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‘Beautiful Gate’ helps polio survivors in NigeriaPAGE 20

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Are words and learning the way to madness, or to wisdom and justice? That’s the question Rev. James Dekker explored in his opening reflection at Christian Courier’s Storymakers’ Sympo-sium. “Of the making of many books [newspapers] there is no end, and much study wearies the body,” warns Ecclesiastes 12:12.

Yet in 2 Timothy 4 Paul asks, from prison, for his scrolls to be brought to him quickly. What scrolls? For learning, Dekker explained. “Learning to remind us of human mental, spiritual, intellectual lim-its, while also spurring us on to use the words, minds, hands, hearts and communities where God has placed us to promote mercy, grace,

justice, forgiveness, shalom, hope, trust, reconciliation, creation care, family well-being and on and on and on.”

As we gathered October 24 as a group of writers, editors, de-signers, staff, board members and supporters of Christian Courier, Dekker invited us to “encourage

Join us: CC’s Storymakers’ Symposium

YEARS

Pete Baklinski

The fight for justice for the pre-born targeted for abortion took an unexpected and dramatic turn this summer after shocking un-dercover videos exploded online that provided hard evidence of the abortion industry’s dirty secret of harvesting and selling for profit the body parts of aborted babies. While the average citizen holds the trafficking of livers, hearts

and brains from aborted babies to be a morally grotesque barbaric practice, it is a question whether or not the series of almost a dozen videos released by the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) exposing Planned Parenthood’s criminal secret have made an impact on winning human rights, including the right to life, for the pre-born.

The difference between the impact of the undercover videos on pro-life efforts in the U.S. and

Canada is as stark as day and night. While the videos have gal-vanized the U.S. pro-life move-ment, empowering it to go after the abortion industry’s biggest provider Planned Parenthood, the videos in Canada have been delib-erately buried by what Jonathan van Maren of the Canadian Centre for Bioethical Reform told Chris-tian Courier was a well-orches-trated “media blackout.”

How the undercover videos are affecting the fight for life in Canada and the U.S.

Continued on page 2

Continued on page 2

A Reformed Biweekly | 70th Year of Publication | November 23, 2015 | NO. 3021 | $2.50

News. Clues. Kingdom views.

“More Precious than Diamonds,” by Melani Pyke (melpyke.com).

These four editors have published a total of 1,188 CC issues since 1976.

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Harry Houtman serves up anniversary cake.

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in the United States the videos have pro-vided impetus to pro-life politicians spurred on by their grassroots supporters to defund Planned Parenthood. A bill was passed in the House of Representatives in late October to stop the flow of most Federal funds to the abortion giant. But pro-life pundits say the bill will likely be vetoed by pro-abortion President Obama. A few states have made their own legal moves – usually with strong opposition from lawyers and judges friendly to the pro-abortion lobby – to ban state-funding to the abortion organization.

The accusations leveled against Planned Parenthood spurred the formation of a Con-gressional hearing in September to inves-tigate how the organization spends an es-timated $450 million Federal dollars it is granted annually. Committee Chairman of the hearing Bob Goodlatte called the details revealed in the undercover videos “horrors.”

“The conduct exposed by the undercover videos may help inform Congress on how to enact better laws, or to see to it that cur-rent laws are better enforced, to help protect innocent life nationwide,” Goodlatte stated during a hearing at that time.

Despite Planned Parenthood vehemently denying the veracity of the undercover videos, telling anyone who will listen that they are “doctored,” the amount of evidence that has piled up against them has proven too much for it to outright deny. its claim of operating what it called a limited, legal “donation program” for scientific research no longer holds up under the torrential out-pouring of revelations released by the CMP.

in the middle of October, Planned Par-enthood announced that it would no longer accept payment for body parts of aborted babies delivered to medical researchers. David Daleiden, the man behind the un-dercover videos, dismissed the move as a “stunt” by the organization to avoid pros-ecution while retaining massive federal funding. He said the announcement indi-cated a total “admission of guilt.”

“This only raises more serious questions about what Planned Parenthood leadership has been allowing its clinics to do with money and baby parts, and intensifies the

need for Congress to pursue full auditing and oversight of Planned Parenthood’s unaccountable criminal enterprise of baby parts trafficking,” he said at that time.

The content of the videos have proven so damning that the national Abortion Federation fought successfully to obtain a court order to temporarily block CMP from releasing further videos. But this move backfired when on October 22, the uned-ited raw footage of the blocked videos was leaked allegedly by a high-ranking congres-sional staffer to the conservative website where it was posted for the world to see. it remains unclear at this point if any further undercover videos remain yet unreleased.

‘Canadian clinics do this too’it was near the end of July, as Planned Parent-hood USA was reeling from the first blows of the undercover videos, that Canada’s own Planned Parenthood organization decided to try and turn the scandal to its own advantage to raise cash for its operations.

“Planned Parenthood Ottawa is suffer-ing,” the organization’s president Lauren Dobson-Hughes posted on its Facebook page at the end of August. “You’ve heard of the recent attacks on women’s healthcare in the States, but we’re feeling the impact too.”

Pro-life Ottawa lobbyist Johanne Brown-rigg criticized the organization for running what she called a “brazen fundraising cam-paign targeting the low information citizen” in the face of mounting evidence showing

Planned Parenthood USA’s criminal activity. A Postmedia news article on August

25 written by Elizabeth Payne – which ap-peared in various mainstream news outlets across the country – portrayed Planned Parenthood Ottawa in a sympathetic light while failing to mention anything about the illegal harvesting and selling of human body parts that caused the backlash against Planned Parenthood in the first place.

On a different front, Canada’s largest abortion think-tank responded to the scan-dal by encouraging women to donate their own aborted children for research.

“if you ever need an abortion and would like to donate your fetal tissue towards research, here’s how,” the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada posted on its Facebook page July 23 with a hyperlink to an exter-nal source. it added: “Canadian clinics do this too. Everything is handled under strict regulations and ethical guidelines.”

Pro-life groups such as Campaign Life Coalition, the political arm of the coun-try’s pro-life movement, suggested that the pro-abortion group may have been simply “blowing smoke” in an attempt to support its south-of-the-border counterpart. Cana-dian law is clear on the matter, stating: “no person shall buy, sell or otherwise deal in, directly or indirectly, any tissue, body or body part for the purpose of a transplant or for a therapeutic purpose, medical educa-tion or scientific research.”

An investigation led by LifeCanada in August found that Planned Parenthood Canada does not perform abortions, but focuses on delivering what it calls “sexual and reproductive health information and services.” The organization does however, refer for abortion.

Media blackout instead of responding to the massive human rights violations and gruesome horrors de-picted in the videos – what amounts to front page news material – Canadian mainstream media quietly pretended like nothing had

happened. Van Maren told Christian Cou-rier that, consequently, the videos have had little or no impact in Canada.

“Unless you’re reading news from sites like LifeSitenews, Live Action or other conservative sites like Breibart or Fox, you wouldn’t have heard about the Planned Parenthood videos at all. People who aren’t conservative or aren’t pro-life generally don’t read these news sites and are unaware of what is happening,” he said.

Van Maren said that to his knowledge only two reports mentioning the Planned Parent-hood scandal appeared in mainstream media, one in National Post and another in Ottawa Citizen, both lacking detail and context.

“i know the Canadian media has in-tentionally spiked this story. For the most part, the Planned Parenthood scandal never really escaped this Social Conservative bubble in Canada,” he said.

Pro-life activists are left wondering that if this scandal of butchering babies and pillaging their body parts doesn’t make mainstream news and fatally wound the abortion juggernaut, can anything?

For activists like van Maren, the answer is simply that anyone who wants abortion ended and who owns a computer needs to start sharing the undercover videos with their friends on social media sites like Facebook.

if we want these videos (available at centerformedicalprogress.org/blog) to go mainstream and turn the tide, the number one thing is to share them on social media, he said, adding that it’s something that takes courage.

“For a lot of people, just posting a Planned Parenthood video takes a lot of guts, a lot of courage. They’re really putting themselves out there. But that’s the number one thing someone can do to make a difference. Post the videos so all your pro-choice friends can see what is really going on. That’s what these videos are there for. So, if that’s what we can do, let’s get to it,” he said.

Pete Baklinski has a masters in theology (STM). He works full-time as a pro-life reporter. He, along with his wife Erin and six children, lives in Combermere, Ont. He can be contacted at peterbaklinski@gmail.com.

each other today and all days, in agreement or dispute, but never with mean quarrels or shrunken spirits; nourish others and ourselves with words founded in the scrolls that nourished Paul’s life; and feast on our personal relationships as gifts from God, thanking God for the physical lives we receive from him – food, shelter, clothing, work, for the spiritual yearnings and fulfil-ments that propel us to work together on what i once called in a note to Angela ‘that dear little rag,’ Christian Courier.”

Grab a coffee and join us for the keynote addresses (below), our Knowledge Café and our mealtime conversations (page 3). Join us in imagining the future of Christian news from a full-orbed kingdom perspec-tive (page 4), which you will be invited to

envision in our Reader Survey, January 2016. And consider, at this juncture, sup-porting CC’s fall donation drive (page 5). By God’s grace, these connections continue to uphold CC.

– Angela Reitsma Bick

The joy of journalismVeteran journalist Thomas Froese gave the first keynote address on the joy he’s found in leaving, letting go and listening. Froese writes for the Hamilton Spectator and Chris-tian Week, and lives in Uganda eight months of every year where he teaches at Uganda Christian University. Froese began in a small newsroom in St. Thomas, Ont., where he prayed “to get out of St. Thomas, move up

in my career and to be married.” Years later, when he met his future wife, she was em-

barking on a medical mission trip to Yemen

CC’s Storymakers’ Symposium continued

Continued on page 3

Daleiden spent two years undercover to make these videos.

CC has won more than 10 awards in the past three years.

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and asked him to come. “i had prayed myself right out of Canada,” Froese said. He left, and in that leaving learned to let go of an “us vs. them” mentality Christians are suscep-tible to. Meeting people from other cultures reminded him that “we’re all starving beggars in need of the same bread.”

Writers have a job to do, a “great and holy job: Look at the world in all its horror, and in all its beauty too, with a clear mind. And then show it all to those who cannot see very much at all. And words are all you have to get the job done – to help carry readers from one side to the other side, to a better understanding of life itself.”

“Blessed are the muckrakers,” Froese said later, “who muckrake not because they love the world but because they love the world, even as God so loved the world that he came and walked and muckraked among us.”

– Angela Reitsma Bick

Hope-, faith- and love-mongersAt the Storytellers’ Symposium, York University Chaplain Shiao Chong reminded us that there’s something power-ful about putting pen to paper: “Stories are how we make sense of our lives; they’re how we organize and express our meaning-making, our attempts at finding purpose, values, identity.” Like most human projects, the process of story making is open to being corrupted and warped. in our story-making, we need to be on the lookout for the temptation of “Babel-making,” that vain desire for highlighting our own achievements, especially those rooted in distrust, fear and control. That’s a subtle and seductive temptation for all writers, for all meaning-makers, but God doesn’t leave us adrift, left to fight that temptation ourselves. In the midst of our Babel-making, God comes to us as the Shalom-maker, the author of a story composed of faith, hope and love.

Those of us who regularly put pen to paper (or clatter our fingers over a keyboard) ought to write with the joyful expectation that God is making all things, all stories, new. We’re called to be co-Shalom-makers, and through God’s mercy and grace, we can be “hope-mongers instead of fear-mongers, faith-mongers instead of distrust-mongers, and love-mongers instead of control-mongers.” God is at work! Let’s be encouraged in our story-making.

– Brian Bork

Knowledge Café: Interviewing ourselvesA highlight of our day was our “Knowledge Café” – a group conversation focused around questions intended to push the paper forward in its mission and vision. Facilitators first asked attendees to submit questions on sticky notes that they felt the paper ought to ask itself. During a break, the facilitator grouped all the questions under five broad topics: digital presence, journalistic content, Christian perspective, sustainability and expansion of the paper’s reach.

Later in the day, one table was set aside for each of these five topics with its sticky-note questions attached. Attend-ees were asked to visit their two favourite topics, respond to as many questions as they could in the time allotted and to record their conversation for CC leaders to assess after the conference.

Some of the questions were broad and provocative: “What sort of risks is CC willing to take going forward?” Others were more practical: “How can we recruit more writers and readers in Western Canada?” Still other ques-tions prompted a fresh perspective: “How can CC draw attention from secular audiences?”

i was part of a conversation around the intriguing ques-tion, “What fascinates you about the Lord, and how can that fascination fill the pages of CC?” One person remarked, “‘Fascination for God’ is a fresh way to think of writing articles.” Another said that the paper could continue to reflect the justice, holiness and beauty of God and his cre-ation. Finally, someone added: “God is often surprising. CC needs to continually be open to surprise. His surprises happen all over the world, every day.” And we might add, they happen for CC and its writers, too.

– Peter Schuurman

Table topicsEnjoying great conversation over a meal is what makes any conference congenial. Christian Courier’s Storymakers’ Symposium was exceptional in that regard.

Over lunch i chatted with Rudy Eikelboom about his sabbatical. He calls it “giving the taxpayers their money’s worth.” not only do scientists need to be held accountable, they usually want to share the results of their research. i asked Keith Knight if there was anything missing from the pages of CC, any topic he’d like covered more thoroughly. it was gratifying to hear his emphatic “no.” The content is excellent, but we need to work on the marketing end. Harry Houtman noted that the upcoming wave of boomer retirees might be an emerging market to tap.

Katie Hoogendam and i commiserated for a few mo-ments over that age-old dilemma of work/life balance and

how to find time to write with the challenges of family responsibilities. Sonya VanderVeen Feddema joined us. The topic switched to the quandary of an editor having to disappoint writers. Sonya noted that successful writers must have a teachable spirit. Sonya and i shared a moment of mutual joy, by the way, finally having an opportunity to meet in person after an email relationship that lasted several years and included many prayers for one another. As lunch drew to a close, i had a brief opportunity to meet one of my world-and-life-view heroes, Cal Seerveld. it was a delight to clasp his hand and convey to him how much his work has influenced me!

it was also wonderful to meet with a company of CC folk at a lovely italian restaurant for dinner. Over chicken marsala, i delighted in free-wheeling conversations with these familiar contributors: Brian Bork, Mike Buma, Monica de Regt and son Tom Smith. The Canadian election had to be dissected, of course, with Monica noting that she had never been more engaged by a national election. i, on the other hand, so disliked the tenor of the debates and campaigns that i felt demoralized by the whole thing. That led to further comment about the American election. Other topics were the differences between Christian education in Ontario and B.C., author Thomas King, university education and the influence of profs, the transitory nature of campus relationships and lastly, design theory. Oh, and i got to see some video clips of my grandchildren on Tom’s phone. . . .

