Canadian Imams, church leaders sign joint letter calling for humanitarian aid, ceasefire in Gaza

The Canadian Council of Imams and national church leaders have signed a joint letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The letter, dated July 9, was initiated by the council, a non-profit that brings together imams and Islamic religious leaders from across Canada. 

In addition to the signatures of the council’s president and executive director, the letter is signed by leaders of the United Church of Canada, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, the Anglican Church of Canada, and the Presbyterian Church in Canada. It was also signed by Mennonite Central Committee Canada, the aid and development arm of Canadian Anabaptist and Mennonite churches.

Read the story in Canadian Affairs.

Photo above: Mennonite Central Committee partner Al-Najd Developmental Forum distributes food parcels to internally displaced residents in Gaza City in the north of Gaza last year.

Christians and Jews in Canada partner to combat antisemitism

 

Antisemitism in Canada has reached record-setting levels. That’s the conclusion of the latest report from B’nai Brith Canada, a Jewish service and advocacy organization. 

In its Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, the organization says there were a total of 6,219 antisemitic incidents in 2024 — the highest number since the inception of the Audit in 1982. That’s a 7.4 per cent increase in incidents from 2023, when B’nai Brith recorded a then-record number of 5,791 incidents across Canada. Altogether, there has been a 124.6 per cent increase from 2022 to 2024. 

In response, a group of Jewish and Christian leaders from across Canada have decided to partner together in what they call the Simeon Initiative, a new national movement to build relationships between members of the two communities to combat antisemitism.

Read my story about the Initiative in Canadian Affairs.

"A vision of what downtown Winnipeg could be." Holy Trinity Anglican Church inspires vision for greening of Graham Ave.

Cathy Campbell was tired of seeing parking lots when she looked out the window from her office in Holy Trinity Anglican Church. 

Six years ago, when she was rector of the church, located at 256 Smith St., Campbell thought a park, garden or trees would give her a much better view. “I could almost see it in my mind.” 

Today, Campbell’s vision is becoming reality, now that the City of Winnipeg has temporarily blocked off parts of nearby Graham Avenue to create a pedestrian corridor—a greening that is partly due to the inspiration and foresight of Campbell and others at Holy Trinity. 

Read my story about how Holy Trinity put its theology of creation care into action to help with the greening of Graham Avenue in the Free Press.

Photo above: Cathy Campbell and Andrew Rampton.

Occasional religious practice the new normal for Anglicans, other Christians today

If you are a Christian, how often do you go to church? Do you go weekly? Once a month? Or maybe only on Christmas and Easter? 

If you are in the latter group, you are not alone. That has become normal for a growing number of churchgoers in Canada, especially in the Anglican Church of Canada.

That’s what Sarah Kathleen Johnson found when she did research on attendance patterns of members of that church. Through her research, Johnson found these occasional attenders are quite content with their current practice. “They don’t feel the need to go more often,” she said. 

As for why they feel that way, Johnson said it wasn’t because they are anti-religion; they just didn’t feel going to church was necessary anymore. And when they did go, it was usually because of tradition or family — Grandma wants the family together at church on Christmas Eve. 

Read more about Johnson’s research and findings in the Free Press.

Manitoba connection to Live Aid on 40th anniversary of groundbreaking concert to raise funds for Ethiopia famine

Forty years ago — on July 13, 1985 — Live Aid rocked the world to raise funds for millions of starving people in Ethiopia. And a Manitoban helped make it happen. 

That Manitoban was William Rew. He was the pilot who flew a BBC film crew into what was considered the epicentre of the famine in the fall of 1984 so they could provide the world with its first view of the terrible suffering unfolding in that country. It was that coverage which led to Live Aid. 

“It was just another day at work in Ethiopia,” Rew said of the BBC trip on Oct. 19, 1984. But that ordinary work day changed the world. 

Read about Rew and his world-changing flight in the Free Press.

Photo above: William Rew (second from right) with his plane in Ethiopia. 

Carnie Rose returns home to be rabbi at Congregation Shaarey Zedek. “I want to invite people into the deep mystery of God."

After decades of living and working in the U.S., Israel, Japan and Europe, Rabbi Carnie Shalom Rose has come back home. 

