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EFC Update Newsletter - July 5

05 July 2022

Review of Prostitution Laws Released

Prostitution survivors and current sex workers shared their experiences and perspectives on the prostitution laws with the House of Commons justice committee this spring. The EFC also submitted a brief. The committee has now released its report. Find out what they said and what's needed next in a new blog at our website.

Podcast Reaches 200th Episode (Faith Today blog)

The Faith Today Podcast has reached its 200th episode. We’ve had such fun interviewing a wide swath of guests. We’re thankful to everyone who has trusted us enough to let us record unguarded conversations. Learn more about -- and listen to -- this special episode.

Imagining Reconciliation: Pitch a Creative Project

Submit a creative, innovative idea for a project centred on the theme “Imagining Reconciliation.” Pitch a project in the medium of your choice, such as a performing arts project, video, visual art piece, photography series, digital media project, or written work. The winner will receive up to $1,000 to complete their project and their work will be promoted across multiple platforms.

This commission is sponsored by the Creative Collective, an EFC initiative that facilitates community, networking, training and work opportunities for Canadian Christians who are performing artists, video content creators, visual artists, digital innovators and writers.

Application deadline is July 31, 2022. Applicants must be 18-35 years old. Learn more about the theme, criteria, and how to apply.

Preaching Now and Then (Faith Today essay)

In the cover story of the new Jul/Aug issue of Faith Today, ex-pastor and professor of pastoral theology Mark Buchanan shares what nine years of pulpitless existence has taught him about preaching.

Five new articles in French // Cinq nouveaux articles traduit de « Faith Today »

Yesterday we posted five newly translated articles at our website on topics such as medically assisted death, abuse by Christian leaders, Christian priorities amid pain and distractions, and servanthood in a narcissistic age. // Hier, nous avons publié sur notre site Web cinq articles nouvellement traduits sur des sujets tels que la mort médicalement assistée, les abus commis par des dirigeants chrétiens, les priorités chrétiennes au milieu de la douleur et des distractions, et la servitude à une époque narcissique. You can read and share them at www.FaithToday.ca/francais.

This Week’s EFC Prayer Prompts 

Prayer is essential to any effective action. Each week at TheEFC.ca/TakeAction we rotate through a prayer request from each of these five areas: Sanctity of Life, Care for the Vulnerable, Church and Mission, Family and Community, Religious Freedom. We also list an EFC affiliate group to pray for. 

Pray for people in your church and neighbourhood who have been diagnosed with a life-changing illness or disease. Pray for the caregivers, churches and organizations that support them. Pray for hope, strength and courage. Pray for their tangible physical, social and spiritual needs to be met. Pray for high quality palliative care to be available across the country, for all Canadians.

Pray also for pastors and chaplains who provide spiritual care, which is one dimension of palliative care. Pray also for Christian doctors who are members of the Christian Medical and Dental Association of Canada (CMDA), who may care for their patients when they receive a diagnosis until they reach the end of life.

You can learn more on these issues at www.TheEFC.ca/PalliativeCare.

The EFC continues to offer new Friday@4 pandemic-focused prayer suggestions each month at TheEFC.ca/Covid-19.

Coming Events at TheEFC.ca/Calendar

→ Reconciled to Reconcile: A Visible Witness in a Divided World (Regent College), online/in-person in Vancouver, July 6
→ BC Christian Ashram Retreat, online, July 8-10
→ C. Stephen Evans: The Fear of the Lord & the Virtue of Accountability (Regent College), online/in-person in Vancouver, July 11
→ The Body of Christ and the Household Codes in Ephesians (Regent College), online/in-person in Vancouver, July 13
→ Sing the World God Imagines (The Hymn Society), online, July 17-21
→ Theology of the Land from a Palestinian Perspective (Regent College), online/in-person in Vancouver, July 18
→ Marking Completion in Precarious Times (Regent College), online/in-person in Vancouver, July 20
→ Silence, The Holy Spirit, and Music in the Processing of Traumatic Experience (Regent College), online/in-person in Vancouver, July 25
→ Reimagining Humility (Regent College), online/in-person in Vancouver, July 27
→ World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, July 30
→ The Sacred Function of Stories: How Imagination Discloses the Imago Dei (Regent College), online/ in-Person in Vancouver, August 1
→ How Biblical Poetry Offers Hope in Suffering (Regent College), online/in-person in Vancouver, August 3

In Case You Missed It

Job openings: Justice and mercy coordinator; leadership centre director of programs; pastoral leader; director of philanthropy; pastor; director of human resources; and more (FaithToday.ca/Classifieds)
MAiD must not be Canada’s solution to poverty or lack of supports (EFC article)
Bill C-5 would reduce sentences for human trafficking (EFC article)
Be open and listen! (Reconciling blog)
Canadian Christians partner on global vaccine equity (Faith Today blog)