Songbird

- by Lance Odegard

She’d been flitting at the back and along the sides of the congregation for weeks—
her calculated late arrivals working like camouflage.

At the back, on the tables, she tends her many plastic bags (the smaller bags inside the larger bags, each tied with strong, tidy knots)—the evidence of a quiet resolve, the gathering of a mobile nest.

She lives in layers, under multiple coats. She takes up less space than her body accounts for. Pressed flat, she has been thinned into near invisibility—turn her sideways and she might disappear.

We talk after the service, usually about my kids, sometimes about her week. She says most nights she sleeps in the library’s indoor lobby, sitting upright, perched in a chair. She whispers her words, not intending them to travel. They must be held like the small feathers my kids find at the park; one careless puff and they’re gone.

Months ago, I asked for her name but she wouldn’t give it. She says she never tells anyone her name. Who or what had turned it against her, I wondered—
and what is a person without a name?

Today, I had a name for her.
Songbird. 
Her quiet eyes blinked and she asked, why did you give me that name? 
Because I think you like music and you remind me of a bird.

It was a clumsy answer, and it didn’t tell the whole truth. But she perceives the smallest of intentions. Shifting her feet, she said, You can call me by that name.


Lance Odegard (MCS, Regent College 2011) is a pastor with Artisan Church in Vancouver, BC. Lance has particular interest in the intersections of faith and art, pastoral ministry and poetry, and neighbourhoods and neighbours. Lance and his wife Aimee live in the Strathcona neighbourhood with their four children.
http://world.regent-college.edu/arts-theology/songbird

Together for The Poor

The Jesus Creed blog has an article about Evangelicals in the United Kingdom and the various theological perspectives on Hell. I appreciate the perspective of this Evangelical Alliance because they are a true alliance. It does not seem that one theological group is trying to win out over another group. They truly recognize that there are disagreements among them and give each perspective equal time. I thought about this as I attended a meeting today. I gathered with representatives who were Christian, Jewish, or Muslim to discuss how we might work for the common good of the poor in our city. We concluded that all of our faith traditions mandated that we "love one another" and "care for the poor." We spent a couple of hours asking each other what it means to love one another in this manner while our world is polarized and sometimes violent. We recognized that there is a difference between healthy faith and toxic faith and all of us committed ourselves to upholding our healthy faith while standing against toxic versions of any community of faith. We are working together to be exemplars of what good, healthy, and true religion can be.

Now, I am pretty sure that if I had coffee with Rabbi Howard tomorrow and expressed an interest in converting to Judaism, he would first check my motivations, and then begin the process of teaching me how to become a Jewish convert. If he were to come to me and express a desire to follow Jesus Christ, I too would check his motives; but if I found him to be sincere, I would welcome him into a discipleship program that would ultimately result in him becoming a Christian. Each of us is absolutely committed to our faith and to the value it has for people's lives. We are not lukewarm about our beliefs! Yet, we recognize that if the majority culture is to see either of our faiths as a viable faith structure, we must show our commitment to working together on things we hold in common. We must exemplify the value of loving others and caring for the poor.

This group of which I am a part also set out on a path to write a joint statement condemning the actions of ISIS in Iraq. We were all in absolute agreement that the atrocities of these armed militants are wrong and deserve to be halted; but, can we agree on a joint statement that will say this in a fashion on which we can all agree? That remains to be seen. For now, I thank God for small gains as we work together to serve the poor in the city of Calgary.

Changing the World

I had tea with two friends who, when they were each 24 years old, read the book Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger  (about five years ago for each of them). I commented that I had also read that book when I was about 24 years old (about seven years after it was published). I thought about my life and wondered how I had done living out the principles of the book in the 29 years that have followed. I realized that I never really understood the principles until I worked at practising them in my own stumbling ways. I decided I still needed to put much more into practise. The three of us had been at an event at which Ron Sider and Shane Claiborne spoke. Ron Sider was speaking out against consumerism before consumerism became a dirty word. You might say that "he was active, when activism wasn't cool." Because of people like Ron Sider, Mother Theresa, and Shane Claiborne, North Americans do know that it is not acceptable to horde our wealth while the poor are oppressed and hungry. These prophets have spoken of and modeled for us the coming of the Kingdom of God on earth. They have reshaped evangelical opinions on poverty and wealth. Sider says,

We need to make some dramatic, concrete moves to escape the materialism that seeps into our minds via diabolically clever and incessant advertising. We have been brainwashed to believe that bigger houses, more prosperous businesses, and more sophisticated gadgets are the way to joy and fulfillment. As a result, we are caught in an absurd, materialistic spiral. The more we make, the more we think we need in order to live decently and respectably. Somehow we have to break this cycle because it makes us sin against our needy brothers and sisters and, therefore, against our Lord. And it also destroys us. Sharing with others is the way to real joy. - Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger.

