Taken from our churches website:

Hey everyone,

We are going to do things a little differently this week and instead of our normal program, we are going to host a little BBQ and potluck at the little nest for friends of ours, people in the community and for us as well.

We are going to have a couple BBQ’s set up outside and welcome people in for a meal and a chance to get to know some of us and for us to get to know our neighbours, as well our friend Matt Mei is going to play some acoustic music for us in the cafe.

So be sure to come out, bring a friend and a dish to share this Sunday January 31 @ 5pm!

Looking forward to it.

There is a really cool event that Grandview Baptist Church is sponsoring May 2nd on New Monasticism (read below an email from Pastor Tim Dickau).

I like to believe that the open house is creating a different type of monastic community by the way we are quite interactive with the world as a church and in our work lives and I would like to send 2 people to the conference, so if you are interested let us know.

—————–
Hi friends,

I want to let you know about an event we are co-sponsoring with Carey Theological College at our church on Saturday May 2nd. The conference is on New Monasticism. If you are unfamiliar with that term, new monasticism is the name given to the many small communities sprouting up around North America where people are choosing to live together, share resources, welcome others and especially the poor, pursue a life with rhythms of prayer etc.

We are offering this conference in order to help others pursue these practices. We believe that the practices embraced by these communities, practices which many people in our church are pursuing also, are practices that can transform individuals and communities. A number of people from our church and from other churches around our city will be presenting workshops on that day.

There is limited space so people who preregister by sending an e-mail to newmonasticism@gcbchurch.ca will be given first priority.

The cost ranges from $20 – $50, depending on when you register and if you are working.

Schedule: The day looks like this
8:30 – 9:00 Registration
9:00 – 9:30 Gathering and worship
9:30 – 10:30 Jonathan Wilson speaking about the sprouting of New Monastic communities across North America
10:45-11:45 Workshop #1.
11:45-12:45 – Lunch
12:45-1:45 – Workshop #2
2:00 – 3:00 Panel Discussion
3:00 – 3:30 Tom Wuest / Communion

Speakers include:
Jonathan Wilson (Carey Theological College) – understanding New Monasticism
Craig Greenfield (Servants Vancouver) – Relocating to Abandoned Neighbourhoods
Tama Ward Balisky (Kinbrace Community) – Racial Reconciliation
Dave Diewert (Streams of Justice) – Sharing Economic Resources / Seeking Justice
Tim Dickau (Grandview Calvary Baptist) – Inhabiting a Neighbourhood
Aaron White (24/7 Prayer & 614) – Prayer / contemplation and Action
Amy Wilson-Roberts (Nieu Communities) – Intentional Formation of Disciples
Joy Banks. (Crossroads Community Project – Radical Hospitality
———

Here is an article provided by Grandview and here is an insert if you want to pass it around.

Today is Blog Action Day (thanks nick).

Today thousands of bloggers will unite to discuss a single issue – poverty. We aim to raise awareness, initiate action and to shake the web!

I wanted to let people know of two Vancouver groups fighting poverty.

Shalom Seekers:

Shalom Seekers is an associate Ministry of City In Focus formed in 2004 to network, train, and resource Metro Vancouver’s Christian Community to be fully engaged in seeking “the welfare of the city” where God has placed us (Jeremiah 29). We labour toward the day that Metro Vancouver lives up to its reputation as “the most livable city in the world” for all who call it home, especially our most vulnerable neighbours.

Shalom Seekers are putting on a great event this weekend coming up. Check it out here.

Streams of Justice:

Streams of Justice – the name is drawn from the biblical prophetic text of Amos 5:24 “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream.” The stream envisioned in this passage is one that doesn’t dry up in the hot summer months, but flows constantly throughout the year. As such it nourishes and sustains the life of the community and its members. So too social justice is something that must be constantly practiced if communal life is to be nourished and sustained. The biblical notion of justice is centrally concerned with the protection, support and care of the most vulnerable members of the society, those who are particularly exposed to abuse, violence and exploitation, and susceptible to deprivation of basic resources. Consequently, it is not limited to fairness in legal and judicial matters, but entails equitable access to resources, sufficient economic means for meaningful social participation, valued input into collective decision-making, ensured personal dignity and mutual respect, and non-exclusionary community practises.

Rooted in the biblical prophetic tradition and the life and teaching of Jesus, Streams of Justice actively pursues a more just, equitable, inclusive, and compassionate society through 1) analysis, action and reflection that expose and challenge unjust social structures, and 2) creative initiatives that open up space for imagining and embodying alternative possibilities of human solidarity and communal life.

Hey friends,

I thought I would pass on the exciting news that we have found a place to gather on Sunday nights and so this Sunday October 5th @ 5pm we are going to meet at Choppers Diner at the corner of 1st Avenue and Rupert, in Vancouver (map). And I guess for now on.

The plan is to have our potluck at 5pm and then move into our discussion/ gathering time for 6pm, with the aim to be done around 7pm.

I am going to be speaking on Genesis 22, Abraham and Issac, and it’s entitled “Relying on old ladies with bling.” I am hoping to take then next month and speak/ discuss on how God interacts with us, and God’s character.

Be sure to invite a friend of two out, it’s somewhat of a monumental occasion for us as a church.

My buddy Nick did a good review of Bruxy Cavey from The Meeting House who came to Calgary to talk about his book The End of Religion.

I really appreciated this quote from Nick,

“The best thing he said, and I paraphrase, was that we are a peculiar people. We gather every week to remember that it is not a weekly gathering that defines us. We read the scriptures and they tell us that simply reading and studying the scriptures don’t makes us who we are. We sing songs of worship, which refresh us with the knowledge that singing songs of worship isn’t what this thing is all about. He also, in Peter Rollins’ style, pointed out the great irony in the church being the institution that has preserved and transmitted the very scriptures that insist an institutional church never have our ultimate allegiance.”

Great words. I hope Bruxy makes his way out here to Vancouver.

I wanted to let everyone know that this week will be a big one for the history of the open house.

On August 19th I am going to be sharing a vision to our church, which will lead us in an entirely new direction. For the past month I have felt a great peace about this direction and feel it is time to introduce it and begin moving in this new direction. Although our leadership team is on board with this new direction, I have felt God saying that unless a certain number of current members agree to move in this direction then we can’t go forward. I love this church and I really need the support of the people to go forward. I am going to ask them to not only agree to the vision, but agree to a greater commitment to the church and each other. We hope to hear from each person by the end of the month.

If you have been part of the open house in some way over the years I welcome you to join us. If you are a current participator I hope you will make this gathering a priority.

I am eventually going to share on this blog this new direction, but not until I have shared it with my church. So please pray and expect an post from me again at the end for the month with more details outlining what had happened.

Thank you all your prayers.

CHARLOTTETOWN, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND—Culminating a process that began four years ago, messengers to the Canadian Convention of Southern Baptists annual convention—held on the campus of the University of Prince Edward Island June 30 through July 2—overwhelmingly voted to change the convention’s name to Canadian National Baptist Convention. –read more–

That’s right today at 5pm I am officiating the Turner/Wiebe wedding in Stanley Park. And Cato is taking the pictures.

Pretty Cool.

I am not sure whose more nervous…me or them?

A few of us from the open house have taken this workshop and found it quite powerful. Here is the next one (link).

September, 2008:

Friday September 26th Saturday Sep 27th
7:00pm-10:00pm 10:00am-4:00pm

The cost of the workshop is $20, please get your check or money in before September 5 to secure your spot.

To register, please email info@jacobswell.ca or call 604-681-4898. Please contact us soon as places fill up quickly.