Helping the world see clearly

Students in the Outtatown discipleship program of Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg received training January 8-9 from Global Vision 2020. They learned the procedure for delivering corrective eyewear called Adspecs (short for Adaptive Spectacles). Adspecs were designed by retired UK physicist Joshua Silver, to aid visually impaired people in developing countries. Adspecs cost $19, and syringes on the frames inject silicon oil into the lenses -- to adjust them for use by a particular user. The 31 students and four student leaders left January 12 for a 90-day work and learning term in Guatemala, taking along 120 pairs of Adspecs.

Simply not acceptable

As president of the upcoming session of the G8 countries, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced January 26 that he will encourage a focus on fulfilling two of the eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals: reducing by 75 percent the number of women (estimated at well over 500,000) who lose their lives each year during pregnancy or childbirth; and reducing by two-thirds the number of children (estimated at nine million) who die before their fifth birthday. Harper said failure to reach those goals by 2015 is "simply not acceptable," since many of the deaths can be prevented by simple and inexpensive measures such as providing clean water, inoculations, better nutrition and basic training of health care workers. The Canadian government is compiling a list of nongovernmental Canadian agencies working in these areas; the aim is to produce a comprehensive list by February 5.

A mass protest

A coalition of Christian groups has scheduled a 'Mass and March' on February 17. The marchers will participate in a noon Ash Wednesday mass at Saint Mark's College Chapel at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. They will then march across campus to the Winter Sports Centre, where a number of Olympic events are being held. Organizers chose Ash Wednesday as an appropriate time to repent of the sin of being "complicit as individuals and as a society in the existence of poverty and homelessness." They charged that the Olympics have caused a more than twofold rise in the number of visibly homeless people in the Vancouver area; the loss of more than 850 units of low-income housing, and the rise of rents across the city; and increasingly stringent bylaws seeking to "clean out" the city by criminalizing the poor (for example, by outlawing panhandling). The event is being sponsored by the Student Christian Movement of UBC and has been endorsed by Grandview Calvary Baptist Church, the Regent College Students Association, Servants Vancouver and Streams of Justice.

A champion passes

Glenn Penner of The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) Canada passed away January 26 at age 48, after a seven-year struggle with cancer. Penner joined VOM-Canada as development director in 1997. After being diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia five years later, he continued to serve, becoming CEO in 2007. His book, In the Shadow of the Cross, is an intensive study of the theology of persecution and discipleship. VOM offers support to Christians suffering persecution around the world. Both The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada and the World Evangelical Alliance paid tribute to Penner's "incredible contribution" to research and the cause of the persecuted church. Penner is mourned by his wife Denita and children Joel, Becky and David. Corey Odden, who has served for 10 years with VOM-USA, took over the role of CEO of VOM in January 2010.

Fifteen at Faith

MissionFest Toronto will kick off its 15th anniversary year with a celebration Saturday, February 13 from 12 to 4 pm at Faith Family Books & Gifts in Scarborough, Ontario. The organization will preview the program for its 2010 conference, scheduled for April 16-18, at this event. The day will include performances by Marlene O'Neill, Terry Posthumus and Paulis Sanchez. Also present will be mission representatives and some of this year's MissionFest speakers, as well as the MissionFest staff and board of directors. A portion of the store's sales for that day will be donated to MissionFest.

It is right not to marry

The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) has received intervenor status in a Saskatchewan marriage commissioner reference. Last July, the Justice Minister of Saskatchewan asked the Court of Appeal for an opinion on whether proposed legislation (which would permit marriage commissioners to decline performing same-sex marriages if it was contrary to their religious beliefs) would be allowed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The proposed legislation would grant the right to refuse either to all Saskatchewan marriage commissioners or to those appointed before November 5, 2004 (before gay marriage was legalized). When the reference is heard May 13-14, the EFC will argue that employees in a public role retain the right to freedom of conscience and religion and "may object to performing a task if it is contrary to their conscience or religious beliefs." Don Hutchinson, EFC vice president and general legal counsel, said: "There is an important distinction between the right to be married and the right to be married by a particular person." Intervenor status has also been granted to the Christian Legal Fellowship, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the Canadian Fellowship of Churches and Ministers, the Seventh Day Adventist Church and EGALE Canada Inc.

