The PenOpticon

This weekend, a group of young Christians converged on Parliament Hill to pray for Canadian politicians. This “Prayer Siege” was the brainchild of Faytene Kryskow and her group, 4 My Canada. Kryskow is a Vancouver-based minister, missionary, writer, public speaker, singer/songwriter, visual artist and “evangelical activist”. Her group is fighting for “traditional values” — banning gay marriage, outlawing abortion and raising the age of consent to sixteen. Kryskow’s group is no stranger to Ottawa — they held their first Siege in 2005 and have met with many Conservative MPs to voice their views. They were introduced to the House of Commons in October 2005 by Myron Thompson, (Wildrose CPC) and given a standing ovation when Thomson declared:

“They are not representing a denomination or special interest group. Their mission is to engage with leaders to let them know they exist and what their heart is for our nation as well as to motivate and mobilize young Canadians so they too will become leaders themselves one day.”

Huh? This group seems to have some extremely “special” interests. In addition to actively campaigning for “pro morality” Candidates, 4 My Canada hopes to directly influence Canadian politicians by encouraging young Christians to apply for MP staff positions. After the last election, Kryskow blogged:

“We have just heard word that many MPs on the Hill are scrambling to fill needed job positions for their offices and for various posts on the Hill. We wanted to encourage those of you who can, and who feel the call, to submit your resumes for consideration. We want to see TONS of Jesus lovers get jobs on the Hill!!”

It’s hard to imagine what this group will do with a pro-morality guy like Stephen Harper. After the last election, Kryskow noted: “I pray for Prime Minister Harper and his new team and look forward to meeting with them in the very near future to see how we can walk together.” But, now that Harper has (once again) blindly followed Bush’s broken moral compass by supporting Israel’s “right” to bomb Lebanon, exactly what will this group be praying for? Their supplications are already too late for the 7 Canadians and 130 Lebanese civilians that have been killed by Israeli bombs over the past few days.

Ah well, perhaps 4 My Canada is really just a well-meaning, harmless group of young people. I don’t know if the group brings in enough money from their art, CD and DVD sales — and donations — to be profitable, but they seem to be highly organized and single-minded in their goal to create a Christian Canada. Who knows? Perhaps Faytene Kryskow will become the next Aimee Semper McPherson.

Whatever Kryskow really wants for Canada, she seems to be in it for the long haul. Her aspirations are very different from the more temporal goals of Rev. Beatrice Williams. In May, Williams and eight other Christian leaders spent the day in Hollywood California praying for lower gas prices. “These high gas prices, Lord, bring them down, oh Father.”

I can almost hear Janis Joplin growling in her grave: “O Lord woncha buy me a full tank of gas. My friends all drive Humvees, I must make it last.”