Free Art Friday 30/12/11

Slowly widening the palette, I have been experimenting with adding a bit of yellow in order to mix some greens.  This image comes from a photo I took a few years ago while hiking the Britton Forest Trail north of Milton on what we used to call a "Worship with Creation" event:

Free Art Friday 23/12/11

I don't often post the work of other people here, especially just a link to the work of established artists but today I make an exception.  My friend Steve Davis, who plays with me in Before the Flood, brought this song out for our annual Christmas show and it has been stuck in my head ever since that first practice.  It has become my favourite Christmas song this year, maybe of all time.  It is quite amazing to find a non-traditional Christmas song, by a secular band, that actually has the Christmas story and isn't just cheesey.  This is a great song by one of my favourite bands of all time, pioneers of Americana music (amazing when you consider all but one were Canadian) and written by the guy who wrote such classic southern anthems as The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (again a Canadian - dear America, You are welcome.  Signed, Canada)...

Christmas Must Be Tonight by The Band

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!

Karaoke at Costco?!?!?

I hate Karaoke.  There, I said it.  Please don't be insulted if you like Karaoke, it is just my personal, subjective feeling on the matter but I need to be clear about my biases up front.  In fact, when it come to Karaoke the only thing that is worse than really bad singers is pretty good singers who take it seriously.  In this situation, I find myself so overwhelmingly uncomfortable that I just don't know what to do.  Do I make eye contact?  Do I need to compliment  like I would compliment any good cheese?  I usually do my best to find the quickest way out of the moment.  On occasion the best way out of the moment has been to sing, leading to a few infamous Karaoke moments that are better left unmentioned (but they were pretty funny!)  No matter what your feelings about Karaoke might be, I hope that we can all agree that the scene my wife shared with me yesterday is just wrong.
Kimberley came home frazzled and tense.  Last minute shopping as we prepare to host Christmas dinner had left her completely spent.  This would be understandable on any given day as one tries to shop the week before Christmas.  It is especially true at Costco, as the huge warehouse is jammed with shoppers looking for everything from cranberries to car tires.  It was a zoo to be sure.  But this zoo was to be expected, so what made it so particularly scarring?  Karaoke.  Yes, Karaoke in Costco!  A huge, video Karaoke machine being demonstrated right in the middle of the store where ordinarily one might be sampling samosas.  Not only was it there, in the middle of the store, but it was loud...so loud it filled the entire warehouse with its obnoxious noise pollution.  Let's be honest, if you are at Costco a few days before Christmas, things are already not good.  You have to be a sadomasochist to want to be there any time within this last week.  Chances are if you are there you are already behind in your preparations, or worse, you thought you were done when all of a sudden in dawned on you that there was one, integral thing that you had forgotten.  All in all, it is a recipe for that Yuletide stress that could give even Gumbi a tension migraine.  In this scenario, how could anyone think that an overzealous Italian man screaming out a rendition of "My Way" would be a good thing?  It would not, and is not a good thing.  It is just asking for a tragic incident of shopper rage. 
No matter what your personal opinion about Karaoke might be, if you stop, close your eyes and try to imagine yourself in that Costco scene, I am sure that you will agree that in no possible way would it  be pleasant.  Karaoke at Costco is just wrong.  

Update Tuesday 20/12/11

"You know, not to put you on the spot or anything, but this (blanket) and the twenty bucks someone gave me the other day are the only two gifts I've been given in five years."

- Rick (a bottle collector from the beer store)

Outreach Update:

Some of our team on our way to Gore Park.

A small sampling of the hundreds of blankets we collected with the help of friends and family around the region.

They didn't last long here on the steps!

A few of our new friends.

Here is a heart and message my wife sewed on many of the blankets including the ones I handed out to my friends on Monday morning at the Beer Store.

Jim

Jim and Kim

The first blanket we handed out.

These are just a few shots from my friend Cheri that capture a bit of what we have been up to the last week.  There wasn't a whole lot of time for snapping shots between serving, sharing and praying but these show a bit.  

• They don't capture my spare room which was wall to wall blankets about 3ft deep.
• They don't capture all our friends spreading out to walk the downtown core in search of those in need.
• They don't cover the tears in John's eyes, coffee shaking in his twisted arthritic hand as he shared about his addicted son, nor the prayers from Louise standing next to his wheel chair hand gently on his shoulder.
• They don't capture the hours of preparation as Maria prepared sandwiches, Annabelle prepared cupcakes and Michael and Annabelle organized blanket drives.    
• They don't capture the time and energy invested by friends and family like you who continue to hold us in prayer, support our ministry and give generously so that events like this are made possible.

         For those you will just have to use your imagination...I can just say that they were pretty amazing things to behold. 

In total we served over 40 blankets, sandwiches and cupcakes, some coats and even some hats and mitts (off the hands and feet of our volunteers), and numerous cups of coffee.  We have also been able to supply a number of shelters with blankets and bedding for those that they will continue to serve as well as holding some back for our next event.   It was also moving for me to see the friends and family that I walk with interacting and serving our city neighbours with such love and compassion in the name of Jesus. 
From those of us at the Hamilton Fellowships, let me express our heartfelt thanks for those of you who continue to walk with us and let me wish you all a very Merry Christmas.  We pray that the Light that came into the world at this time so many years ago, might come into our hearts in a fresh way again this season, that we would seek to be a foretaste of the coming kingdom as we wait expectantly for the Second Advent of our Lord Jesus, his promised return. 

Free Art Friday 16/12/11

In preparation for our annual Christmas Party gig, here is a video of Before the Flood from last year's party featuring Kimberley McGibbon.  Merry Christmas...

Go Tell It On The Mountain

Update Part Two

As I mentioned yesterday, it has been quite a week around here.  There were so many exciting things to share that it would not fit into one update.  Yesterday, I focused on some amazing conversations that I had had the day before.  Let me share with you some of the other amazing things that happened the preceding week.
My eventful Monday morning came on the heels of a pretty amazing experience the night before as we had the opportunity to head back to Milton and visit our family at The Sanctuary Milton as they host a church Christmas dinner.  It was great to connect with friends and family, to sing together and to share fellowship over a meal.   The most amazing thing, however, was meeting so many new people.  There was at least four new families that we got to meet, and those were just the ones we met and even they were just the new families that were able to make it to the dinner.  Since our moving to Hamilton just six months ago God has brought a whole host of new faces to the Sanctuary Milton.  These really are exciting times and I can't wait to see what He is up to.
Working backward through the week, Saturday was also an astounding day.  That was the day that my wife and a neighbour hosted the first meeting of their Girls Bible Club for mothers and daughters.  This is a group that they hope to gather once a month during which they will study a different woman from the bible, share in fellowship and share a practical skill building activity (anything from art to community building).  It was exciting to see a mix of churched and unchurched families gathering, learning and having fun.  There was even talk from some of the unchurched attendees about friends that they would like to invite for the next one.  It was amazing to watch people relax, have fun, and build relationships all while learning life lessons from Mary the mother of Jesus.  We are praying for where this may lead.
Finally, I can not help but share our excitement about the many ways we are celebrating God's provision this week both personally as a family and as a church.   Personally, we have been hosting Korean students and helping to teach them English in order to help cover our costs.  When Betty left in December the program informed us they will not have any other new students for at least a year so we have been praying through what other opportunities we might find.  As it turns out, Betty had such a positive experience that she contacted a friend back in Korea who was considering coming to Canada to learn English and suggested that she consider coming to stay with us.  We are working out the details now for her to come in January. 
As a church, we have seen amazing God's blessing and provision through His church both materially and financially.  As you may know, we have been hosting a blanket and coat drive as we prepare to serve some of the needs of the less fortunate in our community.  The blanket and coats have started to come in and it has been overwhelming.  We have received so many donations that we think that we  will have enough for our initial delivery, but also have enough to support some of the shelters in the city.  This will be a key chance to help them but also to build relationships with them as we seek to continue serving the needs of the disadvantaged in the city.  We have also experienced an overwhelming response to our request last week and in a single day we had the entire cost of the coffee thermos donated.  Not only that, but there have been a few donations since then as people have anticipated our need for coffee and other supplies. 
Lastly, we have also been blessed by the kind generosity and kingdom minded agenda of established churches who have come along side of us to help us financially for 2012.   We are truly humbled and honoured to count you as supporters and partners and are extremely grateful for your sacrificial giving.  What seemed like a daunting gap to bridge as we put together a budget for 2012 is a little less daunting this morning.   It is as if God has been saying, "no need to worry I have got this."  We are not all the way there yet  and that keeps us humble, on our knees and dependant upon God, but we are confident that He who has provided thus far and has given us every indication that He is at work, will continue to provide as we move forward.
So, it has been quite a week.  We are pretty excited.  We are looking for the next few weeks, months and this next year to be quite a ride.  Thanks to all of you who continue to ride along with us.  We could not do it without you standing in the gap!

