Around Town: Good Friday joint services, Black and Rural, Doctrine of Discovery

Every Christian community is marking Holy Week with special services, but here are some that have particularly caught my attention this year.

Beginning with one bold service that has already take place, I enjoyed watching the video of South Asian Community Church’s Palm Sunday walk in Delta.

Another promising event, led by The Mark Glanville Trio & Friends, takes place tonight (April 6) at Regent College: ‘At the Still Point of the Turning World: Music and Poetry for Holy Week ‘

Looking ahead:

Joint Good Friday services

Many churches all over Metro Vancouver are gathering together for joint Good Friday services. Here are some of them:

• Westside Church is hosting two other large downtown churches – First Baptist and Coastal Church.
• Downtown Eastside churches will gather at the Japanese Hall, home to Artisan Church.
• Oakridge Baptist Church will welcome several other Baptist churches – Dunbar Heights, Collingwood, Faith, Peace and New Beginnings.
• Fraserview, Bethany Baptist and Richmond Baptist will meet at Richmond Pentecostal Church.
• A city-wide Langley gathering will be held at Christian Life Assembly.
• Living Waters Church, United Churches of Langley, Fort Langley Community Church and the other churches in Fort Langley will journey through the Stations of the Cross.

No doubt there are more joint services, but I’ve been encouraged by what I’ve seen thus far.

Easter eggs, music

Many churches will find time to charm the children with hidden Easter eggs, but a couple look like they’re aiming to reach out to the neighbourhood on Saturday (April 8):

• An Easter Bash at Broadway Church in Vancouver and Broadway Church’s Port Coquitlam campus offers “carnival games, crafts, bouncy castles, pony rides and 25,000 Easter eggs.”
• Union Gospel Mission will offer some ‘community among chaos’ as they feed more than 2,500 people during their annual Easter Meal, April 8, in the wake of this week’s ‘decampment on East Hastings.

Easter Sunday services will be a highlight shared at every church in Metro Vancouver. Ongoing melodies and a couple of post-Easter events looking interesting too:

• Each year, TWU invites student composers to create arrangements and write new music for the Alloway Chime; this year, April 6 – 10, Easter bell tower tunes feature a selection of melodies created by TWU students, including Robbie Down, James Tseung and alumna Chloé Thiessen.
• David Moffitt’s April 12 lecture at Regent College: What Happened After Easter?
• And now for something completely different, April 15 at Church of the Holy Trinity in White Rock: Elvis Easter Extravaganza.

Black and Rural

A current production created and performed by Shayna Jones at Pacific Theatre is receiving significant attention in the media.

A March 29 Vancouver Sun article about Black and Rural began with this:

What is the experience of being Black in Canada living far away from an urban centre?

It’s a question that playwright Shayna Jones could answer directly as a Black Canadian based in the small Kootenay Lake town of Kaslo. It was also one that the artist realized was going to be different for rurally based Blacks like her across the country. The seeds of Black and Rural were sowed.

Featuring Jones’ own story and those of interview subjects across the country who have chosen to live – in many cases – as the only Black people in the community, the performance is a guest production by Pi Theatre presented at the Pacific Theatre.

Billed as “an artistic inquiry into the hearts and minds of Black folks tucked away on Canada’s countryside,” the project presents the lives and stories of Black people the performer interviewed woven together into a work asking questions of what it is to belong when you’re so clearly isolated.

Go here for the full article. Jones was also featured on Global News and interviewed on CBC Radio’s Early Edition.

Doctrine of Discovery

Vancouver Archbishop Michael Miller joined other Canadian Catholic bishops in welcoming a March 30 statement on the Doctrine of Discovery. Here is part of a B.C. Catholic article:

Canada’s bishops expressed gratitude Thursday for the Vatican’s repudiation of the “doctrine of discovery,” saying the papal bulls on which it was based were never Church teaching and “did not adequately reflect the equal dignity and rights of Indigenous Peoples.”

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops was responding to a joint statement from the Holy See’s Dicastery for Culture and Education and Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development addressing the concept of the “doctrine of discovery” and whether 15th-century papal bulls served as a basis for so-called “doctrine.”

Meanwhile, Vancouver Archbishop J. Michael Miller said he was “heartened” that the Vatican and Canadian bishop had “unambiguously repudiated the so-called “doctrine of discovery.”

The concept of the doctrine has “long hampered the path to reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in our land and elsewhere,” Archbishop Miller said. “It is my hope that this needed clarification – and its accompanying reaffirmation of the inherent rights of Indigenous peoples – will lead to further dialogue regarding their identity, language and culture.”

Go here for the full article.

Jobs & Events

Go here for more than 200 job listings in the Metro Vancouver / Fraser Valley area and here to find several pages of local events.

Apr 2023

TWU's Sustainability Week – April 3, 2023 - April 6, 2023 at All Day
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
Eternity Club presents Jesus Revival & Healing Ministry – April 22, 2023 at 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Catholic Social Teaching & Development and Peace – April 22, 2023 at 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Community Coffee House – April 22, 2023 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Good Seed Sunday – April 23, 2023 at All Day
Marcus Mosely: Safe in the Everlasting Arms – April 23, 2023 at 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Metro Vancouver Alliance: Solidarity Action Assembly – April 23, 2023 at 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
[ACLE] Cleaning Up the Mess of the Sexual Revolution – April 23, 2023 at 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Canadian Association for Spiritual Care: Reconnect, Renew, Recreate – April 23, 2023 - April 25, 2023 at 6:00 pm - 10:30 pm
Raising Kids in a Hyper-Sexualized Culture – April 23, 2023 at 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Conversations on Hopeful Citizenship in a Divided World – April 23, 2023 at 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Jazz Evensong @ Brentwood: The Brentwood Katz – April 26, 2023 at 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Kinbrace Educational Award – April 27, 2023 - April 30, 2023 at All Day
The 51st Greater Vancouver Bible Study and Recreation Conference – April 27, 2023 - April 30, 2023 at All Day
Jesus Collective Regional Gathering – April 27, 2023 - April 28, 2023 at 6:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Better Workplace: Corporate Chaplains Canada – April 27, 2023 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Gardens of Gethsemani Open House – April 28, 2023 - April 29, 2023 at 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Income Tax Service – April 29, 2023 at 9:30 am - 2:00 pm
Spring Fair – April 29, 2023 at 10:30 am - 4:00 pm
Young Families Spring Gala 2023 – April 29, 2023 at 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Evening Peace: a spring concert with the Amabilis Singers – April 29, 2023 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Jazz Vespers in the Valley with Diane Lines and friends – April 30, 2023 at 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Jazz Vespers with Tom Arntzen – April 30, 2023 at 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

May 2023

Euthanasia in Canada: Progress or Runaway Train?: A Public Q & A Session – May 1, 2023 at 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Redeeming Money – May 2, 2023 at 9:00 am - 4:30 pm
2023 Canadian Sexual Exploitation Summit – May 3, 2023 - May 5, 2023 at 12:00 am
Jazz Evensong @ Brentwood: Sharon Minemoto & Friends – May 3, 2023 at 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Daniel Du: A Beauty Eclipsed – May 4, 2023 - May 10, 2023 at All Day
Law, Land, Religion and Reconciliation: A Colloquium – May 4, 2023 - May 6, 2023 at 12:00 am
Pope Francis and the Future of the Church: Prospects and Challenges for Renewal – May 4, 2023 - May 6, 2023 at 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Surrey Writers Conference: Faith Igniting Creativity – May 5, 2023 at 1:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Gungor – May 5, 2023 at 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Impact Conference 2023 – May 6, 2023 at 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Spring Sale – May 6, 2023 at 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
literASIAN Festival: 'Now Tell Me': On the Crafting of Words and Narratives – May 6, 2023 at 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Vancouver Orpheus Male Choir Concert – May 6, 2023 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Shari Ulrich Trio – May 6, 2023 at 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Week of Prayer for Africa – May 7, 2023 - May 14, 2023 at All Day
Flourishing Congregations Institute: The Stories We Tell – May 9, 2023 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Flourishing: Global Foods & Flavours – May 10, 2023 at 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Live Virtual Trip to the Philippines – May 10, 2023 at 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Jazz Evensong @ Brentwood: Bryn Kinders & Footnotes – May 10, 2023 at 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
March for Life Victoria – May 11, 2023 at 9:15 am - 3:15 pm
SIMinar: Faith in Action: Dorcas Widows – May 11, 2023 at 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
The Welcome Table: Annual Spring Gala – a Fundraiser for Journey Home Community – May 11, 2023 at 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Icons Workshop: Praying with Our Eyes (Thursday evenings) – May 11, 2023 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
West Coast Renew & Flourish Women's Conference – May 12, 2023 - May 13, 2023 at 6:45 pm - 5:00 pm
Will There Be Faith? Following Christ in a Secular Age – May 12, 2023 - May 14, 2023 at 7:00 pm - 12:00 pm
A Rocha Volunteer Day – May 13, 2023 at 9:30 am - 2:00 pm
Jazz Vespers in the Valley with Shruti Ramani and friends – May 14, 2023 at 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Kentro Forum 2023: Connect – May 15, 2023 - May 17, 2023 at 7:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Marion Taylor: Did Paul Really Intend to Silence Women Everywhere & Always?: Five 16th Century Women Said "No" – May 15, 2023 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Faith in the new Plastics Treaty? A WEA Sustainability Center Webinar – May 16, 2023 at 9:00 am - 10:30 am
Creative Responses to Conflict – May 16, 2023 at 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm
Cindy Aalders: "Heavenly Pity Sees My Tears": Weeping in Anne Steele's Hymns – May 17, 2023 at 12:00 am
Marion Taylor: Women Interpreters of the Bible – May 17, 2023 at 12:00 pm - 12:45 pm
Jazz Evensong @ Brentwood: The Meridian Jazz Orchestra – May 17, 2023 at 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Life-Light by Thomas Brasch: Reception – May 18, 2023 at 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm