Issues, ethics, memory
By Dennis Gruending You cannot be a person of faith without being political, says Paul Dewar, the New Democratic Party MP for Ottawa Centre. Dewar spoke to the Faith and Public Life class at the Ottawa Lay School of Theology on February 9th. “Faith and politics are congruent and we have no option but to... Continue Reading →
By Dennis Gruending The exercise of citizenship as ministry is rooted in the Biblical calling to do justice, says Kathy Vandergrift, an Ottawa-based Christian activist who has worked both within government and outside of it on behalf of religiously based and non-governmental organizations. She and William Janzen, long time director of the Mennonite Central Committee... Continue Reading →
By Dennis Gruending  Citizens for Public Justice is an Ottawa-based church group with a difference. At a time when the word religion has come to be associated mainly with social conservatism, CPJ provides a Christian perspective regarding public policy debates on poverty, housing, aboriginal rights, immigration and the environment. At its annual meeting in Ottawa... Continue Reading →
By Dennis Gruending Reverend Lois Wilson has described recent spiritual and cultural history in North America as follows: “The cups rattled in the 1960s and 70s. The cupboard doors fell off in the 80s. The kitchen door came off its hinges in the 90s. There was deep crack in front yard by 2000, and by 2006... Continue Reading →
By Dennis Gruending The federal New Democratic Party has created a Faith and Justice Commission as a forum for progressive people who come to politics from a faith based perspective [www.ndp-faith-justice-foi-npd.ca/]. Its chair is Joe Comartin, one of several Catholic MPs who were denied communion by the church because of their support for same sex marriage legislation.... Continue Reading →
By Dennis Gruending Ted Schmidt is a former teacher in the Toronto Catholic school system and a staunch critic of a church hierarchy that he says is "patriarchal, misogynist and out of touch." Schmidt also served as editor of the defunct Catholic New Times and has now written a book called Journeys to the Heart... Continue Reading →
By Dennis Gruending The Canadian Council of Churches (CCC) has released A Health Care Covenant, a short book that describes the involvement by churches in our country's various debates about health care. The Ecumenical Health Care Network of the CCC says that it produced the book to "contribute an ethical voice to the ongoing dialogue... Continue Reading →
Pulpit and Politics 