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We need a traffic cop

The Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a pastoral letter on human trafficking on January 26, just before the 2010 Olympic games in Vancouver. The statement calls prostitution "a form of institutionalized violence that destroys the physical, psychological and spiritual integrity of other human beings." It calls on Canadian Christians to support organizations that work with victims of human trafficking, and to pray for them. Don Hutchinson, vice-president and general legal counsel for The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada recently blogged about the shortcomings of existing human trafficking legislation in Canada.

A public opinion pole

Several years ago, First United Church in Vancouver's impoverished Downtown Eastside transitioned from a church to an inner city mission, with the pews being replaced by bunkbeds which accommodate up to 300 people per night. However, Rev. Ric Matthews said the building "remains a church - one that includes significant contributions from people who are Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and post modern atheists." Because 40 percent of the community are from First Nations families, on January 30, a Haida totem pole was unveiled to be the anchor and focus of the "sacred space where the community worships." The pole was newly carved by Bernie Williams and 13 other First Nations carvers. The 'People's Pole' has "an eagle at the top, to represent the closest messenger to the Creator or God and the sky; a killer whale, as the largest and most powerful in these waters; the bear, for its strength and presence on the land; and the grandmother moon, watching over us all." Members of the community will be invited to add symbols of their own personal faith to the sanctuary. The pole's message is: "Together we are one."

Churches close as Anglicans restructure

After over five years of consultations, discussions and regional meetings, the Diocesan Transformation Team of the Anglican Diocese of British Columbia issued a report January 26, recommending that 19 of the diocese's 52 parishes be closed. Five of those will be reopened as "hub churches" for Anglicans in areas where other parishes have been closed. One will be used as a conference centre, and the other 13 will be sold or leased out to provide income for creative new ministries. The recommendations are a response to declining church membership and financial support; the report suggests a congregation of at least 150 people is needed in urban areas to have a viable parish, although that number cannot often be attained in rural communities. The Diocese said the reorganization is not about surviving, but about transforming and regenerating the Diocese -- so that it "focuses on service outwards rather than inwards upon itself"; and so that it will be effective in reaching "a post-Christian society." The report will be discussed and voted on at the Diocese's synod March 5-6. The Diocese covers Vancouver Island and several smaller islands, but not the B.C. mainland.

Facing big issues

Faith Today, the magazine of The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, is publishing a series of articles on seven major issues to be discussed at the next Lausanne Congress on World Evangelism, scheduled for October 2010 in Cape Town, South Africa. 'The Uniqueness of Jesus Christ' and 'Seeking God's Call to Wholeness and Reconciliation' appeared late last year. 'World Faiths: Developing a Loving and Redemptive Response' is in the current edition. Upcoming are 'Priorities for World Evangelism'; 'Living a Christlike Lifestyle of Servanthood'; 'The Trinity as a Model for Global Partnership and Community'; and 'Megacities and International Diaspora.'

New prez for Tyndale

Gary Nelson has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Tyndale University College and Seminary in Toronto, effective July 1. For the past 10 years, he has served as General Secretary (CEO) of Canadian Baptist Ministries; he has also served as a pastor and as an adjunct professor at various schools. His books include Future Faith Churches: The Power of a Reconnected Gospel for the 21st Century (1997, with Don Posterski); and Borderland Churches: A Congregations' Introduction to Missional Living (2008). Tyndale has been led by an interim leadership team since former president Brian Stiller retired last year.

Haiti

Write on

Julia Beazley, research and project coordinator for poverty and homelessness in the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada's Centre for Faith and Public Life, has written a blog commending the Government of Canada for its swift and generous response to the crisis in Haiti.

Army in charge

The United Nations has designated The Salvation Army as the "lead agency" responsible for the care of 20,000 people made homeless by the earthquake in Haiti. Survivors have erected tents at both a soccer stadium and a plaza adjacent to The Salvation Army's main compound at Delmas 2 in Port-au-Prince. As the lead agency, The Salvation Army assumes the responsibility of housing people in family units that meet UN approved standards. The Army will also provide clean water, medical supplies, basic health supplies, safe hygiene and sanitation. The Army, in cooperation with the United Nations World Food Programme, will also handle the safe distribution of food to those within its care. The Salvation Army has had a presence in Haiti since 1950, operating medical facilities, schools, feeding programs, children's homes and churches.

February 3/2010