Relationship

  • The Christian’s Progress

    The Christian’s Progress

    Peter Copeland and Andrew P.W. Bennett

    December 1, 2021

    As Advent moves us toward the promise of Christmas, Peter Copeland and Fr. Deacon Andrew Bennett chart the Christian progressive vision against its static secular form. Part one of three.

    In our heart of hearts, we know that we are not all that we can be, personally, or collectively. We cry out for more, not knowing where to go, or how to get there, but led forward by this flame that burns within.

    Christians have long thought that tho...

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  • Shouting Myself Hoarse for Life

    Shouting Myself Hoarse for Life

    Peter Menzies

    November 26, 2021

    Peter Menzies is in the house to watch Canada beat Mexico and suddenly a dream comes true to trump eighteen nightmarish months that included – oy! – taking up camping.

    It’s been almost two years now since I had a social life of any kind to speak of. You remember social life, don’t you?

    Having friends over for dinner, going to a crowded restaurant on Friday after work and feeling the buzz of interaction, picking you...

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  • The Biblical Cast of Ted Lasso

    The Biblical Cast of Ted Lasso

    Evan Menzies

    October 14, 2021

    Evan Menzies watches the season two finale of the Apple TV+ surprise hit and sees the shadows of Cain and Abel falling across the characters.

    “Nate Shelley is never seeing Heaven.”

    That was one of many Twitter hot takes on the betrayal of Ted Lasso at the end of season two by his assistant coach and socially awkward apprentice Nate Shelley.

    I was a bit surprised to see the outpourin...

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  • A Rabbi for the Long Way Home

    A Rabbi for the Long Way Home

    Andrew P.W. Bennett and Hannah Marazzi

    July 6, 2021

    Father Deacon Andrew Bennett, program director for Religious Freedom at Cardus, and Hannah Marazzi, former Cardus staff member, celebrate and mourn their dear friend, Rabbi Reuven Bulka.

    The just man will never waver: he will be remembered forever. He has no fear of evil news; with a firm heart he trusts in the Lord.

    During these past 15 months many of us have longed for community, those places, times, and even spaces in whi...

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  • It’s How The Light Gets In

    It’s How The Light Gets In

    Alisha Ruiss

    March 1, 2021

    As our pandemic winter shadows withdraw like halting springtime snow, Alisha Ruiss reminds us that even the tiniest crack in the darkness can begin to illuminate God’s promise anew.

    I was born with my eyes wide open, my parents tell me, unblinking at the bright world I had entered, several days later than anticipated, in midwinter. And so it seems I have continued to live: curious, hungry for clarity, attempting to fit the fullness of ...

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  • Tears of Jedi Joy

    Tears of Jedi Joy

    Evan Menzies

    January 4, 2021

    Evan Menzies reports on the end of a Star Wars season that left the series’ fans awash in waterworks over a tale of fatherly love.

    With the second season of the Mandalorian wrapped, many both young and old reported sniffly noses and leaky tear ducts on Star Wars fan boards and on social media. 

    You can count me as one of them. I think it’s safe to assume for the overwhelming maj...

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  • Saying "I Do" Does Matter

    Saying "I Do" Does Matter

    Peter Jon Mitchell

    March 15, 2019

    Peter Jon Mitchell, acting director of think tank Cardus’ family program, reports on new global and Canadian data showing marriage brings significantly higher family life satisfaction than does cohabiting.

    As surely as spring arrives later this month, wedding season won’t be far behind. But the peal of wedding bells signifies more than just the formalization of a relationship, according to new data from ...

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  • Last Kiss

    Last Kiss

    Hannah Marazzi with Joshua Harris

    February 7, 2019

    Convivium has been following the journey of writer and documentary-maker Joshua Harris as he unpacks the effects of his generation-changing book I Kissed Dating Goodbye. Hannah Marazzi caught up with him as he moves on to the next chapter in his life and work.

    Convivium: Last time we spoke, you were in a race to secure funding through a Kickstarter campaign to launch a more public inquiry into the impact of your best-selling book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye. What was it like to appeal to th...

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  • Baby Steps for Gerber

    Baby Steps for Gerber

    Keith Dow

    March 6, 2018

    Recently, the Gerber baby food company chose a child with Down syndrome as its “spokesbaby.”  But as Keith Dow of Christian Horizons asks, while the winner’s extra chromosome paints an adorable picture for disability advocacy, will the small step begin a journey of lasting social change? 

    A couple of years ago, I participated in a forum bringing together churches, accessibility advocates, and service providers in the Ottawa area to explore what “widening the welcome” could look like in our faith communities. Several adults with developmental...

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  • Trudeau Versus Trudeau

    Trudeau Versus Trudeau

    Peter Stockland

    January 19, 2018

    In an interview this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke about his insistence on proper conduct between the sexes on Parliament Hill and, by extension, among Canadians generally. Peter Stockland examines what it means for a son to grapple with what his father catalyzed.

    Purely as observation, it feels like good fortune to watch this full circle moment when the son must grapple with what the father wrought.

    In an interview this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke eloquently and emphatically about his insistence...

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  • A Seriously Sorry New Year

    A Seriously Sorry New Year

    Ray Pennings

    January 3, 2018

    Changing the way we apologize, Cardus executive president Ray Pennings writes, can change the way we live our whole lives

    It’s traditional to head into a new year full of resolve fuelled by last year’s regret.

    Our commitment to renewed discipline, diets, and dream achieving over the coming 12 months are all too often driven by short-term over indulgence during Christmas...

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  • The Clintons’ End Times

    The Clintons’ End Times

    Raymond J. de Souza

    November 23, 2017

    As the Clintons become the face of a critical moment of cultural change "reckoning, recriminations, even revenge, is in the air," says Convivium editor in chief Fr. Raymond J. de Souza. Now, more than ever, he urges, should the virtues of repentance and reconciliation serve as the hallmarks of the age to come. 

    Last Saturday in Little Rock, Arkansas, at the President William J. Clinton Presidential Library, Bill and Hillary held a soiree with several hundred of their friends and admirers to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Bill’s 1992 election victory....

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  • Points of Christian Re-Formation

    Points of Christian Re-Formation

    Ray Pennings

    November 21, 2017

    On Monday night during a panel discussion at McGill University’s Newman Centre in Montreal, Cardus Executive Vice-President Ray Pennings set out five points that he, as a Reformed believer, considers vital if Christians are to re-form a divided Church into unified faith. 

    The 500th anniversary of the catalyzing events for the Reformation prompts appropriate reflection within various church communities, undoubtedly with very different assessments from our various perspectives.  However, discussing these matters wit...

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  • Privileged Conversation

    Privileged Conversation

    Peter Stockland with Andrew P.W. Bennett

    September 29, 2017

    North American politics are consumed by new variations on the old debate about privilege, and consequent inequality and oppression. Convivium Publisher Peter Stockland and Andrew Bennett, program director for Cardus Law, sat down in Ottawa’s Moscow Tea Room to hash out the meaning of the words.

    Peter Stockland: We both read a piece by Globe and Mail columnist Margaret Wente on the much-discussed topic of class privilege. She included a test to determine how privileged someone was growing up. You took her little quiz and scored...

    Andrew Ben...

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  • A Ban on Muslim Cemeteries is an Attack on us All

    A Ban on Muslim Cemeteries is an Attack on us All

    Peter Stockland

    July 26, 2017

    Convivium Publisher Peter Stockland reflects on the impact that the vote against the creation of a Muslim cemetery in Saint-Apollinaire, Quebec has on all Canadian citizens. 

    It would be easiest and most gratifying to call residents of Saint-Apollinaire, Que., nasty, anti-Islamic bigots for saying non to having a Muslim cemetery in town.

    It might, for a handful of the tiny fraction of villagers who voted in last Sunday’s ...

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  • At the Heart of Health, Continued

    At the Heart of Health, Continued

    Andrea Mrozek

    April 5, 2017

    In the second installment of a two part article, Cardus Family's Andrea Mrozek sits down with Dr. Sue Johnson, creator of a highly effective strategy for relationship repair called Emotionally Focussed Couples Therapy and author of several books, among them Hold Me Tight (2008) and Love Sense (2013).  Together, they discuss attachment, health, and relationship.

    Building on research released last fall by Cardus Family on the importance of emotional relationships to physical well being, program director Andrea Mrozek sat down with Dr. Sue Johnson to learn about a cutting-edge approach at the Ott...

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  • At The Heart of Health

    At The Heart of Health

    Andrea Mrozek

    April 4, 2017

    Cardus Family's Andrea Mrozek sits down with Dr. Sue Johnson, creator of a highly effective strategy for relationship repair called Emotionally Focussed Couples Therapy and author of several books, among them Hold Me Tight (2008) and Love Sense (2013), to learn about a cutting-edge approach to emotional relationships and physical well being at the Ottawa Heart Institute..

    Building on research released last fall by Cardus Family on the importance of emotional relationships to physical well being, program director Andrea Mrozek sat down with Dr. Sue Johnson to learn about a cutting-edge approach at the Ott...

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  • Pure laine and Purim

    Pure laine and Purim

    Gideon Strauss

    March 17, 2017

    In the eleventh installment of his Outremont series, columnist Gideon Strauss takes us through Quebec history through the eyes of Guy, "a “pure laine Outremonter.”

    I met Guy Archambault at a Purim celebration in Montreal’s Outremont borough. The Friends of Hutchiso...

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  • Reaching Other Mothers

    Reaching Other Mothers

    Gideon Strauss

    March 9, 2017

    In his nineth regular dispatch from from Montreal’s faith-rich Outremont district, Gideon Strauss meets Nora Chénier-Jones, a woman who co-founded Pluralisme Outremont, a group promoting an appreciation of diversity in Outremont's schools.

    “As a mother, I hope that I can reach other mothers. ‘You, as a mother, should know how this would feel for your own kids.’ If we can find common ground on that, we can start from there.”

    Nora Chénier-Jones is a black Canadian who was born and raised...

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  • Celebrating Women Together

    Celebrating Women Together

    Peter Stockland

    March 8, 2017

    Cardus Family Program Director Andrea Mrozek shares about the vision for Cardus' Inaugural International Women's Day event. 

    Cardus will welcome International Women’s Day tonight by hosting its inaugural celebration at its Ottawa office three doors down from Parliament Hill.

    Andrea Mrozek, program director for Cardus family, will host a sold out reception and panel discuss...

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