Around Town: Rising Eagle, Maple Ridge homeless, John Conway . . .

Churches in the Tri-Cities area are supporting an initiative which draws inspiration from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), July 7 at Lafarge Lake Amphitheatre in Coquitlam.

The Rising Eagle Reconciliation Concert “will include apologies, speeches [Kenny Blacksmith], celebrations, music [Art Lucier and the Reviver Band, with special guest Brian Houston from Belfast] and dance.”

Associate pastor Anena Simpson of Hillside Community Church and president of Rising Eagle is behind the free event. She says:

We want to use the marker of Canada’s 150th birthday to acknowledge the past and to celebrate the work of reconciliation that has been done to date, including the apology of the federal government, the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the many actions and efforts of many others. This is the time to reflect on our past, celebrate the progress we have made as well as to strive toward a more inclusive reconciliation for our future. . . .

This event began with God dropping the idea into my heart.

It is my people, my Christian tribe, who committed massacres, murders, segregation, child abductions, abuse, theft and cultural genocide. Some of my ancestors in the faith perpetuated these crimes, others watched in silence and indifference. We failed as humans, and more profoundly we failed as followers of the way of Jesus. This is not His way. . . .

As a pastor in the Tri-Cities, I am inviting all pastors, church leaders and Christians to join me in apologizing to the First People of this land. In ourselves we don`t even have the right to apologize for what we have done. But there was a Son who died for our sins, and on the basis of his sacrifice and his provision for forgiveness, we seek forgiveness. . . .

It is my hope that this concert and apology will be more than a gesture. It will be a step towards a new relationship between the church and the First People – one that is based in honour and respect for the First People of this land.

I know we have a long way to go. But one step at a time, we can continue to move forward in expressions and acts of reconciliation. I believe that in so doing the people and the land will be healed and God will hear our prayers.

Anena Simpson of Hillside Community Church initiated the Rising Eagle Concert.

Stephen Quinn interviewed Simpson June 27 on CBC Radio’s Early Edition. Asked about reaction from the churches, she said:

When I spoke to the ministerial, I saw some were very interested right away. I saw others weren’t as interested, but I see that we’re going to all be on this journey together, of awakening, and I saw that many of them are stepping up.

I spoke recently to one pastor who said, “I think I’d better move this up to the front burner from the back burner.” And then he said, “Well actually, it’s not even on my back burner.”

There’s so many that this important matter is not even on the back burner. We’re trying to get it all the way up to the front burner – and we’re having a great response.

For the full interview go here.

Homeless in Maple Ridge

There appears to be a temporary lull in the turmoil and polarization over a tent city in Maple Ridge. A June 28 CKNW AM980 report noted:

Residents of a controversial tent city in Maple Ridge have earned a temporary reprieve as the city presses “pause” on a pending injunction.

The city had served the camp, known as ‘Anita’s Place,’ with a notice of injunction at the end of May, and was due back in court for a two-day hearing on Wednesday and Thursday.

But it now says that hearing has been adjourned after campers agreed to “stabilize the situation in the camp,” and work towards voluntarily moving out. . . .

Pressure has been building on the homeless issue in Maple Ridge for several years now, with campers forced out of another tent city on Cliff Avenue in 2015, and subsequent heated public meetings over the establishment of a temporary shelter.

A June 28 report in Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News noted that ‘everyone [is] waiting for Victoria to stabilize”:

The citizens committee that had the difficult job of trying to find a place for a homeless shelter and supportive housing complex in Maple Ridge has made its case to the new New Democratic MLAs, Bob D’Eith and Lisa Beare.

It was encouraging to see a June 21 article in The Abbotsford News about the response of some Maple Ridge Christians:

After a few nights at the Anita Place Tent City, Bradley Christianson-Barker and Nathan Sands agree – the time spent there was quieter than many a night Golden Ears Provincial Park campground.

They didn’t see, for those few days at least, drug-fueled rages, fights, mayhem or chaos.

Christianson-Barker is pastor at the Open Door Church in Maple Ridge and Sands is one of the congregation. Both spent Saturday to Tuesday at the camp, hunkered down in their tents, in the mud beside the Haney Bypass in an attempt to show support to those staying there. . . .

Religious convictions meld with political perspectives.

“The early church took people in and cared for one another. It was a true community. This is what the early church would like,” the pastor said.

He wants his small church, with its few resources, to do more and plans on returning to the tent city.

“These are the people that Jesus talked about,” Sands said.

Larger churches in Maple Ridge with land, money and power, should speak out as well, he added, and help where they can.

For the full interview go here.

Remembering John Conway

John Conway played a significant role with UBC, Regent College, the Anglican Church and beyond.

I well remember John Conway from my first year at UBC (1970), striding around campus in his long black academic gown – no doubt adopted during his days at Cambridge. It was a brave nod toward tradition in those anti-establishment times. I enjoyed his history course that year, and ran into him from time to time over the years at various events.

So I was sorry when I heard that he passed away June 23. His interests were broad and humanitarian; he influenced many people. He will be missed.

Here is a portion of Regent College’s remembrance:

Dr. Conway taught in the University of British Columbia’s department of history for nearly 40 years, specializing in the study of the German church during the Nazi era. He authored numerous publications, including The Nazi Persecution of the Churches 1933-45, one of the seminal books on the topic. Dr. Conway is remembered by generations of students as an engaging and challenging teacher who fostered independent thought.

Dr. Conway contributed richly to Regent College’s community life, serving as a guest lecturer, friend and mentor. . . .

Born and raised in London, England, John Conway was conscripted into the British army in 1948. He first learned German while posted to the Intel branch in Austria, near the Russian line. He was excused from service six months early due to his admission to Cambridge. . . .

After teaching for two years in Manitoba, Dr. Conway took a position in the Department of History and International Relations at UBC, where he taught full-time until his retirement in 1995. . . .

For the full comment go here. A requiem mass was held at his home church, St. James Anglican, June 28. More information on his life is available in the obituary.