Sunday Oct. 4, 2009 10:45 am
Bayview Evangelical Free Church, South Colonization Road at Colville Rd. Sound Beach, Gimli MB
Guest Pastor Mark Westman
So for a second time this year the Outtatown program led us to a church for the Sunday service. Gimli is about an hour outside of my home city of Winnipeg; we’ve been staying at a place called Camp Arnes about twenty minutes from there. Bayview is a little church, fairly out of the way, and when we trouped in about 30 strong we just about doubled the congregation.
There was a worship band playing when we walked in and despite our overwhelming numbers we were greeted warmly. The congregation was mostly middle-aged with a smattering of young adults and youth, the building small with stacking chairs set out around a pulpit, with a stage off to the side for the band. When everyone was settled there were a few announcements and then the congregation stood and joined the band in singing three songs.
The offertory was then taken. After that the floor was opened up for prayer and praise requests and that actually took quite a while; lots of people in that little church know folks experiencing some pretty hard times. The story of a twenty year old with terminal cancer messed me up. The speaker prayed at length for everyone involved before introducing his son, Mark Westman, to do the sermon.
On first impression Mark didn’t seem to be much of a speaker. He had a nasal voice and tended to read from his notes too much rather than speak. But he infused a good amount of humour into his sermon, actually a really excellent one about concepts of unity within a church community. He talked about overcoming small differences and loving and caring for everyone.
The service ended with prayer, communion and a blessing. It ended up being a really long service, not necessarily a bad thing, just saying. Just as we’d been welcomed earlier people were very friendly to our large group after the service. I found it to be a really enjoyable service in a nice little Gimli church
http://bayviewchurch.com/
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Winnipeg Centre Vineyard
Sept. 27, 2009 10:00 am
Winnipeg Centre Vineyard, 782 Main St. Winnipeg
Pastor Nathan Rieger
Greetings from Outtatown! As part of our program this week we were in Winnipeg for an urban plunge. We stayed at the Vineyard church and naturally attended their Sunday service. The Vineyard is located right on Main street in an old factory building, in the North End. The building is fantastic, literally a converted factory where the bottom floor is the church. The upper floors host "Flatlanders," a housing centre for people at risk of homelessness.
The congregation was very diverse. There were about 30 Outtatown people there, so we ballooned the numbers. Probably a bit over 100 people there. There were a lot of young people and children as well as middle-aged and older. Some of the people were obviously either homeless or very down on their luck. Others were people from more fortunate walks of life who had found a community they enjoyed. Everyone came ready to worship.
The service started with the volunteer worship band playing several songs. The words were flashed on the back wall with a projector. The entire time the band was playing, to the left of them (actually getting about equal stage space) the children (and a few adults) danced around waving flags and streamers. It was such a free, energetic expression of worship and I honestly have never seen anything like it.
After they'd prayed a man said a lengthy prayer before inviting Pastor Nathan Rieger to the microphone. A man I'd met before the service had immensely good things to say about Nathan so I'll admit my expectations were pretty high.
Nathan spent the first few minutes talking about how he'd really like a cup of coffee. Then he launched into his sermon in earnest and didn't notice the coffee placed before him until the end. He spoke at length about the story of Ruth and how the farm master took pity on her and was merciful. He also told a moving story about how a friend of his had risked his life to save a Sikh family from an Islamic lynch mob (and succeeded, with God's help) and talked about some of the people he works with in the North End. I found his sermon a bit disjointed, but his stories were powerful and he definitely made me think.
After he was done he prayed and the band played again, and the congregation took communion. Then we were invited to the front for prayer if we desired and the service ended.
I found the spirit in this church to be wonderful. It's a church born of inner-city mission and the people associated with it are doing no end of wonderful things for the people living here. I've had the opportunity to hear many of their stories over the past few days and they are just inspiring. I think that if God gives me the urge to serve in this city, the Vineyard will be high on my list of places to turn to for guidance.
http://winnipegcentrevineyard.com/
Winnipeg Centre Vineyard, 782 Main St. Winnipeg
Pastor Nathan Rieger
Greetings from Outtatown! As part of our program this week we were in Winnipeg for an urban plunge. We stayed at the Vineyard church and naturally attended their Sunday service. The Vineyard is located right on Main street in an old factory building, in the North End. The building is fantastic, literally a converted factory where the bottom floor is the church. The upper floors host "Flatlanders," a housing centre for people at risk of homelessness.
