the old bill

Tar Sands Christmas Cards

2009-12-17T10:40:22-06:00

I did not think that anything could make me embarrassed to be Canadian, but Harper's stance at Copenhagen has done at least that. To say that we will not agree to any limitations what will impede our economy is well simply an abomination. Herod's spirit lives on this Christmas.

I created a few Christmas Cards from the Tar Sands....

A virtual Jack Shaver

2009-12-08T14:18:11-06:00

Jack was minister of First United in Vancouver's Downtown East Side when we lived out there[1979-81] - it was one of the few places Mary and I ever felt comfortable worshiping. We'd often attend the evening service. Almost no people and one of the best preachers in UC history. Just found out that his son-in-law set up a website about Jack. Contains many sermons, prayers etc. Here's a bit of a taste:

From December 21, 1997:

Almighty God - our thoughts go every which way. The world and all that is wrong with it is too much for us. We long to be out of it, but are terrified to leave it.
The enthusiasm of cheap cheer turns our stomachs. But we feel no better about our state of complaining.
We don't feel good about trying to forget what is real.
We need your penetrating word to address us when we care.
We need your word to fit us for what we are going through.
We need to hear that you will not leave us comfortless, but will come to us and receive all of us unto yourself. [full text here]

From August 9, 1998:

Almighty God - since we are to have words with you, let's not waste them. We bring a confusing list of petitions. Our wants and needs are many, but we need to sort out the ones that mostly matter. We quickly tire of our whining and complaining. We'd feel better if our praying words actually expressed the gracious longing of our hearts that would be praying. [full text here]

Both of these were from later in his life. Jack died in 2001, sometime after the September 11 attack - one of his last recorded prayers was in the wake of the terrorist attack - here.

The volume of material on the site is a bit overwhelming bu worth mining through and t there are some very nice touches - places where you can get pdfs of Jack's scrawled out notes, etc. Here's a bit:

Northrop Frye on Jesus

2009-12-08T09:44:40-06:00

I've always wished I'd had the chance to take classes from this guy.

It would be absurd to see the New Testament as only a work of literature: it is all the more important, therefore, to realize that it is written in the language of literature, the language of myth and metaphor. The Gospels give us the life of Jesus in the form of myth: what they say is, “This is what happens when the Messiah comes to the world.” One thing that happens when the Messiah comes to the world is that he is despised and rejected, and searching in the nooks and crannies of the Gospel text for a credibly historical Jesus is merely one more excuse for despising and rejecting him. Myth is neither historical or antihistorical: it is counterhistorical. Jesus is not presented as a historical figure, but as a figure who drops into history from another dimension of reality, and thereby shows what the limitations of the historical perspective are. [Northrop Frye]

RiverRunning: Sandpainting video

2009-11-26T10:06:09-06:00

Will post more on RiverRunning. But here's a video that was shown on Saturday night. Quite astonishing. [Might be a bit slow loading]

stumbling into advent: christmas credo

2009-11-26T08:59:21-06:00

Will post on RiverRunning as soon as a i have a few more minutes. Was collecting thoughts about Advent and reading Jonny Baker where I found an advent affirmation of faith which caused me to think about what I would write as a christmas credo. Here's what came:

I believe logic notwithstanding
I believe logic notwithstanding that God became a baby
I believe Mary protected the prenatal God in her womb
and nursed the infant God at her breast
I believe Joseph, like me, eventually caught on,
but it took him a long time.
I believe that the holy family were peasants, that the stable stank and so did the shepherds
I believe that that the political powers shook with fear
and convulsed into violence and that they still do
I believe these stories matter, believe that truth is deeper than fact
and has been throughout time.

RiverRunning

2009-10-19T22:13:22-05:00

RiverRunning - a celebration of intercultural ministry - is coming on Nov 20-22. Knox is one of its sponsors. I created a side blog with info on it creatively called RiverRunning. This is a regional follow-up to the national Behold event held last year around this time. I've posted a number of videos from the Behold conference there - to give a bit of a sense of what RiverRunning will be like [one at the end of this post as well]. Also did a bit of a breakdown of Winnipeg diversity/interculturalism by demographics in the various neighbourhoods here.

