Halifax: Dalhousie and SMU

The next day we travelled down to Halifax.On route.. It was my privilege to travel through the village of Stempiak, NS,  which is apparently the geographical midway point between the equator and the NPole ( I just knew I felt balanced).

 Anyway, we travelled through the trendy neighborhoods of Halifax until we arrived at Saint Mary’s University (SMU). SMU (perennial football powerhouse and alma mater of my relative and former linebacker, Tyler) is a compact school with a big reputation. They cram a lot into a large city block – including a football field ringed by a cathedral, residences, academic buildings, a student centre and athletic facilities. They have , to borrow a British term,  stuffed a quart into a pint bottle.

Apparently SMU has the rep as a party school. To hear it told,  it is sort of a place where people go to have a good time and figure out what they want to do with the rest of their lives.

Although I did not have much time to spend on campus, I was concerned to at least get a feel of the spiritual atmosphere on campus.  SMU has Jesuit roots. The Society of Jesus has long stressed academics, a missional orientation and athletics.

engaged chaplaincy

SMU bulletin board

 From the people I talked to and what I could see on the Bulletin boards and on the chaplaincy’s brochures and information, the SMU Chaplaincy seems relatively orthodox. The chaplain is targeting catholic students to connect them with their faith – namely introducing them to Jesus. 

The bulletin boards reveals a lot of quality innovative programming. The CCO has full time missionaries dedicated to the task. Both C4C and Navs have official status as Societies on campus. I would like to know how it fares for them.


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On to Dalhousie...

King's College   historic core of Dalhousie

Down the road from SMU is Dalhousie University. Integrated into the urban core of Halifax, Dalhousie ( called Dal by the locals)  is one of the funkiest campuses around. It’s not  downtown urban core like Montreal, but it is lowrise urban nonetheless. It is just the kind of place that one could see him/herself living in if they were free to do so. 

Dalhousie is not without Christian witness. There are the regular raft of groups involved on campus as well as an interfaith chaplaincy with a house right on the edge of campus. 

The chaplaincy does not seem to have any representation of our form of Christianity, which is regrettable, especially considering that pentecostalism in its various forms is one of the largest expressions of  Christianity in the world. It is without question the fastest growing. I would like to know if this reason for the void lies on our side ( lack of engagement) or on the side of the chaplaincy association. 

Shilo U Church at Dal ( advertised on a SMU bulletin board)

We met with Mike Miller who runs the Shiloh University Church once every other Friday night on campus. At present he is partnering with C4C which does programming on campus every other week. The SUC is a large attractional event based around solid worship, emphatic preaching and Holy Spirit response. Mike is the associate pastor at Rock Church in Lower Sackville which was once an assemblies church. He has strong connections with many of our people including Matt Tapley and Steve Osborne.   

Mike Miller (l) with our reflective guide Jim Malloy

By his own admission, he is not interested in developing a 'seeker sensitive' or a unity service. He wants to play to his strengths and to the best of his ability provide a full service where the presence of God is invited and expected. Whatever unity, outreach or relationships that occur will be an outflow of the event.

 His vision is clear. It could be either inspirational or daunting to the reader depending on the context. It takes Mike about 30 volunteer leaders to make this event happen. Most of these leaders come from his own church which has had to adjust its internal programming to allow for the extra time and resources required by this service. This would include the renting of a truck, the setting up and taking down of equipment and the development and dissemination of advertising materials.

I became aware of New Life Church which meets on Dal. I am not sure to what extent it reaches students. I had hoped to meet with its pastor while I was onsite, but I had a delightful first encounter with one of its deacon while I was at GTM;  It seems like a church that is doing many things well.

What I would hope at some point is  we can plant a missionary onsite to specifically reach out to the Dal population. What would be double bonus is if we could buy or rent a house where students could live and hospitality could happen. If we could consider it as an investment, it would bear long term dividends.

I am praying for that very thing, even as we speak.....