Faith
Feature
April 2016
Churches under the gun
By Anne Bokma
Shootings in the sanctuary. Pistols in the pulpit. The culture of violence is infiltrating U.S. places of worship.
Feature
April 2016
What their tats tell
By Trisha Elliott
You’d be surprised by the number of United Church ministers with tattoos these days. Here's the meaning behind all that ink.
Feature
March 2016
Our national folly
By Trisha Elliott
Canada endeavours to be secular and multicultural at the same time. Who are we trying to kid?
Feature
March 2016
The Holland I never knew
By Anne Bokma
A first-generation Dutch Canadian wrestles with her religious history in the land of her ancestors
Feature
March 2016
Risking resurrection
By Jordan Cantwell
The promise of Easter has a price. A message from Moderator
Special Feature
February 2016
Interlove
By Colin Boyd Shafer
An intimate portrait series documents love between partners of different faiths
Feature
February 2016
When values collide
By John Barber
Should faith and tradition trump comprehensive sexual education?
Feature
February 2016
An unsuitable saint
By Donald Grayston
The recent canonization of an 18th-century Spanish colonizer has incensed Indigenous North Americans. What was Pope Francis thinking?
Feature
January 2016
Interview with Rob Bell
By Tim Johnson
Former megachurch pastor and bestselling author talks about faith, God and Oprah
Feature
January 2016
In Mom's Footsteps
By Alison Brooks-Starks
With a handwritten journal as her guide, Alison Brooks-Starks retraced her late mother’s coming-of-age journey to the Holy Land
Feature
January 2016
A complicated love story
By Alanna Mitchell
After the death of her alcoholic ex-husband, Alanna Mitchell confronts a terrible question: could she have done more to save him?
Feature
January 2016
The divestment iceberg
By Mike Milne
The General Council just sold $6 million in fossil fuel shares from its treasury fund. Will the United Church’s pension fund, foundation and congregations follow suit?
Feature
December 2015
Their first Noel
By Various Writers
Six newcomers share their introductions to Christmas in Canada
Feature
December 2015
Renewing wonder
By Jordan Cantwell
Disenchanted with Christmas consumerism, the United Church moderator and her family found new ways to reconnect to the spirit of the season
Feature
December 2015
Bible backlash
By Anne Bokma
Under threat from rising secularism, the iconic Gideon Bible is disappearing from classrooms and hotel nightstands. So the Gideons are devising new ways to spread the Word.
Feature
December 2015
A road to freedom
By Susan Peters
United churches in Manitoba and northern Ontario call for a road to be built to an isolated First Nation
Feature
November 2015
Photo Essay: The Hillhurst effect
By Lyle Aspinall
Inside a United Church success story
Special Feature
November 2015
The topic churches won't touch
By Erica Lenti
Online erotica is booming, and so are porn addictions. But mainline churches seem all too content to look away.
Feature
November 2015
The conversion of Michael Coren
By Jeff Mahoney
Canada’s most strident Christian conservative has had a change of heart
Feature
November 2015
‘It’s like a death in the family’
By Chantal Braganza
A Toronto church that welcomed 50 North Korean refugees speaks out against the mass deportation of their new friends
Feature
October 2015
Prairie populist
By David Wilson
New moderator Jordan Cantwell combines an unorthodox style with a passion for justice
Feature
October 2015
Navigating the fault lines
By Trisha Elliott
The 42nd General Council showed that polarities, not creaky structures, are the United Church’s real challenge
Justice
How families cope when a loved one goes missing
by Justin Dallaire
A Quebec man went for a walk in the early morning of March 16, 2016, and hasn’t been seen since. His family, like many loved ones of the missing, finds it impossible to grieve — or give up hope.
Observations
Observations: Our magazine's plastic problem
by Jocelyn Bell
"While I can easily defend the use of a polybag on financial grounds, it would be unconscionable to deliver a cover story about plastics . . . in plastic."
Video
ObserverDocs: Playing by Heart
by Observer Staff
United Church music director Kara Shaw was born prematurely, became almost totally blind and was later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Today, the 28-year-old showcases her unique musical ability, performing piano on local and national stages.
