Community

Ottawa Must Give Giving a Nudge

Daniel Proussalidis

June 10, 2020

The toll COVID-19 has taken on the charitable sector makes this prime time for the federal government to launch an equitable national donation matching program, writes Daniel Proussalidis.

It didn’t take long for the federal government to help grieving families when an Iranian missile brought down a Ukraine-bound passenger plane back in January.

There were 57 Canadian citizens and 29 permanent residents among the 176 who died in the cr...

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Let Commonality Grow

Peter Stockland

May 14, 2020

A car dealer, a psychologist, and a doctor. Three comically different individuals, one harmonious view of the current circumstances. Peter Stockland unpacks a story of community right under our noses.

As we all chase the bright elusive butterfly of release from infernal social isolation, it seems natural to regard what the pandemic has wrought as a curse to be, well, cursed.

Yet since mid-March, when our lives became bounded by the walls we live b...

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COVID-19 and Common Humanity

Brian Bird

May 11, 2020

Convivium contributor Brian Bird writes that even within the pain caused by the pandemic we can recover our fundamental shared identity as human beings and the universal dignity embedded within it.

Restrictions that were imposed to slow the spread of COVID-19 are starting to be relaxed in Canada, the United States and elsewhere. For many places, the next chapter of this pandemic is beginning. As we enter a new stage of this extraordinary moment in hum...

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The Ties That Bind Even Solitary Sailors

Jason Zuidema

April 13, 2020

Jason Zuidema, executive director of the North American Maritime Ministry Association, writes that all of us should actively battle social isolation – not just governments or businesses.

This article first appeared here.

That we all crave social contact has become ...

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Saving Graces: Week Three

April 10, 2020

While COVID-19 sweeps darkness across the world, the Convivium Team is scouring the web for stories of hope to share with our readers. We are pleased to offer this selection of good news stories, hoping they will be a source of saving grace for all.

During this time of Passover, Easter and Ramadan, faith communities have moved services and supports online:
...

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Is Reconciliation Being Railroaded?

Raymond J. de Souza

February 20, 2020

Indigenous land claim protests might spell the death of reconciliation if they continue threatening the rule of law, Father Raymond de Souza argues.

“Reconciliation is dead and we will shut down Canada until Canada pays attention and listens to and meets our de...

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Am I My Brother’s Keeper?

Rebecca Darwent

November 20, 2019

Matthew Kaemingk, recently named Hamilton-based Redeemer University College’s 2019 Emerging Intellectual, challenges Christians to defend the religious freedom of all faiths as they do their own.

Christians are really good at defending their own religious freedoms. When it comes to other faith traditions, however, Christians often seem quite ill-prepared to defend the religious freedoms of non-Christians.

This discrepancy was one of two key ...

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Are Even Secular Schools Sacred?

Raymond J. de Souza

September 26, 2019

Father Raymond de Souza wonders what spirit moves the public board of education in Brockville, Ontario to block an empty building’s sale to a private religious group.

Who does the government compete with? Is a public school a sacred building? A recent surplus building sale raises those questions.

In Brockville, the local public school board has a sold an elementary school in Wolford that it had closed in 2018. The...

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A Matter of Belonging

Brittany Beacham

July 10, 2019

After having spent some time away from the church of her childhood years, Brittany Beacham tells the tale of coming back to membership among the familiar congregation.

Recently I participated in a centuries-old tradition of which many might question the validity and the modern relevance: I became a church member.

It was not new; I had done it before – with the call to baptism at 16 came the embrace of membership. B...

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The Barometer of the Heart

Hannah Marazzi

June 25, 2019

In an age marked by distraction and fragmentation, the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal are choosing a life marked by deep joy, service to the poor, and a community of faithfulness. Convivium's Hannah Marazzi sits down with Father Emmanuel Mansford, vocations director for the New York chapter to discuss vocation, trust, and deep community.

Photo by Patrick Dunford

Convivium: For those who are unfamiliar, who are the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal?

Father Emmanuel Mansford: We are a new religious community, fou...

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Building Beyond Bill 21

Peter Stockland

June 19, 2019

Quebec’s law banning public displays of religious symbols has affronted advocates of religious freedom across Canada. But Convivium’s Peter Stockland reports on plans by Montreal Catholics to turn the secularist tide and create strong communities of faith.

Quebec’s government has declared the province an aggressively secular society with the passage of Bill 21 banning the wearing of religious clothing and symbols in certain public service workplaces.

Montreal’s E...

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A Resounding Yes to Life… And Death

Rebecca Darwent

June 18, 2019

In the premature deaths of two young priests and in the hand-made rosary she carries with her, Convivium’s Rebecca Darwent finds incarnate reminders to affirm God’s gift of life even at its end.

Aesthetically speaking, the rosary isn’t anything special. Green and gold beads, a rather large Crucifix, attached with the small loops of a regular old chain. Being Catholic from birth, I have had many rosaries given to me as gifts – during my time of miss...

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Figuring Out Social Isolation

June 17, 2019

Twenty-three per cent of Canadians suffer from extreme social isolation and loneliness, according to a recent Angus Reid Institute survey in partnership with Cardus. Convivium sits down with executive director Ray Pennings to discuss this and other results from the survey.

Convivium: The main findings come as no surprise to Cardus, but I assume will come as a surprise to an awful lot of people – the role that faith and active participation in religious communities have in ...

