Allow me to share a small joy we are experiencing in my congregation. It’s the process of choosing music for our kid’s message. For years, we didn’t have wee ones or young parents but they’re starting to show up and we have enough regulars to warrant Sunday School and a weekly kids message. My music … Read more
Progressive Christians continue to react with shock and dismay over the decision by the United Methodist Church to uphold the traditional definition of marriage. It didn’t take long for those who are opposed to the decision by the worldwide body to declare their next move: to continue defying church law. “We are not going anywhere,” … Read more
“There is so little room for genuine give-and-take in our Presbyterian discussions these days, while at the same time so much hangs on how our conversations go. The issues that we are discussing are not simply topics about which we happen to disagree. They are matters that are vitally connected to the question of whether … Read more
Last month I attempted to make the case for how important it is for our ministers to be part of intimate spiritual communities with their peers. I also shared the priority and focus we at the Renewal Fellowship are prepared to put on encouraging and aiding as many ministers as we can to find or … Read more
“Clearly communicating the heart of the Christian faith presents a very significant challenge” in a culture that is “illiterate to Christian ideas, often hostile to them,” says John Vissers, formerly Principal of Presbyterian College, Montreal. This summer, Vissers spent three weeks in Ghana and Malawi. “It makes you wish that Canadian Christians had more passion.” … Read More
“Please don’t forget us.” I have heard this plea spoken many times by prisoners in Malawi. These words not only resonated in my heart but motivated me to engage and lead a ministry to prisoners in Malawi. So, what are these prisons really like? They are overcrowded, they lack the basic necessities of life that … Read more
In the beginning, God sent one Rev. Robertson in 1896 to start the Presbyterian ministry here in Trail BC. And the Lord God continued to send faithful servants to keep up the ministry through the years of the first century of the life of the congregation. In 1925, the continuing Presbyterians were the minority … Read more
Response to Diane Eaton’s comment: In *We Need to Create New Wineskins*, I had written about PCC clergy being able to recover Biblical marriage within the context of a new “wineskin.” Creating a new wineskin is not foreign to the PCC. It was done in 1875 and in 1925 when there was a resetting of … Read more
Decline slowed after increased financial support from congregations. Thanks to our faithful supporters, the decline in our finances for the first half of 2023 was not as bad as we had expected. Renewal Fellowship lost $17,288 from January to June compared to a budgeted loss of $26,552. Part of the reason for this is the … Read more
WATERLOO — Faced with a divisive vote on same-sex marriage, General Assembly 2018 chose a more peaceful path, directing a special committee of former moderators to recommend a way forward in an effort to preserve unity. The committee, which will consist of moderators from 2005-2017, is tasked “to propose a way ahead that allows the … Read more