The New Leaf Project

New Leaf Podcast Network
The New Leaf Project

Fewer Canadians identify with religion, believe in God or attend weekly religious services than in past decades. We know the religious landscape in Canada has changed. We are sharing the stories of Canadian Christians who are instigating new things, innovating in our Canadian context, planting new churches and starting missional minded conversations and communities right here in Canadian soil. We learn from Canadian Christian leaders who are working hard to address these realities in their organizations and we learn from Canadians on the ground, doing the good work in our cities and neighbourhoods.

  1. Ep 124 - Being open to & equipped for change - with Albert Chu

    09/26/2023

    Ep 124 - Being open to & equipped for change - with Albert Chu

    Episode 124 of The New Leaf Project is here! Elle is joined in this episode by Albert Chu, the Director of the Centre for Missional Leadership at St. Andrews Hall.  In their conversation they talk about the realities that need to be faced by Canadian practitioners; considering new paths forward that don’t ignore very real constraints but imagine new ways of doing ministry. Learn more about the certificate program in Missional Leadership at the Centre for Missional Leadership, St. Andrews Hall: - https://www.standrews.edu/cml/ Albert Chu is the Director of the Centre for Missional Leadership at St. Andrews Hall.  He is also the Lead Pastor of the Tapestry Church, a multi-campus church in the Lower Mainland. Albert is passionate about creating space, not only physical space, but designing a safe environment and a hospitable culture that allows people the room to discover and grow as disciples of Jesus.  It was this passion that led Albert to plant the Tapestry Church back in 2004 and continues to fuel his desire to start new missional activities and plant more churches.  As the Director of the CML, and in alignment to this passion, Albert strives to equip, resource, and release leaders for God’s mission in this corner of the world we affectionately call Cascadia. Albert is a graduate of The University of Alberta where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Political Science as well as a Master of Arts in Sociology. He is also a graduate of Regent College with a Master of Divinity.  Recognized as a leader within the church planting movement in Canada, Albert has served with Resonate Global Missions, Engage Vancouver and as a Church Planter Developer with the Christian Reformed Church. Albert is married to Frieda and is blessed with two lovely daughters. They love to travel, cycle, cook, and wander with their backpacks within the 117,900 acres of bliss called Mt. Baker Wilderness. *** And we want you to know about our upcoming event the Table 2023. Check it out today!

    46 min
  2. Ep 123 - Community Transformation Alongside our Neighbours - with Krista-Dawn Kimsey

    09/16/2023

    Ep 123 - Community Transformation Alongside our Neighbours - with Krista-Dawn Kimsey

    Episode 123 of The New Leaf Project is here! Elle is joined in this episode by Krista-Dawn Kimsey, the Director of Learning and Innovation of Servant Partners Canada. Krista-Dawn is a longtime friend of the New Leaf Network, and has been teaching the Canadian Church from her perspective of seeking God's shalom by pursuing holistic transformation of urban poor communities alongside our neighbours. Learn more about the certificate of Community Transformation that Servant Partners Canada offers : - https://www.servantpartners.ca/ctc Krista-Dawn Kimsey is a Ukrainian-German Canadian settler, currently migrating from unceded Coast Salish lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations peoples to Saskatoon on Treaty 6 land. She is the daughter of Gayle and Don Jenner, who were born and raised on Treaty 4 land; home to the Cote, Keeseekoose, The Key, Zagime Anishinabek, Kahkewistahaw & Ocean Man First Nations and the original lands of the Cree, Saulteaux, Dakota, Nakota, Lakota, and the homeland of the Métis. She is a mostly pleasant wife to Joel and an often spontaneous parent to her two teenagers: Judah and Gabriella. She currently serves on the executive team of Servant Partners Canada as the Director of Learning and Innovation. For 27 years her vocational passion and calling has been to facilitate creative and transformational learning experiences to disciple, train and coach leaders to love God and love their neighbours with greater justice. *** And we want you to know about our upcoming event the Table 2023. Check it out today!

    41 min
  3. Ep 122 - Finding Faith in the Fields and Forests with Wendy Janzen

    09/12/2023

    Ep 122 - Finding Faith in the Fields and Forests with Wendy Janzen

    Episode 122 of The New Leaf Project is here! Hear the story of the epiphany that led Wendy Janzen to start a forest church, and subsequently co-found the Wild Church Network. Forest Church/Wild Church are unique expressions of church, where we worship both in and with all creation. It is not just taking a regular worship service and moving it outdoors - it is engaging with God's imminent presence among us, recognizing we are standing on holy ground, and opening ourselves to ways that creation itself both praises God and reveals God's love, wisdom, and provision. Learn more about: - the Wild Church Network: https://www.wildchurchnetwork.com/- Church of the Wild book: https://www.victorialoorz.com/book Rev. Wendy Janzen is planter and pastor of Burning Bush Forest Church, a worshiping community that has been going outdoors for monthly worship gatherings in parks and wild spaces in Kitchener-Waterloo, ON for over seven years. She also serves part-time as Eco-Minister with Mennonite Church Eastern Canada, is a spiritual director, and writes wild liturgies and eco-spiritual practices. Her passion is for inviting people to ground themselves within God's beloved community of creation, and moving from ego-centric (and anthropocentric) understandings of Christianity to eco-centric experiences of faith and discipleship. She lives with her husband, Chip and their two teenage sons, in Kitchener, Ontario. *** We want you to know about our upcoming event the Table 2023: https://www.newleafnetwork.ca/thetable

    1 hr
  4. Ep 121 - Disability & the Canadian Church: Friendship, family, kinship & community

    08/25/2023

    Ep 121 - Disability & the Canadian Church: Friendship, family, kinship & community

    Episode 121 of The New Leaf Project is here! Today on our feed we're featuring the second episode of the Disability & the Canadian Church podcast, part of of the New Leaf Network of Podcasts. This second Cynthia Tam and Stephen Bedard about autism and the church. Cynthia and Stephen help us to learn from multiple perspectives: parent, pastor, professional, self-advocate, ministry leader, and author. We talk about friendship and family, kinship and community, the language we use and the beauty of communication beyond words. You can find Stephen’s writing on the Disability and Faith Forum at disabilityandfath.org and at his website stephenjbedard.com. You can order Cynthia’s book Kinship in the Household of God through her website cynthiatam.ca or on Amazon. Cynthia Tam is an ordained minister and the National Coordinator for Disability Ministries with the Alliance Canada. Having Completed her Ph.D in Theology she is involved in teaching in the Alliance Stream at Tyndale University. With a professional background in occupational therapy, Cynthia co-founded Village Eulogia for Families with Special Needs and continued to serve families with children with disabilities through this organization. Stephen Bedard is an author, pastor, autistic advocate, and parent. He has a DMin in the area of disability ministry from Acadia Divinity College. He lives with his wife Amanda in Brookfield NS and is co-pastor at Brookfield Baptist Church. Stephen’s oldest two children have autism and live in a group home setting. Stephen is the author of How to make Your Church Autism Friendly. *** And we want you to know about our upcoming event the Table 2023. Check it out today!

    1h 9m
  5. Ep 120 - Disability & the Canadian Church: When Healing Hurts

    08/04/2023

    Ep 120 - Disability & the Canadian Church: When Healing Hurts

    Episode 120 of The New Leaf Project is here! Today on our feed we're featuring the first episode of the Disability & the Canadian Church podcast, part of of the New Leaf Network of Podcasts. This first episode of the limited series is an honest and vulnerable conversation about healing vs. curing, barriers to accessibility, finding belonging in church communities, and resisting normalcy. The hosts Jasmine and Keith are joined by Bethany McKinney Fox, a public speaker, contemplative, and the author of “Disability and the Way of Jesus,” and Matt Arguin - a Community Member with Wish to Be Home and an Associate Anglican Priest in London. You can find Matt’s Prayer in Time of Pandemic at  https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/cjtmhd/article/view/35010 and Bethany’s book Disability and the Way of Jesus: Holistic healing in the Gospels and in Church here: https://www.ivpress.com/disability-and-the-way-of-jesus Matthew Arguin is Assistant Curate-Coordinator of Outreach and Evangelism at Bishop Cronyn Memorial Church, Diocese of Huron, Anglican Church of Canada. Bethany McKinney Fox is founder of Beloved Everybody, an ability-inclusive faith community in Los Angeles where people with and without intellectual, developmental and other disabilities, as well as neurodivergent folks, lead and participate together. She is the author of “Disability and the Way of Jesus: Holistic Healing in the Gospels and the Church.” She is ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA).

    42 min

About

Fewer Canadians identify with religion, believe in God or attend weekly religious services than in past decades. We know the religious landscape in Canada has changed. We are sharing the stories of Canadian Christians who are instigating new things, innovating in our Canadian context, planting new churches and starting missional minded conversations and communities right here in Canadian soil. We learn from Canadian Christian leaders who are working hard to address these realities in their organizations and we learn from Canadians on the ground, doing the good work in our cities and neighbourhoods.

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