November 1, 2007

Dalai Lama brings message of reconciliation to Ottawa THE DALAI LAMA brought a message of peace and reconciliation to Ottawa October 28 - 30, urging China to grant the Tibetan people the rights to preserve their language, culture, and spirituality.

Hokus Pick honoured at Covenant Awards Hokus Pick received a lifetime achievement award at the Gospel Music Association Canada's 29th Annual Covenant Awards in Calgary last weekend.

Closed college continues to raise questions of accountability ALLEGATIONS of abuse at a Christian school have raised difficult issues of accountability.

OttawaWatch: The Dalai Lama and the moderator IT WAS an interesting weekend that extended into Monday evening.

News briefs • Rosebud Theatre's 25th • CPJ responds to throne speech • LCC president steps down • more

News links • Islam and the West • Religious minorities in Quebec • Christian bystander killed in a Surrey gang war • more

November 8, 2007

Key writers rediscover Christmas FOR many people, Christmas feels like a time of chaos, commercialism and shallow sentimentality instead of the rich spirituality it's supposed to represent.

Comment: Murdered women not wastes of human beings As the trial of alleged serial killer Robert Pickton winds down in BC, CC.com presents the perspective of Trisha Baptie, a former sex trade worker...

To veil or not to veil A FEDERAL bill requiring all voters -- including Muslim women -- to uncover their faces before they vote is a lot of hype over nothing, and may reflect an increasingly bigoted approach to visible signs of religious faith, according to one prominent Muslim.

OttawaWatch: A Rocha's pebble creates a ripple MARKKU Kostamo dropped into Ottawa a few weeks ago, to raise awareness in this very political community, for the work of A Rocha.

News links • Jean Vanier • The Dalai Lama • Author in race to replace Potter • more

November 15, 2007

Union official files complaint claiming religious discrimination The president of an Ottawa Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) local has filed a human rights complaint against both his union and his employer on religious freedom grounds.

Quebec ministry celebrates 40th anniversary A MINISTRY designed for a one-time event is still impacting Quebec society a generation later.

Faith legacy sustains rising star Ellington TAYLOR ELLINGTON was positioned at defence during the season's opener last year, on the Everett Silvertips home ice in the Comcast Arena.

News briefs • Leprosy Mission raises $100,000 • Clemons & Friends Gospel Explosion • Catholics oppose privatization of water • more

News links • CBC's documentary on Falun Gong • Same-sex unions could split Church: new primate • A thoroughly political writer • more

November 22, 2007

Anglican Church in "full-blown schism" THE ANGLICAN Church of Canada is in "full-blown schism," said Michael Ingham, controversial Bishop of New Westminster, to the Anglican Journal this week.

Victoria surgeon receives Order of Canada THE ORDER of Canada is the highest honour our country can bestow on its civilian citizens. Norgrove Penny, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon from Victoria, BC, received it October 26 for what he has done for disabled children in Uganda.

Poverty gets political TAYLOR TORONTO -- Some churches believe the moment has finally arrived when poverty is about to mix with politics in Canada, and they say the faith community wants an invitation to the party.

OttawaWatch: Details in a global context HAVE YOU ever seen a television clip showing a satellite shot of planet Earth, which then zooms in on some tiny square footage of the same planet, with astounding detail?

News briefs • Naskapi New Testament after 25 years • New principal for ACTS • Manitoba schools promotion • more

News links • Religion in Quebec • Islam and the West • The polygamous cult at Bountiful • more

November 29, 2007

Comment: His Dark Materials: How the Grinch stole God LAST YEAR, many Christians went out of their way to caution their fellow believers against over-reacting to the movie version of The Da Vinci Code.

Cardinal Ouellet's apology greeted with praise and suspicion Cardinal Marc Ouellet's apology to Quebeckers for the past sins of some Catholics in that province has provoked an unprecedented response -- both positive and negative -- across the country.

Conservative Anglicans to establish new Canadian denomination THE ANGLICAN Network in Canada (ANiC) has followed through on its plans to set up an alternative Anglican structure for conservatives...

OttawaWatch: The senator's quiet benediction THE OCCASION was the first-ever Inter-faith Prayer Breakfast on Parliament Hill. It drew about 100 people to the parliamentary dining room, about one-third of them members of parliament.

News briefs • Support for Saudi rape victim • EFC questions voting bill • CHP under siege at 20 • more

News links • The minister and her license plate • The "pie ladies" killed in a car crash • Fetal rights and euthanasia • more