The congregation was very diverse. There were about 30 Outtatown people there, so we ballooned the numbers. Probably a bit over 100 people there. There were a lot of young people and children as well as middle-aged and older. Some of the people were obviously either homeless or very down on their luck. Others were people from more fortunate walks of life who had found a community they enjoyed. Everyone came ready to worship.
The service started with the volunteer worship band playing several songs. The words were flashed on the back wall with a projector. The entire time the band was playing, to the left of them (actually getting about equal stage space) the children (and a few adults) danced around waving flags and streamers. It was such a free, energetic expression of worship and I honestly have never seen anything like it.
After they'd prayed a man said a lengthy prayer before inviting Pastor Nathan Rieger to the microphone. A man I'd met before the service had immensely good things to say about Nathan so I'll admit my expectations were pretty high.
Nathan spent the first few minutes talking about how he'd really like a cup of coffee. Then he launched into his sermon in earnest and didn't notice the coffee placed before him until the end. He spoke at length about the story of Ruth and how the farm master took pity on her and was merciful. He also told a moving story about how a friend of his had risked his life to save a Sikh family from an Islamic lynch mob (and succeeded, with God's help) and talked about some of the people he works with in the North End. I found his sermon a bit disjointed, but his stories were powerful and he definitely made me think.
After he was done he prayed and the band played again, and the congregation took communion. Then we were invited to the front for prayer if we desired and the service ended.
I found the spirit in this church to be wonderful. It's a church born of inner-city mission and the people associated with it are doing no end of wonderful things for the people living here. I've had the opportunity to hear many of their stories over the past few days and they are just inspiring. I think that if God gives me the urge to serve in this city, the Vineyard will be high on my list of places to turn to for guidance.
http://winnipegcentrevineyard.com/
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Future of the Blog
So!
Obviously summer's taken me away from the blog. I just posted two new churches that I've been neglecting for months, which you'll find below. And I have come to the end of my year of visiting churches.
This coming year I'll be embarking on a program with Winnipeg's Canadian Mennonite University, entitled "Outtatown," which will take me from Winnipeg to Vancouver to South Africa and back. Needless to say, my updates will continue to be pretty spotty.
However, I must conclude that I haven't yet satisfied my need to experience new churches, and certainly haven't found a place to settle down. I fully intend to keep visiting new churches both when I'm back for the Christmas holidays and when I'm back for good in April. So naturally, the blog will stay alive.
I'm tempted to try to draw conclusions from this year, but my experiences were so myriad and often confusing that it's certainly difficult. I will say that beyond a shadow of a doubt, the vast majority of Winnipeg churches are having a terrible time attracting and keeping youth. I will also say that the vast majority of Winnipeg churches probably don't have stellar youth programs; I can't, however, comment on whether this is a cause or an effect. Probably both. Finally, I strongly believe that in order to make church accessible for youth and young adults, churches on the whole need to start mixing things up. When I don't even need a program to figure out exactly what's up next, there is a problem. Experimenting needs to be done; the status quo needs to be seriously messed with.
Thanks for reading,
-Brock
Obviously summer's taken me away from the blog. I just posted two new churches that I've been neglecting for months, which you'll find below. And I have come to the end of my year of visiting churches.
This coming year I'll be embarking on a program with Winnipeg's Canadian Mennonite University, entitled "Outtatown," which will take me from Winnipeg to Vancouver to South Africa and back. Needless to say, my updates will continue to be pretty spotty.
However, I must conclude that I haven't yet satisfied my need to experience new churches, and certainly haven't found a place to settle down. I fully intend to keep visiting new churches both when I'm back for the Christmas holidays and when I'm back for good in April. So naturally, the blog will stay alive.
