Around Town: Risen, Jenny Hawkinson, Coldest Night, Church Realtors . . .

Joseph Fiennes seems to have a penchant for faith-based movies. He played Martin Luther several years ago and will soon take on Eric Liddell, the Olympic champion / missionary to China. And in his most recent project – Risen (due to open February 18) – he plays a Roman officer named Clavius who takes part in the death of Jesus and is then told to find the body after it vanishes from its tomb.

Local movie guru Peter Chattaway has been following the production of Risen in considerable detail on his FilmChat blog, and interviewed Fiennes last month.

Fiennes described what drew him to this story:

. . . And when I read [the script], it was really the detective story. I had never seen a biblical movie with such momentum, the sense of a ticking clock, and I felt cinematically this was a beautiful device. I also loved the idea that we should visit a story that many of us know very, very well, and even if you know it a little bit, you’re going to get carried through the lens of a non-believer, a skeptic – and not only a skeptic but a man who was there and oversaw the death of Christ, the crucifixion of Christ. I thought was really exciting and original. And that was the hook that got me in.

When asked what he hopes audiences will take away from Risen, Fiennes answered:

. . . What I would love is that audiences, both from a faith-based and a non-faith-based and a cinephile audience could all fill the auditorium and share the space together, and harmoniously enjoy the cinematic feast that is both true to scripture and creatively wonderful. Because there’s so much kind of polarization between something that’s too conservative or something that’s too revisionist, and my dream is this is maybe one of the first times that we get everyone in the room together, and happily so. So that would be my dream.

Go here for the full interview and here for Chattaway’s round-up of Fiennes interviews, including one about Fiennes going to Rome to meet Pope Francis.

Jenny Hawkinson: Becoming Human

“If you have any interest in art, peace and reconciliation, Israel/Palestine, human dignity and solidarity, take a look at my upcoming project!” That’s Jenny Hawkinson’s request as she gets set to leave for the Middle East early next month.

The local artist is looking to raise $8,500 USD (and is about half way there as of February 17) through an Indiegogo site to fund participation in Becoming Human, an “artists’ solidarity pilgrimage” to Palestine and Israel from March 2 – 30.

Hawkinson describes the trip in this way:

This project is part pilgrimage and part artist residency. We will be partnering with the Dar al-Kalima University College of Arts & Culture and the Holy Land Trust in Bethlehem. We aim to engage with the every day lived experience of Israelis and Palestinians to create and share stories of hope found in the struggle for human dignity through creative writing, photography and visual art. We believe that by exploring the intersections between our stories and those of “the other” through art, we will be able to look critically at our own roles in creating a shared future of human dignity, peace and justice.

She says that following this “art pilgrimage” they will publish a book and show curated art exhibits in venues throughout North America.

Hawkinson works with Mission Possible; she oversees MP StudioWorks, whose purpose is “inspiring the creative energy of the Downtown Eastside”:

MP StudioWorks is a studio space and gallery that seeks to inspire the creative energy of the DTES community. Together novice and experienced painters, carvers, potters, sculptors and musicians explore artistic expression and entrepreneurship as a pathway to lasting change.

She was also featured in WeMakeStuff, Volume One, a groundbreaking book featuring 100 local artists and innovators.

Coldest Night

This Saturday (February 20) several local teams will walk for a good cause with Coldest Night of the Year, a “family-friendly walking fundraiser that raises money for the hungry, homeless and hurting in 100-plus communities across Canada.” Since 2011, Coldest Night has raised $7.9 million dollars; this year 91 charities across Canada are joining the walk.

Several Metro Vancouver groups are taking part. For example, the Cloverdale Community Kitchen / Options Bill Reid Centre are teaming up to raise $70,000 to share between the two projects.

Cloverdale hosts three community dinners each week.

Cloverdale Community Kitchen hosts three community dinners each week.

The Cloverdale Community Kitchen at Pacific Community Church exists to help alleviate poverty in Cloverdale:

More than just a soup kitchen, we hope to create a thriving place where people can come together to learn, to work, and to help each other. Our vision is to help Cloverdale be a healthy and caring community. We believe that lots can happen around food. We invite you to join others as we seek to create a networking hub of activity so that good things continue to happen in Cloverdale.

The church has worked with a number of groups to make the kitchen a reality, including the Cloverdale Chamber of Commerce (through Bill Reid) and the local RCMP; In 2013 they were awarded a Surrey Homelessness and Housing grant to establish the Cloverdale Community Kitchen. For the history go here, and to support or participate in the walk go here.