Update Tuesday 13/12/11

Have you ever had one of those days?  You know the one in which nothing seems to go well, everything is a struggle and it leaves you questioning just what it is you are doing and why you are doing it?  Sometimes church planting provides those kind of days.  Yesterday, was definitely NOT one of those days.  In fact, it was quite the opposite.  Yesterday, was a great day, and it comes on the heels of a pretty amazing week as a whole, in which we saw God do some amazing things and we truly feel blessed.
Yesterday, I began my Monday morning, as has become my routine, by taking coffee and sandwiches to the beer store and meeting with the bottle collectors.  I got to connect with a few of the regulars and chat about life.  I also had the opportunity to connect with Steve.  I had met Steve once before, albeit briefly, when he shared that he had just recently been laid off and so he was collecting to make some extra money until other things come into place.  Yesterday, we had even longer to chat, and when it came out that I am a pastor of a new fellowship he began to open up.  He shared that he had been thinking about going to church, about his family situation, about the suicide of his teenage son a year and a half ago, and about many other things.  He spoke and I mostly listened.  I shared briefly about the hope that I believe Jesus brings into such brokenness.  I shared that I would love to talk further if he was interested, that he was always welcome to join us when we meet or that I would be more than willing to meet him where he is at any time.  He left me his contact info, and I left him mine with the intention of connecting again soon.  I intend to follow up in the next few days.
I was pretty excited about the privilege I had been given to hear from Steve as I made my way to the local bakery where I try to stop in for a coffee almost daily.  I have begun to meet some of the staff and some of the customers and I am on a first name basis with a few of them.  To be honest, however, the last few times I have been a bit discouraged.  There have not been that many good conversations and  I have been feeling like there has only been small talk and only when I initiate.  Yesterday, was much the same, until just as I was contemplating leaving, in walked John.  John is there everyday, and strangely, he is there almost every time I am there, even if it is at completely random intervals throughout the week.  I know John's name because everyone seems to know his name and I have tried making small talk on a few occasions.  Yesterday however, John came in and as he was getting his coffee he noticed me, came over and said hello.  I had noticed that he always has a crossword puzzle on the go and so have used this to make small talk on occasion.  Being a Monday we had the opportunity to chat about a specific Canadian themed puzzle in the Saturday Spec.  At the end of the conversation he was intentional about asking my name and introducing himself.  Although it may seem small, this was the kind of breakthrough that I have been praying for.   It seems like an actual relationship is beginning to form and one with a guy who knows so many of the people that are in and through this popular establishment.
As if those two conversations where not enough to cause some excitement from the day, I had another great phone call that left me quite excited.  My colleague Jim Danielson met a photographer in Milton while having some portraits done.  As they were talking, this gentlemen shared about how he felt his family was being called to move to Hamilton, that as a photographer he is interested in the arts community and that he and his wife had noticed some of the poverty and homelessness and were wondering if God might be calling them to be part of making a difference.  My good friend Jim was pretty excited to share about what we have going on and that we had just moved here from Milton as well, for some of the same reasons.  Yesterday, I finally connected with him personally by phone and chatted a bit.  We are arranging a time to get our families together soon.  As I heard him share his story and about preparing to come to Hamilton I could not help but be a bit excited.  It seems that we have similar hearts.  This may be a great addition to our fellowship and another set of eyes, ears and feet to reach into the communities of Hamilton.
I finished off last night by heading into Toronto with my family where we took the opportunity to go skating at the famous outdoor rink at Nathan Phillips Square just outside Toronto City Hall.  We also had the opportunity to see Betty our Korean student again.  Betty left our home in early December to head out to her next adventure.  We were sad to see her go, especially as it was few weeks earlier than we had expected and just at a time when she had been asking some great questions about Christianity and faith.  We were really hoping for an opportunity to walk with her just a little while longer.  So it was great to see her again, it was great to introduce her to the great Canadian sport of ice skating and it was even greater to hear that she continues to read a bit each day from the bibles we gave her, in English and Korean.  God is still at work!  There is a great connection between Betty and our family that continues even as she lives in Toronto.  She has been sharing that the program she is in now is not really what she expected and that the home she is in now is not all that great. We are actually praying through the possibility of getting her back to Hamilton so that we can work with her again.  We would have her back in our home in a minute, but she enjoyed being with us so much she wrote a friend in Korea and suggested that she contact us about coming, and so we have already made plans for her to come and stay in our spare room!  We, our family and Betty herself with her new developing faith,  continue to pray for a solution as we would love to connect with her again here in Hamilton.  It was a great end to a great day, and one that came at the end of a great week.
There are many other things I would love to share, but seeing as some of you are probably reading this at work I don't want to get you in trouble as this update has already been long enough.  I will simply have to write again tomorrow with some of the other blessings that we are giving thanks for.  Check back tomorrow afternoon for another quick post about the week. 

The honest truth is that not every day is like yesterday, not every week like this past week.  We know that there will be some of those days yet to come.  That is why it is important to stop, remember, reflect, give thanks and share these days when they do come as they are what will sustain us through the other not so great days.  We also truly appreciate all of you with whom we can share.  It is always comforting to know that we are not alone but have those praying with us in tough times and rejoicing with us in the celebrations.

Free Art Friday 09/12/11

The Advent season is upon us so an Advent song seems appropriate.  Here is one I wrote a number of years ago that is from my first album.  It can be found at my web site by just following the link below:

Waiting

To hear more free music you can visit www.jasonmcgibbonproject.com and follow the Free Albums tab to the left.

