The president of Union Gospel Mission, Bill Mollard, raises some interesting points in his op-ed piece in the Vancouver Sun on Nov. 11, about the provincial government's new emergency shelter law.
The law gives police the authority to force a homeless person to go to a shelter when the weather is particularly nasty. On the surface, it looks like a good way to keep people from freezing to death. Bill's main point is that forcing people to go to a shelter -- even ostensibly for their own good -- takes away their dignity by taking away their freedom of choice; police officers are not social or outreach workers; the government would do better to support outreach programs. Bill's right on this count: I know a lot of street people who prefer not to go to a shelter. They don't want to be caught up with the fights, the thefts, the attitude problems -- often conflicting with their own -- and the fact that, especially in flu season, airborne sickness in an enclosed space is a concern (whether real or imagined).
I'm not sure I agree, though, with his opinion of the ability of police officers to assess a situation. That's part of their training, and frankly, there are few people I've met on the Downtown East Side who are more compassionate than the cops. For all the paranoia-mongering of the "activists" in the area, the cops are there and they care about the people. The son of some friends of mine at church recently became a full-fledged constable, and while he's been working other parts of the city to start with, he's said his ideal is to work the Downtown East Side and make a difference with the people there.
Then there's that "freedom of choice" issue. A lot of people on the Downtown East Side don't have freedom of choice. People who are mentally ill or so strung out on drugs that their sole aim in life is to find the next hit don't know what's good for them. They don't realize they could die from exposure ... or set themselves on fire by trying to stay warm. What are we, as a society, supposed to do? Are they to die because, at that one particular moment, they're incapacitated? Does our concept of "freedom of choice" and "dignity" take precedence over their right to live?
We leave them to die on the streets in the cold, and they're gone. We do something to help them live another day, and they have another chance to straighten their lives out.
And that leads to the problem I have with the legislation. One of the incidents that gave it added impetus was the horrifying death of a woman last winter. She had made a makeshift shelter with a shopping cart and a tarp, then started a fire to keep warm. Something went wrong and she burned to death. If I recall correctly, she had been advised by police to find a shelter, but since they couldn't force her, they let her be.
What's noteworthy about this is that this incident happened not on the Downtown East Side but on Davie Street, an area noted for self-absorbed self-indulgence. In the summer preceding the incident, I came across Clive, a man I used to know at Rainbow Mission. I hadn't seen him for several months, but this one afternoon, I saw him wandering, zombie-like, past a crowd of partyers waiting to get into one of the bars, the partyers apparently oblivious to Clive's very existence.
I saw the same thing with another woman, sitting in a wheelchair with a ventilator in her nostrils, begging. We chatted for a time and prayed together, and she said no one had even stopped to talk to her.
Did anyone who wasn't paid to be there stop to check on the woman who died in the fire? Funny: I think it's more likely that the people on the DTES would have noticed and tried to convince her to find a place -- and might have been more successful than someone in uniform -- a representative of The Man.
That -- along with the distinct possibility that the aforementioned paranoia merchants will use it to claim that the government wants an excuse to run homeless people off the streets and hide them until after the Olympics -- is what concerns me about this legislation. Is this legislation truly a caring move by government, or a way to wash our hands of a situation by giving the appearance of doing something? It's the flip-side of the "homeless censuses" that come out every so often, laying a guilt trip on society about how many more shelter beds we need. Will more shelter beds solve the homelessness situation? Is a shelter a home? Or is it just a number of beds on a ledger, which someone thinks will indicate that the problem is solved if it equals the number of people who would otherwise be on the street. "Well, we tried," the government can say, and people can go on partying to their hearts' content, since someone else is taking care of things.
Doesn't Jesus call us to be that "someone else"?
