When I was growing up in an evangelical church, many years ago, I was taught the “world” was to be feared and avoided.

This included things like dancing, drinking, smoking, movie-going and playing pool. Certain kinds of books were off-limits as well, as was union membership and joining a political party.

The rationale behind some of those things was a fear of being “unequally yoked together with unbelievers,” as the Apostle Paul warned in 2 Corinthians 6:14.

Voting was OK, but running for public office was likewise firmly discouraged. Politics in general was seen as a distraction from the real goal of sharing the Gospel.

“I wanted to quickly share a very inspiring story with you that happened last Saturday in Winnipeg in the Main/Higgins area,” the sender of an email I received in July excitedly said.

“About 20 or so young Christian adults got together at noon to spread the Love of Jesus to the homeless in the area.”

The sender went on to say that the group, from Winkler, had raised money to buy food, water and Bibles to give out to homeless people in that area. “They went out on foot and met face to face with the homeless residents in this area. They showed courage and love in spreading The Word. Four people were saved.”

The email pointed me to an Instagram site that featured additional photos and videos of that group, and others, including visiting encampments in Winnipeg to hand out food and water and doing evangelism.

Jews and Christians from various denominations, including some from the Indigenous and Filipino communities, met Monday in Winnipeg in an effort to promote an open dialogue between the two religions.

The meeting’s goal was to discuss how Christians and Jews can take their theologies more seriously in order to establish better relations.

Jewish historian Norman Tobias and Orthodox Christian priest Geoffrey Ready, who helped found the Christian Jewish Dialogue of Canada in 2024, spoke at the gathering. They are holding cross-country meetings to create a national movement to promote dialogue between Christians and Jews.

Ready, who is director of Orthodox Christian Studies at the University of Toronto, praised the work already being done in Winnipeg, saying he hoped it would translate to the rest of Canada to “combat the Christian theological roots of antisemitism.”

One-hundred years ago, the very first class of Providence University College and Seminary — then known as the Winnipeg Bible Training School — had 26 students and three faculty members who met for classes in a church basement.

In the 2024-25 academic year, the school had 1,693 full and part-time students at its rural campus in Otterburne and in downtown Winnipeg.

“We’ve come a long way,” said president Kenton Anderson of the school, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this weekend.

Founded in 1925 in Winnipeg, the school’s goal was to provide training for “Christian workers for service in voluntary or official positions in the Church, Sunday school, or the mission field at home or abroad.”