Update Tuesday 6/12/11

With lights dimmed and gathered around the glow of a single candle we gathered to contemplate hope.  This group, in age from 6 to 67- child, youth, adult and senior, shared about the hope and expectation of a people thousands of years ago as they awaited their Messiah.  We spoke of our hope and expectation as we await Jesus' second coming when His kingdom will be established in its fullness.  And I pray for our little group that this year, as Christmas approaches, that we might have a fuller understanding and a fresh experience of Jesus as he breaks into our lives afresh and we are renewed.  Tonight, we will gather again, in much the same way, as we think about peace.  We will  celebrate the peace with God, the reconciliation made possible through Jesus, the future peace that is reality when we live in a world without sin, and the peace that we can show the world here and now as we live out His example and teachings in the power of the Holy Spirit alive and at work within us. 
This is the Advent Season, and my prayer is that all of us might have the opportunity amidst the business and chaos that can be Christmas, to experience Jesus afresh.  May we celebrate this awesome reality that our God came near, a tiny baby that would change the direction of history for the universe.  I am keenly aware that this season, much like that first Christmas, is a busy chaotic and hectic time and without intentionality we may miss the wonder.  There seems no room for Jesus in the Inn, but let us  quiet our hearts, let us hear the angel voices, let us hurry off to the manger, let us celebrate the King.

Please keep us in prayer this Christmas season as we continue a number of outreaches.
-Our fellowship is planning a carol sing and fellowship time with hot chocolate to reach out to our immediate neighbours.
-I continue to meet with a group of low income gentlemen at the Beer Store (which houses the recycling depot) each Monday where we chat over a cup of coffee and whatever food donations I have been able to find.
-We will be doing a food, coffee and blanket distribution to the homeless on Dec. 18th.

As things progress, we find ourselves distributing a lot of coffee/hot drinks at almost every event or gathering that we have.  We have been thinking about and looking for a larger and more insulated coffee dispenser.   I was downtown on the weekend, with some time to kill and I wandered into a kitchen supply store.  While I was there, in the back corner of the shop I almost stumbled over the exact kind of coffee urn that we had been contemplating.  They had one used model for a very reasonable price.  We don't have the funds for such a purpose at this time but if this is something that you would be interested in making a donation towards I would love to hear from you.  We need to raise just under $200.

Thanks again for all the continued support!

Free Art Friday 01/12/11

Here is the latest (and maybe last) installment of my Inukshuk series.

Inukshuk 4

Update Tuesday 29/11/11

The conversation ranged from the story of having to put his dog down, to finding his new best friend, from trying to live on disability payments, to which instant loan places are the best, from specifics of the task at hand, to why the split level shopping carts don't work.  Over a hot cup of coffee, Rick, a local bottle collector, was quite friendly and open to conversation.  It was a stark difference from a few weeks ago.  I shared in a previous update about a group that gathers at the Beer Store that runs the province's alcohol can and bottle recycling program (read it here) and our hope to be able to serve them.    On the first morning I tried, however, I got up early, prepared some coffee, got it all packed up, headed over to the store and there was no one there.  I still don't really know why, although there are a number of practical considerations that may have all lined up on that day.  I truly believe, however, that it was spiritual opposition from the enemy.  (As an aside, this seems to be a pattern we experience in our new ministry thus far, we get an idea, we pray, God seems to confirm it and them something happens and it totally flops the first time around or the people involved have things happen to them).  Regardless of what the enemy throws, however, if we are persistent, we see God move.  This is what happened yesterday as I headed out to the Beer Store one more time.  This time I was greeted by Rick and Barry and we had a good 30 minutes to talk about life.  I learned a lot in those few minutes about what life is like when you live at that end of the economic spectrum.  All in all, I had the opportunity to serve about 6 different guys yesterday.  Interestingly, when the local newspaper showed up on my front porch this morning there was an article on these very guys, the bottle collectors, and Rick is even quoted in the article.  Again it seems that we are on to something, what I don't exactly know, but something.  I have included a link to the article below:

The Spec 

Along similar lines, I am excited to tell you that following from our last experience handing out meals to the homeless downtown we have begun planning for the next outing.  We are collecting blankets that we will be distributing December 18th.   A number individuals, both churched and unchurched, have heard and have gotten involved by hosting blanket drives. 

We would ask for your continued prayers for our outreaches and for God's leading and direction with regards to how He intends to use these opportunities for His sake and the sake of His kingdom.

Lastly, I would ask for you continued prayers as we finalize details on our budget for next year.  We sense that God has some amazing things planned for this first full year in our ministries life.  We are trying our best to prayerfully plan and budget accordingly.   We want to thank those of you who have committed to supporting this ministry financially.  The honest truth is that as we look at the budget, and more importantly, as we look at the opportunities and the needs around us that God has opened our eyes to, we recognize that we are going to need the financial support of friends, family, groups and churches to make it all happen.  If you have ever thought about supporting the ministry, or supporting an initiative that you have read about here we would love you to consider partnering financially.
Cheques can be made out to The Sanctuary Milton with Hamilton in the memo line and sent to:

136 Homewood Ave.
Hamilton, On.
Canada
L8P2M5

If you would like more info or to talk about support then don't hesitate to send me a note at:
jason@jasonmcgibbonproject.com
I would love to hear from you!

Free Art Friday 25/11/11

I decided to venture out of the familiar and begin to experiment with mixing greens.  I spent a few hours just practicing mixing yellow with both blue and black just to start to get a handle on what can happen.  The piece below is not actually what I came up with.  At the end of the session, I took the paper that I had been experimenting on and began to wipe off my brushes.  I then took some of the leftover pigments and just slopped them on the page as well so they wouldn't end up gunking up the kitchen sink.  Part way through the clean up I started to like what was on the page...so that is what you have below.  Cleaning up Green:

I really have to get better at photographing these things.  Who ever thought that learning to paint would mean learning photography and photo editing!

Update Tuesday 22/11/11

It was a cool autumn evening as a small group of us ranging in ages from 6 to 60+, gathered in Gore park in downtown Hamilton.  What started as an initial observation by a young family driving into the city for prenatal appointments was finding expression in an act of obedient compassion.  Some friends of ours from a suburb of the Greater Hamilton Area have been putting proceeds from a home business towards supplies that they use to make meals for the homeless in Hamilton.  So when they contacted us we were honoured to join them in this act of service.  We spent a few hours Sunday evening handing out sandwiches and coffee to the homeless in the downtown core.  We all recognize that next to the towering issues of poverty, addiction, mental health etc. it is one small gesture easily lost within the shadows cast by such huge and complex issues.  On the other hand God has a way of multiplying seemingly small contributions for His sake and the sake of His Kingdom.  And really, speaking as a pastor, as I see individuals and small groups moved enough by the brokenness around them to break the temptations of apathy and inertia, then I can't help but think that God has already done something huge.   What I also loved about the opportunity, was the direct interaction that we had with individuals on the street.  It is one thing to give money to a charity (and I still encourage us to do so - often when we work together in an organized fashion we can do more to affect change) but it is another thing to see and hear from people first hand and to engage with those whom we seek to serve.  I can only imaging the impact this will have on our youngest children as they think about the individuals they handed a sandwich to and with whom they spoke.  There is already talk about the next time, and further ideas about what and how to respond to the need.
Along similar lines The Hamilton Spec (our local paper) released another set of articles in its Code Red Series looking at issues of poverty in the city.  The most recent articles focus on the issue of teen pregnancy and provide some very insightful, albeit challenging statistics.  For those of you who have had some connection with the Sanctuary Network over the years, these articles may be of interest to you as they not only address Hamilton, but also provide statistics from Halton (the neighbouring suburban region) in which many of our churches are found.  The statistic about abortions in Halton was particularly striking.  Interestingly, the articles also tried to provide an insight into the issue from a First Nations perspective and they chose to focus on Big Trout Lake which happens to be a northern community to which the Oakville Sanctuary has been leading mission trips for many years now.  The links are below:

Code Red  

Big Trout Lake

Thanks for your continued interest and support.

