ChristianWeek

Trinity Western University welcomes next president

“The president of the university should be the servant of everyone,” says Jonathan Raymond.

LANGLEY, BC—If first impressions are anything to go by, then Trinity Western University’s (TWU) new president-designate appears to have quickly won the hearts and minds of most of the campus community.

Jonathan Raymond is the unanimous choice of the university’s board of governors to become TWU’s next president. Currently the president of William and Catherine Booth College in Winnipeg, Raymond starts his new job July 1.

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Churches encouraged to prepare
for pandemic

As media reports track the advance of the latest strain of avian flu around the globe, a small group of Canadian Christians are mobilizing the Church to prepare for the possibility of a pandemic.

“Any preparation we do for pandemic is great preparation for any emergency,” says Dr. Tim Foggin, a Burnaby, B.C. family physician and a driving force behind the Church pandemic preparedness movement.
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Liturgical sculptures inspire Lenten experience

EDMONTON, AB—More than 900 kilograms of rocks, assorted hunks of tree trunks, 60 or so candles and 75 metres of cloth draping are being rolled or packed away as Altarwalk comes to a close at St. Paul’s Anglican Church.

Altarwalk is a collection of liturgical sculptures—the brainchild of Edmonton lawyer and rock collector Jim Robertson—that graced the perimetre of St. Paul’s sanctuary for the seven weeks leading up to Easter.
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Simultaneous services a hit at historic Martitime church

FREDERICTON, NB—Sunday morning worship does double duty at a 192-year-old church in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

While some members of the Brunswick Street Baptist congregation meet in the historic sanctuary for a traditional style of worship, others gather in a gymnasium for a contemporary service. The two are linked for the sermon—which is delivered in the sanctuary and projected on a big screen in the contemporary service—via live video-feed technology.

The church first started holding simultaneous services three years ago.

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TORONTO, ON—She may be the daughter of Billy Graham and the sister of Franklin, but Anne Graham Lotz says her worldwide revival events for women have a different objective.

She describes her father and brother as “obstetricians—they help to birth [spiritual] babies,” but compares herself to a pediatrician, helping new Christians grow in their walk with Christ.

Lotz was in Toronto recently speaking to 1,500 pastors and leaders to raise support for Just Give Me Jesus, a revival event for women that will take place at the Air Canada Centre September 29 to 30.

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Augustana opens centre for study of religion and public life

CAMROSE, AB—Augustana University officially opened the Chester Ronning Centre for the Study of Religion and Public Life March 25. Member of Parliament, deputy NDP leader and United Church minister Bill Blaikie and Walter McLean, a former Conservative cabinet minister and Presbyterian minister, were on hand for the launch.

Centre director David Goa says the idea for the Ronning Centre was finally put on the table when Augustana became affiliated with the University of Alberta two years ago.

“Religion in public life is a huge issue in Canada—we must think of ways to talk about it,” says Goa.

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