New uses for places of worship: Stories about ways congregations are responding to needs in their communities

 

I’m working on a feature about churches that are creatively converting their buildings and properties into community hubs and affordable housing. It got me thinking about the various articles I have written on this topic, going back 15 years—nine articles in total. 

It’s an important issue; sometime in the next five to ten years, a third of Canada’s estimated 27,000 places of worship (most of them churches) are slated to close due to falling attendance.

What can be done? And what is already happening? If you want to learn more, check out some of the links below. 

My first article on the topic was in 2010, when I wrote an overview of the situation in Canada titled Keeping Faith in Historic Churches. 

I did another one in 2015, titled Does it Matter if a Historic Church Closes? The answer, unsurprisingly, is yes—for various reasons, including all the community, newcomer, arts and recovery groups that would lose space. 

In 2017, I wrote about The Halo Effect, or What are Places of Worship Really Worth to a Community? It’s about a way of calculating the economic value of places of worship in a community—and what would be lost if they disappeared. (I wrote about it again in 2023 for Canadian Affairs; according to the Halo Effect, places of worship are worth over $18 billion to the Canadian economy.) 

In 2019, I wrote about a church in Ottawa that had been converted into a meeting and convention space. “We worked with the community to repurpose it,” Leanne Moussa, president of allsaints Development Inc., said of how the building became a popular venue for weddings, funerals, parties, conferences, theatre, concerts and other events. 

In 2024, I interviewed Mark Elsdon, editor of the book Gone for Good? Negotiating the Coming Wave of Church Property Transition. Elsdon created the book to get congregations to start thinking now about what happens when there are no longer enough people to make their church viable. Rather than wait until there are few options on the table, “Let’s talk about it now, get in front of it,” he said. 

And this year I interviewed leaders of some Lutheran churches in Canada who are converting their buildings and properties into affordable housing. I was taken by the words of Jennifer Hoover, the congregational redevelopment advisor for the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, about a new way for congregations to view the changes they are experiencing today. 

“We need to reframe that narrative, away from one of having failed,” she said, explaining that it is a chance for congregations “to think about what new thing is possible, about new ways they can use the building in ways that are consistent with their mission, vision and values.” 

Also in 2025 I did a story about Winnipeg’s Lutheran Church of the Cross, which closed so its building could be converted into apartments for seniors. And one about how Gordon King Memorial Church in Winnipeg has reimagined itself as a community hub, including a popular coffee house named “Gordie’s.”

It’s an ongoing story; with so many buildings slated to close, there will be many more opportunities to write about this topic.

Photo above: St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Kitchener, which is converting its Christian education wing into affordable housing.

 

 

News about the Canadian government and religion (the kind that doesn't fit the anti-religion narrative)

We live at a time when some people of faith (mostly conservative Christians) view the current government as anti-religion for various reasons. Some of them are worth informed discussion, while others are based on misinformation—often deliberately stoked by groups who benefit from hair-on-fire fear mongering.

 

So it’s nice to offer a different take on news about the Canadian government and religion, starting with an unusual decision by Statistics Canada to break with over 150 years of tradition by asking Canadians about their religious affiliation every five years, not every ten years, starting in 2026.

 

This is a change from how the agency has only asked the question every ten years, since 1871. Now the time span is just five years.

 

The reason for the change is to get a better handle on the rise of the “nones” in Canada; it is expected to go above 40 per cent next year. At the same time, there is a dramatic rise in the number of Canadians who are part of the Muslim, Hindu and Sikh faiths. 

 

That is followed by news about how the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) reached out to faith groups in fall to ask them to talk to their members about measles. As one observer put it, the request shows that the government views faith groups as trustworthy partners when it comes to sharing messages about this outbreak.

 

Read about those stories in my recent Free Press column.

Palestinian family from Gaza in Winnipeg for medical care gets help from Mennonite Central Committee, Muslim organizations

 

A Palestinian family that came to Winnipeg from Gaza to get medical care for their son is adjusting to life in Winnipeg, thanks to help from local organizations like Mennonite Central Committee, the Manitoba Islamic Association and the Canadian Muslim Women’s Institute.

The couple and their four children, who are under the age of 12, were brought to Manitoba in mid-November by the provincial government so that one of the children, a boy, can receive complex medical care.

When MCC was approached by the Manitoba government to be the lead partner in helping the family, the organization was quick to agree, said Darryl Loewen, executive director of the MCC Manitoba office.

“Welcoming and supporting this family is a small but concrete act of care and kindness in the face of an unprecedented, human-made humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza,” he said. “We’re helping one family find safety and essential medical care because we can, and because it’s what MCC tries to do by being the hands and feet of Christ.”

 

Read my story in the Winnipeg Free Press.

Photo above: Palestinian family members gather in their apartment. MCC photo by Jessica Burtnick.

Small but big-hearted church makes sure lonely residents of a local personal care home get a present at Christmas

In the Dr. Seuss story, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the Grinch’s heart grew “three sizes that day” when he realized Christmas wasn’t about getting presents yourself—but about giving joy to others.

That is something members of the Church of St. Stephen and St. Bede here in Winnipeg don’t have to learn. They already know it. 

The small congregation of 20 to 25 people put their big hearts on display again at a recent service when they lined up presents at the front of the church for 24 lonely residents of the Charleswood Extendicare personal care home on Roblin Boulevard—people who, because they have no family, would otherwise not get a gift on Christmas Day.

Read my story about this small but big-hearted congregation in the Free Press.

Photo above: Phyllis Graham, Kari Hagness, Marilyn Lund, Karen Samsom, Chris Salstrom of St. Stephen and St. Bede.

Removal of religious exemption from the Canadian Criminal Code; is it such bad thing? A few thoughts to consider

The Canadian government may remove a religious exemption to the Criminal Code that says “no person shall be convicted of an offence . . . if, in good faith, the person expressed or attempted to establish by an argument an opinion on a religious subject or an opinion based on a belief in a religious text.” 

The government is considering doing that because they need the support of other parties to pass Bill C-9, the “Combatting Hate Act. The Bloc Québécois has indicated it is willing to support the Bill—if the religious exemption is removed. 

This move—which is not yet finalized—is being criticized by religious groups, which say it could have a chilling effect on clergy and others who fear sharing traditional teachings could be seen as hate speech. 

But philosopher Gary Gutting says that history shows that it’s a good thing when governments limit the harm religion can cause—like how states in Europe in times past passed laws against jailing and executing people because they had a different set of beliefs. 

Or, as Arnold Neufeldt-Fast, a theologian and dean at Tyndale Seminary, put it: It’s not such a bad thing when governments remind Christians and others “not to weaponize their sacred texts to incite hatred.” 

Read my latest column in the Winnipeg Free Press.

Everyone is welcome at Gordie's coffeehouse at Winnipeg's Big Red Church

It’s cold outside, but it’s warm and comfortable inside Gordie’s coffeehouse on a Thursday evening in the Winnipeg neighbourhood of Glenelm. 

That’s where a full house of around 50 people is gathered to listen to folk and blues music. 

People have been coming to weekly concerts at Gordie’s since 2007, listening to local groups like the Nite Snackers, Agassiz Railroad, the Cat’s Advice and Two Crows for Comfort. There’s also an open mic for anyone who wants to perform a song or two. 

But what makes Gordie’s unique isn’t just the music — it’s the location: Gordon-King Memorial United Church. Or, as it’s known in the neighbourhood, the Big Red Church. 

Read my story about Gordie’s and the Big Red Church in the Free Press.

Faithful whistleblowers resist ICE in the U.S.

When Dan and Emily Coyne attend Sunday services at their church in Evanston, Il, they bring their Bibles — and their whistles. 

The Bibles are so they can follow along with sermons. The whistles are so they can blow them to warn their neighbors if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are in the area. 

“They’re with us all the time,” said Coyne of the whistles that he and his wife, Emily, carry with them to Reba Place Church. 

The church, which is part of Mennonite Church USA, is located in an area targeted by ICE to round up and deport undocumented people. The operation, called Midway Blitz, has resulted in the detentions of over 600 people since September. 

“The whistles are a non-violent way to resist,” said Dan, saying people blow three short blasts to warn that ICE agents are in the area and three long blasts when people see agents in the process of trying to detain someone. 

Read my column about the Coynes and how other people of faith are resisting ICE in the U.S.

