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 […]
Winnipeg Police Chief Says Prayer Can Help Reduce Crime
Can prayer reduce crime? According to new Winnipeg police chief Devon Clunis, the answer is yes. In speaking with ChristianWeek earlier this month about Winnipeg’s notorious crime rates, Clunis remarked: “I’m a little tired of us… being ‘[the] murder capital of Canada… People consistently say, ‘How are you going to solve that?’ It’s not simply […]
Jesus the Revolutionary
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez tearfully prayed for healing at a Catholic mass over Easter, according to Assist News Service. The 57-year-old is battling cancer and last year went to Cuba for treatment, which was apparently unsuccessful. Chavez wanted to become a priest as a young man. He believes his socialism has roots in the teachings […]
Muslim prayer time under fire at Toronto public school
By S.K. Lawrence Valley Park Middle School in Toronto has become the subject of an ongoing controversy because of the school’s accommodation of religion within their public institution. Reports have shown that 80-90 per cent of students attending Valley Middle Park are Muslim. That seems to be the justification for allowing a Muslim students to […]
A man with leprosy: Mark 1:40-45
Fourth in a series This seems to be a story about healing, about God’s graciousness in healing the illnesses that come because we have turned God’s good creation into a sinful, fallen world. If so, it leads us to praise God. But, at another level, it is a story about obedience. We can understand the […]
A father’s prayer for his daughters
I take no credit for it. It was something I just fell into. It came about because we didn’t have enough money for a second car, and I had to take the city bus to work. Later, my two daughters had to take the same city bus to junior high, and then high school. The […]