Christian Tour Part 5: Baptist

A group of men from churches in Albert County, NB were the first team received by Impact Ministries in Guatemala when we arrived in the fall of 2005. Many of them attend the Hillsborough Baptist Church so I decided to visit them on Sunday.

The building they meet in is over 100 years old and is stunning! The room is a large square with a vaulted wooden ceiling. The altar is set into a corner flanked by a pipe organ and a wall sized stained glass window. Speaking with one of the volunteers following the service I learned that the monthly heating and electrical costs are $3000 causing much stress on the congregation and giving some of them a reason to build a new church (I suggested investing in energy efficient alternatives).

Choruses and hymns were sang with the aid of PowerPoint, a piano and drums. An offering and children's story preceded the sermon on listening to God. The church is looking for a pastor as their pastor of 20 years retired. Two elderly women shared a song and then communion was shared by the passing of bread and grape juice.

I was greeted by Bruce, Gary, and Merton when I walked in and following the service I saw Danny, Merle and Richard all from that first team of men. Thanks for the blessing guys!

Nifty Street Signs

Now nifty is that? I want one too!

Acadia's corner is in Cap-Pelé, NB.

Christian Tour Part 4: Seventh-Day Adventist

I visited the Moncton Seventh-Day Adventist Church on August 6 with my ever faithful son and my father and his girlfriend. This is the first congregation I attended as a child in 1980. The church built a new building in 1995, their third meeting place since they were established in 1892.

We joined the Sabbath School discussion at about 10 AM as Blaise went to the children's program. One of the things I always enjoyed about the SDA church was the study groups prior to the worship service. Some groups would discuss the global study guide while others might discuss other topics. This morning the topic was worship, but the topic was frequently hijacked by comments on how bad popular music is for us, especially it's proliferation and beat.

All the children joined their parents for the worship service at 10:45. A hymn song service accompanied by piano was followed by announcements, invocation, scripture, prayer, offering, children's story, and special music (a lovely a cappella rendition of "More than Wonderful").

The church's new pastor spoke eloquently on the topic of worship and service to God.

Attendees gathered for a potluck meal in the adjacent small gymnasium following the service and several met the next day to gather beans they were growing for donation to the local food bank.

Kayak: Kinnear to Kouchibouguac

I kayaked with papa today from our friend's camp on the Kinnear River which joins the Aboujagane River to the Atlantic Ocean along the coast of Robichaud Office and then up the Kouchibouguac River to our place. There was some light rain in the forecast, but the weather was perfect being a little overcast, a slight breeze and a lovely temperature. All together the trip took about 2 1/4 hours of leisure paddling plus a 30 minute snack break. The route was roughly 15 km.

Wind rippling through birches and maples. Water pushing over reeds. Kingfishers diving. Herons wading and taking off in lumbered flight. Smell of salt. Sea birds flocking on the dunes. Echoes under the five bridges we pass beneath. Trout splashing as they snatch insects on the river's surface. Mother duck distracting us from her little ones.

U2 360º Tour, Moncton, NB (with The Arcade Fire)

Well, this was pretty sweet! Two of my favorite bands one after the other with my wife and some great friends in the inner circle just a few feet from the stage.

Amber dropped me off at Magnetic Hill so I could get in line early, which didn’t do much aside from me getting the inside scoop on what was going on. It was pouring rain and I was expecting to be soaked, so it wasn’t bad – the best part of the rain is that it kept the crowds from turning up early. I was number 402 in the line and they wouldn’t give me numbers for Amber, Dallas and Claudia so I ended up waiting for them after getting into the venue (they were in the 900 group if they had numbered the line).

I met some great folks from Fredericton, Halifax, Lévis, Grand Falls, St Johns, Iceland while waiting in line. I was given a seat to use and beer and cherries while waiting in line too!

Sopping wet, we made it easily into the inner ring just 20 feet from the stage. We saw other fans returning from the rear entrance where they didn’t think they could get in, but there were only about 600 people in there when we entered (capacity 2000). Amber gave me a dry shirt to wear as I was soaked (she was dryer). The sun came out briefly and it didn’t rain again from about 5 pm onward.

Carney was the first act. The singer plays Spiderman on the Broadway show that Edge and Bono wrote the music for (and which has notoriously has been postponed for ages). The band has been together for a dozen years, since they were 14 years old. The music was quite good, very classic rock like Led Zeppelin and Queen.

