ChristianWeek

Following ancient paths nets award
CALGARY, AB—A student trip to Turkey and Israel in May prevented Charles Nienkirchen from personally accepting a prestigious award honouring his work. But it seems a fitting excuse for the professor who was recognized for outstanding achievement for his innovative study-abroad program. Nienkirchen, professor of Christian history and spirituality and program head of Christian Studies at Nazarene University College, is one of 10 recipients from the province’s 21 public and seven private not-for-profit post-secondary institutions to receive the Internationalizing the Teaching and Learning Practice Award of Distinction. read the full story>

Churches unite behind evangelism initiative

VICTORIA, BC—A citywide youth evangelism thrust is fostering a new sense of shared vision and purpose among churches to reach teenagers for Christ.

Developed by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association of Canada (BGEAC) and launched in 2004, epicentre is a yearlong, seven-stage initiative that helps Christian teens build relationships with God, share the gospel and counsel those who choose to accept Christ.
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Small-town church gets nine-ton blessing

STREETSVILLE, ON—When Dale Renout, pastor of Streetsville Baptist Church, pulled into his church’s parking lot on the morning of April 20, he knew he had a problem — a nine-ton problem to be precise.

A six-foot-high pile of used shingles had been dumped there. The pile, says Renout, was considerably larger than a Volkswagen.

The 48-year-old pastor says he is used to finding garbage in the parking lot, including “motor oil, condoms and drug paraphernalia.” But shingles were a first. He called the police.“They said, ‘This is not a criminal matter; this is a municipal matter,’” remembers Renout. “So I called the city and their response was, ‘There’s not really anything we can do and if you don’t [move the shingles], you’re in violation [of municipal codes].’”

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Blessings Christian Marketplace announces change of ownership

EDMONTON, AB—Blessings Christian Marketplace Ltd., Canada’s largest Christian retail chain, announced a change of ownership June 1.

Founded as a home-based business in 1987 by Les and Debby Reynolds of St. Paul, Alberta, today the retail operation has 27 locations across Canada.

New owners Mark and Angela Hutchinson of Chilliwack, B.C., say they are committed to strengthening the chain’s retail teams and to building strong community relationships to better serve the Canadian Christian community.

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Cooperation for common good vital between Church and state

CALGARY, AB—More than 140 scholars, theologians, public servants and educators gathered last month at The Telus Convention Centre to ponder the plight of faith as it gets pushed farther out of the public square.

Presented by Ottawa’s Centre for Cultural Renewal and led by lawyer Iain Benson, the two-day Cooperation of Church and State Conference included though-t provoking panel discussions on how society must move past the language of “separation” and work towards cooperation for the common good.

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Report recommends protection for religious architecture

QUEBEC CITY, QC—Some of the oldest churches in North America could soon come under the protection of a special council designed to inventory and care for religious buildings withhistorical significance.

Many of Quebec’s historical religious buildings are facing an “extremely critical” situation,” says provincial MNA Richard Brodeur, president of a special commission exploring the future of Quebec’s religious architecture.

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