We really have our choice of music this week. On Friday (September 19) alone, you can hear a Maasai choir, take part in an old-style gospel sing-along, listen to popular worship music with Kari Jobe and Warren Barfield, or worship along with others at Chapel.
We don’t get many Maasai choirs out this way, so it should be well worth driving to Life Church in White Rock to experience the En-kata Maasai Choir. Two teams are criss-crossing North America this year, sharing the good news and raising funds for a school to be built in the Simanjiro region of Tanzania, where there is minimal access to education.
You could drive even further and see them at the Cheam First Nation Hall in Rosedale on Monday (September 22) if you choose one of the other musical evenings on Friday.
Further north in Surrey, you could take part in the Gospel Sing-along in the Oasis, at Elim Village. I’ve not been, but there is a high concentration of faithful seniors in that community and I’d expect a lively time.
Moving further into Vancouver, you will find Kari Jobe with Warren Barfield and their Majestic Tour at Broadway Church. Jobe is flying high in the Christian music world these days. Worship Leader magazine recently chose their top 20 worship songs of the year, to this point, and her Forever (We Sing Hallelujah) placed number one.
Jobe, who still leads worship at her church, recorded her third album, Majestic, at the historic Majestic Theatre in her hometown of Dallas, Texas. She says, “I want this album to give more of a revelation that God is in control. If you will lift your voices and worship Him, there will be a shift and a change in the atmosphere of your life, and it will be heaven-centred and majestic.’” Co-writers for songs on the album include Matt Redman, Chris Tomlin, Paul Baloche and Reuben Morgan.
And if none of those events suit you – and you’re in your late teens or early twenties – you could head right downtown to Westside Church and worship with Chapel: Unified. We’ve told some of their story before. It is very encouraging to see a group of young people so focused on worship and unity. (And from personal experience, I’m pretty sure they’d welcome you even if you don’t fit the age profile.)
If you can’t make anything Friday night, there’s still Saturday (September 20), with The Hazeltones and Selah.
The Hazeltones, billed as “a lively gospel/folksong group,” will put on an afternoon concert as a benefit for their host, St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church, and the Seniors Services Society.
Selah will be singing hymns at the Bell Performing Arts Centre in Surrey. They are a contemporary Christian vocal trio which has won seven Dove Awards. Organizers say, “the understated beauty of the trio’s 1999 debut, Be Still My Soul, helped initiate a hymn revival in Christian music that is still thriving today.”
Justyn Rees book(s) launch
Justyn Rees is a transplanted Brit with a colourful Christian past, which you can read about here. The author of several books, he will be launching a couple more at House of James in Abbotsford this Thursday (September 18):
• To Make an Old Story New: The epic saga of the Bible’s Old Testament retold with colour and warmth.
• To Make a Long Story Short: A compelling retelling that makes the Bible’s New Testament dance with life.
“Together,” he says, “these two books tell the whole story of the Bible from soup to nuts. Admission is free, though you might be tempted to buy a book or two.”
The evening will include a reading by Justyn, and music from his long-time friend Russ Rosen.
Beautiful Things: A staged reading
Shauna Johanessen will perform a stage reading of Beautiful Things at Pacific Theatre from Thursday to Saturday (September 18 – 20).
A brief synopsis: “When Colleen returns home for her father’s funeral, she has to face the guilt over missing his last days, her own loss of faith and the reason she left town. Between the crappy flowered cards and lasagna casseroles, the over-priced caskets and hidden bottles of wine, Colleen has to decide whether she can live without the love of her life, how she fits in her messy, religious, grieving family and what it means to live with yourself.”
Pay-what-you-can at the door (cash only).
Dawkins-Lennox and other apologetic forays
First thing next week, on Monday (September 22), the Graduate and Faculty Christian Forum will host a film of a recent debate between two Oxford professors, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and mathematician/philosopher John Lennox at UBC.
Dawkins, of course, is a leading new atheist, while Lennox is a prominent Christian intellectual and apologist (who was at both Trinity Western University and Regent College earlier this year).
The film will be followed by a panel discussion with Dr. Dennis Danielson of UBC’s English Department and Dr. David Helfand, president of Quest University, Squamish.
Two other apologetics events are taking place in the next few days:
* Gentle Answers: Responding to Muslim Critiques of the Bible: On Thursday evening (September 18), Dr. Gordon Nickel and Dr. Paul Chamberlain will discuss the relationship of the Bible within Islam as part of ACTS Seminaries’ Fireside Apologetics series. There will be refreshments and a Q & A time as well.
* Did Jesus Exist?: Dr. Richard Carrier, PhD in Ancient History from Columbia University, will debate Michael Horner, philosopher and Christian apologist, at University of the Fraser Valley Saturday afternoon (September 20).
Sep 2014
Film Screening of Red Light Green Light – September 15, 2014 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pmKyiv Symphony Orchestra and Chorus – September 15, 2014 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Vancouver Ministry Leadership Summit – September 16, 2014 at 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Kyiv Symphony Orchestra and Chorus – September 16, 2014 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Diane Tucker Reading in Burnaby – September 16, 2014 at 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Pope Tawadros II Visit to Metro Vancouver – September 18, 2014 at All Day
Life of Significance Golf Classic – September 18, 2014 at 12:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Fireside Apologetics: Gentle Answers - Responding to Muslim Critiques of the Bible – September 18, 2014 at 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Justyn Rees Book Launch – September 18, 2014 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Kevin Schut: Of Games and God - A Christian Exploration of Video Games – September 18, 2014 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Beautiful Things by Shauna Johannesen – September 18, 2014 - September 20, 2014 at 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Annual Catholic Charismatic Conference – September 19, 2014 - September 20, 2014 at All Day
Outreach Canada: 30th Anniversary Celebration – September 19, 2014 at 5:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Sagrada: The Mystery of Creation – September 19, 2014 at 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Chapel: Unified – September 19, 2014 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
En-kata Maasai Choir – September 19, 2014 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Gospel Sing-Along in the Oasis – September 19, 2014 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Majestic Tour: Kari Jobe, with Warren Barfield – September 19, 2014 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
M2/W2 Volunteer Training – September 20, 2014 at 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Hazeltones Concert and Tea – September 20, 2014 at 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Did Jesus Exist? – September 20, 2014 at 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago – September 20, 2014 at 2:50 pm - 4:50 pm
Sagrada: The Mystery of Creation – September 20, 2014 at 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Even a Bird Needs a Nest: Documentary on Cambodian Slum Evictions – September 20, 2014 at 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Selah – September 20, 2014 at 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm