We lost a good friend recently at Gospel Mission. Michael Thompson is referred to as the "oldest member" at Gospel Mission -- had been coming, if I heard Barry right -- for over 30 years. Considering he was barely into his 50s, that means he'd been on the Downtown East Side since he was a teenager. That is, sadly, par for the course with a lot of people there: there may be a few transients in the area, but many of them have spent the better part of their lives surrounded by the drugs and the violence.
Michael was just there. I believe he loved the Lord, although as I write this, I hear the echo of a Pentecostal minister who, when I wanted to share with him about Rusty Campbell, who was murdered in spring of 2007, and referred to him as "drunk as a skunk most of the time,", declared, "then he couldn't have loved the Lord!" You really can't debate that one. But as for Michael, the poems he wrote and are shared on the Gospel Mission website leave no doubt.
When I knew him, he was going through serious issues as the drugs continued to ring up their toll on his life. Many others were closer to Michael -- Amelia, for instance, refers to him as "a gentle soul" -- and gave freely of their time and love and encouragement. Michael wanted to be free of the demons, and for sure, there was one Wednesday evening earlier this year, after Bible study, when Barry started casting the demons out and Michael wound up flat on his back, mumbling in tongues.
But the physical toll continued to build. He wound up spending many weeks in hospital, unable to recognize anyone, and with his clothes hidden away, lest he decide to "check himself out". Barry and Janet went up to visit him often, praying over him mostly; God moved on Michael's life, by getting him into an assisted-living facility, and in September, Michael was well enough to come to Bible study a couple of times. His voice was reduced to a mumble and he needed a walker and physical help to get up and down the stairs, but he was lucid and able to recognize most of us.
Last week, we learned that he was dead. In fact, he'd been dead for a month, but the facility apparently didn't have contact information for any of us. His family on Vancouver Island, which had lost track of him over the years, didn't know, either, until they contacted Barry and Barry directed them to the facility. Michael had had a seizure at the end of October, and died a few days later.
It's like that on the Downtown East Side. For whatever reason, people lose track of their lives, and life loses track of them. It's no one's fault -- and God knows everyone of us has reason to beat themselves up for not Being There at the end. But we do know Who was there at the end, and even now, I'm hearing Him telling me that it was the prayer and the ministry that people gave Michael over the years that kept reinforcing the message that Jesus came for him, just as He came for others; ensuring that Michael kept his eyes on the Lord, even as he struggled for his footing in the endless battle with the enemy.
Michael's niece sent the following letter to Barry:
Hello Pastor Barry
Once again let me express my gratitude for being there for my Uncle when we could not. I remember him on many occasions talking about the Mission and look forward to meeting with you.
The poems are wonderful and do indeed allow me to look inside that part of him. I will pass this web site on to the family so they too can see these and download them.
Do you have the originals or were they on the computer?
Anything you can share with us is very much appreciated. You did mention that you had some pictures as well so maybe we can arrange to have copies of those. When Uncle Mike comes to us and we have a celebration for him I will let you know so maybe you will want to write something about him that I can share with the family. I was unsure of what I would do with my father's ashes and I will now wait for Uncle Mike and spread them together. Maybe this is what was to be.
Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours Truly
Sheila Thompson
Sheila has asked for some recollections of Michael, and I'll share them here on the blog as they come in.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Saturday, November 8, 2008
The Showers Saga - 13: Don't Take Your Eyes Off The Pillar (original post: Feb. 25/08)
I had to listen to the voice mail from Barry four times before I finally understood what he'd said.
He was calling on his cell phone from SkyTrain, which is two strikes against any phone call, and I could have sworn he'd said "the shower ministry got broken into". Four times of listening to it didn't change it. That's exactly what he said.
Truth to tell ... it wasn't broken into. Someone walked in through the door that I thought I'd locked, after showing an out of town guest around the project on Sunday afternoon. They walked out with a bunch of tools, a bag of brass fittings and two sets of shower fixtures. Evidently, I didn't lock the door when I thought I had.
So now we have to replace the tools that got ripped off and buy more fittings. Not the end of the world, no one got hurt. This would happen the day after I'd preached a sermon on getting to know one's place in the Lord, and went off on a tangent about Mayor Sam and the fact that, by his words, he's "written off" the people on the Downtown East Side, but God has not written them off. Now, I find myself in the midst of a test of how much I believe that, because on the one hand, yes, I'm angry with myself for not locking that blasted door, but I am REALLY DISAPPOINTED in whoever ripped us off! Doesn't he (or she) realize the showers are for him (or her)? Doesn't he (or she) realize this is an expression of the love of Christ for him (or her)?
