THE EFC UPDATE - 2015.09.29
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TWO EFC ELECTION RESOURCES TO HELP YOU
Video: Why should Christians be involved in the election? How can we be involved? Get better equipped as a voter and church member to participate as effectively as possible within Canada’s electoral rules. EFC President Bruce J. Clemenger explores several hot topics and recommends specific questions we can ask our candidates. Online at theEFC.ca/webinararchive.
Booklet available in French or English: The 2015 EFC Election Kit has just been updated to include a new fact sheet on children and youth in government care. Also includes: understanding elections; guidelines for church engagement in elections; hosting an all candidates’ meeting; and fact sheets on the environment, family, Indigenous Peoples, palliative care, poverty, prostitution, refugees, religious freedom, reproductive technologies, abortion and euthanasia.
SUBMISSION ON PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED DEATH
The EFC has made a submission to a national advisory group on physician-assisted dying. Read the EFC’s stakeholder submission, a 31-page PDF. It was sent last Thursday to the Canadian Provincial/Territorial Expert Advisory Group, which exists to help develop laws, policies, practices and safeguards in advance of physician-assisted dying becoming legal in Canada.
WELCOMING REFUGEES
Don’t miss last week’s guest blog post by Harold Jantz at theEFC.ca/blog in which he argues that Canada has accepted large numbers of refugees at crisis points in the past, and that today we should make room to accept 200,000 more.
QUEBEC NETWORK LAUNCHES THIS WEEK
Leaders of 15 evangelical denominations in Quebec are officially launching a new network, the “Réseau des Évangéliques Québécois,” on Oct. 1 in Fabreville, Que. The network, which began to form in June 2013 in Montreal, also includes the EFC as a special non-denominational member. The RÉQ exists to foster relationships of trust, provide a discussion platform to reflect on the Church in Quebec and find common projects that require collaboration. Evangelical leaders in Quebec are invited to attend, and the group also plans to webcast the event.
COMING EVENTS AT THEEFC.CA/CALENDAR
→ Launch of the Réseau des Évangéliques Québécois, Fabreville/online, Oct. 1
→ Heritage Preaching Lectures, Cambridge, Oct. 1
→ Heritage Preaching Lectures, Ottawa, Oct. 2
→ The People, the Land and the Future of Israel, Toronto, Oct. 2-3
→ Conférence Ministère auprès des enfants, Gatineau, Oct. 3
→ Emmanuel Bible College 75th Anniversary Open House, Kitchener, Oct. 3
→ Kerygma Grand Feast Calgary, Oct. 3
DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE PERSECUTED NOV. 8: CHURCH RESOURCES NOW READY
Will your church join with others around the world to pray for persecuted Christians on Sunday, Nov. 8? A Canadian group including the EFC produces new, free resources each year for this event, including bulletin inserts, Bible readings, a PowerPoint presentation, suggested music, and more. Get your resources free now at idop.ca.
CLEAN WATER IN CAMBODIA
Faith Today editor Karen Stiller joined a 12-day mission to bring clean water in Cambodia – and gained some insights on short-term mission. Preview her article in the latest issue at FaithToday.ca/digital.
LATEST POSTS AT BLOG.FAITHTODAY.CA
→ What Grows in the Dark. Fighting Human Trafficking in Cambodia, By Karen Stiller
→ Christians Should Move Swiftly: A Response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis, By Kevin McKay
→ Community and Dating Again, By Alex Newman
GET A FREE BOOK ON THE CHALLENGE OF EVIL
Subscribe to Faith Today, Canada’s Christian magazine, and for a limited time get a free printed copy of Can God Be Trusted? Faith and the Challenge of Evil. Author and Faith Today columnist John Stackhouse argues God can be trusted even when appearances suggest otherwise. Along the way he examines how thinkers across history have responded to evil and suffering. Book retail value $19. Get the national magazine of The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada to be better equipped, informed and connected. Details at FaithToday.ca/subscriptions or toll-free 1-866-302-3362.
IS YOUR CONGREGATION AN EFC AFFILIATE YET?
Congregations that formally affiliate with The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada take a public stand for religious freedom, collaboration for ministry effectiveness, and the importance of bringing biblical principles to issues of Canadian law and public policy. Join hundreds of other congregations from more than 40 denominations at work in “uniting Evangelicals to bless Canada in the name of Jesus.”