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Church address:
5350 Baillie Street
Vancouver, BC
(on 37th Ave between Cambie and Oak)

Church office address:
2325 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6J 3J2
604.558.4400

St John's Vancouver Anglican Church is a community of Christians dedicated to the exposition and teaching of the Word of God, to the spreading of the good news of the Gospel at home and abroad, and to the application of God's purpose in our own lives and families.

 

News > 2008 Parish Life Notes > 08.04.13 Parish Life

April 13, 2008

Dear Friends,

It’s a great pleasure to welcome Rev. Dr. Kent Hughes as our preacher this morning. Kent is Senior Pastor Emeritus of College Church in Wheaton Illinois (Jim and Amber Salladin’s Alma Mater). I first heard about Kent through a number of his 27 books including Disciplines of a Godly Man and many Bible commentaries. But it is as a preacher and trainer of preachers that Kent is best known. It was through Kent’s ministry that workshops on biblical exposition were created – today the Simeon Trust (www.simeontrust.net) conducts over 12 preaching conferences annually. Kent is in Vancouver to speak at the Refocus Conference for Pastors hosted by Willingdon Church this week. We welcome him.

A number of people have asked me what has happened since our Vestry vote of February 13th to join the Anglican Network in Canada and receive the Episcopal oversight of Bishop Don Harvey under the jurisdiction of the Southern Cone. Across the country, 14 other congregations have voted to join the Network and the response of the different dioceses has been varied. The diocese of Niagara took aggressive action against the parishes to evict the congregations in the week following their overwhelming majority votes, but, the court gave the Network congregations exclusive use of the properties on an interim basis. The judge in the 2nd hearing on March 20 reserved her decision and we need to pray that she will uphold the first decision. On Vancouver Island the story is similar. A week ago on Friday night, the bishop changed the locks on the doors of an ANiC church and installed a security system. ANiC’s lawyers (Fasken Martineau in Vancouver) were able to successfully obtain an injunction on Saturday and the congregation was back in the church for Sunday’s services. They have exclusive use of their property for 28 days when the lawyers must go back to court for a longer term order.

As you may know, Dr. Packer, Dan Gifford and I (along with the clergy from other Vancouver parishes which have joined the Network) have been charged by the bishop of New Westminster with abandoning the exercise of the ministry to which we were ordained. We have until April 22nd to answer these charges. We are thankful for God’s protection and for our legal team which have guided us very well. We are preparing to respond to the charges by the due date but we anticipate the diocese will not agree with our position. Our lawyers are prepared for a number of possible responses from the diocese.

Although this is distracting, I want you to know that there are much more important things happening.

  • April 13 we host a lunch entitled ‘Equipped for spiritual conversations’ in preparation for the visit of Rico Tice May 1–4.
  • April 18 – 20 is the women’s annual retreat
  • April 25 – 26 is the National Network conference which will welcome delegates from all across Canada as well as bishops and archbishops from around the world. Archbishop Gregory Venables, Primate of the Province of the Southern Cone, will be present and the theme of the conference will be that we are “Compelled by Christ’s love”.
  • April 27th Archbishop Venables will preach at St. John’s.
  • April 27th I am delighted to announce that Jim Salladin will be ordained as Deacon. This is something many of us have looked forward to for a long time, and next week we will announce more details.
  • May 1 – 4 we host a series of events (from bars to the church) to which we can invite guests to hear the wonderful message of the gospel preached with power and passion. See all the details on our special events page here.

It is true that we face some turbulence in the coming weeks, but we must not take our eyes off why we are here and Who we are serving, so that the main thing remains the main thing.

David Short

Parish Announcements

Flowers. The flowers on the Credence Table are given to the glory of God and in loving memory of Donald C. Andrews from his family.

Wedding Congratulations. Congratulations to Kathryn McNaughton and John Watts who are getting married here on April 19. Please keep this couple in your prayers.