"Sharing with others is the way to real joy." Do I really believe that all of the time? How much of myself am I willing to share with others? Shane Claiborne reminds us that we must know those for whom we advocate and serve.

And I think that's what our world is desperately in need of - lovers, people who are building deep, genuine relationships with fellow strugglers along the way, and who actually know the faces of the people behind the issues they are concerned about. - The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical

I thought about how I have been reading about these things and attempting to live them out for many years. I find I am in agreement with these words of Claiborne. “Most good things have been said far too many times and just need to be lived.”

Delicious Things and Wonderful Places

Nora Ephron (May 19, 1941 – June 26, 2012) was an American filmmaker, director, producer, screenwriter, novelist, playwright, journalist, author, and blogger.1 She passed away earlier this week. Many news feeds have been running quotes from her blog and Twitter feeds. This one surfaced in the Guardian newspaper: "You should eat delicious things while you can still eat them, go to wonderful places while you still can ... and not have evenings where you say to yourself, 'What am I doing here? Why am I here? I am bored witless!'"2

That is good advice. We are meant to enjoy life here on earth. Jesus, while he was on earth, participated in several feasts and celebrations and it seems he had a pretty good time. John 12:1-8 tells of a time when he and many friends, including Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead, were celebrating and sparing no expense. But there is one additional thing which Jesus teaches. When we do celebrate, eat delicious things, and go to wonderful places we should take others less fortunate than ourselves along with us. His words are quite explicit: ". . . when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."3 Perhaps we might seek to live by the advice of both Nora Ephron and Jesus of Nazareth.



1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nora_Ephron
2 Nora Ephron; Guardian.co.uk Nora Ephron Dies Aged 71
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/jun/27/nora-ephron-dies?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
3 Luke 14:12-14 New International Version of the Bible.

Jesus On the Train

Music and Lyrics by Mike Charko and Keith Shields
(SOCAN 2012) (Click here to listen to this song) (or here)

I saw Jesus on the train today.
He looked right through me with a piercing stare.
I didn't expect him to look that way.
He asked me to love the people on the train.

I saw Jesus on a screen today.
His tear filled eyes in Somalia.
He's asking me to give it all away.
To be his hands in a broken place. 

Maranatha, come back our way
Maranatha, we will be ready today
Maranatha, hear our cries
Maranatha, in the skies 

I saw Jesus in the clouds today.
He was coming with a trumpet and a shout.
How was I to know time was almost out.
He asked me if I had loved the people on the train. 

Maranatha, come back our way
Maranatha, we must be ready today
Maranatha, hear our cries
Maranatha, no more lies 

I saw Jesus on the train today.
He looked right through me with a piercing stare.
I didn't expect him to look that way.
He asked me to love the people on the train.

Appreciation

Notes of appreciation to the Vancouver Police from the people of Vancouver.

Click on the picture for a larger image.

Room for the Poor

Recently I had a great visit with Claudia Launhardt and her husband Nasser. They are doing some great work in the Downtown East Side (DTES) of Vancouver. In 2001 they purchased the Ivanhoe Hotel, a low income single room occupancy (SRO) building in the DTES. They are people of faith who have a great story to tell. It is evident that God is at work through them.

When the Launhardts bought the 125-room hotel, it was receiving up to 600 police visits a month. They worked hard to redeem it from its infamous reputation as the 'devil's playground.' They renovated extensively, replacing the roof, the elevator, and the heater. With the help of TWU [Trinity Western University] students, they also painted and recarpeted to make the place more appealing for residents. "We want people to feel at home here and take pride in where they live," Launhardt says.

Soon, the new owners found residents were as eager as they were to eliminate crack dealers and violent criminals from the hotel roster. "People came to us and said, 'Don't rent a room to this guy, he's dealing drugs,'" Launhardt says. Slowly, with prayer and prudent management, the hotel was purged of its undesirable tenants.*

Today, the Ivanhoe requires no government subsidies and pays for itself as it cares for some of the most vulnerable of Vancouver's residents. It is great to see people of faith making a difference. We need more brave followers of Jesus who will help transform the lives of the people of the DTES.

*"Room at the inn for Vancouver's poor," by Louise Rousseau, CanadianChristianity.com, reprinted from Trinity Western magazine, http://www.canadianchristianity.com/cgi-bin/na.cgi?nationalupdates/031204room