Seminary appoints president-elect
Saskatoon, SK—Kevin A. Ogilvie was appointed the new president-elect of Lutheran Theological Seminary in late 2005 by the seminary’s board of governors and began his new position in early January. He was most recently director and later a mission administrator of the Regional Lutheran Theological Seminary at Bezaha, Madagascar. Previously he served as an intentional interim pastor in New York, and as a missionary to Madagascar, serving as secretary for evangelism in a newly developed synod for the Division of Global Mission of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. (Lutheran Theological Seminary, www.elcic.ca)
WEA extends director’s term
The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) extended the term of its international director Geoff Tunnicliffe for three more years—for a total of five years—during their annual gathering December 1, 2005. Members of the International Council, the WEA’s board of representatives, made the decision as part of a longer-term strategy to build the global voice of the WEA and to initiate strategic partnerships. Ndaba Mazabane, chairman of the Council, says the decision was influenced by a study which revealed that while there are 380 million people directly related to the WEA, there are at least 800 million people around the world who embrace global evangelicalism and the WEA’s mission. Tunnicliffe began his term in May 2005 and will now serve through May 2010.
Prairie Tabernacle demolished
Three Hills, AB—The Maxwell Memorial Tabernacle, an auditorium used for daily chapels, conferences and other gatherings on campus at Prairie Bible Institute for a little more than 50 years was demolished December 27, 2005 because of its low energy efficiency and too-large capacity for a now-smaller student enrolment. Attempts were made in both 2000 and 2004 to upgrade and renovate the Tabernacle, but costs were too high and the plans did not find enough financial support. The demolition cleared space for the new Maxwell Centre, a 75,000-square-foot building housing a 1,200-seat auditorium, a 200-seat multipurpose hall and a performance space. Phase 1 is slated to begin this spring. When it was built in 1954, the Maxwell Memorial Tabernacle was Canada’s largest religious auditorium with seating for more than 4,300 people.
Trinity Western approves on-campus dancing
Langley, BC—In a controversial ruling, the Trinity Western University’s board of governors decided to allow students to participate in social dances on campus. As of January, the Responsibilities of Membership (ROM) for students will no longer state that “social dancing is not permitted on campus, nor may dances be sponsored by university or student groups.” These changes came as a result of a proposal made last year by the university’s student association president Jamie Woller and its senior representative Jeremy Vallerand. Woller said the idea for a proposal came from an event the student association held in 2004 called “Club Froshmore,” which mimicked a club atmosphere, with music and dancing. The reactions to a similar event on campus were mixed. (www.twu.ca)
CRC ends production of T.V. program
Palos Heights, IL—The Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA) announced in mid-December 2005 it will no longer produce its award-winning weekly T.V. program “Primary Focus” to direct resources into other areas of media ministry. The decision was made by the board of the Back to God Hour (BTGH), the electronic media ministry of the CRCNA, announcing that production of new “Primary Focus” programming will cease but programs already produced will air as long as markets are available. Robert Heerspink, interim director of the BTGH, says funding the show to meet high-quality standards has been increasingly difficult. The BTGH is currently working on employing new web-based ministry outlets, and is continuing to explore new partnerships and ministry opportunities. (www.crcna.org)
Tsunami survivors receive free therapy
Aceh, Indonesia—Exactly one year after the tsunami devastated the shores of Indonesia, a team of five professional counsellors used their Christmas vacation to bring psychological rehabilitation to the tsunami’s trauma victims. Bart Begalka, director of Trinity Western University’s (TWU) Fraser River Counselling Centre, led the team to Aceh where they spent more than a week training 20 local counsellors in new neurological therapy techniques designed to relieve individuals suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Begalka’s team included psychologist and TWU professor Rick Bradshaw, two masters in counselling psychology students and a TWU alumna with a private practice. They worked with three relief agencies operating on the island of Sumatra. (www.twu.ca)
Church advises dioceses of deadline in agreement