Having a "right" is one thing, but we as human beings, children of God, joint-heirs with Jesus Christ, have a responsibility that we are all too willing to shirk. (Note what I've said in the past, that the DTES is "Samaria", and Jesus specifically includes Samaria in His final instructions to us in Acts 1:8.) If we are walking in love towards one another, we take care of one another. Maybe that means seeing if they want to go to a shelter; maybe it means sharing the Gospel and the hope of the knowledge that God has not forgotten them -- and neither have people in the "other half". It's amazing how much warmer you can feel when you know that. I believe that's one of the reasons why Gospel Mission and The Lord's Rain have been successful in achieving transformational revival: we're not a big organization, and our support comes from countless people coming forward in countless ways, with donations big and small, of money, time, labour and supplies, as the Lord lays it on their hearts. That sends an important subliminal message: that "someone else" from "the other half" does care.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
HELP WANTED - some real opportunities at Gospel Mission
This is called "casting your net wide". If you've read anything on this blog before, you'll know that Gospel Mission is small but motivated, and we've definitely had the hand of God on us for blessing in the work that we do. The more we reach out with the Gospel -- straight-no-chaser -- to let people know that God has not forgotten them and that the real turnaround they need is only possible through His Son, Jesus Christ, the more He blesses us with the resources that we need.
We have a couple of "human resource" needs at Gospel Mission, and I'm casting the net here to see who's interested. Sometimes, people don't step up to the plate because they're not even aware that there's a plate to step up to (lousy grammar, but I think you know what I mean). After all, the only reason I wound up ministering on the Downtown East Side is because God got right in my face about it. First, He first placed me at a job right at the worst intersection in Victoria (Broad and Pandora -- ironically, right beside City Hall) and then at a job where I had to run a gauntlet of drug addicts and panhandlers (CKNW, right beside Granville Station). It was then that I heard Him tell me, "these people don't need handouts ... they don't need money ... they don't need programs ... they need Me. They need My Son. And you have to tell them what I did for you."
So here are the opportunities:
1 - a ministry team for Friday nights. A good team would consist of 6-10 people -- one for the Worship music, one to preach, two in the kitchen, and the rest to serve coffee and meals, help with cleanup afterwards, and help disciple people and encourage them to focus their minds and hearts on Jesus and away from "the world".
2 - helping at The Lord's Rain on Tuesday mornings. We recently received a major blessing of bread from Cobs Bread and coffee from Waves Coffee. I need a couple of people to come in on Tuesday morning between 6:30 and 9 to help wrap bread and store it, and to make breakfast sandwiches for the people we serve.
3 - a team to open The Lord's Rain early on other mornings. The Lord's Rain is open Mondays and Fridays from 10-3, but the intent has been to have the place open early -- like 6:30 or 7am -- to give people a place to come after they get booted out of the shelters. We're open at those hours on Tuesday and Saturday; the early opening also gives one time to go to an office job afterwards (I close The Lord's Rain at 8:30 on Tuesdays, so I can get out to Metrotown by 9:15 or so).
The more people can spend time at Gospel Mission or The Lord's Rain, the more they're NOT out on the streets surrounded by the world, and the more they're hearing the Word of God and exposed to the Holy Spirit. (We don't preach at people at The Lord's Rain: it's what senior pastor Barry Babcook calls "soft evangelism" or "Jesus with the skin on" -- living and demonstrating the love of Christ.
The fruits are palpable. We've seen tremendous transformations in people. They're not cataclysmic, shaft-of-light-and-the-voice-of-john-ashbridge-from-the-clouds turnarounds, but gradual, definite, positive steps forward.
If you're interested in making a real, positive difference in an area that for decades has been long on bad news, please contact me.
We have a couple of "human resource" needs at Gospel Mission, and I'm casting the net here to see who's interested. Sometimes, people don't step up to the plate because they're not even aware that there's a plate to step up to (lousy grammar, but I think you know what I mean). After all, the only reason I wound up ministering on the Downtown East Side is because God got right in my face about it. First, He first placed me at a job right at the worst intersection in Victoria (Broad and Pandora -- ironically, right beside City Hall) and then at a job where I had to run a gauntlet of drug addicts and panhandlers (CKNW, right beside Granville Station). It was then that I heard Him tell me, "these people don't need handouts ... they don't need money ... they don't need programs ... they need Me. They need My Son. And you have to tell them what I did for you."
