Wales sighted in Alberta

Rosebud Theatre in Rosebud, Alta., is presenting Christmas in Wales (based on the Dylan Thomas short story A Child's Christmas in Wales) November 6 to December 23. The play recalls simpler times when families gathered to laugh, sing Christmas carols, sip hot chocolate by a crackling fire, listen to stories told by eccentric relatives and rediscover the miracle of family love.

Icons sited in Toronto

The Kumpf Gallery in Toronto is exhibiting a series of icons and images by Christine Granger called 'The Christmas Garden' December 6-20. The exhibition is supported by the Embassy of Ukraine.

Christian women freed in Iran

In mid-November, two Iranian women, Maryam and Marzieh, were freed without bail from the Iranian prison where they had been held for almost nine months. In October, the women were acquitted of a charge of "anti-state activities." However, charges of "taking part in illegal gatherings" and apostasy remain, and the two could still be convicted and sentenced to severe punishments, including death. Now that they have been freed, they are expected to be subject to heavy surveillance, and they also face the possibility of extrajudicial killing, which is not uncommon in Iran. The two women are converts to Christianity and in court in August boldly resisted pressure from the prosecutor to renounce their Christian faith. They are among the many Christians, Baha'is and members of other minorities who face varying degrees of persecution in Iran.

Human rights moved to Israel

One Free World International, a Canadian human rights organization led by Majed El Shafie, will not be holding its usual conferences in Canada this year. Instead, it will be holding its first international human rights conference in Israel in mid-December. The organization is inviting parliamentarians, human rights victims and advocates, and church leaders from Canada and the United States to attend the conference, where they will meet with Israeli leaders and officials and visit sites with "particular significance in the battle for religious freedom and against religious persecution and antisemitism."

Poll supports the unborn

An Environics Research poll has found that 30 percent of Canadians support legal protection of unborn babies from conception on, another 17 percent support protection after three months of pregnancy and eight percent after six months of pregnancy. This is the ninth year in a row that a majority of Canadians have supported some protection for unborn children. Support for legal protection from conception on is higher among women (35 percent), than men (25 percent). Although most abortions in Canada are paid for by the public health care system, 18 percent said they should be privately funded, and 50 percent said they should be publicly funded only in cases of medical emergency "such as a threat to the mother's life or in cases of rape or incest." Only 26 percent support tax-funding of all abortions, down from 30 percent last year. The poll, conducted in October 2009 of 2002 Canadians, was commissioned by LifeCanada.

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The true north poll

A poll conducted by students at Trinity Western University (TWU) found that residents of British Columbia's Lower Mainland are generally supportive of the 2010 Vancouver-Whistler Olympic Games. Even in Vancouver's impoverished Downtown Eastside, 48 percent said they were excited when they first heard about the games, 30 percent were neutral, and 22 percent were angry. In 10 other communities (including the TWU campus), excitement ranged from 40 percent to 83 percent, and anger ranged from zero percent to 31 percent. Those excited by the games offered a number of reasons, from international exposure and an expected economic boost, to Canadian pride and an opportunity to attend events. Those surveyed also expressed concern over negative aspects of the games, including traffic problems, the overall cost of the games, tax increases, and increased homelessness. The survey drew responses from 350 people over a six-week period this fall and was conducted as a learning exercise by 24 students in a cultural anthropology class.

Give the bill to the mining companies

On November 19, Connie Sorio and Ian Thomson of KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives appeared before the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs committee to express support for private member's Bill C-300 (An Act respecting Corporate Accountability for the Activities of Mining, Oil or Gas in Developing Countries). The bill would require mining, oil and gas companies to respect human rights and environmental standards in order to access financing through Export Development Canada and the Canada Pension Plan.

Bill delayed

The second reading debate on Bill C-384, which seeks to decriminalize euthanasia and assisted suicide, will now have its second hour of debate February 2; the second reading vote in the House of Commons will take place on February 3.

Alert for the Bible

On November 27, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) issued a religious liberty alert regarding the seizure of over 15,000 Bibles being imported into Malaysia. The Malaysian government seized the Bibles because they use the word "Allah" for God. The government stated that "Allah" is reserved for use only by Muslims, even though it had agreed in 2005 to allow the Bibles. Malaysian Christians fear the confiscation may be a sign of increased discrimination and persecution in the future. The EFC is urging Canadian Christians to pray about the issue and write to Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lawrence Cannon

Print it and they will come

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver has developed a plan to send copies of its B.C. Catholic weekly newspaper to all 76,000 households in the diocese within four years. This would constitute a massive increase from the paper's current circulation of 19,000. Households will be given a choice on whether they wish to receive a paper copy by mail or an electronic copy by email. The cost of the venture is expected to be covered by an annual parish collection of $20 for the paper version and $15 for the electronic version. Vancouver joins other Roman Catholic dioceses, including Edmonton, Toronto and St. Paul-Minneapolis, in adopting the community model. Supporters of the approach say it leads to increased advertising for the papers, better communication from church leaders to parishioners, and increased church attendance.

December 3/2009