Saints one

Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed February 19 that Brother André will be canonized October 17, 2010, making him the first Canadian Roman Catholic saint. Brother André Bessette (1845-1937) was orphaned as a teenager and entered holy orders at age 25 despite being in poor health. A doorkeeper at Notre Dame College in Montreal, he became famous after he began rubbing oil on sick people and they were healed. Eventually, he was receiving 80,000 letters a year from sick people around the world. Brother André said the healing came from St. Joseph, and he raised money to build the Oratory of St. Joseph on Mount Royal. He was declared 'venerable' by the Catholic Church in 1978 and 'blessed' in 1982; the way to full sainthood was opened in December 2009 when an investigating committee confirmed a second miracle attributed to him.

Prodigal production

Prodigal God, Brian Doerksen's new concert musical based on Luke 15, had been scheduled to debut this month as part of the Christian arts outreach connected with the 2010 Olympic Games. However, escalating costs, challenges with housing and travel for out of town cast and crew, and a fundraising shortfall meant that that didn't happen. Doerksen now plans to release this summer a full two-CD, 25-song recording of the whole musical (instead of a one-CD, 15-song recording this spring as had originally been projected). Discussions are now going on to determine when a tour of the live musical might begin.

Health for a month

Samaritan's Purse is inviting Canadians to donate money to buy hygiene kits for Haitian families affected by the recent earthquake. Each kit will contain a month's supply of bathing soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, feminine napkins, laundry soap and dishwashing detergent for a family of five. The ministry said the kits are important in preventing the spread of deadly diseases among people living in crowded temporary structures. Samaritan's Purse will buy the kit contents in bulk and assemble them at its Calgary warehouse, using many of the same volunteers who process gift-filled shoe boxes each year during the Operation Christmas Child campaign. Each kit requires a donation of $30, and the donor can include a personal note of encouragement to the Haitian individual or family who receives the kit.

Already there

The city of Surrey, B.C., took a cooperative approach to the disaster response in Haiti. Mayor Dianne Watts instructed firefighters to accept donations of non-perishable food items at fire halls and launched a food drive among city hall staff. The food was then donated to Pacific Community Church, which already had two members working in Haiti with Heart to Heart Haiti, a mission based in Abbotsford, B.C. The food aid is being funnelled to that mission's work in a town called Grand Goavei. Heart to Heart Haiti planned to distribute 600 tons of food aid in the weeks following the January 12 earthquake. Surrey has also offered to send city planning and engineering staff to Haiti to assist in reconstruction.

Have mercy on young women

Mercy Ministries Canada has launched an electronic newsletter. Mercy Ministries was founded in the US by Nancy Alcorn in 1993 to offer a residential treatment program for young women seeking freedom from life-controlling issues such as drug and alcohol addiction, depression, eating disorders, unplanned pregnancy, physical and sexual abuse and self-harm. The ministry was brought to Canada through John and Helen Burns, senior pastor couple of Relate Church, a multi-site church based in Surrey, B.C. Mercy Ministries Canada is currently constructing its first residential home on a 4.3-acre site in Surrey.

Family matters

The Institute of Marriage and Family Canada is hosting its annual policy conference March 11 on the theme, 'Beyond the Front Door - engaging families for strong social and economic policymaking,' with three prominent speakers. Brian Lee Crowley, author of Fearful Symmetry: The Fall and Rise of Canada's Founding Values, will highlight the importance of family for Canada's economic and social success. Wade Horn, Assistant Secretary for Children and Families in the US government 2001-2007, will examine how national governments can create great family-related policy, particularly in regard to fatherhood. Miriam Grossman examined the politicization of sex education in her books, Unprotected: A campus psychiatrist reveals how political correctness in her profession endangers every student and You're teaching my child what? The day will also include a panel presentation on child care with Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada Diane Finley explaining the Conservative policy of offering government money to parents directly, and a representative of the Liberal Party explaining that party's support for a national daycare plan.

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Where have all the mothers gone?

