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Canada Day for Christ
 | | First Nations believers were a highlight of the Voices Together! event at Vancouver's GM Place on July 1. |
Canada Day belonged to Jesus -- at least, in Vancouver's GM Place. The 'Voices Together' event drew Christians from all over B.C.'s Lower Mainland July 1; they packed the stadium to proclaim their faith. A worship band featuring musicians from seven churches was led by recording artist Andy Park; and the keynote speaker was prominent pastor Kevin Cavanaugh, of Cedar Grove Baptist Church. One highlight was provided by a group of First Nations believers, who took the opportunity to express their appreciation for the Canadian government's apology for the residential schools tragedy. The event was organized by Yani Lim, founder of Bethesda Ministry of Love.
Passion in the Badlands
The Canadian Badlands Passion Play runs every summer near Drumheller, Alberta. Created in 1994, it has gained international prominence. The event provides its audiences with a dramatic retelling of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The play features 130 actors, a 70-voice choir, a 12-piece orchestra, and a variety of animals; it is presented in a 30-acre natural canyon bowl whose stark and dramatic geographical surroundings mirror those of ancient Israel. This year, it runs July 4 - 6 and 11 - 13.
Prayer for Eritreans
The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada's Religious Liberty Commission has sent out a prayer alert regarding the deportation of Eritrean asylum seekers from Egypt back to Eritrea. It says: "asylum seekers who are returned to Eritrea are likely to be detained incommunicado in inhumane conditions from weeks to years and are at great risk of torture or other ill-treatment. Eritrean Christians face very high levels of persecution in their home country."
Take a rest from carbon
Kairos, a coalition of churches and religious organizations, has developed a new program called the Carbon Sabbath Initiative. This program gets community groups and congregations to work together to look more thoroughly into the effects of climate change and how it can be prevented -- with the aim of developing a strategy for encouraging a healthier lifestyle. CSI will also concentrate on how faith is related to climate change. This project is set to start this fall, with a cross-Canada leadership-training program. For more information, e-mail dmcdougall@kairoscanada.org.
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Can you dig it?
Nine Canadians, led by Dr. Stephen Chambers of Concordia Lutheran Seminary in Edmonton, are now in Israel to continue archeological work in the remains Antiochia Hippos, once a prominent Greek city near the Sea of Galilee. The Canadians join a 30-member team from Concordia University-St. Paul (Minnesota). Work started Sunday, June 29. The team members will chronicle their time in Israel online with blogs accessible through VirtualDig.org. The site also provides extensive background information related to the dig.
Good year for a Feast
The 29th annual Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem will be celebrated in conjunction with a special occasion: Israel's 60th anniversary. The Canadian branch of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ Canada) is issuing a 'last call' for those interested in a special tour package focused on the unique celebration. Registration closes July 9.
Gift for God's work
A gift truly furthering the work of God is how some would describe the donation of 61-acres of land to Atlantic Wycliffe Centre in Nova Scotia. The land, originally owned by Pastor Phil Jones housed a single church; but Jones decided to donate it to Wycliffe to serve a better purpose. Nearly 100 spectators came out June 14 to mark the official grand opening of the new recruitment and training facility for Wycliffe Bible Translators of Canada. It will offer global ministry-focused retreats, initial linguistic training and orientation, and will house special events for college and high school students.
Legge honoured
Award-winning motivational speaker and outspoken Christian Peter Legge was one of 15 people to receive the Order of British Columbia June 26. His award was given in recognition of his reputation as an honourable business leader, along with his charitable works. Each recipient was carefully selected by public nominations.
Passing the UGM mantle
Maurice McElrea has announced his retirement after 29 years as president of Vancouver's Union Gospel Mission (UGM). "It has been my joy to serve the Lord in the ministry of UGM, reaching out in love to the hungry, hurting and homeless in our communities," he said in a statement. "Throughout the years, with God's blessing and the help of faithful donors, volunteers, and staff, UGM has grown exponentially to meet the growing need for our services." The ministry's new president, Bill Mollard, came to the position after serving as chief operating officer for the Salvation Army's BC Division.
Digital theology
The ecumenical American Theological Library Association (ATLA) is teaming up with EBSCO Publishing to digitize scholarly books and treatises and make them available online. Some 29,000 historical monographs dealing with theology and religion -- comprising more than 7.5 million pages of content -- will be digitized. The majority of the monographs date from 1850 through 1923 -- with the earliest monograph dated to 1322. This project will allow researchers a chance to look at these artifacts in their original form.
July 3/2008
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