The World is Watching
Image Credit: Know Your Meme
Wow! We’ve seen some pretty bad public relations missteps in the past week or so:
- First, it was the Pepsi ad that, amazingly, united the Internet in mockery and hatred of the ad to the point that Pepsi issued an apology and pulled it the day after it was released.
- Next, it was United Airlines forcibly removing an already-seated passenger from an airplane to make room for airline employees who were due to work at the flight’s destination the next day. The Internet responded again, calling for boycotts and smearing the airline’s image with snide memes and advertising slogans. The day after the incident, United’s CEO issued a public statement apologizing “for having to re-accommodate these customers” and an internal memo that defended the actions taken by employees, which was promptly leaked to the media. Backlash became even more heated and the resulting drop in United’s share price finally elicited a proper apology from the CEO a day later. Ironically, this is the same CEO who was dubbed Communicator of the Year by PRWeek only weeks ago.
- To top it all off, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer made a major gaffe on Tuesday by saying that, unlike Syria’s Assad, Hitler at least had enough decency not to use gas on his own people. It seems Spicer’s knowledge of history isn’t very strong considering Hitler made regular use of gas chambers during his extermination of German Jews (and other “undesirables” plucked from Germany’s citizenry). The only thing more stunning than the statement itself was its timing — the week leading up to Passover, a major Jewish holiday — and the number of follow-up statements it took for Spicer to issue a satisfactory apology for his inaccurate and insensitive comparison.
Passport 2017: Journey to Easter
Image Credit: Anglican Journal
Guest post courtesy of First Baptist Church, Charlottetown, PEI
Welcome to Holy Week, that deeply spiritual period that spans from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday.
I encourage you to enter into a time of personal preparation by using this devotional booklet as a passport to the passion of Jesus. All through Holy Week, the sanctuary of First Baptist Church in Charlottetown, PEI, will be set up with various interactive stations designed to immerse you in the final days of Jesus’ life, from His Triumphal Entry to the Last Supper, the cross, and ultimately the Resurrection. You are invited to use this booklet as a self-guided “Journey to Easter”. Call the church office (902-628-2111) to book a time for your group or for yourself.
Eight contributors from First Baptist Church have penned these articles. May God guide you by His Spirit as you seek to walk the path Jesus trod into the joy of the New Life!
Easter blessings,
Pastor Dave
Download your copy of Passport 2017 – Journey to Easter.
2017 Easter Events at PEI Baptist Churches
Image Credit: Happy Easter 2017
Palm Sunday, April 9:
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9:30 am at First Baptist Church, 235 Prince Street, Charlottetown
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11:00 am at First Baptist Church, 235 Prince Street, Charlottetown
April 11-13:
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Self-guided “Journey to Easter” interactive stations at First Baptist Church, 235 Prince Street, Charlottetown; please call the church office at 902-628-2111 to book a time for you or your group
Maundy Thursday, April 13:
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2:30 pm at Lady Slipper Villa, 490 Main Street, O’Leary
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5:30 pm at First Baptist Church, 235 Prince Street, Charlottetown: Faith @ Home
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6:30-8:00 pm at First Baptist Church, 235 Prince Street, Charlottetown: Quiet meditation and communion
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7:00 pm at Cornerstone Baptist Church, 9 Cornerstone Drive, Cornwall
Good Friday, April 14:
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10:00 am at Cornerstone Baptist Church, 9 Cornerstone Drive, Cornwall
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10:00 am at Cornerstone Baptist Church, 295 Shakespeare Drive, Stratford
- 10:00 am at South Lake Christian Church, 31 Elmira Road, Souris: Drama presentation with lunch to follow
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10:30 am at Summerside Baptist Church, 219 Church Street, Summerside
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11:00 am at First Baptist Church, 235 Prince Street, Charlottetown
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7:00 pm at Alexandra Baptist Church, 1140 Pownal Road, Alexandra
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7:00 pm at Springfield West-O’Leary Baptist Church, 473 Main Street, O’Leary
Easter Sunday, April 16:
- 6:15 am at Alberton Baptist Church, 327 Church Street, Alberton: Breakfast included
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8:00 am at Murray Harbour Baptist Church, 1414 Cape Bear Road, Murray Harbour: Breakfast included
- 8:15 am at Kingsboro Baptist Church, 3055 East Point Road, Souris: Breakfast
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9:00 am at Cornerstone Baptist Church, 9 Cornerstone Drive, Cornwall
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9:30 am at First Baptist Church, 235 Prince Street, Charlottetown
- 9:30 am at Kingsboro Baptist Church, 3055 East Point Road, Souris
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9:30 am at Springfield West-O’Leary Baptist Church, 473 Main Street, O’Leary
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9:30 am at Summerside Baptist Church, 219 Church Street, Summerside
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10:00 am at Cornerstone Baptist Church, 26 Brook Street, Montague: Easter egg hunt to follow
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10:00 am at Cornerstone Baptist Church, 295 Shakespeare Drive, Stratford
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10:30 am at Alexandra Baptist Church, 1140 Pownal Road, Alexandra
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10:30 am at First Baptist Church, 235 Prince Street, Charlottetown: Special Easter cafe
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10:45 am at Cornerstone Baptist Church, 9 Cornerstone Drive, Cornwall
- 11:00 am at Alberton Baptist Church, 327 Church Street, Alberton
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11:00 am at First Baptist Church, 235 Prince Street, Charlottetown
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11:00 am at Murray Harbour Baptist Church, 1414 Cape Bear Road, Murray Harbour
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11:00 am at Springfield West-O’Leary Baptist Church, 473 Main Street, O’Leary
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11:00 am at Summerside Baptist Church, 219 Church Street, Summerside
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11:00 am at Tryon-Westmoreland Baptist Church, 21274 Trans Canada Highway, Tryon
- 6:30 pm at Alberton Baptist Church, 327 Church Street, Alberton
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7:00 pm at Clyde River Baptist Church, 726 Clyde River Road, Clyde River: Gospel music concert
Image Credit: Global Network for the Study of Human Rights and the Environment
I’m a bit of a superhero movie nerd. I watch them over and over. I watched Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man so many times that the VHS tape wore out. I own Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy and the Iron Man trilogy and have watched both several times. With the advent of Netflix, I can binge-watch movies from the Marvel Cinematic Universe as many times as I want without even leaving my chair to switch from one movie to the next (assuming I can find the remote).
X-Men: Days of Future Past
One of the more prolific movie series based on Marvel comics is the X-Men series. There are currently ten X-Men movies and related spin-offs and there are five other X-Men-related films in development. One of my favourites from the X-Men series is X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Image Credit: Comic Vine
In the movie, Wolverine (pictured in the centre) goes back in time to try to prevent an assassination that will trigger the creation of highly sophisticated robotic weapons that target mutants and humans that carry the mutant gene, eventually leading to the annihilation of both mutants and humans. I don’t think I’m spoiling the movie too much to say that the X-Men are successful in their quest. I’ll let you watch the movie to find out how everything worked out in the end. Read More
About Those “20 Minutes of Action”
Image Credit: Global News
I will not disgrace myself or this website by mentioning the name of the so-called man who was recently convicted of sexually assaulting a woman on Stanford University’s campus in January 2015. I will not mention the name of the judge who handed down an extremely lenient sentence of six months in county jail and three years of probation when the recommended sentence for such a conviction is between eight and twenty years in state prison. I will not mention the names of those who have callously denied the seriousness of the crime by insisting that the attacker should not receive the recommended punishment; they believe the attacker is really a good kid who doesn’t deserve to experience the full consequences of his actions because it would ruin his potential. All of these people are already receiving more than enough attention.
Image Credit: Special Broadcasting Service
I will, however, name and honour the two Swedish men, Carl-Fredrik Arndt and Peter Jonsson (pictured above), who saved the woman from further harm at the hand of her attacker. They are the male heroes of this story. I will also honour the female hero of this story – the woman herself, who continues to bravely face the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual consequences brought about when someone broke the 10th commandment and coveted his neighbour’s body. Read More
Maybe We Shouldn’t Ask People to Read the Bible
Image Source: The Gospel Coalition
At some point, someone in church has likely told you that you should be reading the Bible regularly. When I was a child in Sunday School, we even sang a song about what happens when you read the Bible every day (and what happens when you don’t). So why is it that so many people, whether they are regularly in the pews or not, don’t read the Bible each day?
