Around Town: Jazz Evensong, Journey to Bethlehem, Maple Ridge Christian School

Elizabeth Shepherd will be at Brentwood Presbyterian Church for Jazz Evensong November 14.

At one time, it might have seemed odd to head along to church to hear some jazz music. Surely it was more suited to smoky night clubs? Non-smoky now, of course, but still not churches.

Times have changed, though, at least in Vancouver, and much of the credit for that change must be given to Rev. Brian Fraser and Brentwood Presbyterian Church.

For years, the church has offered weekly Jazz Evensong evenings, welcoming all manner of jazz musicians.

Several other churches have joined them in hosting such evenings (St. Andrew’s United Church in North Vancouver, Northwood United Church in Surrey and two Vancouver churches, Trinity-Grace United and St. Andrew’s-Wesley United).

The B.C. Catholic noted recently that a Catholic pastor is considering the move. Terry O’Neill wrote:

Father Larry Lynn, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes in Coquitlam and a life-long jazz lover, is intrigued by what he has seen at Brentwood Presbyterian.

“I love Pastor Fraser’s initiative to try to bring jazz into his church,” Father Lynn said. “I love that he prayed before the concert and that he invoked Jesus during his talks. He’s providing a space for people to encounter Christ through a medium that doesn’t usually acknowledge the spiritual, even though it can be a thoroughly spiritual experience.

“Music moves the soul – that’s the reality and I think jazz, because it’s a kind of exploratory music, might be for those who are open to an exploration of their soul.” . . .

Father Lynn said he thinks “it would be great” for a Catholic church to explore something like a jazz vespers program. “At my parish, I’m doing a renovation of the church basement and I’m thinking about allowing it to be a venue for small music groups, whether it’s jazz, chamber music, folk music,” he said.

Go here for the full article.

Jazz Evensong will host several Wednesday night events before Christmas, including:

Elizabeth Shepherd, November 14: The Montreal-based Juno- and Polaris-nominated singer and pianist will stop in as part of her western Canadian tour. With seven original albums, she has performed at jazz clubs around the world. While her subject matter is eclectic, as the daughter of two Salvation Army ministers – and a member of the Salvation Army Montreal Citadel Corps herself – she does record songs such as Candle of the Lord (with The Canadian Staff Band) and Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow.

A couple of special shows are coming up too:

Celebrating St. Andrew’s Day, November 26: “Robbie Burns Day isn’t the only time to enjoy Scottish music, and Triskellion will share with you a mix of Scottish, Irish, Classical, Baroque and even Broadway tunes to celebrate the Feast of Saint Andrew, and put a little light into a late November Sunday evening.”
12th Annual Christmas Jazz Concert, December 3: “Dixon Transition Society is excited to present our 12th Annual Christmas Jazz Concert. We are collaborating once again with the Brentwood Presbyterian Church, and will feature spectacular performances by local artists Miles Black, Glenda Rae, Brett Wade and Phil Robertson. All proceeds go towards Dixon Transition Society’s Transitional Housing Programs.”

Journey to Bethlehem

Coincidences can be fun, and even instructive.

Our family is reading the massive tome, Jerusalem: The Biography by Simon Sebag Montefiore (thinking we had better go back to the beginning if we are ever going to have a hope of understanding the intractable Israel / Palestine dispute).

We had just read about Herod Antipas – who had John the Baptist’s head delivered to Salome – when I read my friend Peter Chattaway’s Thoughts and Spoilers comments about Journey to Bethlehem, a new musical/movie about the nativity. He pointed particularly to a song by Herod Antipater: ‘In My Blood.’

I initially thought Herod Antipater was Herod Antipas, but Peter points out that Antipas was too negative a character:

So instead, [the film’s co-writer/co-composer/director Adam] Anders turned to the lesser-known Antipater, who is never mentioned in the gospels, and fashioned a character arc for him that would lend itself to the film’s more positive themes.

Between the book and the article, I now have a better handle on my Herods, including Herod the Great. It’s all a bit complicated; read Peter’s explanation here.

And if I want to know more, I could go to the movie, which opens this Thursday (November 9) at several local theatres.

Go here for much more by Peter on Journey to Bethlehem – links to articles, comments on trailers, etc.</[>

A sort of secondary coincidence is that the fellow who plays Antipater will be in town (well Abbotsford) in early December for his day job. Joel Smallbone is one of two brothers who make up For King + Country, who are on tour with their Drummer Boy Christmas show.

I wrote about For King + Country when they were in Vancouver this spring: “They’ve won four Grammy Awards, including one for a stirring song in which they were joined by Dolly Parton (‘God Only Knows‘) . . .

Maple Ridge Christian School

The student population of Maple Ridge Christian School is growing steadily. Photo courtesy of MRCS

Having written about the expansion of two Christian schools – BC Christian Academy in Port Coquitlam and Surrey Christian School – earlier this year, I recently learned that Maple Ridge Christian School is on the same trajectory

Chantelle Olsson-Chang, Director of Donor Relations for the school, described that growth for The Light Magazine; here is a portion of her article:

As housing prices have soared in the Vancouver area, families have moved east in search of affordable homes. Maple Ridge has experienced significant growth in this demographic, which has put strain on existing schools in the area. Maple Ridge Christian School (MRCS) is responding to this need. . . .

MRCS meets the needs of families with holistic, Christ-centred education, engaged community, accessible tuition and award-winning athletics. Quentin Flokstra, Lead Principal, explains:

Since 2017, MRCS has been on a steady path of growth, filling available spots and generating a waiting list. This necessitated an update to the strategic plan in 2020/21. At that time, the MRCS Board of Directors opted to begin double tracking the kindergarten program for the 2021/22 school to make room for more families who desired a choice for independent, Christian education.

The building project began in earnest at the beginning of 2023 that will allow us to double our student capacity and will also feature a full-sized gym.

Construction is under way at Maple Ridge Christian School. Photo courtesy of MRCS

Community spaces are in demand as land becomes scarce in the Lower Mainland. The building project at MRCS has attracted the attention of Maple Ridge council.

MRCS was honoured to give Mayor Dan Ruimy a tour in October and discussed the many creative ways Christian schools can be good citizens by sharing spaces like gyms. Maple Ridge Councillor, Ahmed Yousef, visited in August and commented on his Instagram page on the friendliness that he felt when he toured MRCS.

With 65 denominations represented at MRCS, a vision for Christian education is worked out in relationship. The result of this cooperation is a sense of community where families can feel at home.

The key elements of the development are:

16+ needed classrooms
High school gym
Drama and music rooms
New field and playground
More social spaces
New courtyard and entrance

The school has raised close to one-third of the $15.5 million required for the project. Go here for more information and here to donate.

Nov 2023

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Around Town: Jazz Evensong, Journey to Bethlehem, Maple Ridge Christian School

Nov 2023

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