Toronto, March 29, 2006 -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper should move immediately to release funds designated for affordable housing, according to the leaders of four Canadian churches -- Archbishop Andrew Hutchison of the Anglican Church of Canada, Bishop Ray Schultz of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, the Rev. Peter Short of the United Church of Canada and Henry Hess of the Christian Reformed Church of North America.

In June 2005, Parliament approved a budget that included $1.6 billion dollars over two years for new affordable housing. Eight months have passed and these dollars remain uncommitted, the church leaders note.

In recognition of her contribution to ecumenism on the local, national and international levels, the 2006 Ecumenical Leadership Award is presented to Renaude Grégoire.

Born in 1960, in the aura of the Second Vatican Council and the opening up towards other Christian denominations, Renaude Grégoire studied theology at the University of Montreal, rubbing shoulders with the great thinkers of the various Christian churches.

Science and religion are often seen in conflict, but that's something Brother Guy Consolmagno would like to put behind us. He's certainly put it behind him. Brother Guy is the curator of Meteorites of the Vatican Observatory, and an accomplished planetary scientist, and he sees no tension at all between his science and his religion. He also thinks many scientists with religious beliefs feel the same way. The conflict, he suspects, is a result of people who know too little about both science and religion.

Bob McDonald's interview with Bro. Guy was aired on the April 15 episode of CBC's Quirks & Quarks. It is available in mp3 format here: http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/media/2005-2006/mp3/qq-2006-04-15e.mp3.

Thursday May 25 to Saturday May 27, 2006 at Queen's House of Retreats (601 Taylor St. West, Saskatoon)

Have you ever gone to a service at a different church and wondered what it was all about? Wished that there were someone to explain why they did what they did? Ever wondered about the private prayer life of Christians of other traditions?

A workshop for ecumenical contacts and leaders entitled "God in Your grace, Transform the World: An eyewitness report from the 9th Assembly of the World Council of Churches" will be held April 22 at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Saskatoon. Organized and sponsored by the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism, this is an annual spring workshop, and is open to all who are interested in local congregational ecumenism.

On Earth Day, April 22, 2006, a conference in Saskatoon will feature local, national, and international speakers on nuclear issues and healthy positive energy alternatives. Entitled "Towards a Nuclear Free Future", the conference will be held at the St. George's Senior Citizens' Club, 20th Street & Avenue M, Saskatoon, from 9 am to 4:30 p.m. Sponsored by the Coalition for a Clean Green Saskatchewan (email: ) & the Inter Church Uranium Committee Educational Cooperative (www.icucec.org). For further information phone 306-373-0309.

En reconnaissance de sa contribution à l'œcuménisme au plan local, national et international, l'Ordre du mérite œcuménique pour 2006 est décerné à Renaude Grégoire.

Née en 1960, dans le souffle du Concile Vatican II et le signal donné de l'ouverture aux autres confessions chrétiennes, Renaude Grégoire a fait ses études en théologie à l'Université de Montréal, en côtoyant les grands penseurs chrétiens de diverses confessions chrétiennes.

The annual Holocaust Memorial Service will be held Sunday, April 30th at 1:30 p.m. Hosted by the Congregation Agudas Israel at 715 McKinnon Ave., Saskatoon. This year, the keynote speaker is Philip Weiss.

Born in 1922 in Drohobycz, Poland, Philip, along with his parents, his brother and sister, were first placed in a ghetto, then separated from his family. Philip was imprisoned in a succession of five concentration camps and finally liberated by the Americans in 1945. His whole family survived the war. Very few Polish Jewish families were as lucky...

Philip Weiss has made it his life's work to testify to history by bearing personal witness to the devastation of the Holocaust. In all of his work, he has promoted the values of tolerance and respect for all other groups -- humane values that might prevent us, here or anywhere else from descending into similar darkness.

Please attend the 2006 Holocaust Memorial and hear Philip Weiss tell this very important story.