Equipped for Spiritual Conversations – April 13, 12:30-2:30 pm. Doesn’t Christianity stifle personal freedom? Why do the innocent suffer? Doesn’t science conflict with the Christian faith? Why can’t Christians agree among themselves? Are you interested in journeying with people as they explore the Christian faith, but unsure how to answer some of the questions they might ask? Immediately after the 11:00 am Service today, St. John’s will be running a workshop on how to have ‘spiritual conversations’. This will be a fun, interactive and informative session. Come and hear David Short give the definitive answer to the eternal question ‘Did Adam have a belly button?’ If that’s not enough motivation, lunch will be provided. The workshop is free, but a small donation is requested to help cover food costs. As well as discussing how to talk to people about God, we will also be talking to God at the end of the workshop.

Lunchtime Bible Study. A lunchtime Bible study at the church will be meeting this Tuesday in Room 100, led by Olav Slaymaker. The series is entitled Jesus’ use of the Old Testament. All are welcome to come and bring a bag lunch if you wish. For more information call or email Jan at the church at ext 28 or Jan@sjvan.org.

Library. Numerous library books are long overdue and among these are many of our most recent additions. Books have a habit of hiding so it would be wonderful if you could take time to check your own shelves, nooks and crannies and return any library books that you may find. Just put them in the orange “Returned Book” box in the library. Thanks very much.

Clergy Family from Singapore. The Rev. Lewis Lew is planning to come to Vancouver during his sabbatical to take a few courses at Regent College. His wife and 3 children (ages 9, 11, and 13) will be coming with him. They need free or reasonably priced accommodation while they’re here in Vancouver. They will be here from May 1-20 and June 14-16. If you know of any accommodation, please contact Rev. Stephen Leung at swhleung@shaw.ca or 604.872.1884.

Special Events. Don’t forget to put these dates in your calendar and pray about who you might invite:
April
18-20 – Women’s Retreat
25-26 – Anglican Network in Canada National Conference
May
1-4 – Rico Tice Mission
14 – Discovering Christ term starts

See this website for a full explanation of special events.

Anglican News

Anglican Network in Canada National Conference Compelled by Christ’s Love – April 25-26
(for St. John’s leaders and members)

Register by mail (forms on tables in Narthex & North Chapel) OR on-line at
http://www.anglicannetwork.ca/conference_0408_info.htm

Volunteers needed for:

  • transport (April 24th)
  • registration (April 25th)
  • conference venue set-up and clear up (April 25th & 26th)
  • ushering (April 25 & 26th)
  • and other areas

Sign-up sheets are on Narthex & North Chapel tables OR please phone Norah Johnston (604.224.8986)

Dates: April 25-26 (Friday & Saturday)
Location: South Delta Baptist Church, 1988 - 56th Street, Delta (Tsawwassen), BC

Conference Services:
7:30 pm Friday – Youth participation
2:00 pm Saturday – Holy Communion and Commissioning
All are welcome to these services free of charge.

Sign up early as people will be coming from across Canada and space will be limited!

Community News

Cornerstone Training and Living Waters Canada. A seminar on sexual addiction and internet pornography, the Christian drug of choice, will be presented April 18-19 at Tenth Avenue Church, 11 W. 10th Ave. Brochures are available in the Narthex or for more information contact Living Waters at 604.301.1470; email at info@livingwaterscanada.org.

The impact of sexual addicton and the use of internet pornography have profoundly impacted western culture and the church. This seminar is designed to provide resources for professional counselors, marriage & family therapists, clinical social workers as well as pastors and lay leaders who work with sexual addiction and co-addiction. Treating core addictions such as sex, food, and others has features that are different from drug, alcohol, and other chemical addictions. It is important that clinicians understand these differences and be equipped to address these issues in treatment. Main Presenter: Richard Blankenship currently directs the North Atlanta Center for Christian Counseling; Faithful & True – Atlanta; a program for male addicts, female addicts, spouses, and couples in recovery and Faithful and True Marriages. Richard is the vice-president and director of American Association of Certified Christian Sexual Addiction Specialists (AACCSAS).