So here are the opportunities:
1 - a ministry team for Friday nights. A good team would consist of 6-10 people -- one for the Worship music, one to preach, two in the kitchen, and the rest to serve coffee and meals, help with cleanup afterwards, and help disciple people and encourage them to focus their minds and hearts on Jesus and away from "the world".
2 - helping at The Lord's Rain on Tuesday mornings. We recently received a major blessing of bread from Cobs Bread and coffee from Waves Coffee. I need a couple of people to come in on Tuesday morning between 6:30 and 9 to help wrap bread and store it, and to make breakfast sandwiches for the people we serve.
3 - a team to open The Lord's Rain early on other mornings. The Lord's Rain is open Mondays and Fridays from 10-3, but the intent has been to have the place open early -- like 6:30 or 7am -- to give people a place to come after they get booted out of the shelters. We're open at those hours on Tuesday and Saturday; the early opening also gives one time to go to an office job afterwards (I close The Lord's Rain at 8:30 on Tuesdays, so I can get out to Metrotown by 9:15 or so).
The more people can spend time at Gospel Mission or The Lord's Rain, the more they're NOT out on the streets surrounded by the world, and the more they're hearing the Word of God and exposed to the Holy Spirit. (We don't preach at people at The Lord's Rain: it's what senior pastor Barry Babcook calls "soft evangelism" or "Jesus with the skin on" -- living and demonstrating the love of Christ.
The fruits are palpable. We've seen tremendous transformations in people. They're not cataclysmic, shaft-of-light-and-the-voice-of-john-ashbridge-from-the-clouds turnarounds, but gradual, definite, positive steps forward.
If you're interested in making a real, positive difference in an area that for decades has been long on bad news, please contact me.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
The windows of blessing are open!
They come big and small, and in all forms ... last month, we received the check from the W. Garfield Weston Foundation ... this month, it's staple foods for Gospel Mission and The Lord's Rain.
Cobs Bread has an "end of day giving program", where any of its bakemeats (to use the KJV expression) unsold at closing time are given to charities. We have been signed up for the Monday night "pickup" at the new Cobs location in West Vancouver (next to the Safeway just off the Upper Levels in Caulfeild, in what used to be woods where we kids would play while at Caulfeild Elementary School 40+ years ago).
The amazing thing is, when I walked in last Monday night for the first pickup, the shelves were practically full. I was told they have a corporate philosophy that their customers should have a wide selection of product no matter what time of day they walk in ... but I suspect there's also a corporate philosophy to give of their best to people in need.
So as well as using it for our own needs at the services (and it also means people coming to The Lord's Rain will have breakfast goodies, like Danishes, cinnamon rolls and the like), we'll give it away to those who need it.
One of our biggest expenses -- especially at The Lord's Rain at this time of year -- is coffee, and Waves Coffee is coming to the rescue, donating 20 lb of whole bean coffee a month (anyone got a large coffee grinder they're not using?). Barry receives donated coffee from another company for Gospel Mission (up till now, we'd been buying our coffee for The Lord's Rain), but I'm not sure if they want their name mentioned. Neither Cobs nor Waves has said one way or the other, whether they want publicity, so this is me, blowing a horn for them out of gratitude.
(It's an interesting paradox. Some of our contributors have said they don't want their names mentioned -- they're not after publicity. Others say "go ahead", not so much for the publicity, but to encourage others to help out, as well.)
Cobs Bread has an "end of day giving program", where any of its bakemeats (to use the KJV expression) unsold at closing time are given to charities. We have been signed up for the Monday night "pickup" at the new Cobs location in West Vancouver (next to the Safeway just off the Upper Levels in Caulfeild, in what used to be woods where we kids would play while at Caulfeild Elementary School 40+ years ago).
The amazing thing is, when I walked in last Monday night for the first pickup, the shelves were practically full. I was told they have a corporate philosophy that their customers should have a wide selection of product no matter what time of day they walk in ... but I suspect there's also a corporate philosophy to give of their best to people in need.
So as well as using it for our own needs at the services (and it also means people coming to The Lord's Rain will have breakfast goodies, like Danishes, cinnamon rolls and the like), we'll give it away to those who need it.
One of our biggest expenses -- especially at The Lord's Rain at this time of year -- is coffee, and Waves Coffee is coming to the rescue, donating 20 lb of whole bean coffee a month (anyone got a large coffee grinder they're not using?). Barry receives donated coffee from another company for Gospel Mission (up till now, we'd been buying our coffee for The Lord's Rain), but I'm not sure if they want their name mentioned. Neither Cobs nor Waves has said one way or the other, whether they want publicity, so this is me, blowing a horn for them out of gratitude.
(It's an interesting paradox. Some of our contributors have said they don't want their names mentioned -- they're not after publicity. Others say "go ahead", not so much for the publicity, but to encourage others to help out, as well.)
Saturday, November 7, 2009
The Lord's Rain -- it's all about the fellowship
Busy morning at The Lord's Rain, which isn't surprising, because it's just chuckin' it down out there ...
John arrived early to open up, and I was a few minutes late, and arrived to find Howard and Shannon in deep conversation. Howard is John's roommate, having more or less escaped from a group home. John's been a real blessing to him, giving him friendship and treating him as a normal person -- there's no doubt he has issues, but in his case, knowing that having issues is actually quite "normal" can help a lot.
For her part, Shannon -- along with her husband -- is going through recovery from drug addiction. She has a very kind heart and even though they have next to nothing, they have a strong relationship. And there she is, talking to Howard about his issues, sharing what she's learned from going through her own.
John and Mario are talking Scripture again. John's a charismatic and Mario is Catholic, so you can imagine they get into some interesting discussions. The beauty of it is that, unlike a lot of discussions masquerading as religious dialogue, their conversations don't degenerate into an "I'm right/you're wrong" battle.
It's about the fellowship, and one of the really cool things about The Lord's Rain -- something we'd never envisioned when we launched the project 2 years ago (gad! 2 years this month!) -- is the way people feel free to discuss and explore their faith and the various forms it takes. And we thought it was all about the showers.
Speaking of which, another fellow found us for the first time today. Very grateful for the shower and the dry clothes ... hearing someone say, "I feel like a new man", is wonderful! "I never knew you guys were here," he said, "until I saw someone with the coffee and they told me about the coffee and the showers."
The other thing "they" need to tell others is how to get here. The Carrall Street Greenway Project continues to create an urban adventure in actually navigating around the jobsite to the Mission. On Tuesday, I found the sidewalk blocked on one side and had to cross to the other and move the metal fences to get through. This morning, the sidewalk was blocked about 20' from the entrance, and I had to slide past the workers and another metal fence to get through.
This, too, shall pass (I keep telling myself) ...
Not the most productive conversation with the city re parking during the Olympics. At first, it appeared we might be able to buy a meter hood and pre-empt a parking space during Games Time; then I was told they couldn't do that and besides, people would park there anyway and their Bylaw Enforcement Officers couldn't be everywhere at once ("don't bother working with the system because no one obeys the law anyway"?) ... and of course, if word got out that we got "special treatment", others would want it too.
As Spike Milligan once said, you could explain Einstein's Theory of Relativity to a roomful of monkeys for 6 months, and at the end of it all, they'd still be monkeys.
But (and here's the kicker) "we really want to help you".
I then felt like John Cleese in the cheese shop (to leap to another British humorist): explain the reasoning behind that statement.
Then we discovered that the owners of the parking lot at Army & Navy (a block away) would charge approximately 1/3 of what we'd pay for a city parking meter hood that (apparently) no one would obey, anyway.
Looks like we will maintain our record of never receiving anything from the City.
The wintry winds blow ... and the rain is cascading down .. meaning warm coats and boots and socks will be in demand again ... donations are always welcome -- email me or leave a message at the Mission (604-684-3097).
John arrived early to open up, and I was a few minutes late, and arrived to find Howard and Shannon in deep conversation. Howard is John's roommate, having more or less escaped from a group home. John's been a real blessing to him, giving him friendship and treating him as a normal person -- there's no doubt he has issues, but in his case, knowing that having issues is actually quite "normal" can help a lot.