Arcade Fire had a sensational stage presence and their set just lacked a couple of my favorites (Ocean of Noise and Rococo). The entire band put everything into it and got the whole crowd going. I had a perma-grin the entire 12 songs.

The guy beside me noticed Arcade Fire’s setlist taped on a monitor (oops) and got a snapshot of it. He asked if I wanted to see it. I was weak! Great set:

• Ready to Start
• Keep the Car Running
• No Cars Go
• Haïti
• The Suburbs
• Month of May
• Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
• We Used to Wait
• Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
• Rebellion (Lies)
• Wake Up
• Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)

It took an hour to switch up the stage for U2 during which time two Canadian Forces fighter jets (CF-18s) did multiple fly overs – we could feel the heat and it was LOUD! and AWESOME!

The Gigapixel 360° Photo Yellow Shirt Crew came out and started riling up the crowd and taking their picture. I was ready for them this time and made sure I was facing the camera. Here’s the shot stitched together. Miraculously, despite all the hands in the air, we can see our whole crew.

Ushered in by Bowie’s Space Oddity, U2 took the stage. The set was quite similar to the one in Edmonton with some nice additions. The crowd was so grateful in Moncton as U2 had never played a show in the Maritimes, let alone a 2-year tour closing show.

• Even Better than the Real Thing
• The Fly
• Mysterious Ways
• Until the End of the World (with a bit of Leonard Cohen’s Anthem, the song ended right on top of us with Bono and Edge reaching for each other from across the bridges)
• I Will Follow
• Get On Your Boots
• I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For (lots of crowd participation on this one, followed by the a cappella first verse of The Ballad of Springhill also known as Springhill Mining Disaster. I’ve been to the Springhill museum just an hour away in Nova Scotia)
• Stay (Faraway, So Close!) (with intro about how the band was close to splitting up before the Achtung Baby! songs were written, Stay was released later on Zooropa, and how the songs kept them together, the crowd went berserk when he sang “Miami, New Orleans, London, Belfast and Moncton”)
• Beautiful Day (with the sweet intro by astronaut Mark Kelly in space)
• Elevation
• Pride (In The Name of Love)
• Miss Sarajevo (one of my favorites)
• Zooropa (so happy they’ve included this on their tour)
• City of Blinding Lights
• Vertigo
• I’ll Go Crazy if I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight/Discotheque
• Sunday Bloody Sunday
• Scarlet (with intro about Aung San Su Kyi)
• Walk On
• One
• Where the Streets Have No Name (with Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah)
• Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
• With or Without You
• Moment of Surrender
• Out of Control (their first single, followed by some champagne spraying of the crowd by Bono)
• 40 (what a sacred way to close a concert and a tour!)

Larry Mullen Jr. closed the show as the crowd sang “How long, to sing this song?” with a drum solo and then walked to the microphone and closed the tour with “Thank you Moncton, we’ll miss you.”

Two summers ago, I agreed to go to splurge and fly Amber and me to Vancouver for a U2 show with my friends Chris and Christy as they had an extra pair of tickets for an October, 2009 show. The morning of that show, just hours before we flew to Vancouver, I bought tickets for a newly announced show in Edmonton scheduled for June, 2010. That concert was postponed until June 1, 2011 and earlier this spring the Moncton show was announced just days before we were planning to buy our flights to NB. Originally, I wasn’t expecting to see U2 anywhere, now I’ve seen them three times in less than 2 years and each experience has been unique and magnificent. What a gift.

Thanks to Claudia and Dallas for coming with us and for their photos. Thanks to Papa and Sandi for watching all four little ones. (secretly, I kind of wanted to put diapers on Blaise and Acadia and bring them too – probably not a good idea eh?, but seriously, how cool of a father would I be?

Blaise's Big Show

Blaise spent some time writing invitations for various camp staff who he ate meals with in the cafeteria. The event was his Big Show which was to be followed by his birthday cake.

Being 6 now, he is capable of producing a production. This one consisted of three parts:



A dramatic production (which I insisted he rehearse, and which I subsequently narrated as he mimed) about Blaise the Good Pirate.



A magic trick taught to him by Bryan, one of the programming staff. He performed the “pick a card, any card” trick on Christie.



The conclusion was an a cappella performance of 4 verses of “Lord of the Dance,” the song that enchanted Blaise at the Anglican Church the week before.

