Grace Irwin

Rose Seiler Scott

June 6, 2017

Grace Irwin was a Canadian teacher, acclaimed author and speaker who served as an admirable role model and influential Christian leader to students, readers and all who knew her.

Servant of Slaves (Irwin, 1961), biographical fiction on the life of John Newton, slave trader and hymn writer, was voted best historical novel of the year and translated into German Grace Irwin was a Canadian teacher, acclaimed author and speaker who served as an admirable role model and influentia...

Read more...

Avenues of Absent Children

Andrea Mrozek

June 6, 2017

In the second of our series from Cardus’ What Makes A Good City forum, Andrea Mrozek ponders the intersection of the hotel-style condo and the empty playground in her own neighbourhood.

Cost of living tapped into the consumer price index and we definitely measured rental cost and also the rate and cost of home ownership, which is obviously a growing concern for so many families in Canadian urban centers….To what extent would families be able to find work and make a living in a part...

Read more...

Harmony Of A Thousand Differences

Milton Friesen

June 5, 2017

As Canadians get set to revel in urban summer life, Convivium showcases remarks from the What Makes A Good City forum held last Thursday at Cardus Ottawa. Today, Milton Friesen examines the complexities that give the city the aura of a living organism. 

What is a city? One of the reasons that the Death and Life of Great American Cities has remained so popular over the past 50 years was Jane Jacob's intuition that professional people have deeply misunderstood what a city is, and thus offer solutions that may do more harm than good If a city is too s...

Read more...

Dawn

Linda Couture

June 5, 2017

Photographer Linda Couture reveals the beauty of dawn in its promise of new beginning and the surprise of colour that awaits all those willing to seek it. 

...

Read more...

Making Time For Time

Tim McCauley

June 2, 2017

Convivium contributor Father Tim McCauley reflects on the necessity of creating space to enjoy the passing of time and the discipline that must be cultivated in carving out time for rest, the sacredness of contemplation, love, and worship. 

Wasting time on such leisure activities in a world tightly squeezed by time-constraints, carves out a space for what some spiritual writers call "natural" contemplation, or Robert Sibley, in his book A Rumour of God, refers to as the mysticism of the mundane ...

Read more...

This Manner of Love

Doug Sikkema

June 1, 2017

Emergency surgery becomes the opening for Doug Sikkema to encounter some ribald characters, the troubled heart of a city, and the service of Christ suffering, Christ risen.

With his IV still in and a large circle painted on his gelatinous torso like he’s some Druidic offering, this bear of a man pulls back the tiny cloth curtain separating us and repeats his question, louder: “You know what’s wrong with Catholics? They put these little statues in every room, like we’re...

Read more...

Universal Lessons From the Holocaust

Sheila Hurtig Robertson

May 31, 2017

Learn about the Ottawa Holocaust Survivors’ Testimonies Project, which features interviews of ten local survivors. The survivors’ experiences include ghettos in Hungary, Nazi slave labour camps in Germany and death camps in Poland, hiding in non-Jewish homes in Holland and France and in a dugout in Ukraine, and surviving as refugees in Romania and Shanghai.

Each November, through Holocaust Educational Month, CHES offers diverse educational programs that play a significant role in reaching the public education systems, engages the general public about the continuing need to fight anti-Semitism and racism, and inspires students to participate in critical...

Read more...

City On A Hill

Andrew P.W. Bennett

May 31, 2017

The Cardus Ottawa office stands juxtaposed between the political temples of Parliament Hill and the soup kitchens of Lower Town. In this place where two sides of the city meet, Andrew Bennett sees signs of human dignity in the message of a homeless man.

The bells of St-François d-Assise in Hintonburg answer this call: “May your souls be saved!” In the mystery of salvation there is both call and response, there is a seeking and a finding, and there is a meaning to suffering as it becomes absorbed in the wood of the Cross –a public scandal then and s...

Read more...

For Peace Comes Dropping Slow

David Johnston

May 30, 2017

His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, participates in a non-partisan and apolitical way, at a variety of events across the country to meet with Canadians in order to encourage dialogue, promote national identity and foster national unity. On May 18, 2017, His Excellency attended the National Prayer Breakfast in Ottawa during which he delivered these remarks on faith.  Convivium is delighted to publish his inspiring words.

I want to end this brief journey through the The Queen’s inspiring dedication to faith, service and love by appraising the impact of her observations and her life We can surely be grateful that, 2000 years after the birth of Jesus, so many of us are able to draw inspiration from his life and message...

Read more...

Closing The Apology Book

Raymond J. de Souza

May 30, 2017

On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met Pope Francis and asked him to offer the formal apology recommended by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Father Raymond J. de Souza commented on that recommendation on  December 22, 2015 in the National Post. Convivium reprints it below.

To ignore the 2009 apology is a shame, for on that occasion Fontaine delivered a magnificent, moving and magnanimous address to the pope that stands as a model for thinking about the relationship of the Catholic Church to aboriginal Canadians   Yet there was apparently some unfinished business on th...

Read more...

New Life

Jaydene Freund

May 30, 2017

New life often serves as the moment when the veil between heaven and earth appears to be lifted, hope made possible in the form of an immeasurable gift - a child. 

The hint of a yawn, the curve of smooth new skin - new life ...

Read more...

Barren Grace

Laura Brandt

May 30, 2017

Photographer Laura Brandt's capture of the craggy landscape of Iceland, the viewer is prompted to ask, "Where does the essence of ordinary grace unfold?"

Photographer Laura Brandt's shot evokes a sense of smallness, the figures juxtaposed against her landscape in such a way so as to suggest that the viewer themselves are perched on one such craggy outlook peering in ...

Read more...

Illumination and Arrival

Peter Stockland

May 30, 2017

Photographer Peter Stockland captures a shaft of light that evokes, for him, a sense of anticipation. 

The sense of presence in the photograph is nearly palpable ...

Read more...

Appropriate for You

Peter Stockland

May 29, 2017

Senior Editor Peter Stockland shares about the Mitchell Prize for Faith and Writing and the Golden Thread Contest – and how they matter as ways to "bring together stories that vividly recount the role of religious faith in Canada’s past and present, and nourish active spiritual life for the future."

It’s why even those who are older than 30 are being asked to spread the word about the Golden Thread contest to their families, their friends, their colleagues, anyone around them that they think might have a story to tell in text or video If you’re not a fiction writer/poet, or if you just want to ...

Read more...

Cheers For Scheer

David Parker

May 29, 2017

Have you been following the long Conservative leadership race? Convivium contributor David Parker reports on the Conservative Convention this past weekend that crowned former Speaker of the House of Commons and longtime Member of Parliament Andrew Scheer new leader of the Official Opposition.

...

Read more...