Whenever someone asks me what Church for Vancouver is all about, I say, “My purpose is to link Christians and to highlight ways in which churches and Christians are working for the good of the broader community.” Tim Day presented…
Living in Vancouver for the past 33 years, I have witnessed a steady shift towards secularism and fragmented approaches to life[i]. While church attendance has decreased during those three decades[ii], the conditions of belief have also changed, as Charles Taylor…
There are two events that I’m particularly going to regret missing while I’m away over the next month (see accompanying story): Into the Neighbourhood and Solitary Refinement: Into the Neighbourhood Into the Neighbourhood will be a two-day event (October 26…
Premier John Horgan announced new guidelines for major infrastructure projects in BC July 16. A couple of Christian organizations, at least, are objecting to major elements of the plan. The Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC), was mentioned prominently in a…
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…
Last week the Vancouver Foundation released a much-anticipated update to its landmark 2012 Connections and Engagement report on loneliness and community life in Metro Vancouver. This update, like the original report, provides hard evidence for trends most of us know…
Forming any sort of abiding face to face community is becoming rarer in our culture. Robert Putnam’s classic study Bowling Alone charts the accelerating demise of participation in community groups and associations from the years 1960 – 2000.[1] There are multiple factors…
This will be my final weekly update for 2016 (Merry Christmas!), and I find myself feeling a little bit guilty for having neglected to keep up with some of the new music and books that have come along this year.…
Dr. Glenn Smith was a keynote speaker at the City Summit November 24 – 25 (see accompanying article). He was good enough to allow Church for Vancouver to post the following article, slightly modified from a version which appeared as…
Gord Carkner has just released The Great Escape from Nihilism, the themes of which are evident in this Advent reflection. (See below for more about the book and his work with graduate students and faculty on the UBC campus.) Just…