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Sharing for mission

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Congregations gave generously to Presbyterians Sharing in 2005, with a total of $8,672,720 received. Presbyterians Sharing is the fund that supports the ministries and mission of the church. As is tradition, a large percentage of the givings for the year is received during the first two weeks of January. This year was no exception, with 21 per cent or about $1.8 million collected by this time.

Pope endorses love's many splendours

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(ENI) – "Love is a single reality with different dimensions", Pope Benedict XVI stated in his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est (God Is Love), issued in January. "Yet when the two dimensions are totally cut off from one another, the result is a caricature or at least an impoverished form of love."

We have His whole world in our hands

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Environmental stewardship is a God-given duty. Last year, General Assembly endorsed Covenanting for Justice in the Economy and the Earth, a document from the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and endorsed a clean water initiative of KAIROS (Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives) and the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace.

Equipping the saints for ministry

Geoff Johnston

The mission era is over, the partnership era is upon us. But what does partnership mean when one church no longer sends missionaries and the other no longer sends students for training? Last August the colleges of The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan and the colleges of The Presbyterian Church in Canada tried something new. Students and staff from the Canadian colleges went to Taiwan for a consultation with students and staff of the Taiwanese colleges on biblical interpretation. The professors from each college made presentations and professors from the other country responded. It made for lively and stimulating discussion.

Seeking the frightening answers

Michael Coren

Toronto is still writhing after a series of fatal shootings in its black community and still in shock that a white teenaged girl became a Christmas victim of the slaughter. But if truth be told it doesn't really make very much difference if the shootings are in Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton or anywhere else in Canada and it shouldn't matter if the communities in question are black or not.

Equipping the saints for ministry, Part 2

Chelsea Masterman

Between July and December of 2005, four international missionaries were stationed at one of Toronto's most troubled and racially diverse neighbourhoods, Jane and Finch. As members of a Joint Action Mission Team, which is sponsored by the Caribbean North America Council for Mission, the four lived, worked and played with the community. The Presbyterian Church is a member of CANACOM. The lone Canadian, Chelsea Masterman, is a United Church member from High River, Alta.

Messing up the picture

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Last summer while camping at Horn Lake in the Chilcotin, I dragged myself out of bed at dawn to go and photograph Whitesaddle and Blackhorn mountains. This pair of spectacular peaks tower to 3,000 metres above sea level. The early morning sun spotlighted the peaks perfectly and the lake was absolutely calm leaving a stunning mirror image on its surface.

Eco-friendly churches

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A Catholic church in Toronto is slated to become the first Canadian church certified for its eco-friendly design by the Leadership in Energy and Environment Design rating system. LEED was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, a volunteer organization that promotes high-performance sustainable buildings.

Passionate Johnson recipient

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This year's recipient of the Dr. E.H. Johnson Award will be Karuna Roy, coordinator of the HIV/AIDS Program of the Church of North India. The award honours those "on the cutting edge of mission," and will be presented to Roy at a special luncheon during the 2006 General Assembly in St. Catharines, Ont.

Moderator urges continued relief to Darfur

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Rev. M. Jean Morris, moderator of The Presbyterian Church in Canada, along with 15 other Canadian faith leaders, recently commended the Government of Canada for the significant contributions made to support humanitarian and relief efforts in Darfur, Sudan, and to assist the African Union Mission in Sudan in its efforts to provide security.

Weaving faith into their lives

Jean Morris

In January, Matthew and I spent a week in Guatemala, accompanied by Ken Kim, our church's missionary there. As well as setting the itinerary and making all the arrangements for our visit, Ken served as our translator, driver and interpreter of church and culture. Ken was an amazing host and colleague in ministry. Thanks be to God for his pastoral presence and wise counsel with the people of Guatemala on behalf of The Presbyterian Church in Canada. In and through his work, Ken is an expression of at least two of my moderatorial themes – ecumenism and non-parish-based ministries.