As of this morning, Heather Deeth has been the Interim Executive Director of Hollyhock for 19 days. Cortes Currents caught up with her on Sunday to talk about the changes in her life, as well as what’s happening in one of the most dynamic retreat centres on the West Coast.
Continue reading Heather Deeth: Hollyhock’s new Interim Executive Director
Editor’s note: According to the Jewish Independent, Canada is home to the fourth largest Jewish community in the world, (after Israel, the United States, and France). They do not all adhere to Judaism. 52,000 of the 282,015 of the ‘Jewish’ respondents to the 2021 census also stated they follow another religion. The article did not state the numbers of Jews who were agnostic or atheists, only that ‘more than 40% of Canadian Jews have attended Jewish day schools. ‘
Some religious statistics: 100 Campbell River residents stated their ethnic origin was Jewish in the 2021 census, and 50 people stated their religion was ‘Jewish.’ Christians are now officially a minority. Only 33.2% of the city’s population stated they were ‘Christians,’ which does not necessarily mean they attend church services. 63.7% of the the city’s respondents stated they have ‘no religion’ and ‘secular perspectives.’ The 2021 census listed 35 people of Jewish ethnicity on Cortes Island, but only 15 following Judaism. Of the remaining population: roughly 70% had no religion, 19% were Christians and 9% follow other faiths. The only place where the majority of Jews appear to follow their ancestral faith was Area C, where there were 25 Jews and 25 people following Judaism. Roughly 78% of the population stated their beliefs were secular, 20% were Christians and a little more than 2% followed other faiths.
By Mick Sweetman, CHLY 101.7 FM Nanaimo, through an LJI grant from Canada-info.ca
Nanaimo’s Jewish community marked the first night of Chanukah with the lighting of a giant Menorah at Maffeo Sutton Park.
Organized by Chabad of Nanaimo the event attracted hundreds of people to mark the start of the holiday celebrating the triumph of light over darkness.
Continue reading Nanaimo celebrates first night of ChanukahEditor’s opinion: I believe Christianity needs to be ‘reborn’ in a form more palatable to the 21st century. I do not know what this would look like, but suspect it will be substantially different from what we see now, at least in its outward forms. At the moment, there are probably more Christians outside of the Church than in it.
By Sidney Coles, Capital Daily, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The fiscal reality that churches are increasingly less viable solely as places of worship is repeating itself across the country. Unable to count on tithes or bums in seats, churches have been either closing their doors or selling off and re-purposing their assets in a land and real estate market only too happy to receive them. And it’s paying big dividends.
Continue reading Mission or market? Churches are not always on the right side of the housing crisis.
“ What Hollyhock is bringing to the world in 2023 is personal growth for social transformation. I’m really excited to see the world opening up, but with a recognition that things need to change. Cortes offers a really unique perspective on that because it’s an island. It’s a small community of people who know each other and there is the opportunity to live a more sustainable lifestyle here. When I think of Hollyhock at its best, it’s a leadership or a learning lab for what could be and I think that Cortes is a huge part of that,” said Peter Wrinch, the CEO of Hollyhock.
Continue reading Hollyhock: the road ahead for 2023
There was much more than artwork in the ‘Sacred Dreamscapes’ exhibit at the Old Schoolhouse Gallery in July. Both of the artists, Kira MacDuffee and Majie Lavergne, are psychotherapists who have described their work as depictions of their ‘inner worlds.’ I was off island at the time, but requested an interview. MacDuffee consented to describe her pilgrimage when I returned.
Continue reading Sacred Dreamscapes: A peek into Kira MacDuffee’s inner world