Rose, who was raised in Winnipeg, took up his new responsibilities as senior rabbi at Congregation Shaarey Zedek on July 1. 

He returns after serving as CEO of a Jewish community centre in Cleveland. “I wanted to go back to teaching in a synagogue,” he said. “I realized I was more of a pastor, teacher and preacher, not an administrator. I missed those things.” 

As a rabbi, Rose wants to pass on the tenets of Judaism to members of Shaarey Zedek. 

“Judaism is a 4,000-year-old tradition that still has something to say to the world today,” Rose said, noting he wants to help the synagogue continue to be a place “where people can come to learn and develop deep roots in Judaism and in the Jewish community.” 

“I want to invite people into the deep mystery of God, to see Judaism as a tradition that has something to say about how to live with a partner, with children, with parents, neighbours, others and the world.” 

Read about Carnie Rose and his vision for Judaism in Winnipeg in the Free Press.

"I want to be a voice for trans people in the church." Anglican priest Theo Robinson leaving Manitoba for new role in B.C.

“I want to be a voice for trans people in the church.”

 

That’s what Theo Robinson, who serves as an Anglican priest in Manitoba, says.

 

Robinson, the first trans person ordained to be a priest in the Diocese of Rupert’s Land—and likely the first in Canada, too—is leaving the province to take a new role as a priest in B.C.

 

Before he left, he shared his story with me (again). By telling it, Robinson hopes to make it easier for other transgender Christians to feel welcome in the church.

“Ignorance brings on hate,” he said, adding that more exposure to the stories of trans Christians can normalize them as people who also are faithfully following Jesus.

Read my story about Robinson in the Free Press.

A lunatic question: Whose side is God on in the Middle East when it comes to war?

As a rule, I try to refrain from writing about the Middle East. The conflicts in that region are mostly geopolitical, not religious. But every now and then religion leaps to the forefront and can’t be ignored. 

That’s what happened during the so-called “12-day war” between Israel, the U.S. and Iran, when leaders of all three countries invoked God and their respective religions to justify their actions. 

It started with Benjamin Netanyahu, who was followed by Donald Trump. And then came Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—all of the invoking God as being on their side against their enemies. 

Which raises several questions, starting with: If, as these monotheistic religions claim, there is only one God, who does that God listen to when asked to bless the wars of one country or another? 

Or maybe, as Mark Twain wrote, that's a lunatic question.

Read more in my recent Free Press column.

100th anniversary of the United Church of Canada; time for another "united" church movement?

 

Turning 100 is a significant milestone for people — and for denominations. That’s what the United Church of Canada did on June 10, this year. 

It was on that date a century ago that Canadian Methodists, Congregationalists and the Presbyterians came together to form the new denomination.  

A big reason for the merger was to reduce duplication of effort and resources; so many little towns and villages across the country had multiple churches from different denominations. There was also a desire for greater Christian unity and collaboration. 

Today, Canada is a less religious place and the challenges are different as the country's over 300 denominations lose members and see churches close. But the need for unity and collaboration is as great as back then, or even more. Is time for some 21st century visionaries to step forward to promote a new kind of “united” church in Canada today?

Read about it in my Free Press column.

A "symbol of healing between Indigenous people and the church." Grandfather Rock, sweat lodge unveiled at Archdiocese of St. Boniface

After smudging and a prayer for the Creator’s blessing, a grandfather rock and symbolic sweat lodge were unveiled Friday on the grounds of the Archdiocese of St. Boniface bishop’s residence.

The 1.5-metre-tall M’shoomis Asin, or grandfather rock, was donated to the archdiocese by a parishioner five years ago. The symbolic sweat lodge was welded by students at Murdoch MacKay Collegiate.

Also unveiled at the ceremony was a panel about sweat lodges and grandfather rocks, which Indigenous people believe are sacred because they contain generational knowledge and a spirit. 

A panel with information about the grandfather rock appears in English, French, Lakota and Ojibwe. A second panel, in English and French, describes the role of sweat lodges in Indigenous tradition and culture.

 

Read my story in the Free Press.

Photo above: Elder Clayton Sandy and Archbishop Albert LeGatt stand in front of the Grandfather Rock and symbolic sweat lodge. 