Free Art Friday 18/11/11

If you have been following the Free Art Friday portion of the blog you will have seen a number of paintings Inukshuks from a series I have been working on.  As well as being Inukshuks that I have built at my cottage, the paintings have also used the same pallet as I have been experimenting with ultramarine blue and burn umber along with a bit of white an black.  Well, as I have been thinking and experimenting with these colours I also thought I might work it in to some lyrics at some point.  The first line of these lyrics comes out of those thoughts and I went on to finish a short songs worth of lyrics over the following few weeks.  I have been working on putting them to music and have something that I think I am happy with so  maybe I will get a recording up at some point as well.  Until that time, here are the lyrics I cam up with:

There's too much umber in the blue of the sky today,

And it's making the sky a dirty, hazy grey.

The sky kind of matches this feeling in my heart today,

Drizzling rain on the windshield, rhythm of the wiper blades

I'm singing blue, rhythm blue

I'm singing blue, rhythm blue

Colourless washes are bleeding 'cross the canvas today,

I'll just whistle a tune to get me through the pain.

Update Tuesday 15/11/11

I just got home last night from a six day trip that Kim and I took down to Nova Scotia.  We were really blessed by the invitation from a team at our national convention to lead worship for a pastors and wives retreat for Eastern Canada.  It was a great experience as we had the opportunity to lead worship together, meet and spend some time with colleagues in the Atlantic provinces as well as sneak in a few hours of sight seeing!  Peggy's Cove was quite spectacular as heavy rain and wind the day before made for some incredible waves and spray. 
We made it back last night, just in time to meet with some friends from the North American Mission Board at our home here in Hamilton this morning.  Tony Hudson and Matt King (along with others on their team) have been traveling to cities in North America to produce videos that help to highlight some of the church planting work going on, as well as some of the needs for church planting.  We first got a chance to meet Matt and Tony earlier in the year when they came to take some footage of our family for the upcoming Annie Armstrong Initiative for Easter 2012.  It was a great opportunity for our family to see them again and this time they actually got to see the inside of our house in Hamilton!  We so appreciate all that these guys do to help tell our stories, help people see the need to be involved in church planting and to celebrate all that God is doing.
As I mentioned, we left last Wednesday so in terms of an update there hasn't been too much that we have been able to do in our neighbourhood since last Tuesday.  I can report however, that we had a great meeting last week as a number of us from our old small group in Milton gathered to celebrate the two new groups that have started from that initial small group.  You can read more about it in last week's update but I can report that it was a great celebration, a good time for us to be able to gather again and catch up as well as an inspirational night that helped us look in anticipation to the future as we prayerfully continue on in this path of multiplying fellowships that has begun.
I would also like to take a proud parent moment and share one story from last Tuesday that involves my kids.  While the adults were upstairs meeting, my kids were downstairs with their friend from across the street.   I thought that they were playing games or perhaps watching a movie.  Later in the evening my son came asking about bibles and if I had a printed copy of a study tool that we use.  As it turns out, while we were having a meeting upstairs, they were hosting a bible study downstairs.  They began with some bible charades before leading a bible study with their unchurched friend across the street.  They used the same tools that we have been using for our family devotions each morning (which I also use for our fellowship meetings) to begin a study with their friend who has little exposure if any to the gospel.  It was a proud moment to say the least.  We would invite you to pray for Meg as we continue to meet with her and have opportunities to share with her.

Free Art Friday 11/11/11

It is remebrance day today in Canada.  I am on the road leading music at a conference this weekend but thought that I would put the link to the musical setting of the poem In Flanders Fields I did a while ago.

In Flanders Fields

If you are unfamiliar with the history of the poem you can read about it here:

http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/history/firstwar/mccrae/flanders

Update Tuesday 8/11/11

And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

2 Timothy 2:2

It is a short verse consisting of just one sentence but if you look closely, and read slowly, there is a staggering amount in this one passing phrase.  When we look closely we can see a full four generations in this phrase that takes just one full breath to utter-  Paul to Timothy, Timothy to faithful men, faithful men who will teach others.  

Tonight is the night that our new house fellowship usually meets in our home.  We will share dinner again tonight, but then we have the opportunity to do something a little bit different.  Tonight we have invited some friends from Milton who were in our original small group to come for a celebration.  What are we celebrating?  Well, this was the group that I was leading a number of years ago when I began to do some exploring.  I was sensing that there was something missing in my ministry, specifically with regards to discipleship.  I began to search and study and to meet with others to glean ideas.  One of the people was my friend Mike, who was both my elder in the faith but who also had extensive overseas experience.  I began to meet with Mike and he shared a number of ideas, principles, thoughts and experiences with me over a period of months.  I began to take these things I was learning and try to adapt them for the small group context in which I found myself.  It was a bit more of an experiment than an official implementation but it gave me the opportunity to develop and refine a lot of what would eventually become the basis for our new work in Hamilton.   Fast forward to about a month ago, and I got a note from one of the members of that original group in Milton.  He was letting me know that he and his wife had just begun a new small group in their home to which they had invited some of the newest people at church.  They have begun to lead this small group, and have already been able to celebrate two baptisms!  Needless to say I was excited for them, and proud of them as well.  In fact, I was proud of them for going and starting, as well as our original group for once again having raised up leaders and having been willing to let some of their best go.  I got to thinking.  Mike had passed on some principles and discipleship to me, I was able to share it with the group that I was leading and since that time that group has started another generation.  In fact if you count our new work in Hamilton, which really came out of that group as well, then it has started two next generation works while continuing to meet and grow disciples itself.  Really, we have begun to see the above quoted verse become a reality in our midst.  

So tonight we celebrate.  We will remember our beginnings and we will take the time to intentionally recognize what God has been doing through that initial group.  I am also praying that it will give us pause to consider the future.  Who are we currently discipling and are we doing it in such a way that we are equipping people so that they may eventually go and make the next generation of disciple?  Are we  prayerfully, intentionally, reproductively equipping the next generation of disciple?

If I could ask you to pray this week, it would be for all of our leaders and our groups that continue to meet and make disciples.  Please join us in giving thanks for all that God has done already and pray that we might see this continue.  I would also ask that you pray for all of those leading these groups.  Since calling this celebration meeting tonight we have already seen evidence of the enemies handy work as all of us have experienced trying circumstances this past few weeks.  

Thanks for your continued support and prayer. 

Free Art Friday 04/11/11

So last week I just totally forgot to post but I remembered this week.  Here is the third installment of my Inukshuk on Georgian Bay series:

Inukshuk

Update Tuesday 01/11/11

To be perfectly frank, this past week has been the most discouraging week thus far in our new Hamilton adventure.  To list the reasons why would take too long, it was just one of those weeks.  In order to avoid making this post just an "airing or the grievances",  I will simply say that ministry wise and family wise we had some tough blows, and every other little detail of the week seemed to go wrong, have glitches and what would have been mild, almost comical frustrations all compiled to make it a discouraging time.  Last night, however, was our first annual Shine Your Light in the Hammer event.  In contrast to the rest of the week this really was a lot of fun, and we are already excited for next year.  My wife has posted about it over at her blog and so I will let her tell you all about it and share some of the many pics that were taken as our camera floated around (thanks Cheri!).

zoo-ology.blogspot 


Thanks again for all the continued support.

