Catholics and evangelicals agree; governments don't

The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) have asked the Supreme Court of Canada for permission to jointly intervene in a constitutional challenge case, Attorney General of Canada v. Attorney General of Quebec. The federal Assisted Human Reproduction Act prohibits or regulates activities such as human cloning, surrogacy, sex selection and in vitro fertilization. The Government of Quebec disputes the jurisdiction of the federal government to enact legislation in this area. The EFC and CCCB argue that the best way to respect and protect the unique value of human beings made in the image of God is through uniform legislation across Canada. The Supreme Court will hear the case April 24.

Turning words into ploughshares

Mennonite Central Committee Canada presented its bi-annual peace seminar for students in Ottawa in late February on the theme 'Pursuing Security in an Insecure World.' The three-day event attracted 27 students from colleges and universities in BC, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec, as well as three participants from MCC's International Volunteer Exchange Program. Speakers included a Member of Parliament, civil servants, representatives of a variety of advocacy groups and Motsoea Senyane, High Commissioner to Canada from the Kingdom of Lesotho. Esther Epp-Tiessen, coordinator of MCC Canada's peace and justice program, said that the purpose of the event was to get across the understanding that true security does not come through military might and getting tough on crime but though pursuing "justice, peace and the well-being of our neighbours."

She had to fight hard to get in

Niki Enns Fehr of Winnipeg has been accepted into the Masters of Arts in Peace Studies program at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. She is one of only 20 students from around the world accepted into the prestigious program. Enns Fehr will graduate in April with a BA in Peace and Conflict Transformation Studies from Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) in Winnipeg. She already has a Bachelor of Theology from CMU. In 2006-2007, she and her husband Jason served at the Corrymeela Peace and Reconciliation Centre in Ireland.

Powerful speakers and sponsors

A conference called 'The Evolving Church: Amidst the Powers' will be held at the Meeting House in Oakville, Ontario March 21. The conference will address the question: "How can the Church exist as a distinct faith community that does not succumb to the powers that surround her, but instead offer a different way of being amidst the powers?" Keynote speakers are theologians Marva Dawn, on 'Hope in a Crisis Time against and with the Powers'; Stanley Hauerwas, on 'The Power of War'; and Walter Wink, on 'Naming the Powers'. Sponsors include Tyndale University College and Seminary, Christian Horizons, Power To Change, World Vision, Mennonite Central Committee, Global Aid Network, FaithLife Financial, Fair Havens Ministries, David C. Cook Distribution Canada, The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, and McMaster Divinity College.

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These writers have class

Canadian Mennonite University's second annual Spring Literary Festival features seven writers offering readings and presentations to the general public on three evenings: poet Di Brandt, creative non-fiction writer Myrna Kostash and author and magazine writer Jake MacDonald on May 4; novelist David Elias, poet Joan Nickel and freelance writer Barbara Thomas on May 6; and author and naturalist Trevor Herriot on May 8. All of the readings are in the Great Hall at CMU's Shaftesbury campus in Winnipeg. Admission is free. CMU's third annual School of Writing will take place over the same dates, May 4 - 8. This year's instructors are David Bergen (advanced fiction), David Elias (intermediate fiction), Myrna Kostash (poetry), Barbara Nickel (creative non-fiction), and Joanne Klassen and Eleanor Chornoby (life writing).

Unmasking the pagan Harpur

In 2004, Canadian religion writer Tom Harpur published a bestselling book The Pagan Christ arguing that Jesus never lived and the Gospels are based on Egyptian mythology. In 2006, Stanley E. Porter, Dean of McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario and Stephen J. Bedard, pastor of Woodford Baptist Church and First Baptist Church in Meaford, Ontario published a book refuting Harpur entitled Unmasking the Pagan Christ: An Evangelical Response to the Cosmic Christ Idea. On April 1, VisionTV will re-broadcast a 2007 documentary outlining Harpur's views. The next night, April 2, the network will broadcast a new documentary outlining Porter and Bedard's rebuttal.

They will apply what they learn

Hundreds of Canadian youth aged 16 - 19 are expected to apply for World Vision's Youth Ambassador program. Six will be chosen to travel to Tanzania for two weeks and learn about poverty and how it can be addressed. After they return to Canada, for the next year they will be expected to encourage other youth to get involved in fighting poverty. Applicants must have participated in World Vision's 30-Hour Famine and must have their applications in by April 4.

A Rocha is rolling

A Rocha, an "international conservation organization working to show God's love for all creation," has opened a second office in Canada, in addition to the national office in Surrey, BC. A Rocha in Manitoba has joined seven other environmental groups already in the Eco-centre above the Mountain Equipment Co-op store in downtown Winnipeg. A Rocha is also developing a second field study centre, in Manitoba's Pembina Valley. The organization has had a field study centre in British Columbia's Little Campbell River watershed for several years.

March 19/2009