December 2009

One of my favourite traditions is exchanging annual Christmas letters with family and friends. The updated photo, highlights of the year, and general well-wishes diminish the miles that separate me and my loved ones. I love reading how others celebrate the holiday and live their faith throughout the year.

Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford, B.C., will start raising money shortly to build a new student residence. The go-ahead to proceed with the fundraising effort was given at the college’s annual general meeting. The facility’s construction will allow current rented space to be given up at a saving to the college, and allow students to take advantage of on-campus proximity to the lounge, library, and other facilities.

In off-years between conventions, Canadian conference annual general meeting agendas are usually relatively lean. Such was not the case in Saskatoon, Oct. 17, 2009. Great delegate interest was aroused by the announcement that Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary is in active discussion with Fuller Theological Seminary in the face of dwindling enrollment on the MBBS Fresno campus.

Two sets of bunkbeds crowd each of the three bedrooms in an East Toronto highrise apartment, dubbed “the DC” (discipleship centre) by the five guys who currently live there. Their living room is furnished Middle Eastern-style with beautiful Oriental rugs, cushions scavenged from the trash lockup outside, and a coffee table rejected from Grandma’s house. These young people have Moved In. And there’s room for more.

Both the board of faith and life (BFL) and the executive board met in Saskatoon Oct. 14–15 and Oct. 17–18, respectively, bookending the 2009 study conference.

Biblical Text Examined: Psalm 29: “Our home has an ongoing seasonal conflict: when do you play the first Christmas CD? I’m a bit more traditional, and try to hold out until the first Sunday of Advent. My wife, however, is more connected to the world around us and will crank that music when the first snowflakes hit the ground. This year, that meant the week before Thanksgiving!”

There will be plenty of opportunities this month to share the Christmas story. And whether you tell it to a restless gaggle of preschoolers or to an unbelieving acquaintance grumbling about “all the Christmas hubbub,” there are four simple steps you can take to make the story more memorable.

Just As I Am
Artist: Carol Peters
Instrumental CDs can be hard to critique, as the musical range can be as broad as one’s personal taste. Carol Peters, an accomplished pianist, displays her love for both music and life in the CD Just As I Am, produced and engineered by Roy Salmond.

Mutual Treasure: Seeking Better Ways for Christians and Culture to Converse
Authors: Harold Heie & Michael A. King, eds.
How can Christians most helpfully and Christianly engage the cultural contexts in which they live? This question has been a lively one for as long as Christians have been around to ask it.

Poetry – Featuring the work of Carol Penner: “Christ comes as a gift into your life….”