Kinbrace has been welcoming refugee claimants to Vancouver since 1998 – and now are sharing the core values that have guided them with the broader community.
The first of five Becoming Neighbours Workshops will be held March 25, both in person and online. Here is the invitation:
If you are:
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- interested in or actively welcoming refugee claimants
- a person who has lived the refugee journey, reflecting on your welcome story
- part of a refugee sponsorship group or refugee welcoming community
- curious to dive deeper into conversation about what creates a world of welcome
then join the Becoming Neighbours Workshops to:
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- explore what motivates your welcome of people who are forcibly displaced
- articulate what guides your actions and decisions to walk alongside those seeking refuge
- discuss what sustains your welcoming vision amid the chaos of displacement.
Participate (in-person or virtually) in the free, interactive Becoming Neighbours Workshops to strengthen and share your capacities for creating a world of welcome amid forced displacement.
Go here to learn more or to register.
Although Kinbrace is still very much locally focused, their influence is now felt across the nation:
The simple model of Canadians living with people seeking refugee protection informs and expands our capacity to welcome. In 2008, after 10 years of living together and building relationships in the wider community, Kinbrace co-founded READY Tours with the UNHCR and the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada – Refugee Protection Division.
Today, refugee claimants across the country have increased access to Canada’s refugee protection system through Kinbrace’s Ready for my Refugee Hearing resources.
The five workshops will be held March 25, April 22, June 17, October 14 and December 2, 9 am – noon, either in person (downtown Vancouver) or online.
ESL Ministries Network
Carolyn Kristjansson (left), Janice Penner and Gordon Moulden at Missions Central, where Penner led a seminar on ‘Designing a Faith-Based ESL Program to Impact Your Neighbourhood.’
A number of churches have offered English lessons to newcomers to Canada over the years, but their efforts have not always been well coordinated.
Four experts will share their knowledge and provide an opportunity for participants to compare notes at Metro Vancouver ESL Ministries Network Event.
The day-long event will take place at Douglas College in New Westminster – and online – this Saturday (March 18).
There will be five sessions:
1. Carolyn Kristjansson: Understanding Trauma to Promote Wellness in the ESL Classroom
This session is designed to contribute to an understanding of trauma and its effects and offer guiding principles for a trauma-informed approach to church-based ESL for the purpose of strengthening our capacity to welcome, support and demonstrate Christ’s love to language learners
Carolyn Kristjansson is an Associate Professor of Linguistics at Trinity Western University. She has served as a volunteer consultant to church-based ESL programs and has conducted two extensive research studies on church-sponsored ESL in BC.
2. Janice Campbell: Pronunciation 101
Students often want to speak like a native English speaker. While that is not essential to communicate effectively, pronunciation skills are necessary to be able to understand when repetitive misunderstandings occur. Furthermore, learning to connect sounds with spelling is essential not only for writing, but also reading.
Janice Campbell is an Instructor / Coordinator of Assessment and Certification at New Directions Vocational Testing and Counselling Services in Langley. With an MCS from Regent College, she is also involved with the Langley Literacy Network, the South Fraser Language Network, KPU’s ELS Program Advisory Committee and the Poverty Reduction Task Group (as co-chair).
3. Janice Penner: Materials for ‘On the Road: a Journey Through the Bible for Migrants’
“It’s hard to leave your homeland and the people you love, and venture into the unknown.” Janice Penner will present materials based on a booklet with 33 migration stories from the Bible and more from contemporary migrants who explain their changed lives. This affordable publication is also available in Spanish, Farsi, French, Chinese and Arabic, with supplemental materials available on her website.
