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EFC report on China
 The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada's Religious Liberty Commission released a 27-page report on the persecution of Christians in China this week. 'Broken Promises: The Protestant Experience with Religious Freedom in China in Advance of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games' identifies the general extent of persecution faced by the Protestant house church movement in China and documents trends that illustrate the continued repression of freedom of religion taking place in advance of this year's Olympics. The EFC presented the report at a one-day symposium held on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
Ingham opposes schism
Michael Ingham, Anglican Bishop of New Westminster, told his diocesan synod that schism must not become normal or accepted in a report dated May 30. The bishop insisted that the decision of four congregations -- St. John's Shaughnessy, St. Matthew Abbotsford, Good Shepherd and St. Matthias/St. Luke of Vancouver -- to join the South American Anglican Church of the Southern Cone was not simply "divorce" but "schism . . . the setting up of a unlawful authority" to challenge the rightful authority, which is the diocesan synod. George Cadman, the synod's chief legal officer, also reported that the clergy remaining in the four parishes "have relinquished and abandoned ordained ministry within the Anglican Church of Canada, and by remaining in parish buildings they are now trespassing."
Prominent Manitoban dies
Harry Dyck, partner and manager of Winnipeg's Winkler Meats and a strong supporter of Mennonite Central Committee's (MCC) missionary work in eastern Europe, died unexpectedly June 1. A prominent Christian and Manitoba business figure, Dyck was on a MCC learning tour in Ukraine as part of an eight-member group visiting MCC partner organizations who receive shipments of MCC material resources, including canned meat, blankets, relief kits, school kits and other MCC assistance. Dyck was well known in Manitoba for bringing the MCC mobile meat canner to the province and allowing hundreds of volunteers to take over the meat processing facility for one week each year to process 22,500 cans of meat for distribution in Ukraine and many other countries.
New Lutheran president
Delegates to the Lutheran Church-Canada convention June 6 elected Robert Bugbee to serve as the church body's third president. Bugbee currently serves Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Kitchener, Ontario.
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Muskoka Bible Centre receives investment
Muskoka Bible Centre (MBC), a Christian conference and retreat centre two hours north of Toronto, recently announced a substantial investment from the Ross-Shire Foundation. The funds will be used for capital improvements and re-financing. "My family knows from personal experience the difference a place like MBC can make in the life of an individual and a family," said Ross-Shire chairman Jim Ross. "When we realized MBC needed some assistance, we felt led to step forward. We've been blessed by MBC's various ministries over the years, and we look forward to what God will do in the future."
Tyndale Seminary Appoints Director of Doctor of Ministry Program
Paul Bramer has been appointed director of the Doctor of Ministry program at Tyndale Seminary, effective July 1. He will also serve as Professor of Christian Formation and Leadership at the Seminary. Bramer comes to Tyndale after thirteen years of service on the faculty of North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago. A Canadian by birth, Bramer began his academic career at Tyndale in the early '90s.
Jesuits donate to Concordia
Father Jean-Marc Laporte, SJ, Provincial Superior of the Jesuits in English Canada and Loyola College graduate (BA 57), announced last month that the Jesuits will donate $1 million toward the refurbishment of the refectory at Concordia University. Father Laporte said the gift "will, once again, make the building a central community and social gathering place." The Jesuit order was founded in 1540 by St Ignatius de Loyola and is the largest men's religious order of the Catholic Church. Nearly 20,000 Jesuits serve in 112 countries and on all continents.
Patients rights to care
Jocelyn Downie, the Canada Research Chair of Health Law and Policy, told the 'End-of-Life Ethics & Decision-Making' conference at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg this week that doctors do not have the legal right to withdraw life-sustaining medical treatment against a patient's wishes. Downie, who is Canada's foremost player in interpreting health law issues, said there is no legal precedent in Canada that gives doctors the authority to remove a feeding tube or issue a 'do not resuscitate' order against a patient's wishes. Downie directly contradicted a notice from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba, who asserted in their February 1 policy statement that a physician could unilaterally decide to remove life-sustaining treatment, including fluids and food, in certain circumstances. -- LifeSite News
June 12/2008
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