You’ve probably seen the news of what’s going on at Asbury University, a private Christian college in Kentucky. It started during a regular chapel service on February 8 – but didn’t stop. “After the benediction, the gospel choir began to sing a final chorus—and then something began to happen that defies easy description. Students did … Read more
There are fewer things more joyful than talking about our faith. It’s the stuff which keeps us together. Traditional, historic, evangelical, Christ-centred faith – preservation of orthodoxy, for want of a better name – is why Renewal Fellowship exists. What exactly is orthodoxy? In the view of the Oxford English Dictionary, it’s “belief in or … Read more
An excerpt from A. Donald MacLeod’s latest book. An explanation for this book. My wonderful 21-year-old grandson, Callum, asked me two questions as we were discussing his future: “What is it like to be a minister, Gramps? How has the ministry changed since you were ordained back in 1963?” It is to respond to these … Read more
Renewal Fellowship’s Living the Name prize has been awarded annually since 2010 to Knox College students who show interest and promise in evangelism and mission. Congrats to this year’s recipient, Sonia Brulé. We invited her to share her testimony as she begins her call to ministry. Sonia Brulé My name is Sonia Brulé and I … 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
When I was asked to contribute a reflection on an ancient prayer, all I had to do was look up from my desk, and there was the answer – an Orthodox Prayer based upon the Prayer of St. Ioannikios, as well as the traditional and ancient Troparia to the Holy Trinity. I had printed out … Read more
This devotion is one that I shared at a Renewal Fellowship board meeting in March of 2022 and also shared during a midweek service during Lent. During both we looked at Judges 6:11-7:21, reading just the first part of it and referencing other parts of the section of scripture. This is referencing Gideon, who would … 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
And the beat goes on. I arrived in Simcoe just as the 2008 recession was digging its tenacles into every fibre of society. We more or less recovered, at least economically; but it seems there have been constant and serious seismic shivers shaking life ever since. The past many months have only intensified the severity … Read more
On January 29, 2022, a total of 60 people gathered via Zoom for “Called Together — a Time of Encouragement” for evangelical/orthodox/traditional believers within The Presbyterian Church in Canada who remain called to the places where we currently worship and serve — but may feel isolated and discouraged. But we are not alone. Speaker Rev. … Read more