Jean Chamberlain Froese, a Canadian obstetrician/gynecologist working in Africa for 14 years, has welcomed Prime Minister Stephen Harper's recent decision to focus on reducing the current totals of half a million mothers and four million babies who die every year. She noted that 70 percent of the mothers who die annually come from just 13 countries, including seven in Africa: Uganda, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Angola, Pakistan, Indonesia, China, India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. She said that 15 percent of all pregnancies worldwide lead to some kind of emergency and the main reason for maternal deaths is the lack of skilled attendants at delivery. Only one in 4,000 women die from childbirth in North American cities but one in 16 in sub-Saharan Africa. Chamberlain Froese is an assistant professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and founding executive director of Save the Mothers (STM). She lives eight months of the year in Uganda. STM's training centre at Uganda Christian University has trained more than 100 Ugandan professionals in its two-year Masters in Public Health Leadership program. The program trains health care leaders but also lawyers, politicians, journalists, educators, community activists and religious leaders who will advocate for mothers and children. Four Ugandan Members of Parliament who completed the program initiated new legislation to better care for Ugandan mothers and children. Chamberlain Froese is author of Where Have All the Mothers Gone? Stories of courage and hope during childbirth among the world's poorest women.

Books go on pilgrimage

Pilgrim Books in Calgary has donated 15,000 surplus books to establish a library in Cape Coast, Ghana. The donation is part of an effort by Calgarians Becky Mensah and Karen Skelton to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to help Anglican schools in the area. The library will primarily benefit the thousand students at Philip Quaque Boys and Girls Schools, but will be housed in the palace of King Kwesi, whose Fanti tribe makes up a quarter of Ghana's population. Kwesi was recently led to Christ by Mensah's brother, a pastor named Joseph Grant, who died in 2009. - City Light News

Called but not yet registered

The 15th annual MissionFest Toronto will be held April 16-18 at Global Kingdom Ministries on the theme 'Called . . . According to His Purpose.' Speakers will include John Hull (EQUIP), Tony Fernandez (former Toronto Blue Jay), George Verwer (Operation Mobilization), Jean Chamberlain (Save the Mothers International) and Afshin Javid (I AM Thirsty). Music will be provided by Marlene O'Neill, Ryan Resmer, Robert Chambers, Relevant Worship, Nuevo Elementos and United Through Worship. There will be a variety of exhibitors, seven master seminars and 28 other seminars.

On the map

A 400-year-old map drawn in China is currently on display at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. The map is the first Chinese map to show the Americas, including Ka-na-ta (Canada), Chih-Li (Chile), Wa-ti-ma-la (Guatemala) and "the land of Flowers" (Florida). The map was drawn in 1602 by Matteo Ricci, the Jesuit missionary who opened up China to Roman Catholicism. The map was accepted by the Chinese because China was placed at the centre of the map. The two-by- four-metre map is on paper mounted on wood and is one of only two well- preserved copies in the world. It was recently purchased by the James Ford Bell Library at the University of Minnesota for $1 million.

Mennonites swamped

Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) in Winnipeg has appointed Ken Reddig as half-time director of its Braintree Creation Care Centre in southeast Manitoba. The centre, in southeast Manitoba, has over 800 acres of forest and wetlands in a flyway for migrating birds and is surrounded by two provincial forests and a provincial park. It was donated to CMU by Walter and Eleanor Loewen in 2008 to serve as a Christian centre of learning and reflection around creation care and protection of the environment. In 2009, the centre was classified as a protected heritage site by Nature Conservancy Canada. Reddig has a long history of service as an administrator with various Mennonite agencies.

Answer the quest on...

YaHero is an interactive gaming site for children aged 8-11 created with the support of the Canadian Bible Society and Simpleville Music. A new quest is offered each month, in which players solve puzzles, answer quizzes and engage in searches in order to complete their missions. The game includes Bible verses and Bible stories which players use to answer the quizzes and solve the puzzles. Each quest focuses on a biblical theme such as adversity, creation or wisdom. After a child completes a quest, the parents are sent an email asking if they would like a follow-up teaching packet called a Lumipack.

February 25/2010