Five-time Olympic medalist Cindy Klassen arrived in Calgary to a hero’s welcome March 6. While hard work and endurance have contributed to her success on the oval, she also credits her Christian faith for her achievements. (Jeff McIntosh/Canadian Press) Olympian’s faith keeps her steady Sponsorships, medals, won’t change who she is WINNIPEG, MB—Canada’s most recent Olympic hero speed skater, Cindy Klassen, is beginning to deal with the aftermath of becoming the nation’s most decorated Olympian. “I don’t think she’s felt the sense of how big this really is,” says George Sourlis of Landmark Sport Group, which represents her, adding demands for appearances and interviews have been “unbelievable. She’s very well-spoken—big smile—and I think she’ll be able to handle it.” And in the midst of all the extra attention, media interviews and appearance requests following her five-medal performance in Turin, there is one thing that has quietly accompanied Klassen’s contagious smile and down-to-earth personality: her faith in God. Read More>

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Jesus cartoon causes controversy SASKATOON, SK—A cartoon depicting Jesus engaging in a sex act with a character labelled “capitalist piglet” is causing controversy on the University of Saskatchewan campus and beyond. The university’s student newspaper The Sheaf published the cartoon one week after its editors declared they would not offend Muslims by printing cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed. Read More>

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“The issue of fairness more starkly presents itself when you are dealing with faith-based schools as opposed to others.” - John Tory

Ontario Tories promise support for faith-based schools Administrators at Christian schools across the province are cautiously optimistic after Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Party promised to raise the issue of providing financial aid to parents with children in faith-based schools during the next election. The announcement came from party leader John Tory in February at the end of a three-day conference to set party policy for the upcoming campaign. Read More>

Leadership explored at national women’s conference

CALGARY, AB—Embracing the challenge of leadership together was the theme of Leading Women 2006, a national conference for Christian women held March 2 to 4 in downtown Calgary.

Opening night speakers, who described their lives as “unbalanced” and “messy,” encouraged their audience to get out of their comfort zones and to pray for the willingness to be uncomfortable.

Conference chair Aileen Van Ginkel, director of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada’s Centre for Ministry Empowerment, says a team of 50 women from across Canada and 15 partner organizations were involved in the conference planning. This was the first time the national conference was held outside Ontario.