Which leads to the most talked about subject of the day: how phones and digital connectivity are impacting our culture and what that means for CC going forward!

– Cathy Smith

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Writers are called to be co-Shalom-makers with God, Chong said.

Cathy Smith and son Tom.

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“Three ages of the beard: youth, wisdom and old age,” Rudy Eikelboom quipped.

CC’s Storymakers’ Symposium continued

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Editorials

Bert Witvoet

On March 31 this year i suffered a stroke. i was in the hospital for three days and then sent home. There were no visible signs that i had changed. i could eat, i could walk, I could talk without difficulty. The only thing that was different was my brain. Part of it had been struck, and it showed up in my recollections, or rather in my inability to recollect all things. My memory was affected. i could not always remember people’s names and circumstances. i recognized them, i knew them, but i did not always know specifics about them.

Today it’s the fifth of November, more than seven months after my right arm told me that my left brain was on strike. it’s a beautiful day. The sun shines, the temperature hovers around 15 degrees above zero, i went for a 50-minute walk this morning, as I always do first thing after I get dressed and drink a glass of water spiced with apple-cider vinegar. My glass of life seems full too. But i do not notice much improvement in my memory. And writing an editorial takes a lot longer than it used to. i never know ahead of time whether i can successfully follow a certain thought along the path of conclusion.

Am i unhappy? no, i have a lot of good feelings about the sense of walking around on God’s earth and recognizing neighbours who greet me. But don’t ask me their name. i may think i know their name, but it could be that they have changed their name since March 31. Funny, how people don’t always appreciate the name their parents bestowed on them.

These days i am taking part in a three-hour, twice a week set of therapy workshops at the Hotel Dieu Shaver Hospital in St. Cath-arines. The program

lasts seven weeks and consists of a mix of group exercises and education sessions as well as one-on-one meetings with a therapist who could be a physiotherapist, occupa-tional therapist, social worker or speech therapist. Every day includes an educational talk on a topic like “Sugar, Salt and Diabetes,” “Cholesterol and Fat,” “Stress and Coping Strategies,” or “Balance, Falls and Home Safety.” Depending on your disability as well as ability, you can exercise on a stationary bike for 20 minutes, test your balance or exercise certain muscles, or learn a handicraft skill. Oh, by the way, i am building a thingamajigger for Alice, but don’t tell her.

Healthy rhythms At this point i am more than half-way through the course. By the time you read this editorial I should be finished. The hope is that after the course, i will have learned new skills and practices. One of the instructors will set me up with a

home program that will stimulate improvement or main-tenance over a longer term beyond the program. The

idea is that i will be able to create a healthy lifestyle and manage my challenges better. The purpose is

to increase my independence and to help me achieve my best level of function (Can you

tell that i am quoting a few lofty sentences from the course material?).

As i am following this course, i realize that even if i had not had a

stroke, i would have benefitted from this program. Most of us

realize that our ability to re-member does not always

improve with age. Most of us talk about “having a senior moment” from time to time, and after 75, we do not generally

train our minds (or our bodies!) to stay alert. Even our “junior mo-

ments” are not always as productive as they could be. There are apparently ways to keep our minds sharp, but retirement has a way of minimizing the need to keep that grey stuff in our brain from being over-active. “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest. . . . ”

As we age, it is important to keep a healthy balance between staying active and slowing down to allow our minds and bodies time to recover. But above all, it is important to find a rhythm that allows us to make the most of every moment the Lord parcels out to us. While we live, God wants us to fulfill our days as a time to be happy and do good.

Bert Witvoet (bert.witvoet@sympatico.ca) lives in St. Catharines, Ontario, with his wife, Alice, and a slightly orange canary named Ranja. Bert and Alice were at the Symposium with their son Ed and his wife Denise.

Make the most of every moment

Peter Schuurman

The Symposium fueled some creative discus-sions around the future of this small, award-winning paper. Attendees batted around the implications of a new digital landscape: how might CC use the internet to expand its reach?

Many were ambivalent about going completely online but saw the creative potential. Some people turned towards their own electronic power, committing to posting more CC columns on their Facebook and Twitter accounts.

This promotional creativity points to the question of audience. Who should CC aspire to have as future readers? Some attendees see the readership needing to expand beyond Christian Reformed, and even Reformed circles. Most, how-ever, simultaneously championed the particularly Reformed character of the newspaper. We need to creatively reflect on how to keep the heart of the paper alive while seeking to attract a wider readership. Are there strategic partnerships we can form with other papers or organizations that will benefit both institutions?

CC has a loyal older readership that has carried it through the decades, and this reflects the demographics of many Reformed churches and other “kingdom institutions.” How can we em-power a younger crowd of emerging Reformed leaders who will own and re-shape this paper for a new generation? One thing all agreed: the future must include people from outside Ontario – reflective Christians from coast to coast who value Christian news and stories from a full-orbed kingdom perspective.

CC needs to raise subscriptions but also funds. As a registered charity, donations give us a big boost: can we find support for a marketing/fundraising manager to take us forward? Additionally, we need to challenge our “second-hand” readers, who enjoy the paper by “recycling” someone else’s bi-weekly CC issues: you’re saving paper, but you’re not saving the paper! Help our dedicated, inventive staff carry on a legacy of passionate Christian culture-making!

Former CC writers championed the vision of transforming dominant Canadian culture. in these more post-Christian times, however, CC writers may call for a slight shift of focus: nurturing a faithful, creative subculture. not as a ghetto, but as a band of culture-makers seeking to sustain life-giving Christian institutions in a decidedly pluralistic culture for the sake of the common good.

Founded in 1945An independent biweekly that seeks to engage creatively

in critical Christian journalism, connecting Christians with a network of culturally savvy partners in faith

for the purpose of inspiring all to participate in God’s renewing work within his fallen creation.

EDITORIAL TEAM & PRODUCTION STAFF Editor: Angela Reitsma Bick editor@christiancourier.caFeatures Editor: Monica deRegt monica@christiancourier.caChurch News Editor: Marian Van Til marianvantil@roadrunner.comReviews Editor: Brian Bork reviews@christiancourier.caContributing Editor: Bert Witvoet bert.witvoet@sympatico.caContributing Editor: Cathy Smith cathy@christiancourier.caContributing Editor: Michael Buma mike@christiancourier.caAdmin/ads/web: Ineke Medcalf-Strayer admin@christiancourier.caCirculation: Rose der Nederlanden rose@christiancourier.ca Social Media Editor: Rachel Baarda rachel@christiancourier.caChristian Courier is published by the Board of Reformed Faith Witness: Gary Van Eyk, Sylvan Gerritsma, Nelly Westerhoff and Emma Winter.

The publication of comments, opinions or advertising does not imply agreement or endorsement by Christian Courier or the publisher.

Please contact circulation if you cannot afford the subscription price of $65.00 but want to receive Christian Courier.

The paper is published the second and fourth Mondays of the month.

Christian Courier

Christian Courier5 Joanna Dr St Catharines ON L2N 1V1

Tel: 905-682-8311 1-800-969-4838 Web site: christiancourier.ca

Chong and Cal Seerveld (centre) discuss the Christian message of CC.

The “brainfood pyramid” shows activities that support good mental health.

Where does CC go from here?

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Letters

Christian CourierCanada Mail: Publications Mail agreeMent no. 40009999 return undeliverable canadian addresses to christian courier 5 joanna dr st. catharines on l2n 1v1email: subscriptions@christiancourier.ca

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Advertising deadlines: display and classified advertising: Tuesday, 9 a.m. (13 days before publication date) See classified pages or web site christiancourier.ca for more details.(iSSn 1192-3415) Published second and fourth Mondays of the month.Address all correspondence to: 5 Joanna Dr, St. Catharines On L2n 1V1Tel: 905-682-8311 or 1-800-969-4838e-mail: Advertising: ads@christiancourier.ca Subscriptions: subscriptions@christiancourier.ca PRINTED IN CANADA

What did you think of the Symposium?Rachel Baarda (Social Media Editor)“The Christian Courier conference was a great opportunity to meet the faces behind Christian Courier – the columnists, writers, board members and past editors. i really appreciated Peter Schuurman’s presentation on the history of Christian Courier. it showed that God has sustained the paper even through difficult times. The time of sharing ideas and brainstorming also generated a lot of creative ideas for the newspaper’s future!”

John Tamming (Writer)“‘Do not worry,’ Hemingway counseled a struggling writer. ‘All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest that you know.’ We came together to be better writers and to keep the Reformed conversation going. We were not disappointed.

James Dekker opened up the sessions with a poignant rendering of Paul’s second letter to Timothy, whose expressed needs included a Christian friendship and the delivery of his scrolls and books. now there is a verse or two to warm any col-umnist’s heart. Journalist Thomas Froese, fresh from Uganda and Yemen, encouraged us to write not only with eloquence and wit, but also with passion, leaving readers a little more alive, a little wiser, a little more beautiful. in the roundtables, Sonya VanderVeen Feddema encouraged the group to remem-ber that good, non-moralistic writing deals with how things are, not with how they should be. But for me, the personal highlight was a lively discussion or two with one particular woman, May Drost (now a Christian Courier contributor, 38 years ago my London High School English teacher), whose red markings and low marks i still recalled.

Dinner and Chianti concluded the day, with a buzz of voices. Many were young. All were vibrant and opinionated. Christian Courier remains a fragile craft, but this vessel appears to still have some nautical miles left in it. Spread the news.”

Syl Gerritsma (Board Member)“This was an inspiring symposium for people passionate about influencing culture for Christ.

Peter Schuurman’s review of God’s faithfulness through 70 years of CC’s often rocky history helps to motivate us as we are blessed by the tradition and motivated to continue.

The enthusiasm and ideas drawn out by Michael Buma bolster our excitement about the future. Our insightful, dedicated and enthusiastic staff naturally invites our sup-port. A visionary donor makes this financially possible. The presence of so many others reminds us that we are a community of God’s people.

LET’S GO, CC!”

Rose der Nederlanden (Circulation)“Reading Christian Courier is like having a coffee with a friend and hearing what they are thinking. The symposium was great because we could actually meet face to face with some people we had never met before.”

Tom Smith (Writer)“What a wonderfully engaging and uplifting day i was able to enjoy at the Symposium! it was quite energizing to be in a room with so many incredibly smart and gifted servants of our Lord, all of whom work diligently to tell their stories with faithfulness. i was especially struck by the presentation on Christian Courier’s 70-year-long history. imagining myself and my tiny input here gathered along with truly faith-shaping writing from other contributors was humbling and affirming. It was a blessing to be able to put faces to names and experience some fellowship with all the various folks who put together CC. The evocative bird adorning the paper’s masthead appears mid-flight. And I’m looking forward to seeing the heights to which Christian Courier can soar!”

– Compiled by Sonya VanderVeen Feddema

Nandy Heule

The Little Engine That Could was one of my daughters’ fa-vourite books when they were small, and continues to be an in-spiring classic.

The story also tells a tale that readers who value a Christian perspective on daily news may wish to take to heart this fall.

First published in America in 1930, the story pictures how a little switch engine manages to pull a heavy freight train up a steep hill even when large train engines said it couldn’t be done. Many different versions of the tale have been published. They all inspire readers to overcome obstacles, climb seemingly insurmountable mountains and believe the impossible can be done.

Christian Courier is the Little Engine of Christian journalism in Canada that continues to defy the odds to publish a bi-weekly newspaper. Staff make heroic ef-forts, and often personal sacrifices, to bring Reformed Christians an independent Christian perspective in a secular world.

Unfortunately, notwithstanding the loyal support of many readers, we can no longer take it for granted that a 70-year-old publication can survive the current head-winds faced by all newspapers in Canada.

This fall, the only other Christian, non-denominational newspaper in Canada decided it could no longer go to print due to issues such as declining advertisement in-come and the rising cost of newsprint paper. Christian

Week is trying to re-launch online. We wish them God’s blessings in this effort.

Christian Courier plans to update the look of its print edition and build its website and online platforms such as Facebook. it needs to do so to attract and retain advertisers who are critical to balancing the budget. As Christian businesses and non-profits such as Christian schools search for ways to reach customers, students, employees and donors, they depend on Christian Cou-rier to be there for them in print and online.

Your donation will help our very own Little Engine of Christian journalism in Canada climb a steep economic hill ahead of it. Your gift of any amount will strengthen a Christian voice in journalism and help reach younger audiences in the years to come. All gifts are tax de-ductible. Christian Courier is owned by a non-profit organization and is also a registered charity.

Help us reach our $15,000 goal by donating securely online or mailing a cheque.

Just to quote the Little Engine puffing uphill, with your support “I think we can, I think we can, I think we can” . . . secure a solid future for Chris-tian journalism in Canada.Nandy Heule owns heulecommunications.

com and has been writing off and on for Christian Courier since her globetrotting

kids were toddlers 20 years ago. Donations: online at christiancourier.ca ineke: 905.937.3314 CC mail: 2 Aiken St, St Catharines On L2n 1V8 Rose: 905.682.8311 (1.800.969.4838) CC mail: 5 Joanna Dr, St Catharines On L2n 1V1

Photo creditThe front page of our Oct.

26 issue featured a photograph without identifying the art-ist, and we apologize for the inadvertent omission. “Stained glass flower” is a photograph by Adam Orzechowski of Toronto, Ontario. Orzechowski studied drawing, painting and graphics in Krakow, Poland. “Ever since modern technology has come to [my] aid,” he says, he’s “eagerly used computer graphics in [pho-tography] composition.” You can view more of Orzechowski’s work at fineartamerica.com/profiles/adam-orzechowski

Help CC defy the odds

Christian Courier is looking for two new columnists to contribute one 700-word article each per month. We would like an emphasis on economics, medicine or health, internet culture or fatherhood but all pro-posals will be considered. interested and experienced writers should send a description of your proposed topic and two sample columns to Angela Reitsma Bick (editor@christiancourier.ca) by December 15, 2015. Content should reflect the principles of God’s sovereignty and our mandate to interact with and re-form culture. View a sample of our current columns

at christiancourier.ca/columns-op-ed. Applicants must be currently living in Canada.

