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By Lloyd Mackey
CHRISTIAN denominations across Canada are showing an
increasing interest in developing ‘house’ churches.
BCCN has checked out
two such developments on Vancouver Island – one in Victoria and the
other in Chemainus and Ladysmith.
In Victoria, City on a Hill (COAH) has been functioning
midway between the Fernwood and Oaklands neighbourhoods since September
2005, as a project of the Mennonite Brethren (MB) denomination’s
church extension ministry.
In Chemainus/Ladysmith, the Bridges Community of Home
Churches is part of the Congregational Christian Churches of Canada
initiative, and is the result of that denomination’s shift in
direction from a more traditional style of church.
Jim and Yvonne Mann are the husband-and-wife co-pastors
of COAH, and their own home – now under renovation to increase
facility space – is the meeting place.
Ironically, the house church is not on a hill, but in a
lower-lying area between the two hills, northwest of downtown Victoria,
where the Fernwood and Oaklands neighbourhoods are centred.
The idea for the church name came from The Message paraphrase of
Matthew 5:14-16, which says:
“You are here to be a light, bringing out the
God-colours in the world . . . We are going public with this, as public as
a city on a hill . . .
“Now that I’ve put you here on a hilltop .
. . shine! Keep open house: Be generous with your lives. By opening up to
others, you will prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in
heaven.”
Whatever the name’s implications, the Manns are
enjoying the challenge of providing an innovative, informal setting in
which neighbour families – who might not be used to a more formal or
organized church setting – can grow, worship and learn.
Noted Yvonne: “Many people in our area
don’t have vehicles. Being close by makes it easy for them to come to
church. There are a lot of kids in the neighbourhood.”
Commenting on the irony of being a church with
‘hill’ in its name being at the bottom of a hill, she laughed,
pointing out that the ideal place further up had an out-of-range price tag.
“We have a wartime house – a character
home, they sometimes call them in Victoria. This year, we [will] shuffle
some rooms around, increase the meeting space and give the children more
space on their own.”
The eventual intention is to establish a network of
house churches in the adjacent neighbourhoods. But for now, the
Manns’ hands are fairly full with just one church. They are part-time
pastors. Jim is an architect by profession and Yvonne does employee
development with B. C. Assessment.
Their sense is that both their professional backgrounds
augment the pastoral care elements, with the means to help adapt the church
model to the needs of people they are in touch with.
COAH’s website (cityonahill.piczo.com) notes that
the church “aims to be culturally sensitive and counter-cultural,
reaching out to those who are unattracted to the institutional church . . .
as we bridge our community to Christ through service.”
The congregation is intergenerational, Yvonne points
out. And, when the weather is good, the attenders make good use of the
Manns’ back yard.
“And there are artists in the group. We do crafts
and other things collectively.”
There is no preaching in the traditional sense,
“but our Bible studies are always connected. One Sunday, we
collectively built a paper mache globe, using it to talk about God and his
connection to the earth.”
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The Manns had been long-time members of Shelbourne
Church of Christ, a mid-size and well-respected Victoria church.
But they had a sense that God was nudging them toward
church planting. As they put their plans into place, they came in contact
with the MBs – who, as a denomination, have been encouraging the
development of house church networks in several parts of Canada.
COAH has been working recently, to keep in touch with
more traditional congregations, to build understanding for what they are
about.
Two such are Oaklands Chapel, a long-established
Christian Brethren assembly just up the hill; and Saanich Community Church,
a sister MB congregation a few miles to the northwest.
Meanwhile, the Bridges Community of Home Churches,
which used to be called Chemainus Congregational Church, has been
transitioning to the house church model for 18 months, and now has a
network of four congregations. And they have a search going for a full-time
pastor.
The church began in the late 80s, as part of a former
United Church congregation – one of many such which affiliated with
the Congregational denomination.
They had met in several schools or rented halls through
the years – so, in a sense, they were feeling somewhat
“mobile,” according to Kevin Allen, a house builder who is one
of the Bridges’ elders.
“We meet in four homes, three in Chemainus and
one in (nearby) Ladysmith. Each has a different meeting time and
emphasis,” noted Allen.
Once a month, the whole group meets together in a
community hall in Chemainus.
“The groups vary in their appeal. They draw on
different ages. One has a fairly formal service, encapsulating regular
worship Another emphasizes study of the Bible,” Allen said.
A regular and important feature, before or after
the home meetings, is a meal together – a fellowship lunch or dinner.
The event itself “may involve singing songs. The
studies are contemporary, finding out how the Bible applies to life,”
he added.
“In the group in our home, there are quite a few
parents and kids. We try to talk about what’s going on. We will use a
DVD series, or Bible dramatization and do crafts together. It is very
informal.” Allen said.
One of the groups was led for a year by former MP Reed
Elley, a Baptist minister who is a long-time resident of the area.
The group involving mostly retired people meets Sunday
morning. The others are in late afternoon and evening, Sunday, Monday and
Thursday.
Allen pointed out, as well, the importance of
augmenting the home churches with interest groups. Three such are hiking,
sewing and quilting – and, he added, “we hope, soon, to be able
to get an arts group.”
February 2009
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