Money for Christian university

Mark Warawa, the Member of Parliament for Langley, BC, presented a cheque for $2.6 million to Trinity Western University (TWU) on August 17. The grant is part of the federal government's two-year, $2 billion Knowledge Infrastructure Program, which is designed to stimulate the economy while expanding Canada's research and technology capability. The grant has three components: $298,000 will enhance TWU's library, $661,000 will upgrade the university's information and communications technology systems, and $1.65 million will expand the Neufeld Science Centre. TWU must raise $2.6 in matching funds. TWU President Jonathan Raymond said the funds will enable TWU to complete about a third of the $15 million in infrastructure improvements called for in its long-range strategic plan.

Healthiness is next to Godliness

The Canadian Council of Churches wrote to three US counterparts on August 10: the National Council of Churches, The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the National Association of Evangelicals. The letter avoided telling US churches what position they should take in the current US debate over health care reform, but it noted that there has been considerable criticism of Canada's health care system in the US and outlined Canadian churches' strong support for public health care over the years. "Medicare can be the Good Samaritan parable," it stated, adding that "the principles guiding our health care system have an unmistakable affinity with the love of neighbour urged on us by God's word in Scripture."

Health care problems elsewhere

Ed Epp, executive director of cbm Canada, recently toured Vavunya Hospital, the only hospital serving 300,000 displaced persons in northern Sri Lanka. The recently ended 30-year civil war in that region has left 10 percent of the population injured or disabled. Cbm donated an eye refractor unit to a new eye unit at the hospital, which will reduce the wait for eye exams from nine months to two months. Cbm is also providing food, medicine, shelters and latrines to the area.

Ignite the culture

The ECP Centre is hosting its first Ignite Our Culture conference in eastern Canada, in Halifax, September 25 - 26. Speakers include several champions of free speech: publisher Ezra Levant, who was taken to a human rights tribunal for publishing cartoons; Connie Fournier of the blog Free Dominion; and Scott Brockie, an entrepreneur who was taken to a human rights tribunal for refusing to print homosexual literature. Christian Heritage Party leader Jim Hnatiuk will also speak.

Ignite the light

'Ignite the Light: Impacting Today's Culture with the Gospel,' to be held September 19 at Richmond Hill (Ont.) Christian Community Church, is a conference designed to help Christian lay people and church leaders share their faith with Canadians who no longer have a Christian frame of reference. Keynote speakers include Ravi Zacharias, Christian apologist and author; Will Graham, grandson of Billy Graham; Bruxy Cavey, pastor of the Ontario-based Meeting House church; Craig Evans, professor of New Testament at Nova Scotia's Acadia University; and Charles Price, senior pastor of The People's Church in Toronto. This third-annual Ignite the Light conference is being organized by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association of Canada in partnership with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, Alpha Canada, Equipping Evangelists, Power to Change, Samaritan's Purse Canada, The 700 Club in Canada, and The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.

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Ignite the leaders

The Canadian Council of Christian Charities is hosting its 37th annual Christian Leadership and Stewardship Conference in Mississauga, Ontario, September 29 - October 1. The keynote speakers are David Macfarlane, director of national initiatives for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association; Jerry White, president emeritus and chair of the US board of directors for the Navigators; and David Haskell, associate professor of journalism at Wilfrid Laurier University. The event is designed for the entire leadership teams of Christian ministries, with tracks called CEO; Charity Leadership; Church; Governance; Public Profile; Technology; Human Resources; Finance; Legal Issues; and Stewardship. The cost of the conference is reduced by $100 for those who register by August 28.

Unite the right

Andrew Moulden has resigned as leader of the Canadian Action Party (CAP) in order to join the Christian Heritage Party of Canada. CAP was founded in 1997 by former Deputy Prime Minister Paul Hellyer. Moulden follows in the footsteps of Social Credit Party leader Wayne Cook, who asked all of his members to join the Christian Heritage Party in June 2009.

And the survey says . . .

Equipping Evangelists, which operates in partnership with the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, is conducting a brief survey (seven questions) to investigate the state and understanding of evangelism within the local church. Anyone wishing to participate should go to their website.

Broad-based evangelism

Jews for Jesus ran evangelistic outreaches in Toronto and Montreal this summer, going to malls, streets and subway stations but also focusing on events such as Just for Laughs and the International Fireworks in Montreal and the Beaches Jazz Festival and a Blue Jays baseball game in Toronto. In Montreal, a six-member team distributed 8,850 "broadsides," talked to 94 people on the phone and met 53 people in door-to-door visits. In Toronto, an eight-person team distributed 7,675 broadsides, talked to 180 people by phone and spoke with 53 people at the door. Although the outreach focused on Jewish homes, two Gentiles prayed to accept Jesus.

Dance in Hebrew

Friends of Jesus Christ, a body of Filipino Christians who "love the God of Israel" and teach their children about Hebrew culture, is hosting a Marching to Zion celebration at the amphitheatre at Earl Bales Park in Toronto August 23. The event will include dance teams and Israeli music.

August 20/2009