For her part, Shannon -- along with her husband -- is going through recovery from drug addiction. She has a very kind heart and even though they have next to nothing, they have a strong relationship. And there she is, talking to Howard about his issues, sharing what she's learned from going through her own.
John and Mario are talking Scripture again. John's a charismatic and Mario is Catholic, so you can imagine they get into some interesting discussions. The beauty of it is that, unlike a lot of discussions masquerading as religious dialogue, their conversations don't degenerate into an "I'm right/you're wrong" battle.
It's about the fellowship, and one of the really cool things about The Lord's Rain -- something we'd never envisioned when we launched the project 2 years ago (gad! 2 years this month!) -- is the way people feel free to discuss and explore their faith and the various forms it takes. And we thought it was all about the showers.
Speaking of which, another fellow found us for the first time today. Very grateful for the shower and the dry clothes ... hearing someone say, "I feel like a new man", is wonderful! "I never knew you guys were here," he said, "until I saw someone with the coffee and they told me about the coffee and the showers."
The other thing "they" need to tell others is how to get here. The Carrall Street Greenway Project continues to create an urban adventure in actually navigating around the jobsite to the Mission. On Tuesday, I found the sidewalk blocked on one side and had to cross to the other and move the metal fences to get through. This morning, the sidewalk was blocked about 20' from the entrance, and I had to slide past the workers and another metal fence to get through.
This, too, shall pass (I keep telling myself) ...
Not the most productive conversation with the city re parking during the Olympics. At first, it appeared we might be able to buy a meter hood and pre-empt a parking space during Games Time; then I was told they couldn't do that and besides, people would park there anyway and their Bylaw Enforcement Officers couldn't be everywhere at once ("don't bother working with the system because no one obeys the law anyway"?) ... and of course, if word got out that we got "special treatment", others would want it too.
As Spike Milligan once said, you could explain Einstein's Theory of Relativity to a roomful of monkeys for 6 months, and at the end of it all, they'd still be monkeys.
But (and here's the kicker) "we really want to help you".
I then felt like John Cleese in the cheese shop (to leap to another British humorist): explain the reasoning behind that statement.
Then we discovered that the owners of the parking lot at Army & Navy (a block away) would charge approximately 1/3 of what we'd pay for a city parking meter hood that (apparently) no one would obey, anyway.
Looks like we will maintain our record of never receiving anything from the City.
The wintry winds blow ... and the rain is cascading down .. meaning warm coats and boots and socks will be in demand again ... donations are always welcome -- email me or leave a message at the Mission (604-684-3097).
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
"Every wise-hearted one ..."
We've devoted a couple of the most recent postings to the contribution we've received from The W. Garfield Weston Foundation, but the Lord woke me up around 4 this morning with a reminder: don't forget the others!
Right, as usual, Sir. After all, when you hear of a whacking big donation from a foundation, you might be tempted to think, "what good would my 50 bucks do?" ... and the answer is, Gospel Mission -- and especially The Lord's Rain -- was built not on one or two major donations, but on a whole lot of smaller donations.
Indeed, the same day that I deposited the cheque from the Westons, I also deposited a $50 cheque from one friend and US $20 from another. And that's how our Mission has grown.
The Lord's Rain is a perfect example. When we set out to build it, we approached a wealthy Christian businessman to underwrite the project. We were turned down flat. At first, we were perplexed, but then God started to show that He had other ideas. People started coming forward with donations, large and small. Yes, it was two larger donations that kick-started the project, but they were "convincers", responses to our request for a sign that The Lord's Rain was supposed to move forward.
People also started coming forward with their talents. If you read the Book of Exodus, you'll see that the Tabernacle was built by "wise-hearted" people or "those whose hearts were willing" (Exodus 35:10 et seqq.): that's how The Lord's Rain was built.
And that's how it should be. I've said it before: the reason why The Lord's Rain has been successful has been because it was built by a variety of people with a variety of gifts to bring. The love that comes with that effort and dedication permeates The Lord's Rain and shows the people who come in, whether it's for showers or just coffee and conversation, that people from The Other Half really do care.
And that's love ... which sows the seeds of hope ... which sows the seeds of transformational revival.
