By Bobbi-Sue Menard

THE TREND toward increasing Christian involvement in social justice was the theme for this year’s MissionsNow.

This is the third year since the event moved from the annual missions’ conference at Willow Park Church to a citywide, weeklong, multichurch celebration and series of activities.

 This year, MissionsNow, beginning April 25, has been presented as a movement across the city of Kelowna.

The goal is for Kelowna Christians to be unified in prayer, seeking transformation of the city.

Laurence East, one of the pastors at Willow Park Church, was the chief organizer this year.

He was enthused about cooperating with up to 30 churches around Kelowna, on everything from event hosting to publicity.

“This is not a traditional conference where a bunch of churches send a few of their members for a day or two.  This is about creating a movement of ‘The Church,’” said East.

“We want to help people see that The Church is a transformational force within this world.”

MissionsNow, he stressed, “is a call for The Church to be more than it already is.”

This year there was a strong emphasis on the Christian arts community.

Musicians, songwriters, painters, photographers, poets and more were invited to participate.  

The theme was the power of prayer and restorative justice.

Candace Giesbrecht, pastor of Compassion & Mission at Trinity Baptist, organized an exhibition for local artists.

The resulting art was put on display in the lobby of her church.

Rather than adjudicate the work, the idea was to encourage as many artists as possible. “There are so many gifted people who don’t always get the chance to contribute,” said Giesbrecht. “We as a church need to remember they are uniquely gifted and sent, and called as an artist.”

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Another example of bringing art and justice together was the Sketch program, from Toronto. Sketch brings art to homeless street youth in an effort to reconnect them to mainstream society.

The purpose, said East, was “to show that people who are marginalized are worthy. MissionsNow is about stretching The Church to understand its mission here and now.”

Another key feature of the event was a documentary produced by International Justice Mission (IJM).

Narrated by film star Danny Glover, At the End of Slavery: The Battle for Justice in our Time, deals with the current plight of the victims of modern day slavery. It had two showings at the Mary Irwin Theatre.  

Filmed undercover, in a variety of countries including the U.S. and the Philippines, At the End of Slavery shows the remarkable strategies of today’s abolitionists as they battle this pernicious and tragic reality. All proceeds from the presentation went to IJM.

A slightly less serious take on engaging The Church in Kelowna was the effort to bring families and friends together for The Amazing Race Adventure. A fun scavenger hunt through the City of Kelowna, the purpose of the event was to help participants see different ways they can get involved within the community.

The Amazing Race was designed to work for hundreds of people; four  churches hosted it: Trinity Baptist, Evangel, Willow Park and St. David’s.  

Another city-wide event was the Service Day.  MissionsNow asked Kelowna Christians to contribute to the community as individuals. Whether an individual chose to clean, paint or invite a neighbour over for hospitality, the goal was to do it as a participant in a unified church endeavour.  

As a part of that goal, MissionsNow partnered with Mayor Sharon Shepard in the extreme make-over of Alexandra Gardner House, a shelter for women.  

“We want to have a positive image in the city,” said East.  

“Sometimes we hear about the church being accused of being irrelevant in this day. But when you think of the hospitals and other services the church delivered years ago, it can happen again today.”

May 2010