I'm tempted to try to draw conclusions from this year, but my experiences were so myriad and often confusing that it's certainly difficult. I will say that beyond a shadow of a doubt, the vast majority of Winnipeg churches are having a terrible time attracting and keeping youth. I will also say that the vast majority of Winnipeg churches probably don't have stellar youth programs; I can't, however, comment on whether this is a cause or an effect. Probably both. Finally, I strongly believe that in order to make church accessible for youth and young adults, churches on the whole need to start mixing things up. When I don't even need a program to figure out exactly what's up next, there is a problem. Experimenting needs to be done; the status quo needs to be seriously messed with.
Thanks for reading,
-Brock
Oasis Community Church
June 28, 2009 10:30 am
Oasis Community Church, 505 Oakdale Dr. Winnipeg
Pastor Dustin Funk
I'd been meaning to get to Oasis for a while, intrigued because the website proudly advertises that they meet in the gymnasium of Charleswood School. I figured this would be a small gathering, a few dozen cash-strapped congregants who wanted to meet quietly together in the gym.
I was really, really wrong.
There were parking attendants. There were free information CDs for all first-time visitors. The gymnasium was transformed, rows of chairs facing a giant stage with two jumbotrons and a full light show. Without comparison, this church had the highest ratio of youth:everyone else that I've ever witnessed in a Winnipeg church.
Impressive, I thought. The service started off with music from the band, which was really solid. Both the male and female singers had a good set of pipes, and neither was trying to be particularly "pop-y," which is excellent. There was a baptism which was actually held outside and televised on the screens, preceded by taped confessions of faith from all those being baptised.
Pastor Funk then continued a series of sermons entitled "Reveal," in which he interprets the meaning behind scripture passages. Today he tackled The Lord's Prayer. I've personally heard a lot of interpretation of The Lord's Prayer, and I can't say Pastor Funk really said anything I haven't heard before, with a couple of exceptions. He noted that the final section, "for yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever, amen," was historically not actually taught by Jesus but added in later because someone didn't like to end the prayer with "and deliver us from evil." Interesting stuff.
Pastor Funk was a good, approachable speaker and I got the chance to shake his hand on the way out. The service ended with more music and a prayer. I would be at all surprised to find myself back at Oasis in the future, if for no other reason than to make some connections with the overwhelming number of youth.
http://www.oasiscc.ca/
Oasis Community Church, 505 Oakdale Dr. Winnipeg
Pastor Dustin Funk
I'd been meaning to get to Oasis for a while, intrigued because the website proudly advertises that they meet in the gymnasium of Charleswood School. I figured this would be a small gathering, a few dozen cash-strapped congregants who wanted to meet quietly together in the gym.
I was really, really wrong.
There were parking attendants. There were free information CDs for all first-time visitors. The gymnasium was transformed, rows of chairs facing a giant stage with two jumbotrons and a full light show. Without comparison, this church had the highest ratio of youth:everyone else that I've ever witnessed in a Winnipeg church.
Impressive, I thought. The service started off with music from the band, which was really solid. Both the male and female singers had a good set of pipes, and neither was trying to be particularly "pop-y," which is excellent. There was a baptism which was actually held outside and televised on the screens, preceded by taped confessions of faith from all those being baptised.
Pastor Funk then continued a series of sermons entitled "Reveal," in which he interprets the meaning behind scripture passages. Today he tackled The Lord's Prayer. I've personally heard a lot of interpretation of The Lord's Prayer, and I can't say Pastor Funk really said anything I haven't heard before, with a couple of exceptions. He noted that the final section, "for yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever, amen," was historically not actually taught by Jesus but added in later because someone didn't like to end the prayer with "and deliver us from evil." Interesting stuff.
Pastor Funk was a good, approachable speaker and I got the chance to shake his hand on the way out. The service ended with more music and a prayer. I would be at all surprised to find myself back at Oasis in the future, if for no other reason than to make some connections with the overwhelming number of youth.
http://www.oasiscc.ca/
Crescent Fort Rouge United Church
May 3, 2009 10:30 am
Crescent Fort Rouge United Church, 525 Wardlaw Ave. Winnipeg
Rev. Barb Janes, Rev. Irene Greenwood
I realize it seems like I'm going backwards in time. Truth is, I misplaced the order of service for this one and completely forgot to blog it. So excuse me if my details are sketchy, but it's been four months.