Canada’s 30 Anglican dioceses are under pressure to approve a revised Indian residential schools settlement agreement with the federal government by January 30—but national church officials are trying to obtain an extension. A letter about the deadline was sent from acting general secretary Ellie Johnson (and other negotiators) to all diocesan bishops and chancellors, members of the Council of General Synod (CoGS) and the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples. The letter reiterated the terms of a plan announced in late November that would compensate all students who were part of a national boarding school system aimed at educating native children and also announced an agreement that would release Roman Catholic entities that ran schools from legal liability, but would commit them to funding $54 million in healing programs for aboriginals. The letter also anticipated a final agreement, which needs approval from seven Canadian courts, would become effective in late 2006 or early 2007. (Anglican Journal)
Christians prompt pornography dialogue
Hamilton, ON—Christian students at McMaster University are seeking to provoke an awareness and a discussion of the pervasive nature of pornography. Sponsored by the Campus Crusade for Christ, “Porn Nation,” an 80-minute, multimedia presentation, attempts to show students how pornography has become “big business.” It points out that annual worldwide sales of pornography exceed $57 billion, cable companies generate $177 million a year from sexually explicit pay-per-view programming, more than 20,000 images of child pornography are used on the internet each week and 60 per cent of all website visits are sexual in nature. “Porn Nation” was also brought to the University of Guelph and the University of Waterloo as part of a Canadian trial launch of the program and Campus Crusade for Christ says it was very well-received. (Today’s Family News/Focus on the Family Canada)
Church offers sanctuary
Montreal, QC—Abdelkader Belaouni urged federal immigration minister Joseph Volpe to intervene so that he may remain in Canada at a press conference held at Saint Gabriel’s Church in Montreal on January 3, where he has been given sanctuary. Belaouni is a blind man from Algeria who has been living in Montreal for close to three years. Belaouni was joined in the press conference by Father MacDonald of Saint Gabriel’s Church as well as members of the Point St. Charles Community, the Action Committee for Non-Status Algerians and Solidarity Across Borders. (Canada Newswire)
Green acquitted of “hate speech”
In a unanimous decision November 29, 2005, the Swedish Supreme Court acquitted Pastor Ake Green of charges of “hate speech” arising from his July 20, 2003 sermon denouncing homosexuality. A lower court had sentenced him to a month in prison. Janet Epp Buckingham, general legal counsel for the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, says the verdict is significant for Christians in Canada and around the world, who have feared “if a country like Sweden could jail a pastor for a politically-incorrect sermon,” there could be similar cases in their own countries. Canada’s Bill C-250, which passed into law in April 2004, has a similar clause to Sweden’s legislation in which sexual orientation is included in a list of groups protected against “hate speech.” The Christian Legal Fellowship joined with the Alliance Defence Fund, the Family Research Council, Focus on the Family and the Jubilee Campaign USA to submit an international Amici Curiae brief in support of Green’s religious freedom and freedom of speech. (www.akegreen.org)
Iqaluit could hear Christian radio
Barrie, ON—CJLF-FM, Ontario’s Christian music superstation, filed an application in mid-November 2005 with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission for permission to rebroadcast its station in Iqaluit, Nunavut. If approved, the city could hear Christian music and discussions on 105.5 FM. But station manager Scott Jackson, who describes the possible Arctic expansion as a “mission venture,” says the application process could take up to a year and a half. Local Pentecostal pastor Wayne Moore told Jackson his church would donate $10,000 towards setting up the station—a good chunk of the $25,000 Jackson says will be needed. CJLF-FM currently rebroadcasts to Owen Sound, Peterborough and Huntsville, all within a two-hour drive of Barrie. They’ve also applied to rebroadcast in Oshawa. (Nunatsiaq News)
Faith groups promote climate change
Montreal, QC—KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives, the World Council of Churches (WCC) and other faith communities from around the world played a lead role in ecumenical and interfaith representation at the 11th United Nations Climate Change Conference, held in Montreal November 28 to December 9, 2005. It was the first time the conference was held in North America. Representatives from more than 180 countries met to negotiate the future of action on climate change, focusing on the next steps in implementing the current plan—the Kyoto Protocol—and beginning a process of negotiation for a new climate policy framework once the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. KAIROS also held three workshops on “Energy Efficiency for Religious Buildings” and participated in several side events. (Canada Newswire, www.kairoscanada.org)
District director named
Toronto, ON—The Canadian Bible Society (CBS) has named Bill Dean as district director for Prince Edward Island (PEI). Dean will oversee the society’s operations in PEI headquartered in Charlottetown, working closely with Roman Catholic, Orthodox, mainline Protestant and evangelical churches. Dean joins the CBS with years of experience as a minister, speaker and leader in the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. He is also former president of Presbyterian Reformed Ministries International. He replaces Doug Woods who died following a heart attack in September. The CBS’s mandate is to translate, publish, distribute and encourage the use of Scripture. (www.biblesociety.ca)
