Singing for Haiti

Canadian Christian musicians have been putting on benefit concerts for the victims of Haiti's earthquake. On January 20, Steve Bell, Carolyn Arends, Jon Bauer, Junkyard Poets, Corey Doak, Jason Zerbin, Dan Nel, Kelsey Plowman, Jill Hagen and Raylene Scarrott performed at Centre Street Church in Calgary; the crowd of 2,000 donated more than $115,000, which will be distributed by Samaritan's Purse. On January 31, Jay Calder, Kelita, Terry Posthumus, Oceanic Air, Paulis Sanchez and others will perform at the Many Hands - One Voice concert at Hope Fellowship Church in Courtice, Ontario; an offering will be taken for World Vision. The same evening, Jacob Moon, Feist, Stephen Fearing, Luke Doucet and others will perform for Haiti at the Great Hall Theatre at Hamilton Place in Hamilton, Ontario; tickets are $25.

Debt, Dictatorship and Disaster

On his website, Christian musician Steve Bell has been blogging about Haiti's history. He writes: "Birthed in debt, borne by dictatorship and bludgeoned by disasters - a legacy of suffering that, perhaps now, might receive the attention it needs."

Evangelicals at work

The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) has posted a summary of the EFC affiliates which are working in Haiti.

One answer

The international advocacy agency One is teaming up with Make Poverty History Canada to send a petition to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and opposition leaders Michael Ignatieff, Gilles Duceppe and Jack Layton. The petition notes that Canada kept its promise to double foreign assistance between 2005 and 2010, and asks the country to use its influence to encourage the world's wealthiest countries to tackle worldwide poverty. It states: "As Canada assumes the presidency of the G8 for 2010, please honour the tradition of leadership in the fight against global poverty by announcing a new commitment to investing in proven solutions to extreme poverty and disease -- as part of a Millennium Development Goal action plan, with a strong focus on Sub-Saharan Africa." One has also started another petition, asking other countries to forgive Haiti's international debt.

Gospel and evolution together

Using live music, drama and dance, The Evolution of Gospel Music showcases five eras of gospel music from plantation spirituals to the present. The production was created in 2009 by Toronto Mass Choir director Karen Burke, gospel music producer Corey Butler and singer/actor/producer Aadin Church. The show will return for two shows this year, on February 5 and 6 at Global Kingdom Ministries, as a main feature of Black History Month. Some of the proceeds will go to the Christian youth ministry UrbanPromise Toronto.

Calgary has soul

Soulchat.ca is a seeker-oriented website created by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association of Canada. The site contains articles, videos and blogs, and invites visitors to respond by emailing their comments, questions, concerns or needs. "The idea is to gently introduce the basic tenets of Christianity to people who want to know more about the faith, but aren't yet comfortable enough to attend a church or have a face-to-face conversation with a Christian," said Soul Chat project manager Dave Ingram. Soul Chat was promoted in Saskatchewan last year through a series of commercials, shown for a month on prime-time television. The website is being promoted this February with TV commercials in the Calgary region.

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ARM for the battle

St. Simon's Church, an Anglican Coalition in Canada parish in North Vancouver, runs an Annual Renewal Mission (ARM) "to contribute towards spiritual renewal among Christians both personally and corporately, and to be of service to the Anglican Church." This year the event takes place March 5-7 at Harvest City Church in Vancouver on the theme 'Fanning into Flame God's Glory' (2 Timothy 1:6-7). Speakers include David Demian, director of Watchmen for the Nations; George Johnson, senior pastor of Harvest City Church; David Carson, director of Intercessors for Canada; and William Beasley, an Anglican church planting specialist from Chicago.

Write on

The annual School of Writing at Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg will be held May 10-14 this year. Instructors will be Anita Daher (writing for children and young adults), Joanne Klassen (life writing), Barbara Nickel (poetry) and Margaret Sweatman (fiction).

Boy's fate in court

The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada has commented about the case of Isaac and Rebecka May, who have gone to court to keep an Edmonton hospital from removing mechanical ventilation support from their son Isaiah. The boy was deprived of oxygen during a difficult birth last October. The hospital has said it is in the boy's "best interests" to stop receiving life support, but the parents say he is growing and showing increasing movement.

More protests over Morgentaler

The Canada Gazette reported January 9 that Governor General Micha‘lle Jean has accepted the resignations of Lucien LarrŽ and Renato Giuseppe Bosisio from the Order of Canada. Both resigned in protest of the appointment of abortionist Henry Morgentaler to the Order. LarrŽ is a Catholic priest in British Columbia and Bosisio an engineering professor at the University of Montreal. Nine Order of Canada medals have now been publicly returned to the Governor General; others, such as Bosisio, have returned their medals privately.

Pray for those we sent

The Military Christian Fellowship of Canada and the National House of Prayer are inviting Canadians to participate in the Fourth Annual National Prayer Vigil for the Canadian Forces, at 6 pm January 30. They are asking people to gather in their homes, in churches, in armories or anywhere else "to lift up our military and their families in prayer." They say "this is not a political event." They note that since 2001, the men and women of the Canadian Forces have gone to Afghanistan and "offered themselves in the service of their country, at the direction of our leaders" and that more than 130 have been killed and many more grievously injured.

Not limited by geography

People who would like to pray for the More Than Gold Christian outreach at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, do not have to travel. There will be a concerted prayer effort based at a Christian camp and retreat centre on Keats Island, near Vancouver. Others can stay home and receive daily prayer bulletins from More Than Gold.

January 27/2010