Photo above: Dan and Emily Coyne outside their church.

 

 

Biker church in Winnipeg for those "who don’t fit into a normal Sunday morning scene”

It’s called the House of the Risen Son, but everyone in Winnipeg calls it the “Biker church.” 

It’s for people who don’t fit into a normal Sunday morning scene,” said member Ron Gross, who wears his Bondslaves Motorcycle Club vest — a symbol of club identity that is associated with the church — to services. 

The goal of the club is to enjoy riding and share about Jesus — whether to outlaw bikers or law-abiding motorcyclists. There are more than 20 members in two chapters in the city. 

On a recent Sunday evening, about 45 people gathered at Soul Sanctuary on Chevrier Boulevard, where the church rents space for its services. Men made up about three-quarters of the group; some, including Gross, wore patched vests, or “cuts” declaring their membership in Bondslaves. 

Read my story in the Winnipeg Free Press. (Note: I don’t choose the headlines.)

Serving Soup with dignity on the side: People with disabilities find meaningful employment through the Raw Carrot

 

Kieran Schellenberg wasn’t just stirring soup at the launch of the Raw Carrot on Thursday — he was mixing up hope and purpose.

“It’s difficult for people with disabilities to find a job,” said Schellenberg, 26, who is on the autism spectrum and also deals with OCD, ADHD and anxiety. 

“It’s great to get out, have work and be productive,” he said, adding that having a job also aids with self-esteem. 

That’s why Schellenberg is glad to be working for the Raw Carrot, a social enterprise that launched this week at St. Peter’s Anglican Church in River Heights. 

Sponsored by Hope Centre Ministries, which seeks to help churches serve people with disabilities in Winnipeg, the eight staff at the Raw Carrot work one day a week to make gourmet soup for sale. 

Read more in my Free Press news story.

 

 

The Comfortable Pew 60 years later, and a chance to support religion journalism at the Winnipeg Free Press

Sixty years ago, Pierre Berton’s book The Comfortable Pew: A Critical Look at Christianity and the Religious Establishment in the New Age, was published.

In it, Berton argued that the church in general, and the Anglican Church in particular, had become complacent and out of touch with the modern world. It had, he said, become a comfortable institution more interested in respectability than in relevance.

That was a remarkable thing to say. What was just as remarkable was the widespread media reaction to the book. Canadian newspapers and other media outlets ran stories, reviews and even editorials. 

It would be hard to imagine such a widespread response to a book about religion by the media today. These days, religion of all kinds has been mostly pushed to the margins by Canada’s media — unless there’s a sex scandal, violence in the name of God, or if the pope dies. 

But not at the Winnipeg Free Press! It’s the only major daily media outlet in Canada with a dedicated religion reporter. (Me.) Only in the Free Press can you regularly find columns and stories about religion in the 21^st century.

 

Since 2019, when the Religion in the News Project was founded, over 900 news stories about faith have appeared throughout the paper, together with over 350 weekly columns on the Faith Page.

All of this has been made possible by the support of 30 local faith groups, and through financial support from people like you. So, during this fall Crowdfunder, I invite you to support the coverage of faith by the Free Press—even if you don’t live in Winnipeg. Your support is a signal that you believe religion should be featured more prominently by the Canadian media.

To make a contribution, go to winnipegfreepress.com/support-faith.

 

Sixty years later, Berton’s book might be worth a second look. How does Christianity in Canada measure up today? Are the pews still too comfortable? Has organized religion in general lost its prophetic voice?

Those are still important questions today. And they are still being asked in the pages of the Free Press — thanks to your support.

 

Click here to read the whole column.

Chaplains: Unsung heroes during wartime in the Canadian Armed Forces

Click here to hear my column on CBC Radio Manitoba about chaplains in the Canadian Armed Forces. 

On Remembrance Day, we pause to remember those who fought and those who gave their lives during Canada’s wars. But one group we rarely think about are military chaplains — those who minister to the troops during time of war and peace. Here to talk about the vital role they played in Canada’s military is John Longhurst, CBC’s religion commentator. 

So, what do we know about the history of chaplains in Canada’s military? 

