alive @ 2010

The members of Prince of Peace were not swarmed by the hooligans that you have been reading and hearing about in major news sources. They were swarmed by Olympic goers who wanted a More Than Gold pin. Pastor Mark Chiang reports, “We had 8 people out for about an hour last Saturday, and 3 on Sunday. We handed out about 1000 More Than Gold pins on Saturday and with 3 out for 5 minutes (on Sunday), we handed out 300. The three people on Sunday were literally, “swarmed”.”

The More Than Gold pin is an excellent witnessing tool. The five colours remind us of God’s promises in the Bible.

Blue represents “hope” — the hope of everlasting life (Romans 6:23).
Purple represents “darkness” — sin separates us from God and results in our death (Romans 3:23).
Red represents “forgiveness” — the blood Jesus shed on Calvary’s cross (John 14:6).
Gold represents “eternal life” — saved by grace through faith we have eternal life (Ephesians 2:8).
Green represents “growth” — fruits of faith are produced as God’s Spirit lives in us (John 15:8).

Bethlehem Lutheran Church (Vancouver) is hosting large screen events for the community. Invitations have been distributed. A pot of coffee is always ready. Delicious banana bread is being served. Friendly members engage visitors in conversation. Four comfortable sofas occupy the narthex.

On Tuesday evening, some Bethlehem members cheered on the Canadian hockey team to victory over Norway, along with Fusion and Athletes in Action volunteers. Bethlehem’s plan is to continue to host these community large screen viewings throughout the Olympic games.

One of the More Than Gold volunteers (who hails from Las Vegas) has quite a story to tell! As he was distributing pins, he engaged a Royal Canadian Mountie in conversation. He shared with the Mountie how the colours of the More Than Gold pin remind us of how Jesus shed his blood on the cross so that we might be saved from our sin and assured of eternal life in heaven. To the volunteer’s amazement, as he concluded his brief witness, the Mountie took him by the hand and said, “I’m a Christian too. Let’s pray.” And then, the Mountie prayed for the Christian outreach efforts at the 2010 Vancouver winter games!

Many people are complaining about the fence around the Olympic cauldron because the fence prevents access to the cauldron, but there is another Olympic fence that is presenting a challenge to Trinity’s outreach efforts at the 2010 Games.

For security reasons there is a fence around the O-Zone in Richmond, BC which is cutting down the human traffic around Trinity. There are three access points for the O-Zone but directly across from Trinity, there is nothing but fence and four lanes of busy traffic. Most of the people coming to the O-Zone have no knowledge of Trinity’s internet cafe, the large screen TV, and refreshments.

Challenges, of course, always present opportunities and Trinity has responded. The Fusion carnival events in the front yard have attracted people walking past the church. Trinity’s organizing committee has opened up the parking lot to the general public with some of the public finding their way into the church. Many of the More Than Gold and Athlete in Action volunteers are taking the materials (e.g. Mountie pins, More Than Gold pins, More Than Gold pocket guides) to the area streets and venues and handing out the material. Trinity’s evangelistic literature is also being shared with World Harvest Chapel which is located on a route leading to the Olympic Oval.

Although the human traffic flow into Trinity may not be as expected, there are still many people coming through the doors and watching the events on the large screen and enjoying the refreshments. The gospel is being shared through personal witness and the Bibles, Gospel tracts, pins and tracts are being distributed.

Keep praying for our witnessing opportunities!

The Concordia University College of Alberta (Edmonton) concert choir performed during Trinity’s Sunday morning service and performed an 1 1/2 hour concert on Sunday evening.

“Holy Harmony” was not only the theme of the Sunday evening concert but described the sound of the blended voices of this 28 person mixed choral ensemble. The concert was a potpourri of sacred and secular music composed by individuals from around the world. The choral pieces ranged from a traditional spiritual, “Hush! Somebody’s Calling My Name” arranged by Brazeal W. Deenard to “The Glory of the Father” by Egil Hovland based on John 1 to “By Faith” by Keith and Kristyn Getty to the traditional English sea shant, “A-Rovin’”. The choir concluded the concert with the Benediction, “Create in Me” by Johannes A. Freylinghausen.

The choir members also participated in Trinity’s front yard carnival outreach. They played games with children; engaged their parents in conversation; and handed out tracts.