Janice GT Penner was introduced to faith-based ESL programs in 1979 as a summer volunteer. She began teaching Academic Preparation at the UofA, in Beijing and Taipei and at UBC. After completing her MEd, she began instructing at Douglas College. In 2006, she led a team to start this network for Metro Vancouver programs, and would like to reactivate this local ministry and support the Canada-wide initiative for faith-based English Language Learning (ELL) programs
4. Gordon Moulden: Pointing the Way Forward: Survey Study of Canadian Church-based ESL Ministries
Findings from a survey-based research study on the current state of ESL ministry in Canadian churches following the reopening of churches after the COVID pandemic will be given. The study has been helpful both for revealing the impact of pandemic-based church closures on their ESL programs and for providing insights on how to strengthen the ministry moving forward.
Gordon Moulden has more than 30 years experience teaching English in Japan and Metro Vancouver, in universities, after-school programs and churches. He currently serves in the ESL ministry with Willingdon Church. Professionally, he works in the MA TESOL Program at Trinity Western University, where he teaches courses in assessment, research methods and leadership
5. Discussion Going Forward
Based on the survey results and your own experience, we’ll discuss how the Metro-Vancouver network can continue. Think about how you can be involved.
Go here to register, either in person on online.
Empty temple
The Tyee posted an interesting article March 13 about a one-time church building slated to make way for housing – but which remains standing, empty and derelict.
Here is a portion
This building started out as a grand temple, became a Buddhist monastery, and includes neighbourhood lore about a young Jimi Hendrix playing on its stage.
But today 301 E. Hastings is in sad shape: the building has sat empty for 20 years, even though it’s been owned by a government entity, Vancouver Coastal Health, since 2001.
It’s located near the centre of the Downtown Eastside, a neighbourhood where there’s a dire need for homeless shelters, permanent housing, gathering spaces and places to make art.
In 2018, then-housing minister Selina Robinson announced $83 million in funding for four new affordable housing buildings in the Downtown Eastside. The plan would have included demolishing the Salvation Army Temple at 301 E. Hastings, a move that alarmed heritage advocates.
Five years later, the building still stands empty, surrounded by blue fences. There’s plywood where windows should be, a crown of graffiti, a permanent roost of pigeons and a cascade of green lichen trailing down the front of the building. . . .
The Salvation Army Temple’s opening ceremony, February 18, 1950. Photo: City of Vancouver Archives, AM54-S4-: Bu P373.1.
Construction on the Salvation Army Temple was started in 1947 and the building opened in 1950, replacing an older Salvation Army ‘citadel’ on the same spot. The art deco building was designed by a local Vancouver architecture firm, Mercer & Mercer, who also built the Waldorf Hotel at 1489 E. Hastings.
A Vancouver Sun article from 1950 shows photos of a gleaming new building and an interior shot of the “mothers’ room,” where churchgoers could leave their children in the care of babysitters.
The building was headquarters for the religious organization’s operations in British Columbia, and included an auditorium with seating for 700 people, offices, a kitchen, and a gym in the basement where sports programs could be run for children and teens.
Go here for the full story, which covers the building’s transformation into a Buddhist monastery and subsequent abandonment.
