A publication of the Renewal Fellowship

A publication of the Renewal Fellowship

Channels

Introducing Channels Magazine

The Renewal Fellowship within The Presbyterian Church in Canada was founded in May 1982, and during the next year, plans were made to begin a magazine to reassure isolated and sometimes discouraged Presbyterians in Canada who wanted renewal that they were not alone. Word associations with media, communication, and television channels resonated with the old hymn, “Channels only, blessed Master”, and suggested the name Channels. And so, Channels – intended to be an instrument of blessing for The Presbyterian Church in Canada – debuted in the fall of 1983.

Over the next 23 years, some 66 issues were published. Channels succeeded in placing the Renewal Fellowship within a broader national and international context. Publishing articles written by internationally known authors such as Eugene Peterson, James I. Packer, Michael Green, Darrell Johnson, and John G. Stackhouse Jr. helped members of the Renewal Fellowship to realize that they were a part of a much wider movement.

Recognizing the high quality of this magazine prompted a desire to make a digital archive of all 66 issues. Each article is presented in text format, and at the bottom, a searchable, downloadable PDF copy of the issue opens at the page where the article originally appeared. Enjoy!

Worship

Worship: A Breath of Fresh Air

By Calvin Brown. I have often been asked how to introduce new worship styles into a very conservative or tradition-bound congregation that needs a breath of freshness. The answer, of course, is “prayerfully and very carefully!” There are definitely ways in which this can be done effectively … Read more

Sexuality

Letter to the Editor

We the undersigned were shocked and disappointed to read in the Fall issue, the statement in Donald MacLeod’s report on the 1994 American General Assembly, p. 10, the national organization ‘Presbyterian Women,’ Meeting in Ames, Iowa, a month after Assembly, was dominated by the gay-lesbian lobby in the church.” Shocked, because we were present at this gathering and could not believe that Dr. MacLeod was writing about the same event. … Read more

Biography History Mission

Celebrating Our Cross-cultural Evangelistic Missionary Heritage: The Centenary of James Ira Dickson

By Rev. Dr. A. Donald MacLeod. The tireless efforts of James Dickson, a Canadian Presbyterian missionary, were seminal in the advancement of Christianity in Taiwan, especially among the hill tribes. His wife, Lillian Dickson, began the Mustard Seed Mission, emphasizing sturdy church buildings, adequate child care, orphan protection, and vocational training. … Read more

Prayer

Bringing Heaven Down

By Darrell Johnson. The only thing the first disciples of Jesus are recorded to have asked Jesus to teach them is how to pray. The fifty-seven words He taught them are brilliant in their simplicity and change the way we understand God, ourselves, and the world. … Read more

Worship

Covenanting Liturgy

By Calvin Brown. This Covenanting Liturgy is based on Hebrews 11 and the Covenanting Prayer. It should be read with enthusiasm, feeling and growing intensity. The sense is that as we help one another remember the faithfulness of God exhibited among his people we more and more identify with them until we become one with them in Spirit and are willing also to make gladly the commitment that they did. … Read more