Around Town: Love My City, Alzheimer Cafés, VBTS, why so unhappy? . . .

Dave Jonsson is a pastor in Coquitlam, but he is now focused on the broader Tri-Cities community.

He has initiated Love My City Week (July 14 – 21), which he hopes will “unify communities by facilitating a week of events devoted to showing love to your city and the people therein.”

An article in the Tri-City News (Pastor pitches love for community) included this:

Now 30, married with four children and a pastor at Coquitlam Alliance Church, Jonsson is the driving force behind Love My City, a week-long celebration of connection and community.

His vision is to solicit a shopping list of small community projects in each of the cities – say, park or creek clean-ups, street beautification or fence painting – then dispatch teams of volunteers from different backgrounds to execute them.

The effort will culminate with a celebration July 21 at Coquitlam’s Town Centre Park featuring live comedy and music at the outdoor amphitheatre.

Jonsson said the basic human need to create connections transcends religion and as people become more isolated living in concrete condo towers, it’s especially important to foster a feeling of community.

Go here for the full article.

The Love My City week will culminate in a celebration in the Amphitheatre at Lafarge Lake July 21. It will feature comedian Leland Klassen, popular Vancouver indie musicians The Tourist Company and a headliner act yet to be named.

Alzheimer Cafés

Following a recent visit by the founder of the first Alzheimer Café in the United Kingdom, local groups are joining the movement. Gemma Jones led a number of events related to dementia care in April with several partners – Carey Theological College, St. Mark’s College, First Baptist Church, Baptist Housing and Providence Health Care, along with the Alzheimer Society of BC.

Here is an excerpt from a May 30 article in The B.C. Catholic by Agnieszka Krawczynski:

“It’s not just a café like the name suggests,” said Jones. “It is psychological education about dementia for the person with dementia as well as family, friends and carers under the guise of a café-like atmosphere, which is very safe.” . . .

Beulah Garden Homes, which runs five independent and assisted living homes, held its first practice Alzheimer Café on site May 15.

“There just seems to be so much energy and impetus, but also need,” said Mary Dickau, the community and spiritual care coordinator.

She said Beulah Garden Homes is partnering with the Alzheimer’s Society in Vancouver to provide resources to a people group often forgotten.

“It’s a place you can actually talk about dementia in a casual way,” she said. “It doesn’t deal with all the details or the depth of Alzheimer’s, but it’s a safe place and takes the stigma away.”

She said people from Burnaby, White Rock and even Victoria have also shown interest in volunteering or hosting Alzheimer’s Cafés in their communities.

Go here for the full article. There will be two more Alzheimer Cafés at Beulah Gardens this summer, June 26 and August 7. [See the accompanying article – on Church for Vancouver – about Aspen Green for more about Beulah Garden’s good work.]

First Baptist Church in downtown Vancouver also hosted an Alzheimer Café May 15.

For more information about Alzheimer Cafés, contact [email protected].

Vancouver Bible Training School

Vancouver Bible Training School (VBTS) is just a distant memory – if it is remembered at all – in the local church community. So it was good to see a reference to the school on the Vancouver As It Was blog this week:

The Vancouver Bible Training School (VBTS) was a child of the Vancouver Evangelistic Movement (VEM). Among the goals of VEM was the establishment of a Bible training school. The school was, accordingly, started in 1918. . . .

A footnote to the comment stated:

Historian, Robert K. Burkinshaw is the source of most of the material in this post. He has written about the Bible Training school and its influential principal, Rev. Walter Ellis, here. He also devoted the better part of Chapter 3 to VBTS and Ellis in his excellent volume, Pilgrims in Lotus Land: Conservative Protestantism in British Columbia, 1917-1981.

Pilgrims in Lotus Land is indeed an excellent book, and should be read by all local church leaders (at least). The Vancouver As It Was comment pointed to Burkinshaw’s writing about VBTS and Ellis. Here is a short portion:

Compared with several Bible institutes in the Canadian Prairies, the Vancouver Bible School was never very large. Combined full and part-time enrollment exceeded 100 only several times in the 1930s and 1940s. The largest full-time enrollment of 40 was reached just after World War II.

However, the school’s significance appears to have been out of proportion to its size in at least two ways.

A total of 154 of its students between 1918 and 1953 entered some kind of Christian ministry in a full-time capacity, or married someone who did so. Quite a large proportion of these went overseas as missionaries, particularly to China.

Secondly, the impact of VBTS on the evangelical community of Vancouver was greatly enhanced by its regular Thursday evening lectures for local Sunday School teachers and leaders. . . .