Anyhow, once again I felt the need for something familiar, and so I headed off to Crescent Fort Rouge. I've attended concerts in the building before, but never a service. It's a pretty classical stone church design, picture Westminster United but smaller, hidden away at the end of Wellington Crescent.
I was a bit surprised to see that the congregation, about 100 present or so, was actually fairly varied in terms of age. Naturally the grey-haired folk were out in force, but there were also some very young families and a handful of teens.
If I detailed the service I would feel very much like I was repeating myself; it followed closely the United Church format that I'm oh-so-familiar with. The service was highlighted with lots of music, and being the first Sunday of the month there was communion. I must admit I really don't remember what the sermon was about. I do remember being impressed, as it was a treatise on the works of God in the world today.
Crescent Fort Rouge United was a nice, safe (for me) experience.
http://www.crescentfortrouge.ca/
Crescent Fort Rouge United Church, 525 Wardlaw Ave. Winnipeg
Rev. Barb Janes, Rev. Irene Greenwood
I realize it seems like I'm going backwards in time. Truth is, I misplaced the order of service for this one and completely forgot to blog it. So excuse me if my details are sketchy, but it's been four months.
Anyhow, once again I felt the need for something familiar, and so I headed off to Crescent Fort Rouge. I've attended concerts in the building before, but never a service. It's a pretty classical stone church design, picture Westminster United but smaller, hidden away at the end of Wellington Crescent.
I was a bit surprised to see that the congregation, about 100 present or so, was actually fairly varied in terms of age. Naturally the grey-haired folk were out in force, but there were also some very young families and a handful of teens.
If I detailed the service I would feel very much like I was repeating myself; it followed closely the United Church format that I'm oh-so-familiar with. The service was highlighted with lots of music, and being the first Sunday of the month there was communion. I must admit I really don't remember what the sermon was about. I do remember being impressed, as it was a treatise on the works of God in the world today.
Crescent Fort Rouge United was a nice, safe (for me) experience.
http://www.crescentfortrouge.ca/
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Springs Church
May 17, 2009 11:30 am
Springs Church, 595 Lagimodiere Blvd. Winnipeg
Pastor Leon Fontaine
Can you say pop-Christianity? Yeah, so can I, and I'll admit that was on my mind as I headed into this one, probably one of the biggest churches in Winnipeg. You know a church is massive when it's got more parking attendants than some churches have congregants. You could land a 747 in the Springs Church parking lot. The building is huge with a massive sanctuary in the center, circled by a hallway that has classrooms for the Springs school, Sunday school rooms, lounges, a huge gift shop and a Starbucks knock-off. By this point the place is screaming at me: business! business! I was greeted by a couple of ushers as I pushed through a throng of people into the sanctuary.
I'm not even going to hazard a guess at how many people were in there. Upwards of a thousand. It was huge. The age demographic was extremely varied, though dominant were the twenty-somethings, believe it or not. I sure didn't. The sanctuary was a huge space with chairs set out in a semi-circle around the stage, which boasted not one but four jumbotron-style screens. Christian hard-rock was playing through the speakers.
The service was kicked off with four songs from the resident rock band, and they were pretty solid. Bass, guitar, drums, keyboards, four vocalists and a backing "choir" were all onstage unleashing hits from the Christian rock world, all highlighted by a light show. A light show.
Pastor Leo Fontaine took the stage and said a prayer in his booming voice with a hint of a southern accent, which had me all ready for some ridiculous, speaking-in-tongues sermon. My expectations weren't high.
And then he blew me away with one of the best sermons I've heard all year. It was thought provoking, relevant, and had just the right amount of "shit-disturbing" to satisfy my young adult brain. You know something's going down when the first words out of the pastor's mouth are "I don't like religion." The sermon was all about the difference between the Christian faith and Christian religion, the latter being the often-abused organization of the "Christian church" around Jesus' teachings, the former being living through Jesus' teachings themselves and not some forced religious doctrine.
