Strike up the band – a renewed chorus of overtures is coming to General Assembly. There's nothing new about overtures in response to our theological differences. For several years, those in orthodoxy have called for a restatement of our traditional understandings. Or, in the face of inevitable change, they've requested more time to study the issues and the ability of congregations to leave the fold. … Read more
Author Archives: Andy Cornell
The Future is Nothing Like the Past
A review of "Canoeing the Mountains - Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory" by Tod Bolsinger. Canoeing the Mountains Truth be told, I dismissed this book without reading a single page. It was a freebie, handed out at the PCC Pastor’s Conference back in 2019, which screamed “remainder bin.” And the title — way too cute. … Read more
The Next Big Thing
Anniversaries are a great opportunity to press pause and take stock. We look back and note how a watershed moment has changed our world. Sept. 11 is the big one. There’s also Nov. 22, if you’re old enough to remember. And now we have March 11, the day in 2020 when the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 global pandemic. One year later ... Read more
Our Executive Director
Rev. Andy Cornell My birthplace was London, England in October 1962. I came to Canada as an infant and grew up in the other London, where I attended Western University (history) and Fanshawe College (broadcast journalism) and where I had my first full-time employment, as a reporter at CJBK/BX93 Radio. From there, I felt the … Read more
Dear Presbyters
Questions are like tools. Good quality instruments used with skill and care can loosen the machinery and allow a glimpse into the soul of a machine. Or a person. So it is with the question and answer section of the 2021 General Assembly moderator nominee profiles. Kudos to whoever developed this skillful line of questioning, which starts with the comfortable ... Read more
Stillness to Prevent Illness
"Where is God in all this?" If there's a defining theological question for these times, that's it. In any time of crisis, we search for meaning. Do a search of sermon titles preached in the wake of 9-11 and odds are that is what you will find. In 1938, Rev. Martyn Lloyd-Jones was called to the pulpit at Westminster Chapel ... Read more
A Year-End/New Year’s Message
United We Stand
Presbyterians who adhere to traditional standards are working together on two new fronts. “Praying, listening, trusting” was formed in June 2020 for the purpose of praying for six months in order to discern God’s direction for those in orthodoxy. “PCC-Covenant” came together in the fall in recognition of a need to work with one another … Read more
A Remembrance and a ‘Reminder’
Requiem (noun) — 1) A Mass for the repose of the souls of the dead. 2) A musical composition setting parts of a requiem Mass, or of a similar character. 3) An act or token of remembrance. It’s the third definition which fits Rev. Don MacLeod’s latest published writing. An almost-legendary figure in the PCC ... Read more
An Ideological Barrier
Recently, PCC denominational staff announced a workshop entitled “Rainbow Pathways: exploring LGBTQi2 welcome and inclusion.” It will be led by two individuals: a pastor and social worker who identify as a “Queer Trans Masculine person of faith” and a “femme lesbian.” Here’s an opportunity to hear first-hand how others think, I thought ... Read more