Carolyn Arends and duo partner Spencer Capier (pre-COVID-19).
Carolyn Arends and Spencer Capier have collaborated and toured as a duo for years, but they had to be particularly creative as they created their latest song.
Carolyn emailed me, saying that:
Some folks have been calling ‘After This’ a sort of COVID anthem of longing and hope. The video was made under social distancing guidelines and consists mostly of fan-and-friend submitted images and then just additional public scenes shot in Vancouver.
A ‘Behind the Scenes’ page on her website describes how the song and the video came together. She said Spencer texted her an mp3 file of “an achingly beautiful fiddle tune” called ‘After This’:
I wished Spencer could play new music for me live, in real space and time. But considering we were at the highest levels of COVID-19-related lockdown, we had to settle for virtual communication.
So, I put in my earbuds, unaware I was about to ambushed by a new-but-timeless fiddle tune that somehow tapped into the pathos of this strange season of disorientation and isolation. It was haunting, and beautiful.
It made me cry.
I messaged Spencer back, asking him if maybe I could try writing lyrics to the tune. He said yes.
Inspiration came slowly and she almost despaired of coming up with suitable words, but:
I broke through on the lyric by thinking about other times in human history when people have longed for an “after this.” Because the fiddle tune reminded me of Civil War music, I imagined myself in the throes of a war that seems like it will never end. What would I say in those conditions? What would I need to hear said?
Carolyn said in her email:
Our hope is that ‘After This’ encourages folks and reminds us that, as people of the resurrection, there is always something after this.
I think they have succeeded. She added that they plan to donate a portion of any proceeds from downloads / streams to Barnabas Family Ministries [on Keats Island] – “our favourite family camp, who have had to shut down for the summer.”
Carolyn took part in another uplifting song during this time of pandemic; she was one of 125 or so participants in ‘The Blessing – Canada,’ which I wrote about last week.
Recording music is certainly not a new pastime for Carolyn; she has recorded a dozen albums. She has also written four books. Apart from all that, she is director of education for Renovaré, a Christian spiritual formation organization founded by Richard Foster.
Spencer also has three albums and works as a public school teacher.
Awaken BC
Great Commission Media Ministries, along with Mission Central and Lower Mainland Intercessors have set aside this Sunday (May 31) to pray for revival in British Columbia:
Let’s come together humbly before the Lord, seek His face and turn from our sins. Let’s seek Him for His revival.
The only hope for the nations is a revival in the church. The only hope for revival is a God-given movement of united prayer.
They quote from 2 Chronicles 7:13-15
When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.
Register here for updates and a link for the online prayer call; live streaming at 6 pm.
I notice that May 31 is also the International Day for the Unreached: “A third of us [worldwide] have never heard the sweet name of Jesus. The Great Commission tells us to ‘go and make disciples of all nations.’ Let’s take the gospel to each one.”
TWU coach has Olympic dreams
A new coach at Trinity Western University brings dreams of participating in the next Olympics with her. The Province featured her in a May 25 story:
Aldergrove’s Sarah Potomak, who was one of the last cuts before Pyeongchang 2018, will be an assistant coach with the TWU Spartans this coming season.
Sarah Potomak and the Trinity Western University Spartans women’s hockey program are looking to assist one another on their goals.
Potomak, a 22-year-old forward from Aldergrove with dreams to line up for Team Canada at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games, has signed on to be an assistant coach with TWU, a first-year entry in the Canada West conference this fall. . . .
“I’ll be in the same boat as the girls, training and going to school,” said Potomak, who’ll be working on her master’s degree in educational leadership. “I think it will be a very cool experience for both me and the girls. I think it will be beneficial for both of us.”
Go here for the full article.
Peace Portal shelter
Peace Arch News reported last week that Peace Portal Alliance Church and Options Community Services are working together to support the homeless during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here is a portion of the story:
A new temporary shelter for the homeless in White Rock and South Surrey has been established at Peace Portal Alliance Church.
Rev. Joan McMurtry, who has been working as an independent community advocate for a temporary shelter during the pandemic, announced that the shelter, managed by Options Community Services society in collaboration with the church, was open as of Wednesday night [May 13].
The shelter will be open at the church (located at the corner of King George Boulevard and 152 Street, with entry from the back of the building on the boulevard side) every night from 8 pm to 7 am until June 30.
The shelter offers a safe place to sleep for those who have been forced to sleep outside, for whatever reason. Also provided is food, showers and access to information about other resources. . . .
McMurtry said thanks are due to Peace Portal Alliance elders and staff – including local and global engagement pastor Jon LeFave – for stepping up to provide the church’s gymnasium for the temporary shelter, and the Source White Rock/South Surrey Food Bank for providing food and other assistance.
