A Free New Resource on Disability and Belonging
The EFC is launching a new free resource today. Life Together: Disability and Belonging in the Church is available now online and in print. The new resource centres the voices and gifts of people in the disability community. Life Together touches on important issues including human dignity, accessibility and MAID laws. Get your free copy today at TheEFC.ca/LifeTogether. There’s also a media release you can share at TheEFC.ca/Media.
A Year Delay on MAID for Mental Illness
The government plans to delay putting in place MAID for mental illness until March 2024. The justice minister introduced Bill C-39 on February 2. The bill proposes only to change the date MAID for mental illness becomes available. It does not include any additional safeguards. Parliament must pass the bill by March 17, 2023, or the original date will take effect. Watch the EFC’s six-minute video update on MAID, released today.
Prayer and Worship Summits Coming to Four Cities
Christians in four Canadian regions will hold public gatherings this April and May to pray for unity, spiritual awakening, church vitality and healing across the country. Earlier the same day, pastors and other church leaders will gather in a seminar to focus on cultivating a strong culture of prayer in each local church.
Co-hosts include the EFC, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association of Canada, National House of Prayer, Peace & Reconciliation Network, and Vineyard Canada.
Scheduled summits include Ottawa (April 14), Calgary (April 20), Kelowna (April 28) and Regina (May 5). There are no fees for the seminar (which concludes with an evening meal for registrants) or the evening public gathering.
For more details and to register for the afternoon seminar/dinner, visit TheEFC.ca/Ignite. There’s also a media release you can share at TheEFC.ca/Media.
President Presents Life Issues, Forgiveness and Reconciliation
EFC President and Resident Theologian David Guretzki will speak on Building Whole-Life Christians: Counteracting Canada’s Culture of Death at Dalmeny Bible Church in Saskatchewan on Feb. 11. He will discuss developing a Christian theology of life while responding to Canada’s current emphasis on medical assistance in dying (MAiD), abortion and other life issues.
New Canada Watch: EFC Work on MAiD Continues
The EFC is grateful for the Canadian Christians – including Canada Watch readers – who expressed their concerns to their MPs in response to multiple EFC calls for engagement. We believe it is making a difference. Read more about the EFC’s work on MAiD in the latest Canada Watch, along with other news on the upcoming Ignite prayer gathering, Faith Today TV launching soon, the Significant Church study on small churches, and more.
New Research Highlights Unique Aspects of Small Canadian Churches
There is more to the thousands of small churches in Canadian neighbourhoods than many people realize. A new study digs into the realities of these churches and examines their needs and strengths from the perspective of their pastors. Significant Church: Understanding the Value of the Small Evangelical Church in Canada is a collaborative research project undertaken by 13 Canadian Christian organizations and led by the EFC research team. To download a free copy, go to TheEFC.ca/SignificantChurch.
We‘re Hiring a Research Assistant
The EFC’s Centre for Research on Church and Faith is hiring a research assistant to work in our Ottawa office. The application deadline is March 8. Learn more at TheEFC.ca/Jobs.
A Heartfelt Movement of Reconciliation in the Christian Reformed Church
Hearts Exchanged is an 8-month program that has already equipped 400 Christians to engage with Indigenous people as neighbours and fellow image bearers. Learn more in the latest post at FaithToday.ca/AllThingsReconciled.
The Season of Revelation (Faith Today column)
In his latest Faith Today column, EFC President and Resident Theologian David Guretzki celebrates the hope and comfort that the Holy Spirit brings to us even in dark times – symbolized by the dove that appears in all four Gospel accounts of the baptism of Jesus and also before that in the Old Testament.
Sign up at FaithToday.ca/SubscribeFree for a print subscription to read more articles like this. A sampling of articles from the latest issue are also available at FaithToday.ca.
Parking Lot Disaster Showed God at Work (Faith Today blog)
How could this happen days before the big anniversary service? Dale Renout shares an amazing true story from 2006 involving the late Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion.
This Week’s 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.
This week’s prayer request is about the environment. Pray that Christians would recognize their role as stewards of creation, and find ways to be good stewards of the earth.
You can learn more on these issues at TheEFC.ca/Environment.
This week's EFC affiliate highlight focuses on The Lausanne Movement Canada. The Lausanne Movement Canada unites Christians to participate with the whole church, taking the whole gospel to the whole world.
You can always find the week’s prayer prompts at TheEFC.ca/TakeAction.
→ Calvin Symposium on Worship (CICW), online/Grand Rapids, Mich., Feb. 8-10
→ Communications Workers Watercooler Break (CCCA), online, Feb. 10
→ Rethinking Identity (Apologetics Canada), online/Caronport, Sask., Feb. 10 -11
→ Leaving a Godly Legacy (Women Together), online, Feb. 15
→ Does the Bible Lie? Accommodation and Cosmology (CSCA), Hamilton, Feb. 17
→ Supporting Canadians to Live: On MAiD + How the Church Can Engage (EFC and CMDA), online, Feb. 21
→ EFC Prayer for Education and Ministry Organization Affiliates, online, Feb. 22
→ PowerUp Gospel Music Workshop (York University), Toronto, Feb. 23-26
→ Coldest Night of the Year Fundraising Walk (nationwide), Feb. 25
→ Today’s Teens, online/Oakville, Feb. 25
Discounted Tickets for Outpour YA Conference in Ontario
Know someone who’d love to attend a Christ-focused young adult conference on March 4 in Scarborough, Ont.? Love Is Moving (the EFC’s publication for young adults) is offering 50% off tickets for Outpour (formerly Fluid). Young adults attending a church affiliated with the EFC can purchase tickets using the discount code LOVEISMOVING23. Find out if your church is an affiliate by searching for your church’s name on this list.
In Case You Missed It
→ Job Openings: Vice president academic (Hamilton); pastor (Lethbridge, Montreal, Brampton, Toronto, Ottawa, Sault Ste Marie, Uxbridge); Toronto congregational justice and mercy coordinator; Montreal director of leadership programs; and more (FaithToday.ca/Classifieds)
→ Charitable Status for Pro-Life Organizations (includes EFC video interview)
→ American Endowment Injects Millions into Canadian Education
→ “Who Is My Samaritan?” (Faith Today blog)
→ The Power to Do Good: The Use and Misuse of Power in the Church (New Free Course by EFC Affiliate)
→ The Fellowship of the Body of Christ (Faith Today column)
→ The EFC Welcomes Dr. David Guretzki as New EFC President and CEO