Mental health. If you pay any attention to the news and social media, you have seen public interest in mental health increase in recent years. There has been much talk of “de-stigmatizing” mental illness. Stigma is a fancy sounding and rather abstract word. I prefer the phrase “shame and blame.” For this article, I’ll create […]
The Shame ‘n Blame Game Read More »
Have you ever heard the expression: “He or she doesn’t have a hope”? When someone feels or thinks that way about themselves or a situation, they are in a slow death mode, because without hope we feel that all our efforts are futile, the situation will never change and there is nothing to live for.
Helpless and Hopeful Read More »
During these strange days, we have been hearing a lot about the church needing to reveal God’s love in real and tangible ways. This isn’t a new thing. God (and others) have been saying this for a very long time. When a need arises or a crisis happens, we are not only reminded of what
I Know What You Need … or Do I? Read More »
I was preparing a liturgy for my congregation; words and passages from scripture that would lead them into the sacrament of Bread and Cup. It’s a very different thing to know if the words you have prepared will invite people to partake, alone, in isolation. And yet, this is something we do together, this is
Missions and Sacrament in Isolation Read More »
It is an understatement to say we have all been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Some more than others. Due to its prolonged nature, COVID-19 has caused social, emotional, physical, mental and even financial trauma to individuals and churches alike. In a recent Christian Magazine survey, 6 out of 10 have seen a decline in
Hope in the midst of Financial Trauma … Read More »
While the pandemic caused the cancellation of General Conference, it did not cause the cancellation of prayer. After our last General Conference, Bishop Cliff and the BOA realized that if our movement was going to reverse the trend of decline we were experiencing, we needed to make prayer a priority and develop ourselves into a
The FMCIC’s First National Prayer Summit Read More »
Have you seen COVID-season pictures of major world cities without fog? Beautiful. In Toronto, traffic was down 73%! You can almost hear creation groan in sad expectation of Canadians choosing to return to the old “normal”. What if we actually choose to remember what we are learning in this season? Learn to drive less, consume
What can of things can the Leadership Development/ Church Health guy write about church planting? I guess it could be some of the same old stuff: We need church plants to replace churches that close, so pray for plants and planters. Healthy church plants need healthy established churches to help them – whether it be
So…Church Planting… Read More »
Church planting is so important and we continuously see how it connects with our mission of partnership and holistic development. One such example of this is the Kibera School. The journey of the Kibera ICCM school began in Kenya in 1998, with seven people joining together to worship in a home church. Within a year,
The Power of Partnership Read More »
Last year I spent eight months as part of the ‘Launch Team’ for a church plant in Amherstview, Ontario. It was an exciting experience to witness and be a part of an entirely new congregation coming together, growing as leaders, and reaching out into what some considered to be an unreached neighbourhood. The team model
FMC Intercultural Engagement Team Read More »
