In response to the drought in Kenya, Canadian Foodgrains Bank is going to deliver over 5,000 metric tonnes of maize, beans, yellow split peas, and edible oil. The value of the food aid will be approximately $2.7 million.

Ontario recently banned all forms of religious arbitration in family matters, including Sharia law. Bill 27 was passed Feb. 14, making it illegal for religious bodies to hold their own court to decide matters related to family law. Such practices were allowed in Ontario since 1991, and had been used most extensively in Jewish circles.

Rev. Chuck Congram, right, was a highlight at the REAP Evangelism Conference in February in Hamilton. Relevant Effective Accessible Practical — this was the second of three conferences focusing on outreach ministry. Glen Soderholm, left, led worship with his original music: "May the Peace of Christ go with you, and also with you." Look for another conference next year!

Trinity York Mills, Toronto, and Evangel Hall are teaming up for the fourth straight year to raise money for the inner-city mission. “People in the community see a congregation doing something that's not abstract. And there's real excitement in the church,” said Jerry Crowder, an elder at Trinity.

It's always the case: if you want something done, ask somebody who is busy. Take Marilynne Grant for example. She is an elder at Knox, Oakville, Ont., and she also sits on the executive of of the Oakville May Court Club, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The club's 200 members raised $65,000 last year for a variety of different projects. One of the most popular is a puppet project that visits schools, teaching various life lessons, and a lunch box program that delivers food items to 11 schools in the Oakville area. They also support local groups working with disabled adults, cancer patients and people living with HIV, run a scholarship program which gave $20,000 to 21 students last year, and organize several annual fundraisers that support various community initiatives. “I've made so many close friends,” Grant told the Record. “And you work really hard to raise money and give it back to your community.”

Canadians marched outside of Toronto's City Hall on March 22 for World Water Day, a time for countries to draw attention to the United Nations' recommendations for global access to fresh water. Led by KAIROS and other social justice bodies, protesters were pressing for community control of water services throughout the world.

(AM) — The world's major international ecumenical bodies are proposing joint work, meetings and even a merger in the near future, signifying “an appetite for renewal and reform” within these bodies, according to Rev. Stephen Kendall, principal clerk of the Presbyterian Church and chairman of the finance committee at the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. “Primarily, it's an expression of the unity of the church,” said Kendall.

Sattler's Stained Glass Studio in Nova Scotia launched the first Maritime Stained Glass Registry to document the Maritimes' stained glass treasures last summer. The purpose of the registry is to serve as a record if a window is lost or damaged, and to act as a conservation aid.

Former moderator Rev. Mark Lewis has been appointed to one of the denomination's largest congregations, St. Andrew's, Kitchener, Ont. He will be inducted on May 7, and will fill the gap left after a three-member ministerial team had its pastoral ties severed by a presbytery-appointed committee in September 2004.

Wilma Welsh, an elder at Knox, Guelph, Ont., has been named moderator-elect for the 2006 General Assembly, to be held this year in St. Catharines, Ont. Her name will be presented at the opening session of assembly, where commissioners will vote.