In May 2016, CCMBC distributed a questionnaire to Canadian MB churches. Out of the responses received it can be known that: 43 MB churches either have already welcomed refugee families or are expecting the arrival a family soon (17%). Another 15 have begun the process of…
Prayer focus: Simonhouse Bible Camp
“We see campers – many of whom have no church or Christian family influence – seeking after God,” says Simonhouse Bible Camp director Darrell Janzen. “Children, youth and families are hungry for the good news and desperately in need of hope.” Simonhouse has a reputation…
Photo Essay: A powerful presence in Pimicikamak
Pimicikamak (pim ih chik uh mak) [Cree]: [the place] where a lake lies across the river, the land surrounding that place, the people that has inhabited that land since time immemorial, the nation comprised of that people inhabiting that land (adj. of or about that…
The Lord’s Prayer
The Lord’s Prayer—perhaps more helpfully referred to as Jesus’ Prayer, since it incorporates the kinds of prayers he himself prayed during his adult life—is, in my opinion, the best prayer and model for prayer that Christians can use. In a few weeks,
How Faith Prays
During this first week of the Christian New Year, I wondered whether I might choose a suitable prayer as a focus for this year’s Advent season. That question reminded me that when I was a pastor, I once used the four Sundays of Advent to…
Praying the Ordinary
Poems are wonderfully evocative. With just a few lines, a poem evokes an image, a memory, a possibility, or a feeling. When I recall Robert Frost’s “two roads diverged in a yellow wood,” Bruce Cockburn’s “If I had a rocket launcher,” and Earle Birney’s “David,”…
July Praise & Prayer Guide
Each month MBCM produces a Praise & Prayer Guide highlighting 2 Manitoba MB churches or programs. The following is an example: The July guide featuring Elm Creek and Crossroads MB Church. Click here to subscribe to the monthly mailing and receive your praise & prayer guide as PDF. Elm Creek…
Also Praying on Vacation
During one of my early years as a pastor, I remember eagerly looking forward to spending a couple of weeks of traveling on a family vacation. Before I left on that trip, an elderly Baptist minister suggested that even while I was on vacation, I should be…
The Psalms, and Praying Hatred
Growing up, my Christian teachers said that I could—and should—talk to God conversationally, just as if I was talking to a friend. (Although my Dad also cautioned me against speaking to God too casually, because God is more than a buddy) All this good advice was unsurprising, since I…
Why do Christians Pray? (Part 2)
What happens when you thank someone? Think back to the last time you thanked a bank teller, the cook in your home, a child who cleaned up his Lego set, a grandparent who recalled a bit of her history, or the greeter who held the door…