Mutual Blessings
A personal update on a week away in Vancouver
Maybe sometimes it will be fun to post a bit of a personal update here, share a little of what I’ve been up to. And last week seems like a good one to tell you about. It was a special week… a week away.
I had the joy of being pastor-in-residence at St. Andrew’s Hall in Vancouver, BC. St. Andrew’s Hall is the Presbyterian College on the UCB Campus, associated with Vancouver School of Theology, which is where I received my masters of divinity degree way back in 2003. Every year for the last few years, St. Andrew’s has invited a Presbyterian Church in Canada minister to be pastor in residence and I got to say yes to the invitation this year.
It is billed as a time of mutual blessing, though I feel like I got the good end of the deal. They flew me out there, gave me a guest suite to stay in for the week, letting me just kind of hang out in Vancouver with very minimal expectation. Here’s a bit of an outline of the “mutal blessing” that happened last week:
The weather. This is a big deal. The morning I went to the airport in Winnipeg it was -35C. When I landed in Vancouver it was sunny and +2. I got to enjoy green grass, incredible mountain views, beach sunrises, long walks around UBC’s gorgeous campus, and temperatures above freezing. It didn’t rain the whole week, which is unusual. Thanks for arranging that for me, St. Andrew’s Hall! I laughed as locals spoke of it being on the cold side. For me, each day felt like a perfect autumn day if I were on the prairies.
Spanish Banks, looking towards downtown Vancouver at sunrise. Chapel. I was asked to preach in the St. Andrew’s Chapel service on Tuesday, a gathering of 20 or so students, staff, and others. The service itself was really lovely, a simple time of acknowledging and entering into the presence of God. And, bonus, there was a pizza lunch afterwards, with lots of conversation.
Not my best look. I’m either saying something important or I’m ready for the pizza lunch! Meeting with theology students. I got to meet a number of theology students and hear about their passion for ministry, for the church, and for simply loving people. I hope I was able to encourage some of them as they set out into fairly uncertain futures in the time and place we live. These are dedicated people, seeking to serve God and to truly care for people with a love that exemplifies grace and justice. I was blessed in meeting them.
Conversation about writing. Because I’m passionate about writing, the leadership at St. Andrew’s Hall organized a gathering (again, including lunch - yay!) on the Wednesday for people interested in having a conversation about writing. It was a lively group that engage with writing in a variety of ways. One thing that we noted was that in Church leadership circles, we often don’t have conversations about writing craft or about the practice of writing.
I am really interested in centring creative practice, so it was great to meet others who think these kinds of conversations are valuable. The two hours for this conversation flew by. I could have spent much longer doing this. I will likely be using this substack and upcoming podcast episodes to continue exploring some of the themes raised in this roundtable conversation.
St. Andrew’s Hall is a great place for a fireside chat! A podcast. I was interviewed as a guest on the Rector’s Cupboard Podcast, part of a ministry called The Relfector Project. We talked about whether full-time vocational ministry is still viable today, and also about my own sense of call to exploring mutliple vocational paths, including writing. Todd, Allison, and Amanda were so great to reconnect with! I’ve known them for a while as I did some coaching for them a few years ago. And, it was fun to do a podcast in person. I’ll let you know when the episode comes out.
Friendship. Well, what can I say? I have some good freinds in Vancouver, and it was nice to make some new freinds too. I ran into a former classmate from seminary, Laura Kavanagh, who happened to be on campus. I had supper with another classmate, Phil Murray, and his partner, and really got a chance to catch up. I was thrilled that it was announced that he is receiving an honourary doctorate from VST. So amazing! It was great to see my dear friend, Andrea Perrett and learn about her new job at Cap Church, and to spend a bit of time with Sumarme, Mihye, Tim, Aaron, and others that I am probably forgetting right now (sorry!). I loved getting to know Mark Glanville, the new director of the Centre for Missional Leadership at St. Andrew’s Hall. I’m looking forward to reading Mark’s books, following his Blue Note Theology podcast which incorporates him playing piano (Mark is an exceptional Jazz pianist), and staying in touch.
Bowen Island. This is also filed under friendship, but gets its own special mention! Ross and Laura Lockhart are dear friends, and I got to spend lots of time with Ross throughout the week since he is the Dean of St. Andrew’s Hall. They graciously invited me to visit them at their home on beautiful Bowen Island. Ross and I went for an incredible hike, and we had an amazing meal at a local Italian restaurant.
Many people think Ross and I are brothers or at least related. We’re not. Intrestingly, we are both from Winnipeg, and so I get to sometimes see him if he is visiting family. We also both grew up in the United Church (He came to the Presbyterians later than me), but we actually know a few of the same people within United circles too. I think he is a year younger than me, and one time we worked out that we were likely at the same United Church youth retreat back with hundred or so others back when we were in middle school. We don’t remember each other from then, but we remember some of the same people. This is kind of how Winnipeg works, though. It is basically a big small town, and Ross never tires of telling people about the wonders of what he calls “The Holy Land of Manitoba.”
Preaching at Fairview Presbyterian Church. I had the opportunity to visit and preach at a really lovely congregation in a beautiful neighbourhood. A great way to end a wonderful week away!