Update Tuesday 25/10/11

I was sitting at a table at the Locke Street Bakery with a cup of coffee and my prayer journal stretched out before me.  I had been praying for my family, my church and people in my life when my thoughts turned to an idea my wife had shared with me a number of days before.  Each Sunday evening we hear the sound of people going through our recycling bins before collection day on Monday as they search for cans and bottles that can be returned to stores for deposits.  Last week she realized that a number of homeless men all line up at a store in our neighbourhood each Monday waiting for opening time so they can return the cans and bottles for money.  My wife and I had been discussing the possibility of taking coffee to this group on a Monday morning and connecting with them as they wait.  So, sitting in the coffee shop and praying, my thoughts turned to this idea and putting pen to paper I committed this idea to prayer.  I simply wrote "Also praying about an opportunity at the store..." and as I looked up from the page a guy with a shopping cart full of cans and bottles stopped right in front of the store window beside me to pet a dog before making the rest of the walk to the store.  It was an affirming moment and so next Monday morning I intend to be outside of that particular store in my community with coffee for this group of guys that gathers each week.
Next Monday promises to be a busy day.  It is also the day that we will be holding our first Shine Your Light event here in the Hammer.  We will be capitalizing on this day when the whole neighbourhood comes to your door by throwing a bit of a party on the front porch with live music, popcorn and candy floss, handouts for the kids, hot chocolate for the parents as well as collecting non-perishable food donations for a local food bank.  Fliers will be going out this week, friends from our sending church in Milton will be coming by to help (and really just have fun!) and we can't wait to see who will stop by!  We would ask you to be in prayer for all the opportunities that Monday may provide.  
Of course, as outreach seems to be the theme of this week's update I should also mention our on going outreach to McMaster Children's Hospital, and in particular the Ronald McDonald Room that is found there.  We have continued to bring a meal there each week as we seek to reach out to and support the families of those with sick children.  I was reminded of the importance of continuing to develop opportunities there as, again while at the coffee shop on Monday, I met one of the nurses that was in the pediatric intensive care unit both times that our son Liam came through in November of 2008.  Again, it was a bit of an affirmation and a reminder not to forget the things that God has done for us, as we remember back to Liam's brain tumour and surgeries, as well as to look for what God wants to do in and through us as we move forward.
Lastly, I would ask for your prayers for a man named Joe.  I met Joe on Sunday morning when my family and I ventured out to Oakville to help another young church plant in our network with an outreach event.  The Sanctuary @ Kerr Village was hosting a pancake breakfast before their Sunday service.  Joe wandered in just before the service was to begin and so I decided to stay back and sit with him as the service started.  I am glad that I did.  I had a great conversation with him as I heard about some of his spiritual beliefs, shared some of mine, I was able to tell my story and was also able to share the story about Jesus.  One of my favourite moments was as he was sharing about the influence on his life that the teaching of the Buddha has had.  I was able to ask him about a story called the Golden Boat that is apparently a teaching of the Buddha (if you don't know it go and look it up...I won't ruin the surprise!).  The amazing thing is that someone had just shared the story with me that very week!  It was a providential conversation.  Please join me in praying that Joe might find a spiritual community with my friends at The Sanctuary @ Kerr Village where he can continue pursuing these spiritual conversations and searching.     
Once again thanks you for all the support and prayer.  We continue to see fruit from the prayers that you offer on our behalf. 

Free Art Friday 21/10/11 - Beauty in the Brokenness...photo from Disaster Relief work

Well, I am still debating the name.  F-Art definitely had the most support but then I get a story and picture like the one below and the name does not seem to fit somehow.  I will think about it further.  In the meantime, here is a great pic below taken by my friend Cheri while she was on a Disaster Relief trip helping clean up houses after flooding in Vermont.  I have also included a note from Bob Rankin, who was also on the trip, describing the pic.
Totally candid. totally cool:

The first is one of an elderly woman named Verna who Cheri took a few snaps of when she noticed her at the library in Montpelier.  When the woman realized Cheri was taking her picture she was caught in this shy expression.  The rest of the story is when Cheri talked to her she found out she lived alone, just scraping by and her family never came to visit.  Cheri, Louise and Janet decided to take her a grocery box and began searching all over town for her.  They finally found a young couple who knew her.  They told her that she once was the local church organist and that they would deliver the groceries the next day as it was now quite late at night.  So that is the story of pic # 1

Update Tuesday 18/10/11

It was one of those moments; an ill timed, frustrating and even a bit embarrassing happening in the middle of what should have been an important time.  We had finished dinner together at last week's fellowship meeting in our home and had proceeded to sing a few songs of worship.  At the close of those songs, we reached for our bibles and were about to dig into the Word together.  It was at this moment that from the corner of her eye, my wife could see my youngest daughter dart by, head for the back door and head out unaccompanied into the dark of night.  My wife quickly and quietly got up from her seat to follow her.  I carried on, pretending nothing had happened and proceeded to dig into the word.  My wife returned a few moments later, but rather than the exasperated look of disbelief and frustration that I expected, she had a huge smile on her face.  She said that she had to interrupt to share a conversation that she had just had.  In a nutshell, this is what she shared:  Christine from two doors down had been waiting outside as someone was coming to pick her up.  Her husband had just painted their front stairs that afternoon so she was unable to wait on her porch which led her to wait on our next door neighbour's porch.  Our front window had been open and so she was able to hear our singing and the beginning of our bible study.  As my wife followed our daughter around from the back yard, down the path between the houses to emerge into the front yard, she heard a voice from within the darkness of the porch next door.  Christine asked if we were having church in our home at which point my wife was able to share a bit about what we were doing.  Christine told Kim that she would like to join us next week (tonight)!   When Kim recalled this story, I was reminded of a quick, simple prayer I had etched in my journal earlier that afternoon...Lord, would you add to our number.


As a part of our fellowship meeting each week, we have begun to pray for the names of people in our lives for whose salvation we might be praying.  As God begins to reveal those names to us, we are praying John 16:8, that the Spirit would be at work in their hearts convicting them of sin, righteousness and judgement.  We are beginning to spend some time working on and sharing our testimonies (as a first step and tool of many) and will begin to pray that God might provide us opportunities to be used to share and teach of Christ.  Please join us in prayer for this focus as we have begun to see God at work in answer to the prayers of His people. 

As a part of this prayer focus I have been praying for Rose whom I have mentioned before.  I have been praying for a breakthrough in this relationship and a shift in the conversation as this Jehovah's Witness continues to try to reach out to me.  I had been praying daily for a breakthrough in a meeting we had scheduled for Monday.  When she arrived I knew something was different as she arrived alone, which is unheard of for a Jehovah's Witness.  What transpired was a three hour conversation in our home, during which, for the first time we were able to share with her some thoughts about Jesus that she had not considered before.  During the meeting, my wife called our neighbour Diane and asked her to pray before Kim coming down herself to join us.  It was a powerful time in which we were able to share truth, bring up some pointed questions but (especially with the help from my wife) while still communicating love for her.  Please continue to pray for Rose.

