Generations ago some wag coined the local aphorism, “Vancouver’s favourite bloodsport is real estate investment.” I first heard it when I arrived in the city 22 years ago during a period of rapid rise in home prices, one that now…
Peter Biggs of The Light Magazine is researching one Metro Vancouver / Fraser Valley municipality each month, and producing a focus on each one. The October issue brought attention to the Downtown Eastside and a feature interview with Jacqueline Dewar, who has worked and lived in…
Ross Lockhart has two books coming out this summer. One is Beyond Snakes and Shamrocks: St. Patrick’s Missional Leadership Lessons for Today (“Essentially, I ask the question, ‘Are there lessons from a missionary to a pre-Christian culture for us as…
Many church leaders do cultural studies and wrestle with the sociology of place. On a different track, others try to get their heads around the social imaginaries that make up the personality of our cities (sometimes referred to as a horizon or…
It is heartening to see the public concern over the demolition of a lovely church building near 41st and Cambie March 1 – though it is all too late to actually save the building. This was a March 5 tweet…
In late November, the City of Vancouver released the Housing Vancouver Strategy to replace its Housing and Homelessness Strategy (2012-2021). Despite having exceeded several of the key targets it had established for this midway point in that 10-year plan, city…
The Light Magazine interviewed Chilliwack Mayor Sharon Gaetz as part of its Snapshots of Faith series. I re-posted the bulk of the feature on Chilliwack last month, but saved this interview to run on its own. How would you describe the…
As one long-established church in Vancouver’s West End nears the end of a major redevelopment of its property, another is poised to begin. Central Presbyterian The site of Central Presbyterian Church at Thurlow and Pendrell used to be occupied by…
I have mentioned the work done by Cardus, a Christian think tank based in Ontario, quite often over the past few years. They are moving ahead on several fronts. They conduct original research in six areas: education, family, health, law,…
Last week, for the fourth time since first being elected in 2008, Mayor Gregor Robertson convened a meeting with faith leaders at Vancouver City Hall, to seek their assistance in addressing homelessness and affordable housing. Nearly two dozen senior clergy…