Enduring the Longest Night
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Enduring the Longest Night

I remember about five years ago, newly separated and in the thick of depression and emotional pain, I attended my church’s Blue Christmas service. It was my first Christmas in this new reality of no longer being a family of four, and I wasn’t quite sure how to handle it. And this service – created…

A heart for justice
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A heart for justice

The Barna Group will soon be releasing a report on its global study of nearly 25,000 teenagers, ages 13-17, both in and out of the church. Billed “the Open Generation” due to characteristics like “optimistic, engaged, malleable, curious, authentic, inclusive and collaborative” that is less common in people only a few years older, today’s teens…

Reaching Out Online
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Reaching Out Online

Doing ministry in new ways is an act of faith. And when the staff and volunteers at ARISE Ministry moved its outreach to people in the sex trade from street-level to online, they wondered if the switch would bear fruit. “It’s very clear that the sex trade has shifted to online,” says Rev. Deb Stanbury,…

How COVID has strained our friendships

How COVID has strained our friendships

Best friends for 30 years no longer seeing each other because one person isn’t vaccinated. Anger after someone mentions an interesting article about anti-vaxxers that feels like judgement, and the friends stop talking. No matter where you stand on the vaccine debate, just about everyone has a tale of tension among friends during the pandemic….

Our Favourite Things

Our Favourite Things

Stores are opening. Kids are back to school. Many are vaccinated. Things are slowly starting to shift. Or so we hope. The second year of life during a pandemic hasn’t been much easier than the first. And yet, during this month of Thanksgiving, the staff at CC wanted to share with readers the many blessings…

Social media and the afterlife
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Social media and the afterlife

Have you made a list of all your social media accounts? Does a loved one know where you do online banking or hold digital assets? Have you chosen someone to gain access to your phone once you’re gone? The effects of a global pandemic have hit every corner of our lives, from the workplace to…

Shows and movies we’ve been streaming

Shows and movies we’ve been streaming

There’s a ton of great content out there that isn’t strictly Christian, yet explores questions of faith and morality. Everything listed here has spiritual or religious undertones and they’re great if you want to do some pondering after you watch. (A side note: While some would be great for a family movie night, not all…

Healing in Colour
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Healing in Colour

Mental Health Week is May 3 – 9, and a new art exhibit is highlighting the intersection of race, faith and mental health. Healing in Colour features “Black, Indigenous, and peoples of colour artists from around the world, [and] the show highlights their experiences, wounds, and journeys of healing,” as stated on the event’s website….

Our second Easter apart
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Our second Easter apart

COVID-19 may prevent us from coming together for yet another church holiday, but if the following stories are any indication, the hope of the Risen Christ is very much alive. We asked pastors and leaders from east to west to reflect on the state of the church on this one-year anniversary of the pandemic. Was…

Would Jesus Buy Bitcoin?
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Would Jesus Buy Bitcoin?

If you don’t know what the heck Bitcoin is, it might be time to figure it out. Not only has cryptocurrency – Bitcoin being the original and best known – taken off in the last year, much to the delight of speculative investors and counter-cultural diehards, but social justice advocates herald it as a way…

An awful year

An awful year

Do you remember where you were back in March? I can recall being at my fun, part-time job at an upscale boutique, and getting news that schools were closing and I had to close up shop and go home. It wasn’t long before people were hoarding toilet paper, arguing about wearing masks and personal rights,…

Crisis Schooling: Ask the Parents and Teachers
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Crisis Schooling: Ask the Parents and Teachers

I have two children doing “distance learning” at home right now. My eldest daughter, 11, is relatively self-sufficient. She’s old enough to follow instructions, turn in her work online and email her teacher questions. She loves to learn and values the peace and quiet of her bedroom, so “homeschooling” has actually been pretty enjoyable for her.