Around Town: Sceptre and Sakura, three praise & worship evenings, John Swinton

St. James Anglican Church is in the Downtown Eastside.

History, religion and academia will be joining forces this Sunday afternoon (May 11) at St. James Anglican Church. And the subject of discussion will be the church itself:

The Vancouver Oxford & Cambridge Society and St. James’ Anglican Church invite you to a talk at the St James’ Anglican Church on Sunday, May 11 at 1:30pm.

Architect, historian and VOCS member Elisabeth Kwan (PhD 2024; Magdalene), will presenting a talk reconsidering the history of St. James’ Anglican Church: The Sceptre and the Sakura: The Rise of St. James’ Anglican Church in Vancouver’s Nihonmachi (‘Japantown’).

A ‘startling’ sight when built in 1936, St. James’ Anglican Church would later be considered “the best building in Vancouver” by Arthur Erickson, one of Canada’s most esteemed architects.

Little is known about the Anglo-Canadian collective that shaped this bold example of early modernist architecture in the city, let alone how financing it was possible during the Depression. Even less obvious is how this building renewed the city’s Anglican ‘mother church’ amidst a thriving centre of Vancouver’s Japanese community.

Drawing on archival research, architect and historian Elisabeth Kwan will offer intriguing new perspectives about the transformation of this building’s identity from local church to city landmark.

Admission is free. You can tour the church after the talk. Details about parking and transit options to the venue can be found at this link.

The Vancouver Historical Society is inviting its members to turn up as well.

Praise & worship evenings

Three praise and worship evenings are coming up over the next few days. Each is unique; they all look good:

• Hallelujah, Praise!

Good Noise Gospel Choir will be at Christ Church Cathedral.

Good Noise Vancouver Gospel Choir celebrates the musical contributions and leadership of Artistic & Executive Director, Gail Suderman in this, her retirement year.

True to Good Noise tradition, these concerts are sure to raise the roof and get the audience up on their feet and join in the celebration, inviting the audience to sing along with the choir, dance and clap along to the music.

This gospel-infused concert will feature the glorious voices of Good Noise, the Good Noise Gospel Band, guest artists Crystal Hicks and Warren Dean Flandez, and a mass gospel choir to close out this musical celebration with a dynamic good and joyful noise.

May 10, at Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver

• Interchurch Praise & Worship Night

The third annual interchurch Praise and Worship night! Brothers and sisters across Vancouver let us gather to worship Jesus together. This is an event about Jesus, for Jesus and done with Jesus.

Invite your friends, invite your church!

All churches and all ages are welcome.

May 10, North Shore Pacific Grace MB Church, North Vancouver

• Vancouver Christian School’s 75 Anniversary Worship Evening

Join us for a special in-person event led by VCS elementary and high school students and staff. Come ready to sing, reflect and rejoice in the journey of our school over the past 75 years. It will be a time of praise, thanksgiving and community as we remember our past and look forward to the future.

There will not be a livestream option or recording available following the event.

May 12, Willingdon Church, Burnaby

• Another evening to look forward to is the annual Multicultural Worship Night: “Join us as we witness a beautiful depiction of Revelation 7, where people from all nations, tribes and languages come together to worship God. This special event will take place on Pentecost Sunday, June 8, 7 pm. The location is 8255 13th Avenue, Burnaby, where New Westminster Christian Reformed Church, House for All Nations and My Beloved Church share the same facility.”

John Swinton

John Swinton

John Swinton is clearly a man of many talents, and next Monday (May 12) he will be speaking at Regent College on the topic of Giving Voice to Brokenness: A Theology of Joy & Lament.

(Note the element of worship here too – and I wonder if there might be some singing, giving that he recently released a CD, Beautiful Songs About Difficult Things.):

In a world that often demands optimism and relentless positivity, the Christian tradition offers a countercultural response – lament. Lament is not the absence of faith but its deepest expression, an act of resistance against despair that testifies to God’s presence even in God’s seeming absence.

This lecture explores the paradoxical relationship between joy and suffering, considering biblical, theological and pastoral perspectives on lament as a necessary practice for spiritual health.

Drawing on Scripture, theology, and lived experience, we will examine how lament shapes authentic worship, fosters communal solidarity, and reframes mental health struggles within the life of faith.