On the eve of the Thanksgiving long weekend, I was waiting in the early morning ferry line up in Snug Cove, making my usual way from Bowen Island to UBC when someone knocked on my car window. A little startled,…
The Bell: Election reflection
Tag: ross lockhart
Local books: Christianity in Vancouver, Longing for Joy, 50 NT Stories . . .
This is my fifth local books round-up of 2024, covering 11 newly published books from the local Christian community. Again there is a range of topics. The write-ups are primarily from Amazon and publisher / author sites. Ross A. Lockhart: West Coast…
The Bell: Walking worthily, rediscovering the sacred on the streets
May there be no breach in the walls, no exile and no cry of distress in the streets. – Psalms 144:14 On a recent trip to Toronto I inadvertently miscued my GPS and found myself wandering around a part of…
Environment, Indigenous reconciliation: common ground with secular neighbours
Over the last several years, I have worked as a researcher through St. Andrew’s Hall where I serve as Dean, exploring the nature of Christian communities in the city of Vancouver and how they interact with the wider, more secular…
Network of faith leaders/writers: an experiment whose time has come
Two years ago, I had a rousing two-hour conversation with the then interim principal of St. Mark’s College on the UBC campus, Michael Higgins. He is the leading biographer of such figures as Henri Nouwen and Thomas Merton and has…
Asian, Christian, Canadian: these terms are ‘not mutually exclusive’
Ross Lockhart, Vancouver School of Theology Professor of Mission Studies, along with colleagues Albert Chu (Tapestry Church and Director of the Centre for Missional Leadership) and Jason Byassee (Senior Minister of Timothy Eaton Memorial Church and former VST Butler Chair) recently published their…
Local books: Cuckoos in Our Nest, What was Jesus Thinking?, Asian Religion . . .
This is my fourth round-up of 2023, and there will probably be one more. Clearly the Christian community in Metro Vancouver is home to a good number of talented writers. The first round-up is here and the second here. This…
‘Remarkable Constant’ has been faithful, from Chinatown to Oakridge renewal
In a time when the CBC publishes articles with titles such as ‘9,000 churches and religious spaces will close over next 10 years’ and ‘Majority of Canadians say church to blame for residential school tragedies,’ it can feel like despair…
Christianity: An Asian Religion in Vancouver
Growth in Vancouver’s Asian-Christian communities represents the changing face of Christianity in Canada. This summer my friends and colleagues in ministry Albert Chu and Jason Byassee and I published a book based on interviews with Asian Christian lay people in…
Creating Conversation: Donkey for Jesus
Creating Conversation is a weekly editorial, curated by the Centre for Missional Leadership (CML), which gives opportunity for people to speak about issues they believe are vital for the church in Vancouver. One of the goals of this weekly article is…