‘They were God’s child’
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‘They were God’s child’

“Bekett was such an incredible human,” Kristel Forcier tells me. She’s sharing her memories of Bekett Noble, the 34-year-old Redeemer University student who died by suicide November 23, 2022. At the memorial, Redeemer President Dr. David Zietsma described Bekett as “kind, likeable, funny and direct. This is a tragic loss for our community.” Bekett Noble…

The Trees Bear Witness
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The Trees Bear Witness

The serviceberry tree that nourished my children and me this summer is now a stump. Its remnants are stubbornly woven into the fence between a small Slovak church and a parking lot. On the day we discovered those berries, we scurried along finding low enough branches to pick the dark purple fruit and my five-year-old…

The consequences of conversion therapy
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The consequences of conversion therapy

Pray Away, a documentary recently released on Netflix, opens with Jeffrey McCall, a large and gentle man who drives through the rain to a strip mall where he stands under the portico and offers to pray for passersby while wielding a poster board with the words “TRANS 2 CHRIST” emblazoned across it in sticker letters….

Madonna Alley
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Madonna Alley

The property we move to when the baby is 18 months old borders a grassy, city-owned alley. It is a secret garden, a lost green plot turned into a tiny community park. Eight properties back onto this narrow stretch of land. Neighbors take turns mowing the grass, half-heartedly tending the gardens, letting their dogs run…

‘Freedom March’ Misses the Point
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‘Freedom March’ Misses the Point

On November 2, five days before anti-maskers held their second “Freedom March” in my hometown of Aylmer, Ontario, Mayor Mary French declared a state of emergency. Despite rising COVID-19 cases across Canada, and in the small community itself, more than 2,000 unmasked protesters marched down Main Street on November 7 to demonstrate against current government…

Welcoming a Young Writer
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Welcoming a Young Writer

I first met Bert Witvoet at a collaborative art luncheon at church. He made me feel immediately welcome, not in the too-familiar style of an obligatory attempt to recruit a new member to church, but with sincere interest in who I was. We had a lot in common: he was a former Christian high school…

New Exchanges
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New Exchanges

541 Eatery and Exchange is a restaurant and Christian ministry located in downtown Hamilton, Ontario. By providing affordable and high-quality food and drink, as well as a place to hang out and socialize, 541 has always connected people from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. Since COVID-19, those connections look different but the ministry’s focus hasn’t changed. “We talk a lot about family here,” says Danielle Steenwyk-Rowaan, one of the Front of House Managers and a former columnist with Christian Courier.

An artistic intro to Kuyper, with an economic lens

An artistic intro to Kuyper, with an economic lens

For the Life of the World is an exquisitely produced primer on the amazingly diverse and complex ways in which we act out our salvation in day-to-day life. While not without its shortcomings, it proves a provocative and moving teaching tool, if used with a critical eye to prompt thoughtful discussion.