I would also ask that you continue to pray for this time as we, as well as our parent church in Milton, put together the budget for next year.  Please pray that these are not just numbers, but that we truly seek the Lord and receive direction and inspiration from Him as to what we might be pursuing  this coming year for the sake of the Kingdom. 

Update Tuesday 11/10/11 0 Thanksgiving

This past weekend was Canadian Thanksgiving and we have much to be thankful for.  My family spent a few days at my parents cottage where we celebrated with my parents, my brother and his family, my three grandparents, aunt and uncle.  There is something amazing about being up north where the leaves are exhibiting in vibrant oranges and reds, being with family and eating...a lot.  But Thanksgiving is not quite over for us yet, as we will be having another Thanksgiving dinner with our new church family here in Hamilton tonight.  The turkey is just about in the oven and we are preparing to host our weekly house church at which we will take some time to be thankful, to share a turkey meal together before spending some time in worship, study and prayer. 
With thanksgiving on the mind I thought it would be appropriate to take this opportunity and use this week's update to express our appreciation for you, those who read, support, pray for and encourage us on this journey God had leading us on in the Hammer.  We are truly thankful for all of you who are mindful of us and continue to express your support in so many ways and who so diligently hold us in prayer.  Thank you for all you do!

Free Art Friday 7/09/11

I need your help.  It may just be my personality in that I like to change things up so as not to get to stale, or it maybe that the name does not best reflect what I hope to accomplish on this Friday feature, but I have been thinking about a new name.  An art feature on Friday really came out of my desire to be creative on the one hand and a motivation to continue in that direction on the other.   If I knew that I would have to put something out each Friday it would be a good motivation to ensure I was always at work on something.  I don't think that I am a great artist, in fact, part of this feature is to encourage people to be creative and to grow as they do so; an encouragement that if I can do it, anyone can.  The "Free" part is true in the sense that there is never a charge for anything that you see on here and that I am not trying to peddle any wares.   It also begins with F as does Friday so it seemed to fit.  I am a bit bored with it now, and also, because I am not trying to produce finished pieces to give away it does not seem to fit all that well anymore.  So here is where you come in.  I am looking for another name.  I have come up with a few, but am also open to other suggestions.  Tell me which of the ones below you like best, or suggest something else.  Leave a comment, facebook me or send an e-mail I would love to hear from you.

F - art
(Friday art.  My wife laughed out loud when she heard this one, as well as shaking her head...but when I suggested making it public she was horrified.  I don't know if that makes it more or less appealing to me)

J - mart
(Jason - my art.   Too cheesy or so cheesy it is perfect...I don't know)  

What are your thoughts.

Update Tuesday 4/10/11 - What are the chances!

It was around four o'clock in the afternoon and I was just about to help my wife in the kitchen as we prepared to host our first house church meeting when I heard the knock on the door.   The knock was from our friendly neighbourhood Jehovah's witness.  This may have been one of those moments where I would have just blown them off, politely of course.   If you have been following this blog for the past few weeks, however, you will know that I have been trying to engage in conversation and witness to this particular visitor whose name is Rose.  This must be the sixth or seventh time Rose has visited, and despite the fact that I have begun to ask some harder questions and push back, albeit gently, she continues to return and when she does she keeps mentioning how there is something different about our home.  In all honestly, I think this growing relationship and opportunity to share is all because we have been friendly, welcoming and loving.  So Rose keeps coming back, and I keep engaging.  I am learning a lot in the process, about what she believes, about what it is like to share with someone who has a very firmly rooted belief system and how to do so in love.  This particular meeting was the biggest challenge of all, especially in regards to the later point - to do so in love.  Being an inopportune time I was distracted and it made it much harder to resist my natural temptation to jump into a debate.  I was also a little frustrated by the end when it seemed that all my sharing so far has made little impact and it has been hard to shift the conversation from me listening, to me sharing (there is no doubt that she still thinks she is trying to convert me).  That is when my neighbour Diane arrived for our first house church meeting.  She was coming for dinner, followed by worship, study and prayer.  When she arrived on the front porch where I was meeting with Rose, they looked at each other and realized that they knew one another!  Diane had been Rose's boss when they were both nurses in a seniors care residence a few years ago.  As one of Diane's employees, Diane would regularly pray for her.   What are the chances!
I still have no idea what will happen in this relationship with Rose, although I continue to pray for our times together and I pray John 16:8.  I pray that the spirit would convict her of sin, righteousness and judgement and that she would see these things clearly, untainted by the twisted truth she has received.  This, however, seems at the very least a small confirmation from God that we are supposed to be here, that we are on the right track and that most importantly, He is here at work.  I have been encouraged.  And so with this in mind we continue to look around us, we continue look to the future and we are trying to put things in place to get us from here to there.  Here are a number of things that we are currently working on for which we would appreciate your prayers:

October 31 Halloween outreach - this is something we started in Milton where we would have the worship band set up in the driveway and play music while we handed out candy for the kids and hot chocolate for parents.  It gave people a reason to pause, during which we tried to engage our neighbours in conversation.  We are working on the details of doing something similar here in Hamilton.

Our local paper has recently run some statistics regarding poverty in our city, some of which you can read here:  the Spec   .  I continue to try to meet with different people across the city with experience in this field as we pray through how a little group might be engaged in addressing these issues our city faces.   Please pray that God would give us clear direction as we seek opportunities to serve right from the very beginnings of our group. 

We continue to look towards starting a work on the McMaster campus.  We are praying through the best approach and how God might most effectively use us as a local church in partnership with an on campus presence.  Our next step is to meet with a number of students that we know through various channels who now study at McMaster as we seek there observations, input and advice.

Budget - The Sanctuary Church in Milton (our sending/parent church) has a year end of Dec. 31st which means that budget time is upon us!  We will be working over the next few weeks to prepare our Hamilton portion of that budget.  Although numbers may not be that exciting to everyone, I recognize that setting a budget is also a time to pray and consider all the things that God may be calling this church to accomplish over this coming year.   Please pray that God would speak clearly to us, that we would be inspired by the Spirit and have a clear vision of the possibilities for this coming year.  Please also pray as we seek to discern the ways in which God will provide for all that He calls us to do.

Once again, thank you for your role in what God is doing here in the Hammer.  Your support and prayers are a vital part of all that we do here.

Free Art Friday 30/09/11

A I mentioned last week, below is the next in my Inukshuk series.  I made this particular one on labour day weekend while at the cottage and painted it from a picture last week.  I am still experimenting and exploring with some techniques I picked up last month.

Update Tuesday 27/09/11

A cord of three strands is not easily broken.

I could not help but think of this above phrase from Ecclesiastes 4:12 as I sat on my front porch with Mike Hampton and Jeremy Langley.  I was meeting with these two IMB (international mission board) personnel who have become good friends over these past number of years, to discuss the possibility of working together on the campus of McMaster University.   As Southern Ontario continues to become more and more ethnically diverse, the IMB has seen the importance of bringing people with oversees experience serving different people groups to this area in order to serve, and help churches better serve these communities.  I have benefited tremendously by having them working along side us here and have very much come to appreciate the relationships that I share with them both.  It was very exciting then, when we started to discern that God seemed to be working in all of our hearts regarding Mac, a university campus right in here in the city, that continues to grow more and more diverse with each passing year.  We gathered together last week, and spent time on my front porch discussing possibilities, sharing experiences and expertise, sharing our hearts and praying.  What became evident is that we share different but complimentary skills sets and experience and a common heart to be at work there.  We will be exploring a three pronged approach that could include a campus club, chaplaincy as well as the partnership of a local church, The Hamilton Fellowships (that us!).  I am excited to see what may develop.

