Around Town: First United, Cathedral arbitration, Fraser Lands & Lytton

The first meal served at the First United site for several years.

This is my last weekly Church for Vancouver update until the fall. Have a good summer!

First United will soon be moving back to its home base at Hastings and Gore, in the midst of the Downtown Eastside, following a major building project.

First United tweeted June 30:

Yesterday, we served the first meal from our new building via our service window on Gore Street! Community members lined up along the side of our building to get their lunch for the day.

We’re excited to be able to cook meals in our new kitchen and continue meal service during this transition period. When we’re ready to open in July, community members will be eating meals in our new dining hall!

Here is a portion of a June 26 article posted on Broadview:

A new community centre in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, built by First United Church Community Ministry Society in collaboration with Lu’ma Native Housing Society, will bring much needed social and housing support to the low income neighbourhood.

Located at 320 East Hastings St., the redeveloped 11-storey building includes four floors (approximately 40,000 square feet) of community space and seven floors of Indigenous social and supportive housing.

First United is expected to open in July.

The community space provides essential services such as meal programs, washroom and shower facilities, legal services, phone and mail services, and tax support.

It also includes a library, a cafe, an outdoor centre and a sacred space. The building can also serve as a warming and cooling centre, and an emergency evacuation site. . . .

Frequently referred to as “The Church of Open Doors,” First United has been serving the Downtown Eastside community from the corner of Hastings and Gore, providing ministry and essential services to those in need, since 1892.

First United’s decision to partner with Lu’ma was driven in large part by both the community’s need for Indigenous housing and the church’s desire to work towards reconciliation.

The United Church operated 15 residential schools across Canada until 1969, as part of the federal government’s effort to assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian culture and Christian ideology. In today’s Downtown Eastside, about 31 percent of the population is Indigenous. Burrows says this reflects the racialized poverty in the community.

“Although we have apologized, continue to apologize, we are so committed at the United Church to reconciliation,” says Burrows. “It’s a way to respond in a meaningful way to a great need; it’s a way to respond in a meaningful way to reconciliation and action as an organization and as the United Church.”

Go here for the full article.

Construction fences were erected on the First United site in 2022 and their various services have been operating from satellite locations in the meantime. The new centre is expected to receive about 1,000 visits every day.

Another major move-in will take place in September, when Menno Hall on the UBC campus opens its doors. More on that after my summer break. I have written about the high profile project here and here.

Christ Church / QuadReal arbitration

Christ Church Cathedral

Christ Church Cathedral is awaiting the results of an arbitration process with QuadReal, “a global real estate investment, development and operating company” which manages Park Place, the 35-story office tower adjacent to the church.

A June 3 update from the Very Rev. Christopher Pappas, Dean of the Diocese of New Westminster and Rector of Christ Church, noted that the hearing would take place the during the following week, and that a decision would likely be rendered this summer.

He wrote (in part):

[The arbitration is] regarding the annual payment under the long-standing density agreement between the Cathedral and Park Place. . . .

The purpose of the arbitration is to determine the annual payment for the new 20-year period running from October 1, 2024 to October 1, 2044. For the previous period, that annual payment was $300,000. The new level will now be set through this arbitration process.

By agreement with the Diocese, this annual payment is received each October and placed in the Cathedral’s Heritage Building Fund, where it is held in the Diocesan Consolidated Trust Fund. These funds support major infrastructure, building maintenance and building improvement, and also help the Cathedral meet important operational needs.

In a ‘Park Place Agreement’ statement earlier this year, Pappas had offered . . .

. . . an important update about the Cathedral’s financial position and our ongoing arbitration with QuadReal (the company that manages Park Place) regarding our 99-year agreement that allowed Park Place to be constructed.

We are grateful to say that, through the arbitration process, we have been able to negotiate a partial payment for a portion of the 2024 and 2025 funds that are owed to us by QuadReal. This is a significant and welcome development. At the same time, the process is not yet complete. The arbitration itself continues, and our final arbitration date is set for June.

QuadReal describes itself as “one of the world’s leading real estate companies. While based locally, the company now conducts half its business overseas. QuadReal states, “Its assets under management are $98.5 billion.” QuadReal has numerous residential properties in Metro Vancouver, including several which are part of the major Oakridge development.

I do not see any sign of an arbitration decision, as of July 1, on Christ Church newsletters, nor on their Facebook page.

(An interesting fact, no doubt irrelevant, is that Park Place’s address is 666 Burrard Street.)

Fraser Lands & Lytton

Members of Fraser Lands and two other churches visited Lytton in May.

Five years ago, on June 30, the Lytton Creek wildfire destroyed the town of Lytton in the Interior of the province. Several media stories have reflected back on that traumatic time, and pointed out that the restoration process has been slow and painful.

The village population was just 250, but more than 1,000 people were evacuated from the area. Today, about 100 have returned and 20 homes have been rebuilt.

A CBC News story noted:

Mayor Denise O’Connor said the community is remembering what happened and what was lost, while trying to look forward to what’s to come. . . . O’Connor said Lytton needs outside investment, like new people building homes in the village, to help restore the community to its former glory.

A group from Fraser Lands Church were in Lytton in May.

One group which has offered support to the Lytton community over the years is Fraser Lands Church in southeast Vancouver.

A June 24 update from the church describes the involvement:

On May 16, 2026, a group of 23 members from three congregations and across three generations came together to serve in the Lytton Ministry. This marked the fifth year of hosting a carnival for families in the Lytton First Nations community during their annual May Day Events.

This year, we were fortunate to hold the event indoors at the Battlefield Community Centre, located a few miles from downtown Lytton. At first, we were uncertain how many people would attend because of the more remote location.

However, God blessed the event with many visitors. The indoor setting encouraged people to stay longer and connect more easily with one another. In particular, the café booth created meaningful opportunities for deeper conversations and relationship-building with community members.

During our post-event sharing, many brothers and sisters reflected on how God has been planting seeds through this ministry. A number of visitors recognized Fraser Lands Church and were aware of the ongoing support we have provided over the years through carnivals, hampers and supplies.

One woman invited us to pray for her family, while an elder shared his gratitude, faith and decision to pursue a positive path in life. These moments were powerful reminders of God’s grace at work throughout this journey.

Fraser Lands hopes to send a team of more than 50 to Lytton September 5, to take part in the River Festival: “We are working with Lytton Chinese History Museum and Lytton First Nations to trace back some of the Lytton Chinese settlers during the early years.”

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