Around Town: Earthkeepers, Night of Power Prayer, Samaritan’s Purse . . .

“Do you wonder what COVID-19 can teach us about addressing the climate crisis? Or how we, as Christians, can respond?” If so, tune into the Earthkeepers webinar next Thursday (May 21).

Hope in the Midst of Crises: COVID:19, Climate Action and Faith will explore several questions from ecological, economic, political and faith perspectives:

  • Explore the connections between COVID-19 and climate change
  • Contemplate what the Bible teaches about environmental stewardship
  • Hear from a sustainability engineer, pastor, a policy analyst and more!
  • Discuss what practical political actions we can take in our cities and homes following COVID-19

Monica Tang took part in COP25 in Madrid last year.

The webinar will be led by two members of Earthkeepers: Christians for Climate Change:

They will be joined by Samuel Chiu, from A Rocha International, coordinating outreach projects in the Asia-Pacific region. He was the other Vancouver CCOP delegate in Madrid.

This is part one of a three-part series.

Night of Power Prayer

Loving Muslims Together. The name says it all – but here’s a bit more:

Loving Muslims Together is about Canadian Christians having meaningful connection with their Muslim neighbours; learning to see God’s heart for them and experiencing the joys of cross-cultural friendship.

LMT seeks to equip Canadian Christians for healthy interfaith relations, including openness about the way of discipleship to Jesus; making disciples of all who are open.

Next Tuesday night (May 19) you can join the Vancouver Network of the LMT for a Virtual Night of Power Prayer Meeting:

Most Muslims in Canada believe the Night of Power is the holiest night of the year – the night God may speak to them. And God often does. Will you pray with us virtually for Muslims on this special night – that God will bless them, open their hearts to his truth and grant them the peace Christ came to bring?

Please contact [email protected] to receive a link to join the Zoom call.

Samaritan’s Purse 

Bev Kauffeldt has spent many years fighting Ebola, COVID-19 and other infectious diseases with Samaritan’s Purse since graduating from TWU.

Former Trinity Western University student Bev Kauffeldt was featured in a May 12 Globe and Mail story about Samaritan’s Purse dismantling its medical tents after helping out for the past two months in Italy.

The headline makes it clear how much their work was appreciated: ‘A team of coronavirus medics from Canada leave Italy as saviours and honorary citizens.’

The article said:

The Samaritan’s Purse hospital was designed to take the pressure off the main hospital, which was completely overwhelmed by mid-March by novel coronavirus cases.

Cremona (population 72,000), about 100 kilometres southeast of Milan, lies in the heart of Lombardy, which remains the hardest-hit spot in Europe. It has seen half of Italy’s 31,000 confirmed coronavirus fatalities. . . .

The last patient was discharged from the Samaritan’s Purse hospital on May 7.

The article noted that Kauffeldt, who has a Master’s degree in international leadership from Trinity Western and a PhD in applied sciences from a university in the United Kingdom, has been doing this work for a long time:

Bev Kauffeldt, 48, the Yukon-born team leader who spent 14 years in Liberia with her husband fighting Ebola and other infectious diseases, said the mission was both a success and a great learning experience. Cremona – best known as the birthplace of master luthier Antonio Stradivari – was so grateful that the mayor, Gianluca Galimberti, made all the team members honorary citizens.

Go here for the full story.

Franklin Graham visiting the Samaritan’s Purse team in Central Park.

Samaritan’s Purse recently took down another field hospital which they had erected in New York’s Central Park. The reception was far less warm there, with Mayor Bill de Blasio, backed by much of the media, giving the ministry and its leader Franklin Graham a very chilly reception.

Ron Sider, author of Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, wrote a nuanced defence of Graham and the Samaritan’s Purse temporary hospital, though without condoning his comments about Muslims, support of Donald Trump, etc.

Of course, many will remember the furore over Franklin Graham’s visit to Vancouver three years ago, which I wrote about several times.

May 2020

Life Week – May 11, 2020 - May 15, 2020 at All Day
Virtual National March for Life – May 14, 2020 at 12:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Missional Commons Webinar: What Do We Want to Bring With Us? – May 14, 2020 at 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Cancelled: The Trip to Bountiful by Horton Foote – May 15, 2020 at All Day
Free Income Tax Service (Tuesday & Saturday mornings) – May 15, 2020 at 9:30 am - 2:00 pm
LIvestream: Darrell Bock: Mind the Gap – From Living Event to Gospel Story – May 18, 2020 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Virtual Night of Power Prayer Meeting – May 19, 2020 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Alpha for Youth Webinar: Reaching Your Friends, With Ben and Jason – May 20, 2020 at 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Postponed: The Road to Healing: an evening with Kim Phuc Phan Thi – May 20, 2020 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Livestream: Diane Stinton: Immanuel, Image of God –Aspects of Popular Christology in Sub-Saharan Africa – May 20, 2020 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Alpha Canada Webinar: Prayer, Leadership and Evangelism in a Season of Separation – May 21, 2020 at 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Webinar: Hope in the Midst of Crises – COVID-19, Climate Action and Faith – May 21, 2020 at 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Cancelled: HistoryMaker Weekend 2020 – May 22, 2020 - May 24, 2020 at 6:00 pm - 12:30 pm
Cancelled: Do Justice, Love Mercy – May 22, 2020 - May 23, 2020 at 7:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Ecumenical Faith Break: Together in the Risen Lord – May 23, 2020 at 10:00 am - 11:15 am
Virtual Book Launch: 'Exiles on Mission: How Christians Can Thrive in a Post-Christian World' – May 25, 2020 at 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Livestream: Gordon T. Smith: The Trinity & the Shape of Christian Worship – May 25, 2020 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Livestream: Joshua Coutts: Living According to the Lord's Day: The Formative Role of Worship in Early Christianity – May 27, 2020 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Leading into our New Future: Canada's Recovery Plan and Christian Charities – May 28, 2020 at 9:30 am - 10:30 am
Virtual 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 pm
The 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
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