A diverse and motivated group of 15 pastors and leaders gathered last week for a two-hour lunch meeting to prayerfully consider the rapidly changing neighbourhood straddling the Burnaby/Coquitlam boundary with Lougheed Mall at its hub. The focus of this meeting was… Read more →
Urban Issues
Role of faith in public life: Religiously committed most favourable to diversity
by Flyn Ritchie • • 0 Comments
A new Angus Reid Institute poll shows that Canadians are divided about the proper role of religion in the public square. Faith and Religion in Public Life is the latest installment of a year-long partnership with Faith in Canada 150, which… Read more →
Surrey’s Central City still developing briskly; churches are in the thick of it
by Lloyd Mackey • • 2 Comments
My long-time colleague (and frequent contributor to Church for Vancouver over the years) Lloyd Mackey wrote a comment in response to Peter Biggs’ A snapshot of faith in Surrey last week. I thought it would make a good article on… Read more →
Churches around 41st and Cambie are undergoing major changes
by Flyn Ritchie • • 0 Comments
The two churches you can see from the intersection of 41st and Cambie are boarded up and will both soon be gone, each to be replaced by mixed-use six-storey buildings. Another, just a few blocks down Cambie, has begun a… Read more →
Vancouver City Council approves First Baptist’s redevelopment proposal
by Flyn Ritchie • • 1 Comment
Well, you can’t complain that Vancouver City Councillors are a lazy bunch. While I was finishing off my weekly update, they were still hard at work. It was after 9 pm when they voted 7-1 in favour of rezoning the… Read more →
Jacob’s Well: Creating community in the face of gentrification
by Jacqueline Dewar • • 1 Comment
Just over a month ago, the Jacob’s Well community was not sure whether it would be able to carry on, having been evicted from its long-time home at 239 Main Street, just north of Hastings Street. The team decided to close its doors… Read more →
Halo Calculator: Congregations benefit Vancouver by $1.4 billion every year
by Flyn Ritchie • • 1 Comment
Church-goers know the many benefits of participating in a congregation. Outsiders might not be convinced – and sometimes even feel that churches (mosques, synagogues, temples) are parasitic and should be paying taxes. Now there is a good way to assess the… Read more →
Urban visionary Charles Montgomery: Soul and the City
by Flyn Ritchie • • 0 Comments
Is Vancouver a happy city? Charles Montgomery is surely the person to ask, and he will no doubt touch on the issue during his Soul and the City presentation June 22. The Vancouver-based author wrote Happy City to wide-spread acclaim from environmentalists… Read more →
Hopeful Realism in Urban Ministry
by Tim Dickau • • 0 Comments
Pastor Tim Dickau of Grandview Calvary Baptist Church wrote this Foreword for his long-time friend and colleague Barry Morris. Hopeful Realism in Urban Ministry was published by Wipf and Stock in 2016. Urban ministry, especially when it is going ‘well,’… Read more →
Ray Bakke interview: Seek the Peace of the City
by Derek Witten • • 0 Comments
The theme of Regent College’s Pastors and Leaders Conference 2017 (‘Seek the Peace of the City,’ May 10 – 12) is neighbourhood exegesis. Attendees will learn strategies for developing a better understanding of the places they live in order to more effectively… Read more →