Category: Good News

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 … Continue reading Jesus bids us shine

We love feedback. Here are some recent comments and statements received by Renewal Fellowship. "If you have 1/3 of the denomination that holds to an orthodox theology you are still very well situated to be a positive force for missional change in the PCC. The odds have been far worse at various points in church … Continue reading Encouraging words are heard

Our congregation began in 1962 in the gymnasium of a local public school. In 1964 we marched across a field to turn the soil at our new location in a nearby area of the city while singing “Onward Christian Soldiers.” Now an active group of about 400 people of all ages gather for weekly Sunday morning services ... Read more

VBS 1: Each year we host a KidzFest, our version of a DVBS. The program staff are mostly youth who are doing a great job while developing leadership skills. This year we set a target of 100, and exceeded that. We’re glad to provide some respite relief for parents, if that’s their motivation. Numerous people … Continue reading Bits and Bites

By Rosemary Forsythe Drama Camp 2018 is now in the history books. Each summer for the past number of years, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Parry Sound, Ontario, has invited children to put together a full-length Christian musical in five mornings. The participants are often visiting grandchildren as well as local children and young people who … Continue reading Drama camp: a week of blessing

Mary Peter leads a talking circle ministry at Grace Cowichan Presbyterian Church Cowichan — It’s a midweek evening in the sanctuary of Grace Presbyterian Church and 10 people are gathered in a talking circle. Holding a feather, Mary Peter opens in prayer. “What fills your cup?” Peter asks, then passes the feather to the person … Continue reading Renewal at Cedar Tree Ministries

Sooke, BC — The problem with ministers in the PCC? “You’ve got a bunch of ministers and administrators,” says Rev. Gord Kouwenberg. “We need vision catchers who understand the prophetic role of the clergy. We’re not prophetic in casting vision before the people so that the people are stimulated to act.” Not that he takes … Continue reading Renewal at Knox Sooke

Come, Holy Spirit: A banner at Victoria Chinese Presbyterian testifies the hope we have Victoria BC — Rose Lum points to a collection of photos hanging on the wall on the lower level of Victoria Chinese Presbyterian Church. “My father,” the elder says proudly. Lee Woo was also an elder, back in 1923, when the … Continue reading Renewal at Victoria Chinese

Last year, I attended “Freedom Session”, a Bible-based twelve-step program, aimed at freeing us from our addictions, compulsive behaviours, and tendency to do the wrong things. The goal is to find healing and freedom through Jesus Christ. The main reason that I went to Freedom Session was to support my wife in her need to attend in order to deal with painful depressing memories from her youth. I also wanted to evaluate the program to possibly take it back to our home church. I also thought that, just maybe, I could also learn something on the way … Read More

I had the opportunity to hear Rodger Nishioka (Associate Professor, Christian Education, at Columbia Theological Seminary) speak this past fall. One story he told was about a research interview he did with a woman who lived in an apartment building across from a church. She told him that nothing that happened there had any effect on her life. She said that if that local church ceased to exist, it wouldn't make any difference to her. Dr. Nishioka then challenged us to think about whether … Read More

Having just finished the three-day retreat for Presbyterian Church in Canada ministers – two full days bracketed by two half days – at Crieff Hills, I spent some time listening to the comments of the other participants, and was struck by how often certain words came up. With that in mind, I decided to expand on them a little: community, blessed, discipline, relationship. … Read More

Here at Norman Kennedy Presbyterian Church, we have just completed a great year of reading, studying, preaching, teaching, and talking our way through the Bible using Zondervan’s The Story resources. A year ago, our session discovered and reviewed these helpful resources, and committed to improving our congregation’s biblical literacy in 2013 by following The Story. In brief, The Story is an abbreviated, chronological, easy-to-understand version of the Bible that is written in … Read More

To the untrained, secular ear, "Presbyterian" sounds every bit as mysterious as Shiite, Sikh, Druze, or Methodist. At Chippawa Presbyterian Church, Niagara Falls, Ontario, when we were inviting people to worship, we began to realize that people with no faith background felt quite uncertain about what exactly it was they were being asked to consider and experience in a Christian church. We also recognized that people in our congregation struggled … Read More

As the oldest church in Scarborough, Ontario, St. Andrew's Presbyterian exists to help people experience life through Christ. An integral part of this vision statement is what we call our Adult Discipleship Studies, consisting of our pastor's bi-weekly Tuesday morning Bible study, a laity-led bi-weekly Wednesday evening study, and a between-the-services Sunday morning study. Alpha was part of our study curriculum for several years. But in 2009 … Read More