Pastor Fontaine spoke about how Jesus didn't come to start a new religion, he came to challenge all religions. He talked about how we "jump through hoops" and try to do exactly the right things to please God because our religion tells us to, when through Jesus we are offered a "free gift" of salvation and really, we don't have to do anything but live through His teachings. He produced an interesting metaphor in the idea of a father and his children: why would children fall over themselves to please the father, bring him a drink after work and bring him the paper and hang up his clothes and on and on, if they are loved by default? Why should they feel they need to do all kinds of stuff to gain their father's approval when they have it already, simply on the merit of being his children? Pastor Fontaine also touched on something that interested me, and that was the formulization of the modern-day church service, how people get so set in their traditions and their organization that the message is lost.
I'll stop now. But on their website under "Media Player" you can access a video of the sermon, and I'd suggest you take a look. I'm trying very hard to think objectively about what he said, because the presentation was extremely powerful, to the point where I wonder if I was really blown away by the message or just brainwashed by the charismatic man. But in any event I've been given food for thought.
Though the sermon and the music were great, I'm not sure how I would feel belonging to a church with probably a couple thousand members. For me church needs to be about community. Of course with a larger community there's more opportunity for interaction, but is some intimacy not lost with such a massive congregation? There's no way that Pastor Fontaine knows the names of all his members, and how could he possibly make time for everyone? There's a level of implied buerocracy and commercialization to this church that makes me wonder, and obviously heavily influenced my first impressions.
Boy has this one got me confused, and thinking. About time.
http://www.springschurch.com/
Springs Church, 595 Lagimodiere Blvd. Winnipeg
Pastor Leon Fontaine
Can you say pop-Christianity? Yeah, so can I, and I'll admit that was on my mind as I headed into this one, probably one of the biggest churches in Winnipeg. You know a church is massive when it's got more parking attendants than some churches have congregants. You could land a 747 in the Springs Church parking lot. The building is huge with a massive sanctuary in the center, circled by a hallway that has classrooms for the Springs school, Sunday school rooms, lounges, a huge gift shop and a Starbucks knock-off. By this point the place is screaming at me: business! business! I was greeted by a couple of ushers as I pushed through a throng of people into the sanctuary.
I'm not even going to hazard a guess at how many people were in there. Upwards of a thousand. It was huge. The age demographic was extremely varied, though dominant were the twenty-somethings, believe it or not. I sure didn't. The sanctuary was a huge space with chairs set out in a semi-circle around the stage, which boasted not one but four jumbotron-style screens. Christian hard-rock was playing through the speakers.
The service was kicked off with four songs from the resident rock band, and they were pretty solid. Bass, guitar, drums, keyboards, four vocalists and a backing "choir" were all onstage unleashing hits from the Christian rock world, all highlighted by a light show. A light show.
Pastor Leo Fontaine took the stage and said a prayer in his booming voice with a hint of a southern accent, which had me all ready for some ridiculous, speaking-in-tongues sermon. My expectations weren't high.
And then he blew me away with one of the best sermons I've heard all year. It was thought provoking, relevant, and had just the right amount of "shit-disturbing" to satisfy my young adult brain. You know something's going down when the first words out of the pastor's mouth are "I don't like religion." The sermon was all about the difference between the Christian faith and Christian religion, the latter being the often-abused organization of the "Christian church" around Jesus' teachings, the former being living through Jesus' teachings themselves and not some forced religious doctrine.
Pastor Fontaine spoke about how Jesus didn't come to start a new religion, he came to challenge all religions. He talked about how we "jump through hoops" and try to do exactly the right things to please God because our religion tells us to, when through Jesus we are offered a "free gift" of salvation and really, we don't have to do anything but live through His teachings. He produced an interesting metaphor in the idea of a father and his children: why would children fall over themselves to please the father, bring him a drink after work and bring him the paper and hang up his clothes and on and on, if they are loved by default? Why should they feel they need to do all kinds of stuff to gain their father's approval when they have it already, simply on the merit of being his children? Pastor Fontaine also touched on something that interested me, and that was the formulization of the modern-day church service, how people get so set in their traditions and their organization that the message is lost.