We are also looking for a short-term Review Edi-tor, to cover Brian Bork’s upcoming parental leave from April to July 2016. The role includes assigning, evaluating and editing three reviews per month and writing one per month yourself. CC reviews contem-porary media (movies, music, plays) and recent books (fiction, non-fiction and theological). Tell us why this job interests you and send one sample review to reviews@christiancourier.ca by January 31, 2016.

New writers needed for 2016

PAGE 6 CHRiSTiAn COURiER

News

OTTAWA (Canadian Christian news Service) – The Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada and the international Justice Mission Canada (iJM) have announced a “partnership to educate and inform Fellowship churches about God’s heart for justice, and what life is like for the poor, in Canada and around the world, when justice is denied.”

The partnership was created “specifically for use by Fellowship Baptist church congregations throughout Canada,” said those involved. But the resources being developed will be usable by other Christians as well.

Fellowship Aid and international Relief (FAiR) and international Justice Mission Canada (iJM) will develop “biblically based training and resources about justice, injustice and how Chris-tians, corporately and individually, can respond.”

FAiR, a department within the Evangelical Baptist Churches, works “to alleviate human suffering and facilitate development through [its] mission personnel and partner organiza-tions.” iJM Canada describes itself as “a global organization protecting the poor from violence throughout the developing world.” it “partners with local authorities to rescue victims of vio-lence, bring criminals to justice, restore survivors, and strengthen justice systems.”

“iJM Canada is excited by this partnership opportunity and looks forward to working with the [Baptist] Fellowship across Canada to engage their membership in the issues and the work of justice,” said Glenn Waterman, vice-president of development and marketing for iJM.

FAiR is also “very excited about the potential this partnership brings to our churches,” said Dan Shurr, FAiR director. Shurr “looks forward to offering the resources” to fellow evangelical Bap-tists and their congregations across the country “to raise the biblical awareness of justice issues.”

BURLinGTOn, Ont. (CRCnA) – Each year at this time Christian Reformed Church councils and pastors across Can-

ada and the U.S. are informed about syn-odical study committee reports available for study – reports on important issues that will be considered by the denomination’s general synod next June.

Making significant reports available by the beginning of november provides time for churches to study the reports and, if desired, to formally respond prior to the next synod.

Three such reports are now ready for consideration: from the Committee to Pro-vide Pastoral Guidance re: Same-sex Mar-riage – a majority and a minority report; from the Committee to Study Religious Persecution and Liberty; and from the Doctrine of Discovery Task Force. Coun-cils are invited and strongly encouraged to read and carefully study these reports.

Links to these reports are available on the Christian Reformed Church in north America website (crcna.org) and can be downloaded from the Synod Resources web page. Printed reports may also be requested from Faith Alive Christian Resources, by phone (1-800-333-8300) or the web (faithaliveresources.org). As is the case every year, the reports will be included in the printed Agenda for Synod.

if a local church council wishes to respond to one or more of the reports and have their response considered by Synod 2016, they may do so by way of an overture or communication to synod. To be included in the Agenda for Synod, an overture or communication must first be processed through a local congregation’s council, then through that church’s clas-sis. After that it should be submitted to the Synodical Services Office – no later than March 15, 2016.

Late overtures dealing with other mat-ters found in the printed synodical agenda may be considered by synod; however, late overtures will only be printed in the supple-mentary agenda and distributed at synod.

Dr. Steven Timmermans, executive director of the CRC, said in announcing the availability of the study committee re-ports, noted that the three reports “address significant matters for the church as a whole, providing the opportunity to reflect on the times in which we now live and worship together.” He concluded, “We ask the Lord’s blessing on our deliberations as we consider these matters together.”

LOnDOn (TCi) – islamic Sharia coun-cils in Britain are discouraging women from going to the police in cases of domestic violence, barrister Charlotte Proudman has told the BBC. Proudman says that women are being left in “very vulnerable situations where they’re open to further abuse and domestic violence.” Baroness Caroline Cox, a member of the House of Lords, agrees.

Last month the House of Lords debated a bill which seeks to restrain the opera-tion of sharia (islamic law) councils in England and Wales. Tabled by Baroness Cox, the bill seeks to challenge the suf-fering caused by “religiously-sanctioned gender discrimination” and the develop-ment of a quasi-legal system separate from Britain’s regular justice system.

Charloette Proudman’s comments came in the BBC “inside Out East Mid-lands” program, which also heard from a Muslim woman who said a sharia council took the side of her violent husband. The woman, whose identity was kept secret for her protection, said she had been in a vio-lent relationship for over a decade, since she was married at 16. She approached a sharia council but they said she and her abusive husband should meet face-to-face

to discuss reconciliation. “i felt they were taking his side,” the woman said.

Charlotte Proudman noted that sharia councils are “operating a parallel legal system,” explaining that they are ruling on family law issues which are reserved for UK courts.

The program also heard from Amra Bone, the first woman in Britain to sit on a sharia council. She insisted the councils were set up to help resolve problems in the Muslim community. However, in a separate article for the Sunday Express, Baroness Cox wrote of the distressing situations many Muslim women in Britain are experiencing, which the sharia coun-cils will not address.

One such woman told the Baroness, “My husband beat me so badly i had to go to hospital. But my family would not allow me to seek help from the police because this would bring ‘shame’ on the family. The imam sent me back to my abusive husband.”

Baroness Cox rejects claims from some who have labeled her “islamophobic.” She said, “Since proposing the Bill i have received many phone calls from Muslim women who have told me it has given them encouragement and hope. My con-cern is to ensure protection under the law for all citizens.”

Baroness Cox is the founder and CEO of the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART). She regularly campaigns for humanitarian causes, particularly those relating to disability.

UK: Barrister, baroness say sharia councils leave women open to abuse

CRC synod study reports on three major issues now available Canadian Baptists and Justice Mission group launch project to engage Christians in biblical justice

The IJM, in the process of co-developing its own resources, currently recommends this book.

Proudman calls the councils a “parallel legal system.”

Cox wants to ensure protection under the law for all citizens.

The first report from the Committee to Provide Pastoral Guidance re: Same-sex Marriage is now available online.

Iraqi Christian volunteers, allied with Iraqi forces against Islamic State, rest during training.

CSM

PAGE 7nOVEMBER 23, 2015

News

CC Staff, with files from EFC

TOROnTO – The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada says it has long been “uniting evangelicals to bless Canada in the name of Jesus.” But now, that goal is straightforwardly embodied in its new mission statement.

That “direction-setting phrase” tries to capture “the heart of what the EFC does,” says the group. EFC President Bruce J. Clemenger explained in an interview published on the fellowship’s website how it does that, and why the group believed it needed a new mis-sion statement at all.

Clemenger stressed what EFC does collectively. He wants EFC supporters and partners to know that evangel-ical Canadians not only “bless others individually, but we can also do it collectively, both in word and deed: as small groups; as congregations; as groups of churches and as ministries.” The EFC wants “to explore ways in which together we can make a difference in the lives

of our neighbours and in Canada,” he said. Clemenger described his vision of what that means for

Canadian evangelicals in their communities and in the country as a whole. “We want to foster a culture among evangelicals that actively looks to see what the needs are in our communities, in our provinces and in our country and explore what we might do to respond with compassion and love as we bring the truths of Scripture and live out God’s call to love and justice in our service to all – this is our witness.”

Strategic involvementAs for the final weeks of 2015, the EFC is working on “col-laborative initiatives to mobilize evangelicals to get involved strategically to address some critical issues facing our country: issues like palliative care, refugee settlement and caring for children and youth.” Clemenger believes there are issues “that require engagement in law and public policy and also the par-ticipation of local congregations in caring for our neighbours in the name of Jesus.” He added, “We will continue to be strong advocates for religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and justice and compassion in the courts as on Parliament Hill.”

As for the new mission statement embodying that ap-proach, Clemenger explained, “We wanted a compelling and focused statement that communicates the mission of the EFC. We wanted to bring more precision to our old

statement of ‘Together for influence, impact and identity.’ Having influence and impact are still priorities for the EFC. Fostering an engaging and compelling evangelical identity is what we are about.”

He went on, “The new statement sharpens our purpose and focuses our energy on bringing evangelicals together to positively impact Canada as disciples of Jesus, whether in mobilizing for service to others or in bringing the wisdom of Scripture to debates on law and public policy.”

At the heart of bringing evangelicals together to “bless Canada in the name of Jesus” is loving God and our neighbour as ourselves, and making disciples of all nations – the Great Commandment and the Great Commission, said Clemenger.

Saying that what they do is being done “in the name of Jesus” is crucial because “as followers of Jesus we are under his Lordship. All that we do, we do in service to him, empowered by the Holy Spirit and as an expression of our love for God,” Clemenger asserted. He concluded, “You could make the comparison in politics to ambassadors. They act and speak in the name of their government, just as we speak and act in the name of our Lord. We bless others. We speak the truth in love. When we bless others, it is not when we feel like being nice, but is for us a life of service to others. ‘in the name of Jesus’ reminds us of that, and is a testimony to others.”

Evangelical Fellowship stresses ‘blessing Canada in Jesus’ name’ in new mission statement

Noelle Swan (CSM)

While many families find the inspiration to volunteer in the community during December, it can be even more meaningful to find a way to give back throughout the year. Volunteering on a regular basis can help your family to feel connected to the community, instill a sense of social responsibility in children and ensure that those in need have ready access to help, no matter the season.

Many church groups organize charity events and vol-unteer opportunities throughout the year, but individual families can also develop their own volunteer plan tailored to fit their members and the causes they care about most.

Selecting the right volunteer project for your family can go a long way in making sure that what’s meant to be a rewarding tradition doesn’t become a begrudging chore. Parents should consider the ages and attention spans of all participating children when selecting a location, activity and duration. Little kids may not be welcome at the local soup kitchen, but their sorting skills can come in handy at the food pantry. (Parents should check with program staff about age requirements.)

However your family contributes to the community, the experience is bound to bring you, your children and your neighbours closer together. Here are a few family-friendly volunteer opportunities.

Glean food from the fieldsFamilies looking to spend some time together outdoors, to connect with food and the land and to help to feed the hungry may enjoy gleaning, or collecting leftover harvest to distribute to food pantries and shelters.

Gleaning organizations around the country establish relationships with local farms that have excess produce that they are unable to bring to market. Farmers often leave slightly blemished or overripe produce behind during har-vest. Sometimes weather events can cause crops to ripen

all at once when farmers had expected a continuous yield throughout the season. Volunteer gleaners head directly out into the fields to collect the leftover bounty.

Help serve at meal programsSoup kitchens and meal programs through homeless shelters are often flooded with volunteers during the Christmas sea-son, but struggle to staff their kitchens throughout the rest of the year. Families willing to commit to a weekly shift can help these organizations spend fewer resources on staffing their facilities and create a routine for regular residents.

While young children are not typically suited for food service, this can be an ideal volunteer activity for families with teenagers.

Parents may want to scout out several meal programs before signing up their families. Some programs serve specific populations only, such as women, veterans or seniors, while others are open to all populations combined.

Volunteer at a food pantryAs the need for food pantries has increased in recent years, so has the demand for volunteer staff. There are many ways to contribute to a food pantry. Families can either donate food or volunteer to work behind the scenes. Food pantries frequently enlist volunteers to pick up food from regional food banks, sort through donations, stock shelves and put together sacks of food for families. The variety of chores for volunteers can make food pantries an ideal place for

each member of the family – including small children – to find a way that they can contribute.

Clean up the neighbourhoodThe condition of local parks and playgrounds often sets the tone for an entire neighbourhood. However, the fund-ing for maintaining these areas is frequently the first to be squeezed out of struggling municipalities’ budgets. Many cities and towns enlist volunteers to maintain green spaces. Families can inquire about volunteer opportunities with the local parks and recreation department. Even small gestures, such as picking up a piece of trash from the playground or moving a fallen branch off of the sidewalk, can not only contribute to maintaining green spaces but also help chil-dren see their own roles in caring for their communities.

Visit at a nursing homeThere was a time when multiple generations routinely mingled in large families and small communities. Today, the oldest and youngest generations often spend most of their time apart. Ar-ranging for children to spend time with elderly members of the community can be rewarding for all parties involved. Many senior centers and nursing homes welcome visits from families even if they are not related to the program clients. Families can join in during a structured art or music activity or can spend time talking with, reading to or just being with the residents.

Websites such as volunteermatch.org can provide local-ized listings for volunteer opportunities with seniors.

Year-round giving: 5 family volunteering opportunities

Arcelia, Rubilia and Melchor Garcia eat dinner at the Loaves and Fishes Family Kitchen.

Sisters Ani (right) and Talene Bilazarian read a book of poems to Carroll Whitaker.

Clemenger wants evangel-ical Canadians to collec-tively bless others.

CSM

CSM

PAGE 8 CHRiSTiAn COURiER

Columns

Ambassador: Bridging the divide

Dr. Wolthuis, a Christian Reformed pastor, is the Directorof Geneva Campus Ministry at the University of Iowa.

The October 19 federal election was a moment of catharsis in Canadian poli-tics. A majority of Canadi-ans rejected the divisive, excessively partisan, mean-spirited approach to politics

that had come to dominate our national stage. A change in government is an opportunity for a fresh start, with high hopes for a different way of shaping our life together in Canada. That’s what politics should be.

We’ve already heard lots of advice for the new Prime Minister and MPs for how to turn the hope for change into reality. But what about the role of citizens? Do we go back to ignoring what happens in parliament until the next election? What is the role of faith-based groups? Should they continue working as they have, or does this moment in Canadian history require something different?

if our political culture really changes to be more respectful, inclusive and policy-focused, it will not be because of Justin Trudeau, although his approach to leader-ship will be important. it will not be because of a new charismatic leader for the Conser-vatives, the renewal of the new Democrats or the growth of the Greens. it will happen because enough citizens insist on systemic changes as well as small policy changes. it means a continuing level of citizen engage-ment, as high as during the election, but now focused on electoral change, change in our political culture and robust exercise of our citizenship in general.