She also credited the City of White Rock for helping advocate for a local shelter after council, on staff advice, rejected Options’ proposal to use White Rock Community Centre for the purpose.
Go here for the full article.
May 2020
Leading into our New Future: Canada's Recovery Plan and Christian Charities – May 28, 2020 at 9:30 am - 10:30 amVirtual Book Launch: 'To Think Christianly: A History of L'Abri, Regent College and the Christian Study Center Movment' – May 28, 2020 at 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Virtual Event: Business as Calling: Speaker Josh Davis – May 28, 2020 at 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Walk in the Spirit of Reconciliation – May 29, 2020 - May 31, 2020 at All Day
Postponed: Centreing Prayer Mini Retreat – May 29, 2020 at 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Together in One Place: An Online Ecumenical Prayer Service for Pentecost – May 30, 2020 at 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Postponed: Crystal Hicks: Stand Up for Something – May 30, 2020 at 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Postponed: Crystal Hicks: Stand Up for Something – May 30, 2020 at 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Awaken BC: Arise and Seek the Lord! – May 31, 2020 at All Day
Day of Prayer for Camp – May 31, 2020 at All Day
International Day for the Unreached – May 31, 2020 at All Day
Jun 2020
Livestream: Iain Provan: The 'Environment,' Climate Change & COVID-19 – an Opportunity for Serious Reflection – June 1, 2020 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pmThe Next Normal Conference – June 2, 2020 - June 4, 2020 at All Day
EFC Webinar: Reopening Churches – June 3, 2020 at 9:00 am - 10:00 am
Livestream: Stanley John: How Diaspora Churches are Shaping North American Christianity – June 3, 2020 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Webinar: Breaking Ground for a World Renewed: A Beginning – June 4, 2020 at 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Flavours of Hope: Food & Race – Cultural Identity – June 6, 2020 at 3:45 pm - 5:30 pm
Cancelled: Mayor Linda Buchanan: What Makes a Community? – June 6, 2020 at 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Webinar: Marriage in a Dangerous Time – June 11, 2020 at 1:00 pm - 1:45 pm
World Refugee Sunday – June 14, 2020 at All Day
Dr. Margaret Cottle: Normalizing Euthanasia in Canada – More Danger Ahead – June 16, 2020 at 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Seek and Save: Equipping & Inspiring You to Show & Share the Love of Jesus – June 17, 2020 at 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Postponed: Jaron Lanier: Human Flourishing in a Technological World – June 17, 2020 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Alpha Webinar: Renewal and Unity in a Season of Separation: Shaila Visser & Stephen Foster – June 18, 2020 at 9:00 am - 10:00 am
Cancelled: Sacred Texts: Where Judaism, Christianity and Islam Meet – June 18, 2020 - June 20, 2020 at 7:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Postponed: Space for God Retreat – June 18, 2020 - June 20, 2020 at 7:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Journey Home Refugee Support: Volunteer Training – June 20, 2020 at 8:45 am - 3:00 pm
World Refugee Day 2020: Distant but Together – June 20, 2020 at 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
World Refugee Sunday – June 21, 2020 at All Day
Livestream: Susan Phillips: Talking Our Walk – Cultivating Sacred Consciousness – June 22, 2020 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Forge Canada: Seek the Peace – June 23, 2020 at 9:00 am - 10:00 am
Book Launch: Barry Morris – A Faithful Public-Prophetic Witness – June 23, 2020 at 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Kairos Online Western Canada (Tuesday evenings) – June 23, 2020 at 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm
WEA Webinar: What Authentic Discipleship is About – June 23, 2020 at 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Radius Missiology Conference (Free) – June 24, 2020 - June 25, 2020 at All Day
ELO Webinar: N.T. Wright on Racism, Christians & Leadership – June 24, 2020 at 9:00 am - 10:00 am
DTES Lament Gathering – June 24, 2020 at 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Livestream: Jeff Greenman – Living Faithfully in a Fearful World: Ethics, Leadership & Society – June 24, 2020 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Virtual Event: Business as Calling: Speaker Bernie Willock – June 25, 2020 at 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
The Art of Paying Attention: Learning to Love Creation (Online) – June 27, 2020 at 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Webinar: Reopening Churches 2 – June 29, 2020 at 9:00 am - 10:00 am
Livestream: Mary McCampbell: Guns, Grit and Grace – Flannery O'Connor & the Sin of Sentimentality – June 29, 2020 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
A Rocha Talks: The Story of Plastic – June 30, 2020 at 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm