DMC Walks Alongside New Deacons

I have been a first time deacon for just over a year. Having my name drawn was scary but exciting. I did not know what I was in for, yet I was eager to see what God had in store for me. Over the past year I have attended the Day of Encouragement (DOE) in…

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Diaconal Ministries Canada Announces Next National Director

Dear Friends of Diaconal Ministries Canada: This year marks a significant transition for Diaconal Ministries.  After serving for more than 14 years as the National Director, Hans Kater will be retiring as of June 30th.  We cannot express enough thanks for his wise and gracious leadership which has been a constant blessing for our organization…

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Advocacy: It’s Not as Hard as It Sounds

Advocate. It’s a word we hear every once in a while. No, it is not a smooth green fruit that gets turned into guacamole. And no, it’s not a liqueur made with eggs, sugar and brandy. (Yep, I’m talking about the Dutch liqueur known as Advocaat. Yuck.) Jokes aside, advocacy is an activity we talk…

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Diaconal Ministry Coast to Coast

There are around 250 Christian Reformed Churches in Canada -from Houston, BC to Saskatoon, SK., Montreal, QC to Charlottetown, PEI, and everything in between. There are urban churches, suburban churches, rural churches and small town churches.  And most of those churches have diaconates. But those diaconates do not look the same. Some have 12 deacons…

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Changing the Conversation about Climate Change

Climate change, global warming, and the greenhouse effect—we’ve heard the same language over and over again. The earth is getting too hot, it’s happening too fast, and humanity is to blame. And, while the scientific consensus is overwhelmingly positive that global warming is real and being caused by humans (97% of scientists), some Christians disagree.…

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3 Ways a Partnership with Operation Manna can help your church in local ministry.

How might a partnership with Operation Manna help your church in local ministry? Do you and your fellow church members have a desire to walk with your neighbours? Did you know that Operation Manna has been helping churches establish important and impactful local ministries for more than 45 years? In 2016 alone, Diaconal Ministries Canada worked with…

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Showing Your God-Colours

This fall I helped start a Generous Space group in BC’s Fraser Valley. Simply put, Generous Space is a bible study for people and allies of the LBGTQ+ Community. If you asked me five years ago if this is where I saw myself headed, I would have laughed. Six years ago, my husband of 15…

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Caring

Every diaconate wants to demonstrate that they know how to care for those who are going through difficult times. Caring for persons who are traveling through some difficult times is an important part of the deacons’ calling -for those who are within their church family and also those outside of their church community. Every diaconate…

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Living Justly: A Conversation with Christian Trans* Advocate Tori Phillips

(In the above photo, Tori Phillips is on the top left.) By Rachel Vroege, DMC Staff Note: DMC has recently launched a new LGBTQ+ vulnerable people group webpage. To see the webpage, click here. To see the previous blog post explaining this webpage, click here. I first met Tori just over a year ago after a…

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