Rosebud has more than two stories

Rosebud School of the Arts, a Christian-based post-secondary educational institution in Rosebud, Alberta, will use a $2 million grant from the Canadian government and a $450,000 grant from the Alberta government to build the Rosebud Centre, a 10,000-square-foot, two-storey, wood-framed building. The new building will include an enlarged gift shop, a tourist information centre, flexible teaching space and a second restaurant to expand the dining capacity currently offered by the Mercantile Dining Room. The expansion will allow the facility to operate year-round and host more local and regional events, conferences and festivals. The school is affiliated with Rosebud Theatre, western Canada's largest rural theatre company. The federal funding comes through the Community Adjustment Fund, part of the government's economic stimulus package. The provincial contribution comes from Alberta's Community Facility Enhancement Program.

It's only logical

Fusedlogic, a social media engagement firm in Sherwood Park, Alberta, has launched the Food Bank Challenge. The firm is asking individuals and groups to post photos of themselves making donations to Canadian food banks on the website ThanksAMillion.ca. The goal is to gather a million photos of a million donations by December 15. This would set a record for the largest number of photos posted on a single charity-specific website and also bring attention to the needs of those who rely on food banks, said Fusedlogic CEO Walter Schwabe. In 2008, food banks across Canada served more than 700,000 people each month. In 2009, donations are down but there has been a 20 percent increase in those needing assistance.

She's come a long way to deliver this lecture

Trinity Western University's Gender Studies Institute will host a day-long symposium on 'Gender, Religion and the Third Wave' October 16. Rosemary Radford Ruether, professor of feminist theology at Claremont School of Theology and Claremont Graduate University, will offer a free public lecture on feminist research over the past 40 years. This will be followed by scholarly responses by Eleanor Stebner, an associate professor in the Department of Humanities at Simon Fraser University, and Maxine Hancock, professor of interdisciplinary studies and spiritual theology at Regent College.

A flood of help

The Canadian branch of the Salvation Army contributed an initial $50,000 to relief efforts for victims of monsoons in the Philippines in late September and early October. More than 1.9 million people were affected by flooding, with around 375,000 having to abandon their homes and take refuge in evacuation centres. The death toll was 246 as of October 2 but was expected to rise.

Raising a red flag

Cardus, a Canadian Christian think tank, has produced a discussion paper called 'A Canadian Culture of Generosity: Renewing Canada's Social Architecture by Investing in the Civic Core and the Third Sector.' The paper is 'a strategic response to flagging volunteerism, philanthropy and civic participation.'

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90 days to learn

Canada Family Action (CFA), based in Calgary, has launched a 'Child Safe Nation' campaign. CFA noted that child sex crime charges have increased 800 percent in five years, the number of internet sex images has quadrupled since 2003, and most of the children depicted are aged 3 to 8. CFA executive director Brian Rushfeldt said the first phase of CFA's campaign will raise public awareness, and the second phase, starting in January 2010, will lobby for three changes to the criminal code: change the term 'child pornography' to 'child sex and abuse images'; raise the mandatory minimum sentence for production of child pornography from 90 days to 10 years; and require the reporting of child sex images whenever they are discovered by anyone in Canada.

Liberty is not what they see

The Religious Liberty Commission (RLC) of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada released an 11-page report called 'Not What You See: A Report on the Religious Liberty Situation of Protestant Believers in Vietnam.' It is based on firsthand accounts gathered during a recent visit. The report says legislation passed in 2004 - 2005 initially gave hope that Vietnamese churches could be legally recognized by the government; however, government officials are now finding creative ways to hinder the efforts of house churches to comply with the new legislation. The report makes recommendations which could increase the freedom of Christian believers in Vietnam. This report is the latest in a series of RLC reports on Vietnam over the past few years.

150 BC

Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral in New Westminster celebrated its 150th anniversary September 20. Holy Trinity is the oldest Anglican church in British Columbia. Holy Trinity was the cathedral for the Diocese of New Westminster from 1892 to 1929, when Christ Church in Vancouver was named the diocesan cathedral. However, Holy Trinity was allowed to retain the title 'cathedral.'

Evangelicals now blogging and tweeting

The Centre for Faith and Public Life (CFPL) of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada has launched Activate CFPL, a blog on which staff comment on law and public policy issues from a biblical perspective and invite discussion and comments. The EFC is also making use of Twitter and Facebook.

Two heads are better than one

Canadian Nurses for Life (CNFL) is now being led by two co-directors: Theresa Zettel of Ontario and Renee Schmitz of British Columbia. They replace Mary-Lynn McPherson, who has led the young organization for the past 10 years. CNFL's mission is 'to support Canadian nurses in protecting and promoting the dignity of every human being from conception to natural death.'

October 15/2009