Coalition awarded
The Nelson Refugee Coalition is the recipient of the Canadian Ecumenical Leadership Award for 2004. The coalition, which includes members from Anglican, Covenant, Doukhobor, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, United and evangelical traditions, has worked together to sponsor and assist in settling four refugee families from around the world. Stuart Brown, director of the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism, presented a plaque to representatives of the Nelson Refugee Coalition at an event held in October 2005. (Canada Lutheran)
Southern Baptists adopt new policy
Huntsville, AL—The Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board (IMB) adopted a new policy that forbids missionary candidates from speaking in tongues. The policy, adopted November 15, 2005 during the board’s trustee meeting in Huntsville, Alabama, reflects ongoing Southern Baptist opposition to charismatic or Pentecostal practices. It is also designed to guide staff in the office of mission personnel as they consider new candidates. The denomination’s North American mission board has a policy that prevents the endorsement of chaplains who participate in speaking in tongues or “any other charismatic manifestations.” The IMB trustees voted that any exception to the policies must be reviewed by its staff as well as the board’s process review committee. (Beliefnet)
Feature film released
The new feature film End of the Spear released in Canadian theatres January 20. The film recounts the deaths of five American missionaries in 1956 at the hands of the violent Waodani tribesmen in Ecuador. End of the Spear, produced by Every Tribe Entertainment—which partners with Bearing Fruit Communications—also chronicles the reconciliation and transformation that occurred between the tribe and the missionary families. Following the killings, several relatives of the slain men went to live with the Waodani, bringing them the gospel and translating the Bible. After only a few years, the Waodani’s high inter-tribal homicide rate was virtually eliminated and several of the killers are now elders in the Waodani church. End of the Spear is rated PG-13 for inherent situational violence. (www.endofthespear.com)
New program launches
Burlington, ON—“100 Huntley Street Full Circle,” a live, open forum discussion program launched January 6 as an every-Friday edition of “100 Huntley Street.” The new 60-minute, informal program features host Ann Mainse, currently co-host of “100 Huntley Street” and Huntley Street Radio and director of women’s ministries for Crossroads Christian Communications, and also includes participants Rhonda Glenn, Moira Brown and Melinda Estabrooks, discussing, debating and dialoguing on current news issues and other personal and family issues. Mainse and producer George McEachern say the program is not just for Christian women; it is relevant to the whole family and non-Christian viewers. Features will include visiting authors and professionals as guests and field reports from journalists.
New degree offered
Calgary, AB—Alberta Bible College (ABC) will be offering a new undergraduate degree in worship leadership beginning in fall 2006 at its northwest Calgary campus in cooperation with local churches. College president Ron Fraser says the program combines theological and biblical studies with hands-on, laboratory practicum in local ministry settings. Prerequisites and co-requisites in music are conditions for participation. While there are several graduate programs available in worship leadership studies, ABC says its program will be unique in Canadian, Christian, undergraduate education. (www.abc-ca.org)
New master’s degree program launched
Langley, BC—Trinity Western University (TWU) launched their first interdisciplinary master’s degree program November 7, celebrated with a lecture by the University of British Columbia’s Dennis Danielson on “conservative Christian praises in the liberal arts.” As the university’s 14th graduate-level degree, the master of arts in interdisciplinary humanities brings together professionals and future PhDs to engage essential human questions, studying classic works in English, history and philosophy. (www.twu.ca)
Preparations for joint conference underway
Regina, SK—Plans are underway for a second annual joint national worship conference organized by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Anglican Church in Canada. The conference will take place July 12-15, 2006 in Regina, Saskatchewan with the theme “Making All Things New.” The conferences are meant to bring to life the historic joint declaration “Called to Full Communion,” which Anglicans and Lutherans signed in Waterloo, Ontario in 2001. Keynote speakers for the event are John Bell, liturgical composer from Scotland, and Richard Leggett, professor of liturgical studies at Vancouver School of Theology and member of the Joint Anglican-Lutheran Commission in Canada. Registration is now in progress with a deadline of June 1, 2006.