Mar 2023
Joy Banks: Waymarkers – March 9, 2023 - March 16, 2023 at All DayLloyd Mackey Fonds in TWU Archives Launch Event – March 16, 2023 at 1:00 pm - 1:45 pm
Book Launch: Dr. Matthew Lynch – Flood and Fury: Old Testament Violence and the Shalom of God – March 16, 2023 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Dr. Aaron Kheriaty: The Growing Biomedical Security State: A Threat To Human Dignity? – March 16, 2023 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Wonderfully Good: River Prophetic Nights, with Isabel & Thrainn Skulason – March 16, 2023 - March 17, 2023 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Academic Symposium 2023 – March 17, 2023 at 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Sarah Kurbjuweit: Rhythms & Roots – Opening Reception – March 17, 2023 at 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Traditional Hymn Sing Along at Elim Village – March 17, 2023 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Hawksley Workman – March 17, 2023 at 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Metro Vancouver ESL Ministries Network Event – March 18, 2023 at 9:00 am - 4:30 pm
North Shore Alliance Church Community Cleanup – March 18, 2023 at 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Taizé Service – March 19, 2023 at 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
The Mr. Rogers' Neighbourhood Sacred Jazz Suite – March 19, 2023 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Inklings Institute of Canada: Dramatic Reading of Dorothy Sayers’ King of Sorrows – March 21, 2023 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Jazz Evensong @ Brentwood: Nick Apivor & Friends – March 22, 2023 at 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
DEI, CRT & Anti-racism: Common Sense, Campaigning & Courtesy – March 23, 2023 at 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
SoulStream presents: Coming Home Lenten Retreat – March 24, 2023 - March 26, 2023 at 5:00 pm - 12:00 pm
Raise Your Spoon Fundraiser, Starring Leland Klassen – March 24, 2023 at 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Heart Conference – March 24, 2023 - March 25, 2023 at 7:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Presentation on MAiD – March 24, 2023 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
How to Understand the Days of Creation with Dan Kreft – March 24, 2023 at 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Tax Clinic – March 25, 2023 at 12:00 am
Canadian Disaster Relief Volunteer Training – March 25, 2023 at 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Wherefore Art the Begats? with Dan Kreft – March 25, 2023 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Handel's Messiah – March 25, 2023 at 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Jazz Vespers in the Valley with the Kayden Gorden Quartet – March 26, 2023 at 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Jazz Vespers with Bonnie Northgraves – March 26, 2023 at 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Buoyancy – March 26, 2023 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Book Launch: Criminal Law – March 28, 2023 at 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
Cambodia Justice Journey Info Session – March 28, 2023 at 7:00 pm - 8:15 pm
Living Fruitfully: A Biblical Theology of Work – March 29, 2023 at 10:00 am - 11:00 am
The Man of the Shroud Exhibition – March 29, 2023 - April 2, 2023 at 6:30 pm - 1:30 pm
St. John Paul II and the Human Person – March 29, 2023 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Jazz Evensong @ Brentwood: Kayden Garden & Friends – March 29, 2023 at 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Book Conversation on Faith Formation in a Secular Age by Andrew Root – March 30, 2023 at 10:30 am - 11:30 am
Belonging: How has racism affected your sense of belonging within Christian churches? – March 30, 2023 at 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
You Can't Take it With You – March 30, 2023 - April 1, 2023 at 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Evangelical Missiological Society Canadian Regional Conference – March 31, 2023 at All Day
Learning How to Grow Restorative Churches – March 31, 2023 - April 1, 2023 at 9:00 am - 4:30 pm
The Seven Last Words of Christ – March 31, 2023 at 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Valdy – March 31, 2023 at 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Apr 2023
Lectures on Distinguishing Heresy (two events) – April 1, 2023 - April 2, 2023 at All DayIron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conference – April 1, 2023 at 8:30 am - 3:30 pm
Garage Sale & Thrift Shop – April 1, 2023 at 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Rheinberger’s Mass in C major (op. 169), and Cherubini’s Requiem in C minor – April 1, 2023 at 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
St. John Passion – April 1, 2023 at 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Leeroy Stagger – April 1, 2023 at 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Palm Sunday Service – April 2, 2023 at 10:00 am - 11:15 am
Watoto Children's Choir – April 2, 2023 at 10:00 am - 11:30 am
Watoto Children's Choir – April 2, 2023 at 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Rheinberger’s Mass in C major (op. 169), and Cherubini’s Requiem in C minor – April 2, 2023 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
