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By peter biggs
The ‘Township of Langley’ is bordered by Surrey at 196 Street
and Abbotsford at 276 Street, with the Fraser River to the north and the
U.S. border to the south. It contains the City of Langley, with the
connected surrounding areas of Willoughby, Murrayville and Brookswood
– along with Walnut Grove, and the picturesque village of Fort
Langley. In the southeastern corner of the Township of Langley is
Aldergrove.
Past and present
Langley was the first part of the lower mainland of
B.C. where European settlement was established. Fort Langley was built in
1827. In 1858, following the discovery of gold along the Thompson and
Fraser Rivers, Fort Langley became a large supply centre – outfitting
thousands of gold miners passing through the area. The Gold Rush also
caused a significant increase in farming operations, as the demand for food
rose. Growth of population and development has continued from the 1960s
until now – with noticeable new housing developments off 200 Street,
in the Willowbrook and north Langley areas.
| Langley Food Bank
Started in 1987, the Langley Help Network (LHN), of
which the Langley Food Bank is a part, has a diverse clientele. They help
both ‘Registered Clients,’ (generally stabilized single
parents, working poor, seniors); and an increasing number of homeless
people.
Adminstrator George Vandergugten told BCCN: “Over the last few
years. our registered clients have decreased 25 - 30 percent, with many
finding jobs. However, the number of homeless people has increased quite a
bit – from a handful two years ago, to well over 100. They have
very different needs; and some have intimidating behaviours. We operate a
twice-weekly program specifically for the homeless.”
The LHN supplies organizations such as Wagner Hills
Farm, Teen Challenge and Boys & Girls Clubs with food and clothing.
“We don’t do any soliciting or fundraising,” said
Vandergugten. “We really are prayer and faith-based.” Funding
comes through businesses, churches, schools and individuals. Over $1.5
million of food and other items were distributed in 2006. |
For the past 25 years, Langley City and surrounding
areas have seen extensive strip mall development. The town core retains
some old fashioned walk-through charm. However, many businesses – as
well as the civil courts and several banks – have moved to the malls,
fostering an automobile-dominated community.
In addition to this, the community allowed extensive
business development along the Langley Bypass – which is all many
visitors to Langley see.
Churches cooperate
There are around 80 churches in the area, along with
the national offices of Focus on the Family, Campus Crusade for Christ and
Christian Info Society – as well as the Pentecostal Assemblies of
Canada’s B.C. and Yukon headquarters.
Many Christian leaders meet regularly, in five
different regional groups:
The Langley Christian Ministerial meets monthly, and
tends to represent the mainline denominational churches.
Three more groups have closer links. Dave McTaggart,
senior pastor of the 800-strong Southgate Church described them thus:
“There are three separate leaders’ meetings every week –
in the city, the Willoughby area and north Langley. All three meet together
once a month.”
| The Mayor’s blessing
One member of Christian Life Assembly is City of
Langley mayor Peter Fassbender. In a statement to BCCN, he declared: “I’ve
always valued the role that faith plays in the lives of people in our
community – and am appreciative of the relationship the City of
Langley has with the faith community, including the Salvation Army. It is
through this affiliation that our community will benefit from the
realization of the Gateway of Hope shelter, in the near future.” |
In addition, Aldergrove pastors also gather monthly.
There are also annual cooperative ventures: 20 or
so congregations coming together for a large Good Friday service; the
recent Love Langley event, which involved 23 churches; and numerous
inter-church cooperative ventures, addressing the poor and homeless.
Indeed, Langley appears to enjoy healthy and warm inter-church relations.
McTaggart, who was born and raised in Langley and has
been a church leader there for the past 11 years, went on to describe a
significant shift in overall church involvement with the community.
Continue article >>
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| Municipality of LANGLEY
– stats –
Population: 93,726 (source: 2006 Census)
(Growth: 2001 – 2006: 7.9%)
Religious Profile (source:
2001 Census)
• 34,595 Protestant
• 29,770 No religious affiliation
• 12,510 Roman Catholic
• 6,155 Christian (including evangelicals)
• 830 Buddhist
• 590 Eastern Orthodox
• 1,055 Sikh
• 710 Other religions (including Hindu, eastern
religions, Jewish)
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“We have some incredible Christian leaders in
this city, and they’re all very committed to working together.
At Southgate, we’ve had other churches phone and ask: ‘Do
you have someone who can help with our worship next
Sunday?’”
Paul Taylor, pastor of County Line Fellowship, is part
of the Aldergrove Pastors group – which has around eight Aldergrove
churches regularly represented. “This past Canada Day,” he
said, “five churches merged morning services for a celebration of
around 400. Also, last Good Friday, eight churches came together for a
joint service.”
Many of the mainline denominational churches, along
with the Langley Christian Ministerial, actively assist Langley Hospital
chaplain John Dyck. “We help with on-call chaplaincy at the hospital,
and have donated proceeds from a joint 10-choir Christmas service to
support the chaplain,” said Sharon United Church minister Karen
Verneda.
Salvation Army - Gateway Of Hope
One exciting development in Langley is Gateway of Hope,
a $12 million, 30,000 sq ft project which is in advanced stages of planning
– led by the Salvation Army and 90 percent funded by all three levels
of government.
According to Army envoy Gary Johnson, the facility will
have a 30-bed emergency shelter, a 25-bed supportive independent
transitional living section, and a large commercial kitchen which will
likely provide over 150 meals daily. It will also house the Army’s
usual Community & Family Services Centre, and Sunday worship services.
That such a publicly funded project should be run by
the church is the mark of a growing acceptance of the role and expertise
which faith groups bring to social needs.
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Social needs increase
Many leaders describe a perceptible increase in
social need and homelessness in Langley, over the last couple of years.
“I would say that in the last five years or so,
I’ve seen a greater desire of churches to be impacting the city
– rallying more and more around trying to help the poor,” said
Southgate’s McTaggart. He went on to describe this as paving the way
for an improved relationship with local authorities.
“I really feel the spiritual climate is
changing. There is a greater openness to the Christian message, likely
because churches are more involved in the community,” he said, adding:
“When we leaders pray, it’s not for our own work; but
it’s prayers for our city, for souls – not just to build our
own congregation.”
Trinity Western’s presence
With over 4,000 students and 600 employees,
TWU’s presence is felt by the whole community. Situated out of town
towards Fort Langley, most students live locally – with 25 percent
living on campus. Last Christmas, the university focused on serving Langley
– with innovative acts of kindness, performances on campus and other
forms of outreach.
Christian Life Assembly (CLA) is the largest church in
the area, with some 3–4,000 in regular attendance. Associate pastor
Mel Wiebe told BCCN about some of the programs they run.
“Acts of Kindness is manned by five full-time
staff, who deal with a continual stream of people coming with diverse
needs. We also have a bus ministry, and pick up 200 kids every
Saturday.” On Sunday evenings, CLA picks up people from addiction
recovery homes in the Fraser Valley, and takes them to an evening service.
September 2007
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