Around Town: Planning Ahead to Finish Well, Jesus films, Stations of the Cross

Pastor Trevor Vanderveen has had many experiences trying to help families caught off guard by all the issues they face surrounding death and dying.

He would particularly love to welcome regular members of congregations, people who may not have devoted much thought to these issues, to a gathering April 26: Planning Ahead to Finish Well.

He writes of parishioners who have expressed:

• • “I thought I had “everything in order” but I still didn’t feel prepared.”
  • “There were so many decisions to work through at a time when I was reeling emotionally.”
  • “I wish we had talked more with our kids about some of our wishes and expectations.”

We are in the midst of Holy Week, a time when we celebrate Jesus’ victory over the grave at Easter, and this gives us cause for immense hope. Still, it’s certainly different thinking about Jesus’ dying and death than it is our own, isn’t it? I think that many of us (most?) likely try to spend as little time as possible thinking about the reality of dying and death. And when we are confronted with a sudden surge of decisions and conversations in the middle of our grief, we are left with a huge challenge to try to sort through. 

As a pastor in East Van for the past 18 years, I have heard congregants and neighbours say those exact phrases that are listed above. Some folks have a will, but they haven’t talked through other legal decisions or they haven’t talked about it with their loved ones.

Some people found themselves in a hospital room and given a short amount of time to make really significant decisions. Others have found themselves talking with a funeral director and not really knowing what they should do.

And finally, others have talked with their pastors about so many things, but they didn’t think practically and clearly about a Christian view of death, or even about how choosing their favourite songs and Scriptures today can inform the way they want to be remembered. 

To speak into these questions, we are holding ‘Planning Ahead to Finish Well’ – a seminar for you, your loved ones, and anyone in your church, to be empowered to face our mortality with hope, peace and a readiness to be better prepared. The topics covered will be led by various experts in support: medical care, funeral home care, financial advising, chaplaincy and pastoral support.

Presenters will offer their expertise through the eyes of faith:

• • A Conversation on Medical Decision-Making: Dr. Mark Fok, Gerontologist
  • Navigating funeral homes & cemeteries: Trevor Crean, Funeral Director
  • Life that Leads Us Through Death: Mary Dickau, Spiritual Care Coordinator at Hopehill
  • This is My Story, This is My Song: Planning your memorial service to inspire living today: Trevor Vanderveen
  • Resources from Christian Stewardship Society

The Planning Ahead to Finish Well seminar will take place next Saturday (April 26) at First Christian Reformed Church on Victoria Drive, 9:30 am – 1:30 pm ($40 per person, $60 for two people). Register here.

Jesus films

Local writer Peter Chattaway described a significant – and timely – development in his April 14 Thoughts and Spoilers comment:

History was made this weekend, as movies about Jesus took three of the top 10 slots at the box office for the first time since wide theatrical releases and weekly box-office reporting became standard across the industry roughly half a century ago.

The King of Kings – an animated rendering of the life of Jesus produced by a South Korean visual-effects studio and inspired by Charles Dickens’ The Life of Our Lord – was the top new movie of the week (and #2 overall, behind A Minecraft Movie), with an estimated $19.1 million since opening on Thursday.

This was the best first weekend of any faith-based film in over a decade, and easily the second-best opening for the film’s distributor Angel Studios, behind 2023’s Sound of Freedom. In fact, The King of Kings has already outgrossed most of Angel’s other films, and it will be their second-biggest movie ever in just a day or two.

Meanwhile, The Chosen: Last Supper – which released its third and final instalment this week – claimed two of the other spots in the top 10. Part three grossed an estimated $5.8 million (the best opening of any of The Chosen’s season finales) and landed at #6, while Part two added just under $1 million to its coffers in its second week (raising its 10-day cume to almost $11 million) and landed at #10.

He added:

It will be interesting to see what kind of “legs” the current Jesus films have. Next Sunday is Easter – and this is one of the special years when Eastern and Western churches celebrate Easter (or Pascha, as it’s called in the east) at the same time – so one assumes these films will get a boost then. Beyond that, who knows?2

Go here for the full comment, which covers a wide range of facts and figures about Jesus movies, from King of Kings and The Chosen series to thoughts about earlier high profile releases such as Godspell, Jesus Christ Superstar or Campus Crusade’s Jesus film.

Chattaway, based in Surrey, covers a lot of ground on his Thoughts and Spoilers Substack site, which regularly looks at “Film and stuff, with a particular focus on Bible films.”

South Delta Baptist Church will host a screening of The King of Kings May 10.

Stations of the Cross

It has often been said that ‘spiritual but not religious’ types prefer spending time in the outdoors to attending church. A local woman has found a creative way to add a new element to those hikes in the woods.

An April 10 B.C. Catholic article tells the story:

In a world where digital tools often distract from the divine, Suzana Kovacic has found a way to turn technology into prayer. Using Google Maps, she created a digital version of the Stations of the Cross, allowing anyone to turn any trail into a spiritual pilgrimage. . . .

The idea was born when Kovacic attended a retreat at the Opus Dei Copper Ridge Conference Centre on Howe Sound.

“One afternoon during the retreat, a group of us went for a hike. I thought how great it would be to pray the Stations of the Cross while walking along a trail.” . . . She realized she could make virtual Stations of the Cross and follow them on her phone.

The result is a Google Map with pins for each station. Clicking on a My Maps link loads a series of waypoints into the Google Maps app for a chosen route. Each waypoint is the virtual location of a station. With the waypoints loaded into the phone and location setting turned on, it’s a simple matter of navigating from waypoint to waypoint, station to station. Clicking on the pin for the station reveals the text of the prayer to say at each station and an image for contemplation.

Go here for the full article and here for her Trail of the Cross site. Thus far she has created maps for Burnaby, Vancouver and North Vancouver.

Easter weekend

Congregations in several communities will meet together for Good Friday services and Holy Saturday events:

• Coastal Church, First Baptist Church and The Way will meet for three services at Centre Church;
• God’s Friday Way of the Cross at Gore & Hastings will involve people from several churches;
• God’s Friday Walk around Hasting Sunrise will meet at Longhouse Church (Franklin & Penticton), 10:30 am.
• Citywide Service will take place at Connaught Heights Pentecostal Assembly in New Westminster;
• Churches of Langley will gather for two services at Christian Life Assembly;
• Ridge Meadows Ministerial Joint Service will be held at St. George’s Maple Ridge;
• Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage Walk, with five stops;
• WEA Holy Saturday Prayer Vigil for the World online.

Events & Jobs

Events are listed below, but there is also an Events page and a Jobs page on the Church for Vancouver site.

Apr 2025

Book Launch: The Highest Chief – April 17, 2025 at 10:00 am - 12:30 pm
Martyrs in Monochrome: The Witness of Women, Christian Resilience & Photopoetry – April 18, 2025 - May 8, 2025 at 12:00 am
Good Friday Joint Service (three services, Downtown Vancouver) – April 18, 2025 at 9:00 am - 2:30 pm
Good Friday Service: Churches of Langley (2 services) – April 18, 2025 at 9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Good Friday Service – April 18, 2025 at 10:00 am - 11:30 am
God’s Friday Way of the Cross – April 18, 2025 at 12:15 pm - 2:00 pm
Citywide Good Friday Service – April 18, 2025 at 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Miserere: A Good Friday Concert – April 18, 2025 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Jim Byrnes with Simon Kendall & Eric Reed – April 18, 2025 at 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Holy Saturday: A 24 hour prayer vigil for the world – April 19, 2025 at All Day
Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage (5 stops in Vancouver) – April 19, 2025 at 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Engaged Citizenship: The Role of Faith Communities During an Election – April 24, 2025 at 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
FaithTech Vancouver Presents: Integrating Faith into the Workplace – April 24, 2025 at 5:45 pm - 7:45 pm
Finding Real Friendships in Pastoral Ministry: A Pathway from Loneliness to Community – April 25, 2025 at 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Lighthouse Harbour Ministries Spring Breakfast – April 26, 2025 at 8:30 am - 10:00 am
Planning Ahead to Finish Well Seminar – April 26, 2025 at 9:00 am - 1:30 pm
2025 Spring Craft Fair – April 26, 2025 at 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Vancouver Orpheus Male Choir with the Langley Community Chorus: Joy of Singing – April 26, 2025 at 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Amabilis Singers Spring Concert 2025: Roots of Peace – April 26, 2025 at 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Oh Pray Tell – April 26, 2025 at 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Jazz Vespers with Wild Blue Herons Quartet – April 27, 2025 at 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Pacific Preachers' Refresher 2025 – April 28, 2025 - April 30, 2025 at 12:30 pm - 1:00 pm
Kentro Christian Network: Annual Forum – April 28, 2025 - April 30, 2025 at 7:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Pat Barrett: Beautiful Life Tour – April 28, 2025 at 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Money, Lies, and God: An Evening with Katherine Stewart – April 28, 2025 at 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Celebrating Archbishop Miller’s 50th Anniversary of Priestly Ordination: Farewell Dinner – April 29, 2025 at 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Business by the Book: William Lamb, CEO and President of Lucara Diamond Corp. – April 30, 2025 at 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

