Rebecca Darwent
A graduate from Algonquin College’s esteemed Journalism program, Rebecca is a natural storyteller. She is currently pursuing a BA in Social Communication at St. Paul University. Her byline exists in the Ottawa Business Journal, Community Voice and The Catholic Register, among other places.
Bio last updated June 17th, 2021.
Articles by Rebecca Darwent
Mercy From an Unrelenting Lent
By Rebecca Darwent
April 10, 2020
COVID-19 isolation caused Convivium’s Rebecca Darwent to give up even giving things up for Lent. It helped her understand what the Apostle Matthew missed.
As we listened to Matthew’s Gospel, I sat wondering for most of the reading, Who told Matthew? John and Mary were the only ones who followed Jesus to the Cross But I’m sure that Matthew felt that Passion and death in his own heart, realizing how he rejected Christ on the Cross
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Returning to Laughing Together
Rebecca Darwent
March 30, 2020
Rebecca Darwent discovers there is love in a time of coronavirus – even if it can only be expressed for the moment through social media.
In the social media age, we are urged to support suffering local businesses, to check on our neighbours, to be kind to one another, to practice hygiene – all good things, regardless of whether we’re in a global pandemic As my colleague, Peter Stockland, said in a recent column, it’s hard to remember...
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A Christian Face on Climate Change
Rebecca Darwent
February 21, 2020
Rebecca Darwent hears from the leader of environmental group A Rocha Canada on how forthright hope can overcome eco-anxiety and anger.
Wilson’s tone when speaking on climate change is consistent with that of A Rocha: inspired not by anxiety and worry, but rather a love for creation and responsibility to the planet — a different experience altogether from many climate change activists, and even the population at large Wilson explain...
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Pilot Palliative Project a Good First Step
Rebecca Darwent
February 13, 2020
Paramedics in Ottawa will soon have the option of caring for palliative patients on the scene, but existing issues of overcrowding in Ontario hospitals are a concern for healthcare experts Greg Kung and Dr. Andrew Taylor.
The Ontario government’s pilot project to allow paramedics the option to treat palliative patients on scene instead of bringing them to an emergency room, is a step in the right direction, says paramedic Greg Kung Kung, in turn, holds true to his Christian approach to healthcare: that patients shoul...
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Paying Faith News Forward
Rebecca Darwent
February 5, 2020
An innovative approach by Winnipeg journalist John Longhurst engages religious communities in the media by asking them to fund multi-faith coverage, Convivium’s Rebecca Darwent reports.
“When we as people of faith complain that the media only tells bad stories, or negative stories about religion, we also have to look at our own responsibility for this,” says Longhurst “The best stories from faith communities aren't catastrophic, or aren't scandalous, they're just about people being...
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When God Gives Himself to Us
Rebecca Darwent
December 20, 2019
The secret Santa truth is that, for many, Christmas can be more painful than joyful. But true joy, Rebecca Darwent writes, is creating an interior place for the Child to be born anew.
Maybe it’s because we see reflections of ourselves in others that I’ve been seeing this trend (last Christmas was, for me, not great), but it’s difficult to ignore this very real and raw effort of so many dear to me, who are admitting surrender to the consumerist, Hallmark, perfectly magical Christm...
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Peace Past Understanding
Rebecca Darwent
December 13, 2019
Clamour and division surround us, yet as Advent bends into Christmas, Rebecca Darwent writes, the presence of God with us reminds that He is constant.
As I lit that second Advent candle meant to represent peace this week, I thought about the circumstances under which Christmas will be celebrated in the corners of the world, and in a Church that feels splintered Peace begins with the acknowledgement of God in our midst, as is the entire message of ...
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The Point of Darkness Around the Light
Rebecca Darwent
December 5, 2019
In the second of her weekly reflections on Advent, Convivium’s Rebecca Darwent notes that even in biology certain flowers need a time of darkness before they flourish. So, spiritually, we need winter’s night in our souls to encounter the blazing light of Christ.
