Around Town: The Current: Gen Z faith, Dundarave, Christmas Presence . . .

CBC’s The Current featured Avant Life Church as part of a piece about young people turning to Christianity.

I know Christmas is coming – but this was an early present. I checked the radio to make sure I was still tuned to CBC (I knew I was because I listen to it off and on throughout the day, every day).

But wait, The Current is saying something positive about religion? Let’s not get too excited; how’s it going to end?

That was last Wednesday morning (December 2), and I’m still savouring the moment, not least because the main congregation featured was local – Avant Life Church in North Vancouver.

The blurb about the interview on The Current’s site (which you can listen to here) reads:

Christian churches across Canada say more young people are turning to faith – reversing a decades long trend. Current producer Juliana Konrad wanted to find out why and talked to young people, church leaders and experts about why Gen Z is turning to Christianity – and what it says about what it means to be young today and face an uncertain future.

Host Matt Galloway described what was coming at the beginning of the show, following a soundclip of worship at Avant Life:

Before Nya Effendy’s partner convinced her to come along to church one Sunday, she was convinced it wasn’t for her. The 21 year old in Vancouver wasn’t religious. She didn’t believe in God, but she was seeking a sense of community and something larger than herself.

And it turns out she is not alone. At a time when church attendance has been dropping, statistics show that young Canadians are increasingly attending Christian churches, drawn in by a sense that something is missing in their lives. The Current’s Juliana Konrad is one of them, and she’s here . . . with the story of her return to her faith after years away and what she and others in her generation are looking for. 

Konrad was raised Christian, but had stopped going to church for a number of reasons, including the fact the her Christian community was conservative on social issues. She said she started going back to church a couple of months ago.

Juliana Konrad posted about the interview on LinkedIn.

Here is a portion of the interview:

Matt Galloway: Do you know what you were looking for?

Juliana Konrad: It’s a big question. I think that I was just looking, that I am just looking, for something to ground me, something that I can feel confident in, also something that is bigger than myself.

We talk all the time on the radio and in conversations with friends about how stressful and chaotic and scary the world can be. And especially as a young person, it’s a weird time to be, to be 24.

I’ve just been hoping to find something that can kind of ground me and bring me a bit of peace, I guess, amidst all that uncertainty and chaos and . . . I just want to feel joyful all the time.

MG: And so you started going to church again.

JK: I did, yeah. One of my friends goes to Avant Life Church. It’s the church in North Vancouver that we just heard from earlier. One of the things that I wanted to do was to try a couple of different churches in Vancouver, so I went with her a couple times to Avant.

The first Sunday that I went, I was really surprised at the number of young people I saw. Avant has seen this explosion in young people coming to their services, from the conversations I’ve had with people there.

And this is actually true across the country as well. A lot of church leaders are saying they’re also seeing church attendance increase, and most of that is because of young people. So I was just curious to learn more about why.

MG: We heard in the introduction, this idea that it’s like a concert, for example, with the band on stage. It sounds like Avant is intentionally trying to appeal to young people. How is that working?

JK: Oh, they totally are, and it’s working super well. You know, we heard off the top, it sounds really fun. Like going to church is really fun. A lot of the congregation is under 35.

I spoke with one of the pastors there, his name is Matt Giannakos, about this and trying to appeal to young people. He said it’s been working so well. They’ve had so much growth they’ve actually had to add a second service. . . .

Avant Life is home to Barrio Coffee.

Time will tell where this upsurge of interest in church among young people leads. Asked by Galloway how she is feeling about her faith now, Konrad began:

Yeah, I’m still figuring it out. It’s tricky. I mean, it brings a lot into my life, for sure. But I’m also still kind of grappling with all those questions about what I was taught that I don’t believe in now and trying to figure out what is true to the Christian faith and what isn’t, what teachings I’ve been taught that are good representations and what aren’t.

Unpacking all those threads is going to be a lot of work, but I also know from personal experience that the church does bring a lot of hope and joy. . . .

So I’m going to keep praying and looking for that, that community, try different churches in Vancouver, figure out which place resonates with me and feels like a home.

Go here to listen to the podcast of the interview or here to read the transcript. Konrad commented on LinkedIn about the experience of “[stepping] out of my comfort zone and recorded my first ever on-air segment for the show.”

Joshua Crispin is a barista at Barrio, and part of Avant Life’s pastoral team.

I wrote about Avant Life in 2021 (Signs of new life around Metro Vancouver), pointing out that they run Barrio Coffee from their building (“conveniently perched between Grouse Mountain & Capilano Suspension Bridge”).

