Feb 17 – 23: Justice Conference, Liturgy and Spiritual Formation, TobyMac . . .

Justice will be the focus at three local churches this Friday and Saturday (February 21 – 22). Featuring speakers such as N.T. Wright, Bernice King and Donald Miller, the fourth annual Justice Conference in Los Angeles will be simulcast all over North America, including three local sites.

One, sponsored by Regent College, will take place at Tenth Church in Vancouver. The others are at Relate Church in Surrey and New Life Christian Reformed Church in Abbotsford.

Several local speakers will take part at Tenth as well. Keynote speakers are Cheryl Bear, Dave Diewert and Leah Kostamo.

“Cheryl is from the Nadleh Whut’en First Nation (Bear Clan) in the Carrier Nation located in northern BC. She has worked with Indigenous people across Canada, the United States, and in over 20 countries of the world raising awareness of the value and uniqueness of Indigenous people and culture.

“Dave taught at Regent for 22 years, the first 11 years as full-time faculty. The past several years, he has been engaged in various experiments in community living and organizing. He organized Streams of Justice, a Christian social justice movement that has as its fundamental concern the realization of human communities marked by liberating justice and life-giving love.

“Leah is an earthkeeper and storyteller. She is passionate about inspiring others to care for creation from a place of joy. Leah and her husband Markku helped found A Rocha in Canada – a Christian conservation organization that endeavours to show God’s love for all creation. Her book Planted: A Story of Creation, Calling and Community, wrestles with issues of poverty, justice, and the environment through the narrative of her own experience.”

Panel workshop leaders include Mary Fontaine, executive director of Hummingbird Ministries (Aboriginal and First Nations Concerns, along with Cheryl Bear); Markku Kostamo, executive director of A Rocha Canada, and Nelson Lee, senior sustainability strategist, Tetra Tech EBA (Creation Care); Patrick Elaschuk, executive director of Hope for the Nations, and Ed Wilson, acting executive director, International Justice Mission Canada (Human Trafficking); Jonathan Bird, executive director, City Gate Leadership Forum, Emily Parsons-Dickau, community building and education coordinator, Kinbrace, and Sharon Smith, co-founder, Sanctuary Mental Health (Vulnerable People Groups).

Liturgy and Spiritual Formation

If anyone knows liturgy, it’s Frank Senn. He has served as president of both the Liturgical Conference and the North American Academy of Liturgy, and was formerly a professor of liturgics at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.His books are all about liturgy.

Senn’s lecture on Liturgy and Spiritual Formation this Friday (February 21) might seem irrelevant to many who attend ‘free churches,’ but the organizers point out: “Every time a congregation gathers for public worship it is doing liturgy. Liturgy has been defined as the public work of the people of God. Every congregation in every Christian denomination, as well as other religions, follows a ritual or pattern of activities that constitutes its liturgy.”

And the evening is free. It will be followed on Saturday by Psalms for All Ages, also featuring Senn. Both events are run by the Carey Institute.

TobyMac, with several friends

TobyMac has managed to straddle the Christian and secular musical worlds (imagining for a moment that there could be such worlds) in quite a unique way. Writing for the Seattle Weekly News, Brian Palmer introduced TobyMac to his readers, in this way:

“Toby McKeehan, aka TobyMac, is something of a maverick in the contemporary Christian music (CCM) world. In a typically play-it-safe culture that often replicates (Christianizes?) what is popular in ‘secular’ music, TobyMac has spent the past 25 years – first as a member of Christian rap group dc Talk and now as a solo artist – going against the grain. He has embraced rock, hip hop, rap, pop, funk, and R&B, and his most recent album, 2012’s Eye on It – which debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart – features a heavy dose of dance music.”

TobyMac will be in Abbotsford this Friday (and Seattle on Saturday), on his ‘Hits Deep’ tour. Joining him on the tour are several well known Christian musicians: Matthew West, Brandon Heath, Mandisa, Matt Maher and Capital Kings.

“This tour is going to be exactly what most people want to see when they go to a concert – a show where you know every song,” TobyMac said in an Abbotsford News story. “These artists are all headliners in their own right, but we’ve come together to serve up the hits that have become a part of people’s lives.”

Feb 2014

Square Foot Prayer: A Regent Community Art Project – February 17, 2014 - February 20, 2014 at All Day
Lament and Reflection on the Murdered and Mission Women – February 17, 2014 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Carolyn Arends – February 18, 2014 at 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Lecture by Distinguished Visiting Fellow Frank Schaeffer – February 18, 2014 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
The Laing Lectures: Dr. Ellen T. Charry - Christian Theology as a Guide for the Emotions – February 19, 2014 - February 20, 2014 at All Day
Fireside Apologetics: Is Religion Dangerous - A Reply to New Atheism – February 19, 2014 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Watoto: Beautiful Africa - A New Generation – February 19, 2014 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Ellen Charry: Beliefs and Emotions – February 19, 2014 at 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Ellen Charry: Augustine on Love – February 20, 2014 at 11:30 am - 1:30 pm
Ellen Charry: Luther on Anxiety – February 20, 2014 at 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Real Marriage LiveStream Conference with the Driscolls – February 21, 2014 - February 22, 2014 at All Day
The Justice Conference Abbotsford – February 21, 2014 - February 22, 2014 at All Day
The Justice Conference Surrey – February 21, 2014 - February 22, 2014 at All Day
The Justice Conference Vancouver – February 21, 2014 - February 22, 2014 at All Day
Speaking of Freedom: In Honour of Black History Month – February 21, 2014 at 6:45 pm - 10:00 pm
Remember Me: Exploring Christ's passion, His resurrection, and what it means to remember Him – and be remembered by Him – February 21, 2014 at 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm
Toby Mac 'Hits Deep Tour' – February 21, 2014 at 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Dr. Frank C. Senn: Liturgy and Spiritual Formation – February 21, 2014 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Thad's Book Party (Beverley Boissery) – February 21, 2014 at 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Sideshow (opening night) – February 21, 2014 - February 22, 2014 at 8:00 pm - 10:30 pm
John Stackhouse: Writing - How to Write Better at Regent and Beyond – February 22, 2014 at 9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Psalms for All Ages: A 3-Part Series – February 22, 2014 at 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Free to Be Me Seminar – February 22, 2014 at 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Justice Matters: From Root Causes to Action – February 22, 2014 at 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Coldest Night of the Year – February 22, 2014 at 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Avant Ministries Celebration Dinner – February 22, 2014 at 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Fruit That Lasts: How Can I Make a Difference for God's Kingdom? – February 22, 2014 at 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Girl Rising – February 22, 2014 at 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Al Helm: The Dream - Martin Luther King in Palestine – February 22, 2014 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Gateway Coffee House / Partnership with Surrey Aglow – February 23, 2014 at 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm