This is how a church is born

On Good Friday we gathered on the north slope of the Georgia Viaduct, the first official gathering of this church-to-be. Children played in the "forest" and we all helped make a cross with pine cones gathered from the ground. Twenty one of us were there, from 9months to 60 years in age, from First Nations bands, New Zealanders, Croatians, Cambodians, Scots, Chinese, Americans and Canadians, a good representation of the neighbourhood.

As we gathered pine cones I marvelled at what God is doing in this place. I wondered what God's dream is for this place, knowing that in seed form it was beginning here as we gathered around the cross of Jesus, and wandered through the neighbourhood asking, if Jesus were from this neighbourhood rather than from Galilee, where would he have walked on his journey to the cross? Where would we have stood?

We finished off our walk with a beautiful dinner at Hastings and Jackson, prepared by a friend, venison stew and bannock may become this community's Good Friday tradition. Another 20-30 friends joined us there for dinner, kids played foose ball, teenagers played pool, old and young sat talking and eating. This is how a church is born.

Holy Week

Learning to walk in this neighbourhood

So I am discovering that I need to re-learn how to walk in my new neighbourhood. My whole life I have walked with purpose (though a bit like a duck) and prided myself in my ability to move at a good clip but in my new neighbourhood that causes problems. The biggest being that people think I am a cop.

I want to say, "No, I don't work for the man who locks you up. I work for the one who sets you free", but maybe that is a bit cheesy. Instead I am trying to learn from Jesus who moved into the neighbourhood and was seen as a neighbour, not an authority (though he was), not someone with an agenda (even though he had one), but as a friend...or an enemy, but certainly not as an outsider.

As I learn to slow down and to match my pace with the pace of my friends here I find more people who want to talk. Most days, when I slow down, people ask me to pray for them. I don't quite understand why, but hopefully it is Jesus walking in me.