This is a very welcome move. John Hall, executive director of Missions Fest Vancouver, recently sent out this message: I want to express my thanks to Mary Charles from the Musqueam First Nation who welcomed Missions Fest to the traditional…
Slavery. Race. Religion. These have been hot button words since very beginnings of the United States and Canada – and they have hardly ever been comfortable dinner table conversation. But those are exactly the subjects that are wrestled with over…
“What does it mean to build a ‘whole society?’ What is the purpose of secularism, and what are its limits? How can we re-conceptualize the role of religion in Canadian public life? What is the role of religion and spirituality…
An hour before it begins, Olga Andrienko prepares for the upcoming pottery workshop. She lays out slabs of clay, readying them to be cut into cross shapes by the workshop participants. She works carefully, focusing on her task, and sending…
Jazz Evensong is a continuing Wednesday evening worship event at Brentwood Presbyterian Church, a small but creative North Burnaby congregation. The Brentwood experience is shared with a few other congregations in the Vancouver area – most notably St. Andrew’s-Wesley United…
Every year Missions Fest offers pleasant surprises. This year, Sam Rocha was near the top of my list. I’d heard of him – something about a philosopher/Catholic musician/UBC education prof. People I respect seemed to like his music. So, though…
Thanks to a dynamic young congregation and C2C network (an assertive national church planting program – interdenominational, but affiliated with the Mennonite Brethren denomination), a little white stepped gable church at 19th Avenue and Prince Albert in east Vancouver, is…
There are always 101 good reasons to come down to Missions Fest – try it out this weekend (Friday to Sunday) if you never have, or haven’t for a while. But one element I’m particularly looking forward to this year…
Belief in the importance of place has been growing over the past years. I have heard it referenced in an increasing number of conversations on both sides of the Atlantic. I have witnessed it at a book table at a recent conference.…
Late last year, Full Gospel Assembly sold its building on Capitol Hill to a Sufi school. A Salvation Army-owned building on 1st Avenue in East Vancouver is now on the market, very possibly destined for commercial use. Over the Christmas holidays I decided to check out how many church…