Chaplains—that is, religious clergy—have served in Canada’s wars as far back as the War of 1812. During the First World War there were 524 chaplains. In World War Two, that number rose to about 1,400. At least 16 chaplains were killed in the two World Wars. Today there are more than 200 chaplains in the Canadian Armed Forces. 

What did chaplains do during wartime? 

We might think of them doing things like preaching sermons, and they did that. But they also tended to those wounded in battle. When men died, they buried the dead and often wrote letters to their families. They provided pastoral care and counselling to young men scared and far from home. They also organized recreation and sporting events.   

One thing they never did was carry weapons. That is forbidden by the Geneva Convention. Canada has always adhered strictly to that rule, including more recently when Canadian troops were deployed to Afghanistan. 

What did most members of the military think of chaplains? 

Most viewed them with respect. Soldiers had special respect for the chaplains who shared the dangers of war with them—especially those who served close to the front line. They could be a bit less sympathetic to chaplains who chose to stay far away from the action, behind the lines. 

Could you give us some examples of chaplains who served in the past? 

Sure. There was George Anderson Wells, an Anglican priest who served with Manitoba’s Fort Garry Horse Regiment in the First World War. He became known as the “fighting bishop” because he chose to stay so close to the front line. He became the most decorated chaplain in the British Commonwealth during that war. 

Then there was Father Rosaire Crochetiere (Crow-shet-e-air) of Quebec’s Royal 22nd Regiment. He was killed in 1918 while helping evacuate the wounded. He was highly respected by the men of his regiment. They described him as being like “a father, a brother, a confidant, a friend.” 

The most famous Canadian chaplain was John Weir Foote, a Presbyterian minister from Madoc, Ontario. On August 19, 1942, Foote was with the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry when it attacked the French port city of Dieppe. For eight hours, Foote helped care for the wounded on the beach, frequently leaving the relative safety of the aid post to help wounded men.   

Near the end of that disastrous battle, Foote helped load wounded soldiers into landing craft that would take them back to safety in England. When offered a chance to go back with them, he chose to stay, saying the men remaining in France needed him more than those escaping to England. 

Foote was imprisoned by the Germans, along with about 2,000 other Canadian soldiers. Even there—in the prison camp—he continued to serve: preaching, leading Bible studies and generally trying to keep up morale. 

When the second World War ended, Foote was awarded the Victoria Cross—one of only five Commonwealth chaplains to have received that award, and the only Canadian chaplain to do so. 

Wasn’t one of our Canadian chaplains executed by the Germans in World War Two? 

Yes. That was Captain Walter Brown of Peterborough, Ontario. He was the first Canadian chaplain to land in France on D-Day. He spent his time tending to the wounded and helping bury the dead. He was captured by a Nazi SS unit on June 7 and executed. He was the only Allied chaplain executed during the entire war. 

Brown was buried in France, but the communion kit he used overseas was donated to Huron College in London, Ontario, where it is still used in worship services there. 

You mentioned that there are more than 200 chaplains in the Canadian Armed Forces today. Is chaplaincy today different than it was in the past? 

Yes! In the first World War, military chaplains in Canada were exclusively Christian—either Protestant or Roman Catholic. We saw the first Jewish chaplain during World War Two. 

These days, chaplains in the Canadian military reflect the multi-faith character of all of Canada. They come from Christian, Muslim, Indigenous, Jewish, Sikh, Buddhist and even Humanist backgrounds. 

Similarly, members of the military come from various religious backgrounds, or no religious background at all. When asked, many of them said appreciate the work of chaplains—for the spiritual and emotional support they provide, even if they weren’t religious themselves. 

Any final thoughts? 

It used to be said that there are no atheists in foxholes. That is, under fire, everyone became religious. I don’t know if that’s still true today. It’s likely there are many atheists in Canadian military foxholes, just as there are in Canada itself—together with agnostics and members of different religions. Along the way, Canada’s chaplaincy service has adapted to serve them all. 

Photo above: Capt. Robert L. Seaborn, a Canadian army chaplain with the Canadian Scottish Regiment, administering last rites to a dying soldier near Caen, France in World War Two.

Can even Nazis be forgiven? A World War Two story about chaplain Henry Gerecke and some of the world's worst criminals

 

I still feel sorry for Mr. Thiessen, all these years later. It couldn’t have been easy trying to teach Sunday school to a rambunctious group of young boys back in the late 1960s. 

What made it harder was that we liked to try to stump the teacher with hard questions. One of our favourites was about Hitler. Mr. Thiessen liked to tell us that God loved and offered forgiveness to everyone who asked for it. So, we wanted to know, what if Hitler had asked forgiveness—would he go to heaven, too?   

I don’t remember what Mr. Thiessen said. But I now know that Christian forgiveness was indeed extended to 21 of the top Nazis prosecuted during the famous Nuremberg trials in 1945—and that at least three of them took it. 

I know this because I read the book Mission At Nuremberg: An American Army Chaplain and the Trial of the Nazis (Harper/Collins, 2014) by Tim Townsend. The book is about U.S. Army chaplain Henry Gerecke, and how he ministered to some of the worst criminals in history.   

Before the war, Gerecke was a Lutheran pastor in Missouri. During the war, he served U.S. troops in England and Europe. Since he spoke German, when the war ended he was ordered to Nuremberg, along with Roman Catholic chaplain Sixtus O’Connor, to be a pastor to the 16 Protestant German defendants while O’Connor served the Catholics.   

Why did the victorious allies offer spiritual support to Nazis? The Geneva Convention was the reason. According to the Convention, prisoners of war were entitled to perform religious duties, such as attending worship services, and to be served by ministers of religion. 

After the war, Gerecke admitted he was terrified of the prospect of being so close to men who had committed such horrific crimes. He had seen American soldiers killed and wounded by the German military. He has also visited the death camps. 

But he also knew that, as a “representative of an all-loving Father,” he needed to go so the prisoners could “be told about the Saviour bleeding, suffering and dying on the cross for them.” 

The book records time Gerecke spent with Fritz Sauckel, chief of slave labour recruitment. Each time the two men met they ended their time kneeling on the floor of the cell in prayer. 

“Many times, Sauckel asked for God’s mercy . . . and called himself a sinner,” Gerecke said, adding that before he was executed, Sauckel asked for communion. 

After the trial, Gerecke wrote that he believed that Sauckel, minister of the interior Wilhelm Frick, foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop and Wilhelm Keitel of the German high command, died “as penitent sinners trusting God’s mercy for forgiveness.” 

Hermann Goering, head of the German air force, also asked for communion prior to committing suicide. Gerecke refused, not believing he was sincere. 

Among the remarkable stories told in the book is the time a rumour circulated that Gerecke would be transferred home because his wife, Alma, whom he had not seen in over two years, wanted him back. One of the defendants wrote her a letter, pleading with Alma to let her husband stay. 

“Please consider that we cannot miss your husband now,” he wrote. “During the past months he has shown us uncompromising friendliness of such a kind that he has become indispensable for us.” All the defendants signed it. Gerecke stayed.   

According to Townsend, the chaplains believed “that God loves all human beings, including perpetrators, and so their decision [to accept the assignment] was more about how to minister to the Nazis, not whether they should.” 

He added: “The process of ministering to those who have committed evil involves returning the wrongdoer to goodness . . . for Gerecke and O’Connor that challenge meant using what they had learned about each defendant to spiritually lead him back from the place where he had fallen to a place of restoration.” 

Townsend went on to say they were attempting to bring “God’s light into a dark heart” by giving “Hitler’s henchmen new standing as human beings before their impending executions.”   

Near the end of the book, Townsend wonders if it was really the place of Gerecke and O’Connor to offer forgiveness, especially to men who had committed such cruelty against Jews. 

“What right does anyone other than those who died in the Holocaust have to forgive anyone” who was part of that Holocaust? The Christian concept of forgiveness “must be strained by the idea of genocide,” he added.   

Gerecke, who died in 1961, likely wouldn’t have seen it that way, Townsend wrote, noting that the former chaplain would have seen those “monsters” as men in need of salvation and forgiveness, who needed someone to minister to them. 

“The Nuremberg chaplains’ one single burden was to return these children of God from darkness to the good of their own light,” Townsend said. 

Originally published in the Winnipeg Free Press in 2014. Also in my book, Can Robots Love God and Be Saved (CMU Press).

If government budgets are moral documents, what do various religious traditions have to say about them?

