A publication of the Renewal Fellowship
A publication of the Renewal Fellowship
By Ian McPhee. Amid much confusing advice from friends regarding the source of his illness, Ian McPhee finds that the most helpful explanation is that illness is one of God's gracious gifts to us. Our privilege is to unwrap it and discover how good and perfect it is. … Read more
By Eugene Peterson. People worry about keeping Christ in Christmas, but not about keeping the tree in Christmas. In many homes, no carols are sung, no prayers offered, and no nativity story told, but few lack a Christmas tree. But I do remember a Christmas with no tree. … Read more
By John G. Stackhouse, Jr. John the Baptist's message is simple: "Repent!" It means to alter one's course, change one's mind, redirect one's life from the heart on out, to straighten up. It means to prepare for drastic change, position oneself for reorientation, and then turn. … Read more
By Brenda Shaw. To make the Christmas story a real tangible part of our lives that we could share with our community, we realized that the "Living Nativity" and "Bethleham Walks" taking place in other towns and cities could be part of our Christmas celebration too. … Read more
Calvin Brown, the Executive Director, reports on his various past and future speaking engagements, including a Church Growth Workshop in Ottawa, a one-week PCC “think tank”, meetings with Knox and Presbyterian College students, and the upcoming Annual Meeting. … Read more
By Martha G. Zimmerman. Regularly, by our actions, we tell our children what we think is important. We are living proof of what our hearts desire. There is no better example of this than in our celebrations. Our actions speak so loudly we can easily make it difficult for our children to hear what we are saying. What do you really believe about Christmas? Based on what you believe are you willing … Read more
By Esther and Howard Mcllveen. Carolling isn’t as popular as it once was, so people treasure it even more. It can be done in shopping malls, hospitals, prisons, institutions for the aged and handicapped, or in the open air around residential areas. Advent is the only time in the year when it is culturally acceptable to “invade” a neighbourhood or place with song and greetings. One can sing about “God and sinners reconciled” and greet people without intruding or being mistaken for a sect. … Read more