Jennifer Neutel
Freelance Journalist and Development Manager at Christian Courier.
Bio last updated April 30th, 2019.
Articles by Jennifer Neutel
Neighbours Creating Neighbourhoods
By Jennifer Neutel
April 10, 2017
Howard Lawrence of Edmonton is exploring what happens when we activate the invitation to love those within our neighbourhoods. He says the idea has sprung forth that “maybe God is calling us to love our actual neighbours.”
An example of a faith community focusing on neighbours is in Colorado, where the mayor and city manager asked a pastor to take on a role initiating neighbourhood engagement If, as is the case with most churches, they have a commuter membership, where people drive their cars to attend a church in a different neighbourhood then the best way a church can get behind this model is to encourage its members to become embedded in the neighbourhood where they live
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Getting Relations Right
Jennifer Neutel
April 5, 2017
Formed in the fall of 2015, the Right Relations Circle developed out of an energy in Calgary's Hillhurst United Church congregation for reconciliation and gathering. Spirituality, learning, awareness and co-participation are among the group’s tenets.
She sees a similar spark with people who are part of a Right Relations Circle at Hillhurst United Church in Calgary Upcoming possibilities for the circle includes planning a group trip to Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park, forming a book club and adding a right relations section in the church’s lib...
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Refuge of Hope
Jennifer Neutel
March 30, 2017
Jodi Lammiman and Amy Spark co-created Calgary-based Refugia Retreats in August 2016, forming a space that combines environmental concerns, spirituality and self-discovery.
Amy: Macy speaks of three “stories” of our time: Business As Usual, which emulates the growth narrative) the Great Unraveling , the “doom and gloom” narrative, and the Great Turning, the story of hope It doesn’t deny that we are living in the midst of a difficult and uncertain time, but at the same ...
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Blanket the Land
Jennifer Neutel
March 28, 2017
Churchgoers at Calgary’s Hillhurst United Church experienced a different kind of service recently when they participated in the Blanket Exercise — a teaching tool that shares the historic and contemporary relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada.
Churchgoers at Calgary’s Hillhurst United Church experienced a different kind of service recently when they participated in the Blanket Exercise — a teaching tool that shares the historic and contemporary relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada An immigrant to Canada her...
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Prayer Houses
Jennifer Neutel
February 23, 2017
Calgary’s interfaith community hosted Habitat for Humanity build days during UN World Interfaith Harmony Week in early February. Pictured: a clergy build day last August in Calgary.
Incorporating the build days with Interfaith Harmony Week showed a “demonstration of solidarity among faith groups, each responding to the urgent need for affordable home ownership,” says Les Sawatsky, Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta board member ...
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The Silent Fall into Love
Jennifer Neutel
February 6, 2017
A group of multifaith Calgarians meets every week for a contemplative service. Together they focus on experience rather than language or doctrine, and experience the peace and rest that silence offers.
Many people find silence frightening to be with, she says, and may not be open to exploring it until experiencing the peace and rest it can offer Cooper says she hopes those who attend the open service get a taste of what silence really is, and an awareness of another approach to worship and spiritu...
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Building Faith in Calgary
Jennifer Neutel
February 2, 2017
Interfaith Harmony Week in Calgary this year will go beyond encouraging different traditions to live together. One of its featured events will explore how different faiths can live under the same roof.
Rabbi Shaul Osadchey, a member of the Calgary Interfaith Council steering committee who approached Mayor Naheed Nenshi to proclaim city support for the week, says it will show how faith groups can work together to make positive community changes ...
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Harmony in Halifax
Jennifer Neutel
February 1, 2017
As we begin World Interfaith Harmony Week 2017, Jennifer Neutel shares how Halifax has become a model of religious diversity and openness.
When the UN kicks off its World Interfaith Harmony Week today, the people of Halifax will know their city has been put on the map as a model of religious diversity and openness Interfaith Harmony Halifax considers its resources and website open source ...
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Harmony in Halifax
Jennifer Neutel
February 1, 2017
As we begin World Interfaith Harmony Week 2017, Jennifer Neutel shares how Halifax has become a model of religious diversity and openness.
When the UN kicks off its World Interfaith Harmony Week today, the people of Halifax will know their city has been put on the map as a model of religious diversity and openness Interfaith Harmony Halifax considers its resources and website open source ...