Around Town: Future of Catholic Church, Michael O'Brien, Bridge Community . . .

Eric Chow recently interviewed Archbishop Michael Miller about the future of the Roman Catholic Church in Vancouver. Image from video

The Roman Catholic Church is facing a period of transition locally – with Archbishop Michael Miller retiring and Archbishop Richard Smith coming to take his place, probably in late May.

The world church is also recognizing that major change is coming, with Pope Francis in poor health.

A February 19 article in The B.C. Catholic describes some of the issues facing the local Catholic Church: ‘Future of Vancouver Church means revitalizing parishes in a post-Christendom world: Archbishop.”

As Nicholas Elbers wrote, the Archbishop’s message to his priests has been clear: “Change is not optional.” The article began:

In today’s rapidly changing, post-Christendom world, pastoral decision-making has become increasingly complex. For priests beginning the work of parish renewal, that challenge is magnified.

That’s why the data Archbishop Miller has shared with pastors is so crucial. At sessions held in spring 2024, he provided insights to help priests make informed decisions about their communities and allocating parish time and resources.

The numbers tell a mixed story.

- Mass attendance in the Archdiocese of Vancouver is both rising and falling: While the number of people in the pews is climbing back toward pre-COVID levels, only 17 percent of Catholics attended Mass weekly in 2023 – down from 19 percent in 2019.
- Catholic population stability: The percentage of Catholics in Vancouver remains steady at 12 percent of the total population, just shy of 500,000 people.
- Projections for growth in diocesan vocations show a short-term increase, but long-term decline. The number of active diocesan priests is expected to rise slightly from 55 to 58 by 2029 but then decline over the following decade due to retirements and aging clergy.
- Permanent diaconate growth: The permanent diaconate is thriving, with 40 active permanent deacons projected by 2034.
- The number of marriages declined in the past decade, from 952 in 2002 to 680 (140 of them taking place outside the Archdiocese of Vancouver.)
- The number of PREP students had dropped from over 8,000 to just under 5,000.
- Confirmations have been on the decline, while baptisms and First Communions are rising again since 2020.
- Catholic school enrolment has been trending up, although the percentage of students who are Catholic has dropped slightly.

Looking at the national picture, he referred to the rather startling revelation that “nearly 70 percent of Canadian Catholics believe the Eucharist is only a symbol, contradicting the Church’s teaching on the Real Presence.”

He said that the situation “requires urgent response,” and has offered “12 key principles for the future of the Church in Vancouver.”

Go here for those principles and the full article

Archbishop Miller also spoke about the Catholic Church’s future with Eric Chow, Director of Proclaim – a movement “to awaken disciples to proclaim Jesus” initiated by Miller in 2019. The January 24 YouTube video is here.

March 10 note: Archbishop Michael Miller was joined by Archbishop RIchard Smith for a YouTube discussion about the future of the Catholic Church in Vancouver.

Michael O’Brien

Version 1.0.0

This is very short notice, but anyone out by Regent College at noon today (March 6) would be well advised to stop in on a Regent Bookstore presentation: ‘”O Lord Most High”: Michael D. O’Brien’s By the Rivers of Babylon.’

Dr. Greg Maillet will offer an introduction to the fiction of Canadian Catholic novelist Michael O’Brien. He will particularly focus on O’Brien’s latest novel, By the Rivers of Babylon – a retelling of the early life of the prophet Ezekiel.

Peter Kreeft, author and professor of philosophy, says, “Michael O’Brien is a superior spiritual storyteller worthy to join the ranks of Flannery O’Connor, Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh and C.S. Lewis.”

I wouldn’t go that far, but his books – including the Children of the Last Days Trilogy, which are set in the wilds of British Columbia – are always intriguing and certainly worth reading. O’Brien is a talented artist as well; the front covers of his many books feature his paintings.

Maillet is Professor of English at Crandall University in Moncton, New Brunswick. A traditional generalist, he has taught and published on a variety of authors, including Dante, Coleridge, Longfellow, T.S. Eliot, Tolkien, David Adams Richards and Margaret Avison.

He has published six books, including:

Recovering Consolation: Sam’s Enchanted Path in The Lord of the Rings (2024)
If is the Only Peacemaker: Catholic Humanism in Shakespeare’s As You Like It (2022)
Word Awake: An Introduction to the Novels of Michael D. O’Brien (2019)

Bridge Community

I was happy to see a report on the Christian Reformed Church in North America site pointing out that one of its churches in this area is cooperating with two other Christian groups to reach the local community:

Bridge Community Church in Langley, BC, is reaching out to their neighborhood through biweekly Friday barbecues. The community around the church has experienced a change in demographics with the recent construction of condominiums nearby. Bridge Community has responded by expanding a community dinner for people in need into a community-building event.