As we light the first candle on the Advent wreath, I’m reminded of how dark and dreary these days can be, and yet how much light a single candle sheds in the darkness But the touch of light, a glimmer, a gradual brightening of a room with the single-lit candle on an Advent wreath yet to be fully lit...
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Stitching an Abrahamic Tapestry
Rebecca Darwent
December 4, 2019
During the years he spent knitting together a vast artwork of ecumenism, Kirk Dunn thought he might be wasting his time. Convivium’s Rebecca Darwent writes that what he produced is just what our present time needs.
Dunn could not have known when he began this work in 2004 that the conversation would become increasingly difficult and polarized, but the display of his three tapestries, colourful and lively, give interfaith conversations new grounds and an opportunity for open dialogue At one of his events prior ...
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An Advent(ure) of the Heart
Rebecca Darwent
November 26, 2019
Why rush ahead to Christmas, Convivium’s Rebecca Darwent asks, when this very moment of the Advent season – right now! – affords yet another glorious step on the journey toward Christ?
I walk through bustling grocery stores and see Christmas treats and hear the blaring Christmas carols a month before Christmas even begins, and I can’t help but feel an acute awareness for the quiet, simple ways I’m certain Madonna House is currently preparing for the Advent season Advent is a time ...
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Am I My Brother’s Keeper?
Rebecca Darwent
November 20, 2019
Matthew Kaemingk, recently named Hamilton-based Redeemer University College’s 2019 Emerging Intellectual, challenges Christians to defend the religious freedom of all faiths as they do their own.
His book, Christian Hospitality and Muslim Immigration in an Age of Fear, was released in 2018 after extensive research into the question: What obligation do Christian citizens have to defend the religious freedom of others? Bringing hospitality onto the Christian scene and bridging gaps between tw...
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Too Soon To Despair For Andrew Scheer
Rebecca Darwent
November 6, 2019
Convivium’s Rebecca Darwent argues that, attacks from his political and media enemies withstanding, Canadians haven’t rejected the federal Conservative leader because of his religious faith.
But might I suggest that abortion always has—and always will—divide Canadians? That the issue may be closed for discussion but surely a prime minister still has every right to hold his or her own personal views? That beyond trying to change laws, there are millions who would have readily accepted a ...
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Putting the Human Back in Dignity
Rebecca Darwent, with Andrew P.W. Bennett, Aaron Neil
November 5, 2019
In a just-released paper, the Cardus Religious Freedom Institute seeks to kickstart a Canada-wide conversation on the real meaning of human dignity. CRFI’s Rev. Dr. Andrew Bennett and researcher Aaron Neil talked with Convivium’s Rebecca Darwent about why it’s urgently needed.
How human dignity relates to religious freedom, how it relates to other fundamental freedoms, so we can seek to build again this common life, and see how public faith and the freedom to live out that public faith is so fundamental to building up that life But what role does human dignity have? How d...
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Division and Hope
Rebecca Darwent
October 22, 2019
On the feast of Pope St. John Paul II, we need to heed his messages of hope, courage and conviviality in the aftermath of a divisive election, writes Convivium's Rebecca Darwent.
For if we, as a world, need John Paul II today, then even more do we need Christ and His words of eternal life John Paul II, a revolutionary of the 20th century, I see how direly we need the Great Pope’s spirit of hope, priority of conversation, and power to connect with others ...
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The Climate Marchers’ Gambol
Peter Stockland and Rebecca Darwent
September 27, 2019
Convivium’s Rebecca Darwent and Peter Stockland tag along with protesters in Ottawa and Montreal respectively. They find the mood, far from one of crisis and despair, is like a playful walk in the park.
But what happens after, when the signs are thrown away and the crowds dismissed? Instagram feeds of teens and young adults will fill up over the next few days with quasi-hopeful messages because crowds gathered for… something (Does anyone know?) The civic duty of posting a photo on social media, lo...
