Clarion Magazine

Here are two more entries to our Throwback photo contest (see the winning photo in the forthcoming Issue 14)- what do you think? We were looking for either pics of church buildings or Can/Am landscapes. Below are two landscapes from opposite ends of the country and in opposite seasons. For the fun of it, if you had to judge, which would you like best?

Have you sent in your photos yet? Only three days left in our throwback contest. We're looking for photos of Canadian (or American) landscapes or CanRC/ARC church buildings. The most striking one will grace the cover of our Throwback issue. We may also use others on the interior. Here's a couple of very nifty drone shots sent in by Michael E.. What do you think?

Announcing our Throwback Photo Contest! See ad below. Send us your pics by June 17 for a chance to have one of your shots grace the cover of our magazine!

Canada continues to be a land of immigrants, filled with peoples of many nations. One of those peoples is the Karen of Burma (Myanmar). Issue #11 contains the heart-warming story of how the gospel is spreading from a group of Karen in Hamilton, ON to friends and relatives elsewhere. And God even used Covid to boost it!

Have you been praying for more men to be trained for the ministry? The Lord is answering those prayers! This year six brothers are graduating from CRTS and all are seeking a call to gospel ministry. Check it out in Issue #10!

Anson VanDelden, Bryan Vanderhorst, Dathan Pleiter, Rodney denBoer, Tim vanBeek, Tsjibbe deJong

Ever wondered what a Christian is to think of Black Lives Matter? Or Critical Race Theory? Or the current Social Justice movement? We have dedicated all of Issue #9 to unpacking these complex matters in the light of Scripture.

There's a new pastor in our federation of churches, Dr. Greg Davidson, now serving at Blessings Christian Church Read all about him in Issue 8!

Bonus: Can anyone guess the location of that pic from Pastor Greg's hometown?

You are looking at the Provisional Council for the Prince George Canadian Reformed Church (a mission work)! The Lord has provided a big and encouraging step forward in this mission field. Read all about it in Issue #7!

The power of our crucified but risen Lord is evident in this photo from Issue #6 if one has the eyes to see. The man kneeling has been newly ordained by the Lord Jesus Christ to preach the gospel of Good Friday, Easter, Ascension, Session, and his return in glory! May God bless Pastor Offringa's ministry in Niagara South!

And the man leading the service has been the recipient of Christ's gracious healing from a severe snowmobile accident a year earlier. We may not see Jesus now but we sure do experience his power at work in these and many ways! May your commemoration of his death and resurrection be joyful this year! Happy Easter!

Ever wondered whether science is compatible with faith? Jeff Morris tackles this matter in Issue #6 in "Christianity and Science." Check it out!

Please say "Happy Birthday!" to Jim V., one of God's unique sons living at Beacon Home! Read about his love for music in Issue 5 where there are plenty of other articles to think on and build up your faith!!

Meet Lisa A., another of God's unique daughters, featured in Issue 4! Find out what hobbies Lisa enjoys and consider sending her a birthday greeting (coming up soon!). Happy birthday Lisa!

Dr. Bryan Chappell came to speak to the Eastern Ministerial Conference this past fall. Check out Rev. Cody Swaving's summary of this event in Issue 3.

Issue No. 2 is on its way and in it you will find our first in a new series (DV) of podcast reviews! Have you heard of Allie Beth Stuckey and her podcast "Relatable"? Lucas Holtvluwer lays out a few reasons why you might want to tune in!

Apology and Condolences

From the Publisher

Dear Reader,

Some of you have let us know that the year-end issue did not arrive before the end of last year, a fact we sincerely regret. Allow us to explain. A bit of a “perfect storm” contributed to this delay. High shipping and mailing volumes around Christmas normally create a backlog, something that has only increased during the last couple of (COVID) years. Paper supply has been affected by diminished availability and by supply chain issues generally. On top of that, we made some mistakes and did not meet our planned schedule for preparation and production of this issue. For all this, we apologize. Our plan is to schedule 2022’s year-end issue a couple of weeks earlier to ensure it gets out in time. The Lord willing we hope you’ll be able to read the “Christmas Clarion” this year on or before Christmas Day.

No doubt you will have noticed that our first issues of 2022 have also been delayed. Unfortunately, this is largely due to a difficult situation in the life of our designer, Matt. Before Christmas, Matt’s wife Shirley was hospitalized. Her condition was serious, and Matt was occupied with getting the care she needed and visiting when possible.

Shirley’s condition generally deteriorated over the last five weeks. Sadly, shortly before going to press with this issue, we received the news that Shirley had passed away. Please join us in praying for Matt and his family at this difficult time.

Thank you all for your understanding and rest assured that we remain committed to publishing Clarion on its usual schedule of once every second week.

For Premier Printing,

Will Gortemaker

What is Clarion really all about? What value does it have for you and your household? The fellows at Reformed Real Talk (podcast) sat down with Will Gortemaker (of Premier Printing, our publisher) and Pastor Peter Holtvluwer our new editor to talk about Clarion's roots, its purpose, and its future. Some changes are afoot that we hope will be a blessing for you readers. Take it all in at the link below!

https://youtu.be/tFcyDiR2sW8

Ep. 38 - Clarion Magazine - Rev. Peter Holtvlüwer and Will Gortemaker In this episode, we have the pleasure of sitting down with the soon to be editor in chief and publisher of the Clarion, the unofficial magazine of the Canadi...

Some cheerful news coming up in Issue 1 of Vol. 71 - a new church building for one of our congregations - can you guess which one? All praise be to our God!

Guido de Bres Christian High School recently matriculated another year of young scholars - congratulations! May the Lord bless you as you find your way in serving in His Kingdom! See the Christmas Clarion for all the details. 👩‍🎓👨‍🎓🙂

Another fine crop of students graduated from Emmanuel Christian High School Guelph a few months back - congratulations and may the Lord bless your future endeavours to His glory! Read all about it in the Year-End Issue!

Meet one of the newest pastors in the CanRC - Rev. Daniel Shin! Read all about his "parking lot" ordination as Spring Creek's pastor in the Year-end issue (and read the story of how he got his cute puppy! You'll never guess its name😎)

Say hello to Julie K., one of God's special daughters living in Winnipeg! Her birthday is coming up in mid December. You can read all about it in Vol. 70 Issue 24 and how to send her a birthday card, something she loves receiving!

Have you ever wondered whether demon possession is still happening today? Rev. Julius VanSpronsen does. He writes about an unnerving experience he had while serving as missionary in Brazil. Check it out in Issue #23!

Pastor David Pol and his wife Erika - see the farewell piece in Issue 21 from the folks in Owen Sound who wished them well on their way to the mission field!

Were you at the Summit Reformed Youth Conference 2021? Leave a comment below to tell us about your experiences. If not, you might like to go next summer. Read all about the 5th Anniversary of this Calgarian conference in Vol. 70, Issue 20 (Oct 1)!

CRTS Graduating Class 2021! Read all about it in an upcoming issue of Clarion!

What do you think of Facebook? Is it blessing or a menace? Pastor Peter Holtvluwer takes stock of growing concerns with this (and similar) social media platforms in the Lead Article of Issue 6, "Goodbye Facebook?" Read it at the link below.

http://clarionmagazine.ca/

Meet Bryce B. who is featured in the "Ray of Sunshine" column in Issue 6. (And did you know he has a birthday coming up at the end of April? A very early but nevertheless happy spring birthday Bryce!🙂)

Coming soon to a mailbox near you - issue no. 6!

From the "Ray of Sunshine" column in Issue 4, this man has a birthday coming up on March 13, DV! An early happy birthday to John VanWyngaarden!