Sign of the times

Sign of the Fish bookstore, one of the oldest businesses in North Vancouver, closed down June 19. It had been in the same location on Lonsdale Avenue since 1975, and was the only Christian bookstore between Deep Cove and the Sunshine Coast. Kevin Lee had run the store for the past four years, and had seen some growth in sales at first.

However, over the past year, road construction, Olympic congestion, the economic downturn and  competition from mail-order companies and electronic books made it impossible to continue.

“I threw everything I had into the store, and I’ve enjoyed getting to know lots of people,” Lee told BCCN. His biggest concern is that it will now be harder for the small Christian community on the North Shore  to get Christian books and other materials.

Feeding the thousands

Eva and Dennis Spenst made a commitment to feed thousands of people – with a little help from their friends and church. The Spensts directed the volunteer effort to provide every athlete at the  B.C. Summer Games – held July 22 – 25 in Langley – with a nutritious lunch every day.

Dennis is a long time employee at the Otter Co-op in Aldergrove, and took a leave of absence from his job. Eva is an Acts of Kindness advocate with Christian Life Assembly (CLA). Every day, they directed a team of 100 other volunteers packing lunches in the CLA gym and kitchen.

Each lunch included a sandwich, a piece of fruit, a drink, a health bar, a dessert treat and condiments. The team used another room to produce special requests, from vegetarian lunches to allergy-sensitive meals.

The couple also had to collect the food, train 70 volunteers in food safety regulations, and find 600 banana boxes to transport the lunches to 18 venues around Langley, Abbotsford, Surrey and Port Moody. The Spensts have done community service for 25 years, mostly through CLA, but had never run a program of this size.           – Langley Advance

Writers of the word unite

Les and N. J. Lindquist of The Word Guild are presenting a Greater Vancouver Writers’ Day August 21 at Vancouver Bible House, 700 Kingsway in Vancouver. Workshops will include ‘The Art, Craft, Business and Ministry of Writing’ and  ‘What Writers Need to Know about Trends in Publishing.’

The cost (including lunch) is $30 – $35 for Word Guild members, and $40 – $45 for non-members. The Word Guild is an association of “Canadian writers, editors, speakers, publishers, booksellers, librarians and other interested individuals who are Christian.”  

Contact: thewordguild.com

Topping the city charts

The Institute of Marriage and Family Canada (IMFC) studied 33 Canadian cities to find out which were the most ‘family friendly.’ The cities were evaluated on ‘community feel’ (parks, charitable giving and the homicide rate); education choice; cost of living; economic strength; and family independence.

Vancouver was one of five cities to earn an A rating; it earned an A+ for having “a high percentage of seniors, who are no longer able to care for themselves, living with family.”

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Kelowna and Victoria were rated B+.  

Abbotsford-Mission was in the middle of the pack, with a B rating. Although it received A in a number of categories, it was the only city with two failing grades: for population stability (a low number of residents who have lived there five years or more); and for having the highest homicide rate in Canada.

For the full report, go to: imfcanada.org

Sisters goes high tech

Sisters Thrift Boutique, which raises money for NightShift Street Ministries, has added a website catalogue – highlighting some garments for sale, and also an ‘item-a-day’ email. Shoppers can purchase items at the store (10635 King George Boulevard, Surrey); online (sistersthriftboutique.com); or by phone (604.953.1155).

Divine appointments

• Rob Brynjolfson has been appointed director of The World Evangelical Alliance Leadership Institute (WEALI). A native of Vancouver, Brynjolfson attended  Northwest Baptist College and Regent College. He served as a missionary in Bolivia, Spain and Equatorial Guinea; and founded the Gateway Missionary Training Centre in Langley, in 1996.

• Greg Mohr was installed as bishop of the British Columbia synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada on July 5.

• Clyde Cowan has been appointed interim executive director of North American Indigenous Ministries (NAIM), effective July 5. He has served in various capacities with the ministry since 1975. He takes over from Bill Tarter, who has led the organization since 2004 – and who is now going to serve as alumni secretary of the boarding school in India where he grew up.

Blessed to give

The Cedar Club Society, a Knights of Columbus chapter in Surrey and Delta, is distributing more than $1 million to 30 charities. The donations include $80,184 to the Surrey Food Bank, and $93,548 to Surrey Memorial Hospital. The club had bought property in 1981, intending to build a low rent seniors’ facility. When that plan never materialized, the club decided to sell the property and give the money away. The Knights are a renowned Roman Catholic service club.

Blessed are the thrifty

While the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) has increased the price of many things, used clothing is not one of them. In fact, thrift stores such as those operated by Mennonite Central Committee were formerly required to charge Provincial Sales Tax (PST) on the used clothing and other items they sold – but are not required to charge HST.

Well traveled Bill

Bill Toews has retired after 39 years as general manager of Menno Travel in Abbotsford. The agency specializes in making travel arrangements for missions and humanitarian agencies. Toews first began working with Menno Travel in 1964, helping evacuate people from the Congo during the Simba revolution. In his career, he has travelled the equivalent of 29 trips around the world.

Info: mennotvl.com

August 2010