Canada

"The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them." - Acts 21:26

On December 7, Jennifer presented at a World Renew webinar on gender-based violence. What is provided below is an excerpt from her speaking notes. You can see a recording of the webinar here. 

 "Into this world, this demented inn in which there is absolutely no room for him at all, Christ comes uninvited." - Thomas Merton

Several years ago, when Lindsay Wieland Capel first learned of the CRC’s Disability Concerns, she was so impressed by the ministry that she sat down and wrote a letter to director Mark Stephenson.

Introducing herself, she commented how blessed he was to do the work he did in advocating with and for people with disabilities and providing resources and support to both them and the ministry’s many volunteers. She confided he had her dream job and that one day she’d love to work in a similar position.

It's Christmas time and everywhere I look there are reminders, that for many, the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Saviour has become little more than a series of competitions that almost everyone is out to win. Competitions for the best gifts inclusive of gift wrapping, the best tree, and the best indoor and outdoor decorations. There are further competitions as to who has the best ugly sweater, throws the best parties, and cooks the best dinner.

"The Lord is coming, always coming. When you have ears to hear and eyes to see, you will recognize him at any moment of your life. Life is Advent; life is recognizing the coming of the Lord." - Henri Nouwen.

Being the Justice and Reconciliation Mobilizer for the CRCNA is a position that demands, “heroic rebelliousness, humility, compliance and gratitude for the opportunity.”* I recently started reading this tiny but mighty book called, Towards Braiding which basically wrote about my experience in this role of raising the profile of and improving the church’s relationship to Indigenous-Settler responsibilities. The book was written as a result of experiences in a different institutional setting though. 

Different names for Christ are abundant in scripture. “Christ” comes from the Greek and “Messiah” comes from the Hebrew, and both mean “the Anointed One.” Jesus is called the Bread of Life (1 John 2:1), the Good Shepherd (John 10:11, 14), the Word of God (Revelations 19:13).

This year, as we meditate on the hope, love, joy, and peace of the Advent season, we also want to take time to meditate on how Scripture names Jesus and the implications those names have for our Christian witness in the world. In Matthew 1:21-23, the apostle writes:

“Throughout most of human history, people have lived as tribal groups in small villages in relatively isolated areas… A radical transformation of all human societies occurred when the European explorers discovered the Western Hemisphere… European languages replaced tribal languages in many lands, first French and then English became the tongue of the civilized world, of diplomacy and trade, and finally of the accepted expressions of civilized values.”  - Vine Deloria Jr.[1]

He has planted me and made me his own.  Fed by the gentle waters of his spirit, I beg him by faith to prune me as he will, to let me grow tall and broad, lit by the sun to bear his everlasting fruit unto the unending day of the new creation.  - Andrew Peterson