It was a clear, crisp winter’s day when our six-day-old son was marked with ashes. That Wednesday in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, we were reminded that we are dust, and to dust we shall return. These words, in combination with Old Testament prophet Joel’s prophecy and the dark palm char on rosy newborn skin, left an indelible mark on my heart.

London, Ont.’s Huron University College presented three honorary degrees to three distinguished people at its theology convocation on May 9. Governor General David Johnston received a doctor of divinity degree, while Archbishop Thabo Makgabo, primate of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, and Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, both received honorary doctorate degrees.

Bishop Tom Corston has announced that he will retire from his position as bishop of the diocese of Moosonee on Dec. 31, 2013. His retirement will coincide with the date that a decision to restructure the diocese into a mission area will take effect.

A few years ago CBC reported on a special community meeting between police officials and parents in Abbottsford, British Columbia. The subject was predators, psychopaths and drug pushers—how to recognize them, what to do about them and how to protect our children from them. Not a pleasant topic, to be sure, but a symptom of the kind of world we inhabit.

For the Rev. Canon Reginald Stackhouse, public service is part of the Christian vocation. A former priest in two west-end Toronto parishes and former principal of Wycliffe College, Stackhouse has a long list of elected and appointed public offices on his resumé:  two terms as a Conservative MP, a commissioner on both the Canadian and the Ontario Human Rights commissions, member of the board of regents of Toronto’s Centennial College and a member of public library and school boards.

Bishop Michael Bird of the diocese of Niagara has filed a defamation lawsuit with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice against blogger David Jenkins.

The image of a drum and a feather, of a young aboriginal man speaking out about what reconciliation means to him and of church representatives taking part in events, are among the photographs taken by the Anglican Journal at the Quebec national event of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The first thing one notices upon entering the room is a small wooden tree standing against a blown up image of a group of native children staring glumly at the camera.

The Rev. Jennifer Bourque spent most of her time in the ”Churches’ Listening Area” at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Quebec national event, held here April 24 to 27.

A Rwandan genocide survivor on April 26 reached out to former students of Indian residential schools and pledged his commitment to walk with them as they struggle to heal from traumas  experienced as a result of being wrenched away from home and assimilated into another  culture.