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THE EFC UPDATE - 2013.06.18
Together for influence, impact and identity
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PROSTITUTION CASE IN SUPREME COURT
EFC staff including President Bruce J. Clemenger attended the Supreme Court of Canada last Thursday for a case on prostitution laws (Attorney-General of Canada v. Bedford). The EFC’s Don Hutchinson was co-counsel to Georgialee Lang who presented our arguments. It will likely be several months before the court issues its decision. In addition to radio and print media coverage of the EFC’s efforts as an intervener, Hutchinson was featured as a guest on SUN TV’s Byline with Brian Lilley and CBC’s Power and Politics with Evan Solomon. EFC Policy Analyst Julia Beazley also submitted an opinion editorial published in the National Post. Read more, including the EFC’s written arguments, at theEFC.ca/bedford.
COMMENT ON PROPOSED QUEBEC EUTHANASIA LAW
In Quebec the provincial government has introduced legislation to legalize lethal injections for people as part of providing health care. EFC Vice-President Don Hutchinson comments in the ActivateCFPL blog “Does Canada’s Government Have the Intestinal Fortitude to Take on Pauline Marois’ New Quebec?”
FAITH TODAY ARTICLES AWARDED
The Word Awards, an annual national contest, announced last week that Faith Today published the best profile, best long feature and best short feature of 2012. Why not buy yourself or someone you love a subscription to the EFC’s award-winning magazine at faithtoday.ca/subscriptions or toll-free at 1-866-302-3362?
REMEMBER REFUGEES THIS SUNDAY
The World Evangelical Alliance and the Refugee Highway Partnership are calling churches to observe World Refugee Sunday on June 23, 2013. WEA Secretary General Geoff Tunnicliffe, a Canadian directly connected with the EFC, says observing the day is a way “to follow Christ in caring for the vulnerable and marginalized.”
EFC AND WEA STAFF STRATEGIZE
Senior EFC staff and Canadian staff of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) met last Tuesday to review priorities and initiatives that impact Canada and strengthen Canada’s contribution to the WEA. The EFC is a member of the WEA and several Canadians hold key positions in the WEA, including Secretary General Geoff Tunnicliffe and Global Ambassador Brian Stiller. EFC President Bruce J. Clemenger, who chaired the meeting, is a member of the WEA’s governing body, the International Council, and EFC VP Aileen Van Ginkel is the program director of the WEA General Assembly, which will be held in October 2014 in Seoul.
NATIONAL ABORIGINAL PRAYER BREAKFAST
EFC President Bruce J. Clemenger and Vice-President Don Hutchinson will attend the Aboriginal Parliamentary Prayer breakfast in Ottawa this Friday. The theme is Beyond Forgiven and speakers will include former Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl and Aboriginal leader Kenny Blacksmith.
COMING EVENTS
Visit theEFC.ca/calendar to learn about worthwhile events near you and to add your events for free. This week you’ll see reminders about National Aboriginal Day and Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, plus events in Keats Island, North Bay, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Vaughan. New events are added every few days.
EFC EXPERTISE AVAILABLE
Last Sunday Rick Hiemstra, the EFC’s director of research, preached at Lanark Baptist Church in Ontario and after the morning service gave a seminar on Hemorrhaging Faith, a body of new Canadian research about youth and church. To have an EFC representative speak at your event please contact Anita Kwan.
SPIRITUAL CARE IN HOMES FOR SENIORS
“I’m glad when someone can graduate to heaven. There’s something good about death,” says retired chaplain Gerhard Friesen. But in his bittersweet work at a seniors home, he sometimes lost “a third of my people every year.” He and three other chaplains talk about their ministry with older people at the EFC website Christianity.ca, Canada’s Christian library online.
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