Crossroads Updates

When Crossroads Cares started the Courage in Columbia project last year in partnership with Voice of the Martyrs, we shared with you the difficult conditions in which Colombian Christians were living.

This past February, I had the pleasure of joining 100 Huntley Street in Halifax for a week of special programming. As a Partner Relations Representative, I spend much of my time fostering meaningful connections with our donors. But this trip, sponsored by a generous donor, offered me the possibility to learn more about what makes the people of Nova Scotia so special, the complexity behind television production, and the importance of giving.

Maggie John is a seasoned journalist whose experience as a national reporter, television host of Canada’s longest-running daily television show 100 Huntley Street, makes her well-positioned to take on her new role as Anchor/Producer of Context. Moderated by Context’s long-time Senior Executive Producer Susan Ponting, in a virtual Q&A, Maggie discusses the future of Context, how she’s navigating this new and exciting role at this unprecedented time in our history, and what to expect on Context next season.

We’ve had another incredible and action-packed season this year on Context Beyond the Headlines – from the terrorist bombings at churches throughout Sri Lanka that killed over 200 innocent Christians – to the Ukrainian plane crash over the skies of Iran – to the story that tops them all – the COVID-19 coronavirus. All this, as our fearless Host, Executive Producer, CEO, and dear friend, Lorna Dueck announced her retirement to care for her beloved and wonderful husband, Vern.

For the past 26 years, the theme of finding a bridge to Christ has underpinned Lorna Dueck’s faithful service, both as Crossroads CEO and host of Context Beyond the Headlines. While her passion for media evangelism is as strong today as when she first started, a new assignment is ahead of her – that of navigating the journey of her husband’s Parkinson’s disease, together, as a family. In her final interview as CEO of Crossroads, Lorna dives deep into the memories that have inspired her and shaped the course of her career in Christian media.

During Lorna’s tenure as Chief Executive Officer, she played a critical role in revitalizing the companies by spearheading significant changes in the operations while staying true to the vision of media evangelism. In the process, she served as a champion for establishing a new media mission centre, fostering new partnerships within the philanthropy community and contributed significantly to our culture of pastoring the nation through Christian voice in media.

There was a major media event scheduled into the origins of Easter. Highly visual and crowd inducing, this media event was the walk of Christ to the place called “the Skull.” Luke 23 in the Gospels describes this walk, and history has immortalized this gawking part of Easter with the name the Via Dolorosa – the way of suffering.

None of us imagined our today the way it is. In what feels like a few short weeks, COVID-19 has disrupted our world physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

As the global crisis hits home, Christians and seekers are leaning into God through prayer: for the most vulnerable, frontline workers, people battling fear and anxiety, our government leaders and for a cure.