Our Whole Society Conference tackles topic of fostering hope in a divided world

How can people today find hope to promote and sustain collective action? How do we tackle the challenges facing the world and work towards a more positive future? What role can diverse faith traditions play in helping us face the most pressing demands of our time? 

These were topics addressed at the June 15-17 Our Whole Society Conference by people such as former Minister of Global Affairs, Lloyd Axworthy, international human rights lawyer Payam Akhavan, and environmentalist Elin Kelsey, author of the book Hope Matters: Why Changing the Way We Think Is Critical to Solving the Environmental Crisis. 

The theme of the conference, which is sponsored by the Canadian Interfaith Conversation (CIC), is Fostering Hope in a Divided World. It was held at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg. 

Read an overview about the conference in the Free Press. 

Read about the presentation by Lloyd Axworthy in Canadian Affairs.

Read about the presentations by Akhavan and Kelsey in Canadian Affairs.

National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation makes available first 140 Oblate priest's personnel files

 

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation has released the names of the now-deceased Oblate priests who worked in residential schools in Quebec, Ontario and western Canada. 

“It’s a significant step forward,” said Raymond Frogner, head of archives and senior director of research at the centre, which released the scanned personnel files of 140 priests on May 29. “It gets us one step closer to a complete understanding of the residential school system.” 

The files were released in collaboration with OMI Lacombe Canada, formerly known as The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, or Oblates, who ran 48 residential schools. 

Father Ken Thorson, executive director for OMI Lacombe, is “deeply grateful” for the collaboration between the Oblates and the centre to make the files available. “We recognize that this is only one part of a long and painful journey,” he said. “And we remain committed to continuing this important work.” 

Read about the release of the files in Canadian Affairs. 

Photo above: Oblate priest Père Carriere with residential school students.

 

 

Our Whole Society conference to explore how to foster hope in a divided world

How can people today find hope to promote and sustain collective action? How do we tackle the challenges facing the world and work towards a more positive future? What role can diverse faith traditions play in helping us face the most pressing demands of our time? These are the topics to be addressed at the Our Whole Society Conference at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, June 15-17. 

The theme of the conference, which is sponsored by the Canadian Interfaith Conversation, is “fostering hope in a divided world.” 

Read more about the conference in the Free Press.

"God must like old people. He keeps creating more of them.” Thoughts about seniors and why so many are ignored by the church

 

“God must like old people. He keeps creating more of them.” So quipped Scott Tolhurst, a former pastor who, over the course of his 48 years in ministry, developed a heart for service to seniors. 

Current demographics prove him right. According to Statistics Canada, seniors are the fastest-growing group in Canada. But it’s not just society that’s greying; so are churches. 

According to the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, in 2024 there were more churchgoers older than 65 than younger than 35 in U.S. churches — and likely in Canada, too. 

Despite the rising number of older adults in congregations, many churches are still mainly focused on serving younger people and families. Some want to see that focus change. 

Read about it in my recent Free Press column.

Anglicans in Manitoba elect first Black bishop, Jewish women in Winnipeg wage peace, Muslims gather for Eid al-Adha prayers: Religion round-up

 

Anglicans in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario have selected the first Black person to be their bishop, Jewish women in Winnipeg want to “wage peace” between Israelis and Palestinians, and 15,000 local Muslims gather for prayer during Eid al-Adha—three of my recent stories about faith in Manitoba for a religion round-up.

 

Anglicans in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario have selected the first Black person to be their bishop—and the first who was born in Africa. Naboth Manzongo was elected to be the 14th bishop of the Diocese of Rupert’s Land May 31. 

“It’s a burden to be the first of anything,” he said about becoming the first Black and African bishop in the diocese, adding he can be an inspiration to Black youth and to youth from other marginalized communities. 

Read my story about Naboth in the Free Press.

 

Esther Blum doesn’t know how peace is going to happen between Israel and Palestine. But, she said, “We gave war a chance for 77 years. Maybe now is the time to give peace the same amount of time.”

Blum, a member of the Winnipeg chapter of Women Wage Peace, made that comment to a group of about 25 Jewish seniors at the Remis Luncheon at the Gwen Secter Creative Living Centre a week ago.

