Welcome Natalia Lisa!

Just got back from maternity in Chilliwack General to see Natalia Lisa for the first time. She was born last night at 11:29pm and weighed in at 10lbs 7oz. She is beautiful. Zachary, who is 14 months older, now has a baby sister. Congratulations Nathan and Julia!

Mud Slide In Terrace

This coming Sunday, I'm preaching at Agassiz CRC while Leon Johnston is coming to Heartland. I was talking on the phone with Margriet from Agassiz and we made some connections. We both grew up in Terrace and we may see each other again for the first time in 25 years. She mentioned that there was a mud slide on the road into Terrace.

While we are concerned about possible widespread flooding here in Chilliwack, the city of Terrace is cut off after a massive mudslide covered Highway 16.


From the Terrace Standard:

TRANSPORTATION ministry officials are assessing this afternoon the extent of a mudslide which has closed Hwy16 east of Terrace. This morning's slide, near Legate Creek which is 37km east of Terrace, has blocked both eastbound and westbound traffic. Officials have yet to give an indication of when the road might be expected to reopen. This is the second time this year a slide has closed the highway east of Terrace.

Ben's Progress

Some of you have been asking about how Ben is doing. There is a great article in the Westpoint News about Ben and his family:

by Bev Wieler
WPN Reporter

The VanderGriend's recent family photo includes the newest family member, Nathan, along with Ben, Zach and Anna and Terri and Harlyn.

Harlyn and Terri VanderGriend have been strong supporters of the West Point area Relay for Life which helps fund cancer research. As owners of the West Point Pizza Ranch, they have been corporate sponsors.

They have their reasons for being supporters including a family history of cancer. The past months, finding a cure has become even more important to them.

Their six-year-old son, Ben, was diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

Finding that diagnosis took Ben and his family on an emotional trip since the first symptoms of the disease, which began in February following wrestling practice.

more here

You can also access his Carepage here

Pentecost Sunday Recap

We celebrated Pentecost this past Sunday by remembering it's the Spirit's work that brings us together and gives us reasons to celebrate. It's the Spirit of Jesus that brings us into His body, calls us to serve, and empowers us for life. We celebrated the CRC's 150th anniversary; welcomed new members into Heartland and heard their testimonies; celebrated the conclusion of the Increasing Your Heart's Capacity series with an open mic time; and we concluded our gathering with communion together. Full and rich time together.

CRC 150th Anniversary

On June 3rd there will be a lower mainland gathering to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Christian Reformed Church.

Team leader: Ron Frans
Activity site: Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley of B.C.
Number of congregations involved in the event: 23
Date of event: June 3, 2007; 7:00 p.m.
Location: Chandros Theatre, Pacific Academy, Surrey, BC
Speaker at the event: Mr. Henry Wildeboer

more here

Candidates for Ministry In The Christian Reformed Church

Each year graduates of Calvin Theological Seminary and graduates of other seminaries who have completed the Ecclesiastical Program for Ministerial Candidacy (EPMC) seek approval to become candidates for ordination as ministers of the Word in the Christian Reformed Church.

At this time the following individuals are in process of seeking candidacy. In May each individual recommended by the Calvin Seminary faculty will be interviewed by a panel under the supervision of the Synodical Ministerial Candidacy Committee (SMCC).

Those who successfully complete the process will be presented to Synod in June 2007 and, upon synod's approval, declared eligible for a call to ordained ministry of the Word in the CRC.

more here

Calvin Theological Seminary and SMCC

I just got back home from a trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan. I left on Tuesday, and got back at 3:30am today. Some highlights of the trip:

• The weather was pretty good - a bit cool but sunny. People in the mid-west have caught on to the flip flop thing. The only difference between them and my California friends is that they buy their flip flops from Old Navy and tuck their shirts in (sometimes too tight, hmm), whereas in CA they wear rainbow's and leave their shirts comfortably untucked.

• I stayed with Uncle Nick and Aunt Jean in Cutlerville. Uncle Nick is a retired chaplain at Pine Rest Hospital. He is also a pastor in the Christian Reformed Church. They provided a place of shalom and comfort for me.

• Wednesday was a day of visiting and arranging appointments. I had a wonderful time with Kim, Kris and Curt on Wednesday afternoon. They served the best coffee in GR and we had good conversation - we brought up ministry stuff, family, old times and the recent fascination with facebook.

• I dropped by Bruce and Sue's too. Four of us stayed at Bruce and Sue's home in the fall of 05' as we did a semester at CTS. They are beautiful people who get to the heart of life in conversation without effort.

• I spent a number of hours in the Heckman Library. Man, do I love that place. I could just walk the stacks for hours chasing ideas.

• I met Christian at CTS in the student lounge. We had a good time reconnecting and talking php and mac OS - okay, a little nerdy.
  

