All are invited to an ecumenical Friends of L'Arche Prayer Night, hosted by the L'Arche Saskatoon Project, on Tuesday, April 3 from 7:00-7:45 pm in the chapel at Queen's House (601 Taylor St. W). We will be participating in a liturgy of the washing of one another's feet. L'Arche Saskatoon Project is part of an international network of communities where people with and without intellectual disabilities share life together in the spirit of the Gospel and of the Beatitudes that Jesus preached. For more information, contact Wyndham Thiessen at 262-7243 or Robert and Margaret Sanche at 374-5501.

Whose Story? Whose Justice? Imagining Alternatives

We hear many stories in this age of instant communication and all-news media. There are the culturally dominant stories of consumerism, individualism, domination, economic growth and environmental destruction. There are the stories of the homeless, immigrants, refugees, Aboriginals, voices from the South and the voice of the planet. And as Christians we hear the Biblical stories and those of our faith traditions.

How are these stories interconnected? What do these stories have to say about justice in our world today? How could we respond to these sometimes conflicting stories? What alternatives are there and how can we contribute to creating them?

Come together with others for the whole event or for just one day, hearing and analyzing these stories, reflecting, praying, sharing our own stories, and imagining an alternative world with ideas and actions to take home with you.

A forum on religions' contribution to a sustainable Saskatoon will be held April 12-13 at Nutana Park Mennonite Church, 1701 Ruth Street. Road Map 2020 and Multi-Faith Saskatoon are collaborating to present a forum on sustainability and faith.

Most Saskatonians identify with a religious or spiritual perspective. Our city's faith communities could accelerate a movement toward a more sustainable future by making links between spiritual values and a just, healthy and sustainable city and world.

Public talk: Thursday, April 12, 7:30p.m. Guest speaker: Gary Gardner, Director of Research, Worldwatch Institute. Author of Inspiring Progress: Religions' Contribution to Sustainable Development. Admission is free (donations accepted)

Workshop: Friday, April 13, 8:30a.m.-3:30p.m. $15 per person. Lunch provided. Childcare available. Pre-registration required

Everyone is welcome to attend, including all spiritually-minded people and members of faith communities and environmental groups. For further information: www.roadmap2020.ca/events/faith-sustainability.pdf.

Update: This book is now available in English translation under the title Creation and Evolution: A Conference with Pope Benedict XVI in Castel Gandolfo. Order this book now through Amazon.ca to support this website.

On Wednesday April 11, Pope Benedict XVI published a new book in German on the subject of creation and evolution. The book apparently arises out of the Schülerkreis, a group of his graduate students that continue to meet with him each fall. The annual gatherings have attracted a great deal of attention since Benedict was elected pope, particularly because the participants -- each a former student of Benedict -- represent some of the most well-known and highly-regarded theologians in Germany and around the world. In 2006 the gathering was held at Castel Gandolfo on the subject of creation and evolution.

It should be remembered that, in his 1950 encyclical Humanae Generis, Pope Pius XII taught that the "hypothesis" of evolution does not conflict with Catholic faith so long as it does not deny "that the spiritual soul is immediately created by God." In 1996, John Paul II went further and stated that new knowledge leads to the recognition that the theory of evolution is more than an hypothesis. He pointed out, as many biologists would also insist, that there are "theories" of evolution rather than one theory.

The Saskatoon Children's Choir (SCC), under the direction of Artistic Director Phoebe Voigts, presents its annual spring concert "Still We Rise!" Friday, April 20, 7:30 pm at Third Avenue United Church in Saskatoon.

The performance, featuring the 125 voices of the award-winning Saskatoon Children's Choir and accompanist Michelle Aalders, will present an international repertoire focused on HIV and AIDS awareness.

Also included on the program are works by contemporary Canadian composers Imant Raminsh, Peter Tiefenbach and Stephen Hatfield, as well as classical folk and choral literature. Tickets are $15.00 and are available at McNally Robinson Booksellers or at the door. Reserved seating.

For more information about the choir, check the choir website at www.saskatoonchildrenschoir.org

The annual Holocaust Memorial presentation is on Sunday, April 22nd at 1:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Centre, 7115 McKinnon Avenue, Saskatoon. The keynote speaker will be Isaac Gottfried, who was born in Poland in 1925, and is a Holocaust survivor. Everyone is welcome to attend.