A good golf score

HistoryMaker 2010, known as British Columbia's biggest and longest running multidenominational youth and young adult event, took place May 21 – 23 at the Langley Events Centre. This year's speakers were Bob Lenz and Steve Osmond. Recording artists included Starfield, Group One Crew, Fee and Ben Cantelon. Photo by Ryan Tam.

The money will go to athletic scholarships and scholarship endowments. Speakers this year included Olympians Ashleigh McIvor, Joannie Rochette and John Morris, as well as hockey great Claude Lemieux.

April showers

The Lord’s Rain, Gospel Mission’s ministry to provide showers to people in the Downtown Eastside, marked its second anniversary April 30 – and has logged its 1,000th shower.

Built and run by donations and volunteers, The Lord’s Rain also offers coffee and bread.

Gospel Mission offers church services with meals five days a week at 331 Carrall Street. Since that location is on the upper floor and people with disabilities can’t attend, the mission plans to install a video link from the Mission to The Lord’s Rain, which is on a ground floor.

Birthday gift

Jennifer Croft has developed a concept she calls the Great Canadian Birthday Giveaway.

The premise is that Christians should use their birthdays not to receive presents, but to give of themselves – for issues of justice.

She and her family celebrated her daughter’s fifth birthday by going to Seattle"May 1, to participate in the Crista Ministries/World Concern five kilometre Walk/Run to Stop Human Trafficking.

The 964 participants raised over $83,000.

Fishing for health

Grade 2 students from Surrey Christian School have painted yellow fish by a number of storm drains in the school’s neighbourhood. The fish are a reminder that storm drains empty directly into nearby streams – and that if fertilizer, car wash detergent and motor oil run into the drains, they can reach toxic levels.

The effort encourages Surrey residents to dispose of household chemicals correctly, and to empty hot tub and pool water slowly into the ground – not into the storm drains.

Walk for (if not on) Water

A Walk for Water will take place June 27 at Bear Creek Park in Surrey. The event will raise money to bring clean water to African villages through Childcare Worldwide.

Info: 604.541.7900; childcareworldwide.ca.

Back home in Uganda

Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson, best known for her role as co-host of The Daily on Joy TV, returned to Uganda in May to film a documentary. Thompson was born to missionary parents in Uganda, but the family was deported by dictator Idi Amin.

The documentary chronicles an ‘extreme home makeover’ for a Ugandan woman named Maria, and her grandchildren.

Maria was chosen for the home by Gilbert Bukenya, vice president of Uganda.

The home is made of brick with a cement floor, windows, a tin roof, three bedrooms, a latrine, a water tank, solar lighting, beds, a goat and a bicycle.

Info: ugandaextremehomemakeover.com.

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Worship Indonesian style

Celebrating Jesus Together 2010, a citywide gathering of interdenominational multicultural churches, will be held June 19, 7 pm, at Vancouver’s Glad Tidings Church.

The worship will be led by Niko Njotorahardjo, Welyar Kauntu, Sari Simorangkir and a team from Indonesia, as well as the God’s Image Korean children’s worship ministry team. The event is sponsored by Bethesda Ministry of Love, Vancouver City of Destiny and Prayer Canada.

For more info contact: 604.779.6694 or bethesdaministryoflove.com.

Worship national style

The biennial National Worship Conference sponsored by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Anglican Church of Canada, will be held July 4 – 7 at Vancouver School of Theology (VST).

Speakers will include Sallie McFague of VST; Douglas Todd, religion writer for The Vancouver Sun; Mark MacDonald, national indigenous bishop for the Anglican Church of Canada; and Karen Ward, abbess/vicar of the Church of the Apostles in Seattle.

For more details, contact: 905.457.2902 or nationalworshipconference.org.

Faith-Painting

The United Church of Canada brought in four ‘aerosol artists’ at the end of April to paint a 4 x 40 metre mural on the brick wall of a shoe store at 55 – 57 Hastings Street in Vancouver. The artists were Faith47 from South Africa, Titi Freak from Sao Paulo, Peeta from Italy and Indigo from Vancouver.

The event was the launch of a national Paint Your Faith program, designed to open a dialogue on spirituality with Canadians who don’t usually attend church.

Info: paintyourfaith.com.

A Christian Lion

Matt Chapdelaine was picked in the sixth round of the CFL draft by the BC Lions this spring, even though he spent most of his university football career sidelined by various injuries. Chapdelaine, a high school star with the W.J. Mouat Secondary School Hawks in Abbotsford, is the son of Lions assistant coach Jacques Chapdelaine, and is noted for his Christian faith.

Business leader passes

Ken Stevenson passed away May 24 at age 76. The Vancouver resident saw much success in business – as CEO"of Stevenson Construction, and as a partner in Pennyfarthing Development.

He played a role on the boards of several schools, including Regent College.

At St. John’s Shaughnessy Anglican Church, he served as rector’s warden and was involved in many committees.

He was also a strong supporter of the Artizo Institute, which trains young leaders for the Anglican Network in Canada.

         – Jim Coggins

June 2010