I'll stop now. But on their website under "Media Player" you can access a video of the sermon, and I'd suggest you take a look. I'm trying very hard to think objectively about what he said, because the presentation was extremely powerful, to the point where I wonder if I was really blown away by the message or just brainwashed by the charismatic man. But in any event I've been given food for thought.
Though the sermon and the music were great, I'm not sure how I would feel belonging to a church with probably a couple thousand members. For me church needs to be about community. Of course with a larger community there's more opportunity for interaction, but is some intimacy not lost with such a massive congregation? There's no way that Pastor Fontaine knows the names of all his members, and how could he possibly make time for everyone? There's a level of implied buerocracy and commercialization to this church that makes me wonder, and obviously heavily influenced my first impressions.
Boy has this one got me confused, and thinking. About time.
http://www.springschurch.com/
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
St. James Presbyterian
April 26, 2009 11:00 am
St. James Presbyterian Church, 1476 Portage Ave. Winnipeg
Rev. Allan Farris
So I remembered to check which side of Portage this church was on, unlike last time. I was greeted warmly by several people walking in and though at a quarter-to the tiny sanctuary was almost empty, around 100 people had arrived by go time. For such a small congregation the youth were fairly well-represented, with lots of families in attendance as well.
The service followed a pretty normal format, opened with prayers, announcements and hymns. I noticed how full the pew shelves were: a hymnal, a bible and two psalm books were in every compartment and all were used during the service.
Reverend Farris was probably one of the youngest ministers I've encountered so far. His mannerisms seemed a bit awkward at the beginning and for a while I couldn't put a finger on what was different about him... eventually it hit me. He was smiling the whole time; genuinely enthusiastic and excited about what he was talking about. Making eye contact too. And his sermon was pretty neat; he used a hilarious story about his nephew's interpretation of Jesus as a popculture zombie to illustrate how we categorize things we don't understand. He went on to argue that Jesus and the resurrection defies categorization, and therefore as a people Christians should (and sometimes do) defy categorization as well. I think he got a bit hung up on this idea and had trouble drawing a conclusion, but it was an engaging and generally relevant sermon.
Offertory, a few more hymns, a neat children's "sermon" about the idea of children of God versus 'regular' children and the service was capped off. I would say I definitely got a positive experience out of this one.
http://www.stjamespresbyterianwinnipeg.com/
St. James Presbyterian Church, 1476 Portage Ave. Winnipeg
Rev. Allan Farris
So I remembered to check which side of Portage this church was on, unlike last time. I was greeted warmly by several people walking in and though at a quarter-to the tiny sanctuary was almost empty, around 100 people had arrived by go time. For such a small congregation the youth were fairly well-represented, with lots of families in attendance as well.
The service followed a pretty normal format, opened with prayers, announcements and hymns. I noticed how full the pew shelves were: a hymnal, a bible and two psalm books were in every compartment and all were used during the service.
Reverend Farris was probably one of the youngest ministers I've encountered so far. His mannerisms seemed a bit awkward at the beginning and for a while I couldn't put a finger on what was different about him... eventually it hit me. He was smiling the whole time; genuinely enthusiastic and excited about what he was talking about. Making eye contact too. And his sermon was pretty neat; he used a hilarious story about his nephew's interpretation of Jesus as a popculture zombie to illustrate how we categorize things we don't understand. He went on to argue that Jesus and the resurrection defies categorization, and therefore as a people Christians should (and sometimes do) defy categorization as well. I think he got a bit hung up on this idea and had trouble drawing a conclusion, but it was an engaging and generally relevant sermon.
Offertory, a few more hymns, a neat children's "sermon" about the idea of children of God versus 'regular' children and the service was capped off. I would say I definitely got a positive experience out of this one.
http://www.stjamespresbyterianwinnipeg.com/
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Bethel Mennonite Church, Take Two
April 12, 2009 10:45 am
Bethel Mennonite Church, 465 Stafford Ave. Winnipeg
Lisa Enn-Bogoya
As on Christmas, the family decided that Bethel would be a good choice for Easter. I must say I enjoyed my first visit and so I was happy to go back for the Easter service. The big, open church was again filled to capacity as the large (and really excellent) choir sang a processional.
The service was similar in content to the Christmas service, with scripture readings interspersed with prayers, offerings from the choir and lots and lots of hymns, always certain to make me happy. The children's story was a bare-bones version of the connection between the CS Lewis classic The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the Easter story.
Lisa Enns-Bogoya was a really great speaker. She talked about her family's recent trip to Disneyland and contrasted the exhibitionist, so-called "Mickey Mouse theology" with the story of the ressurection. She talked well and got her message across, and I definitely enjoyed her sermon.
The service ended with an open invitation for congregation members to join the choir in singing the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah. It was an extremely powerful and uplifting way to end a really great service.
http://www.bethelmennonite.ca/
Bethel Mennonite Church, 465 Stafford Ave. Winnipeg
Lisa Enn-Bogoya
As on Christmas, the family decided that Bethel would be a good choice for Easter. I must say I enjoyed my first visit and so I was happy to go back for the Easter service. The big, open church was again filled to capacity as the large (and really excellent) choir sang a processional.
The service was similar in content to the Christmas service, with scripture readings interspersed with prayers, offerings from the choir and lots and lots of hymns, always certain to make me happy. The children's story was a bare-bones version of the connection between the CS Lewis classic The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the Easter story.
Lisa Enns-Bogoya was a really great speaker. She talked about her family's recent trip to Disneyland and contrasted the exhibitionist, so-called "Mickey Mouse theology" with the story of the ressurection. She talked well and got her message across, and I definitely enjoyed her sermon.
The service ended with an open invitation for congregation members to join the choir in singing the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah. It was an extremely powerful and uplifting way to end a really great service.
http://www.bethelmennonite.ca/
Our Lady of Perpetual Help
April 10, 2009 3:00 pm.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Roman Catholic Parish, 4588 Roblin Blvd. Winnipeg
Pastor Barry Schoonbaert
I have to apologize for this entry a little. I didn't remember that there was no order of service handed out for this one, so details may be sketchy. I decided to go to a second service on Good Friday, this one at the Catholic OLPH, another church that I've been driving past for years. I was also interested in the Catholic take on the Good Friday service.
The place was packed. I'll never guess the right number, but there were probably 5 or 600 people there. It was as close to standing room only as churches get these days. Ushers were helping people find their spots but there was absolute silence; not a person was speaking. Inside the church itself was tastefully decorated, with a very low ceiling.
The service began with a processional up to the front, followed by some lengthy preemptive scripture passages alternating with solos done very well by soloists and a vocal quartet. Pastor Schoonbaert led a prayer and then the Passion was recited responsively, readers alternating with the congregation.
After the Passion and the prayers, also done responsively but in song, was an event I've never personally witnessed before. Dubbed the "Veneration of the Cross," it involves a large crucifix supported by the Pastor brought up to the front, after which the entire congregation lines up to pay respect to it whether by bowing, kneeling or in many cases kissing the depiction of Jesus' crucified body. I won't go into my issues with the "Veneration of the Cross" here, suffice it to say I didn't take part.
The Veneration took an extremely long time. Afterwards a solid communion was shared and after a blessing the service ended. There had been signs posted beforehand asking the congregation to exit in silence, and so they did. I found the service an extremely interesting experience, very reverent and in the somber mood of the day. I'd be interested to see what the turnout is at a regular OLPH service.
http://www.olphwinnipeg.ca/
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Roman Catholic Parish, 4588 Roblin Blvd. Winnipeg
Pastor Barry Schoonbaert
I have to apologize for this entry a little. I didn't remember that there was no order of service handed out for this one, so details may be sketchy. I decided to go to a second service on Good Friday, this one at the Catholic OLPH, another church that I've been driving past for years. I was also interested in the Catholic take on the Good Friday service.
The place was packed. I'll never guess the right number, but there were probably 5 or 600 people there. It was as close to standing room only as churches get these days. Ushers were helping people find their spots but there was absolute silence; not a person was speaking. Inside the church itself was tastefully decorated, with a very low ceiling.
The service began with a processional up to the front, followed by some lengthy preemptive scripture passages alternating with solos done very well by soloists and a vocal quartet. Pastor Schoonbaert led a prayer and then the Passion was recited responsively, readers alternating with the congregation.
