Workshops are a new feature to our annual conference. Attendees have a choice of one out of nine workshops on Thursday May 7 from 2:45-4:00pm.
Workshop listings below:
Speakers: Jay Ewing, Queenie Hewitt, and Karen Giesbrecht of Tenth Church
In this workshop we will explore one local church’s approach to care for God’s good world. Learning from their successes and failures, you will leave the workshop encouraged and with practical ideas regarding how you might incorporate earthkeeping practices into your church community.
Jay Ewing is the Site Pastor for the 3rd Service at Tenth Church in Vancouver. Prior to pastoral ministry, Jay and his wife Milissa were the Centre Directors for A Rocha Canada’s BC Environmental Centre. Jay is a graduate of Ambrose University and Regent College, and is currently receiving training in Spiritual Direction.
Queenie Hewitt is the Community Garden Mobilizer at A Rocha Canada. She studied sustainable food systems at UBC and she has a passion for all things related to good food. In her work with A Rocha, Queenie loves helping church communities cultivate a personal connection to God's creation by putting ideals into action.
Karen Giesbrecht serves as the coordinator of the Tenth Church community meal programs. Karen is a dietitian, and also works with City Gate Leadership Forum, cultivating collaboration among faith-based food programs in Metro Vancouver.
Speaker: Paul Kariya of Clean Energy BC
Simultaneously, the First Nations in BC derive their identity from the land and they are inundated with referrals for natural resource development projects on their lands. One of the ways we can truly value creation, and care for it, is to walk with and support First Nations. This workshop, using vignettes and stories, will examine how issues of earthkeeping, economics, politics, and justice are all integrated in contemporary relations with First Peoples while raising the question “How might your church engage?”
Paul Kariya is Executive Director of Clean Energy BC. Prior to this he was Executive Director of Pacific Salmon Foundation. Kariya has worked in the public sector both federally and provincially and he was CEO of the provincial crown corporation, Fisheries Renewal BC and Executive Director of the BC Treaty Commission. Paul holds a BA (Hon) from UBC and a MA and PhD from Clark University in Massachusetts. Foremost he is the son of a fisherman.
Speaker: Rob des Cotes of Imago Dei
"He leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul." Psalm 23:2-3
This workshop will examine the many ways Creation helps restore our souls. While in Creation what are we reminded of that we tend to forget about in the city? How does meditating on the natural world contribute to our sense of belonging to something greater than the work of our own hands? What particular aspects of our relationship to God, or to ourselves, does Creation help restore? We will also consider ways that the Church might enlist the help of Creation in proclaiming God's love and healing to this world.
Rob Des Cotes is a spiritual director, retreat leader and pastor of Imago Dei, a network of faith communities that encourages the practice of prayer and a transforming relationship with God. He is the author of three books of meditations for spiritual direction, Fan the Flame, Higher Than I and Ultreia! (Go Higher).
Speaker: Gary Roosma of OMF Canada
What in the world does Creation Care have to do with the Church’s call to spread the Light of Christ around the world? Well, plenty in fact, as we often work in regions where environmental degradation can be even more obvious and blatant than it is in much of the West. The impact of this tragedy, combined with global climate change, is having catastrophic consequences. Hear how OMF International is getting involved in the ministry of Creation Care for the Glory of God in East Asia.
Gary Roosma is Pacific Region Director for OMF International – Canada, where he overseas the mobilizing and training work for OMF in BC. He and his wife, Jennifer, with their three children, have served with OMF since 1994, focusing primarily on training local pastors for ministry in East Malaysia.
Speaker: David Knight of Lincoln Road Chapel
This workshop will explore some of the marvelous water and nature texts in scripture and how we can use them in both personal and congregational life and the insights they offer on issues of discipleship, social justice, environmental stewardship and our personal thirst for God.
After teaching high school and ministry with IVCF, David Knight has pastored for 18 years in Quebec and Ontario and is now Pastor of Spiritual Development at Lincoln Road Chapel in Waterloo, ON. He is the author of Downstream from Eden, a devotional commentary on 160 water texts in the Bible.
Speaker: Stacey Toews of Level Ground Trading
Most Christians do not spend their working life in so-called Christian ministry. This workshop will profile one Christian businessperson’s experience of running a for-profit enterprise where ‘activism in the everyday’ includes: alleviating poverty in developing nations, promoting sustainable agriculture with small-scale farmers, operating a ‘landfill free’ facility in Victoria and paying staff to cycle to work.
Stacey Toews worked as a pastor for 7 years before ‘converting’ to business and discovering greater opportunity to share his faith! Stacey is co-founder of Level Ground Trading, a Direct Fair Trade company based in Victoria, British Columbia. This is their 18th year in business and they purchase the annual harvest of 5,000 farmers in 10 countries.
Speakers: Matthew W. Humphrey and Rick Faw of A Rocha Canada
There are many hurdles that prevent followers of Christ from caring for creation. If you, or members of your Christian community, wrestle with the why questions (e.g. “Why should I bother earthkeeping if its all going to burn?” or “Why should I care about trees rather than people?”) then this session is a chance to consider them in a small group setting.
Rick Faw, Vice-president of A Rocha Canada, combines academic backgrounds in science and theology with a love for the outdoors. He longs for people to integrate Christian discipleship and the created world in tangible, substantive, prophetic, and hopeful ways.
Matthew W. Humphrey is the Associate Director of A Rocha Canada. He works to integrate the life of faith with the practices of caring for creation. Since earning an MATS from Regent College in Vancouver, Humphrey has worked with A Rocha Canada, (www.arocha.ca), as both an educator and practitioner. Alongside overseeing various experiments in sustainable agriculture, Humphrey teaches in churches, colleges, and community settings. In his free time, he enjoys reading, listening to bluegrass, tending his flocks, and spending time outside with his wife, Roxy, and children, Abigail, Elijah, and Mary.
Speaker: Darren Brouwer of Redeemer University in Hamilton, Ontario
Is climate change "the greatest problem the world faces" or the "greatest hoax perpetrated on the American people", as prominent Christians have claimed? This workshop will explore factors that contribute to the varied conclusions that are reached by Christians about the reality of climate change and what should be done about it.
Darren Brouwer is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at Redeemer University. His research interests are solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, structural chemistry, materials science, and computational chemistry.
Speakers: Carol Thiessen, Ron Klusmeier, and Christina Bogucki of Canadian Foodgrains Bank
Not sure what climate change means for the world’s poorest people? Wondering what advocacy has to do with Christians? Come learn how Canadian Foodgrains Bank is working to empower small-scale farmers in the world’s poorest countries to address climate change and discover how our engagement with government can make a difference in the work to end hunger.
Carol Thiessen, Senior Policy Advisor of Canadian Foodgrains Bank, is a nature lover and committed advocate for those whose voices often go unheard.
Ron Klusmeier and Christina Bogucki are the Resource Coordinators for the work of the Foodgrains Bank in British Columbia. They are available as speakers at community group meetings and churches of all denominations in BC. With the experience of journeys to Ethiopia in 2012 and Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso in 2014, they have powerful, first-hand stories to share.