Around Town: Worship Road Radio, UGM artist, sexual abuse statement

Vancouver now has a worship music radio station. Seems a bit unlikely, doesn’t it – but it’s true.

Worship Road Radio officially launched May 14, describing itself as “Canada’s national Christian music station – free from interruptions of ads or sharathons – to unite the body of Christ with the powerful language of worship with a revolutionary non-profit business model.”

Founder Scott Fehrenbacher says:

Our goal is to forge the next digital generation of Christian radio, broadening accessibility and the diversity of music across Canada and North America. Worship is a unifying force within the Church, and through our platform, we aim to extend this unifying power of worship music to a broader audience.

Worship Road Radio’s recent release states:

Worship Road Radio distinguishes itself by offering a weekly song rotation that features over 125 percent more tracks than conventional Christian radio, directly addressing listener concerns about repetitive playlists. With its no-ad policy, which allows for 30 percent more music per hour, the station prominently features independent and emerging artists often ignored by traditional formats.

Moreover, Worship Road Radio expands the definition of worship music beyond industry norms to include any song that inspires listeners to worship God. This broad and uninterrupted programming significantly enhances the listener experience, ensuring a diverse and engaging selection of music.

There are several unique focuses in the schedule:

• Rock and Worship Hour (7 pm)
• Morning Drive (5, 7 & 9 am)
• Worship Connection (3 pm)
• Classic Worship (2 pm & 4 am)
• Evening Drive (5 pm)
• Sunday Morning Worship (5 – 11 am)
• The Freshman Class (10 pm – 1 am)
• Today’s Best Worship (12 noon)
• On Tour Now (10 – 11 pm)

Go here to give Worship Road Radio a listen.

UGM artist

A June 1 article in the Vancouver Sun featured an artist whose work features men on the Downtown Eastside – men with whom he shares shares temporary shelter at Union Gospel Mission (UGM):

As rows of homeless Vancouver residents sit facing the television at a Downtown Eastside non-profit shelter each morning, An Dong faces the other way.

With a sketchbook resting on his leg and a pencil in hand, the 59-year-old focuses intently on the people – all men – seated in front of him.

“Capturing their character and emotions is much more important than getting the lines of their face accurate,” Dong told Postmedia News.

For the last year, he has been sleeping at the Union Gospel Mission men’s shelter. During that time he has composed more than 100 portraits of community members who have come through its doors.

After completing each 40-minute sketch, Dong asks each of the men about their lives. . . .

Dong is currently on UGM’s long wait-list of people who have applied to live in the non-profit’s transitional housing, which is offered at below-market rates.

He continues to have a lot in common with the men he draws and paints.

Before emigrating from China in 2006 at age 42, Dong was employed as an interior designer. But since coming to Canada, he has struggled to find stable work and housing. He currently lives out of a metal cart that contains a few belongings, including his sketchbook and a red rain jacket.

Dong told Postmedia that his portrait project has taught him to look past his assumptions about unhoused people.

“When I met Canadians who lived in the shelter and were homeless, I didn’t understand why. I figured that if I had been born here like them, I would have achieved more success in my life.”

Life soon taught him that there were more reasons than he thought as to why people fall into homelessness.

Go here for the full article. You can see some more of An Dong’s art on his Facebook page (though it has not been updated since last spring).

June 6 note: Christopher Cheung has just posted a good profile of An Dong, with several strong images, on The Tyee site.

Sexual abuse statement

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver has agreed to make public all documents related to litigation involving a former student at one of their schools. A June 2 article in The Province covered the situation:

A civil trial in which a sex-abuse victim was poised to confront the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Vancouver has been called off after an out-of-court settlement.

The church agreed to settle the lawsuit late last month, with a promise to publish all documents produced in the case against Westminster Abbey in Mission, the archdiocese and the late Father Placidus, who the church has acknowledged was credibly accused of serial sexual abuse during his lengthy tenure at the B.C. Benedictine abbey’s Seminary of Christ the King for teens and young adults.

It’s the first time such a demand has been accepted in a church sexual abuse case in Canada, said Sandra Kovacs, the lawyer for the survivor identified in court documents only as D.H. . . .

“It has been inferred that I hold ill will for the (church),” said D.H. “This could not be further from the truth, and . . . I want to make it abundantly clear that I am not an enemy of the Roman Catholic Church. However, I am averse to their systemic denial of child sexual abuse by the bad actors amongst them.”

Go here for the full article.

Westminster Abbey, The Seminary of Christ the King and the Archdiocese of Vancouver issued the following statement May 30:

Over the past several years, we, the Westminster Abbey, The Seminary of Christ the King and the Archdiocese of Vancouver, have been involved in litigation in relation to a civil action commenced by D.H., a former grade eight student of the minor seminary, arising from sexual abuse which occurred in the late 1970s by Father Placidus Sander, OSB, then Vice-Rector of the minor seminary.

In striving for restorative justice, the Abbey, Seminary and Archdiocese reached a resolution of D.H.’s claim with a settlement on terms inclusive of the content of this statement. We will provide further transparency by publishing all documents we disclosed in this litigation.

In so doing, and in response to hearing D.H.’s recount of the abuse and its impact on his life, we freely acknowledge and accept the credibility of D.H.’s claims of abuse by Father Placidus and the grievous harm he has suffered and continues to suffer as a result. 

We also acknowledge, with sadness and remorse, any failures in admitting D.H.’s credibility or appreciating the magnitude and gravity of the damage he experienced or experiences now. With regret for any actions we have taken or omitted to take which have caused D.H. additional pain and suffering, the Abbey, Seminary and Archdiocese are deeply sorry and extend to D.H. our sincerest apologies.

In the spirit of reconciliation by which we all seek to be made whole as individuals and a community, it is hoped the monetary and non-monetary terms of the settlement will serve as both penalty and remedy as part of the journey of healing. 

We hope and pray that this resolution will continue the process of healing for everyone involved, including D.H. and his family. May this healing, begun at the root, extend to generations to come with ever deeper mutual understanding and a strong foundation in justice.