This should be an astonishing event. There's info on how to register etc. on the sidebar of the RiverRunning blog. If you are involved with Knox or any of its partners, you can be part of our pool - pay whatever you can afford and throw it into the mix. We're registering a block of 30-40 people. To do this you could 1. post a comment below with contact info, 2. email me at mbmbillar@gmail.com or 3. call the office 942-4579 [or figure some other way of letting us know]....

Also started a facebook group - you could check there for more info.

how've you been?

2009-10-19T21:32:28-05:00

It's been a while. Almost closed down the shop. Didn't seem to have anything to say, and no heart for saying it. Maybe I just needed a bit of a break. Anyway....

Heard John Raulston Saul on CBC 1's Ideas last week. Great program, but can't find a podcast of it. However here is him being interviewed by Allan Gregg on the same theme - the aboriginal roots of the uniquely Canadian identity.

the problem of persuasion

2009-07-15T10:27:30-05:00

The mind's ability to alter itself is the source of human freedom. Information expands the capacity of the mind to change. Persuasion limits that capacity. Beliefs must be held lightly, because certainty is frequently the enemy of truth. [Milton Glaser]

Heard Eleanor Wachtel interviewing Milton Glaser on Ideas last night. He said something similar to the quote above. Talked about the function of art being to delight and inform, but not persuade, that the problem of persuasion is that it disempowers the other person. It would be good if somehow I could remember that. My default, it seems, in family and in the church is persuasion.

bits: lullaby, aids awareness, central market, & school of life

2009-07-14T13:18:20-05:00

hi again. seem to be taking prolonged holidays from this blog. anyway here's a few bits:http://www.theschooloflife.com/

first a bit of a zulu lullaby to mellow you out as you read the bits below.

This Saturday is the Third HIV/AIDS Awareness Day at Central Market. The poster says it is at Knox - that's because until the last minute it was not clear what kind of access we would have to the park or alternative arrangements. It will be on Edmonton Street [which will be closed] between Sargent and Qu'appelle [400 block] from 1 to 4 pm.

Speakers / entertainers this year include:

Minister of Healthy Living - Kerry Irvin-Ross
Fred Penner [yes that Fred Penner!]
Focus Africa Choir
Flo Oramasionwu [Flo Soul]
Central Park Dancers
Buffalo Gals Drum Group

The Connecting Communities Coalition is a joint initiative of aboriginal and newcomer women to bring about greater awareness of HIV in their respective communities. There will be entertainment, food, children's activities - so come out and join us!

Though many people have come together over the last several years to make this happen, we are forever grateful to the passion of the indomitable Aynai Ali for her vision and commitment.

Central Market for Global Families is back up and running. This year, because of construction in the park, we will operate every Saturday [10 to 3] on Edmonton Street [closed to traffic]. If the park opens before the end of summer, we will move inside, but plan for a street party instead!

We will have produce from the Rainbow Community Garden [our agricultural initiative at University of Manitoba] within the next few weeks. Also from the Sister Mac Boys and Girls club who have been growing produce in their gardens at Sister Mac School.

As well as AIDS Awareness Day remember our other big festival - Central Park Revival on the 3rd Saturday in August.

Fiesta Fridays will be on Qu'appelle in front of the church [between Edmonton and the lane], from 4 to 9 pm each Friday.

Watch for some of our vendors also at the Forks Market on Wednesday, and perhaps also at the Osborne Village Market on Thursday.

Our celebration of GlobalSong at Knox was a great success. Bruce Harding will be back in August to help put together the band for the RiverRunning Intercultural conference in November. He's quite an astonishing fellow, and was pretty taken with the great cultural diversity of Knox - Central Park, and the potential for building a truly global community here.

Finally, I came across this interesting initiative in the UK. Have a read through what they offer - quite interesting.