The Concordia Concert choir is planning to tour England in the spring of 2010. The choir has the honour of performing for the 500th anniversary of Cambridge University. They will connect with people and choirs at Canterbury, York, Bath, Stratford, and London visiting historic places and the music world of another culture. They will perform benefit concerts for hospices, children’s hospitals, and churches around England. If you would like to support the choir’s trip you can purchase a cookbook, compiled by the students. The cookbook is available for $10.00. Contact 780-479-9313 to place an order.

Congratulations Alex Bilodeau!!!

“You raise me up on eagles’ wings” proclaimed Rev. Dr. Steven Harold as he preached on the words of Isaiah (40:29-31), “Those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Pastor Harold spoke of how wearied people can find forgiveness, strength, and renewal in Jesus Christ who bore the burden of our sin on Calvary’s cross and who provides new life, both now and forever by his own resurrection from the dead.
Developing his message around lessons learned from eagles, Pastor Harold said that God might knock us out our “nests” but He will swoop down and catch us in his “wings” before we crash (Exodus 19:4; Deuteronomy 32:11). Even in high winds, we can soar confidently for Jesus invites, “Come to me all who are weary and burdened by life and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

A hearty “Happy New Year!” to our Chinese brothers and sisters in Christ … all around the world! Richmond, BC is alive not only with the Olympics but Chinese celebrations are in full swing. The city of Richmond has over 125 different ethnic origins — 45% are of Chinese origin. Street and business signs are in Chinese. Shopping centers are completely dedicated to Chinese cuisine and art.

Trinity, Richmond has a vibrant outreach to the Chinese community. Under the leadership of Pastor Horace Hung, the congregation proclaims the love of Christ. (Pastor Hung also works with a Chinese fellowship at Faith Lutheran Church in Surrey, BC.) Trinity has been running an ESL program for the past 4 years. As a result of this outreach program, more than fifteen Chinese people have joined Trinity and many more hear and read the Gospel of our Lord on a regular basis. One young Chinese member at Trinity, Henry, says he came to join Trinity after a friend, who was attending Trinity’s ESL class, invited him to come to the class and to worship. Henry eventually studied Martin Luther’s Small Catechism and came to the conviction that Trinity Lutheran Church faithfully teaches and practices God’s Word.

Another LCC congregation, Prince of Peace, is a Cantonese-speaking congregation that shares the Gospel in the Killarney Park area of Vancouver. Pastor Mark Chiang and his congregation are hosting large screen TV events during the Olympics and they are distributing 3000 (!) More Than Gold witness pins to Olympic attendees!

As we begin the Year of the Tiger, we pray that the Christian church will make many new inroads to the Chinese community – both in Canada and in other parts of the world!

Dear Father in heaven, we know that you love all the people of the world. We know that Your Son, Jesus Christ died on the cross, not only for our sin, but for the sin of all people. Please, O Father, bless the work of our Chinese Christian brothers and sisters. As they share the Good News of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, may the Holy Spirit open the hearts of all people who hear Your Word and may they come to confess that, “Jesus Christ is Lord!” We pray in the name of the Lord of the nations, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Overcast skies and drizzle did not dampen the spirits of the young people who hosted an open air carnival on the front lawn of Trinity Lutheran Church (see the pictures below!).

Tents, provided by Wagner’s Hill Farm, sheltered the children from the rain as they ran a “three-legged” race while their parents sipped a hot cup of coffee or cocoa. Kids laughed as they collapsed in a heap having tripped over their partner’s feet.

The smell of grilled hot dogs hung in the air as some of the youngsters coloured and pasted.

And, what would a carnival be without a clown!

The opening ceremonies started out slowly and quietly at Trinity, but gained momentum as the day went on. Parents and kids from the community gathered for free hot dogs, face painting, crafts, and games. Soon, the gym was teeming with about 100 people chattering and laughing as they anticipated the Olympic opening ceremonies. At 5:45 p.m. the Concordia concert choir (from Edmonton) gave a “pre-show” performance and then all eyes were glued to the 20 foot screen that adorns the north end of the church gym.

Watching the opening ceremonies on a 20 foot screen was not only amazing, but comments could be heard like, “This is better than being there!” “Wow! What a clear picture!” Spectators stood for the playing of the Canadian National anthem. Applause and cheers filled the gym as the Canadian team entered the stadium.

The evening was capped off with a dazzling fireworks display at the O-Zone which is right across the street from Trinity!