The kitchen offers three evening meals each week. Host Pacific Community Church takes care of Monday, while Cloverdale Christian Fellowship and Cloverdale Presbyterian Church look after Wednesday and Friday respectively.

The other local church-based Coldest Night walks will aid CityReach Care Society (Broadway Church) in Vancouver; First United Church Community Ministry Society in Downtown Eastside Vancouver; Salvation Army Gateway of Hope in Langley; Salvation Army Ridge Meadows Ministries in Maple Ridge; and Surrey Urban Mission.

Church Realtors

Christopher Cheung interviewed Leonardo DiFrancesco – one half of a real estate duo who have been selling church buildings for the past couple of decades – February 12 for The Tyee. Here is part of the introduction:

If you’re looking for a church or temple or mosque, Leonardo DiFrancesco and Rav Rampuri are your guys. They claim to have sold about 75 per cent of Metro Vancouver’s religious buildings and have been at it for 21 years. Formerly known as the Holy Realtors, they run ChurchRealtors.com.

The used to advertise with BC Christian News when I was there, though they’re more about selling the buildings than about any particular faith:

We’ve sold every type of faith, from Buddhists to Jehovah’s Witnesses, Pentecostals to Evangelicals. Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, basically every monopoly of church there is.

How’s the market now compared to 20 years ago?:

Churches are extremely high-priced and extremely rare. Lately the market’s crazy. Developers are scooping them up. We used to have six or seven churches for sale at a time. Now, nobody has six, seven churches for sale. We get one, and it’s gone. It’s the same thing as the housing market. As long as the price is reasonable, they go really fast.

DiFrancesco doesn’t seem like a sentimental type, but he does hate to see old church buildings torn down:

I don’t like it. Me and my partner would like to sell them to groups to keep the churches alive, but it’s out of our control.

The full interview is worth reading.

Feb 2016

Risen (opening night) – February 18, 2016 at All Day
Cascadia Worship & Arts Conference – February 19, 2016 - February 20, 2016 at All Day
Wab Kinew: Reflections on Reconciliation – February 19, 2016 - February 20, 2016 at All Day
Coldest Night of the Year – February 20, 2016 at All Day
Transitions of Life: Healthy Aging, Retirement & the Spiritual Journey – February 20, 2016 at 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Matters of the Heart – February 20, 2016 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
SAMC Faculty and Friends Recital Series: Calvin Dyck (violin) & Carmen Hollett (piano) – February 21, 2016 at 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Community Open House: Oakridge Lutheran Church – February 23, 2016 at 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Updating the Scriptural Past in the Dead Sea Scrolls – February 23, 2016 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Trace Elements: Artist Talk and Opening Reception – February 24, 2016 at 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Dr. Agnes de Dreuzy: The Church That Goes Forth – Justice and Mercy in the European Migrant Crisis – February 24, 2016 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Jazz Evensong: Bill Weeds – February 24, 2016 at 8:00 pm - 9:30 pm
Soulcare at Work: Cultivating Good Ground For Spiritual Health – February 25, 2016 at 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Peacemeal Preview – February 25, 2016 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Angela Konrad: Confessions of a Drama Queen – How Theatre Can Change the World – February 25, 2016 at 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
A.J. Swoboda: Green Jesus – Creation Care, Sabbath and the First Earth Day – February 26, 2016 at 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
The Tourist Company – February 26, 2016 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Wholehearted Men – February 27, 2016 at 8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Good Noise: The Best of Hallelujah Praise, with Crystal Hicks – February 27, 2016 at 9:30 am - 4:00 pm
Death, Dying & Dessert – February 27, 2016 at 3:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Tak Maeda’s 60th Birthday Bash Concert – February 27, 2016 at 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Good Noise: Featuring the 150 voice Hallelujah Praise Mass Gospel Choir – February 28, 2016 at 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Jazz Vespers: Candus Churchill & Friends – Nina Simone Tribute – February 28, 2016 at 4:00 pm - 6:15 pm
Gospel Music Concert: One Heart, Fraser Valley Quartet, The Royal Heirs – February 28, 2016 at 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Development and Peace Celebrates 50th Anniversary – February 29, 2016 at 5:10 pm - 6:10 pm
Broken Links in the Food Chain: Rethinking our Relationship to Land – February 29, 2016 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Mar 2016

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Around Town: Risen, Jenny Hawkinson, Coldest Night, Church Realtors . . .

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