Meghan Kort

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CRC fractures

Nov 13, 2024 | christiancourier.ca | Meghan Kort

Christian Reformed Church of North America (CRCNA) members from 116 congregations (representing 17 percent of the denomination and roughly 32,000 people) met in Grand Rapids, Michigan for a Convening of Concerned Congregations in August. Why were they concerned? It’s complicated.
When the firefighters come home

Sep 11, 2024 | christiancourier.ca | Meghan Kort

When 19-year-old B.C. wildfire fighter Devyn Gale died on the job in July 2023, it hit Ella Ringma, Sarah Phangura and Lucy Roseboom, all members of Terrace Christian Reformed Church (CRC), especially hard. Their kids are also wildfire fighters. “It made it real for our kids too, because this girl was their age. She was them,” says Ringma. Just last month, WorkSafeBC confirmed that a proper dangerous tree assessment had not been completed on the burning cedar that killed Devyn.
Congrats to our award winners!

Jun 10, 2024 | christiancourier.ca | Meghan Kort

In May, Christian Courier received accolades for our art, poetry, design and writing at the 2024 Canadian Christian Communicators Association Awards. Every year, we compete against publications with circulations ten or twenty times higher than ours and jump for joy when our team pulls off a win!We won first place in the best headline category for this zinger: “The prosperity gospel hates disabled people, but God doesn’t.” Our team also won first in the email newsletter category.
Enroute to Synod

Jun 7, 2024 | christiancourier.ca | Meghan Kort

On June 14th, almost 200 pastors, elders and deacons from across Canada and the U.S. will gather in Grand Rapids, Michigan for the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) Synod. Jim Poelman, a retired pastor from Morpeth, Ontario, says he and his fellow delegates will need the wisdom of Solomon to keep the denomination together since “The Human Sexuality Report (HSR) has translated itself into the formation of two divergent ways of being and doing church.”Yet Poelman is expecting the unexpected.
How to love your Sikh neighbour

Apr 10, 2024 | christiancourier.ca | Meghan Kort

On April 20, hundreds of thousands of people will gather on the streets of Surrey, B.C. for the Vaisakhi Day Parade, one of the largest in the world, according to event organizers. The parade commemorates the establishment of the Khalsa, a sacred community of initiated Sikhs. “You have 750,000 people on the street. It’s not a joke. It’s a pretty big undertaking,” says Inderjeet Singh, a Sikh chaplain who serves at both the University of B.C., Kwantlen Polytechnic University and the RCMP.
From the classroom to the dinner table

Mar 25, 2024 | christiancourier.ca | Meghan Kort

At the end of January, Alberta’s government implemented a set of policies that require schools to communicate more with parents about sexual orientation and gender identity issues. Teachers in the province now need to give parents notice before covering any human sexuality topics. Students under the age of 15 also need parental permission if they want to change their name or pronouns. For students over 15, parents will be notified of changes.
Building trust in real time

Mar 18, 2024 | christiancourier.ca | Meghan Kort

Jonathan Boone is vice principal at Vernon Christian School and a frequent Christian Courier writer. As discussions about parental rights continue to unfold in our communities this school year, we reached out to Jonathan to talk about some of the underlying issues – trust, justice and healthy communication. Christian Courier: What topics in your courses are the most likely to generate questions from parents?
Are church libraries worth saving?

Feb 14, 2024 | christiancourier.ca | Meghan Kort

The collection of mostly-donated books had been housed in various spots around the church for years. Finally, it landed in an out-of-the-way Sunday school classroom. When the church librarian left, no one was interested in taking over. So Edmonton’s Inglewood Christian Reformed Church (CRC) made the decision to dismantle its library last summer. The church still has vibrant book studies and plenty of members who love to read quality Christian literature.
John Stackhouse let go by Crandall University

Jan 19, 2024 | christiancourier.ca | Meghan Kort

In late November, CBC news reported that Crandall University terminated the employment of John G. Stackhouse Jr., professor of religious studies, for allegations of inappropriate behavior. After a six-month independent investigation, the Christian liberal arts university in New Brunswick decided that some of Stackhouse’s jokes, stories, emails and classroom behaviour amounted to sexual harassment.
More than just meat

Nov 15, 2023 | christiancourier.ca | Meghan Kort

“Hunting grizzly bears is the best thing you can do for grizzly bears,” said wildlife artist and outdoorsman Casey Braam. That’s a controversial opinion in B.C., where a recent poll says that 84 percent of the province is in favour of the current ban on grizzly hunting. Braam gets it. He didn’t always think this way either. “I kind of thought about hunters in a way that didn’t line up to be actually true, when I started doing it,” Braam told Christian Courier, acknowledging his own stigma.