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Dynamic denomination
“Denominations are irrelevant to most people, as to why they choose a local
church,” said Norm Funk, lead pastor of Westside Church, an innovative new Vancouver
congregation. Westside’s website states the church belongs to the Mennonite Brethren (MB) denomination;
and Funk credits the denomination with helping to launch and fund the church
plant, as well as providing guidance.
It’s just that most people coming to the church are more focused on finding Jesus
than a denomination.
When BCCN began collecting stories about significant developments in local churches for
this new In Your Community section, we were surprised to discover that most of the stories we had collected
involved MB churches.
In one sense, this was accidental; future In Your Community pages will no doubt reflect news from other denominations. In another sense, it
is not accidental. The Mennonite Brethren in B.C. are a dynamic denomination
with a strong focus on starting relevant new churches. With roots in the
16th-century Anabaptist tradition, MBs have moved away from their own
Dutch-German roots to become a multi-ethnic denomination.
Prominent church saved
The Renfrew United Church building on First Avenue near Renfrew Street in
Vancouver has been purchased by another Christian church, rather than by
developers. The property had been for sale for some time. The buyer is Pacific
Grace Mennonite Brethren Church, a Chinese congregation that has grown to
become several related congregations in Vancouver, Richmond, Tri-Cities and
Burnaby.
Crafting a church
“One way to understand God is as the Supreme Artist, constantly ‘making things new’ and ‘reconciling all things to himself’ through Jesus Christ.” This statement sums up a key part of the perspective of a church particularly established for “artistic and creative people.”
“In recent history, the relationship between the arts and the church has not been
a happy one . . . We want to bridge that gap,” said founding pastor Nelson Boschman.
The first public gathering of Artisan Church took place at 6:30 pm, October 4 in
the Alice MacKay Room (basement level) of the main Vancouver Public Library on
West Georgia Street.
The church is not just for artists, Boschman said.
Everyone is welcome, since “we all create – whether we think of ourselves as being creative or not.”
The gatherings are intended to be a “holistic expression” of worship. Many churches use music and the spoken word. Artisan will also use
poetry, visual art, videos – and silence.
These artistic expressions will be hung on the ‘scaffolding’ of the traditional church calendar. There will also be expository preaching and
contemporary music – from places such as Africa and the United Kingdom, as well as North America.
The church’s sense of calling to artists is part of its sense of calling to the downtown
core, said Boschman. Artisan is a “city centre type of church.”
For the last few months, Boschman has been apprenticing at Pacific Church in
Yaletown, another new city-oriented church. In that time, he has gathered a ‘launch team’ of 15 – 20 people committed to Artisan. The church will meet monthly to start with, and
will move to weekly gatherings in March.
Boschman himself is an example of the type of person his church hopes to reach.
He taught at Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford for 11 years. He is also part
of two jazz groups, the Nelson Boschman Trio and the Mennonite Jazz Committee.
Over the past year, he has been performing at the Blenz coffee shop in Yaletown
as a means of “bringing beauty to the wider culture.” He has also been involved in music at Pacific Theatre, and done back-up work
for various recording artists. A long-term goal is to score music for films.
Artisan is needed, Boschman said, because a lot of people “haven’t heard the whole story” of Jesus – or who haven’t heard it told well, in an engaging way. “We want to tell the old story in fresh ways.” artisanvancouver.ca
Taking the plunge
It is not unheard of for a pastor to be told to go jump off a building. Not many
do it. But when Marlene Hoar and Rick Harker asked pastor Brad Sumner of
Jericho Ridge Community Church in Langley to do so September 15, he agreed.
Harker works with the B.C. Lions Society. Each year, he participates in the
society’s Easter Seals Drop Zone event, which raises funds to send disabled kids to
camp.
Participants rappel off the side of a highrise building in downtown Vancouver,
after raising at least $1,500 each in pledges. When Harker proposed to Marlene
Hoar, they agreed to get married during the Drop Zone event, and accepted
donations to the campaign in lieu of wedding presents.
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When their own pastor was unavailable due to a prior commitment, they asked
Sumner to officiate. All three rappelled off the 19-storey AXA Place building,
then paused about five storeys up for the ceremony.
The couple raised about $5,460; the event raised $220,000.
Church offers a TIP
Bakerview Mennonite Brethren Church in Abbotsford has teamed with the Gideons
for a unique outreach effort.
Bakerview has identified about 175 households in its neighbourhood as its ‘parish,’ reaching out to those households through prayer walks, invitations to special
events, Christmas caroling and offers of friendship.
Bakerview associate pastor for outreach Peter Laurie and Abbotsford West Gideon
Camp president Martin Epp devised a plan to reach this neighbourhood through
the Gideons’ new Testament Insert Project (TIP).
Bakerview bought 175 New Testaments for $3 each – and recruited 10 members to call on homes, partnered with 10 Gideon volunteers.
The church invited residents and project participants to a pancake breakfast,
and then sent out the volunteers. Fifty-six homes accepted a New Testament, and
29 refused. No one was home in the other households, which will be revisited
later.
– MB Herald
On the fringe
Finally, Dawn Robertson – a member of the Christian Info team – offers a personal account of a recent visit to a popular part of Vancouver.
There was a certain irony in finding myself on Granville Island, two teens in
tow, as we handed over our tickets for the last show of The Gospel of John at the Fringe Festival.
Sitting in a theatre for 60 minutes, listening to one man recite the Gospel of
John in the Elizabethan language of the King James Bible, would seem to be a
cure for insomnia.
But actor Gary Boon presented a compelling hour of drama, dispatched with
commendable passion and skill. He used an arsenal of face, voice and body
skills to make the gospel come alive. The presentation left me with a lot to
think about and meditate upon.
We left the theatre blessed – but God was not finished with us yet.
As we were walking and discussing what we had just heard, we passed the Arts
Club Theatre.
While we were manoeuvring around a long line of people waiting to enter a nearby
pub, a man came up and greeted us warmly, shaking our hands. He invited us
inside the Improv Theatre across from the pub. The card he gave us said: “Welcome to Westside Church.”
Was this part of an improv show? If this was a church, then what kind was it?
It quickly became apparent this was a biblical kind – a community of believers who loved Jesus and were faithful to the word of God.
Acts 2:42 came to mind. The teaching of pastor Norm Funk – on what we can learn about God from Hannah’s prayer in 1 Samuel – blessed us.
God knows how to get our attention – and how to be incredibly merciful about it. Unlike many of us, God is not
intimidated by unrighteousness.
He is intent on redeeming a broken and fallen world – and is not hesitant about moving into that broken world to do so. Nazareth was
a worldly centre with an unsavoury reputation. But that is where Jesus chose to
grow up, earning the title Immanuel – God with us.
– Report assembled by Jim Coggins
October 2009
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