Central Market in PPS Report

2009-06-08T14:21:52-05:00

In one of tne of the feature stories at Project for Public Spaces entitled Public Markets Conference Sets New Agenda for Communities and Local Economies, Central Market is presented as a "perfect example" of markets as community anchors. Here's an excerpt from the article

6. Build and enhance social capital: Markets as places which draw people together.

In the workshop session about “Markets as Community Anchors,” moderator (and sailor) Oran Hesterman of the Fair Food Network talked about what an “anchor” really does: it doesn’t keep the boat in one location, but it does allow the boat to drift in a controlled manner. Markets that are community anchors are like this as well: they provide a way to bring people together, anchoring a community around food and place, but they are always “shifting” and evolving, just as a community shifts and evolves.

One of presentations at this session provided a perfect example. A group of African immigrants from Winnipeg, Canada, started a market in an underused park in downtown to provide an anchor for the traditions and culture they have brought with them to their new home. “A few years ago, nobody went to Central Park—it was all police,” explained Othello Wesse from the Central Market for Global Families. “We started imagining the possibility of people coming together from different backgrounds--and that’s how the market started.”

Now, the market gathers vendors from Africa, Asia and the Americas to sell food, music and handicrafts. People from throughout the city attend the market on a regular basis, attracted not only by its diverse offerings but also by its warm sense of community. Said Wesse, “The market is there to bring hope and family together.”

Whole article here. Click on 'read more'

Central Market: Getting Ready

2009-06-08T10:11:35-05:00

Getting close... Central Market for Global Families is gearing up for the best summer yet. We've received wonderful support this year. CentreVenture has given financial support. The Forks - North Portage has also given us financial support, and connected us with their PR firm Fusion - who has put together a great promotional package for us for free!!!

One of the features was a new logo and a banner design. Thanks also to The Forks we will set up an informational booth at the Forks Market - which receives a lot more foot traffic than Central Park. We can use it as a space for advertising our market.

Gloria @ West End Biz has some money for small banners for the lampposts in the community, which should be great!

This Friday evening @ 5:30 at Knox we are having a Pot-Luck dinner and meeting for all interested vendors or volunteers. If you are interested in either, please come and join us - this will be our chance to organize and plan together.

This week we go to the special events committee at City Hall. They have been so supportive in the past - we look forward to ways of working together again.

There's a Central Market facebook group you can join. Also will be updating the blog. Market opens on June 20 during World Refugee Day.

why art thou silent

2009-06-01T08:20:31-05:00

"Why art thou silent and invisible. . ." [Wm Wordsworth]

I've been both, I know, o great multitudes of readers. Well both of you anyway. Have had no heart for writing on this blog, no words, and simply putting punctuation on a page didn't seem a workable option. Nothing much to say, neither funny nor wise, little to pontificate about, nor really anything to rant about. It's not that I've been depressed or burnt out. Some stuff happened and I find it myself more likely whispering to myself on the street than proclaiming too much out loud.

It's an okay place, just a bit of a new landscape for me.

. . . every craftsman
searches for what's not there
to practice his craft.
A builder looks for the rotten hole
where the roof caved in. A water carrier
picks the empty pot. A carpenter
stops at the house with no door.

Workers rush toward some hint
of emptiness, which they then
start to fill. Their hope, though,
is for emptiness, so don't think
you must avoid it. It contains
what you need! [Rumi 13th Century]

Still yesterday was Pentecost, and, even in the face of silence and bewilderment, language at least sometimes comes, haltingly or fluently...

2 other heroes

2009-04-21T16:50:42-05:00

Othello Wesee and Raymond Djimbasbe Ngarboui of Central Market will be presenting at a workshop at the International Public Markets Conference in San Francisco this weekend.

my new hero

2009-04-21T16:26:26-05:00

100 year Winnipegger Jaring Timmerman broke three world records at the 2009 Masters Swimming Championship. How great is that He took up competitive swimming when he was in his 80's. Trains 3 times a week. . Who knew there even was a 100 to 104 age category? No matter. He is still my newest hero. Look at the guy. Story here.

flood protection

2009-04-16T10:34:13-05:00

Just to be sure Finn's been sleeping on Mary's rubber boots

glimpses of resurrection

2009-04-13T23:45:57-05:00

the old bill

stumbling toward resurrection

2009-04-10T23:41:53-05:00

the old bill

FlickFest update

2009-04-09T21:15:53-05:00

FlickFest going full steam

here's a link to some trailers

Matt's blogging about it across the pond, and inviting comments - here

Good crowds so far - tomorrow and Saturday are the main days, though, so wll see how it all unfolds

Jesus FlickFest 4

2009-03-19T06:45:07-05:00

This year's FlickFest will focus on award-winning directors, the best in international films that connect with the Jesus theme. We'll also throw in a bit of Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and a Singalong version of Superstar.

Here's the confirmed list of films for FlickFest 4 [we're still waiting a final word on a few others]:

Directors Cut:

*Base’s L'Inchiesta [The Final Inquiry] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0491720/

Son of Man http://www.sonofmanmovie.com/

Rossellini’s Il Messia http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077925/

La Marre’s The Colour of the Cross http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0760160/

Arcand’s Jesus de Montreal http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097635/

Godard’s Je vous salue, Marie [Hail Mary] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097635/

Scorcese’s The Last Temptation of Christ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095497/

Hartley’s The Book of Life http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167059/

Passolini’s Il Vangelo secundo Matteo http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058715/

*& we hope Ferrara's Mary http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0425236/

Music

*Cotton Patch Gospel [Harry Chapin musical based on Clarence Jordon's writings] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0140919/

*Singalong Jesus Christ Superstar http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070239/

Johnny Cash: The Gospel Road http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070125/

Documentary

*Inside Bob Dylan’s Jesus Years http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Bob-Dylans-Jesus-Years/dp/B001EN46NO/ref=sr_1_44?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1236705327&sr=1-4

*Seidl’s Jesus, du weisst [Jesus you know] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373941/

Jesus Camp http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486358/

Drama

*Mary, Mother of Jesus [starring Christian Bale (The Dark Knight) as Jesus] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0214930/

*Peter and Paul [starring Anthony Hopkins] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082900/

*Un Bambino di nome Gesu [A Child called Jesus] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092613/

The Miracle Maker http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0208298/

The Nativity Story http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0762121/

Johnny got his gun http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067277/

Jesus http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0199232/

And, of course,

Life of Brian http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079470/

* premiering

gritty emergence

2009-03-18T15:18:09-05:00

It's been gritty and cold and long, this winter, this living sometimes, lately, it's been harsh, harsher than anyone wanted, relentless, but somehow as Tom Waits says, you can never hold back spring: You can never hold back Spring/even though you've lost your way/the world keeps dreaming of Spring/so close your eyes/open your heart/to one who's dreaming of you. . .

There's no shortcut to Spring, if there was we'd all take it. And sometimes, sometimes it's a just a brutal walk, but even when the winter is rough, unyielding, we're not stuck - the world keeps dreaming of spring, keeps turning, and if we keep walking suddenly somehow it's all slush and potholes but it's so good that slush, even the potholes, and we feel the promise inside us and something inside us rises up. Lately some of us have been exploring landscapes we didn't want to think about let alone explore, but even though the landscape seems at first so bleak, so unrelentingly grim, it too breaks, colour seeps through, grass cracks concrete, boulders roll, curtains tear and there's life again, sweet, tender, resilient.

Still, if there was a plebiscite on short cuts, I'd vote in favour. Until then... i guess we'll have to settle for the long way round and try to be as kind to one another as we can, as we clean the grit out of our ears and eyes and get our front ends re-aligned, and be glad that there's One who dreams of us, even when our own dreaming is in disarray....

Hope wherever you are it's getting warmer too, that bits of colour are breaking through.