Debate on Bill to Reverse Law Allowing MAiD for Mental Illness
A bill to reverse the law allowing euthanasia/assisted suicide for mental illness had its first hour of debate in the House of Commons last week. There is still time to ask your MP to support Bill C-314. Please pray for MPs to support this important private member’s bill. For more information and a sample MP letter, see TheEFC.ca/TakeActionOnMAID.
World Refugee Sunday
June 18 and 25 are great options to hold a World Refugee Sunday in your church or other group, and free resources are available. More than 100 million people worldwide are forcibly displaced, the majority of whom are women and children, according to the World Evangelical Alliance. Many churches hold World Refugee Sunday annually on the Sunday before or after June 20 (UN World Refugee Day) to remember this need and to participate in prayer and action, responding in practical ways to God’s call to "love the stranger as yourself." Learn more and find resources at TheEFC.ca/WorldRefugeeSunday.
EFC Senior Ambassador to be Honoured with Award for Interfaith Leadership
EFC president emeritus and senior ambassador Bruce J. Clemenger will be honoured June 6 with the 2023 Dr. Victor Goldbloom Award for Outstanding Interfaith Leadership. Richard Marceau, a vice president at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, explains the reasoning behind the award.
Faith Today Blog: How Tim Keller Changed My Life
Tim Keller, the celebrated Manhattan pastor and author who died May 19, 2023, revitalized the ministry of many people with innovative ideas and practices. Toronto pastor and author Darryl Dash reflects in a post at FaithToday.ca.
Faith Today TV: A Weekly Meal and a Safe Place in Ottawa
In a new episode of Faith Today TV, learn how St. Peter & St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Ottawa’s offer of soup and sandwiches for less fortunate locals evolved into a weekly drop-in for people on a limited income and often dealing with loneliness.
Find all our new short videos at FaithToday.tv and YouTube.com/@FaithTodayCanada.
Faith Today Podcast: Encouraging Women in Canadian Churches
How can we all help reduce the internal and external obstacles that impede women from using their gifts? Cathie Ostapchuk, cofounder of Gather Women Canada, spoke with podcast host Bill Fledderus about her work mobilizing Canadian women to influence their world for Jesus Christ.
You can also read an edited and condensed print version of this interview from our May/Jun 2023 magazine.
Is Canada “Woke”?
In his latest Faith Today column, John Stackhouse discusses what Christians can make of this loaded term: “Let us be careful not to abandon that zeal for social reform just because others attempt it in ways we can’t fully endorse and, in some cases, might even have to resist. Let us also, however, renew our zeal for telling the big story of the Bible, of the horrible stain of sin and the divine exertions necessary to remedy it.”
New Full-Time Position: Communications Specialist
The EFC is now accepting applications to lead EFC social media and collaborate with a team to create journalistic stories through print, video, and audio. Learn more at TheEFC.ca/Jobs.
EFC President Returning from South Africa after WEA Meetings
The EFC is part of a global fellowship of 130 national associations that comprise the World Evangelical Alliance. David Guretzki, the EFC’s president, is on his way home after attending the WEA International Council meetings in Johannesburg, South Africa this week, in his role as a member of the Executive Committee of the WEA Council.
EFC President Speaking in Ontario and Alberta
On May 28, EFC President David Guretzki will be speaking at the Christian Medical and Dental Association’s National Conference in Toronto on the topic of faithfulness, courage and our role in the Great Commission.
From June 8-9 he will be in attending and sending greetings at TheoCon, the Evangelical Free Church of Canada’s annual Theology Conference and AGM in Okotoks, Alta. On June 10, Guretzki will speak at a seminar on “caring for life” at Hillcrest Church Worship Centre in Medicine Hat, Alta., on developing a Christian theology of life while addressing current Canadian perspectives on medical assistance in dying, abortion and other life issues.
EFC Quebec Regional Director Speaking in Montreal and Quebec City This Month
Stéphane Couture, the EFC’s Quebec regional director, will speak in Montreal and Quebec City this month on « Nul ne meurt pour lui-même : un positionnement chrétien sur l’aide médicale à mourir » (None of us dies for ourselves alone: A Christian Response to MAID). On May 20 he will speak at the Gathering of Quebec Church Leaders of the Free Methodist Church of Canada at l’Église Méthodiste Libre de Rosemont in Montreal. On May 31 he will speak at Église Vie Abondante in Quebec City.
