EFC Vice-President to Speak at Online Conscience Protection Conference
The EFC's resident theologian David Guretzki will speak at Courage and Calling: A Christian Response to Medical Assistance in Dying, an online conference Oct. 23 on Facebook and YouTube. Guretzki will speak on a theological rationale of how followers of Christ cannot participate in MAiD. Registrants will also hear about how this issue impacts physicians and pastors. The EFC is a sponsor of this event, along with the Christian and Medical Dental Association of Canada and St. Andrew’s Church, Moncton. Registration is required.
EFC President to Speak in Kingston and Guelph
This week EFC President Bruce Clemenger is speaking at a retreat for military chaplains being held in Kingston. Bruce Clemenger is a member of the Interfaith Committee for Military Chaplains and represents 20 EFC affiliate denominations with serving chaplains.
Clemenger is also speaking this weekend to the board of Michael House in Guelph, which provides shelter and support to pregnant and parenting women and children in need.
EFC Presidents Day
On Oct. 28, the EFC will gather virtually with presidents and leaders from affiliate schools, churches and organizations from across Canada. We will encourage and strengthen each other as we gather
Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Nov. 7
The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church is a day set aside by Christians around the globe to collectively pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who suffer because of their faith. Each year in early November, ministry partners collaborate to produce and share (free of charge) helpful resources to encourage the body of Christ to engage in active prayer for those experiencing persecution. This year’s countries of focus are India, Algeria and Cuba. Many churches will observe this event Nov. 7, but your group can do it anytime. Download your free resource kit at www.IDOP.ca.
Quatre Nouveaux Articles Traduits // Four Feature Articles Now in French
Nous avons traduit quatre articles majeurs de Faith Today. Jetez un coup d’œil à toutes les dernières nouveautés sur faithtoday.ca/francais. // Don’t miss four new French translations of feature articles from Faith Today, online now.
A Seat at the Business Table (from Faith Today)
Intriciti is a Canadian organization that inspires leaders in business to integrate their faith into the workplace. “When I get invited into the lives of others, knowing they would not enter a faith institution, but would weep with me at a coffee shop, over the phone or in their boardroom, to me that quiet, unseen thing is our greatest accomplishment,” says Alana Walker Carpenter, CEO of Intriciti, in the latest issue of Faith Today.
Get more unique Canadian Christian journalism like this by signing up at FaithToday.ca/SubscribeFree.
New EFC Weekly Prayer Prompts
This week’s prayer request is about children in care. You can learn more on these issues at TheEFC.ca/ChildrenAndYouth. Pray for families in crisis, for children and youth needing a permanent home, for youth aging-out of government care and for those vulnerable to entering prostitution. Pray also for children in adoptive and foster care, keeping in mind that November is Adoption Awareness month.
Each week at we rotate through a prayer request from each of these five areas: Sanctity of Life, Care for the Vulnerable, Church and Mission, Family and Community, Religious Freedom. We also list an EFC affiliate group to pray for.
This week, we highlight Compassion Canada, which connects individuals and the church around the world to end poverty in the life of a child, in Jesus’ name.
Covid 19 and the restrictions have a significant impact on our lives. The EFC continues to offer new Friday@4 pandemic-focused prayer suggestions each week at TheEFC.ca/Covid-19.
Flourishing Congregations: Register for Online Book Discussion Nov. 18
Let’s discuss what it looks like for a congregation to flourish, based on the book Signs of Life: Catholic, Mainline, and Conservative Protestant Congregations in Canada (Tyndale Academic, 2021). Plan to join co-author Joel Thiessen of Ambrose University in Calgary, engage in a live Q&A and take part in breakout group discussion. Reading the book is optional, but you may want to order it now from your local bookstore to read it by November. Register at www.TheEFC.ca/BookClub. (Event lasts 90 minutes, starts at 7 p.m. Eastern.)
Join Us for Nationwide Prayer Nov. 23
The EFC and ten prayer networks are planning an online event. We will worship and pray together for the renewal of abiding in Christ in the context of prayer that would lead to fruitful community and mission in Canada through local churches. Please join us and invite others in your network for this 90-minute nationwide prayer gathering starting at 11 a.m. Eastern. Register at www.TheEFC.ca/NationwidePrayer.
Looking to Hire or be Hired?
Faith Today's website currently has online classified listings for four pastor positions (in New Glasgow, N.S., and Ontario cities of Erin, Port Hope and Toronto), a donor care rep, young moms program leader, chief financial officer, an accounting/finance associate, a major gifts officer (covering Ontario and the Maritimes), a professor of psychology/counselling, and also some part-time positions (manager of agency collaboration, youth ministry leader, student life advisor). Check it out or post your help wanted ads at faithtoday.ca/classifieds.
→ Canadian Indigenous Realities and the Canadian Church: Master Class with Ray Aldred, online (Food for the Hungry Canada), Oct. 20 and alternating Wednesdays
→ Now That’s a Tough Decision! (Cdn. Chr. Business Federation), online, Oct. 20
→ Global Leadership Summit (GLN Canada), online, Oct. 21-22
→ Courage & Calling: A Christian Response to Medical Assistance in Dying (CMDA/EFC), online, Oct. 23
→ Worship Matters Workshop: West and East (The Kings University), online, Oct. 23
→ EFC Speaker at Moncton Church, Moncton, NB, Oct. 24
→ What Makes a Church Jesus-Centred? (Jesus Collective) Moncton, N.B., Oct. 25
→ Finding the Roots, My Education in Black History in Alberta (The Kings University), online, Oct. 25
→ EFC Presidents Day (online), Oct. 28
→ Christian Education in a Secular Age Conference (Briercrest), Oct. 28-29
→ Ottawa Civic Prayer Breakfast, Oct. 29
→ For the Love of Creation's Fall Symposium, online, Oct. 30
→ Ending Poverty Together Online Workshop (Food for the Hungry Canada), online, Oct. 30
In Case You Missed It
→ Not Everything Has a Purpose (Faith Today column by David Guretzki)
→ Faith Deconstruction Webinar with Peter Schuurman (uploaded today, recorded Oct. 5)
→ EFC Granted Intervener Status in B.C. Star of the Sea Parish Case