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Vancouver As It Was offers all kinds of fascinating glimpses into Vancouver history, often focusing on religious matters. Go here for the full VBTS comment.

Why so unhappy?

Douglas Todd wrote a useful column May 31: Why are Vancouver and Toronto so unhappy? Here is the introduction:

Metro Vancouver and Toronto are Canada’s most unhappy cities. It’s worth figuring out why.

Vancouver and Toronto feature the four factors most correlated with Canadian unhappiness, according to a groundbreaking study out of UBC’s Vancouver School of Economics and McGill University.

Metro Vancouver and Toronto are known for the qualities that characterize the country’s least happy regions: Long traffic commutes, stratospheric housing prices, high population densities and large proportions of foreign-born residents.

Good reading for any church person concerned for his or her neighhbours. Go to his Vancouver Sun blog for the full article.

Jun 2018

First Reformed – June 7, 2018 at All Day
Tolkien by Ron Reed – June 7, 2018 - June 9, 2018 at All Day
Watoto: Signs & Wonders – June 7, 2018 at 12:00 am
Everyday Abbey Webinar: There Aren't Enough Hours in the Day – June 7, 2018 at 10:00 am - 11:00 am
David Lewin: Thinking About Tomorrow – Where Theology, Technology and Education Meet – June 7, 2018 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Watoto: Signs & Wonders – June 8, 2018 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Duelling with Cause – June 8, 2018 at 8:00 pm - 11:30 pm
The Story of Anglicanism – June 9, 2018 at 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Watoto: Signs & Wonders – June 9, 2018 at 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Night of Power prayer meeting – June 9, 2018 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Hymn Festival: Blessed Assurance – June 9, 2018 at 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Jazz Vespers: Angela Verbrugge – June 10, 2018 at 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Jazz Vespers: Doc Fingers Quartet – June 10, 2018 at 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Watoto: Signs & Wonders – June 10, 2018 at 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Night of Power prayer meeting – June 10, 2018 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Watoto: Signs & Wonders – June 12, 2018 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
BC Christian Ashram – June 13, 2018 at All Day
Summer Connect – June 13, 2018 at 11:00 am - 3:00 pm
Jazz Evensong: Nancy Newman & Friends – June 13, 2018 at 8:00 pm - 9:30 pm
Tigers Be Still by Kim Rosenstock – June 13, 2018 - June 16, 2018 at 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Fr. David Bauer Memorial Golf Classic – June 14, 2018 at All Day
Laila Biali – June 15, 2018 at 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Run for H2O – June 16, 2018 at 8:00 am - 12:00 pm
Restoration Day at A Rocha – June 16, 2018 at 9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Amazing Grace: A Day Conference with Terry Virgo – June 16, 2018 at 9:30 am - 4:00 pm
Book Launch: Church in Surrey & White Rock – The Untold Story – June 16, 2018 at 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Stars & Dark Matter, Quilts by Lois A. Klassen: Gallery Exhibit Opening Reception – June 16, 2018 at 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Ember Vancouver – June 16, 2018 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
All My Relations: Indigenous People's Day Celebration – June 17, 2018 at 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Jazz Vespers: Ingrid Stitt – June 17, 2018 at 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
VOS Choir: Father's Day Appreciation Concert – June 17, 2018 at 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm
Sarah Williams: The Spirituality of Time – June 18, 2018 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Celebrate World Refugee Day – June 19, 2018 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Reina Del Cid – June 19, 2018 at 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
World Refugee Day: Information Fair – June 20, 2018 at 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
The Invisible City [Kakuma] Documentary Film Screening – June 20, 2018 at 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Jazz Evensong: Laura Crema & Friends – June 20, 2018 at 8:00 pm - 9:30 pm
Lines of Thought: Drawing Explorations & Painting Studies – June 21, 2018 at 12:00 am
Won't You Be My Neighbor? – June 21, 2018 at All Day
VOC Sweet Soul Gospel Choir (TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival) – June 22, 2018 at 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Community Movie Night: Paddington 2 – June 22, 2018 at 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Spiritual Trauma Seminar – June 22, 2018 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
We are Neighbours Celebration – June 23, 2018 at 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
A Comedy & Dessert Night with Phil Callaway – June 23, 2018 at 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm
World Refugee Sunday – June 24, 2018 at All Day
Point Grey Fiesta: Ecumenical Church Service – June 24, 2018 at 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Jazz Vespers with Tom Arntzen & Friends – June 24, 2018 at 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Jazz Vespers: Gabriel Hasselback – June 24, 2018 at 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Jazz Vespers: Heather Soles & West Coast Charisma – June 24, 2018 at 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Jazz Vespers: Universal Gospel Choir – June 24, 2018 at 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Then Sings My Soul: An Evening of Music with Calvin Dyck – June 24, 2018 at 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Andy Rowell: How to Think About Church Leadership – June 25, 2018 at 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Leora Cashe (TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival) – June 25, 2018 at 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Wafik Wahba: Understanding Current Dynamics in Christian-Muslim Relationships – June 25, 2018 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Good Noise Gospel Band (TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival) – June 26, 2018 at 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Alzheimer Café Vancouver – June 26, 2018 at 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
EFC Webinar on the TWU Decision – June 27, 2018 at 9:00 am - 10:00 am
City Soul Gospel Choir (TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival) – June 27, 2018 at 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Jeff Greenman Interviews Jim Houston – June 27, 2018 at 12:00 pm - 12:45 pm
International Choral Kathaumiwx Concert – June 27, 2018 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Amanda Russell-Jones: The After-life of Hagar – Egyptian Slave, Wife of Abraham, Cast Out in the Wilderness with Her Son – June 27, 2018 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Mary McCampbell: Imagining Our Neighbours as Ourselves – the Arts, Empathy & the Christian Imagination – June 27, 2018 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Acceleration by Caroline Sniatynski – June 27, 2018 - June 30, 2018 at 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Jazz Evensong: Ron Small & Friends – June 27, 2018 at 8:00 pm - 9:30 pm
Ellul and the Bible: 2018 IJES Conference – June 28, 2018 - June 30, 2018 at All Day
Marcus Mosely Chorale (TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival) – June 29, 2018 at 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
pecial Outdoor Italian Concert: Canzoni della Nostra Gioventù – June 29, 2018 at 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Watoto: Signs & Wonders – June 29, 2018 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
World Cup Brunch – June 30, 2018 at 10:30 am - 1:00 pm
Summer in the Forest (L'Arche) – June 30, 2018 at 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Summertime Worship 2018 – June 30, 2018 at 7:30 pm - 10:30 pm