After the Passion and the prayers, also done responsively but in song, was an event I've never personally witnessed before. Dubbed the "Veneration of the Cross," it involves a large crucifix supported by the Pastor brought up to the front, after which the entire congregation lines up to pay respect to it whether by bowing, kneeling or in many cases kissing the depiction of Jesus' crucified body. I won't go into my issues with the "Veneration of the Cross" here, suffice it to say I didn't take part.
The Veneration took an extremely long time. Afterwards a solid communion was shared and after a blessing the service ended. There had been signs posted beforehand asking the congregation to exit in silence, and so they did. I found the service an extremely interesting experience, very reverent and in the somber mood of the day. I'd be interested to see what the turnout is at a regular OLPH service.
http://www.olphwinnipeg.ca/
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Charleswood United Church
April 10, 2009 11:00 am
Charleswood United Church, 4820 Roblin Blvd. Winnipeg
Rev. Michael Wilson, Rev. Joanne Kury
So I'm a bit behind on the posting, and cause of exams these next few will be a bit haphazard. But I'm still going in order. I decided to take in two services on Good Friday, one am, one pm. This was my first one of the day.
Even though my background is in the United Church, I can't remember ever going to the actual Good Friday service. Probably too busy enjoying the day off school, I guess. Charleswood United recently had a slew of renovations done, so the church building is looking really good. They've got a nice big room for alternative worship and the sanctuary itself is decked out nicely too. When I walked in there were black coverings on the windows, creating an appropriately somber mood.
There were a few prayers and hymns before the Passion was played out, alternating scripture readings, sung responses and solos by members of the large choir, which were done very well. Some churches I've been to didn't have a congregation the size of Charleswood's choir and altogether I'd say there were about 2-300 people in the sanctuary.
Rev. Wilson was called upon to do the sermon. He was an extremely good speaker, talking about the story of the crucifixion as going beyond the traditional "good versus evil" scenario. He tried really hard to pull in pop culture references from Harry Potter to Lord of the Rings and though I'm sure they would appeal to some, the connections were a bit weak for me to find them effective. Altogether though it was a nicely done sermon.
The service ended with a few more hymns, the prayer and a final blessing before the congregation filed out. It was a very nice, peaceful, traditional service, though as I often do I found myself wishing for some deviation from the standard worship format. I'd be happy to go back and see what regular worship is like at Charleswood; from my observations it really seems to be a vibrant community.
http://www.charleswoodunited.org/
Charleswood United Church, 4820 Roblin Blvd. Winnipeg
Rev. Michael Wilson, Rev. Joanne Kury
So I'm a bit behind on the posting, and cause of exams these next few will be a bit haphazard. But I'm still going in order. I decided to take in two services on Good Friday, one am, one pm. This was my first one of the day.
Even though my background is in the United Church, I can't remember ever going to the actual Good Friday service. Probably too busy enjoying the day off school, I guess. Charleswood United recently had a slew of renovations done, so the church building is looking really good. They've got a nice big room for alternative worship and the sanctuary itself is decked out nicely too. When I walked in there were black coverings on the windows, creating an appropriately somber mood.
There were a few prayers and hymns before the Passion was played out, alternating scripture readings, sung responses and solos by members of the large choir, which were done very well. Some churches I've been to didn't have a congregation the size of Charleswood's choir and altogether I'd say there were about 2-300 people in the sanctuary.
Rev. Wilson was called upon to do the sermon. He was an extremely good speaker, talking about the story of the crucifixion as going beyond the traditional "good versus evil" scenario. He tried really hard to pull in pop culture references from Harry Potter to Lord of the Rings and though I'm sure they would appeal to some, the connections were a bit weak for me to find them effective. Altogether though it was a nicely done sermon.
The service ended with a few more hymns, the prayer and a final blessing before the congregation filed out. It was a very nice, peaceful, traditional service, though as I often do I found myself wishing for some deviation from the standard worship format. I'd be happy to go back and see what regular worship is like at Charleswood; from my observations it really seems to be a vibrant community.
http://www.charleswoodunited.org/
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