May 2025

Serve Our Schools – May 1, 2025 at 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Religious Diversity in Catholic Schools: Why does it matters to the Church's reconciliation efforts? – May 1, 2025 at 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Tonye Aganaba – May 2, 2025 at 8:00 am - 10:00 am
An evening of worship through stories & songs: Cynthia Lok – May 2, 2025 at 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Preaching in a New Key: A Conversation About Preaching in Vancouver – May 3, 2025 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Regent College 2025 Convocation – May 5, 2025 at 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
BAM Vancouver Luncheon with Russ Swaim – May 7, 2025 at 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
A Rocha BC: Volunteer Day – May 10, 2025 at 9:30 am - 2:00 pm
Spreading the Word Writing Conference – May 10, 2025 at 9:30 am - 3:00 pm
Movie Screening: The King of Kings – May 10, 2025 at 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
2025 Interchurch Praise & Worship Night – May 10, 2025 at 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm
Concert for Peace – May 10, 2025 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Brian Doerksen: Old Fashioned Dance celebrating ‘Love For A Lifetime’ Album Release – May 10, 2025 at 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Paul and Women in Leadership – May 13, 2025 at 9:00 am - 10:30 am
Deconstructing a Young Earth, Deconstructing Faith – Two Stories, Two Directions – May 13, 2025 at 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Celebrating Archbishop Miller’s 50th Anniversary of Priestly Ordination: Farewell Mass – May 13, 2025 at 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm
Vancouver School of Theology 2025 Convocation – May 13, 2025 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Meeting – May 14, 2025 - June 7, 2025 at All Day
All of Life Interview with: Dr. Todd Statham & Dr. Peter Schuurman – May 14, 2025 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
CONVERGE: A Joint Young Adult Event – May 16, 2025 at 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Business as Mission Bootcamp – May 17, 2025 at 3:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Day of Renewal: Church Leadership British Columbia – May 22, 2025 at 8:30 am - 3:00 pm
Western Youth Summit – May 24, 2025 at 9:00 am - 9:00 pm
Flourishing: Rediscovering Hope, with Carlos Whittaker – May 24, 2025 at 12:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Bez Gospel Choir Spring Concert: Look Up! – May 25, 2025 at 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Vancouver Oratorio Society Spring Concert – May 25, 2025 at 7:30 pm - 9:15 pm
Pacific Life Bible College May Preview Day – May 26, 2025 at 11:30 am - 4:30 pm
First United 140th Anniversary Golf Tournament – May 26, 2025 at 12:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Compassion: Thoughtful, Engaged & Generous – May 27, 2025 - May 29, 2025 at 12:00 am
Compassion: Thoughtful, Engaged & Generous: Dr. Terri Givens – Radical Integrity in Leadership: Empathy in Action – May 27, 2025 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Journey Home Community: The Welcome Table – Annual Spring Gala – May 29, 2025 at 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
The Paperboys (Trio) – May 30, 2025 at 8:00 am - 10:00 am
Connection Point 2025: A Night of Worship & Community – May 30, 2025 at 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm
The Parenting Conference: Sowing to the Spirit – May 31, 2025 at 8:30 am - 12:00 pm