Church Planting Update - By Don Cowie
What a "FALL" we have had at Mosaic!
It has been a very challenging and interesting autumn season for us in downtown Vancouver. On September 1st I was riding my bike in Whistler when I took a pretty major tumble and cracked 5 vertebrae in my back. 5 days in the hospital, a couple of weeks of being basically immobile in my basement; and then a gradual decreasing of pain and increasing of mobility has made this a trying time personally. I have been on medical EI since September 1st from both of my jobs - Mosaic and the City of Vancouver. Needless to say this has impacted me, my family and Mosaic.
I would like to highlight a couple of ways God has been present to Mosaic during this time:
1) The community of Mosaic has not only coped with my absence - but thrived. Vania and Aaron, our two other part time pastoral staff, have shown incredible commitment, flexibility and courage as they have stepped into the demanding ministry Mosaic presents weekly. Many others have also responded by being present, helping out, and showing increasing devotion to God and his people here in Vancouver. Rowan, a friend who has been in and out of Mosaic over the years recently helped lead one of our Saturday evening celebrations. He shared many of his experiences of God's "mysterious: presence - and then had others share. It was an incredible evening. In an email to me after that evening he writes:
"I thought it went really well too! It was engaging and interactive, I was pleasantly surprised at how many people shared and the level of enthusiasm for the subject...I felt the spirit there that night, which isn't unusual, what was unusual was that it felt different, I really sense a cleansing taking place. I don't know if it is individual, or collective, if it's just happening to me and I think it's happening around me, or if it is happening for our community on a whole, but I really feel something has taken place that puts us at another level where God can work in our lives more and his spirit can move more freely. That's what I felt on Saturday. I am excited about being part of Mosaic, I like that it is "Organic" alive and in the moment, taking on a life of its own and that it is the life of God, his son, and his spirit."
2) My own suffering has renewed our calling to the suffering and the sick (which includes all of us - not just the addicted, mentally ill and broken backed!). Stanley Hauerwas in "Presence and Suffering" states the call of our community:
"For what does God require of us then, our unfailing presence in the midst of the worlds sin and pain? Thus our willingness to be ill and ask for help, as well as our willingness to be present with the ill is no special or extraordinary activity, but is a form of Christian obligation to be present to one another in and out of pain.... We [@ Mosaic] are fundamentally committed to those who are in pain - to be present to the ill as others aren't. We are a bridge between the world of the ill and the healthy... Only a community that is pledged not to fear the stranger - and illness always makes us a stranger to ourselves and others - can welcome that continued presence of the ill in our midst. (80-82).
3) More and more people are getting involved in the creative and artistic aspects of Mosaic. We believe that all art (music, painting, dance, photography, drama) can be both a means of worship and a means to reclaim and redeem God's image within us.
4) Vania continues pastoral ministry and some administration, went on a short term mission to Cambodia, AND re-launched her incredible Jazz CD (vania.ca)
5) We are more excited about the ministry than ever. Although we struggle monthly with finances and the personal trauma and crises seem unbearably at times (eg. we were connected to 3 drug-related funerals in July and August), we know God's on-going presence and blessing. It is through "the least of these" that we encounter Jesus regularly and we count it a privilege to continue in our unique calling.
So we ask you to pray and support us. We need prayer to face the weekly challenges of our community life as well as to know where to focus our energies. We need more money to sustain our community, to free me and Vania and potentially others to minister in a more full time capacity, and to pursue greater support for the addicted, homeless, disillusioned and 'normal' - all of the amazing people we have become friends with.
We have asked all churches to consider contributing 500.00/ month as a church, and/or to present to individuals the opportunity of giving 10.00 / month. Please let us know if you are interested in partnering or finding out more by emailing don@themosaic.org
Blessings, Don Cowie