From vote-splitting to ‘every vote counts’Problems with the way we elect our repre-sentatives were evident before and during this election. Three parties were pushed to promise change before the next election. The political pundits are already saying, however, that reform of the electoral system will not happen because it is a complex issue. And it is true that referenda on this matter in three provinces have failed to bring change. i am optimistic, however, that there are enough alert, dedicated citizens to make it happen this time.

My optimism stems from the impres-sive work done by pro-democracy groups, such as Lead now, who are working within the current system to change it. During the election they were thoughtful and strategic, involving their supporters in every step of a sophisticated approach to strategic voting. While the media dismissed strategic voting, it had an impact in more than 30 swing ridings.

They will persist and hopefully other groups will join in their efforts, including faith-based groups. While electoral reform doesn’t seem like a typical moral issue, do-ing justice, a core Biblical value, requires that a variety of voices are heard in the

places where decisions are made about how we live together.

From closed to open policy-makingIdeas for parliamentary reform are flooding in, and regular, active engagement between MPs and citizens is an essential one. The Liberals have promised to end the Canada Revenue Agency rules that stifled the voice of charities who questioned current policies, which is a healthy start. Creating forums for genuine dialogue between citizens, officials and parliamentarians is a lost art, but it has worked in the past and can be recovered.

Dialogue is different from lobbying or campaigning for a few specific demands. That mode has been forced on faith-based advocacy groups in the last decade. During the last election Christians could choose from multiple election bulletins prepared by a va-riety of groups, all quite similar in approach with different issues to push. in this mode the deeper values behind specific policies – values that shape our society – often get minimal at-tention. it also fosters division within churches over which issues are of the “highest” priority. We could see increased polarization, similar to in the U.S., as some focus on defending more traditional Judeo-Christian social norms they feel are threatened, while others apply Chris-tian principles to contemporary challenges.

Faith-based groups have a special respon-sibility when religion is used for political purposes, as it was in the last election. This is a dangerous trend that leads to polarization here and to violence and armed conflict in more unstable countries. Perhaps it is time to think again about the way we work for justice as well as what issues are most important.

From personal interests to common goodReducing politics to a consumer transac-tion is a dangerous trend. We are citizens who care about our common space and our neighbours as well as taxpayers who care about our pocketbooks.

Every citizen can contribute to changing our political culture by refusing to be caught up in an interests-based approach to govern-ment. We can remind all actors in the public arena, including the media, that we care about the well-being of all, not just ourselves or the middle class.

if we can change the electoral system, open up the policy formation process and focus on the common good, then real change will last beyond the honeymoon with Justin Trudeau.

“Truly I tell you, what-ever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matt. 25:40).

Bryan Stevenson was our 40th annual lecturer in the Geneva Lec-ture Series at the University of iowa. Ste-venson is an American lawyer addressing the issues of wrongful convictions and the death penalty. in his book, Just Mercy, Ste-venson tells of Walter McMillian, sentenced to capital punishment for a crime he did not commit in the 1980s. Woven in with this story are alarming statistics about American incarceration and the stories of others falsely convicted or unfairly punished because of race, poverty, age, mental illness, corrup-tion in the legal system and poor solutions to social problems. The book is powerful, captivating and deeply affecting.

Many of us would rather look away from such brokenness. We would rather look away from the broken lives caught in poverty; look away from racism; look away from prison abuse; look away from the lack of treatment for mental illness. We would like to think that the system works.

Looking deeplyWhen we look deeply, we are disturbed. The realities threaten our pictures of justice. They threaten our national narratives and mytholo-gies. Looking deeply helps us see another’s humanity. As Stevenson tells us the broken human stories, we see a person, not just a criminal. “Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done” (Just Mercy, 17-18).

Seeing the brokenness of others helps us see ourselves. We see how history, culture, societal economic standing and prejudice are always present. We see how fear, anger and hopelessness break us. We, as individ-uals and a society, recognize our fallibility, our humanity.

We see that law and punishment are not the ultimate answer. Law gives a society structure, defends the rights of others and may restrict evil. Punishment can be a just penalty for breaking the law. Yet we, as individuals

and a society, must recognize our fallibility. Punishment will not bring change. it does not give a vision for the way it should be.

Mercy looksBlessed are the merciful, for they will re-ceive mercy (Matt. 5:7).

We need mercy. Mercy looks like being there and not looking away. Mercy looks like Mr. and Mrs. Jennings, who befriended a boy in jail, who had shot and killed his abusive step-father. Mercy looks like a family that does not abandon their drug-addicted son, who later becomes a lawyer working for the poor and abused. Mercy looks like Bryan Stevenson.

Mercy does not give up on violent chil-dren, gang members or the mentally ill. Mercy suffers and does not always win. Mercy is not motivated by fear to protect oneself. Mercy is in the community that comes alongside the broken and abused and does not give in to intimidation.

it is not mercy to judge your neighbour when you do not even know them. it is not mercy to jump to conclusions due to past experiences. It is not mercy to make profit or tax dollars the main criterion for how we treat drug addiction, juvenile crime and mental illness.

Mercy actsin his lecture Stevenson made four points about being merciful. First, proximity. We need to get close to others. Second, narra-tive. We need to hear their stories, and let them change our stories. Third, we need to bring hope. Finally, we need to do that which makes us uncomfortable, to take risks.

Mercy visits or writes the prisoner. Mercy feeds the hungry and provides clean water in Africa. Mercy gives coats in the winter. Mercy welcomes the alien and refu-gee. Mercy votes for better physical and mental health care, better prisons, better communities.

Mercy looks and does not turn away. Mercy cares and acts. Mercy gives a job to the ex-inmate. Mercy seeks to give value even to those rightfully in prison. Mercy looks, listens and loves.

Kyrie EleisonWe just need mercy. The principles of mercy are those of mission: get close, listen, bring hope, take risks.

Stevenson references Jesus’ story and statement in John 8: “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (8:7). The judgmental do throw stones. The merciful are stone-catch-ers, and “it hurts to catch all them stones people throw” (309).

Mercy prays “kyrie eleison;” Lord, have mercy upon us. Then it practices just mercy.

Second ThoughtsKathy Vandergrift

Second Thoughts

Taste & SeeMonica deRegt

Kathy Vandergrift

Citizens after the election

The merciful are stone-catchers

Kathy Vandergrift (kathyvandergrift@rogers.com), a public policy analyst, brings experience in govern-ment, social justice work and a Master’s Degree in Public Ethics to her reflections on current issues.

We would like, Stevenson says, to think the systems works.

PAGE 9nOVEMBER 23, 2015

Reviews

Brian Bork

James Bond drinks a dirty martini in Spectre, the latest (and 26th) instalment of the enduring spy franchise. it’s a welcome change from his usual, famous tipple: the vodka martini, shaken, not stirred. The latter concoction encap-sulated the old Bonds – those of Connery, Moore, Dalton, Brosnan – quite well. Extremely potent, yet totally uncom-plicated. Those Bonds of old are actually quite boring, in my view, compared to the work Daniel Craig has done, in the three Bond films leading up to Spectre. in fact, Craig’s dirty martini Bond is the only Bond i can really stand to watch all the way through. He’s a briny, peevish Bond, more complex and compelling than the ones who’ve come before. A Bond suitable for the post-Cold War, post-9/11 era of moral ambiguity, PTSD, and cynicism about the naked use of state power. (One wonders how complex Craig’s Bond would’ve been if he’d preferred a gin martini – gin being the vastly more interesting spirit, and the orthodox foundation of the cocktail in question).

Craig’s complexity aside, Spectre is every bit the spec-tacle of its predecessors. it’s set in the sumptuous environs of Tangier, Mexico City, Rome, Austria, and i forget wher-ever else (it was beautiful, though). Director Sam Mendes knows exactly when to deploy trendy cinematic techniques, whether it’s a lingering tracking shot over a crowd in Mexico, or jarring, rattling closeups for the hand-to-hand bone cracking stuff. The usual gang is back together, too: Miss Moneypenny, Q, Ralph Fiennes’ chilly M, and Léa Seydoux joins as the Bond girl, who veers between being the damsel in distress and the damsel who can handle her own affairs quite well, thank you. There are cool suits, a cool watch and a cool car.

it’s customary at this point to elaborate the plot, but ehh,

this is some fairly boilerplate Bond. There’s an über villain with a German accent. He’s disfigured later in the film, too, as one might expect (a good bad guy is usually in need of an eyepatch, if he doesn’t have one already). This villain controls a giant surveillance network that is nefariously in cahoots with legitimate British intelligence agencies. it’s a plot rooted in one of the big anxieties of our day: the rise of the surveillance state, and the social control made possible by that. But don’t worry; there’s no need to don a tinfoil hat or move off the grid, because Bond has it under control, and rather atypically, the stakes seem surprisingly low.

These movies have always been first-rate fantasies about keeping control in a violent, dangerous, unpredict-able world. The superpowers could seethe and rage at each other, yet Bond kept the lid on things – albeit through some violent means – while remaining largely unruffled in his crispy, creamy tuxedo jacket. There’s a nostalgia implicit in this, too – a yearning for a simpler time and place, when bad guys all had German or Russian accents, they all con-trolled powerful, diabolical syndicates and they all were no match for handsome, unflappable James and his classic car, classic watch and classic beauty on his arm.

i go back and forth on the usefulness of these fantasies and that nostalgia. On one hand, they might make living in a dangerous world slightly more bearable, serving as a comforting distraction and a receptacle for some anxiety.

But they can also shape our perception of that real, dan-gerous world, and make it look simpler than it is. Witness the way presidential candidates talk about foreign policy, all Bond-like in their machismo and eagerness to commit violence. And folks, even Christian folks, seem to go for that kind of stuff. These are seductive fantasies, and they shape us in ways we may not be aware of.

I guess that’s why I really appreciated the first three Bond movies in which Craig starred. They had all the elements of that fantasy, yet simultaneously offered a bit of a critique, some substance under the spectacle and the resulting tension between those things was really absorbing. They showed that doing Bond’s dirty work was costly, and even soul-damaging, not just to the bad guys, but to Bond himself. it’s a shame then, that Spectre breaks that streak. it ultimately regresses to the mean, back to the uncomplicated Bond. in one scene, a character assures Bond that he’s “a good man,” despite the fact that a few scenes earlier he tells her his job is to “kill people.” Spectre gives proof of Bond’s goodness in the fact that he doesn’t kill all the bad guys he could’ve killed. Seems like a low bar to set. And low bars are just kind of boring, like a vodka martini, shaken, but not really all that stirring.

Tom Konyndyk

Family conflicts and the breakdown of relation-ships are grist for the mill in much of popular fiction. Conversely, fiction that attempts to grapple with larger philosophical issues can all too often exploit the disconnectedness of modern life to make its points without creating believable characters that hold a reader’s interest or engender genuine affec-tion or disgust.

What distinguishes Franzen’s work from this is his skill-ful intermingling of personal and philosophical issues. in Franzen’s 2001 novel The Corrections, Alfred Lambert’s deteriorating mind and body mirror the dissolution of cor-porate values and morality that was presumed to propel America’s shining exceptionalism. The characters in 2010’s Freedom seek liberation from the past, the present, each other, themselves and freedom for a particular endangered species of songbird.

Which brings us to Purity, the novel whose main char-acter, Purity Tyler, is otherwise known as Pip. Unlike Charles Dickens’ famous character of the same name in Great Expectations, Franzen’s Pip isn’t an orphan. none-theless since Pip’s birth her single mother has devoted her life to hiding out from a father whose continued absence is equated by her mother with their very survival. Quite

naturally, Pip is as curious as any orphan might be as to who this father is. The truth may set her free, at least financially.

The beginning of the novel finds Pip with a freshly minted university degree, $130,000 of student loan debt, a dead-end sales job, and few prospects for advancement on any front. Her surrogate family consists of an oracular schizophrenic, an intellectually challenged young man, a quarrelling Catholic Worker couple and a pair of left-leaning German visitors named Annagret and Martin. This group appears to be squatting in a home that is about to be foreclosed upon by a nasty old bank.

After some faltering attempts at sex and unrequited love on Pip’s part, Annagret manages to take her aside and convince her that her talents might be better appreciated by an infamous trader in exposé and internet-generated secrets named Andreas Wolf. Like Julian Assange of WikiLeaks fame, he’s on the outs with most law enforcement entities. Wolf has a quite a history of his own involving a misspent youth in East Germany as the son of privileged party op-eratives and eventually as a church youth counsellor who took an unseemly interest in the young females he was counselling. Along the way he’s managed to commit a great wrong for what some might construe as the right reasons.

As the Berlin Wall falls, the charismatic Wolf achieves an accidental notoriety as a shedder of light on East Ger-many’s dark past. His fame grows. For most of the rest of narrative he’s holed up in a paradisiacal valley in Bolivia with a coterie of male hackers and extraordinarily beautiful female researchers as leader of the Sunlight Project. Suffice it to say, past critics’ description of Franzen as a realistic novelist is somewhat strained by this.

Eventually Pip is dispatched by Wolf to Denver where she befriends Tom Aberant, a more traditional investigative

journalist, and his journalist live-in companion Leila Helou. Aberant’s efforts as head of the Denver Independent have been bankrolled by his ex-wife Anabel Laird’s late father, much to his ex-wife’s chagrin and enduring animosity.

As the twists of this fairly tall tail unfold by way of an omniscient narrator and the first-person accounts of the characters themselves, truth and beauty are examined in pure and polluted forms. As the plot develops, expectation and speculation by the reader resolves in a fashion that more than anything else resembles a whodunit.

What is lacking in Purity is sympathy for the characters involved. Many are somewhat likeable, yet not fully fleshed out. in The Corrections, by contrast, just about every char-acter was a bona fide candidate for a prayer request – re-gardless of the author’s likely agnostic opinion of religion.

So once Franzen has revealed all there is to reveal and said all he has to say, what are we left with? We live in an age where sportswriters sometimes speak as truthfully as our novelists about the ties that bind us. Consider this from Cathal Kelly of The Globe and Mail in describing how veteran pitcher Mark Buehrle relates to near-rookie Marcus Stroman: “Since he is old, Buehrle believes the magic of texting is the new glue that binds people together. Sort of what the church used to be.”

in a somewhat glue-less society where family and other institutions seem to be faltering under the weight of pure truth or shameless lies, we could do worse than contemplate the characters and issues that this Franzen novel presents for our examination.

