Leafing through the fall 2023 edition of Presbyterian Connection, the denomination’s quarterly newsletter, I find plenty of stories about social justice and activism: racism, aboriginal rights, climate, poverty, hunger, sexuality and affordable housing. There’s content on church business: use of property, social media, travel tales, congregational renewal and stewardship. There’s the usual multi-page spread of … Read more
Rev. Dr. Kevin Livingston Seven years ago, I left congregational ministry to teach at Tyndale Seminary. I moved from preaching lots of sermons to listening to lots of sermons by seminarians in my preaching classes. I've heard many thoughtful messages from these budding preachers, but I've also listened to some that weren't quite ready for … Read more
At Nassagaweya Presbyterian Church in Campbellville, Ontario, we rejoice in the arrival of our new minister, Rev. Reuben St. Louis. And, with his arrival, we have consequently made both changes and an exciting addition to our youth ministries. One of our youth ministries has been KOTH – “Kids-on-the Hill” Club, established as a mid-week after-school programme for children aged JK-Grade 8. Recently this outreach was cancelled in large part due to the difficulty faced … Read More
Everywhere I go these days, I see giant inflatable Christmas characters: Santa, snowmen, reindeer, elves, Grinches, and even a Christmas dragon (whatever that means.) Every year, it seems to get a little more creative: an inflatable Santa clinging to the side of a chimney, kickboxing gingerbread men, and a Jedi warrior with a candy cane. Seriously. … Read more
There is a disturbing disconnect between the church and generation X and Y. Young people have drastically different values, mindsets, worldviews, and attitudes than those of previous generations. They have grown up with the messages of free choice, relativism, tolerance, multiculturalism, and political correctness. … Read More
The name of the gathering — “Remaining TRUE to God’s will” — says it all. God’s will speaks TRUTH and we are striving to remain TRUE to it. Our guest speaker, the Rev. Dr. Stephen Farris, the moderator of the 140th General Assembly addressed us on “After the first church fight”, inspired by the story of complaint, accusation, division, settlement and peace described in Acts 6:1-7. It all worked out in ways they could not have imagined! What might this mean for us today? The video of the entire day has now been posted.… Read more
Good news! The church is growing! The latest annual statistics from the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary indicate that there are fewer atheists around the world today (147 million) than in 1970 (165 million) and the report expects the number to continue to decline into 2050. Almost 2.56 billion … Read more
It is time for me to bid this column, the Renewal Fellowship and my Encouragement Road Trips a wistful goodbye. At 67, I can no longer pretend to function at the energy level or capacity I once did. So, after five years of serving the denomination under the Renewal banner, I sadly must hand it … Read more
We know the fruits of the Spirit. Drummed into our heads – either by memory or by that catchy kid’s tune – you can probably rhyme them off: “love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.” (Galatians 5:22-23). We have no problem embracing and working on the first eight fruits. But that’s … Read more
“There is so little room for genuine give-and-take in our Presbyterian discussions these days, while at the same time so much hangs on how our conversations go. The issues that we are discussing are not simply topics about which we happen to disagree. They are matters that are vitally connected to the question of whether … Read more