• Thursday, I spent more time in Heckman, attended a mandatory meeting about pension, healthcare etc. I also had warm visits with Don B, Nate V, and Dr. Mariano Avila. Dr. Avila is my faculty advisor. He has been a rare place of safety, support and nurture in an institution concerned with process, properness, and procedure. I also went to the mall and found some killer shorts for 9 bucks. Sweet.

• I visited with Doug and Lisa, whom we stayed with for 2 weeks in the spring of 06'. Wonderful people. Very good to catch up with them. They are at an exciting time of the lives.

• The main purpose for the trip was to meet with the SMCC (Synodical Ministerial Candidacy Committee). They are a panel of reps from Synod and Calvin Seminary. Their role is to review all the materials of a perspective candidate, interview them and then on behalf of synod recommend the candidate for ministry. My interview with them was at 8:20am (which is 5:20 am west coast) and went well ... another step in the process towards ordination. I've been ordained in various capacities (elder, evangelist) during the last 14 years of ministry within the CRC, but being the sole pastor at Heartland, I'm required by the denomination to be ordained as minister of word and sacraments. This process I've been in for the past 2+ years has been to work towards that ordination. Heartland's leadership and congregation have been amazingly supportive during this whole process.
  

• While waiting in GRR for my flight out, Daryl drop by and we had a good, although short, connect. He is ministering effectively with Young Life.

• I spent many hours (too many) in airports this trip with delayed flights, long layovers, and a missed shuttle bus. I don't travel that much, but besides seeing many people with ties, jackets, tucked in shirts and penny loafers, I noticed how much people keep to themselves. Most people in airports are on business travel, so they are talking on their cell phones, tapping on their laptops, or organizing their iPods, pda's or checking their blackberries. I even saw a vending machine in Minneapolis that had, not snickers bars, but iPods. Yes, you could swipe your visa, push a button and get a black 80 gig iPod video drop from a slot down to the bottom shelf. Lean down, push the door open and grab your new iPod. You could buy extra noise canceling headphones if you wish. With all the new tech stuff, there is much less contact between strangers in the airports these days.
  

• I stopped by Baker book store and picked up a used copy of George Barna's book, "Revolution." I read it in gate f6 while drinking a cariboo. Good book, very familiar material for me.

• Uncle Nick gave me a copy of N.T. Wright's book, "Simply Christian." I'm about 1/2 way through and love it. Probably the best book so far for me this year. He writes very well (not like GB), brings up issues then addresses them in ways that are clear, compelling and deep. He has some great one liners. Like when he is talking about people pursuing justice in life, he says it feels like "A moth trying to fly to the moon."
  

• I also got a couple of books on outdoor landscaping and backyard design from a used books store near 28th st. In between reading the canons of dort and trying to sort out the "L" in TULIP, I'd read up on how to design an outdoor kitchen or how to construct a block retaining wall. It was like going from agony to leisure.
  

Marc and Kylie In Kapsowar

Read Marc and Kylie's recent post about Marc's on call experience in Kapsowar Mission Hospital. It was amazing! My head spun just reading it. Read it here.

Kassi and Heidi's Holland Trip

Kassi, Heidi and the rest of the Chilliwack A.C.E.S. just got back last night from Holland where they took part in a soccer academy. Kassi has tons of stories and things learned. She did come through on her promise to get me something for my b-day. It's a sweet mug:

New Sites For Heartland

Heartland's first web site went up about 2 years ago. It was needing some attention. So we gave it a little face-lift and relaunched it. It isn't finished yet, but you'll get the idea. We'll be tweeking it to death over the next couple of weeks. Check it out at here.

[update: we added a discussion forum (we'll see how that goes), a photo album (now if I can only find my photos), a page for accessing sermon info, and the usual other church web site stuff. Go ahead and register on the forum and let me know what you think of the site]

Heartland Youth also just put up a new site. There is a discussion forum and other features. Wim did a great job. Check it out here.

Ben, This Buzz For You

After Ben got his hair cut, I knew it was time to get busy. So on Saturday, Patti got to work. Check out the results.


When Patti finished, she looked over at James, who was standing there staring at me - with his mouth open. She asked him, half kidding, if he wanted his hair buzzed too -- he jumped right on the stool! So, the hair pile is actually James and my hair - mostly his.

We were both surprised how each other's hair felt.

There have been varied reactions. One person made mention of a lawn mower, another about getting a cheap hair cut, and another about looking old. The guys on the hockey team said somethings I can't repeat here. After the comments, most people want to know why James and I buzzed our hair. So we tell them about Ben's lymphoma and his chemo treatments. We are hoping they will pray for Ben.

I share office space with Rob Ayre, Pastor of Crossroads, and he came in this morning, did a double take, and said, "Oh, I get it. A sympathy cut." That sums it up.

Ben, this buzz for you.