Jul 2018

Jazz Vespers: Candus Churchill & Tom Pickett – July 1, 2018 at 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Watoto: Signs & Wonders – July 1, 2018 at 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Tsawwassen Alliance Church Soccer Camp – July 2, 2018 at 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Richard Winter: The Pursuit of Excellence & the Perils of Perfectionism – July 2, 2018 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Horizon Church Soccer Camp – July 3, 2018 at 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Watoto: Signs & Wonders – July 3, 2018 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Two Worlds Collide: A Christian Ethicist & Former Boeing Executive on Our Shifting Technological World – July 4, 2018 at 12:00 pm - 12:45 pm
Gordon T. Smith: Catechesis for a Secular Age – the Wisdom of 1 Peter – July 4, 2018 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
'da Kink in My Hair by Trey Anthony – July 4, 2018 - July 7, 2018 at 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
The Movies & Us: What the Academy Award Nominees for Best Picture Tell Us About Ourselves – July 5, 2018 at 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Nimule: A Documentary Film by Nathaniel Ross Kelly – July 5, 2018 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Regen: Pastor Fari Ghaem-Maghami – July 5, 2018 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Makoto Fujimura & Steven Garber: The Tears of Christ & the Silence of God – July 6, 2018 - July 7, 2018 at All Day
Watoto: Signs & Wonders – July 6, 2018 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Concert for a Summer's Day – July 7, 2018 at 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Richmond Community Day – July 7, 2018 at 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Watoto: Signs & Wonders – July 7, 2018 at 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Jazz Vespers: David Thompson Secondary – July 8, 2018 at 12:00 am
Festival of Sacred Music (Sunday mornings) – July 8, 2018 - August 19, 2018 at 10:30 am - 11:30 am
Kickers Soccer and Arts Camp – July 9, 2018 at 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
MEGA Sports Camp – July 9, 2018 at 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
SouthRidge Soccer Camp – July 9, 2018 at 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
FLO Summer Soccer Camp – July 9, 2018 at 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Everett Hamner: No More Dithering – What Climate Change Means for Creation – July 9, 2018 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Philip Clayton: Prophetic Presence in a World of Flux – July 10, 2018 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
The Bible in Contemporary Storytelling – July 11, 2018 at 12:00 pm - 12:45 pm
Carol Kaminski: God Among Idols – Abram's Call & Missions Today – July 11, 2018 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Jim Forest: One Foot in the Wilderness, One Foot in the World – July 12, 2018 at 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Radiance: 2018 Summer Glory Conference – July 12, 2018 - July 15, 2018 at 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm