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Climate control
Elizabeth May – who is the leader of the Green Party of Canada, and co-author of Global Warming for Dummies – was one of the speakers at a major environmental rally last month.
May, a practicing Anglican, was given a standing ovation by an estimated 1,000
climate change activists at the Victoria Conference Centre hall November 18.
They were protesting an announcement earlier that day by federal environment
minister Jim Prentice, who said there would be further delays in implementing
regulations aimed at combating global warming. The ‘Countdown to Copenhagen’ rally, focused on the December 7 – 18 UN Conference on Climate Change in Denmark, was the largest environmental
protest seen on Vancouver Island in many years.
YFC marks 30
November 7 was the day that Youth For Christ (YFC) Victoria used to mark 30
years of ministry in the capital. They did it with an evening dessert, coffee
and tea fellowship at Glad Tidings Church, which drew a large number of current
participants and YFC alumni for an evening of celebration and recollection. The
ministry works to serve youth – tomorrow’s leaders – with tools to train and equip them with Christian values, as they care for
troubled and challenged teens.
Current YFC programs include a mobile youth centre; Fast Times car clubs meeting
at different locations; and the YFC staff teaching, caring and prayer
ministries. Terry Opperman is the present executive director.
This writer recalls, as a young teenager in Victoria around 1955, attending
Saturday night YFC youth rallies, when Billy Graham was its international vice
president. However, YFC, with its current muti-faceted outreach arrangements,
reorganized later – and was chartered in Victoria in 1979.
YFC’s web page is at yfcvictoria.com.
Overseas help
A couple of social assistance projects designed to meet overseas emergency and
relief needs were being publicized among Central Baptist Church members during
November. The FAIR (Fellowship Agency for International Relief), an arm of the
Fellowship of Evangelical Baptists (with which Central is affiliated), was
responding to crises in the Philippines, Indonesia and Kenya.
People from the congregation were invited to contribute financially; and five containers of shoes, boots, winter
clothing, sweaters, winter coats and children’s toys were to be shipped overseas to various countries, under the Compassionate
Warehouse Christmas Project.
Items in good condition were being collected at Lumber World or Dodds’s Furniture up to November 21.
Info: centralbaptistchurch.ca.
Aletheia prep
Charis Community Church, spearheading the 2010 startup of Aletheia Bible
Institute, welcomed Keith Edwards to Vancouver Island for three days of
teaching lectures in mid-November. The lectures were held in Duncan, Nanaimo,
Parksville and Victoria.
Edwards is the registrar of Toronto Baptist Seminary (TBS), a school affiliated
with historic Jarvis Street Baptist Church. Lloyd Douglas, who is the catalyst
behind Charis Church, says Aletheia is affiliated with TBS, and will be working
to provide introductory theological training on Vancouver Island and the Lower
Mainland. Info: charisvictoria.ca
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Hurricane help
Members of Christian Reformed churches in Duncan and Nanaimo are currently in
Kenner, Louisiana, a city near New Orleans, as volunteers in a
denomination-sponsored disaster relief project.
While the hurricane that devastated Kenner was in 2005, the rehabilitation work
continues – with volunteers from many Christian denominations, from throughout North
America.
Key personnel involved in the project include: Len and Carrie Blauwkamp (project
managers); Tom and Grace Silvis (on-site mangers); and Ed and Sonja Buisman
(construction supervisors). Other team members include John and Audrey Tjaarda,
Lawrence and Boukje De Raaf, Peter Faber, Harry and Annie Kerkhof, Dan and
Gerda Wubben, Don Koopman, Bill La Fleur, Doug and Judy Warners, John and Carol
Schuitema, Harris and Donna Rotman. Info: duncancrc.org.
Pies plus
The enjoying of home made pies and the opportunity to help the B.C. Mission Boat
Society were combined November 22 at ‘Pies Plus,’ after the worship service at Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Qualicum.
The society is an initiative of Our Saviour, and works at providing Christian
outreach in remote coastal communities. It has been getting increasing
attention from many Lutheran congregations across Western Canada.
The funds raised through on-site consumption and take- home pie action was
matched by FaithLife Financial, a Lutheran-initiated financial services
organization, to the level of $1,500. Info: oursaviourlutheran.ca.
T-C helps
With Advent upon us, Vancouver Island Christians looking for additional worship,
renewal and celebration opportunities are encouraged to check the Saturday
religion pages in the Times-Colonist. Comprehensive lists for each day of the week provide readers with information
that augments what they have available to them through their own church
bulletins and the pages of Island Insight.
– Lloyd Mackey
December 2009
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