Well done, my son. And happy birthday too!

Christian Tour Part 3: United Church

I have to credit Amber who paused our trip to Prince George for 75 minutes so that I could continue my adventure through Christianity. She walked through the town of Banff with Acadia while I and my faithful son Blaise attended Rundle Memorial United Church. I was late, again, because I missed the exit off the TransCanada and had to turn around.

The building is beautiful and suits the gorgeous Rocky Mountain surroundings. As we entered sanctuary from the front doors (a lot of these older churches don’t have foyers), we were handed a bulletin and a songbook. The order of service was traditional Protestant and it felt a lot like attending a Seventh-Day Adventist church, with a couple added readings.

It was a summer service, so there were very few people inside, though many of the “so called” liberal churches are declining in membership too. We took our seats during a hymn. We sang from both the hymnal and the newer song book.

One retired pastor who was visiting from Arizona led everything in the service except for the Mission Minute and play piano. He directed everything as though it was an upbeat business meeting. His sermon was about gifts. It didn’t look like he had anything written down and it seemed like it was all a bit off the cuff - that said it was good to be reminded of why God endowed us all with gifts.

The stained glass windows are noteworthy. Three large windows on each side featured men (and one woman) of faith. On the left side were folks like John Wesley, Isaac Watts, John Knox, John Calvin, and other big names in Protestantism. On the right, were local ministers who established churches or served the church locally, most notable would be Pastor Rundle for whom this church is named. Flanking each window were picturesque depictions of each province and territory (except Nunavut of course) of Canada. New Brunswick’s picture had a view of the St. John River valley.

Blaise was brave enough to go up with the two other kids for the children’s time. When asked where he was from, he guardedly said he was on vacation.

During the shake everyone’s hand and bless everyone time, Blaise and I were invited to stay for coffee and juice after the service. I declined, but then discovered we had 15 minutes of flex time before we had arranged to meet Amber so we ended up partaking in some rather delicious brownies and coffee in real china cups. I think it is the classiest after church snack I have ever experienced. Everyone was very friendly and I chatted with a local bank worker who attended this church in his youth.

Rainbow Insect Graveyard

I recognized yesterday how colourful my front bumper was after driving 2000 km from Fort Qu'Appelle, SK to Smithers, BC. Thank you bugs!

Christian Tour Part 2: Orthodox

On July 10th, I attended St. George's Orthodox Church in Regina with some friends. It is certainly the most original service I've partaken in and in a rather surprising way, it was refreshing - not something I anticipated in 1500 year old liturgy.

I was late again (thanks to Chris, again ;)). We were invited to sign the guest book as other late attendees crossed themselves before an icon outside the sanctuary. This particular Orthodox Church is Romanian in heritage so the liturgy book had one page in English and the other in Romanian.

The priest had a couple helpers, deacons, who sang various portions of the liturgy as rites were performed at the altar. The chorus was read by a choir and the congregation - all in English thank goodness. The liturgy was a combination of prayers, Bible passages, and affirmations written by St. John Chrysostom over a millennia ago and for the most part, I resonated with it. Only the prayers were not sung, reminding me of how scripture is sung in Judaism too.

Blaise was with me and was quite mesmerized by all the movement at the front. During the short and joyous predication on the meaning of the words Gospel and Evangel, I wrote out a few key words for him to copy out, which he did and gave to the priest at the end of the service (everything Blaise writes is worthy of giving to someone).

During the Communion, only members of the Orthodox faith were invited to partake in the wine, but others were invited to come forward to have bread and receive a blessing. My friend Marc, new to the Orthodox faith, brought a handful of bread back for us.

The icons in the church were striking. I didn't find them particularly inspiring as I don't have any training in their history nor are most of the saints between 100 AD and 800 AD familiar to me. Central to the beautiful rotunda above the altar was a large image painted with gold leaf of Christ, done in perspective so those in the congregation could see Him in proper dimension. Below Christ was a large image of St. Mary holding Christ. I've learned much regarding the importance of Mary in Orthodox theology. First, she is venerated for her lengthy physical contact with God which makes her Blessed Among Women. Second, she was the one who gave Christ his Humanity an essential part of his identity and a core doctrine that was defended many times in church history.

Blaise, Chris and I were recognized as visitors and given a nice card picturing the icon of Christ with the four beasts of Revelation (who in Orthodox tradition represent the 4 evangelists) which spreads across the ceiling of the sanctuary (different from the one on the dome).

