Easter Message from the President
As we approach Easter this year, we do so with uncertainly and a profound awareness of our fragility. What is the human race that God is mindful of us? Many across Canada and around the world are simultaneously asking the same ultimate questions about life and its meaning.
Reflecting on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our great Saviour, will be unique this Easter for what is normally a time of communal reflection and celebration.
Who is this love hanging on a Cross? An empty tomb through which this love defeats sin and death? In accepting the full meaning of what was accomplished we become the children of God. Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life giving us access to that intimate relationship in which we can cry out to the God of the universe “Abba Father” and know we are not alone. Together in His Spirit, we have a belonging, both in joy and in suffering, during this time of travail. May this Easter be like no other as we reflect on God’s great gift of Life and on the experience of our great adoption in Christ.
Happy Easter,
Bruce Clemenger, EFC President
Note: More Holy Week reflections from EFC leaders were published just after this newsletter was released.
Letter to Prime Minister on Charities and the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy
EFC President Bruce Clemenger has written to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offering "our heartfelt thanks for the support extended to charitable and non-profit organizations in the new Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy." Read the full letter, including further proposals for actions the government can take to support the charitable sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.
New Podcast: Canadian Churches and COVID-19: Three Churches Respond
In our new podcast, three pastors—Paul Ranson of St. John the Evangelist in Fredericton, Kent Priebe of Centre Street Church, Calgary, and Kerry Kronberg of Sunnyside Wesleyan in Ottawa—share their church's response to the COVID-19 crisis. Listen to our podcasts at www.TheEFC.ca/Podcasts.
EFC Speakers Now Available for Virtual Gatherings
The EFC has a wide range of experts available to educate, facilitate or preach on many topics from an evangelical perspective. We are happy to find creative ways to address your church or event virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more about our speakers and popular speaking topics or book a speaker now.
Brian Stiller on How Early Christians Handled Their ‘COVID-19’
“We aren’t the first Christians to face a global pandemic,” writes World Evangelical Alliance Global Ambassador Brian Stiller. “Those in the early church faced two life-threatening epidemics within its first 200 years.” Read more on how the early Christians not only survived, but even thrived and emerged stronger from these times of devastation, and what we can learn from their example today.
Advocating for Our Neighbours with Disabilities
As the federal government removes the “reasonably foreseeable death” safeguard regulating medically assisted death (MAID), protection for people with disabilities is crucial, writes EFC President Bruce Clemenger: “Imagine that someone looks at you and says that if they had your disability, they’d rather be dead. One person told me this has really happened to her many times.” Read the full text of his latest column in Faith Today.
Support the production of more uniquely Canadian Christian journalism like this by donating or subscribing to the EFC magazine Faith Today.
Our Collection of COVID-19 Resources for Churches
The EFC is curating a collection of resources for churches at TheEFC.ca/COVID-19. Your contributions of articles, event notifications and other resources can be submitted there.
→ Fridays Webinars: Preparing your church for coronavirus (Wheaton/NAE), online, noon Central time, April 10, etc.
→ Good Friday, April 10
→ Easter Sunday, April 12
→ Good Seed Sunday (A Rocha), nationwide, April 26
→ Ministry and Technology Online Course (course starting May 4)
→ Who Is Jesus? (NT II) Online Course from Wycliffe College (daily from May 4 to June 26)
Publicize your event for free on our calendar and we will also share it in this email newsletter.
An Online Seminary Course? Why Not?
Online course registrations are now open for many seminaries and Christian postsecondary institutions. Several are listed on our online calendar (TheEFC.ca/Calendar).
→ Trinity Western University online summer courses (courses starting April, May, June, July)
→ Briercrest Seminary Summer Courses (courses starting April 20)
→ Booth UC Online Courses (courses starting May 4)
→ Master’s College & Seminary (courses starting May 4 and June 22)
→ Providence College & Seminary (courses starting Sept. 17)
→ Horizon College (courses starting April, May, June, either free to audit or discounted prices for credit)
Be sure to check the website of your preferred institution for more learning opportunities. Or visit www.checonline.ca to search a database of Canadian Christian online courses and choose for example from 118 undergraduate courses available in summer 2020.
In Case You Missed It
→ What is spiritual direction? (EFC audio podcast)
→ Great ideas for your church from our latest webinar
→ Provincial regulations for churches during COVID-19 (CCCC news and blogs)
→ Clarifying conscience: How do we defend right and wrong? (Faith Today column by David Guretzki)
→ Religious leaders publish joint response to COVID-19 pandemic (download in English or French)
→ EFC President offers update on prayer and witness during pandemic
→ Letter to government on wage subsidies