As if that meeting were not enough be be excited about the possibilities of supporting some campus work, I had an impromptu visit from Paul Johnston the team leader for the Share (evangelism) team of the Canadian National Baptist Convention.  Not only was it just an encouraging visit, but he shared with me that a member of his church in Calgary had just recently moved to Hamilton to take a job as a math professor at McMaster.  We were able to visit the campus and meet this gentleman.  Knowing that I was having a meeting to discuss working on that campus that very afternoon with Mike and Jeremy, I was amazed at this opportunity.  I don't know what may happen in terms of a relationship with this math professor, but at the very least it was another encouragement to continue to explore some type of involvement on the campus.

I should also mention that tonight we are hosting the very first house church meeting in our home.  We would ask you to pray that God would bless this time together and give us encouragement and vision for the future.  It will be a small gathering and a small beginning, but our prayer is that from this small beginning we see something amazing begin for the sake of the kingdom and for the Glory of the Heavenly Father.

Lastly, let me thank you for the words of encouragement that we received in comments here, through facebook or e-mail over this past week.  Thank you also for the continued prayers.  We truly felt uplifted and saw God do some amazing things over this past week.  Thanks again for all the continued prayer and support. 

Free Art Friday 23/09/11

As I mentioned last week, I had my first painting lesson ever while working on the last sketch I posted.  It was an impromptu kind of thing while at the beach at my parent's cottage.  There happened to be an amazing artist visiting next door and so I got up enough courage to impose myself upon him by asking for some pointers.  He was kind enough to walk with me through the different stages, explaining some basic concepts, giving me some pointers and guiding all the steps.  I thought it might be an interesting opportunity this week to introduce you to some of his work.
Mark Fordham has had a pretty amazing career in the art world here in Canada (as well as New York and other places).   It has included the fine art world through painting and sculpture, while the past ten or so years has marked an interesting turn in his career as he has spent a lot of time in the visual effects world doing film and television work.  He has used his incredible knowledge of anatomy and sculpture in the creating of animals, creatures and monsters for film and TV.  His primary focus most recently has been matte painting creating incredible backdrops to transport viewers to times and places from Jerusalem at the birth of Christ, Nuremberg post WWII, Hockey arenas in the career of Don Cherry to England under King Henry the VIII and everywhere in between. 
Below are some links to some online galleries of his work.  The first has examples of paintings and sculptures while the second has examples of his matte painting.  Check out some of the fuller biographies as well.

fine art

matte painting


I should probably also mention that he is my uncle.  I am not nearly confident or brash enough to go up to someone I don't know and weasel an art lesson! 

Don't forget to check back next week when I should have the second installment in my "Inukshuk on Georgian Bay" series.  I have also been experimenting with some lyrics that incorporate some of the tings that I have been learning and working with about colour...so we will see what transpires on that front.  

Update Tuesday 20/09/11

There comes a time in every new endeavor, when what is new begins to become common place; when what is exciting becomes the everyday and when the golden hue begins to shine a bit less brightly.  When this happens it seems that some of the less desirable things become more clear, when the darkness is a bit more evident.  This past week seemed to be the beginning of the next phase for us.  As school begins, routines are set in place and we settle into everyday life in the city, we have also begun to see things a bit more clearly and realistically.   We see the need around us more obvioulsy, we feel the darkness a bit more acutely and there have been a number of experiences where we have been in the trenches and been reminded of just how far things have drifted from God's heart and how large the task really is.  Add the inevitable feelings of missing friends and family and it can be a bit overwhelming.  But just as these feelings began to appear, God again proved Himself so gracious, and we had the opportunity to visit the Oakville Sanctuary, where this really all began for us, for their tenth anniversary.  It really was an amazing time to celebrate and be reminded of God's goodness and faithfulness these past ten years.  For me, there was one moment (aside from being in the dunk tank...with the fish) that stands out most.  It was during the service that morning, towards the end of the sermon when Isaiah 61 was read.  This has been an integral verse to the Sanctuary, especially in Oakville, as it speaks of oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendour.  We have often read those verses, and the verses leading up to them (1-3) as we reminded ourselves of what we saw our mission to be.  These were verses that Jesus himself would quote as his mission announcing his ministry in Luke 4.  What was interesting on Sunday is that Pastor Peter Roebellin of Oakville chose to continue reading past verse 3, where we would often stop, and included verse four (and perhaps beyond...but I was struck by verse 4),

"Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins, They will raise up the former devastation; And they will repair the ruined cities, The desolation of many generations.  

Of course, it mentions cities which caught my attention, but more so than that was the parallel between the setting to which Isiah was referring and Hamilton.   Speaking of a people and a city that had drifted from God into ruins he was prophesying a time when one day they would be renewed for the glory of God.  As we live in this city, see the need around us, feel the spiritual darkness and live in the shadows of church buildings that no longer honour God,  this passage seems so appropriate.  For me personally, it had the effect of drawing me back into that vision that we shared so often in the early days and tied our new work so clearly into the vision and history of God's faithfulness that was being celebrated.  It was a clear reminder of why we are where we are and doing what we are doing.  Yes, there is darkness, yes, the task is overwhelming and yes, it can be a bit lonely sometimes (especially for my wife) but that is precisely why we are here and we are not alone.  The same God who has been there these past ten years, is right here at work presently.

As we carry on here in Hamilton there are a few things that we are excited about and for which we would like to ask you to continue to pray.   Firstly, I mentioned an upcoming trip to McMaster University in my last update.  We had a chance to visit and get reacquainted with the campus, meet some students and meet a few students involved in campus ministry.  Since that visit I have heard from a number of different colleagues about individuals who have been thinking about Mac recently.  It seems that there is something stirring so we will continue to explore how we as a local church might come along side developing efforts.

We have also met with Diane our next door neighbour, and the first to express interest in being a part of our new work, and decided that we will begin our first home church meetings next week.  This will be a great chance for us to begin to explain the vision of what we hope to be doing in much more clarity, and to, as a group, begin to pray towards this vision.  

I also forgot to mention last week that we welcomed Betty, our Korean student (obviously not her given Korean name - her real name Soogyeong which is not too hard to pronounce so we will see how long this one sticks), who will be living with us for the next 3 months to learn English.  Things seem to be going very well.  I cannot imagine heading to another country all by myself, where I spoke little of the language yet and then being thrown into my family!  One of the cool things is that Betty is not a Christian and last Sunday in Oakville was the first church service she has ever been to.  Please join us in praying that the Lord would use this time with our family, our morning Bible studies etc. to reveal Jesus to her in a real and personal way. 

Once again thanks for all the continue prayer and support! 

Powerful Quote

I came across this following quote while reading the biography of William Carey by S Pearce Carey:

To disturb and to destroy the religious beliefs, rites, and ceremonies of any people is to make an attack on the sanctuary of the soul, which can only be excused if he who delivers it has the certainty that what he offers is indeed the pearl of great price, to obtain which the surrender of the most sacred possessions cannot be regarded as too high a sacrifice.

- A.E. Garvie

I think what struck me most was the deep sense of respect and the recognition of just how serious a thing it is that we undertake when we endeavor to engage in our missional calling.  But if it is truly the "pearl of great price," with nothing added or taken away, then oh how important it is that we do, albeit with a deep sense of humility and love. 

