By Peter Biggs

Mission and ministry

Mission currently has 26 churches, with almost all less than 200 in number. The town retains a small town pioneer charm, and many affirm its friendliness.

Mission’s mayor is James Atebe, a Christian who attends Cedar Valley Mennonite Church. He won a remarkable 67 percent of the vote after the previous mayor, Abe Neufeld, retired from local politics.

Mission is undergoing change. On the one hand, pastor Robin Ross of St. Paul’s Presbyterian makes the point, “we are isolated; people just don’t go into Vancouver.”

On the other hand, with two large Fraser River crossings being built, Mission is becoming a bedroom community for Metro Vancouver, not just the Fraser Valley.

Alan Boerner chairs the Mission Ministerial, and is pastor of Mount Calvary Lutheran Church. Coming four years ago from Ontario he commented, “Mission is more closed to the gospel and is hard; we are also a very small community to have its own Hells Angel chapter!”

The increase of Metro Vancouver housing prices  is having an impact on churches as they attempt to respond to social needs in their communities.

“Those with social needs are moving out of town as housing costs and the sheer lack of affordable housing in Vancouver and its suburbs is forcing a migration,” comments Greg Elford, pastor at New Heights Church.

A place of recovery

New Heights, a church of about 200, has a unique demographic.

“We have lots of young couples with babies, and a huge nursery!” said Elford. “We have a lot of people from the three recovery homes in and around Mission.”

Mission is the closest town to four prisons – and social agencies and ministries are  aware of the impact.

“Family members move to the area to be close to incarcerated relatives; they often have complex needs,” said Elford.

Union Gospel Mission (UGM) has a satellite centre to its main Vancouver operation in Mission. Greg Peters is the assistant manager at UGM Mission.

“We have a lot of recovery homes in and around Mission,” he said.

• The Paëtzold Centre (formerly called Miracle Valley), run by the Salvation Army just north of Mission, provides up to 200 beds for men, along with an extensive staff and therapeutic track for addicts. It is thought to be the largest centre of its kind in Canada.

• Lydia Home, run by Union Gospel Mission, has eight beds for women who need shelter.

• Mending Spirits also provides a safe haven for women. Mission’s downtown UGM centre includes a large meeting hall, dining area, classrooms and offices. They are open Monday to Saturday,  1 – 7  pm, and offer counselling, support groups and education programs.

Hot meals are also served evenings, with food hampers provided every second Tuesday or according to need. Around 50 attend the fellowship/service/mealtime daily.

Youth ministry

Youth ministry is well represented by chueches and ministries in Mission. Youth for Christ’s Youth Unlimited has two full and three part-time staff, that work out of a centre in downtown Mission. They encourage work in two of Mission’s  high schools. Barry McLeod is the area director and started the YFC work in Mission 13 years ago. He’s enthusiatic. We are planning to bring youth leaders from churches together, 4 or 5 already are meeting,” he said. “Camp Luther is just outside town and that has been a great place for youth too.” Youth Unlimited encounters a lot of issues such as homelessness, vandalism, drugs and prostitution. Station X is a drop in/youth church on Railway Avenue. Station X has developed into a tight knit community of downtown youth, most of whom have been living on the street at some point in their life. They serve dinner Monday s and explore spiritual issues with them in an open discussion.

Mission Ministerial

Over a dozen churches and ministries gather monthly for a friendly and encouraging breakfast. The group includes mainline church leaders, women and has friendly relationships with the Catholic churches.

– stats & faith  –

Population: 34,505 ((Source: 2006 Census. Population growth: 2001 – 2006: – 10.3 %)

Religious Profile (source: 2001 Census)

• 11,845 No religious affiliation

•   9,820 Protestant    

•   4,555 Roman Catholic

•   2,200 Christian

•   1,560 Sikh

•    350 Other, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish, Eastern religions.

•      275 Christian Orthodox

– then & now  –

The Sto:lo people have lived in the area for thousands of years and continue to do so.  

The name Mission City was chosen due to the site's proximity to the historic St. Mary’s (Catholic) Mission, east of town, which was founded in 1868.

After the Highway 1 was built on the south side of the Fraser in the late 1960s, population growth and large shopping malls developed in the formerly rural Abbotsford, Matsqui and Langley. This changed Mission’s centrality to the valley. The town’s Main Street businesses lost much of their business to the new shopping malls a few minutes away across the river. The process was accelerated with the opening of the Mission road bridge in the mid-1970s.

Mission is the home of a long-established professional dragstrip, Mission Raceway Park. The 20th Annual Mission Folk Music Festival took place this year at Fraser River Heritage Park and has become a world class event for roots, gospel, folk and world music fans.

Mission is also home to two large penal facilities, one minimum security and the other medium security,with two others nearby.    

Westminster Abbey

In 1954, Benedictine monks obtained land near Mission, where they set up Westminster Abbey.

They have lived there ever since, running their own farm and teaching high school and college men at their seminary, Christ the King.

They also operate a guesthouse, which is well used by Christians from all denominations.

The abbey, including the farm and woods, covers over 70 hectares. The buildings and tower overlook Mission and add to its rural skyline.

An Easter service draws a packed house every year. The monks are well known for their traditional chant.       – PB

Photos by Maurice Jassak – www.vancouverbccards.com

January 2008