By Rev. Dr. Karen Hamilton General Secretary, The Canadian Council of Churches   Shabbat Shalom! This morning offered a variety of ways of engaging in faith and land. Some of us went to the Sabbath services of the only English-speaking Conservative synagogue in Jerusalem. A remarkable service, made more remarkable by the fact that ...read more

by  Rev. Dr. Karen Hamilton General Secretary, The Canadian Council of Churches   After what seemed like luxurious sleeping-in compared with our early start of yesterday, we began Day 3 of our Path of Abraham study tour by hearing the challenging, heart-wrenching, soul-wrenching story of a Holocaust survivor, Hannah Pick. She knew Anne Frank when ...read more

During his Sunday Angelus Address, Pope Francis Announced his upcoming trip to the Holy Land – May 24-26, 2014 Dear brothers and sisters, In the climate of joy typical of this Christmas season, I would like to announce that May 24-26, if it pleases God, I will make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The ...read more

I quote our guide as we stand on the Mount of Beatitudes admiring the sunset on the Sea of Galilee: “the Sea of Galilee receives and gives, but the Dead See receives and never gives. The Sea of Galilee receives water from the river Jordan, and gives water to the Dead See in the South, ...read more

What an experience visiting Israel! We spent the whole day in Jerusalem visiting many very meaningful places, but in this post I want to focus on something small that struck me in a particular way. The driver dropped us off close to the Western wall and after a quick security check we entered the square ...read more

Should we care for the holy sites? Or should we care about the Holy Sites? Whose responsibility is it to take care of them? Is it the local Church or the universal Church? In the Holy Land, the place where Jesus lived, there are many important and holy sites; as Catholics, is it our duty ...read more

Pope Benedict XVI arrives to begin his general audience at the Paul VI audience hall today. Just behind the Holy Father is Archbishop Terrence Prendergast of Ottawa! Archbishop Prendergast is in Rome to take part in an event being organized by the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA), the Congregation for Eastern Churches,  and the ...read more

This past Wednesday, the S+L team was on hand at Saint Paul University in Ottawa to host the fourth national screening of our latest film Across the Divide. And what an event it was! At a cocktail reception before the film, church dignitaries mingled with people from all walks of life, including a Canadian senator, ...read more

Has their moment finally come? After this weekend, many Christians in the Middle East must feel their hope renewed. Pope Benedict arrived in Lebanon on Friday, at a time when other foreign leaders might have cancelled their travel plans to the volatile region. Though civil wars and protests still dominate the headlines, the pontiff’s three-day ...read more

This Wednesday, September 19 at St. Paul’s University, S+L presents the Ottawa premiere of its latest documentary Across the Divide. The film takes viewers to Bethlehem University, depicting the struggles of the students, as well as the religious brothers who administer the only Catholic university in the Holy Land. Following the screening, there will be ...read more