Driving around the city, I have noticed four holes in the ground where four church buildings used to be. That’s not good news. Three of the four churches are carrying on, or at least merging, but the buildings are still…
A couple of years ago, my family and I walked a few blocks to our church to take part in its annual Christmas lunch. The cross-section of people in attendance was remarkable: middle-class families from our church, older homeless men…
Four years ago Jonathan Bird and I posted a series on the neighbourhoods of Vancouver. We are offering them again, with demographics from the latest national census and some other updates. Kitsilano is a lively and storied neighbourhood, stretching along…
Since 2011, CityGate Leadership Forum has coordinated the Planted Community Food Network to help seed a cultural shift in Greater Vancouver away from haphazard food charity, toward a sustainable local food system – opening access to affordable nutrition by building on the…
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…
Kitsilano needs many more churches, but it will have one less when the sale of St. Mark’s Anglican Church goes through – or at least one less church building. While it is true that the churches can survive, even thrive, without…
As we hunker down for another round of snow, it is encouraging to know that the Salvation Army, Union Gospel Mission and several churches are playing a major role in providing Extreme Weather Shelter for many homeless people. The City…
Kitsilano is a lively and storied neighbourhood, stretching along the flat lowlands of English Bay and straddling the hill sloping down to Kits Beach – which was already a major summer camping destination for West End residents by the beginning…
There’s a new movement in town. Atesto – Portuguese for ‘testimony’ – is about empowering the local church, encouraging worship and fostering creativity in a new generation. If you’re at the York Theatre on Commercial Drive this Saturday (October 4),…