alive @ 2010

Chanting … clapping … cheering (at the top of their lungs!) … filled Trinity’s gym as over  80 people gathered to cheer (and pray!) Canada on to victory!  Half the crowd consisted of people from the church and the other half were people from the neighbourhood, but all  were unified in their desire for Canada to win hockey gold!

This large screen viewing of Canada’s victorious hockey game was a great way for members of Trinity to connect with neighbours!  God-willing, these relationships will be nurtured in weeks and months to come and these neighbours will come to Trinity to worship Christ our Saviour!

qSarah performed at Trinity on Friday evening.  The concert was moved from the sanctuary to the gym at Trinity so that no one had to miss Canada’s exciting victory against the Slovaks.  The ever-adaptable qSarah entertained during the intermissions and provided celebratory music following Canada’s nail-biting victory.

Bethlehem has been abuzz with activity this week as it served as a base for some of the outreach teams that came to work at the Vancouver Olympic games.  The teams enjoyed being able to watch the large television screen while waiting for their supper to be prepared in the basement kitchen.

Three girls from Fusion went throughout the neighborhood and put up posters and handed out leaflets to the evening concert by Laurell Hubick. These young ladies chalked the sidewalks and the steps for advertising.  They did a great job!

Throughout the two weeks, Bethlehem invited the community to watch the Olympics on the large screen television and were prepared to host guests every evening but unfortunately, the response of the neighbours to Bethlehem’s invitation was minimal.  They had two neighborhood guests watch for 2 to 3 hours.  On another evening one of the members brought a mother and her 2 children for a couple hours.

The audience at Trinity Lutheran were treated to a series of lovely ballads written and performed by Kelti Malone. At the same concert, Mark Washington, defensive backs coach for the BC Lions, spoke about “Going for Gold.” Mark asked, “Once you win the prize is that all there is?”

Kelti’s music and Mark’s message both pointed to God’s love and the fullness of life that His love can bring to those who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

To learn more (and to hear) Kelti’s music you are encouraged to check out Kelti Malone’s website.

You can learn more about Mark Washington at Athletes in Action and at the BC Lion website.

The Thursday evening concert is posted at Trinity’s website.

Jason, one of the leaders at World Harvest Church, who has been distributing hundreds (even thousands!) of Mountie pins during the Olympic Games, approached a Mountie and asked if he (Jason) might distribute some of the pins to the “secret” security center. Jason asked if it would be possible for him to go to that center to give pins to those serving in the military and RCMP. The RCMP constable said that Jason would not be allowed to enter the center but the constable was willing to deliver and distribute the pins. Shortly thereafter, Jason had a lineup of squad cars at his church … each officer wanting to receive a Mountie pin!

See previous post

One of the members of Prince of Peace regularly visits her husband at a care home facility. She decided to take some More Than Gold pins with her so that she could give them to the staff. Not only did she give each of them a More Than Gold pin, but she had the opportunity to explain how the Olympic colours remind us of Christ’s love and sacrifice for the world. The staff were very receptive to receive the pin and to hear the explanation of the meaning of the Olympic colours.

The members of Prince of Peace continue to share the More Than Gold pins with people that they meet. They also plan to have one more mass distribution of the pins planned for Saturday. Please pray that the pins will lead people to want to learn more about God’s love and forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

A delightful and uplifting evening of music was presented at Trinity as a number of praise and worship groups shared the stage. The musical groups included:

* Trinity Lutheran Church’s Chinese Choir and their Praise band, InChrist;
* Richmond Baptist Church’s Praise & Worship Team;
* Richmond Presbyterian Church’s Worship Team
* World Harvest Church’s Praise & Worship Team

Those in attendance were also treated to Graeme Stager’s outstanding presentations on Trinity’s Pipe organ. Mr. Stager is the organist at Richmond Presbyterian Church.

Many comments were made by those in attendance:

“What a delight it is for the Body of Christ to get together for one purpose: to give thanks to God for the wonderful things He is doing in Richmond!”

“It was great to hear songs in the Chinese language.”

“I had never sung a song from a hymn book before, that was kind of neat.”

“WOW! What a beautiful sounding organ!”

The concert culminated with the worship leaders of each praise group singing one final “hymn”, as they sang, “Happy Birthday” to Pastor Harold while being accompanied by the organist! By the way: does anyone have an idea of how old Pastor Harold is?????

According to the “experts” there are some 300,000 guests visiting Vancouver and Richmond for the 2010 Olympic Games. Some of those visitors (290,000 or so!!!) have come through Trinity’s doors! Okay, so I exaggerate!!! Actually, according to last count there are 145 pins posted on the big map and visitors have come from as far away as Fiji, Australia, Uganda and many other countries. Talk about reaching out to all nations!

The weekend was a wild ride at the 2010 Olympic venues … including Trinity Lutheran Church! Monday was a quieter day but now we can see that relationships are being developed with local people as a result of the work we are doing. One young lady named Kelsey is volunteering for the O Zone. She works 12 hour shifts. She discovered Trinity about 6 days ago and now comes in on an almost daily basis to warm up, fill her coffee cup, get some goodies, and enjoy the Olympics on the big screen (prior to this, she did not have an opportunity to see much of the Olympic coverage).

Trinity’s parking lot attendants are becoming well-known for their hospitality as well! For example: one evening some guys in a vehicle stopped by the church and asked, “Is Ian here?” (one of the parking attendants). When they were told that Ian was at the church, they pulled into Trinity’s parking lot, parked their car, and spent some time visiting with Ian. They were “new friends” that Ian was able to talk to a few nights ago, and because of his hospitality they came back to visit.

Please pray these relationships (and others) will continue to build over the next week and months so that Christ’s love can continue to be shared through word and deed.

Trinity had some unexpected guests from London, England! For those who may not know it … London, England will host the next summer Olympic Games in 2012. These Christian visitors from London were impressed with Trinity’s outreach efforts and asked a myriad of questions as they begin preparations for London 2012.

But, not only did these guests from London learn from their time at Trinity; they also used the opportunity to pray for the 2010 Vancouver Christian outreach efforts. Mike Emrich (one of Trinity’s elders) was visiting with one of the pastors from London in the sanctuary. After a long uplifting conversation, one of the London pastors offered to pray with Mike and prayed they did! Mike said, “This is the first time something like this has happened to me! What a moving experience … to pray with my brother in Christ for the Lord’s blessings upon our outreach efforts in Vancouver and looking ahead to London!”