Rachel Feddema
Rachel Feddema is the Director of External Affairs with Cardus, based in Ottawa. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Development (Honours) and English from Redeemer University and a Master of Communications from the University of Ottawa. She is also an alumna of the Laurentian Leadership Centre in Ottawa.
Bio last updated March 7th, 2023.
Articles by Rachel Feddema
Doubting the Double-Double Messiah
By Rachel Feddema
March 11, 2020
Whether hoax or healing, when the face of Jesus appears on the side of a Tim Hortons, one play holds up the unavoidable questions evoked by quotidian miracles.
Then, an employee replaced some exterior light bulbs and the image of Jesus was gone The actors also address the brick wall with the image of Jesus the same way: downstage and into the imaginary fourth wall
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A Story in Stone
Rachel Feddema
April 16, 2019
Although the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris burned on the first day of Holy Week, we have not lost as much of the sacred as we might think, writes Rachel DeBruyn.
The modern cathedral visitor must remember a time when the church was the tallest building in the city At the same time, on the first day of Holy Week, Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris was consumed by fire ...
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Waiting for Aslan
Rachel Feddema
December 21, 2018
An Ottawa production of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe leaves Convivium’s Rachel DeBruyn sensing the anticipation of Advent and the impact of the way in which we remember.
I know well the story of the four Pevensie children who escape by train to the countryside during the Second World War, and tumble into the magical world of Narnia through a wardrobe in their temporary home A 2018 audience knows how the story of the Second World War ended ...
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Shredded Suite
Rachel Feddema
October 12, 2018
Famed street painter Banksy’s sneak attack on his own freshly auctioned work may seem like hanky-panky for philistines, but Convivium’s Rachel DeBruyn contends it’s of a piece with the artistic urge to create, destroy and m’oeuvre it on over again.
Last week, Banksy pulled a stunt that left the world buzzing and my family theorizing across the turkey and stuffing In that same Instagram video, Banksy wrote: “The urge to destroy is a creative urge,” attributing the quote to Picasso For Picasso, creative destruction was a means of breaking the ar...
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Remembering What We Do Not Know
Rachel Feddema
August 28, 2018
In her review of Natalie Morrill's debut novel The Ghost Keeper, Convivium's Rachel DeBruyn reminds us that although abundant historical fiction has already been set in the World Wars, fiction retains the power to express truth even where facts are lost.
While her novel stands on its own as a marvelous tale, it also fits as a piece of the larger body of fiction that explores the complexity of the Second World War Whenever I peruse the historical fiction section of a bookstore, or the historical flicks that make their way through theatres, a question...
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A Fresh Twist of Godspell
Rachel Feddema
March 15, 2018
Convivium’s Rachel DeBruyn went to an Ottawa production of Godspell expecting to experience Jesus. She did, but not before being challenged with the very contemporary questions of the Gospel.
Traditionally, the show opens with the ensemble in disarray until, one song in, Jesus brings them together and their journey begins They split their time between engaging a world riddled with disheartening news and hard questions—and portraying on stage what is ultimately a story of hope And I knew ...
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The Greatest Shmaltz
Rachel Feddema
March 8, 2018
Convivium writer Rachel DeBruyn finds The Greatest Showman fails to exploit its richest asset: the outcasts who stepped from the shadows into the spotlight. Yet the film is salvaged by one curmudgeonly character getting at its would-be heart in an unexpected way.
And perhaps the relationship between Bennett and Barnum gets to the core of the movie – the celebration of humanity and diversity – in an unexpected way Bennett, a stoic and well-respected theatre critic, meets Barnum shortly after publishing his first scathing review of the circus ...
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Don’t Try This at Home
Rachel Feddema
August 1, 2017
From coliseums to Kardashians, watching questionable entertainment is nothing new. What is new is how little privacy we’ve come to expect from our stars – and ourselves.
Alfie Deyes, a prominent YouTuber, recently shared the downsides to living an online life, stating that fans use his regular social media updates (as well as those of his girlfriend and fellow YouTube star Zoe Sugg) to figure out his schedule On top of the noisy shenanigans, Jake Paul openly shares ...