Dutch hearts, Greater risk
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Dutch hearts, Greater risk

“I found out that I am a carrier of PLN (Phospholamban) when I was 33 years old. I knew that I should be informed about my own health, but never did I think that finding out about it would take me to where I am now.” PLN, as this carrier discovered, is the gene that…

Coren’s conversion
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Coren’s conversion

“My core beliefs haven’t changed,” Michael Coren says. But “I can’t imagine who I was spiritually eight years ago.” The landscape of personal faith can change over time. Scandal, abuse, disillusionment and burnout are just a few of the deconstruction triggers prompting Christians to re-examine what we believe and why. It’s a process that usually…

Your church might need a rummage sale
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Your church might need a rummage sale

In Oshawa, Ontario, in 1978, an unremarkable mall called Five Points was built. I used to go there sometimes as a teen. Over time, business dried up as big box stores started cropping up on the outskirts of town. Eventually, Five Points was torn down and replaced, in 2017, with Dymon Self Storage – a…

Seeking ‘clarity’ on Sexual sin
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Seeking ‘clarity’ on Sexual sin

“There are two deeply divergent interpretations of Scripture in this denomination,” Paul VanderKlay said on June 14, addressing 188 delegates of the Christian Reformed Church (CRC). To most CRC members, the degree of that difference is painfully clear, and it was only accentuated at this year’s annual meeting. Synod 2022 made three key decisions concerning…

‘Blood on our hands’
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‘Blood on our hands’

When CRC Synod delegate Dominic Palacios said “I believe our theology around this issue has caused there to be blood on our hands, and there will continue to be blood on our hands because of it,” he lost the right to speak again for ‘violating the rules of decorum.’ CC reached out to both the…

‘What does it mean to be us?’
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‘What does it mean to be us?’

Christian Courier’s Editor spoke with Rev. Al Postma on May 20, two weeks after he began his new position as Transitional Executive Director of Canadian Ministries for the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) of North America. Previously, Postma served six years as Classis Renewal leader for the denomination and, from 2009-2016, as pastor of Bethlehem CRC…

New Art Book
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New Art Book

The work of London, Ontario artist Rosemary Sloot has been featured in Christian Courier many times, and now her beautiful paintings have been gathered in a book entitled Immigrant: From the Postwar Netherlands to Canada in 21 Paintings. The images and objects presented in intricate detail come from the Sloot family album and attic but…

In the valley of the shadow of covid
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In the valley of the shadow of covid

Severe pain radiated from the left side of my chest. My lungs felt scraped raw; two rib joints were so swollen they protruded like giant knuckles. “It’s just inflammation from your body fighting covid. There’s nothing we can do,” the attending doctor said, after several tests had normal results. “Go home and rest. Take Advil.”…

The end of the world as we know it
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The end of the world as we know it

“Each morning comes along and you assume it will be similar enough to the previous one – that you will be safe, that your family will be alive, that you will be together, that life will remain mostly as it was.” That’s from Cloud Cuckoo Land, American author Anthony Doerr’s new book. “Then a moment…

Keep mending
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Keep mending

“Man is born broken,” playwright Eugene O’Neill once wrote. “He lives by mending. The grace of God is glue.” Mend was an important word in our fall campaign last year. But the truth is, mend has always been vital to our work. Christian Courier is a small publication with a huge vision. That’s why the…

Canadian Catalytic Conversations 2
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Canadian Catalytic Conversations 2

Four delegates representing every Christian Reformed classis in Canada, along with Canadian CRCNA staff, Canada Corp Board members and observers, met online on Saturday, January 29, via Zoom, for a meeting dubbed Canadian Catalytic Conversation 2 (CCC2). The stated purpose of the meeting was to “wrestle with the options put forward for ministry in Canada,”…

The home(owner) advantage 
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The home(owner) advantage 

CC: How has the pandemic affected income inequality? Is that something Habitat is addressing?  Deans: The pandemic has certainly exacerbated income inequality and, combined with the continued rising cost of housing, put homeownership out of reach for even more families.  Qualifying for a traditional mortgage, saving enough for a down payment and the cost of a…