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Belonging On The Court

Alida Thomas

June 14, 2019

Last night’s improbable NBA championship for the Toronto Raptors was one professional sports team’s triumph. Even more, Alida Thomas writes, it’s a historic moment of shared belonging when Canadians discovered who they want to keep becoming.

Euphoria over the Toronto Raptors historic NBA championship victory wafted north from Oakland at the final buzzer of Game 6 last night and is spreading from across Canada today. But for pure poignancy, the most heart-felt moment in the Raps lo...

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Diversity, Moral Superiority, Tattoos: Welcome to Jurassic Park

Raymond J. de Souza

June 13, 2019

In advance of tonight's big game for the Toronto Raptors, Editor-in-Chief Father Raymond de Souza muses on the ins and outs of the group's fan base, diversity in the crowds and temporary tattoo shows of support.

There are many queuing up early this morning, even last night, to get into Jurassic Park for Game 6 of the NBA Finals. I was at Jurassic Park in downtown Toronto for Game 3 of the NBA Finals. It was an away game in Oakland, the fans were fired up and expect...

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Pluralism and the Blue Plate Special

Josh Nadeau

May 13, 2019

Weekly media teeth-gnashing over deepening political polarization is finally turning up good news, writes Josh Nadeau. A path back to true pluralism leads through small local institutions such as places called Judy's Diner.

Polarization, despite having become a major buzzword in recent years, can be a tricky thing to study. This isn’t due to a lack of attention: concerned essays appear almost weekly in major journals, sites and magazines.

Analyzing, decrying or justify...

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Nones Who Know Nuns

Hannah Marazzi with Katie Gordon

May 8, 2019

Surprised and refreshed by her first encounter with a religious sister, Katie Gordon talks to Convivium’s Hannah Marazzi about the generative possibilities that could emerge from bringing religious nuns and religious nones together across generations and affiliations.

Convivium: Would you share with us about the origins of the Nuns and Nones project? How did the Nuns and Nones initiative first become a part of your story? Katie Gordon: The Nuns and Nones project emerged from a c...

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When The Flood Hits Home

Rebecca Darwent

May 6, 2019

Convivium writer Rebecca Darwent missed the last once-in-a-hundred-year inundation of her Ottawa neighbourhood. Two years later, even worse flooding has taught her the meaning of community.

There’s something about the anniversary of any notable happening that brings us to reflect and ask Where was I when that happened? This crossed my mind as my city, Ottawa, went through the second once-in-one-hundred-years flood happen in, well, muc...

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Tools of Science: Trusted or Busted?

Milton Friesen

January 22, 2019

Putting algorithms to an accountability test doesn’t require junking them entirely, but it can help us catch out powerful interests more intent on abusing than using our data, argues Cardus Social Cities Director Milton Friesen.

The big success stories of our time have scaled at exponential rates - Facebook, Amazon, Apple, and the other ‘super bigs’ that relentlessly enlarge themselves. When something scales, however, the mix of characteristics, benefits, and costs of a business o...

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Blessed Are the Peacemakers

Josh Nadeau

January 4, 2019

In the lull after Christmas and New Year’s, Josh Nadeau finds the pursuit of peace ever-elusive but never more imperative.

We’ve come through Advent, got past Christmas season, and launched into January overweight with get-togethers, eggnog, nostalgia, spiritual practices and cultural traditions that would probably seem downright weird if they weren’t already so familiar. Stock...

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Trying to Find a Place in This World

Haley Welch

December 27, 2018

In the last seven years, Convivium contributor Haley Welch has moved many times: to new neighbourhoods, new provinces, and new countries. To move on (or away) is not equivalent to editing out the reality of that place from her story, she writes.

When I moved into my first apartment that I would not share with roommates, I was elated. It was a bit by accident, and not entirely financially feasible, but it was the best option at the time. I had secured a full-time, permanent position at an great orga...

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Redeeming a Doofus Sweater

John Robson

December 21, 2018

Our reviewer, John Robson, caps his acid pen after discovering that a musical version of “The Hockey Sweater” scores where Roch Carrier’s original short story whiffed worse than the Leafs trying to make the playoffs.

Frankly I wasn’t keen on the assignment when my editor first handed it to me. Write a review of the musical adaptation of Roch Carrier’s beloved “The Hockey Sweater” at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre. Great. A boring Canadian classic of Quebec tribalism over...

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God's in His Heaven and All Right With A Joke

Ray Pennings

December 18, 2018

Now is the ideal time for non-religious Canadians to lighten up around discussions of faith, says Cardus Executive Vice-President Ray Pennings, citing polling data showing religious Canadians are happy to debate their beliefs in good humour.

Christmas often brings out the best in Canadians. We dig into our pockets for charity a little more. We volunteer more. And we make more time for friends and family than at other times of the year.

But the holiday sometimes brings out our weirder sid...

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Our Country, Our Gospel

Raymond J. de Souza

November 30, 2018

At a prayer breakfast today in Markham, Ontario, Convivium’s Father Raymond de Souza serves a reminder that Canadian Christians should be as proud to share the Christian Gospel as they are to be Canadians. The reason, de Souza says, isn’t triumphalism but the pure joy of speaking God’s Word.

I am eager to preach the Gospel to you who are in Rome.

So St. Paul writes to the Romans, and I might suggest that those words are suitable for any preacher at any time, including this preacher this morning in Markham. I thank you for the in...

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