“Budgets are moral documents.” That quote is attributed to Martin Luther King Jr. In fact, King never said that exact phrase. But it is in keeping with his general philosophy that how governments choose to spend — or not spend — money reveals their moral character by showing what is important to them. 

If that’s the case, what does a budget a government’s morals and values? All the major religions have opinions on this. Christians cite the example of Jesus with his instructions to always remember “the least of these.” Jews think of the Old Testament prophets who condemned leaders who “trampled the poor” or hoarded wealth while neglecting widows, orphans, and strangers.

 

Among the core ideals of Islam is the promotion of justice and social welfare, including always remembering the needs of those who are poor. In Hinduism, rulers have a sacred duty to promote the welfare of all.

 

Buddhists believe that governments should follow the Dasa Raja Dhamma, or the “Ten Duties of a King” including things like compassion, integrity, honesty, selflessness, non-violence and the alleviation of suffering. First Nations believe that governance is about creating harmony between people, communities and with the natural world.

With that in mind, what does the latest federal budget look like to you?

 

Read more in my latest Free Press column.

Photo above from the CBC.

Everyone can relax now; the Canadian government is not going to stop churches from issuing tax receipts

Everyone can relax now; the federal government is not planning to remove the charitable tax status for churches and other religious groups.

Not that it ever planned to do that. But ever since a single recommendation about that made it into the all-party report from the Standing Committee on Finance in December 2024, conservative Christian groups—and the Conservative Party of Canada—have been spreading misinformation that the Liberals intended to hobble churches by taking away their ability to give tax receipts to donors. 

The idea emerged after the recommendation appeared in a pre-budget report (that is prepared before every federal budget), one of 462 that the government under then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was invited to consider. It was never a blueprint for government policy. (As I noted in a column in January this year.) 

But that didn’t stop those groups from continuing to issue false warnings about a report for a budget and a government that no longer existed. 

But now we have an official word from the office of Liberal MP Karina Gould, chair of the House of Commons Finance Committee, that there is no plan to remove religion as a charitable purpose from the Canadian Income Tax Act. 

Charitable status for religious organizations “is not under review, and this government has no plans to change that,” her office said. “Any suggestion otherwise is false.” 

Read about this non-issue in my latest Free Press column.

On the Ground: Brian Stewart on his time as a foreign correspondent with the CBC, the important role religion played in his reporting

 

During his time as a foreign correspondent and senior reporter with the CBC from the 1980s to early 2000s, Brian Stewart interviewed world leaders and reported about events like the first Gulf War, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Rwandan genocide and the Ethiopian famine. 

While reporting about those important events, one thing that stood out for Stewart was how often religion played a significant role in the news he shared with Canadians. 

“I was surprised to see how relevant religion was for my reporting,” he said, noting that, like many other journalists at that time, he had come to believe that religion was an outmoded and spent force. “I came to see that religion was part of many major stories, although it took a lot to convince my editors that was true.” 

Stewart has gathered the memories of his encounters with religion, and his overall time as a reporter, into a new book titled On the Ground: My Life as a Foreign Correspondent (Simon & Schuster). 

Read my interview with Stewart, including his thoughts about the importance of reporting about religion today, in my Free Press column.

Holy Hurt: New book aims to help those who have experienced spiritual trauma, alert faith leaders to its reality

 

When psychologist Hillary McBride encountered clients from religious backgrounds who had been hurt by their churches, she found their challenges didn’t fit into standard psychological categories—they weren’t only dealing with anxiety or depression, but also with fear of God’s anger and judgment. 

They were experiencing spiritual trauma, which McBride defines as hurt caused by abuse in a religious setting, including the hurt that results from doctrines that emphasize a harsh and punitive God and the worthlessness and wickedness of individual believers. 

Those experiences prompted her to write Holy Hurt: Understanding Spiritual Trauma and the Process of Healing (Brazos Press). 

McBride’s goals with the book is to help those experiencing spiritual trauma know they aren’t alone and that there is a path for recovery. She also wants to help faith leaders understand that spiritual trauma is real and that they have a role in preventing it—and to bridge the worlds of psychology and religion that are often kept far apart.

Read my interview with McBride about spiritual trauma in the Free Press.