Read my story about Esther and Women Wage Peace in the Free Press.

 

And around 15,000 local Muslims converged on the convention centre Friday to mark Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice. 

The event remembers the story in the Qur’an of Ibrahim’s willingness to obey God by sacrificing his son, Ishmael. It was held in three sessions to accommodate everyone who came to pray and hear sermons from Islamic leaders. 

Ismael Mukhtar, an imam at the Grand Mosque, preached about the importance of being willing to follow God in life and to submit to him. 

“As Muslims, we are to follow the example of Ibrahim, to be willing to sacrifice what is most precious to us for God,” he told the gathering. 

That, he added, is the essence of Islam, that “we are willing to go to the furthest point of sacrifice in obedience to the creator.”

Read about the prayer service in the Free Press.

 

 

“So grateful that I am alive, even if I’m not well.” Seminary dean reflects on what it’s like to have Long Covid

 

In Canada, over two million people struggle with the effects of Long Covid. Arnold Neufeldt-Fast is one of them. The dean of Tyndale Seminary in Toronto has had it since 2023. Symptoms include extreme fatigue, brain fog, memory and concentration issues and pain. Any exertion, mental or physical, can incapacitate him for hours or even days. 

I asked Neufeldt-Fast how he is dealing with the condition from a faith perspective. Has it changed his view of God? What about prayer? How has it impacted his view of suffering? Read his thoughts in my recent Free Press column.

Image above from UConn Today.

 

 

 

Churches respond to affordable housing crisis: "We want to find new ways for our building to live."

 

One thing all federal party leaders agreed on during this election is that Canada faces an affordable housing crisis. And here in Winnipeg, the provincial and local governments are trying to address the challenge of homelessness. It’s a big challenge. What can be done? 

Earlier this year, I had a chance to talk with some Lutheran church leaders in Ontario who are taking the challenge into their own hands by turning their buildings into housing—including one that turned its education wing into affordable housing, and another that sold the entire building and land. 

Read about it in my column in the Free Press.

Popes, religion and the media, or back to normal after the conclave

 

The death of Pope Francis and the election of Pope Leo XIV brought an estimated 7,000 reporters to Rome — swamping the Vatican press corps, which has about 100 permanent accredited journalists. 

For a few weeks in April and May, they reported everything there was possible to know about the two men. 

And then all the reporters went home.

And now reporting about Catholicism by the mainstream media goes back to normal. If that Church makes the news, it will likely be due to scandal or conflict at most media outlets. But not at the Free Press, the only daily newspaper in Canada that still has a faith beat. We will keep covering that church, and other religious groups, too.

As a veteran Vatican reporter said about the importance of covering religion: “If you look at the current world situation only through political and sociological glasses and leave religion out of consideration, you miss something very essential.”

You can read my column about popes, religion and the importance of religion coverage in the Free Press. 

Photo above: Media scrum in St. Peter's Square in 2022 when the Indigenous delegation from Canada was there to visit Pope Francis. I am barely visible on the left side (just the top of my head).  

For some people of faith, like Colts tackle Braden Smith, religious scrupulosity an OCD disorder that disrupts their lives

Religious scrupulosity — that’s something I had never heard about until I read a story about Indianapolis Colts offensive tackle Braden Smith and his struggle with it.

Religious scrupulosity is a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder associated with faith. In particular, it causes those suffering from it to worry about committing sins that will cause God to punish them and send them to hell.

“It’s like every wrong move you make, it’s like smacking (a) ruler against (your) hand,” Smith said of the condemning and judgmental God that loomed large in his mind. “Another bad move like that and you’re out of here.”

Read more about this disorder that afflicts some people of faith, together with comments from a Winnipeg psychologist who has treated people with religious scrupulosity, in my recent Free Press column.

Veteran Vatican reporter shares inside information about the conclave to choose the next pope

What’s really going to happen as the conclave begins Wednesday in Vatican City to decide the next pope of the Roman Catholic Church? 

Nobody knows for sure, of course. But Hendro Munsterman, a veteran Vatican correspondent for Nederlands Dagblad, a Christian newspaper in The Netherlands, has some inside information. 