--
No Plague Shall Come Nigh My Dwelling Dep't.: Heaven knows, we saw enough rats in and around the Mission during the time that work was going on at the old Woodward's site a block away. Prayer, oil and some judiciously placed packets of Wilsarin dealt with that menace, but then came renovations at the hotel-or-whatever-it-was next door and the total destruction of the 300 block Carrall Street. More rats were sighted in the alley and scampering across the sidewalk ... but nowhere near Gospel Mission / The Lord's Rain. We haven't been using Wilsarin, either. Go figure. Praise the Lord, Who protects His people!
Right, as usual, Sir. After all, when you hear of a whacking big donation from a foundation, you might be tempted to think, "what good would my 50 bucks do?" ... and the answer is, Gospel Mission -- and especially The Lord's Rain -- was built not on one or two major donations, but on a whole lot of smaller donations.
Indeed, the same day that I deposited the cheque from the Westons, I also deposited a $50 cheque from one friend and US $20 from another. And that's how our Mission has grown.
The Lord's Rain is a perfect example. When we set out to build it, we approached a wealthy Christian businessman to underwrite the project. We were turned down flat. At first, we were perplexed, but then God started to show that He had other ideas. People started coming forward with donations, large and small. Yes, it was two larger donations that kick-started the project, but they were "convincers", responses to our request for a sign that The Lord's Rain was supposed to move forward.
People also started coming forward with their talents. If you read the Book of Exodus, you'll see that the Tabernacle was built by "wise-hearted" people or "those whose hearts were willing" (Exodus 35:10 et seqq.): that's how The Lord's Rain was built.
And that's how it should be. I've said it before: the reason why The Lord's Rain has been successful has been because it was built by a variety of people with a variety of gifts to bring. The love that comes with that effort and dedication permeates The Lord's Rain and shows the people who come in, whether it's for showers or just coffee and conversation, that people from The Other Half really do care.
And that's love ... which sows the seeds of hope ... which sows the seeds of transformational revival.
--
No Plague Shall Come Nigh My Dwelling Dep't.: Heaven knows, we saw enough rats in and around the Mission during the time that work was going on at the old Woodward's site a block away. Prayer, oil and some judiciously placed packets of Wilsarin dealt with that menace, but then came renovations at the hotel-or-whatever-it-was next door and the total destruction of the 300 block Carrall Street. More rats were sighted in the alley and scampering across the sidewalk ... but nowhere near Gospel Mission / The Lord's Rain. We haven't been using Wilsarin, either. Go figure. Praise the Lord, Who protects His people!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
What's in a name?
What a great day.
We received the cheque today from The W. Garfield Weston Foundation -- $15,000, which for Gospel Mission / The Lord's Rain, will go a very long way in doing what we're called to do on the Downtown East Side.
Mark Mitchell, a third-generation Weston and director of the Foundation, came to the Mission along with Carlo Fierro, manager of the Superstore at Rupert and Grandview Highway, where we do a lot of our shopping (Barry buys a lot at the Real Canadian Wholesale Club, too, which is also owned by the Weston Family). Sherry Chen and her
shooter, Dennis, came from BCIT to cover the presentation, as did Teddy Huang from CTV.
Teresa and her crew had done a wonderful job of repainting inside the chapel upstairs; as I mentioned before, Barry and some others had done more work on the drywalling at the back. Aside from some newly donated clothes which hadn't been put away, the place looked great.
Chet Lalonde seized the moment to shave and put on a tie.
But there was one little "off" note that got me thinking. When CTV aired the story on the 5:00 news, they referred to us as Union Gospel Mission.
Oops.
I called the assignment desk and the young man there apologized profusely. I didn't catch the latter part of the newscast, so I couldn't see if they made the correction there; the story didn't air on the 6:00 package.
I have to admit, I'd had high hopes for a good story on CTV. It was Peter Grainger's story on CTV back in February 2008, which mentioned the theft of some tools from the jobsite, that led to one of God's "grandstand plays", to show that He was ordaining and providing for this "Next Level" ministry on the Downtown East Side. Janet Dirks, who's now the Alberta bureau chief, has been a big supporter from Day One. So it was a little off-putting to hear that they had gotten us mixed up.