Of course not, Drew: they're too strung out on drugs to know right from wrong. That's why you and the others are doing this. The change in people will come from within and will take time. If the change had already happened, the showers project wouldn't be necessary.
The Lord never said it would be easy. But He did say He'd be with us, every step of the way.
It is all the more reason for us to press ahead with the showers project: a graphic reminder of whom we are called to serve and the battle we're fighting; a reminder of the importance of showing these people the love of Christ in the face of an "official" society that's written them off.
They need to see that God has not written them off, even though a significant sector of those in authority has bought into the insane theory that giving them a "safe place to shoot up" is the best solution. "Go ahead and kill yourselves! We don't care! (Just don't die at InSite!)"
So we begin by forgiving. The Lord has been showing me whom to forgive: the thief, of course; the people who got him on drugs to begin with; those who buy into the insane philosophy behind InSite; and our society, which has, little by little, grown to condone drug use as it's turned away from those silly absolutes called Right And Wrong.
(One could take a timeline and plot the general out-of-control spiral of our society and pinpoint that the spot where it was kick-started was the spot where the Lord's Prayer was banned from public schools. Of course, that's pure coincidence, right?) Now, it's time to remember how God has brought us through it so far. It's like the Israelites in the wilderness, being reminded (Deuteronomy) how God got them out of Egypt, across the Red Sea, through the wilderness, provided manna and quails and water from a rock.
He was calling on his cell phone from SkyTrain, which is two strikes against any phone call, and I could have sworn he'd said "the shower ministry got broken into". Four times of listening to it didn't change it. That's exactly what he said.
Truth to tell ... it wasn't broken into. Someone walked in through the door that I thought I'd locked, after showing an out of town guest around the project on Sunday afternoon. They walked out with a bunch of tools, a bag of brass fittings and two sets of shower fixtures. Evidently, I didn't lock the door when I thought I had.
So now we have to replace the tools that got ripped off and buy more fittings. Not the end of the world, no one got hurt. This would happen the day after I'd preached a sermon on getting to know one's place in the Lord, and went off on a tangent about Mayor Sam and the fact that, by his words, he's "written off" the people on the Downtown East Side, but God has not written them off. Now, I find myself in the midst of a test of how much I believe that, because on the one hand, yes, I'm angry with myself for not locking that blasted door, but I am REALLY DISAPPOINTED in whoever ripped us off! Doesn't he (or she) realize the showers are for him (or her)? Doesn't he (or she) realize this is an expression of the love of Christ for him (or her)?
Of course not, Drew: they're too strung out on drugs to know right from wrong. That's why you and the others are doing this. The change in people will come from within and will take time. If the change had already happened, the showers project wouldn't be necessary.
The Lord never said it would be easy. But He did say He'd be with us, every step of the way.
It is all the more reason for us to press ahead with the showers project: a graphic reminder of whom we are called to serve and the battle we're fighting; a reminder of the importance of showing these people the love of Christ in the face of an "official" society that's written them off.
They need to see that God has not written them off, even though a significant sector of those in authority has bought into the insane theory that giving them a "safe place to shoot up" is the best solution. "Go ahead and kill yourselves! We don't care! (Just don't die at InSite!)"
So we begin by forgiving. The Lord has been showing me whom to forgive: the thief, of course; the people who got him on drugs to begin with; those who buy into the insane philosophy behind InSite; and our society, which has, little by little, grown to condone drug use as it's turned away from those silly absolutes called Right And Wrong.
(One could take a timeline and plot the general out-of-control spiral of our society and pinpoint that the spot where it was kick-started was the spot where the Lord's Prayer was banned from public schools. Of course, that's pure coincidence, right?) Now, it's time to remember how God has brought us through it so far. It's like the Israelites in the wilderness, being reminded (Deuteronomy) how God got them out of Egypt, across the Red Sea, through the wilderness, provided manna and quails and water from a rock.
So here goes:
- God placed the project on Barry's and my hearts separately and independently
- the project is connected to not one, but two prophecies: Gerry's over Barry, that Gospel Mission/Carrall St Church would expand and reach out to more people; Lee Grady's over me, that God would provide more effective tools to reach the people on the DTES
- Greg the landlord gave us every break imaginable so we could put the project together
- crucial funding that we needed -- and which confirmed the hand of the Lord is on this project for blessing -- came in exactly when we needed it
- the showers have been donated (by Andrew Sheret)
- The Oasis (Gerry's church) sent the work crew to do the job -- brilliant work by carpenters
- two plumbers have stepped up to the plate, both enthusiastic and with "can do" attitudes that pulled us through the early part, when we needed to hear the project could be done
- people with diverse gifts have emerged to contribute in whatever ways they can: Murray and Tim with their building and planning skills; Kathleen with the towels; Diane with a contribution through her company, IKEA; Gord supplying the soap
- God even protected Barry and Brodie when the mob hit happened across the street
- the media have grasped the vision
- the police are onside
- there's a positive buzz on the street among the people
And we give Him the glory for bringing us this far, and for taking us all the way -- wherever that road leads. We just have to keep our eyes on that pillar of fire, leading us through this wilderness.
We need to remember the miracles -- the ways in which God is touching the people at the Mission: people who are hearing from Him, praying for others, giving words of wisdom and/or knowledge ... even just moving closer to the front ... one man came up after the Sunday service, and showed me his Bible, that he's had people at the churches he goes to sign for him ... so proud of it! I'd seen him before, but he'd never come up to talk before ...
That's what's important at times like this: to re-focus on God, how great He is, how much He wants us to succeed ... and blow off the enemy's feeble attempts to beat us.
We must be on the right track, or Satan wouldn't be throwing so many rocks under the wheels. If you're not taking flak, you're not over the target.
Pastor Barry said it best: "they may think they're killing our faith, but they never will".
Amen.
Back to work.
The Showers Saga - 12: more media coverage (original date: Feb. 22/08)
This entry is hereby turned over to my old mate, Al Siebring, who writes a column for NoApologies.ca, reads the newscasts on the NoApologies radio show, and penned (or processed, since I don't think anyone can read his handwriting) this one for the Cowichan Valley Citizen.
I have a .pdf of the article, but by the time it gets posted here, it would be illegible, so here's the text:
A Duncan church group is making a difference in one of Canada’s poorest neighbourhoods. The Oasis Church – the folks who meet out at the Cowichan River Bible Camp every Sunday – have been helping a mission in Vancouver “clean up” the neighbourhood. Quite literally. The story is an example of how networking works. Or maybe it’s about how God uses what some people would call “serendipity.” One of the key figures in this story is an old friend of mine, Drew Snider. Drew and I go back almost 25 years; we worked together at the old CKDA Radio in Victoria back in the 80’s, and then went to work for competing radio stations in Regina, Saskatchewan for a time. Our careers and personal lives have kept crossing paths.
When I moved back to the Valley almost 10 years ago, we reconnected. I found a changed man; someone who had “found God”, was very passionate about his faith, and was attending Pastor Gerry Wall’s Oasis Church. Today, Drew lives on the mainland. His day-job is as a spokesman for TransLink, but his passion is his work as an “evangelist”; he works with the street people on the downtown east side. Specifically, he’s with an organization called the Carrall Street Church – it’s also called the Gospel Mission (as opposed to the better-known “Union Mission”.) The church has been around since the 1920’s, and has operated out of the second floor of a two-storey walk-up on Carrall Street – next to Pigeon Park – since the end of WWII.
In the almost four years since Drew started volunteering there, he noticed that the street people who would show up for dinner were filthy. Not only that, but they were keenly aware of their filthiness. Often, he says, they would head to the laundry tubs in the back of the building, wash themselves with hand soap, and try to dry off with paper towels. That set him to thinking about meeting not just the spiritual, but also some more of the physical needs of that clientele. And then – late last year – one of the tenants on the ground floor of the building moved out. In an amazing confluence of events – I’m sure Drew would tell you this was “the hand of the Lord” – the vacancy happened at around the same time that he had planned to go to New York City to see an old friend.
While he was in the Big Apple, he stopped in to visit “the Bowery Mission”, the third-oldest downtown street mission in the USA. What he saw there inspired him – when he got back to Vancouver – to approach the landlord on Carrall Street about renting the soon-to-be-vacant space on the ground floor. He wanted the spot for a project that has since been labelled “the Lord’s Rain”. The Bowery Mission, you see, has a “showers” program for street people. A place where these folks can come in off the street and get cleaned up – if not in the sense of getting away from the drugs, at least “cleaned up” in a physical sense.
But there was the small matter of finding the money to rent the extra space. And finding the plumbing supplies. And tracking down the expertise to plumb a bunch of showers into the ground floor of a 70-year old building. Once again, enter the power of networking. Or was it “the hand of the Lord”?
About 15 years ago, when he was working at CFAX Radio, Drew emceed the 100th anniversary dinner for Andrew Sheret, the Island-based plumbing company. So he called them. CEO Brian Findlay remembered him, and when Drew explained “the Lord’s Rain” to him, he instantly agreed to donate all the plumbing supplies to the project, along with some of the expertise to get the installation done. And in a final bit of serendipity that’s just too coincidental to be “just coincidence”, Pastor Gerry Wall’s Oasis Church had decided at around the same time late last year – before Drew had even gone to New York – to make a major donation to the Carrall Street Church.
The money? Well, let’s just say the “extra rent” for the space to be occupied by the showers is looked after, at least for the short term. And Pastor Wall and a number of volunteers from the Oasis have been over to Vancouver a number of times on recent weekends, helping to get the shower stalls built.
This is truly an amazing project. And the way the various threads have come together brings to mind an old quote from Benjamin Franklin: “The longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of man.”
The “hand of the Lord”, indeed.
I have a .pdf of the article, but by the time it gets posted here, it would be illegible, so here's the text:
A Duncan church group is making a difference in one of Canada’s poorest neighbourhoods. The Oasis Church – the folks who meet out at the Cowichan River Bible Camp every Sunday – have been helping a mission in Vancouver “clean up” the neighbourhood. Quite literally. The story is an example of how networking works. Or maybe it’s about how God uses what some people would call “serendipity.” One of the key figures in this story is an old friend of mine, Drew Snider. Drew and I go back almost 25 years; we worked together at the old CKDA Radio in Victoria back in the 80’s, and then went to work for competing radio stations in Regina, Saskatchewan for a time. Our careers and personal lives have kept crossing paths.
When I moved back to the Valley almost 10 years ago, we reconnected. I found a changed man; someone who had “found God”, was very passionate about his faith, and was attending Pastor Gerry Wall’s Oasis Church. Today, Drew lives on the mainland. His day-job is as a spokesman for TransLink, but his passion is his work as an “evangelist”; he works with the street people on the downtown east side. Specifically, he’s with an organization called the Carrall Street Church – it’s also called the Gospel Mission (as opposed to the better-known “Union Mission”.) The church has been around since the 1920’s, and has operated out of the second floor of a two-storey walk-up on Carrall Street – next to Pigeon Park – since the end of WWII.
In the almost four years since Drew started volunteering there, he noticed that the street people who would show up for dinner were filthy. Not only that, but they were keenly aware of their filthiness. Often, he says, they would head to the laundry tubs in the back of the building, wash themselves with hand soap, and try to dry off with paper towels. That set him to thinking about meeting not just the spiritual, but also some more of the physical needs of that clientele. And then – late last year – one of the tenants on the ground floor of the building moved out. In an amazing confluence of events – I’m sure Drew would tell you this was “the hand of the Lord” – the vacancy happened at around the same time that he had planned to go to New York City to see an old friend.
While he was in the Big Apple, he stopped in to visit “the Bowery Mission”, the third-oldest downtown street mission in the USA. What he saw there inspired him – when he got back to Vancouver – to approach the landlord on Carrall Street about renting the soon-to-be-vacant space on the ground floor. He wanted the spot for a project that has since been labelled “the Lord’s Rain”. The Bowery Mission, you see, has a “showers” program for street people. A place where these folks can come in off the street and get cleaned up – if not in the sense of getting away from the drugs, at least “cleaned up” in a physical sense.
But there was the small matter of finding the money to rent the extra space. And finding the plumbing supplies. And tracking down the expertise to plumb a bunch of showers into the ground floor of a 70-year old building. Once again, enter the power of networking. Or was it “the hand of the Lord”?
About 15 years ago, when he was working at CFAX Radio, Drew emceed the 100th anniversary dinner for Andrew Sheret, the Island-based plumbing company. So he called them. CEO Brian Findlay remembered him, and when Drew explained “the Lord’s Rain” to him, he instantly agreed to donate all the plumbing supplies to the project, along with some of the expertise to get the installation done. And in a final bit of serendipity that’s just too coincidental to be “just coincidence”, Pastor Gerry Wall’s Oasis Church had decided at around the same time late last year – before Drew had even gone to New York – to make a major donation to the Carrall Street Church.
The money? Well, let’s just say the “extra rent” for the space to be occupied by the showers is looked after, at least for the short term. And Pastor Wall and a number of volunteers from the Oasis have been over to Vancouver a number of times on recent weekends, helping to get the shower stalls built.
This is truly an amazing project. And the way the various threads have come together brings to mind an old quote from Benjamin Franklin: “The longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of man.”
The “hand of the Lord”, indeed.
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