Flight Patterns
Hope-filled, grace-driven, redemptive news refuses to stay ground bound
Not all words have wings. Some are just box printed, quick texted and rarely get lift off. So as we sit perched on Christian Courier’s 75th anniversary, we are left to wonder: what boundless grace has granted us the privilege to write, print, share, preach, laugh and walk together all of these years? May we pause a moment to honour and celebrate our long and faithful flight!
In our fledgling days, we were deeply migratory. Our print was in Dutch and each line served as a vital link of social and spiritual connection to the habitat we once knew. Our writers were interpreters of our shared new place, and like those of one feather, we flocked together. Yet, even in those earliest more insular days, you could find transcribed on our DNA a passion for justice and a hunger for all things to be renewed.
Of course, there were seasons and storms that left us worse for the weather. But ignited by vision, these pages persisted. We learned how to lean into the winds of change. Our flight patterns adapted. We crossed prairie and peak to gather more diverse voices. We took a look at our traditions, examining each before tossing, trading or transforming. In more ways than one, we added more colour.
These are no longer the jet stream days of print publishing. Declining subscriptions have left many papers with clipped wings or roosted readers. Yet by grace alone our mandate continues. Your eagerness to read, wonder, share and repeat gives each new issue its wings. Whether a writer ruffles your feathers or makes your heart soar, your persistent partnership is proof that the world isn’t as simple as a crow’s flight. We’re navigating together with the Creator for our compass.
From time to time, we recalibrate, reinvent, reimagine and retrain our wingspan. This is one of those seasons. So as we learn to land on new platforms, sing new songs with familiar tunes and keep our eagle eye on the author and perfector of us all, one thing is certain: hope-filled, grace-driven, redemptive news refuses to stay ground bound. Together we will continue to soar into our next 75 years.