Truth and beauty in pure and polluted forms

Purityby Jonathan Franzen

Spectre’s shaky spectacle

Spectre Directed by Sam Mendes

Brian Bork is CC’s Review Editor and a chaplain at the University of Waterloo

and Wilfrid Laurier University.

Tom Konyndyk’s working life has encompassed editing, proofreading, copywriting and technical

writing. Nowadays when he isn't relaxing with a good book he operates White Rabbit Books, a

mostly used book store in Georgetown, Ont.

Features

PAGE 10 christiAn couriEr

Heidi Blokland

My wondering started growing and growing until I just had to start asking questions and doing more research.

–Excerpt from the reflection journal of Hannah, Grade 5, Timothy Christian

School in Williamsburg, Ontario.

Our school recently embarked on a journey called Project Based Learning, or simply “PBL.” PBL is an inquiry approach to education which uses a project as the central context for student learning. Our topic of study was the St. Lawrence Seaway Project. In the late 1950s the St. Lawrence river was widened and a power dam was built. Six thousand five hundred people people were forced to relocate and a number of villages were lost. The site of these lost villages is a 20-minute drive from our school.

Treasures revealedOne element of PBL is to frame learning around a Driving Question – a call to action with a task or problem to explore; a question that begs an answer to be shared with an audience. Our DQ is “How was the St. Lawrence Seaway Project helpful and harmful to the community?”

After watching a video and giving the students time to wonder and ask questions,

we took all our students to visit the lost village of Aultsville. Usually it is under water but the St. Lawrence has been exceptionally low this year, revealing roads, sidewalks, tree stumps, house foundations and many other treasures of the village that once existed there.

Steven, in Grade 5, later wrote, “We found so many artifacts. It was like a pinata.” The Kindergarten and Grade 1 and 2 students returned to the site a few weeks later, armed with cameras, taking pictures of what they found interesting. Sam, a Grade 1 student reflecting on his picture, wrote, “This post used to be something. I think it looks like a basketball net that children used to play with. It has no fun now.” He titled his writing Toy No More.

Full of wonderingsVisiting Aultsville to launch our project caused the students to become engaged, excited and full of wonderings, creating an atmosphere of Sustained Inquiry. This is another essential element of PBL – that students need to develop and enter into an inquiry mindset for the entire path of the project. Inquiry becomes a sustained cycle: students are constantly questioning and evaluating information to help answer the driving question.

To begin answering some of the questions

that students were asking, we began looking at the geography of the area and the villages that were flooded. Students in Grades 3-8 were divided into research groups to find out more about the villages and to create a presentation about their discoveries for a remarkable Presentation of Learning (POL) which took place later in the project.

Sharing storiesWe invited people who had lived during the time of the Seaway Project to be an audience for our POL. This is the element of PBL that helps the whole process be more authentic. The students did a wonderful job on their presentations, sharing what they learned with the many people in our midst. Our visitors then had a chance to tell some of their stories to our students who travelled in small, cross-grade groups to different rooms in the school to hear stories and ask questions of these people who had lived in the area during the time of the Seaway Project.

One man told a story of how his dad put his hand down into the earth on his farm before the relocation. He had his arm in as far as it would go and when he pulled it up he was holding beautiful soil. At their new home the soil was only one inch deep. Another man shared about how he watched a church being torn down. They broke all the windows first and then put some chains and wires through the window holes. They pulled the whole church down and it made a giant crash. Many of the people who shared their stories were young children or teenagers at the time, and it seemed exciting but looking back they realize how difficult it was for their parents and grandparents to lose their homes and land.

Elizabeth, a student in Grade 8 wrote, “I would feel devastated if I had to go through the same experience as the people from the Lost Villages. The place I had grown up . . . being flooded right before my eyes. Everything I had known gone in a couple of days.”

After the students met people from the Lost Villages they felt a sense of sadness about the whole story. Going to the lost village of Aultsville and seeing the roads, broken sidewalks and house foundations

allowed the students to know that it was a real place. And then meeting people who actually lived in Aultsville cemented the story for them.

Which good are we seeking?Our journey is not finished yet. Right now the students are learning about the hydro dam and the shipping – the things that might be considered the helpful part of the project. We are still working out the anwers to our Driving Question, but the bigger question that is sticking in our minds is: which good are we seeking – the greater good, the good of the larger community, or the good of a small group of individuals? The Seaway project was helpful to the greater community. It was also helpful to people who worked on the project. In this case the good of the larger community trumped that of the 6,500 people living in the lost villages. Although the residents were given new homes and compensation, many things that were promised to them did not come to fruition. For the families that lost their land it was harmful. One woman told us that her father suffered a nervous breakdown after losing his farm. Aislynn, a student in Grade 6, wrote in her reflection journal, “I wonder if anyone was happy about leaving. People were sad, especially Mr. Summers. He had watery eyes when he told us about Aultsville.”

As we continue on this road of learning we are creating a book that will be placed in the Lost Village Museum and local libraries. It will be our beautiful work, an element of PBL that the Teachers Academy describes as demonstrating purpose, pride and craftmanship of learning.

When we embarked on this journey we weren’t sure where it would take us. We didn’t know it would be messy but also amazing. We didn’t know what artifacts and treasures we would find. We didn’t know that we would meet people whose stories would touch and perhaps even transform us. We didn’t know how working together as a school would help to bring all students and staff together. Is PBL the magic answer to teaching and learning? No. But it is an amazing journey of learning and exploration and we look forward to continue using PBL in our school.

The Lost VillagesA Project Based Learning journey

Heidi Blokland is the Kindergarten teacher at Timothy Christian School in Williamsburg, Ontario, an elementary school of 50 amazing students. She loves to wonder and learn with her students.

The students present their findings to members of the community who were affected by the building of a dam on the St. Lawrence River.

Kindergarten students took photos of old house foundations that are usually buried under water.

PAGE 11NOVEMBER 23, 2015

Features

C. Green

There was never a quick word with my Aunt Betty. She was eccentric, engaging and full of life even when she was full of death, her body full of cancer. Aunt Betty left behind a legacy of faith and joy and music among other things when she passed away seven years ago. One of the things she left me in particular was a cabinet overflowing with kaleidoscopes.

After I was bequeathed these scopes from my aunt, Betty Spoelstra, upon her death, I remember joining my mom and aunts to go through her belongings. Grabbing a stack of newspapers, I slowly began to remove the scopes from behind the glass pane doors of my aunt’s cabinet. Carefully wrapping each one, I gently placed them in a large cardboard box. There were so many – big scopes, tiny scopes, fragile scopes. Some were made of wood, some contained elements of stained glass and others were fashioned out of brass. Despite the variety, they all had two things in common: they had been hand-picked by my aunt, and they were beautiful.

Letting goA few months after receiving the scopes I began cataloguing them, figuring out who made them and how much they were worth. Enter: selfishness. Upon discovering how costly the kaleidoscopes really were, I began to worry that something might happen to them. Before my aunt died she told me of her intentions to give me her collection but she also instructed that I had to do as she had done and give them away. But I was pretty sure I didn’t want to part with them now. I had never before owned so many objects of both sentimental and monetary value, and I

actually considered getting insurance just to cover the scopes should they ever be stolen or damaged. Absurd, I know. That’s when I knew it was time to start giving them away. In holding onto the scopes too tightly, I was holding onto the memory of my Aunt Betty inappropriately.

So, one by one, I have been doing as she requested – gifting cousins on their wedding day, teachers on their retirement and friends on their way to new homes with kaleidoscopes from her collection. I have watched each of the various scopes pass from my hand to the grateful receiver; scopes by Bennett, Chesnik, Karadimos, Knox, Koch, Paretti, Weeks, Van Cort and many others.

I have to be honest; there’s pain in the offering. But I know that’s a good thing. Gifts should cost us something if they are to be a true gift. And in case you’re wondering, the pain is not in parting with such costly collectibles. The pain is when I must take the scope in one hand and a cloth in the other, and carefully rub all of my aunt’s fingerprints off the scope before wrapping it in tissue and laying it into a gift box. I’m not losing money or beautiful artistry. I’m losing another piece of that which remains of my aunt.

Preserving beautyAfter the third or fourth departed scope, I decided there must be a way to remember what the scopes looked like, not just on the outside but on the inside as well. I had always enjoyed photography, but what I was about to embark on was completely foreign territory for me. I knew nothing about kaleidoscopes and even less about taking pictures of them, and admittedly had many false starts in my efforts to succeed to such an end. Quite honestly, I didn’t believe it was

possible. More than that, I think I believed that even if it was possible, I found the idea ineffectual. To what end was I going to do this? I never wanted Betty’s scopes; I wanted Betty. But using her optical instruments to create something new actuated a resurrection of sorts. Kaleidoscopes are typically placed on a shelf to collect dust. Rarely are they removed from the mantel for their designs to be admired. Photographing the interiors changes all of that. What would have been left hidden and underappreciated would now be revealed and enjoyed.

I learned very quickly that photographing the interiors of the scopes was not going to be as easy as taking my point-and-shoot Pentax to the eye hole and pushing the shutter button. I began documenting my progress so I could see what worked and what didn’t. It took several years of trial and error to get to the place where I can consistently capture high-quality images. And it was my husband who suggested one day that I begin learning how to make my own kaleidoscopes so I didn’t have to seek permission from the artists of the scopes I

owned in order to profit from my images. So yet another challenge ensued, and I began researching how to make the perfect kaleidoscope. Easier said than done, but it was a worthwhile undertaking.

Unlikely blessingsLessons on life and love and letting go are blessed gifts that can come, I’ve found out, from unlikely places and through the most unlikely means. Such matters of the heart cannot be wrapped and placed under a tree to lay in wait for an unsuspecting receiver, and rightfully so, as it’s the process which makes such matters a gift in the first place. The journey – my journey in producing such beautiful images – was an integral part in reaching the end where I find myself today. It was only when I started giving the scopes away that the thought ever crossed my mind that there must be a way to preserve their beauty. And had my aunt not died, I never would have considered doing so in the first place. And this is not the end. Rather, I’ve found myself at the cusp of yet another new beginning. Thank you, Aunt Betty.

Pain in the offering

C. Green is a Steeltown girl who would always rather be sailing. She enjoys dining with friends who can’t speak English while eating exotic dishes with names she can’t pronounce. She loves sharing stories, because everyone has a story. And if given a choice, she will always opt for the road less travelled by.

Images of the inside of kaleidoscopes, taken by artist C. Green of Seagreen Photography (seagreenphoto@gmail.com). Green shares that “not unlike people, beauty is to be found when we take the time to look inside,” and she looks forward to someday sharing her work and story on the walls of Hamilton's art galleries.

Aunt Betty’s cabinet and kaleidoscope collection.

Features

PAGE 12 christiAn couriEr

Nick Loenen

On Sunday, September 27, a travel group from Grand Rapids, Michigan, visited Willoughby Christian Reformed Church (CRC) in Langley, British Columbia. This group of 40 people combines holidays with learning the history of various CRC congregations. After the service they attended a presentation about the history of the CRC in western Canada, particularly the Vancouver area. An abridged version follows.

In 1905 the congregation of Nobleford/Granum, Alberta, joined the Christian Reformed denomination. A request to organize went to Classis Orange City, Iowa; the sponsoring congregation was Manhattan, Montana, and thus the Canadian segment of the Christian Reformed Church was born. By WWI there were six Canadian congregations, all in Alberta except for Winnipeg. B.C.’s first congregation was Vancouver (1926) and later Houston (1939). After WWII, more churches followed in northern B.C. and in the south, Vancouver became mother church to a large family of congregations reaching into the Fraser Valley, the Okanagan Valley and Vancouver Island.

It was the American Home Missionaries who birthed the Canadian congregations. They and their wives played a crucial role, travelling extensively, first by train and by WWII by automobile. At that time, Rev. Hanenburg, stationed in Edmonton but also responsible for northern B.C., would fly for the longer trips but he also drove 150,000 km per year by car. Rev. Gerard Van Laar, stationed in Smithers (1953-58), every fall loaded two bags of sand, two shovels, a set of tire chains, a tow chain, a pair of gloves, a pair of cover-alls and a flashlight into his trunk. Rev. Paul De Koekkoek in southern B.C. (1949-1956) travelled to northern Vancouver Island one Sunday, southern Vancouver Island the next, and around the Lower Mainland for Sundays three and four. Each Sunday he preached in three different locations, taught catechism and collected worshippers from far and wide. The trips to Vancouver Island were 300 km one way, and in the Lower Mainland his trips were 150 km one way. Casper Golhof Sr., looking back to the 1930s wrote, “We used to call Rev. Peter Hoekstra’s auto the immigrant’s car. He was minister and taxi driver.”

Servant spiritsHome missionaries made do with little. While on circuit they lodged with settlers and immigrants in their primitive homes. De Koekkoek comments, “These folks gave us the very best they could offer; in this case an old couch to sleep on.” About moving from Edmonton to the Lower Mainland in 1949, he wrote, “Our new manse was an old house bought at a price lower than the Board ever paid for a home missionary . . . we suffered more from the cold in that house than we ever did in ‘cold Edmonton.’” These home missionaries opened themselves to endless service, helping immigrants deal with housing, employment, shopping, the new language and government agencies. Such practical help endeared the American Home Missionaries to many and is fondly recalled.

The Dutch immigrants represented different branches of the Reformed faith. Some were reluctant to worship with persons they had opposed back home. Tact and firm persuasion convinced obstinate Dutchmen that all can worship together within the CRC. The American Home Missionaries exemplified the servant spirit of Jesus as they laid the foundation for the Canadian congregations of the CRC today, but by the late 1950s Dutch “dominees” had taken over.

Reaching out and reaching inHow did the first congregations relate their faith to their work, the sacred to the secular? The early Alberta congregations were mostly settled by agricultural workers from the U.S. – Manhattan, Montana; Orange City and Sioux Center, Iowa; Vespers, Wisconsin; Hull, North Dakota. In contrast, Vancouver and Houston attracted more non-agricultural workers with more recent Dutch roots. The different origins shaped how each group saw its task in the world, particularly as it pertains to Christian education. In 1941, the consistory of Nobleford received a request to start a Christian school. The answer was no! In contrast, Vancouver opened its school in 1949. During the Depression and war years, Christian education was planned and sacrificed for, prayed about and anticipated in faith. The church council took an active lead. For years fundraisers, bazaars, auctions featuring homemade baking and knitted and embroidered goods supported the

school. The Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC) had its beginnings in Vancouver. Sailors in port received invitations to visit with a church family – the beginning of the Ministry to the Seafarers.

