A Work in Progress
I stopped going to church when I started high school. I didn’t feel it did anything for me at all. Then a couple of years ago, two events started to gradually put my life into a new perspective.
Intentional Community
As I write this, the March issue of the Record has been available for only a couple of weeks. In that time I have had more feedback than I have received for all the things I have ever written combined. I hit on something significant: many ministers are burning out.
The Good News
I am not grateful each morning as my feet hunt for my slippers. I don’t thank God for delivering me safely through the night.
Theological Conversation
The city of Geneva has not forgotten John Calvin. His name appears on street signs, plaques and bottles of beer (along with the slogan “in birae predestines.”)
Best Practices
Over the past six years, I have been in literally hundreds of churches. Many are in gradual decline and are searching for solutions to reverse direction. Sadly, almost all are going about it in exactly the wrong way.
Broken Yet Beloved
What if we shifted our approach to becoming smaller and more focused in our mission and ministry? What if we shifted our vision of church to a fellowship of communities less dependent on money?
Justice Comes Slowly to Pakistan’s Prisoners
In Pakistan an accusation is enough to make an arrest. That’s what happened to Rehmat Masiah, 75, who was accused of blasphemy after a land dispute went sour.
The Cost of Discipleship
It was on the night of my mother’s 16th birthday, May 10, 1940, that the small kingdom of the Netherlands was invaded by neighbouring German troops. So instead of happy birthday greetings by family members, my mother was glumly told that morning: “It’s war.”
From Islam to Jesus
The name Lamin Sanneh is hardly a household one for most Canadian Presbyterians, but he is someone worth getting to know. His autobiography is a compelling read, simply in terms of the unlikely and remarkable trajectory of his life.
The Rev. Stuart Bowyer Coles, B.A.
Was the eldest of five siblings born to Murray McCheyne Coles and Jennie Bowyer on a farm near Woodbridge Ontario. The Church Union struggle attending the formation of the United Church of Canada in 1925 moved Stuart’s Plymouth Brethren parents …
Poet, Pastor, Activist
Rev. Stuart Coles, pioneer-activist, poet and pastor, passed away March 23.
All posts in Features
A Work in Progress
Coming back to church
Growing up in the 1950s my family went to a United church. Back in those days our social life revolved around the church and its activities. My grandfather...
Intentional Community
A spark to spread renewal across the church.
As I write this, the March issue of the Record has been available for only a couple of weeks. In that time I have had more feedback about...
The Good News
There’s so much, we take it for granted.
As for me, I said in my prosperity, ‘I shall never be moved.’ —Psalm 30 Every day I am faced with a mountain of it. Every morning I awaken to...
Theological Conversation
John Calvin in Geneva
St. Pierre Cathedral, Geneva From July 6 to 22, 2012, Connie Wardle participated in a pilgrimage through countries touched by the Protestant Reformation—France, Switzerland and Scotland. This is the...
Best Practices
Facing the future with joy and confidence.
Over the past six years, as the congregational development consultant for my synod, I have been in literally hundreds of churches. Many—maybe even most—of these congregations are in...
Broken Yet Beloved
A vision for the church. Part two.
Let me start with a story. Early in my ministry at St. Mark's, Toronto, our Christian education committee developed an idea for helping children and their families rediscover...
Justice Comes Slowly to Pakistan’s Prisoners
One Minister’s Fight for Christian Inmates.
Rev. Samson Javed, right, celebrates the opening of a barrack for Christian inmates at District Jail, Faisalabad, Pakistan. Kahwaja Muhammad Islam, a member of provincial assembly, cuts the...
The Cost of Discipleship
Working for the resistance during World War II
It was on the night of my mother's 16th birthday, May 10, 1940, that the small kingdom of the Netherlands was invaded by neighbouring German troops. So instead...
Maturing Your Faith
Learning from doubt
Living Faith is a declaration of faith of the Presbyterian Church. You can download it at presbyterian.ca. We suggest you read the passage being discussed each month. Additional reading: Can...
From Islam to Jesus
A lonely Christian tells his life story.
Summoned from the Margin: Homecoming of an African by Lamin Sanneh, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company The name Lamin Sanneh is hardly a household one for most Canadian Presbyterians, but...
The Rev. Stuart Bowyer Coles, B.A.
March 19, 1917 - March 23, 2013 (Toronto)
Was the eldest of five siblings born to Murray McCheyne Coles and Jennie Bowyer on a farm near Woodbridge Ontario. The Church Union struggle attending the formation of...
Poet, Pastor, Activist
Church mourns the death of Rev. Stuart Coles
Rev. Stuart Coles, pioneer-activist, poet and pastor, passed away March 23. The guiding force behind the church's Confession of Faith Concerning Church and Nation (1955) and one of the...
One Simple Rule
Explore your faith.
Jesus used the rule for all of the people he met: John the Baptist, the woman at the well, the blind man, the lepers, Mary and Martha, Zacchaeus,...
Reading The Bible
Integrating the author with the reader.
Our Feature on Living Faith Living Faith is a declaration of faith of the Presbyterian Church. You can download it at presbyterian.ca. We suggest you read the passage being discussed...
Can We Doubt?
A conversation about uncertainties.
It's a lot to take in—the Trinity, the resurrection, the hymns, the history, the culture, the ritual. Seasoned churchgoers aren't always certain about these things. And while they...
Taking Risks
Does Your Church Need an Enterprise Risk Management Committee?
How Churches can learn from shifts in Big Business.
Within the church, it's impossible to not take risks. With every day, every service and every event, there are uncertainties, likelihoods and probabilities that come into play that...
A Different Kind of Strength
A vision for the church, part one.
If we follow the statistics for the past several decades—of the numbers of members, worshippers, youth, children, churches—it would seem the Presbyterian Church in Canada is dying....
Walking With God
And sharing ideas in the Presbytery of Seaway-Glengarry.
The Presbyterians of North Dundas share (and wear) their winning ministry idea. They plan to do everything by FROG (Fully Relying On God). The event was a success. On...
Trusting and Trying
Weighing What Works at Westminster
Westminster is in Barrie, Ont.— a growing city. We've had people pass away and move. There is some changeaphobia. We don't have any money in the bank. And...
Courage & God’s Call
John Calvin was a man seeking ‘the quiet long denied me.’
From July 6 to 22, 2012, Connie Wardle participated in a pilgrimage through countries touched by the Protestant Reformation—France, Switzerland and Scotland. This is the fourth of a...