Life & Faith

Maria Loewen’s faith is unshaken through 100-years of heartache and upheaval.

The church in the majority world is familiar with rough travel, but we in Canada are used to smoother roads, green lights and loaded vehicles. This is going to change.

Lent is my opportunity to move from the superficial to the supernatural; from giving up token external gestures of sacrifice to an effort of offering myself as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1).

Experience has taught me that people who live wholehearted lives as disciples of Jesus are difference-makers. Disciples that make an impact in their settings are all-in when it comes to their walk with Jesus and in their obedience to Him. They are not on the bench, but in the game, so-to-speak.

Without a doubt, COVID-19 has been the greatest disruptor of plans-well-laid in our lifetime. The National Faith & Life Team, along with everyone else, cancelled many plans and shifted gears to place greater focus on encouraging prayer in our family and providing support to our churches and leaders.

We are each at a different point on the continuum of COVID-19, but I cannot imagine anyone’s version of “re-entry” looks like yesterday or normal. So what if there is another way forward other than what we knew or did yesterday?

My year ended with a hemicolectomy.  This surgery removed a section of my colon that harboured a large growth.  Unfortunately, a complication developed and with it, significant anxiety.  Six weeks of recovery followed.  My physician ordered self-isolation meaning an in-person family Christmas could not take place.  In the background was the potential for the pathology report to reveal if the removed growth from my colon was cancerous.  When I submitted this writing, I was still waiting for my surgeon’s prognosis.  Friends, in a nutshell, my 2020 was a tale of trouble…

How would you respond if someone you know was considering ending their life through medical assistance in dying (MAiD)?

You might be surprised to learn that a recent poll suggested that 80 percent of Canadians believe it should be easier to make their own end-of-life decisions. The poll also reported that 33 percent describe themselves as “enthusiastic supporters,”…

Advent is both a season of celebration and waiting. In homes, the Advent calendar (with its daily allotment of chocolates) and in churches, the Advent evergreen wreath (with its coloured candles) are dusted off and set in their hallowed places. These heart-warming symbols telegraph the approaching Christmas Day and also invite us to a period of waiting…

Canadian care homes struggle to keep the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic at bay, facing higher infection rates and increased isolation. They need our prayers and practical support at this time. As the body of Christ, let us come together in prayer.

As you engage with the CUSP, you will notice that this is not an organizational strategic plan; it is a mission plan. We begin by identifying our call to mission and respond to that call with strategic steps. At this moment in time, we must be clear about our underlining mission. The CUSP identifies that mission as the following…

In a world that too often declares right to be wrong and wrong to be right, evil to be good and good to be evil, how does one live for Jesus faithfully and with integrity? As leaders, what is our counsel? What example do we set?