In Part 1 of this article, I mentioned how my brother, as a child, would often forget what he was supposed to do in the washroom before he went to bed and would frequently ask our parents, “What am I supposed to be doing?” I suggested that this is a valuable question for the church […]
The Church, Part I: God’s Mission for the Church
When my brothers and I were young, my parents had established a nightly routine for us. We would brush our teeth, read a Bible story together, get a drink, use the toilet, and then we would go to bed. Though this routine was as consistent as the rising and the setting of the sun, my […]
UK Charity Commission says Christian church not for “public benefit”
Britain’s charity watchdog has put the charitable status of the nation’s churches in question after it ruled that a Plymouth Brethren congregation in Devon in the South West of England did not exist for “public benefit.” The Charity Commission ruled that the Plymouth Brethren Church will not receive charitable status because it does not permit […]
“Real World” Justin Welby Named the New Archbishop of Canterbury
Justin Welby, the current Bishop of Durham, was named Friday as the 105th archbishop of Canterbury, primate of the Church of England, and leader of the worldwide 77 million-member Anglican Communion. Welby was an oil executive for 11 years before leaving to train as a priest in 1987. Since then, many have described his rise […]
The Book of Common Prayer after 350 years
This year marks the 350th anniversary of the final version of Thomas Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer. Thomas Cranmer, the archbishop of Canterbury under Henry VIII, published the first Book of Common Prayer in 1549, over 100 years before the Psalter was added in 1662 to complete the version we now have. The fact that […]
Gospel in the park
The 40th anniversary of a unique ministry was celebrated on the evening of Sunday, July 29, 2012. That night, churches in the town of Dresden, Ontario, marked 40 years of “Sunday Evening In The Park.” This drive-in church service was the brainchild of Baptist minister Dann Filyer. The invention of the automobile is sometimes blamed […]
In Paul’s footsteps
It was while riding our big, air-conditioned tour bus up the Meander River valley, to view the ruins of Laodicea, that I began to appreciate what Paul and the first Christian evangelists in the Roman province of Asia had to endure for the sake of the gospel. I was travelling through what is now called […]
The State of the Candian Church (2009)
Part 1: The Church as we saw it There were 102 full news stories posted on CC.com in 2008. An analysis reveals that 13 concerned the Roman Catholic Church, nine featured mainline Protestant churches, nine featured evangelical churches and two featured charismatic churches. Those ratios very generally correspond to the relative sizes of the various […]
The Church as we saw it
THERE WERE 102 full news stories posted on CC.com in 2008. An analysis reveals that 13 concerned the Roman Catholic Church, nine featured mainline Protestant churches, nine featured evangelical churches and two featured charismatic churches. Those ratios very generally correspond to the relative sizes of the various church traditions in Canada.
Open houses help Lutherans connect with their neighbours
A recent cross-country ‘open house’ project achieved “exactly what we wanted,” said Ian Adnams — namely, helping Lutheran congregations “connect with their communities.” The project essentially encouraged local congregations to invite people to open houses on the last weekend of September. The denomination is still receiving feedback from the congregations, but initial indications are that […]