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EFC Update Newsletter May 20

20 May 2025

Podcast: The intercultural, missional church

Guest host David Guretzki chats with Sarah Han on a new episode of the Faith Today Podcast about how church members can think about the church being intercultural and missional. Dr. Han is assistant professor of pastoral ministry at Tyndale University. She considers herself to be "third culture" Canadian-Korean-Chinese, and her formative theology was shaped on the mission field abroad.

Canada Post strike

“How did a Pentecostal preacher's son from Saskatchewan end up having a two-hour noon lunch and conversation with this Pope?” In his latest dispatch, World Evangelical Alliance Global Ambassador Brian Stiller reflects on meeting Pope Francis and the Pope’s life and legacy.

Challenging the pirate stereotype 

Can you imagine a pirate forbidding work on the Sabbath or entrusting his soul to God in his will? In the latest History Lesson column, Chiante Duncan recounts these historically documented actions of some pirates, reminding us “pirates are not your typical shining models of Christian life and behaviour, but this doesn’t undermine the evidence that some of these pirates may have had real, personal convictions about God.”  

Read more History Lesson columns and other thought-provoking columns in the May/Jun Faith Today, the EFC’s bimonthly magazine. Subscribe now for free.  

Coming Events at TheEFC.ca/Calendar 

Charlottetown May 27: Roman Catholic Evangelical Dialogue. EFC president David Guretzki engaging with partners.  

Caronport June 1: EFC president David Guretzki speaking at The Church in Caronport 

Caronport June 2-6: Briercrest College and Seminary course. EFC president David Guretzki on “Life in the Mess” - A Theology of Forgiveness and Reconciliation. 

St. Catharines June 6: EFC director of research Rick Hiemstra speaking on "Who I Really Am - Authentic Self” at the CBOQ 2025 assembly.   

Winnipeg June 7: Faith Matters Workshop. EFC president David Guretzki on medical assistance in dying, its expansion and how we as Christians can respond. Lunch. Church Leaders Gathering. Register today.   

Additional Christian community calendar events 

Day of Renewal: Church Leadership B.C. (Strategic Renewal Canada), Richmond, B.C., May 22   

Build Good Summit for Canadian Fundraisers/Marketers, Toronto, May 22-23    

Boot Camp (Band of Brothers), Godfrey, Ont., May 23-25   

Flourishing: Rediscovering Hope (Food for the Hungry), Surrey, May 24    

Western Youth Summit (Apologetics Canada), Langley, May 24   

Women’s Breakfast (Dr. Marion Taylor/Wycliffe College), Toronto/online, May 24   

Nepal Gateway Mission Conference (Intercede Now), Ridgeway, Ont., May 24 

Engage Difference! Deepening Understanding for Intercultural Ministry, (CCC), Saskatoon, May 26-30   

Faith Comes by Hearing (Timothy Trust), Ottawa, May 26-28   

Deepening Understanding for Intercultural Ministry, (CCC), Saskatoon, May 26-30   

Faith, Fundraising and Communication Symposium (Skyline Communications), Edmonton, May 26-27   

Hamilton Leadership Prayer Breakfast, May 27 

Stories of Transformation in Canada (TOWC), online, May 27   

Palestinian Christian Call for Repentance (Centre Oblat/Jesuit Forum/MC Manitoba Palestine-Israel Network), Ottawa, May 28-30 

 Pastoral Imagination Annual Gathering (Tyndale), May 28   

Kingdom Advisors Canada (The Great Commission Foundation), Toronto, May 29 

Journey to Us Marriage Retreat (FOTC), Nestleton Station, May 30-June 1   

Spark Business Leaders Conference (LeaderImpact), Toronto, May 30