(www.anglican.ca, www.worship.ca)
Synod appoints general secretary
Mississauga, ON—The Anglican Council of General Synod has named Michael F. Pollesel, interim executive officer of the Diocese of Ontario, as the Synod’s general secretary. Pollesel, 56, will be the Church’s chief operating officer, serve as liaison between the Council and its standing committees and present the General Synod’s work to the Church’s 30 dioceses and the public. Pollesel has been stewardship education coordinator in the Diocese of Ontario since 1999 and interim executive officer since last May. He begins his duties in February 2006, replacing Jim Boyles, who retired last summer. (Anglican Church of Canada news release)
Ontario pressured to fund schools equally
Ottawa, ON—A multifaith coalition attempted to pressure the Ontario government to abide by a six-year-old United Nations (UN) decision that found its policy of funding solely Roman Catholic schools discriminatory. Coalition members held rallies in Ottawa, Toronto and New York November 16 to protest Ontario’s failure to act on a 1999 ruling by the international body that it is violating the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The protest follows a demand issued in early November by the UN Human Rights Committee that the federal government intervene to “eliminate discrimination on the basis of religion in the funding of schools in Ontario.” (Canada Newswire)
Documentary released
Toronto, ON—A new Canadian documentary produced by Marney Blom, a former “100 Huntley Street” producer, premiered at the Toronto Centre for the Arts November 12, 2005. The film, From the River to the Ends of the Earth, traces the history of spiritual revival in Canada and discusses Canada’s future and destiny according to God’s plan, says Blom. Several well-known church and evangelical leaders were quoted in the documentary, including John Arnott of Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship; David Yonggi Cho, speaker, author and founder and pastor of Korea’s Yoido Full Gospel Church; prophetic speaker and author Cindy Jacobs; Vancouver pastor and revival leader Gideon Chu; and Grand Chief of Treaty of Eight Nations Tony Mercredi. Blom says she hopes to take the documentary to venues across Canada.
Lutheran co-directors installed
Toronto, ON—Jonathan Schmidt and his wife Alice Schuda are the first Lutheran co-directors of the Canadian Churches’ Forum for Global Ministries (CCForum). Schmidt, who is on the roster of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC), and Schuda took over from outgoing director Carlos Parra. The CCForum, an ecumenical agency supported by the ELCIC, the Anglican Church of Canada and other national church bodies, provides programs for those in global cross-cultural ministry, hosts an international visitor every year and bestows the annual Katharine Hockin Award for Global Mission and Ministry. The couple was officially installed November 30. (www.elcic.ca, www.ccforum.ca)
Dean elected as bishop
Regina, SK—Dean Gregory Kerr-Wilson, rector of All Saints’ Anglican Cathedral in Edmonton and dean of the diocese of Edmonton, was elected bishop of the Regina-based diocese of Qu’Appelle November 12. An electoral synod held at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Regina chose the 43-year-old dean on the third ballot. Kerr-Wilson was bishop’s commissary in Edmonton from June 2004-January 2005, responsible for overseeing the diocese while Bishop Victoria Matthews was on sick leave. He has also served as chief examining chaplain for the diocese, in charge of advising the bishop on vocations to ordained ministry, and has led several pre-ordination retreats. (Anglican Journal)