Why We Don’t Read the Bible
First Things First
When I first volunteered for a children’s summer reading program that our church was offering to the community, a representative from the PEI Literacy Alliance came to explain to the volunteers why literacy is such an important issue on PEI. I was surprised to learn that almost two-thirds of Islanders have limited reading skills. It was then that I realized that when churches ask people to read the Bible, they may be asking them to do something they literally are not equipped to do. Read More
Fort McMurray Relief Fund
- Canadian Baptists of Western Canada (CBWC) are responding through NorthLife Fellowship Baptist Church & the Salvation Army in Fort McMurray. You can give directly to the CBWC here: https://cbwcdonations.sunergo.net/qry/sd_donate.taf?dsfd=333
- Canadian Baptist Ministries is also accepting donations for the CBWC: https://secure2.convio.net/cbmin/site/Donation2?2480.donation=form1&df_id=2480
- The Canadian Red Cross is also accepting donations which are being matched by the Canadian government: https://donate.redcross.ca/ea-action/action?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=NO-DM&ea.client.id=1951&ea.campaign.id=50639
Here is a post that appeared on the CBWC website today:
The CBWC is working with Canadian Baptist Ministries to provide immediate emergency relief and assistance on the ground in Fort McMurray, Alberta. Together, we are working with the Salvation Army, the local Fellowship Baptist Church in Fort McMurray, and others supporting evacuees.
The unpredictability of the wildfires that began this past Tuesday have led the province of Alberta to call a state of emergency, and all of its 80,000 residents have been forced to flee with the fires having burned through about 85,000 hectares of land already. Mass convoys and airlifts are now getting thousands of evacuees to safety further south.
We continue to pray for the safety of all those impacted by the fire, who have lost their lands, homes and communities, as well as for all the emergency personnel on the ground, including the fire crews, military, RCMP officers, EMS workers, and all those who are working tirelessly to control the fires and keep residents safe.
Make a donation to the Fort McMurray relief effort in Alberta today. Your donations will automatically be designated to help people in need during this crisis. We thank you for your crucial support in caring for those in need in times of emergency.
Celebrating Our Spiritual Mothers
Image Source: Atlas Obscura
Mother’s Day is a wonderful time to celebrate the women in our lives and the role they played in making us who we are today. In honour of our spiritual mothers, I would like to share a post from Atlas Obscura entitled The Rebel Virgins and Desert Mothers Who Have Been Written Out of Christianity’s Early History (a 16-minute read at 3,902 words).
We tend to recognize the names of the Desert Fathers who founded early Christianity’s monasteries:
- Athanasius of Alexandria, bishop of Alexandria (328-373), who is known for his defense against Arianism, the heretical assertion that Jesus was created by God and is, therefore, subordinate to God;
- John Chrysostom, archbishop of Constantinople (398-404), who is known for the influence he wielded through his public speaking abilities (thus, his name Chrysostom, “golden-mouthed”); and
- John Cassian, whose writings provided the basic concepts that Saint Benedict used to organize monasteries in the West.
We aren’t as familiar with the Desert Mothers – women such as: Read More
Hope In Spite of Suffering
Image Source: Time Out 4 God
When I attended Crandall University, I took a course called “Suffering” (a biblical studies course). I believe it ranked second in the category of Most Depressingly Titled Course after “Death and Grieving” (a psychology course). Who knows? Perhaps they now have even more dreary course options for those inclined to look at the darker side of life. But I digress.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that there is suffering in this world. We suffer physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We suffer from natural disasters, illness, warfare, and cruelty over which we have no control. We suffer justly as a consequence of our own decisions and unjustly as a consequence of the decisions of those we know and of those we will never meet. We suffer because of decisions made yesterday and hundreds of years ago, we suffer because of decisions made today, and we will suffer because of decisions made tomorrow. Read More
Happy Earth Day!
Image Source: Meetings and Conventions PEI
Abegweit, Cradled on the Waves. Million Acre Farm. Garden of the Gulf. Spud Island.
Prince Edward Island is certainly a beautiful, fertile place. Its nicknames reflect the Island’s bounty. Much of the Island’s economy is driven by agriculture, by fishing and aquaculture, and by the one million visitors who flock here every year to enjoy our homegrown food, beautiful surroundings, vibrant culture, and welcoming people. Many Islanders depend on the environment for their livelihood, directly and indirectly.
Islanders realize the importance of taking care of their surroundings. Whether they are maintaining their lawns, planting flower and vegetable gardens, sorting their garbage to separate recyclables and compost from waste, or participating in the annual PEI Women’s Institute Roadside Clean Up Day, every Islander does their part to keep PEI beautiful. Islanders are proud of where they come from and make sure the appearance of their homes and businesses reflects that pride. Read More
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