Free Art Friday 16/09/11

Here is a quick painting that I did the last time I was at the cottage.  I was fortunate to have an amazing artist named Mark Fordham there giving me some pointers.  We were working on colour mostly, challenging me to limit the palate to two colours (along with some white and black) and learning to mix other tones from there.  This one was done with just ultramarine blue and raw umber.  These are probably no brainers for anyone with some training... but I have no training so these ideas have been a lot of fun to begin to experiment with.
This is of an Inukshuk that I had built back in early spring.

Inukshuk 1

Update Tuesday 13/09/11

Locke Street Festival Crowd

It was a crazy day to be sure, the Locke Street festival right down the street from our house, the Super Crawl on James St North, and in the midst of it all our first Open House.  What an amazing opportunity to invite so many of our friends, especially those from our sending church in Milton, to come and experience our new neighbourhood.  I spent the day back and forth between greeting friends in our home and touring the festival on Locke Street.  To cap off the night our family, along with our good friend Mike Harvey, jumped on the shuttle to James St. N, where we checked out all the art and took in a few bands including Said the Whale and Broken Social Scene.  It was a pretty cool moment when we first arrived at the Super Crawl, got a program of the featured artists and bands and realized that one of Kim's former employees from the days when she owned a special events company, was a featured artist.  We got to connect briefly with Jason Frieburgur beside his installation in the middle of James Street.

This is the piece that appeared on the corner of James N. and Cannon

All in all it was a pretty amazing day!

I mentioned spending much of the day with Mike.  I think it would be appropriate to take a moment to recognize Mike and to thank him for all his contributions to the Sanctuary Milton over the past seven or so years.  Mike arrived at the Milton Sanctuary before even Jim Danielson or I.  He was a part of the congregation from very early on taking on roles as worship team member as well as Youth leader.  He also lead the worship team many times when I was absent, and has been helping to fill in since my departure in June.  When Mike was laid off from from his place of employment last year, he was blessed to find a new position in a town west of Milton and has relocated to be closer to work.  He has been commuting to church for the last number of months, but having spent the last number of years in community minded church plants with an emphasis on reaching neighbours and serving the community, he is recognizing the need to be part of a church that serves in the community in which he lives.  How can any of us disagree?  He will be missed, however, and we do want to thank him for his many contributions to our church family over the years.  I am just glad that I still have a close connection through a number of different musical endeavours in which we still collaborate.

As I have mentioned before, we have spent the summer trying to get to know the community, the people and the ongoings of our new neighbourhood.  One thing that I have been trying to recognize is some of the public spaces in which there is a sense of community and at which there seems to be a discernible schedule of regular attenders.  Based on those observations from the past few months I have come up with a schedule of times and places that I will try to be at weekly in the hopes of making connections and building relationships.  I would ask that you join me in praying that this will be a fruitful exercise over the coming months. 

Last week I mentioned that I would be visiting the McMaster campus, but that has been postponed until this coming Thursday, so I would appreciate your continued prayers for God's direction.

Thanks again for all the continued support and prayers.  

 

Free Art Friday 09/09/11

A bit of a change from the usual stuff and broadening my definition of art, this is a video I edited for Liam about out trip to Alabama with Liam.  I posted it on Wednesday but thought I would share it here today. 
Check back again next week for a new painting I did last weekend with some tips from an amazing artist (whose work I will share in an upcoming week).

Update Tueseday 06/09/11

It was four years ago that they sat in a prayer meeting on the campus of McMaster University.  As the prayers of the students were being lifted up, a distinctive theme began to emerge.  Students,  many of the Asian,  began to pray specifically that God would send missionaries with overseas experience in Muslin regions of the world to the campus and to the area to help reach Muslim background people.  Little did they know that Mike and Patty had such experience, serving almost 18 years in Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country in the world, and that as they sat in on this prayer time, they were considering coming to Ontario to help reach out to Muslim background residents.
This was the story that my good friend Mike shared with me this past week.  As it turns out, it has just not worked out for him to get back to the McMaster campus as of yet, but he was calling to see if we had thought about doing some work there and if I could show him around the campus.  Seeing as McMaster is my Alma matter I am very much open to showing him around, despite the fact that it has changed considerably since my days there!  When we first considered coming to Hamilton, there was someone working on campus and that general area.  He was, in fact, one of my first calls as we began to work through our call to Hamilton.  Since that time, however, he has moved on to other work in another part of the world which opens up the possibility to work in that area, and on campus.  Mike and I will be heading to the campus on Thursday for an initial walk around.  I am interested to see what God may do with this connection with Mike and with my connection to the campus.  As I have shared before, when we first started feeling the restlessness in our ministry that would lead to our work in Hamilton, it was Mike with whom I spent much time learning and thinking about missions and church planting as I tried to get some new perspectives and ideas from other parts of the world.  It seems a very natural connection now, as my new ministry is very much shaped by our time together, that we might consider working together on the campus.  I have no idea what God may have in store, if anything at all, for us on the campus but it is definitely worth exploring.
This past week really has been about making connections as we managed to also visit Ridgecrest Baptist Church, the only long established SBC work here in Hamilton.  They meet over on the East end of town where they still host an Sunday evening service.  This made it a perfect opportunity for us to visit.  Serving mostly recovering addicts and those with mental and physical special needs, to say that this congregation is made up of mostly outcasts and misfits would be quite fitting, and just the way that pastor Tim likes it.  He loves this community and does a great job serving them.  Worshipping with them was a beautiful experience that my family and I truly found enriching.  Although perhaps the polar opposite to slick and sophisticated, the singing was louder, more enthusiastic and heartfelt than some congregations of thousands with whom I have worshipped.  Spending some time getting to know Tim, his wife and his girls afterwards made a perfect ending to a great evening.
I also had the chance to meet Ken this past week who is pastoring another newer work here in the city.  His work is affiliated with Toronto Church Planting and NAMB and is a biker church.  He is reaching out primarily to bikers and their families.  I look forward to being able to join them in worship in the upcoming weeks.
 I was also able to host my uncle Brad and his wife Lisa as well, as they were visiting from Austin Texas.  While they were here we were able to walk over and visit one of his friends that he used to play in a band with about 20 years ago.  It was the last band that he played in before leaving Canada to head to Austin where he has continued his music career ever since.  We walked the two or three blocks to visit with Lori Yates, an established singer songwriter who has lived in Hamilton for the past ten years.  Not only was she amoung the first to make the transition from the Queen Street West scene to Hamilton, which is an ever increasing phenomena fueling the growing arts scene here in the city, she is the one through whom God worked to confirm our call to this particular neighbourhood.  It was exactly a week ago this weekend that I heard a familiar voice from my past singing out from a stage at the Locke Street Festival.  That voice was Lori's and it was that encounter that helped us narrow down the area in which we are now living.  It was great to see here again.  I hope that she might be able to help me get to know the music scene here a bit better.
Well, as I mentioned this weekend is the Locke Street Festival and we are piggy-backing on that fact and hosting an open house.  We would ask for your prayers as we plan and work to get the house ready.  We are hoping for an opportunity to introduce many of our friends from our sending church in Milton to our new neighbours and neighbourhood.   We are also hoping to solidify a number of the relationships that we have made here in the community before we start our fist house church meeting this month.
Thanks again for all the continued prayers and support!