I do go out of my way to let people know that we're two different organizations, largely out of courtesy to UGM; it's an important distinction on both sides, because, while we have similar names, so do Michael and Larry Jordan and, well, those two brothers are JUST a bit different*.
Gospel Mission was founded in 1929, more than a decade before UGM came along. I know there were "discussions" about the name similarities over the years, but those, I understand, are pretty much lost to memory.
So what is in a name?
Why wouldn't we change our name to something like "Carrall Street Church", which is the "secondary" name on our legal documents, to avoid confusion and possibly a lot of lost donations as people think they're giving to one organization but are really giving to another?
It's simple: "Gospel Mission" is the name God gave the Work He ordained through the Apostolic Church of Pentecost back in 1929. To change the name would be to second-guess God. To change the name would be to change the assignment He gave us when we have no right to do so.
To use a tired advertising cliche, The Name Says It All. It's a Mission. It spreads the Gospel.
Would we change the name to avoid confusion and not miss out on contributions? That would be a purely fleshly consideration. If people don't know the difference between the two ministries, whose problem is that? God's? Or ours?
Now, at this point, I was about to fall into the sar-chasm** about media coverage, except that the Lord is right now checking me about being ungrateful towards the media. After all, He's reminding me, it was the media -- like Peter on CTV (not to mention Pamela Martin's ad lib that it would be nice if someone stepped forward to help us), Cheryl Rossi at the Courier, my friends at CityTV, Clint Nickerson and Jen Palma at Global, Rick Cluff at CBC, Robert Groulx on Radio-Canada, Al Siebring at the Cowichan Valley Times and George Orr at BCIT -- who gave us vital ink and airtime when we were getting started.
What matters, He says, is that He knows the difference and He blesses us both in different ways. What matters is that Gospel Mission has succeeded because we're true to the assignment reflected in the name. What matters is that God has tapped people on the shoulder -- from The W. Garfield Weston Foundation, hectoring on other Foundations to keep giving even in tough times, to the anonymous donor who handed me a horse-choking wad of cash when he saw Peter's story, to the young boy who gave us $46 he'd collected through bottles and odd jobs because he couldn't bear to think of the people on the street with no food -- to let them know we have a need and they can fill it. And most importantly, the people on the street know who we are.
And that's what's in the name.
=========
*According to Answers.com, MJ idolized his older brother to the extent that he chose #23 as his jersey number with the Bulls because Larry wore #45 and he wanted to be half the man his brother was. I saw Larry play for the Chicago Express in the late-unlamented World Basketball League (I was PA announcer for the Vancouver Nighthawks): wonderful player - but at 5'8", well, you do the math.
**That's a neomorphologism meaning to utter one cynical remark, which leads to another ... and another ... until you're out of control and into a festival of negativity. That's an original. You're welcome to it.
We received the cheque today from The W. Garfield Weston Foundation -- $15,000, which for Gospel Mission / The Lord's Rain, will go a very long way in doing what we're called to do on the Downtown East Side.
Mark Mitchell, a third-generation Weston and director of the Foundation, came to the Mission along with Carlo Fierro, manager of the Superstore at Rupert and Grandview Highway, where we do a lot of our shopping (Barry buys a lot at the Real Canadian Wholesale Club, too, which is also owned by the Weston Family). Sherry Chen and her
shooter, Dennis, came from BCIT to cover the presentation, as did Teddy Huang from CTV.Teresa and her crew had done a wonderful job of repainting inside the chapel upstairs; as I mentioned before, Barry and some others had done more work on the drywalling at the back. Aside from some newly donated clothes which hadn't been put away, the place looked great.
Chet Lalonde seized the moment to shave and put on a tie.
We showed Mark around The Lord's Rain and up into Gospel Mission upstairs. 
Amelia took great pride in showing off the kitchen -- a tribute to the people who work back there while the service is going on -- the Mission is truly a team operation. In his remarks for the cameras, Mark paid us some nice compliments while I took the opportunity to say that I hoped the special fund set up by the Westons to help organizations that help feed and clothe the needy make it through the economic downturn would inspire other such foundations to step up their giving at this time.