Organizers note also that Bridge Community is not doing this on their own. They work in partnership with The Refuge Canadian Reformed Church, which meets in the same building, and with Centerpoint Community Services. Centerpoint is a group of Christian businessmen who raise money to provide funding to churches who have a vision for reaching out to their community.

Doug Wilbee, a church member who contributes to the dinners, explained, “Remove any one of the three, and the dinners will cease to happen. I think it’s amazing that different denominations can come together with a shared vision of reaching out to our surrounding community.”

Go here to see the report.

Events & Jobs

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

Mar 2025

Kevin N. Flatt: What If There Is No Such Thing as Religion? Implications for Secularization Theory – March 6, 2025 at 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
'O Lord Most High': Michael D. O'Brien's By the Rivers of Babylon – March 6, 2025 at 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Business As Mission Vancouver Conference 2025 – March 7, 2025 at All Day
Apologetics Canada Conference 2025: Theology of Technology – March 7, 2025 - March 8, 2025 at 6:30 pm - 2:00 pm
African Children's Choir – March 7, 2025 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Dementia Care: Foundation and Practicum (2 days) – March 8, 2025 - March 15, 2025 at 9:00 am - 2:30 pm
Loreto Aramendi : The Virtuoso Organist – March 8, 2025 at 7:30 pm - 8:45 pm
African Children's Choir – March 9, 2025 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
ARC Canada: Vancouver Meetup – March 12, 2025 at 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Arnold Sikkema: The Cosmic Drama Unfolds – Science & the Biblical Story – March 12, 2025 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Tolkien, Enchantment & the Consolation of Catholicism – March 13, 2025 at 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
African Children's Choir – March 14, 2025 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Film Screening of Sugarcane – March 14, 2025 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
A Celtic Evening – March 15, 2025 at 5:30 pm - 10:30 pm
African Children's Choir – March 16, 2025 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
AI & Faith: A Christian Contribution to Ethical AI – March 19, 2025 at 12:30 pm - 1:50 pm
Jonathan Anderson: In/Dwellings – March 20, 2025 - March 23, 2025 at All Day
Need Tools for Parish Renewal? – March 20, 2025 at 9:00 am - 10:00 am
Bible Translation Computing Tools Conference – March 21, 2025 - March 22, 2025 at 8:30 am - 3:30 pm
Gender Light Bulb Moments in Ministry: Canadian Women Pastors’ Experiences of Gender Inequality – March 21, 2025 at 10:30 am - 11:00 am
An Opportune Time: The Seven Temptations of Jesus, a play – March 21, 2025 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Tax Clinic – March 22, 2025 at 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Tax Clinic (Saturdays) – March 22, 2025 at 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
Tax Clinic (Saturdays & Sundays) – March 22, 2025 at 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Tax Clinic (Saturdays) – March 22, 2025 at 12:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Tax Clinic (Saturdays & Sundays) – March 22, 2025 at 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Tax Clinic (Wednesdays & Saturdays) – March 22, 2025 at 1:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Tax Clinic (Sundays) – March 23, 2025 at 9:30 am - 1:00 pm
Taizé Service – March 23, 2025 at 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Intentional Networking with FaithTech Vancouver – March 25, 2025 at 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Antisemitism, Islamophobia & Anti-Palestinian Racism: a panel discussion – March 25, 2025 at 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Ambrose Research Conference: Technology and the Human Experience – March 26, 2025 at 12:00 am
Business by the Book: Jared L. Taylor – March 26, 2025 at 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Monasticism: On Value of Work, by Abbot Alban Riley – March 26, 2025 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Cup Overflowing: When Wine Meets Soul Care – March 27, 2025 at 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Memorial Service for Laurel Gasque – March 27, 2025 at 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Peace & Chaos: Journeying with Christ Through It All – March 28, 2025 - March 30, 2025 at All Day
Flourish – March 29, 2025 at 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Jazz Vespers with Joelle Lush & Friends – March 30, 2025 at 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Vivaldi Chamber Choir: Brahms – A German Requiem – March 30, 2025 at 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Surrey: Faithful Election Conversations – March 31, 2025 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Apr 2025

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Around Town: Future of Catholic Church, Michael O’Brien, Bridge Community . . .

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