Sects, sexuality and the sacredness of storytelling
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Sects, sexuality and the sacredness of storytelling

Rachel Held Evans is an acclaimed blogger and New York Times bestselling author of two nonfiction books, Faith Unraveled and A Year of Biblical Womanhood.
Recently named one of “50 women to watch” by Christianity Today, Evans’s work has been featured on CBC, NPR and the BBC, as well in Huffington Post, the Washington Post, Oprah.com and The View.

One Day at the TRC
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One Day at the TRC

Thousands of people, indigenous and non-indigenous alike, thronged to the conference to tell and to hear tragic stories from victims of residential schools and the ensuing intergenerational trauma. Broken accounts of abuse, rape, addiction, suicide and violence punctuated the conference, striking to the core of many of the witnesses as evidenced by tears and wails of pain and sorrow. The resilience and courage of the Indigenous people, however, epitomized the TRC.

The #IF: Gathering and a Call to Arms for Christian Women
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The #IF: Gathering and a Call to Arms for Christian Women

Jennie Allen of Austin, Texas had a vision: to gather, equip and unleash this generation of Christian women.

Her friends had a question, not unrelated: If God is real, then what?

Allen put the two together and watched a small idea snowball, thanks to social media, into the largest interdenominational Christian women’s conference in years.

Putin’s World
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Putin’s World

Clearly, the West has underestimated Putin’s resolve not to let the Ukraine buffer be brought unchallenged into the western sphere of influence. An absolutely bottom-line, non-negotiable issue is Russia’s access to its Black Sea port, which also has access to the Mediterranean. And that access happens to be in none other than the Crimea, at the port of Sevastopol.

Social Media, Death and the Virtual Afterlife
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Social Media, Death and the Virtual Afterlife

The last time anyone did a count — back in 2012 — there were approximately 30 million Facebook accounts connected to people who have died. By now that number is surely much larger.

In many cases, where the person’s death is quick, accidental and unexpected, there is no time to prepare. Those accounts live on, like an insect frozen in amber, filled with pictures and messages and notes to and from the deceased.

Tim’s Tribute: Building a Legacy to Help Others
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Tim’s Tribute: Building a Legacy to Help Others

Nearly four years ago, we gathered on a snowy day at Ancaster Christian Reformed Church to witness and celebrate the wedding of Tim and Sharlene Bosma, two people wonderfully suited for each other. Tim’s name is now a familiar one to many as his disappearance and murder last May broke our hearts, shocking our church and country.

Permission to Talk
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Permission to Talk

There is no doubt some link between the implosion of the CRCNA and the increase in pastor/church separations. But as elaborated in a CC article last year, the leadership crisis entails a multi-faceted phenomenon, involving the failing character and competence of pastors, congregational dysfunction and bullies, denominational issues and broader cultural shifts affecting expectations about leadership.