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Big City in Training
Rebecca Darwent
September 18, 2019
Convivium’s Rebecca Darwent finds her old hometown growing up from underground as a brand new light rail commuter train lets Ottawans connect from the far flung ‘burbs almost as if they lived in a real city like Montreal.
Riding the train in from my now-westerly suburb, my commute time didn’t change much, and it really won’t help anyone access new parts of the city that were previously inaccessible, such as my own humble suburb upbringings Heading downtown was reserved for an entire day trip to the museum or art gall...
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Beyond Good And Evil on a Sidestreet
Rebecca Darwent
August 19, 2019
The response of the faithful, not the holding of a so-called black mass in downtown Ottawa, shows just how vital Christ’s Church remains.
A crowd of an estimated 200 people spilled onto the sidewalks of a downtown street in Ottawa’s Byward Market to counter Canada’s allegedly first satanic black mass occurring inside a bar on the opposite side What I appreciated, though, was seeing the response of faithful Catholics who recognized the...
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His Work of Art
Rebecca Darwent
August 13, 2019
The wings of the butterfly flutter by, landing every so often to pause and allow those around to wonder at its beauty.
I wonder, looking at each detail and speck of colour ...
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What’s In a Mass Murderer’s Name?
Rebecca Darwent
August 7, 2019
Drawing on research and arguments from the Columbia Journalism Review, Convivium’s Rebecca Darwent argues there is no place for profiling murderers in the news.
Following the mosque attacks in New Zealand, when Prime Minister Jacinda Arden declared she would not utter the killer’s name, CTV News interviewed criminologist James Alan Fox, who said that the act of mass shootings or attacks is what motivates would-be killers – not necessarily the aftereffects o...
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Marriage Made Simply Sacred
Rebecca Darwent
July 17, 2019
Convivium’s Rebecca Darwent finds comfort that her wedding this spring wasn’t about saying “yes” to the dress. It was about affirming before God a faithful life with her husband-to-be.
The decision towards marriage was not taken lightly – believe me, the stress of planning a ceremony and reception for over 100 people is no easy feat so I would only dream of making the decision for a darn good reason Spending our time preparing for marriage instead of the wedding was more difficult...
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Summer Evenings
Rebecca Darwent
July 2, 2019
There is something in the uniqueness and stillness of a sunset that moves my heart.
I capture memories with the warmth of summer air floating around my nose as I gaze at the colours, wanting desperately to snap the image in time. ...
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50 Years of Missing Stories
Rebecca Darwent with Mike Schouten
June 28, 2019
Convivium’s Rebecca Darwent talks to producer Mike Schouten about The Missing Project documentary, which fills in the blanks on the 50 years since Canada’s abortion law was overturned and then abandoned entirely.
MS: The primary one is that, through this project, Canadians – especially Canadians in the middle, Canadians who are indifferent, maybe haven't given abortion much thought or would likely call themselves pro-choice if someone asked them – to have them see that abortion since 1988, with its lack of s...
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The Constancy of New Hellos
Rebecca Darwent
June 26, 2019
Reflecting on the annual rite of school graduation, Convivium’s Rebecca Darwent discovers that for all its bittersweetness, saying goodbye is a new moment to ensure God remains with us on the journey.
I’ve been led to believe that the sheer amount of goodbyes I’ve said over time is excessive compared to the average graduate, with all the moving around I did in my first few years out the high school gate to rural Quebec, the Ottawa Valley, Ireland and beyond My high school graduation, commemorated...
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Another Look at the Lending Market
Rebecca Darwent with Brian Dijkema
June 21, 2019
Anticipating next week’s Cardus study on pay day loans, and a vote by the city of Kitchener to regulate the sector, Convivium’s Rebecca Darwent talks to Cardus Work and Economics Program Director Brian Dijkema about helping low-income Canadians gain fair and equal access to credit.
There appears to be a shrinking of the small-dollar credit market, just based on the number of stores that have closed and that no longer offer payday loans I think part of the challenge is that even credit unions, these community banks which are supposed to be high in relationships, understand that...