TWU's Sustainability Week – April 3, 2023 - April 6, 2023 at All Day
Planetary Health Lecture: Plastic Pollution & the Microbiome Menace – April 4, 2023 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Climate Change 'Smart' or 15 Minute Cities – April 5, 2023 at 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Fire From Heaven: Michael Faraday and the Dawn of the Electrical Age – April 5, 2023 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Kinbrace Virtual Open House – April 5, 2023 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
The Way College Info Night – April 5, 2023 at 7:00 pm - 7:45 pm
Jazz Evensong @ Brentwood: Dan Reynolds – The Sower Suite – April 5, 2023 at 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Sarah Kurbjuweit: Rhythms & Roots – April 6, 2023 - April 12, 2023 at All Day
At the Still Point of the Turning World: Music & Poetry for Holy Week – April 6, 2023 at 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
How to Talk to Your Kids About Doubt – April 6, 2023 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Black and Rural – April 6, 2023 - April 15, 2023 at 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Fort Langley's Stations of the Cross – April 7, 2023 at 10:00 am - 11:30 am
Good Friday City-wide Gathering – April 7, 2023 at 10:00 am - 11:30 am
Good Friday Combined Service – April 7, 2023 at 10:00 am - 11:15 am
Good Friday / DTES Joint Gathering – April 7, 2023 at 10:30 am - 11:30 am
Good Friday Joint Service – April 7, 2023 at 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
Good Friday Service (First Baptist, Westside, Coastal) – April 7, 2023 at 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Good Friday Service with Haydn's Seven Last Words of Christ – April 7, 2023 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Easter Bash – April 8, 2023 at 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Easter Bash – April 8, 2023 at 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Resurrection Egg Hunt – April 8, 2023 at 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Family Easter Carnival – April 8, 2023 at 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Easter Sunday Service – April 9, 2023 at 10:00 am - 11:15 am
Gardening Course: Grow Your Own Food! (every second Tuesday) – April 11, 2023 at 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Book talk by Naoko Kato on Kaleidoscope: The Uchiyama Bookstore and its Sino-Japanese Visionaries – April 12, 2023 at 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
David Moffitt: What Happened After Easter? – April 12, 2023 at 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm
Jazz Evensong @ Brentwood: Laura Crema & Bill Coon – April 12, 2023 at 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
SIMinar: Explore South Asia – April 13, 2023 at 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Book Launch: Amazing Grace – the Life of John Newton & the Surprising Story Behind His Song – April 13, 2023 at 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Martyn Joseph – April 13, 2023 at 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Five Days of Prayer for Sikhs – April 14, 2023 - April 19, 2023 at All Day
49th Annual Delta Leadership Prayer Breakfast – April 15, 2023 at 8:15 am - 10:00 am
A Rocha Volunteer Day – April 15, 2023 at 9:30 am - 2:00 pm
Bible Saturday: Dr. Iain Provan: All Creatures Great & Small – the Psalms' Global Perspective – April 15, 2023 at 9:30 am - 11:45 am
Easter Pipe Organ Concert with audience singing – April 15, 2023 at 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Elvis Easter Extravaganza: Elvis Tribute Artist Ben Klein – April 15, 2023 at 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Gardens: A Sacred Oratorio by David Owen Squires – April 15, 2023 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Barney Bentall – April 15, 2023 at 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Jazz Vespers in the Valley with the Bonnie Northgraves Band – April 16, 2023 at 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Indigenous Voices of Faith – April 17, 2023 at 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Caught in the Current: British and Canadian Evangelicals in an Age of Self-Spirituality – April 18, 2023 at 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Let the Healing Begin – April 18, 2023 at 6:30 pm - 10:00 pm
New Survey Results: Young Christians Want Church Engagement on Creation Care – April 19, 2023 at 11:30 am - 2:00 pm
Daniel Du: A Beauty Eclipsed – Opening Reception- – April 19, 2023 at 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Jazz Evensong @ Brentwood: Linda Szentes & JazzLinks – April 19, 2023 at 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Discipleship in Our Complex Age: A Digital Gathering with Mark Sayers – April 20, 2023 at 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Innovating Failure: Ethical Issues on the Path to Health Care Advancement – April 21, 2023 at 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
The Boy Who Preferred to be Angry – April 22, 2023 - April 23, 2023 at All Day
Cuckoos in Our Nest: Truth & Lies About Being Human – Seminar with Iain Provan – April 22, 2023 at 9:30 am - 1:00 pm