Why was the broader cultural outreach more robust in Vancouver than in Alberta during those years? The difference is usually attributed to the Dutch theologian and statesman Abraham Kuyper. Kuyper stated that faith should penetrate culture because redemption is the restoration of the creation, not an escape from it. The U.S. segment of the denomination had mostly left Holland before Kuyper’s day, but the Dutch immigrants in Vancouver carried Kuyper in their hip pocket. To the American settlers in Alberta faith was introspective, personal experience-oriented, centered on the cross, Jesus as Saviour. Kuyper’s faith was more intellectual, activist, social justice-oriented, focussed on the open grave, Jesus as Lord. These strains of the faith persist within the denomination to this day.

Cross-border relationsIn 1941, Classis Pacific gave birth to Classis Alberta followed by Classis British Columbia in 1958. Some spoke against forming all-Canadian Classes. We all benefit from strong cross-border relationships, they argued. But that view did not prevail. Was that a mistake? In February 1927, eighty persons young and old travelled from Lynden, Washington, to Vancouver for a festive evening. The children of the Vancouver church appreciated The Instructor, a Sunday School paper from Grand Rapids. Washington State churches supplied preachers. US dollars funded buildings. Cross-border Classis meetings provided fellowship and edification. The Back To God Hour and its devotional Today sustained members in remote locations. De Wachter and later The Banner helped immigrants understand their new denomination. Vancouver’s Golhof wrote of those years, “The cooperation with Canada was very friendly, we felt like brothers in Christ.” Similarly, the Alberta churches also enjoyed close cross-border ties. Much of that is no more. For 50 years (1926-1976) Vancouver First CRC was served by American pastors. Today, Canadian congregations served by American pastors are as rare as those that sing hymns. And preachers no longer train exclusively in Grand Rapids. Change may have come regardless, but creating all-Canadian Classes did not help.

All history is His storyToday, old timers who grew up in Vancouver First as children praise God for their church, remembering the people, the building(s), the Christmas programs, church picnics, the organ and singing with appreciation. They see their interactions of long ago with preachers, fellow believers, catechism instructors, Sunday School

teachers, even the janitor, as a formative personal enrichment. Sophie Ensing-Golhof remembers, “For the Dutch worship we sang from a little ‘psalm book.’ I remember best Dat’s Heeren zegen op U daal. The psalms in Dutch were sung in slow moving notes. Among the hymns of the old red Psalter Hymnal were: I love to tell the story of Jesus and his love; Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow.” Now approaching her tenth decade, Vera Pel is still visited by a woman the Pels first introduced to Jesus via Sunday School for the un-churched and whose children now attend Vancouver Christian School. Thus God’s work continues in time.

All history is His story, but it is also our story. God brings about his Kingdom but he uses instruments – you and me and those who went before us. The coming of the Kingdom is like planting a seed. We do our part but only God can make the seed grow. This snapshot of time chronicles how God gives growth, or not, to human efforts – the planting of seeds.

How the west was wonA snapshot of the history of the western CRC and the legacy of American Home Missionaries

Nick Loenen is an occasional contributor, a former MLA and

long-time cc supporter.

Top: Rev. Paul deKoekKoekBottom: Houston CRC was organized November 8, 1939 in the Groot home.

This travel group from Grand Rapids (MI), combines holidays with learning the history of CRC churches where they travel.

PAGE 13NOVEMBER 23, 2015

Columns

Second ThoughtsKathy Vandergrift

Second Thoughts

Taste & SeeMonica deRegt

Kathy Vandergrift

The aroma of ChristPeople will forget what you said, they will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

–Maya Angelou

There’s nothing quite like the smells of Christmas – pine trees, peppermint candy canes, gingerbread men, sweet oranges wrapped in green paper. Even the scent of the Sears Christmas catalogue pages hot off the press can bring me straight back to cozy nights sitting near a twinkling tree and wondering if any of the items on the dog-eared pages were hidden in the holly print-wrapped packages.

Scientists tell us that memories triggered by scent have a stronger emotional connection than those triggered by other senses because smells are routed through your olfactory bulb (the smell-analyzing region in your brain), which is closely connected to your amygdala and hippocampus, brain regions that handle memory and emotion. How fearful and wonderful is that? Our creator God even cares about how we experience our memories!

In our house, it’s almost time to take down the jar of gingerbread spices and start baking my annual Christmas cookies. One year my daughter came home from school and breathed in the aroma of the cookies still warm from the oven and exclaimed, “Now I know it’s Christmas!” Even at her young age, the smells are tied to memories.

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians that God uses us to spread the fragrance and knowledge of Christ, that we are to God the “aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.” So I wonder: what do we smell like to the world? Is our “Eau du Christianity” evoking emotions of love and unity, peace and joy, rest and acceptance? Or are we reeking of anger, judgement, arrogance, unforgiveness and exclusivity?

Ginger is a spice with a long and rich history. One legend says that Swedish nuns began baking gingerbread in the 1400s as a balm to ease ailments related to indigestion. My prayer this Christmas

is that we as Christians will seek to bring the message of the Balm of Peace to the ailing in our world, that our aroma will draw others to Christ.

Recently I read, back to back, three very different books about WWII: Eric Metaxas’s Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, P r o p h e t , S p y , L a u r a Hillenbrand’s Unbroken: A

World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption and Anthony Doerr’s 2014 Pulitzer Prize-winner, All the Light We Cannot See.

Although credible reviewers have scolded Metaxas for “evangelicalizing” Bonhoeffer’s theology and minimizing its Barthian influence, the biography has been generally well-received. Metaxas authenticates Bonhoeffer as an extraordinary Christian – not only a gifted academic, but a thoughtful activist. Although he was safely overseas, Bonhoeffer chose to return to his homeland, not flinching from the gritty work of shepherding his family, students, colleagues and the broader Christian church in the crisis that was Nazi Germany. He prompted national and international conversations about Hitler’s anti-Christian platform and was among the first to name and resist the anti-Semitism fanned by the National Socialists.

Today Bonhoeffer’s convictions and actions hold up as uniquely perceptive

and courageous in a muddled time. Also distinctive was his participation in an unsuccessful assassination plot against Hitler. His involvement in the conspiracy was eventually uncovered and he was hung by the Nazis shortly before the end of the war.

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy is dense but inspirational reading. The last few weeks of Bonhoeffer’s life reveal the consistency of his character and the integrity of his faith. He was imprisoned alongside Dr. Rascher, a Nazi scientist fallen out of favour, a man who had supervised the construction of gas chambers, and who, as chief medical officer at Dachau, had victimized numerous prisoners in horrific experiments. Nearing their inexorable end, Bonhoeffer behaved pastorally to all his fellow-inmates, including even this enemy. He spent his final days comforting Wassily Kokorin, a young Soviet atheist. Hours before his death, he led a church service, preaching on Isaiah 53:5 and 1 Peter 1:3. He spent his final minutes in prayer.

Human wartime experienceUnbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand, is the remarkable biography of Louis Zamperini, American Olympian and WWII pilot. The story is told with raw simplicity. Zamperini’s plane was shot down and he survived a harrowing ordeal lost at sea. He was subsequently captured by the Japanese and endured unspeakable deprivation and torture. After the war, Zamperini struggled to find equilibrium, succumbing to alcoholism and other post-traumatic

stress symptoms. Eventually he was led to Christ and, in time, was able to forgive his captors, even the brutal commander who had targeted him for relentless punishments designed to break his will. A sobering read, this book broadened my understanding of the Pacific theatre.

All the Light We Cannot See deserves the high praise it has received. In the young lives of a blind French girl and a talented German radio operator, Doerr spans WWII in a cohesive way that is sufficiently elastic to encompass the eastern and western fronts and fragments of all the absurdity in between. Nonetheless, Doerr’s war-torn setting is backlit with a gentle hopefulness that counters despair. Like the sightless Marie-Laure and orphaned Werner, we too are often unaware of the light beyond our own cataclysms, but tenacious acts of love ground out in the midst of chaos confirm its existence.

Doerr’s novel took 10 years to complete. Its liquid narrative flow is the result of that painstaking workmanship. Details establishing the historicity of the tale are never forced. Like similar examples of our very best art – Picasso’s “Guernica” or the Canadian National Vimy Memorial – All the Light We Cannot See takes human wartime experience to a cathartic place, where appalling truth and redemptive beauty mesh.

Each year, when Remembrance Day rolls around, I’m overcome afresh at the staggering cost in human lives, the monumental destruction of culture, the massive topographical upheaval, the myriad individual stories of gallantry

and infamy that emerge from the World Wars and other global conflicts. As I watch documentary footage of Hitler or Mussolini, I sense the yawning distance of the intervening decades, how caricaturist these leaders seem in all their demagoguery. How easy and convenient it would be to dismiss such evil as rooted in isolated 20th century events or to attribute a lack of sophistication to the combatants, a “sound and fury” from which we’ve progressed.

These books situate me in WWII’s present. They convince me of the need for literacy, libraries, historians, journalists. They caution me to resist the crushing digital obsession with “what’s happening right now.” They also cause me to turn to God. Only in him do I find the solace to bear being human. In his light I see light.

Remembering

Monica deRegt is the Features Editor for cc.

Gingerbread Spice BlendThis blend can be used as a wonderful addition to pancakes, oatmeal, pies, cakes, etc.2 Tbsp cinnamon2 Tbsp ground ginger2 Tbsp allspice1 Tbsp nutmeg1 Tbsp ground clovesPinch of black pepper

Cookies2 cups (500 ml) all-purpose flour2 tsp (10 ml) baking soda2 tsp (10 ml) gingerbread spices1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) salt3/4 cups (180 ml) butter1/2 cups (125 ml) packed brown sugar3/4 cups (180 ml) white sugar, divided1 egg3 tbsp (45 ml) molasses2 tsp (10 ml) vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C). Whisk first 4 ingredients in a mixing

bowl and set aside.In a second bowl, cream butter with

brown sugar and 1/2 cup (125 ml) white sugar. Stir in egg, molasses and vanilla extract. Gradually add dry ingredients, beating well after each addition.

Place remaining white sugar in a shallow bowl. Form cookies by rolling into 1” (2.5 cm) balls; roll in sugar and place 2” (5 cm) apart on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until cookies “crackle” on top. Cool before storing.

Gingerbread Crackle Cookies

Cathy Smith is a retired teacher and contributing editor with cc. She lives in Wyoming, Ontario.

Toddlers to TeensDenise Dykstra

Christ @ CultureLloyd Rang

My Window SeatMendelt Hoekstra

Principalities& PowersDavid Koyzis

Technically SpeakingDerek Schuurman

Intangible ThingsHeidi Vander Slikke

Country Living

Everyday ChristianCathy Smith

Getting UnstuckArlene Van Hove

Flowers and Thistles

The Public SquareHarry Antonides

From the 11thProvinceMarian Van Til

From the LabRudy Eikelboom

Words fromWild HorsesWarkentins

Patchwork Words Our World TodayBert Hielema

Curt Gesch

Meindert Vander Galien

SU MO TU WE TH FR SA

Melissa Kuipers

The Weeping Woman at the Vimy Ridge war monument.

Columns

PAGE 14 christiAn couriEr

The rain is like hundreds of bare feet on the roof of our tent trailer and it’s 8:30 in the morning, the dirt ground pooling outside, the windows crying. The air is

thick with storm and mosquitos, and it’s our second day camping with my family in Whiteshell Provincial Park (MB).

I’m nursing our youngest on the couch, in the middle of this wet world, and I’m tempted to complain but am learning to sing, even as we camp in the rain. My baby’s hands clinging to my fingers, her cheek pressed against my chest and she’s only five months old but one day, she’ll be weaned.

“Great is thy faithfulness,” my tired voice begins to croon, “oh God my Father. . . .”

I’m in training at 35 years old. Beside me on the cushion is the book I’m reading, the story of Amy Carmichael’s life, written by Elisabeth Elliot – A Chance to Die. In it, Carmichael writes, “I am learning the lesson set to the weaned child. I am learning to do without. . . . Let’s do it, together.”

I’m learning the same lesson in this season of motherhood. I’m learning to do without showers or without personal time, without space or without hot coffee. But more than this. As a believer, I’m learning to do without personal rights, without personal vendettas or grudges, without spiritual pride. And this weaning has led me to become a member of the church, after two decades of running from it.

The Church is not the enemy Growing up I saw the bellows of the church, the dark places where saints become sinners and the pastor’s family hides behind the glass walls of their house. I heard sermons and I saw pain. I heard

promises and witnessed them broken. I saw first-hand the hypocrisy that is handed out with billfolds into the offering plate.

Now I am the founder of a non-profit working in one of the poorest places on earth, in a slum in Katwe, Uganda, and we’re partnering with a church that has a dirt floor and no bathroom facilities, a church made from scrap pieces of metal. And those without homes sleep on its floors. The mothers and daughters we partner with, who were once homeless, have found a haven in this place without PowerPoint projectors or pews or electricity. And three times a week they fellowship in this church, their a cappella songs reaching the cracks in the ceiling and drifting up to blue Ugandan skies.

I’ve seen what church can be. It can be the poor helping the poor. Jesus serving his own; the lonely opening up their doors to one another, praise and worship in the midst of sorrow. A shelter for the orphan and widow.

And through this hard and beautiful obedience, the church makes known the character of God – not only on earth, but in the spiritual realms. According to Ephesians 3:10, God’s intent was that, “through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.”

Did you catch that? Through the church the wisdom of God is made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. God is banking his character on us. He is entrusting us with fulfilling his story through the church so that everyone in heaven and on earth might know he is Lord.

Our enemy is not the church. It is the Prince of Darkness.

I grew up seeing the underbelly of the institution, yes, but I also saw the

goodness of God. I saw meals shared in church basements; I saw offerings raised for families who’d lost everything; I heard sermons that taught me truth and I joined in songs of holy praise.

And I longed for even more. I longed for the fullness of what the church could be. I longed for the glorious inner working of the Spirit. For the breaking of bread and the selling of possessions and the sharing of everything we had with one another. But to change the church, we must first join it.

Serving people versus GodThis past spring my husband and I took a membership class at our local Alliance Church.

As we stood in front of the congregation to declare our membership, I looked out and saw my children sitting there, watching us. And I was reminded of why we needed to do this.

When we become members of a church, we’re not becoming members of an institution. No, we’re becoming members of a family. We’re choosing spiritual grandfathers and grandmothers and aunties and uncles for our children. We’re planting a legacy.

And we need to do so carefully. As I sat in the Alliance Church classroom and underwent an interview with our pastor – a young man with a passionate heart – I said, “Can I just share something? This is my first time becoming a member. And I’m a bit nervous. I’m nervous because I’ve seen pastors like yourself who are so determined to serve Jesus, and so on fire, but as time goes on, they begin to serve people instead. They begin to cater to the community instead of living by the hard truths of the gospel.”

He was very good about it. He scribbled down my worries and thanked me for sharing them. And I realized then that I’d done the same thing. Instead of believing God was big enough to change the church, I’d served my own fears. I’d idolized my own expectations and rights and stopped believing God could be found in the midst of a motley crew of sinners. I’d judged mercilessly instead of trusting my Saviour could redeem. I’d served people (myself) instead of my Maker.

This little light of mineThe rain had finally stopped and it was night; the stars like thousands of ellipses leading to the Milky Way. I found my way through the dark to my parents’ trailer to say goodnight.

My pastor-father was tucking in my Mum as he’s been doing for the past 12 years since she first contracted brain cancer. He’s been her main caregiver, tirelessly serving her.

“Goodnight,” I said through the crack

in their door. I saw a candle, lit, burning bright on their counter.

“Oh, goodnight Emily,” said Dad, and Mum whispered it too.

“And Emily?” said my Dad.“Yes?” “Please be praying for Wilma; she just

suffered a stroke. And please pray for Sandra as she’s recovering from surgery.” I smiled, there in the dark, watching the candle flicker. The servant life of a pastor who cares for his flock. “Yes, Dad, I will pray.”

This is the legacy I’m joining. Not one of back-stabbing or hypocrisy, but of a people learning to love one another. An imperfect people, saved by a perfect God who entrusts his story to us.

As Jesus said to Simon Peter, upon whom the church is built, “I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me . . . Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Lk 22:29-32).

May we strengthen one another, friends, in this short life, as we testify to the heavenlies of a God who went without everything so we might know him. So we might love others. So we might one day make it home.

Gathering LightEmily Wierenga

Why this Pastor’s kid finally became a member of the church

This is Emily Wierenga’s last column in Christian Courier. She says, “I am so grateful for my time with cc. I am enter-ing a “fallow season” as a writer, want-ing to spend time with my husband, three little ones and my non-profit. Thank you for allowing me to spend time with you in the folds of these pages. Bless you, my cc family. For those of you wanting to stay in touch, my email is wierenga.emily@gmail.com. You can also follow me on Facebook or @emily_wierenga.”

Thank you Emily for sharing your faith with honesty and passion. May God bless your next steps.

—Editor

Emily and her mother.

Emily and her husband, Trent.

PAGE 15NOVEMBER 23, 2015

Columns

There’s something to be said for independence. When we lost power for four days one summer due to a wind storm, I bought a generator, plugged in the freezer and refrigerator, and relaxed.

I publish an independent farm newsletter for the people of our region of British Columbia. Someone said, “Why not make it part of a local farmers’ organisation?” Someone else suggested that I could make some money on advertisements. Several people offered to pay a subscription fee. But independence beckoned. I decided to stay independent, with no income, and beholden only to my readers, who were free to read, appreciate, delete or ask to be removed from the mailing list. Just recently I’ve encountered an ominous situation: Some agricultural funds give grants for research but demand the right to see any news releases up to six weeks before publication so they can be approved.

There’s also something called co-dependence. Omniscient Wikipedia describes it this way: “Codependent relationships are a type of dysfunctional helping relationship where one person supports or enables another person’s

addiction, poor mental health, immaturity, irresponsibility or under-achievement.” Not recommended. Avoid it like the plague.

But inter-dependence . . . that’s another thing entirely. “God said, ‘It’s not good for the Man to be alone; I’ll make him a helper, a companion’” (The Message). Now various religious folks have argued about this verse. But I think human interdependence is strongly implied if not explicitly stated as a core teaching of the Book.

Stay with meWhen I lived on a farm in the Lower Mainland of B.C., my landlord would drop almost anything if he saw me walking around downcast; he’d jump off the tractor and try to cheer me up. When I didn’t know how fix a wheel bearing, my friend was there. But other times he came to visit after supper and asked me if I could help him write an advertisement about cattle he had for sale. We developed a relationship that was interdependent. Free, open, vulnerable.

Another acquaintance from those days was always willing to help our family out with her time and talents. But when she was in dire straits she declined our aid, our support. It was a one-sided relationship and a budding friendship withered.

In my volunteer work, I sing old songs with and tell silly stories to about 30 or more seniors at a nursing home. Most of them are lucky enough to not be able to hear the bad jokes, but we have a delightful time each Wednesday singing “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary” and “Clementine” and “Love Me Tender.” To an outsider it may seem a one-sided relationship: I serve; they receive. Actually, however, the acceptance these people (a number have dementia, but that doesn’t affect their acceptance of me) is a healing balm for my emotions, which are often in turmoil.

Last, let’s do a little revision in our interpretation of Jesus in the garden. In his hour of deepest need, he turned to his three disciples and asked – close to despair, I think – “Couldn’t you watch and stay with me one hour?” I think what was happening was this. Jesus had been there for his disciples for three years, had prodded them to new visions, saved their lives on the sea, enlightened them, healed their families, sat with them through their confusions. Now, when he was in need, there was no reciprocation. The Three weren’t there in the hour of need. When Jesus turned to them, they were asleep. I suppose they couldn’t really expect a situation where the Messiah needed them. Deepest grief involves the isolation from the ones who reduce relationship to a one-sided affair. Sweating blood comes from human betrayal, too.

The one you lifted yesterdayIn several of the support groups that I joined, we talk about how independence causes great stress when accepting care becomes almost impossible for some folks. We are left with care-givers who burn out when more is expected of them than anyone can possibly give. Teaching our elders, our children and our leaders to depend on us and we on them is one of the best things we can do to promote the shalom God intends for human beings.

I hope you search for ways to be helpful today; I hope you find it possible to be helpless, too. And that the one you lifted yesterday will be the one who lifts you today.

If there ever has been a “golden age” in human history I would argue that we’re not now living in one. Yes, we have technological wonders: instant communications,

sophisticated transportation and household appliances, quick availability of virtually anything we want to eat or buy. So day-to-day life is as easy as it’s ever been. But Jesus said, “Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.” No external things, however necessary or enjoyable, will get us into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Many people sense that the trajectory of human society is downward. A just-released poll shows that only one-quarter of Americans think the U.S. is headed in the right direction. In many other countries large majorities of the population say the same. There is increasing government corruption, self-worship, immorality, idolatry (individually and in false religions).

Christian news sources reveal that the number of “ordinary people” getting into the occult has jumped sharply, as has demon-possession, even in North America. Protestant missionaries see it. And the Roman Catholic Church now has more

trained exorcists worldwide than it’s ever had. In the big picture, God seems to be giving Satan ever more leash to wreak havoc. The persecution of Christians is increasing exponentially, from gruesome martrydom, torture and imprisonment in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, to increasing restrictions and curtailing of rights in Europe and North America.

We shouldn’t be surprised at this. Scripture warns us that all of these things will come in the last days. You may say, “Come on, the ‘last days’ began two millennia ago when Christ ascended.” Theologically speaking that’s true. But with each passing day we move closer to the time – and earth-shattering Day of Christ’s return. We don’t know the day or hour, of course. We need only be ready for his appearing.

If we shouldn’t be surprised at any of this, we shouldn’t be afraid, either. Why? Because our God, the God who is in control of all things now – and we can be assured he is in control, and is carrying out his purposes as he always has (purposes we mostly can’t fathom) – is the same God who laid the foundation of the world; who gathered biblical Israel as a people for himself and led them out of Egypt

“with a mighty hand and outstretched arm,” then tended (and disciplined) them over centuries; who raised Christ from the dead; who sent out his Word and Spirit, and grafted us Gentiles into his Body.

‘Before Abraham was, I AM’I find that an astonishing, mindboggling truth that should rightly elicit from us glorious praise and immense gratitude. Imagine! The God who called Abraham out of Ur and who regularly appeared to and talked with him, who visited the 10 plagues on Egypt, who provided manna in the wilderness, who called David (repentant adulterer and murderer that he was) “the apple of his eye” and “a man after his own heart,” who appeared to Mary and incarnated his Son in her womb, who led that Son to his death for our sakes then resurrected him on the third day, who sent out the apostles with signs, wonders and his Word – that God is our God.

That God is “the same yesterday, today and forever” (Heb. 13:8). That God asserts,

“Before Abraham was, I am.” What Moses said of him in Psalm 90 we may say: “Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all

generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

That last phrase always causes me to pause for a second. It seems more grammatical to say, “From everlasting to everlasting you were God.” But God doesn’t have a past as we do. He is still Moses’ God – and Adam’s, Abraham’s and David’s – as he is our God. That is the marvelous truth to which we may cling in good times and bad, and no matter how bad the bad might get.

Toddlers to TeensDenise Dykstra

Christ @ CultureLloyd Rang

My Window SeatMendelt Hoekstra

Principalities& PowersDavid Koyzis

Technically SpeakingDerek Schuurman

Intangible ThingsHeidi Vander Slikke

Country Living

Everyday ChristianCathy Smith

Getting UnstuckArlene Van Hove

Flowers and Thistles

The Public SquareHarry Antonides

Singing the TruthMarian Van Til

From the LabRudy Eikelboom

Words fromWild HorsesWarkentins

Patchwork Words Our World TodayBert Hielema

Curt Gesch

Meindert Vander Galien

SU MO TU WE TH FR SA

Melissa Kuipers

The God who was, and is, is to come

Marian Van Til (mvantil@roadrunner.com)is a former Christian Courier editor living in Youngstown, NY. She blogs at ReformedRevelry.wordpress.com.

Curt Gesch is a farmer and writer living in Quick, B.C. He is a writer on environmental and agricultural topics. He and his wife Betsey attend the Anglican Church in Quick, which has a wood stove, no electricity, no bathroom and which seats 33 people.

Interdependence

Toddlers to TeensDenise Dykstra

Christ @ CultureLloyd Rang

My Window SeatMendelt Hoekstra

Principalities& PowersDavid Koyzis

Technically SpeakingDerek Schuurman

Intangible ThingsHeidi Vander Slikke

Country Living

Everyday ChristianCathy Smith

Getting UnstuckArlene Van Hove

Flowers and Thistles

The Public SquareHarry Antonides

From the 11thProvinceMarian Van Til

From the LabRudy Eikelboom

Words fromWild HorsesWarkentins

Patchwork Words Our World TodayBert Hielema

Curt Gesch

Meindert Vander Galien

SU MO TU WE TH FR SA

Melissa Kuipers

The God of Abraham praise, who reigns enthroned above;Ancient of Everlasting Days, and God of Love;Jehovah, great I AM! by earth and heaven confessed;I bow and bless the sacred name forever blest. The God who reigns on high the great archangels sing,and “Holy, holy, holy!” cry “Almighty King!Who was, and is, the same, and evermore shall be:Jehovah, Lord, the great I AM, we worship thee!”

—Daniel ben Judah (ca. 1400)

In May 2013, in an op-ed piece in the New York Times, Angelina Jolie bravely re-vealed that she had had a mastectomy, a revelation that sparked considerable

discussion. Jolie took this radical and con-troversial preventative step after learning that she possessed a DNA gene variant, BRCA1, which had played a role in the death of her mother from cancer, and gave Jolie an esti-mated 87 percent risk of developing the same cancer.

Jolie’s children who possess this gene variant will face the same difficult decision. What if we could have changed the gene variant for Jolie’s germline cells so that her children would not be faced with this horrible choice?

In September I discussed a new genetic technique that could be used to make specific modifications to our DNA: the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Changing the DNA of a cell can al-ter the way it functions and how it impacts the individual. The technique can be used to change the DNA in specific cells, such that only these cells are affected. But it can also modify germline cells: the eggs, sperm and embryo cells that form the next generation. In this case, the modification affects all the cells in the new individual and all of that indi-vidual’s children. The ease and specificity of this DNA-modification technique raise many issues that Christians need to consider.

Two ethical concerns have been raised. Safety of the technique is clearly one major concern. At this point, whether it is safe is an open question. Safety is a technical issue with many ramifications that I will leave to the experts. However, I can say that testing the technique’s safety requires research on human embryos, a morally questionable re-search exercise for those who believe that life begins at conception.

The second concern is this: if research shows that the technique is safe (a huge and complex “if”), should we permit the modifi-cation of our genetic heritage? And if we per-mit it for individuals with a well-characterised genetic problem, what about modifications that might be considered “improvements,” such as increases in intelligence, removing predisposition for obesity or even vanity-re-lated changes to eye colour or height?

If I decide to have eye surgery, I am ac-countable to God for this choice, as I am for all my choices. I could say the same for any genetic changes I pursue for specific cells in my body. If, however, I have my germline cells changed, these modifications are not primarily for me but also for my descend-ants, who have no choice in my decision. Should I have this power? Is my respon-sibility to God for my own cells the same as that for changes to the genetic material of my descendants? Should I have the sole responsibility? If we as a society are willing to permit changes to an individual’s germ-

line cells, should every change be regulated by some sort of society-approved process, and perhaps limited to only specific disease-related changes?

Spectrum of opinionFor situations in which there are clear gen-etic problems (Huntington’s disease comes to mind), I suspect that some Christians would, and others would not, agree with use of the germline-modification technique. Such vari-ance of opinion is evident within Christian circles for many current medical procedures. For example, many Christians support the use of in vitro fertilization techniques for couples unable to conceive children naturally; some would restrict how it is used; and others (about 12 percent of American Christians, ac-cording to a 2013 Pew survey) argue that in vitro fertilization is morally wrong. Keep in mind that using the CRISPR/Cas9 technique would require in vitro (out of the body) tech-niques, as the embryo would be very difficult to modify in the body.

If the possibility of making specific modi-fications to our germline cell’s DNA is safe, many Christians could see it as preventative medicine, as one of many tools given to us by God to correct a problem in our broken creation.

For other “beneficial” genetic modifica-tions, ethical concerns are stickier. Logistical issues will also prove more difficult, partially because the genetic link for such concerns is often not clear and also because the genes in-volved likely have multiple effects.

These and related moral questions need to be explored both by our Christian community and society at large. We need to put the vari-ous issues involved on the table, even if we as a society or Christian community do not all come to the same position. Fortunately, in the case of human germline modifications, we have some time, because the research com-munity needs to settle the safety issue first.

Rudy Eikelboom (reikelboom@wlu.ca), who may have a genetic predisposition to

weak eyes, is a member of the Waterloo CRC and a professor in the Psychology Depart-

ment at Wilfrid Laurier University.

PAGE 16

Columns

ChRISTIAN CouRIER

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power to work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.” (Eph. 3:20-21)

Paul writes in the verses prior to this that he considers it a privilege to tell the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them through Christ (3:8). he shares this with great humility, not considering himself to have fully ar-rived, even stating that he is the least deserving of all God’s people.

When I think of the treasures available through Christ, I too am humbled and brought to my knees in reverence and thanksgiving for the work and gospel of Jesus Christ.

There is nothing new under the sun. No philosophy, thought, perception or im-agination is new. We recycle and repackage the same things over and over again, simply changing how people of a different generation with different language see and comprehend things.

But there is one thing that never changes, and that is the God of the universe. He does not change like the shifting sands; he doesn’t bow down to culture; he doesn’t move his ministry or adjust his theology to appease sinful choices. He stands as the creator of all things, not just a few things but all things. He shows mercy through the work of Jesus on the cross and revealed himself through his son Jesus and the empowering work of the Holy Spirit. This Godhead three-in-one is at work and always has been.

Put it asideIn this place, with this mighty power, he will accomplish more than we might ask or think. You see as a limited human thinker (we all do!). Our brains are not fully aware of the mysterious ways of the Lord almighty and so we are flawed. We will only see in partial vision, but a time is coming when we will see fully – when we stand in the presence of our Creator.

For me, this truth brings peace. It rules over my heart and gives me courage to continue to put aside my sinful and broken ways. Be it residual same-sex attraction, gender issues or relational brokenness, I find there is a war that rages inside me between the spirit which cries out ABBA FAThER and my flesh, which cries out for MY INDEPENDENCE! As much as I want to have both the spirit and my flesh satisfied, liberation only comes as I submit all things into the Lordship of Christ, not by submitting to my own fleshly wants, human philosophies and broken patterns of thought and relating.

God has unlimited resources – resources that will empower us with inner strength through his spirit. As we trust in Jesus, he makes a home in us and our roots will grow down into God’s love. This strength will keep us from being uprooted by those who will tickle our ears with poor theology, a theology that will appease our own desires rather than the truth of the Gospel.

Poured out like a drink offering“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hard-ship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing” (2 Tim. 4:3-8).

In a seemingly ever-changing cultural landscape, let’s remember to put to test those things that seem like sound doctrine, especially as it pertains to issues of sin and independence from God. Let’s continue to run the good race set before us. Be alert, keep your head, endure hardship and keep the faith. This journey we are on is not about us, it is about the Glory of God. This should keep us firmly rooted in the love of God.

Kenny Warkentin is Associate Pastor at Trinity Baptist Church in Winnipeg, where he lives with his wife and daughter. He blogs at kennypwarkentin.blogspot.com.

Nothing new Tampering with our DNA II: Some ethical concerns

Toddlers to TeensDenise Dykstra

Christ @ CultureLloyd Rang

My Window SeatMendelt Hoekstra

Principalities& PowersDavid Koyzis

Technically SpeakingDerek Schuurman

Intangible ThingsHeidi Vander Slikke

Country Living

Everyday ChristianCathy Smith

Getting UnstuckArlene Van Hove

Flowers and Thistles

The Public SquareHarry Antonides

From the 11thProvinceMarian Van Til

From the LabRudy Eikelboom

Words fromWild HorsesKenny Warkentin

Patchwork Words Our World TodayBert Hielema

Curt Gesch

Meindert van der Galien

SU MO TU WE TH FR SA

Melissa Kuipers

Speak - WritePaula Warkentin

Toddlers to TeensDenise Dykstra

Christ @ CultureLloyd Rang

My Window SeatMendelt Hoekstra

Principalities& PowersDavid Koyzis

Technically SpeakingDerek Schuurman

Intangible ThingsHeidi Vander Slikke

Country Living

Everyday ChristianCathy Smith

Getting UnstuckArlene Van Hove

Flowers and Thistles

The Public SquareHarry Antonides

From the 11thProvinceMarian Van Til

From the LabRudy Eikelboom

Words fromWild HorsesWarkentins

Patchwork Words Our World TodayBert Hielema

Curt Gesch

Meindert Vander Galien

SU MO TU WE TH FR SA

Melissa Kuipers

Geneticist George Church used CRISPR DNA-editing to splice genetic segments from a woolly mammoth into a modern elephant in March 2015.

We worship an unchanging God.

NovEMBER 23, 2015

Classifieds

PAGE 17

Obituary

Laurens (Larry) Vandergrift passed away on November 1, 2015, at age 68.

After twenty years of teaching language at Edmonton Christian High School, Larry be-came a Professor at the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute, University of Ottawa. He was internationally recognized for expertise in the field of language learning. His research into language listening is used globally to help teachers and students in language learning.

Larry valued the community and spiritual roots he found in the Christian Reformed Church, which he served in many capacities, and at Calvin College, his alma mater, where he served on the Board of Directors.

Larry is survived by wife Kathy, son Michael and wife Elaine, daughters Ellen and Andrea, four grandchildren, and six brothers and sisters. He will be deeply missed by family, colleagues, and friends.

Book on the CRC in the Maritimes Immigration, Settlement, and the Origins of the CRC in the Maritime Provinces of Canada, c. 1950-c.1965.

Author: G.H. Gerrits (Ph. D.)Details of book: 310 pages; 40 pictures; Index; Bibliography; Lists of original members of 6 Maritime congregations; large, easy-to-read print; book is sewn, not glued. Much of the book is devoted to the work of the Immigration Committee of the CRC and Home Missions in the Maritimes, and consequently of relevance to the history of the CRC throughout Canada. Cost: book + postage $ 30.00. Order from: Gerry Gerrits, Box 511 Port Williams NS B0P 1T0

Tel. 902.542.0445 E-mail: ggerrits@acadiau.ca

CALENDAR OF EVENTSContact admin@christiancourier.ca to have an event listed here. Cost: $10 or free with a display ad. Dec 2 Libertas Male Choir in concert, 7:30 p.m. Alexandra

Presbyterian Church, Brantford.Dec 3 Libertas Male Choir in concert, 7:30 p.m. Smithville

Canadian Reformed Church, Smithville.Dec 4 Libertas Male Choir in concert, 7:30 p.m. Knox Presby-

terian Church, Stratford.Dec 4 Christmas Christian Festival Concert by the choirs of

the Ontario Christian Music Assembly. Leendert Kooij directing.

Graceview Enterprises Inc. is seeking a motivated and committed individual to fill the position of Project Coordinator. We specialise in the construction of institutional projects: churches, schools, community centres, etc. in the London, Woodstock, and St. Thomas area. Job Responsibilities include quantity takeoff, estimating of costs and contract administration, proposal assembly and submissions, project closeout, coordination of trades submissions, contact with consultants, review of shop drawings. Email Resume to: jobs@graceview.com

Graceview Enterprises Inc. R.R. #1 (50432 Yorke Line)

Belmont, ON N0L 1B0

Email: jobs@graceview.com Website: www.graceview.com

Christmas Christian Festival Concert

Ontario Christian Music AssemblyLeendert Kooij, Director

Special guests include:Andre Knevel, Adolfo De Santis, Liselotte Rokyta,

Beatrice Carpino, Michael Ciufo, OCMA Vocal Quartet, Hansen Trio, Toronto Brass Quintet

A variety of great Christian Music, inspiring gospel songs, exciting Choruses.

Friday, December 4, 2015 - 7:30 p.m. Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto

Order tickets from: Ontario Christian Music Assembly90 Topcliff Ave, Downsview ON M3N 1L8

Phone: 416-636-9779 Email: landmkooy@rogers.com

Job OpportunitiesPrincipal

In beautiful Ottawa, Redeemer Christian High School seeks a principal with a love for Jesus and a passion for Christian education. Aug 2016 start.

www.rchs.on.ca. Email searchteam@rchs.on.ca.

PastorNew Life CRC in Guelph, Ontario, Canada is a church that embraces gift-based ministry, community involvement, children’s programs and worship arts.

We are seeking a relational, creative and ex-perienced leader who can walk with our con-gregation as we seek to follow Christ. With a focus on a Reformed, missional expression of faith, the pastor will be a collaborative leader who encourages and coaches mem-bers to develop and express their faith.

The job description can be found at www.newlifecrc.net.

For more information and a church profile, please contact Kevin Klein-Geltink at pastorsearch@newlifecrc.net.

Youth DirectorFaith Christian Reformed Church, Burlington ON has an immediate opening for a half-time (20 hrs/wk) Youth Director. This position is designed to provide effective and godly leadership to the Youth Ministries of Faith Church, creating a discipleship culture where our youth are inspired to seek a vibrant and ever-growing relationship with Jesus.

The main focus of the work will be with our high school aged Youth ministry and Teen Club (grades 7&8) along with some time devoted to encouraging and supporting our post-high school ministry.

For more information, please see our website www.faithcrc.ca and/or contact Kevin DeRaaf (deraaf@faithcrc.ca). Please email resume to our church office: laura@faithcrc.ca

PastorMount Hamilton is seeking a dynamic and effective preacher and compassionate pastor who will help us to grow in Biblical knowledge and surety of faith.

Mount Hamilton was established in 1952 and serves many senior members. We are looking for a pastor who is gifted in church growth and community involve-ment, and is skilled in planning and leading programs.

For more information please contact John Demik at 905-679-4869 or send your CV to

office.mthamil@bellnet.ca

Investment OpportunityMeatcutter/Sausage maker

Investment opportunity @ Smithers Sausage Factory (est. 1984) in the beautiful Bulkley Valley, Smithers, BC – a thriv-ing meat shop, European deli, imports, sausage making, custom meat cutting. Presently 12 staff.

Contact Fred Reitsma 250-847-2861 (W), 250-847-5503 (H). Email: sausagefactory84@bulkley.net

Vacations Holiday accomodation in Holland

with vehicle rentals and tours. chestnutlane.nl

Florida Rental Fort Myers home

with pool for rent by the week or month.

Dec & April/May still availible. Close to beach and down town activities.

Call 905-332-6711

Join us on Dec 6th at 3:00 p.m. for our annual

Dutch Christmas Carol ServiceEmmanuel Reformed Church

170 Clarke St. N., Woodstock, Ont.

Rev. Ralph Koops will be leadingus in worship. Refreshmentsserved following the service.

PAGE 18

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NovEMBER 23, 2015

In 2014, they purchased land in Jos and built a lar-ger workshop to increase wheelchair production and expand on other mobility products such as prosthetic limbs, crutches and canes.

“Beautiful Gate tries to alleviate the suffering of those affected by polio and other misfortunes,” ex-plains Kathy VanderKloet, a missionary who works in the Christian Reformed Church business office in Nigeria, handling the finances and logistics for CRCM and World Renew in Nigeria.

Beautiful Gate, relying entirely on gifts from donors like World Renew and Rotary International and through Rice’s efforts with Wheelchairs for Nigeria, is the largest mobility aid supplier for polio survivors and has provided over ten thousand wheel-chairs. The wheelchairs are free, given with the hope that the recipient will get an education and not beg. Through organizations like Rotary International, further support is available for survivors to cover school fees.

Gufwan hopes that the world will be free of polio during his lifetime. When invited to the World health organization to address the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, he told leaders: “My dream is one day to stop making wheelchairs.”

The message of compassion for the disabled that Beautiful Gate sends to its fellow citizens is being noticed. A wheelchair presentation in September 2015 was attended by many high-ranking government officials. As well, Beautiful Gate recently received their first substantial donation from a wealthy Nigerian. But the greatest message this organiza-tion sends is that of Christ’s love and peace.

VanderKloet explains that Beautiful Gate is openly Christian, handing out Bibles with the wheelchairs and helping Christians and Muslims alike. “In doing so,” she says, “it has gained a tremendous amount of goodwill in Muslim communities and has shown the hands of Christ reaching out in compassion to the suffering and neglected ones, not only in Christian communities but in other faith communities too.”

Krista lives in Jerseyville, Ontario. She enjoys using her passion for research and writing as a part-time news writer and loves her full-time job as a wife and mom.

For more information, visit worldrenew.net/beautifulgate.

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PAGE 19

Fighting polio continued from page 20

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PAGE 20

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This past July, it was announced that there had been no new cases of polio in Nigeria since July 24, 2014. While this one-year an-niversary is certainly a milestone, it takes three years without a reported case before a country is declared free of the disease.

Ayuba Gufwan and Dr. Ronald Rice, co-founders of the Beautiful Gate Handicapped People Center, applaud the efforts of organ-izations that supported the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

But while these programs serve to fight the disease, Gufwan and Rice saw an as-pect of polio that was not being addressed – support for its survivors. In Nigeria, there is little aid for the survivors of the illness. Unable to travel far on their hands, crippled polio victims are often left destitute and need to beg for survival.

Gufwan has dedicated his life to the fight against polio and also to helping those left crippled, limbs deformed by the disease. He is a polio survivor and knows the struggles first-hand. his father stopped sending him to school after Grade 3, believing any further education would be a waste of money. He was destined to a life dependent on others. When Gufwan was 19 years old, however, his uncle built him a wheelchair. Gufwan returned to school and became a teacher and

later obtained his law degree. When he met Rice, a retired Presbyterian

minister in 1999, the Beautiful Gate ministry was started, named after Acts 3 when Peter healed the lame beggar at the Beautiful Gate temple entrance. Gufwan and Rice want to help polio survivors become independent through mobility.

Gufwan’s dreamThe Beautiful Gate handicapped People Center began with a small workshop in Jos, Nigeria, where they made hand-pro-pelled, tricycle-styled wheelchairs. In North America, Rice registered the charitable or-ganization “Wheelchairs for Nigeria” to raise financial support for Beautiful Gate.

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Eradicate and rehabilitate: Fighting polio and its effects in Nigeria

Continued on page 19

A polio victim receiving a wheelchair from Beautiful Gate.