Avant Life, which is part of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, took over the property when Canyon Heights Church closed a few years ago. 

Konrad spoke to a couple of young people from non-religious backgrounds who now very upbeat participants at Avant, loving the community and their unexpected new relationship with Jesus. Their testimonies are moving!

She also spoke with several Christian leaders across Canada, including Joel Thiessen (Professor of Sociology at the Ambrose University in Calgary), Andrew Bennett (Director of Faith Community Engagement at Cardus and a Ukrainian Catholic deacon), Rector Jenny Andison of St. Paul’s Bloor Street Anglican Church in Toronto) and Kyle Greenham (member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Grand Prairie, Alberta).

Greenham said he found that “secularism wasn’t working for him anymore.” Andison made a similar point:

Fundamentally, secularism has been tried and tested now for a couple of generations, and people are not that impressed. Secularism has made some really bold promises for a few generations – freedom and hope and a certain kind of lifestyle and certainly, like your relationships are going to be great – and it has not delivered.

I posted some related articles earlier this year:

• The Quiet Revival in England and Wales – and possibly beyond?
• This is Gen Alpha . . . 
• Remembering the dynamic Jesus Movement; might we see another?

Dundarave Festival of Lights

Dundarave Festival of Lights features hundreds of decorated Christmas trees and carolling around a bonfire.

Also on the North Shore is the Dundarave Festival of Lights – offering quite a mixed bag of performers and content, but billing itself at “the ultimate Canadian Christmas” and concluding with bonfire carolling.

Two Sunday gatherings have already passed, but two more are still to come:

• Saturday, December 13: World Christmas:

  Celebrate global holiday traditions from noon to dusk with a lively mix of multicultural performances. This event showcases winter customs from around the world.

• Saturday, December 20: Christmas Wassail & Bonfire:

  The Christmas Wassail & Bonfire Night is the festival finale. The event runs from 3 – 8 pm and gathers the community around a giant beach bonfire for festive music and carolling. Bring your singing voice and your mittens.

Go here for information on who will be performing.

The ‘Forest of Miracles’ features hundreds of decorated trees sponsored by families, schools, community groups and businesses. The display covers the West Vancouver waterfront from Dundarave Beach to Grosvenor Ambleside.
Christmas Presence

This is it, very likely the last time you will be able to watch a Pacific Theatre production in their unique theatre space.

PT says:

Someday soon, we all will be together, if the fates allow. The basement living room glows with a familiar warmth and musicians tuning up for our final Christmas Presence in the alley theatre.

With Pacific Theatre founder Ron Reed as your host, celebrate the season with a thoughtful mix of stories, poetry and the music that brings light in the darkness.

And Ron Reed emailed friends and supporters December 9:

Christmas Presence draweth nigh! The last-ever show in that holy black-painted bunker we’ve called home since 1994, and as Linda Loman said, “Attention must be paid.”

There will be more Christmas Presences in years to come, someplace or another, but if you want a last chance to sit in that room and experience something transcendent, you’ve only got 10 more chances. 

Friday December 12, Saturday December 13 (matinee and evening), then December 19 – 23, with matinees on the Saturday and Sunday. Here’s a link for tickets.

Nelson Boschman will be part of the Christmas Presence team this week.

To help you not procrastinate, here are the all-star line-ups for this week’s shows:

• Friday Dec 12, 8 pm:

– The Nelson Boschman Trio, with James Danderfer on reeds;

– Sheree Plett and Jeremy Eisenhauer, back on the PT stage after moving to Kaslo maybe a decade ago?

– Kira Fondse, she of the phenomenal voice, with her folk ensemble Leyfolk;

– Lance Odegard, after a who-knows-how-long absence from the PT stage;

– Chris Hawley on Hammond B3 and his shiny new accordion.

• Saturday Dec 13, 2pm

– The Nelson Boschman Trio;

– Jordan Klassen;

– going back to the very first Christmas Presence in 1991, Allen Desnoyers and Michael Hart!

– and, of course, Mr. Chris ‘Buddy’ Hawley.

• Saturday Dec 13, 8pm

– Boschman Trio, Eisenhauers, Desnoyers, Hawley and one more player To Be Announced Later.

Pacific Theatre did receive some good new recently; Artistic Director Kaitlin Williams noted:

This past year has brought extraordinary artistic experiences to our stage – three world premieres, and nearly 13,000 people came to see our shows. We’ve recently been honoured with 27 Jessie Richardson Theatre Award nominations and four wins (including Outstanding Production for last Christmas’ The Hobbit!) – an incredible affirmation that our small stage continues to make a big impact.

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