World Refugee Day (June 20) and World Refugee Sunday (June 21) remind us that tens of millions of people in our world have nowhere to call home. But some of them do find new homes. Vancouver has several front line…
New Hope: In Motion
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Seeking support from Ottawa for a Refugee Claimant Reception Centre
James Grunau and Loren Balisky have created thriving communities locally (Journey Home and Kinbrace), which share housing – and lives – with refugee claimants. Last week they travelled to Ottawa to appear before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration,…
Hidden & Hard Work: Stories of Peacemaking in BC’s Lower Mainland
Our family gathers together each Sunday in Advent to sing carols. Most weeks I choose ‘O Holy Night’ and I particularly love the third verse: Truly He taught us to love one another, His law is love and His gospel is…
Opposing Trump’s refugee ban, developing a ‘culture of welcome’
Journey Home Community has been a leader in welcoming refugees to Metro Vancouver over the past decade or so (see here, here and here). Its commitment has again been made clear in a recent letter of concern to the Liberal…
City Summit points to more cooperation, including ‘One City, One Sermon’
City Councillor Andrea Reimer would love to see churches working together for the good of the city. “Many things start in a church basement,” she said recently. “I use that phrase a lot – and here we are in a…
Vancouver Consultation: City Summit agenda
The year-long Vancouver Consultation process will be capped by the City Summit November 24 – 25, at Glad Tidings Church. Participating will be church and ministry leaders from the city of Vancouver, with a handful of observers from surrounding cities.…
Refugee response is gaining momentum around Metro Vancouver
Churches and other public buildings may be necessary to house refugees in the short-term if Canada is to achieve its goal of bringing 25,000 refugees into the country. Chris Friesen, director of settlement services for Immigrant Services Society of BC…
Local signs of hope for refugees from the Middle East
Several churches and ministries in Metro Vancouver are becoming increasingly involved in finding ways to help refugees from the Middle East settle into a normal life in Canada. I explored several of these initiatives as we approach World Refugee Day…
Welcome House will be a key focal point for immigrants and refugees
National Refugee Day, marked this past Saturday (June 20), was a special occasion for dozens of faith- and community-based organizations in Vancouver. On that day, a sod-turning took place which will lead, within a few months, to the opening of…