We were invited to dinner to Marc's sister's home after the service, so we missed out on the feast at the church to which we were invited to. It was a fundraiser to pay for the new painting and coating on the ceiling of the dome.

I picked up 8 little booklets on Orthodoxy directed at Evangelical Christians to help them understand that since the Orthodox Church has existed virtually unchanged for 1500 years, it is the best expression of the New Testament Church. They certainly have much to teach the Western Church in regards to church history, tradition, practice and theology.

600 Posts

At 600 posts, I feel pretty good about myself and my commitment to writing (albeit unprofessionally) on a regular basis. It's also pretty handy to go back and review the years and trips and anecdotes that made it onto Zaakistan: The Blog.

Thanks to you readers, especially those who leave comments and have blogs of your own.

Christian Tour Part 1: Anglicanism

I've been given a great opportunity this summer. Since I am not home for any weekends, I can visit churches in the cities I am present in.

Two weeks ago I was able to visit the first of these: St. Mary's Anglican Church in Regina. I am becoming more familiar with Anglican theology as I have been reading N.T. Wright this last year and I have read the scholarly work of John Stott too. It was a pleasure to sit (and stand and kneel) and worship among St. Mary's believers in their stained glass windowed church.

The liturgy was beautiful and engaging for me, one who has attended freeform worship services his whole life. It was a bit tricky to follow in the prayer book, but I managed well enough. The message was inviting and challenging and Christ-centred.

As the minister spoke and several youth read biblical passages, a group of children coloured and played quietly at the front of the sanctuary before the altar. This was quite amazing really.

I participated in communion, shared weekly in the Anglican tradition. It was a substantial time in the service and the faithful were dismissed row by row to line up and then kneel at the alter to be served the bread and wine. We were blessed as we received it which is a nice change from participating in virtual solitude at my church. The wine was clear and sweet and alcoholic - not sure why it's not red. The bread was leavened unlike what I grew up experiencing - when I asked why it was leavened since leaven represented sin in the old testament, my friend explained that it was because Christ's body was risen.

The final song sung was Lord of the Dance (sung to the tune of Simple Gifts). Blaise enamoured himself with it so I am glad it was an insert in the bulletin. He still pulls out the sheet and sings along.

We enjoyed refreshments in the basement following the service. The basement is also used for a community drama festival to present plays. It is also the site of a small school.

Ode to the Dragonfly

I have enjoyed dragonflies my whole life. They are gentle. They control the mosquito population. They are beautiful. Dragonflies move in mysterious ways.

We named our cohousing group after the dragonfly for anyone of its qualities, perhaps because its wings look like stained glass windows (without the stain).

I spent some time this week photographing some of the thousands of dragonflies around Katepwa Lake. I must say, they aren't easy to capture in flight, but I managed a few from a distance. Upon contemplation, I appreciate the swarms even more.

Canada Day Fireworks [with kids]

Canada Day Fireworks are better with kids!

I really wanted to get the kids up and take them to the 10:30 fireworks in Regina (Saskatchewan's provincial capital) since we were in town anyway. Amber agreed, fortunately, and got them dudded up appropriately in PJs and maple leaves on their cheeks. They never actually went to bed before the fireworks, because we got into Regina later than expected and they needed baths.

The works were excellent, worthy celebration of our great nation. We got close to the park grounds and since the show had just started, we parked ourselves with other spectators on the corner of College Ave and Broad St.

Blaise went ballistic! He danced around and waved his flag for nearly the entire show. Both he and Acadia recited ooohs and aaahs throughout. You can tell by their smiles in the photo below that it was worth it for us to keep them up that late. [we'll see how they behave the day after, they are still sleeping at 8:45 am...]

777 KM Drive to Regina

Yeah it was a fine drive. Took a little longer with all the police on the highway. I saw a pair of moose trotting in a field. Blaise got a free poster of the world's tallest teepee at the info centre in Medicine Hat. Listened to The National, New Pornographers, Death Cab for Cutie, and Dylan and Cohen covers.

Acadia barfed a triple helping onto herself (with it pooling behind her booster seat - so gross!!). I know how much she chews her food now (not much).

This was my favourite sign:

Happy Canada Day! We're off to see the fireworks now with Chris and Christy; our kids are super wired.