MAiD Expansion Needs to Stop, Not Just Delay
The government will soon introduce a bill to delay the expansion of Medical Assistance in Dying to people with mental illness as their sole underlying medical condition. Thank you for to everyone who contacted their MP. This delay of the plans originally set for this March is an answer to prayer. The justice minister has made it clear, however, that this is only a delay. Please continue to pray for this expansion to be stopped.
FT Interview: Helping to Form Faith in Children
Lesli van Milligen helped lead a new study coming out this spring by a partnership of 16 Canadian ministries to examine how faith is formed in children and how churches can help. Read our interview with her on what families and children need now from the Church, and how we can help form the faith of our children, anywhere and anytime.
You can more get articles like this by signing up at FaithToday.ca/SubscribeFree to get a free print subscription. A sampling of articles from the latest issue are also available at www.FaithToday.ca.
Ensure Patients, Not Doctors, Initiate MAiD Discussions
The EFC has asked the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario to make sure that discussions about MAiD are only initiated by patients, not doctors. As the EFC submission says, “Doctors are in a position of authority, and ideally, trust. Raising MAiD as an option suggests to a patient that the clinician sees their life as not worth living, or that ending their life is something worth considering.” The EFC also asked the College to protect doctors’ conscience rights and to push for MAID to be included as the cause of death, on death certificates. Read EFC's submission here.
EFC President Releases New Book
EFC president Bruce J. Clemenger has published a new book titled The New Orthodoxy: Canada’s Emerging Civil Religion (Castle Quay, December 2022). The book examines the changing face of secularism in Canada’s public square, charting its emergence in the last several decades and presents a framework for how Christians can engage well in the shifting political environment in Canada. It is available in digital and paperback formats at CastleQuayBooks.com and major book retailers.
This Week’s Prayer Prompts
This week’s prayer request is about mission. Pray for Christian living that is rooted in engagement with others in Scripture and prayer, for increasing commitments among Christians to witness to God’s love in all areas of life and society, and for congregations that seek to discern how God is leading them in changing times.
This week's EFC affiliate highlight focuses on Wycliffe Bible Translators, whose mission is “ending Bible poverty by facilitating the translation of God’s Word among minority language communities worldwide.”
You can always find the week’s prayer prompts at TheEFC.ca/TakeAction. Also, we offer new pandemic-focused prayer ideas each month at TheEFC.ca/Covid-19.
→ Suffering Well & Suffering With – Virtual Course Mondays Jan. 23-March 27 (Salvation Army Ethics Centre), registration deadline Jan. 9
→ Communications Workers Watercooler Break (CCCA), online, Jan. 13, Feb. 10
→ Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, worldwide, Jan. 18-25
→ Rencontre au sommet 2022 (prayer summit), Granby, Que., Jan. 23-24
→ Mission Central Conference, Vancouver, Jan. 27-29
→ Calvin Symposium on Worship (Calvin Institute of Christian Worship), online, Feb. 8-10
In Case You Missed It
→ Job Openings: Vice president academic (Hamilton); pastor (Lethbridge, Montreal, Brampton, Toronto, Ottawa, Sault Ste Marie, Uxbridge); Toronto congregational justice and mercy coordinator; Montreal director of leadership programs; and more (FaithToday.ca/Classifieds)
→ Three Days in Galilee (Faith Today blog)
→ Winnipeggers Hold Prayer Vigils for Peace in Ukraine (All Things Reconciled blog)
→ Charitable Status for Pro-Life Organizations (includes EFC video interview)
→ Protecting Youth from Online Pornography (sample letter to send to your MP)
→ Bill to Clarify Law on Child Sexual Abuse Materials
→ Bill to Verify Age and Consent on Pornography Sites