Stories Of Women That Resonate With Each Other, Yuko Yuasa identifies five heroines of Noh drama who, she says, are related to female characters in the Bible.
Being a Young Adult Representative at this year's General Assembly is one of the most unexpectedly enjoyable things I have done in my life. In all honesty, I had no idea what to expect. I was being thrown into the inner workings of the church I had grown up in, and I did not know if I would come out the other side. I felt unprepared and inexperienced and I was starting to get uneasy about the whole affair. Fortunately for me, when I arrived at the beautiful campus at Waterloo, my uneasiness was quenched when the smiling face of John-Peter Smit, a YAR group leader along with his wife Tori, greeted me. He took me to a magical land where there were 15 other young people, all of whom were quite confused. That was the beginning of our adventure. We were told about the procedure of assembly and the general order of things, but there is a big difference between being told what will happen and experiencing something as it is happening.
Rev. Stephen Kendall, Principal Clerk, accentuates the positive at General Assembly.
Ever so many years ago, I recall a parishioner saying to me: “I come home from work on fridays and often I don't go out of the house until it's time for work on Monday morning. Sometimes I think I'll go stark raving mad — other times I'm afraid my thoughts are self-destructive.”
First, let me say that the March Record was the best I've read.
“One day we stuck a shovel in the ground, and we never looked back,” says Pastor Mike Mills of Advent Lutheran, Toronto, telescoping the church's speedy decision-making process into an even speedier description. “The congregation held a vote on Sunday. By Wednesday, we were mapping out plots, and by the following Sunday we were digging.” Nestled in an island of land — locally nicknamed the “peanut” — created by a split in Don Mills Road north of Sheppard Avenue in Toronto, the grounds of Advent in early spring look much like the grounds of the highrise apartments that dominate the neighbourhood. Yellow dandelion flowers poke up through the newly greening lawn; tiny blossoms on maple trees dangle from branches turning lush with leaves. But tucked among the traditional lawn landscape of this church are dozens of freshly dug garden plots. Some fan out in a circle, others line up in a neat soldier row. Some are lined with wooded dividers; others have narrow paths of grass between them. But come summer, all will be overflowing with vegetables, herbs, fruits and flowers.
Re Letters, March
Dear Jan,
Re Vicki Homes on Divorce, March