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WAS IT history or good marketing, when 1,000 or more gathered for 11 hours
August 15 at Lumberman’s Arch in Vancouver’s Stanley Park?
The occasion was The Cry, a prayer gathering intended, in part at least, to
prepare Vancouver Christians for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Cry founder Faytene
Kryskow noted that the event was taking place 40 years to the day since an
arguably historic rock concert drew 400,000 free spirits to a Woodstock, New
York farmer’s field.
Referring to the “hinge of history,” she suggested that, just as Woodstock was a harbinger of rebellion that helped
bring on the North American drug culture, The Cry had the potential to move society toward the gospel, and obedience to its righteous moral
imperatives.
Gerry Bowler, a University of Manitoba professor who lectures and writes
extensively on Christianity and culture, has a different – but not entirely unsympathetic – take on the Stanley Park event.
Bowler called The Cry “a nice piece of marketing.” He added congenially, with respect to Kryskow’s leadership skills: “Good for her. Woodstocks come and go . . . The Spirit blows where it lists.”
In noting the way Cry events have been marketed across the country, Bowler noted
that in Vancouver, the “hook” was Woodstock; in St. John’s, it was “Alpha,” because that is where Canada began; and, in Ottawa, the reference was God’s “dominion.”
But it also struck Bowler “how invisible to the mainstream media [is The Cry], despite clever attempts to
market themselves and provide the visuals.”
He also suggested that, in his view, whatever Kryskow’s contention, Woodstock “did not change the history of the nations” – and he doubts if The Cry will, either.
He said he encourages Christians to view with optimism the idea that Christ will
return; but felt it was not totally safe to believe that Christians “need to clean up the world” before he comes.
The Cry’s Vancouver event has received broad support from various west coast ministries
whose leaders are working to bring a Christian presence to the 2010 Winter
Olympics. Much of that activity is being co-ordinated by More than Gold (MTG),
a transdenominational umbrella group.
Bob Kraemer, operations director for MTG, told BCCN that The Cry represented “one stream of the vast spectrum of Christian community getting involved in the
Olympics.” And he had supportive words for the Stanley Park event, noting that while his
particular approach to ministry and worship was different, “nothing they did caused me to distance myself. I admire their commitment, their
compassion and their way of pressing into God.”
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Kraemer also spoke well of The Cry’s “call to repentance from the sins happening in so many areas of society.” He cited conciliatory activities during the day, involving native, Jewish and
Iranian people, to name a few.
As in most events involving Kryskow, who moved from Vancouver to Ottawa several
years ago to be closer to the political action, there was an opportunity for
federal politicians to maintain some Christian solidarity on specific issues.
Two back-to-back segments involved Winnipeg area MPs Joy Smith and Rod
Bruinooge. They spoke, respectively, to human trafficking and life issues.
Kryskow emphasized: “Our goal is simple: Pray for the nation. When we pray for government it is for
[leaders] to have wisdom, understanding, courage and discernment to make
decisions that will be good for Canada. Nothing fancy – and this is what we are told to do in 1 Timothy 2.”
Some critics have questioned Kryskow’s references to the famous inscription on the Peace Tower in Ottawa.
“He shall have dominion from sea to sea,” she has maintained, is a God-directed prophetic utterance supported by at least
one father of Confederation.
“When we quote Psalm 72:8, it is not about forcing Christianity on a nation . . .
It is about mercy, compassion, justice and all that is in the heart of God
being revealed in the dealings of our nation.
“Compassion can come through Christians and non-Christians alike . . . so we
simply pray for our leaders in this regard.”
September 2009
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