Former BC Premier Bill Vander Zalm is taking a break from provincial politics again so he can open a “spiritual theme park” in Hawaii, reports Province columnist Michael Smyth. Just a few months ago, Vander Zalm led the way in creating the Unity Party, a proposed merger of the B.C. Reform and Family Coalition parties […]
Glad Tidings Bible college goes satellite
Harnessing modern technology, Vancouver Church-Based Bible College (VCBC) launched a versatile Bachelor’s Degree program in Christian Ministry in January. Using video-conferencing, VCBC students connect simultaneously to five other classrooms across Canada and to an instructor from Eastern Pentecostal Bible College (EPBC). Video-conferencing, a two-way conversation via video, provides distance students with a classroom environment, interaction […]
TWU scholars tackle ‘the Apostles’ Bible’
The Work of three Trinity Western University (TWU) scholars will be a key element of a major new translation project, which is being launched March 17 at a TWU symposium. A TWU press release is promising that “top biblical scholars from across North America” will be present at the symposium. Several of the people involved […]
Southern Interior evangelism groups merge
The leaders of the Willow Creek Association Canada and the International Centre for Leadership Development and Evangelism have decided it’s better to work together than to act as seperate entities. In December the two organizations, dedicated to helping churches in Canada mature and grow, merged as The Leadership Centre/Willow Creek Canada and are planning several […]
Orthodox bishop can seize church assets, says Ontario Court
“The Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled on a rancorous church dispute in Ottawa, saying a Russian Orthodox bishop in Canada has every right to seize the assets of a dissident parish to prevent it from defecting,” reports The National Post. “The court’s ruling means the renegade parishioners — about 100 Ottawa residents — have […]
Government minister settles with pro-lifer
A pro-life group at UBC will be one of the beneficiaries of an out-of-court settlement of $25,000 given this month to John Hof. The Langley pro-life activist took issue with comments made last summer by Joan Smallwood, who was the minister of women’s equality at the time. On July 12, one day after an unknown […]
Children watch as parents are butchered in northeastern Congo
Rwebisengo Village, Western Uganda — Fifteen-year-old Gideon watches as his father, a poor 60-year-old man who cannot even defend himself, is cut in pieces. Heads from those of the Hema tribe are cut off and placed on sticks as Lendus dances for their “victory.” A pregnant lady is cut across the stomach and left to […]
House of Prayer opens doors at new location
More than 70 people from over a dozen congregations attended “Opening the Heavens,” the kick-off event for the first Vancouver House of Prayer February 11. After zoning difficulties caused organizers to abandon an earlier lease at Broadway and Fraser, the Vancouver House of Prayer is now opening its doors at its new location at Bethel […]
Offshore bank charged with fleecing evangelical investors
An offshore bank founded four years ago by an ex-preacher may have bilked North American evangelicals of over $200 million in a scandal that, according to Saturday Night magazine, is “shaping up to be one of the biggest and most bizarre scams ever to hit the secretive world of offshore investing.” The FBI is investigating […]
Gay book debate before courts
Religious values do have a place in the public school system, a lawyer for the embattled Surrey school board argued last month before the B.C. Court of Appeal. John Dives presented his arguments at a three-day hearing June 21 – 23. The school board is appealing a 1998 decision by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Mary […]