Televised finale caps Celebration 2005 Lorna Dueck (left) and David Macfarlane, director of national initiatives for the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, share stories from the three-week long Celebration 2005 initiative that saw churches across Canada sharing God’s love with their local communities. (photo:Patricia Paddey) PETERBOROUGH, ON—Organizers of Celebration 2005, a three-week long, nation-wide Christian service campaign, are declaring it a success, estimating that up to 50,000 people took part. While he’s disappointed that only “about 230 churches registered for the event officially,” David Macfarlane, director of national initiatives for the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), says that for every church that registered, there were eight to 10 congregations participating that did not register. read the full story>

---

Ron and Ann Mainse give out bags of groceries at the Free-4-All event in Montreal, Quebec. (photo:Crossroads Family of Ministries

Ministries to the needy question goodwill event MONTREAL, QC—Some key groups that work with the homeless and needy in Montreal were conspicuous by their absence at an evangelistic event giving away free food and toys on June 11. “As Christians, we are called to help people in need. So we do it—with no strings attached, says David Lucien, director of communications for Welcome Hall Mission (WCM). “If our actions touch them and make them curious about our motives, we are certainly ready to explain our actions as reflections of God’s love, but we do not link charity to pushing our message. read more>

---

Anglican churches suspended NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND—The Anglican Consultative Council, a key ruling body of the international Anglican Communion, has suspended the Canadian and U.S. Anglican churches for three years because of their liberal positions on homosexuality. The decision to suspend the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) and the Episcopal Church of the USA (ECUSA) was handed down at a June meeting of clergy, laity and bishops in Nottingham, England. read more>

Cross-Canada cycling tour highlights church centennial
Naomi Biesheuvel

Dozens of cyclists are embarking on what organizers are calling the “largest cross-Canada bike tour ever” to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) in Canada.

“It’s a different way to celebrate,” explains Dave Raakman, communications coordinator for Sea to Sea, a 7,125 kilometre journey across Canada that will involve 160 riders (www.seatosea.org). “Rather than just having a church service or keeping it to ourselves, we wanted to get out there and be the church we want to be, a positive influence on our communities and the country of Canada as a whole.” get the full story>

---

Samaritan’s Purse aids flood-stricken Albertans
Tim Callaway

HIGH RIVER, AB—Samaritan’s Purse Canada (SPC) was called to launch its local disaster relief initiatives sooner than planned when extremely heavy rains doused southern Alberta during the first three weeks of June.
get the full story>