News briefs

A lot to sing about

Steve Bell leads the list of nominees at the 30th Annual Covenant Awards

GMA Canada Week, sponsored by the Gospel Music Association of Canada, takes place in Calgary October 21 - 25. The week includes a worship service at First Alliance Church; a CCM (Canada Christian Music) training conference for musicians, songwriters and managers; the 30th annual Covenant Awards at First Alliance Church; three free showcase concerts at Bow Valley Christian Church (adult contemporary), The Dream Centre (folk/acoustic) and First Assembly Church (country/southern gospel); the Shine FM Cross-Canada Talent Search; and an all-day seminar taught by Tom Jackson.

A long way to go for a haircut

Will Vandervelde of Edmonton recently had his hair cut and his head shaved by disabled children at a rehabilitation centre in Katalemwa, Uganda. Vandervelde and nine other Canadians were on a two-week missions trip sponsored by cbm Canada, and the haircut was a fundraising project for cbm's Children's Ability Network. Vandervelde raised over $7,000 from sponsors back in Canada in exchange for surrendering his long curly brown hair, which had taken seven years to grow. He said the first donation was made by his mother.

Your mission is to complete the survey

The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada is asking churches across Canada to participate in two national surveys. The 'Missional Church' survey will help determine how Canadian churches perceive and practice strategic missional values in general. The 'Church Missions' survey explores church involvement in mission on a global scale. Churches and pastors that participate in the surveys will be eligible for a draw for a laptop computer.

Two awards for two leaders

Morris Ertman, artistic director of Rosebud Theatre in Rosebud, Alberta, has been given a Distinguished Alumni award from his alma mater, Taylor University College and Seminary in Edmonton. Rosebud's executive director Bob Davis has been presented with the Rozsa Innovation in Arts Management award presented by the Rozsa Foundation at the Jack Singer Concert Hall in Calgary.

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You, too, can learn how to change the world

Citizens for Public Justice has launched its newly redesigned website. New features include a blog with daily postings on current justice issues, bookmarking tools and a thorough search engine. Also released is CPJ's Advocacy Toolkit, a comprehensive guide for Canadian citizens on how to be an effective advocate for any cause. It includes sample press releases and petitions and detailed instructions.

60 years and 800 children

Castle Quay Books has released a new book called Save My Children: The Story of a Father's Love by Emily Wierenga. The book is a partly fictional retelling of the true story of the founders of Bethany Homes for Children. Between 1948 and 1991, Harvey and Elsie Jespersen fostered up to 55 children at any given time in a set of old army barracks on 42 acres of Alberta farmland. They eventually cared for over 800 abused and neglected children, refusing to take any payment except what parents could afford and depending on the power of prayer and God to meet their needs.

Christmas in a shoebox

What do tiny mountain Andean villages and windswept desert communities have in common with urban and rural Canada? They have all experienced the power of a simple gift. Once again, Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan's Purse, is partnering with thousands of Canadians this year to bring hope to send shoe boxes filled with toys, school supplies and hygiene items to needy children in South and Central America and West Africa. Since 1993, individuals, groups and churches in 11 participating countries have donated more than 61 million shoe boxes, and Operation Christmas Child has delivered the gifts to children in 138 nations. Last year, Canadians donated 661,530 of the 7.6 million gift-filled shoe boxes collected worldwide. For details, contact 1-800-303-1269.

Start translating early

Wycliffe Bible Translators of Canada has launched a Children's Ministries Department to excite youngsters about future work in missions and Bible translation. Paul Meisner, Wycliffe Canada's public relations director, says research shows children make the decision to enter the mission field full time when they are under 14. Christy Edwards has been appointed coordinator of the new Department, which has its own section on the agency's website. Edwards says children can do the same things for missions that adults can: pray, give, raise funds and write encouraging letters to missionary kids in another country. Wycliffe sees the next generation of missionaries as vital to achieve 'Vision 2025' -- the multi-agency goal of having a Bible translation started in every one of the world's languages by the year 2025. Since the call was issued in 1999, Bible translation project starts have accelerated faster than at any time in history. However, about 2,500 languages, spoken by nearly 200 million people, still do not have Scriptures.

October 16/2007