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 church and mission.
You can learn more on these issues at TheEFC.ca/churchandmission.
Pray for Christian living that is rooted in engagement with others in Scripture and prayer; for increasing commitments among Christians to witness to God’s love in all areas of life and society; and for congregations that seek to discern how God is leading them in changing times.
This week’s EFC affiliate highlight focuses on Jews for Jesus Canada, which has an office in the same building as the EFC’s Scarborough office. Jews for Jesus is a non-profit organization made up primarily of Jewish people, as well as other followers of Jesus who are committed allies of the Jewish people. Staff raise awareness of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, facilitate Jewish community, and provide spiritual care and meet needs in local communities.
You can always find the week’s prayer prompts at TheEFC.ca/TakeAction.
→ Love Your Muslim Neighbours (LMT/CCCOWE), online, May 23
→ Leadership Conference (Alpha), online, May 24-25
→ Christian Medical and Dental National Conference (CMDA), online/Toronto, May 25-28
→ Christian Communicators Retreat and Awards (CCCA), Puslinch, Ont., May 25-27
→ Finding Faith in the Fields and Forests (New Leaf Network), online, May 25
→ Day of Prayer for Christian Camps, nationwide, May 28
→ NPB Young Canadian Leaders Summit, Ottawa, May 28-30
→ National Prayer Breakfast (NPB), Ottawa, May 29 (dinner); May 30 (breakfast)
→ The 6:7 Awakening (The 6:4 Fellowship), Calgary, May 30
→ Taste of Alpha (Alpha Canada), online, May 30
→ Is Intelligence Enough? Exploring Human and Artificial Intelligence (CCC), online, May 31
→ Come Together Saskatchewan (Gospel Fire), Saskatoon, June 2-4
→ Dubrick Training for Lay Leadership (MLU), online/Waterloo, June 3
→ Truth and Grace Women’s Getaway (Muskoka Bible Centre), Huntsville, June 2-4
→ The Gathering: Journeying Toward Pastoral Health (Regent College), Vancouver, June 2-3
→ Reforming the Church: The Westminster Divines (Wycliffe College), Toronto, June 3
→ Canadian School of Peacebuilding (CMU), Winnipeg, June 5-9, 12-16
→ Forum on Inter-Church Dialogues (Cdn Council of Churches), Edmonton, June 8-10
→ A Night with the Persecuted Church (Open Doors), Winnipeg, June 8; Langley, June 9; Burnaby, June 10
→ Caring for Life Seminar (EFC/David Guretzki/Hillcrest Church), Medicine Hat, June 10
→ Creative Justice: Disability and the Church (A Deeper Communion), online/Hamilton/Calgary, June 10
→ Letters from Moscow: The Opening and Closing of Russia (Global Scholars), online/Oakville, June 10
→ Victorious Festival (Canadian Bible Society), Toronto, June 10; Calgary, Oct. 7
In Case You Missed It
→ Job Openings: pastor (Montreal, Brampton, Toronto, Ottawa, Sault Ste Marie); Montreal director of leadership programs; and more (FaithToday.ca/Classifieds)
→ Submission to Parliamentary Committee on Human Trafficking
→ Hastened Death for Mental Illness Delayed, But Needs to Be Stopped (EFC info and call to action)
→ Living Under Authority (Faith Today column by the EFC’s Bruce Clemenger)
→ Take Action Brochures on Euthanasia for Youth
→ Bill to Protect Young Persons from Sexually Explicit Materials (EFC info and call to action)
→ How to Bring Out Your Creative Side (Faith Today TV)
→ Peace and Reconciliation Network Appoints Canadian Coordinator
→ Pastors Who Risk Real Friendships (Faith Today blog)
→ New Bill C-311 Would Increase Protection for Pregnant Women
→ EFC Researchers on Podcast Discussing Parenting Faith Research (Volunteer Youth Worker Podcast)