Amelia took great pride in showing off the kitchen -- a tribute to the people who work back there while the service is going on -- the Mission is truly a team operation. In his remarks for the cameras, Mark paid us some nice compliments while I took the opportunity to say that I hoped the special fund set up by the Westons to help organizations that help feed and clothe the needy make it through the economic downturn would inspire other such foundations to step up their giving at this time.
L-R Mark Mitchell, self & Carlo Fierro
But there was one little "off" note that got me thinking. When CTV aired the story on the 5:00 news, they referred to us as Union Gospel Mission.
Oops.
I called the assignment desk and the young man there apologized profusely. I didn't catch the latter part of the newscast, so I couldn't see if they made the correction there; the story didn't air on the 6:00 package.
I have to admit, I'd had high hopes for a good story on CTV. It was Peter Grainger's story on CTV back in February 2008, which mentioned the theft of some tools from the jobsite, that led to one of God's "grandstand plays", to show that He was ordaining and providing for this "Next Level" ministry on the Downtown East Side. Janet Dirks, who's now the Alberta bureau chief, has been a big supporter from Day One. So it was a little off-putting to hear that they had gotten us mixed up.
I do go out of my way to let people know that we're two different organizations, largely out of courtesy to UGM; it's an important distinction on both sides, because, while we have similar names, so do Michael and Larry Jordan and, well, those two brothers are JUST a bit different*.
Gospel Mission was founded in 1929, more than a decade before UGM came along. I know there were "discussions" about the name similarities over the years, but those, I understand, are pretty much lost to memory.
So what is in a name?
Why wouldn't we change our name to something like "Carrall Street Church", which is the "secondary" name on our legal documents, to avoid confusion and possibly a lot of lost donations as people think they're giving to one organization but are really giving to another?
It's simple: "Gospel Mission" is the name God gave the Work He ordained through the Apostolic Church of Pentecost back in 1929. To change the name would be to second-guess God. To change the name would be to change the assignment He gave us when we have no right to do so.
To use a tired advertising cliche, The Name Says It All. It's a Mission. It spreads the Gospel.
Would we change the name to avoid confusion and not miss out on contributions? That would be a purely fleshly consideration. If people don't know the difference between the two ministries, whose problem is that? God's? Or ours?
Now, at this point, I was about to fall into the sar-chasm** about media coverage, except that the Lord is right now checking me about being ungrateful towards the media. After all, He's reminding me, it was the media -- like Peter on CTV (not to mention Pamela Martin's ad lib that it would be nice if someone stepped forward to help us), Cheryl Rossi at the Courier, my friends at CityTV, Clint Nickerson and Jen Palma at Global, Rick Cluff at CBC, Robert Groulx on Radio-Canada, Al Siebring at the Cowichan Valley Times and George Orr at BCIT -- who gave us vital ink and airtime when we were getting started.
What matters, He says, is that He knows the difference and He blesses us both in different ways. What matters is that Gospel Mission has succeeded because we're true to the assignment reflected in the name. What matters is that God has tapped people on the shoulder -- from The W. Garfield Weston Foundation, hectoring on other Foundations to keep giving even in tough times, to the anonymous donor who handed me a horse-choking wad of cash when he saw Peter's story, to the young boy who gave us $46 he'd collected through bottles and odd jobs because he couldn't bear to think of the people on the street with no food -- to let them know we have a need and they can fill it. And most importantly, the people on the street know who we are.
And that's what's in the name.
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*According to Answers.com, MJ idolized his older brother to the extent that he chose #23 as his jersey number with the Bulls because Larry wore #45 and he wanted to be half the man his brother was. I saw Larry play for the Chicago Express in the late-unlamented World Basketball League (I was PA announcer for the Vancouver Nighthawks): wonderful player - but at 5'8", well, you do the math.
**That's a neomorphologism meaning to utter one cynical remark, which leads to another ... and another ... until you're out of control and into a festival of negativity. That's an original. You're welcome to it.
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