I met Munsterman last October at the Vatican press office when I was in Rome to cover the Roman Catholic Church’s Synod on Synodality. 

In his conversations with cardinals who will vote to select the next leader to represent 1.4 billion Catholics around the world, he has heard nothing but support for who Pope Francis was a person. 

But privately, some suggested Francis went too fast with his reforms, especially in his efforts to involve the laity in making decisions about the church—and may want to choose someone as pope who might slow things down, as happened following the death of Pope John XXIII during Vatican 2. 

Read my column in the Free Press.

Catholic women respond to death of Pope Francis: “The exclusion of women must be dismantled for the Church to become truly synodal"

It’s been two weeks since Pope Francis died. Accolades and appreciation have been expressed for his 12 years as leader of the Roman Catholic Church — all of them well deserved. When he died, it felt like we all lost a friend, even if we weren’t Catholic or even Christians. 

Among those who felt great sadness at his passing were Catholic women’s groups. They expressed appreciation for what he did for them in the Church — but also wished he could have done more. 

Read about how some Catholic women’s organizations responded to the death of Pope Francis in my recent Free Press column.

Lay synod in June in Canada a legacy to Pope Francis

Pope Francis has passed away. But his legacy will live on around the world — and also here in Canada when Roman Catholics will gather in Ontario June 15-18 for a lay synod. 

The synod, the first national event of its kind in Canada, is titled “Journey of Encounter: Pilgrims of Hope Embracing Synodality.” Organized by Concerned Lay Catholics (CLC), it is taking place at St. Jerome’s University in Waterloo, Ont. 

The lay synod takes its inspiration from the words of Pope Francis, when he issued his final report to the concluding session of the three-year-long Synod on Synodality in Rome last fall. 

“Pope Francis’s final words to that Synod on Synodality are our beginning,” said Garry Warner, chair of the CLC and one of the lay synod’s organizers. 

Read about the lay synod in my Free Press column.

"There's something ugly in the air." U.S. Mennonite pastor wants to leave for Canada to protect trans child

It’s not only American university professors, scientists, researchers, doctors and nurses who are contemplating moving to Canada because of the political situation in the United States. Clergy are, too. 

That includes “James” (not his real name), a Mennonite pastor in the eastern U.S. 

James is one of a number of American pastors reaching out to Canadian denominations, asking about job openings in Canada. To date, over 50 clergy have reached out to progressive groups like the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the United Church of Canada.  

James and his wife have two children—one at college and the other in high school and still at home. They are not thinking about leaving because of their church; that is a positive experience.

“There’s a richness about the church, with the members living out their faith,” he said. “Members are supportive, encouraging, generous and kind.”

For James, it’s because of his youngest child who is trans. 

“I keep thinking about what the world looks like for my child with this new administration,” he said. “All those anti-trans messages. There’s something ugly in the air. People at the highest level of leadership in this country are saying such cruel and dismissive things about people like my child.”

The state the family lives in has good laws to protect LGBTQ+ and trans people. But that could change, he said, adding the way some people in the Trump administration speak about trans people might allow others to say and do awful things to people like his child.

And that is his main concern. “I want they to have a flourishing future,” he said, adding “they don’t feel safe in the U.S. It sounds like Canada would be a better place.”

Since Canadian immigration law has a provision to enable religious workers to more easily immigrate to that country, this makes a move easier for James, who is in conversation with Mennonite Church Canada leaders, including Michael Pahl, executive minister for Mennonite Church Manitoba.

“Since Donald Trump's election last November, we have seen an increase in interest from pastors in the U.S. looking to move to Manitoba,” Pahl said.

For Jeff Friesen, who directs leadership ministries for MC Manitoba, calls from people like James and others indicate some clergy in the U.S. reacting to the political and cultural shift in that country.

“Since January, we have had conversations with American Mennonite church leaders who have pretty consistently shared with us their anxiety about what is happening in the U.S.,” he said.

As for James, right now the family has not made firm plans to leave.

“We ask ourselves if it is worth it to uproot and go,” he said. But then he thinks of how fraught things feel for his child and how unsafe they feel. “Then we know we should go,” he said.