On a life LIVED

The difference that three weeks can make. Life and Death have a way of clarifying everything, and I mean everything. The things that matter come into focus. Pain can either dull the mind or sharpen it, and in my case it has done both.

 What matters? What is it that we do that matters? What are we living our lives for? How are we investing the precious few moments that we have on this earth into eternity? If eternity is real, and heaven is a reality, it changes everything. Jesus lived his life this way. Paul learned to.  Followers of Christ throughout the ages lived with an eternal purpose and urgency to their lives, in the recognition that they were here with a purpose, and the value of the lives they lived would be measured against their destiny.

My son David somehow grasped this truth. It is clear that in the final stage of his life it had become a living reality for him. He was created for a reason. Life is actually worth living. He was a student in a brutally hard program. He worked a real job. He had career aspirations. Yet, his life could not be contained within the boundaries of temporal pursuits. He wanted to touch lives for Jesus. He wanted to share the life that Jesus had given to him with others. And he did it in loving way that was marked with generosity and fun. He loved adventure.

Consider his final Facebook posting, hours before his death "I want to run, jump and spread life in this world..."  Honestly, for a final testament, how cool is that!?

As tributes began to pour in, it became apparent to my wife and I that while we knew Dave as well as perhaps anyone on the planet, there was much yet to learn about him. While some parents have to deal with the dark specter of their son living a double life, ours was the opposite. This was a kid who was in love with Jesus and it poured out into a love of life and a love of people. Yet it was just “Dave, being Dave”. Nothing programmatic or contrived. He was without artifice or pretension. What you saw was what you got.. Wherever he went he made a difference.

Amongst other things, Dave was integrally involved in a number of paoc young adult ministries in the past year. During the summer he was part of Tehilah Monday at First Assembly in Calgary. In this area he was actively involved in the young adults groups at BGT in Hamilton and Lakemount Worship Centre in Grimsby. But he was also actively involved in LIFT Church at McMaster University as well as The Embassy at the University of Waterloo ( both of which are written up on this blogsite ), where he was a student in the Faculty of Civil Engineering. We also received a card from the  University of Calgary CRC Campus Ministry soccer team, for which Dave played defence this summer in league play.


The leaders of these communities made it clear that Dave was no mere spectator. His passion for worship and prayer was inspirational. He had a huge servant heart and was constantly involved in setting up and taking down chairs and equipment. And he just loved people. He was constantly looking out for those on the margins and including them in whatever was going on. We heard this from every possible quarter.

While, due to my position, I knew a considerable amount about these ministries and something about Dave’s involvement, I really had no idea of the nature of his impact. He didn’t do it because of his dad. He did it because, as I explained to the reporter who did his story for the local paper, he loved God, he loved life and he loved people. It pretty well boils down to that. He was determined to fully live the life he had been given.


We grieve that he was taken from us so quickly. Actually, 'grief' doesn't even begin to cover it. To know him was to love him. However, we do not grieve as those without hope. Dave is very much alive and in a different and more dynamic place. Not floating on clouds somewhere but involved in God’s ultimate redemptive purposes for His creation. Count on it...

Read the Newspaper Article

DAVID POWELL

October , 1987  -  December 11, 2009

"I want to run, jump and spread life in this world..."

The world has lost a magnificent soul

 Read about him

Obituary

On Facebook, see the group  "Celebrating David Powell"

University of Manitoba Dr. Ken Stupak

For over twenty years, Ken Stupak has been the PAOC chaplain to the University of Manitoba. He has been a pillar of institutional stability. Not only has he been the chaplain to generations of students, but he has seen faculty, administration and staff come and go. He is also a font of wisdom regarding the changing face of student ministry along with student needs.

The U of M is an historic institution. Beginning in 1877 and numbering over 25,000 full-time students, it is one of Canada’s older and larger post secondary institutions. It has a well deserved reputation for quality.


The Fort Garry Campus (main campus) is showing signs of age and lack of funding. Appearing to lack the corporate funding of the University of Calgary, the U of M student centre, which is home to UMSU (University of Manitoba Student Union ) and the Student Services, along with being locked into a 70’s mall kitsch is showing signs of wear and tear. While that may seem like a moot point, it has something to do with the overall mood of the student body.

The tuition has been kept low for Canadian students in the hope of maintaining enrollment. Most students live off campus,within easy range of bus or car. The campus is surrounded on several sides by relatively affordable accommodation. There are less than 1500 students living in university residences.


Ken says that one development he notices is that many students are having to take on an ever increasing job load in order to pay for their university. It affects the spare time that they have to contribute to extra-curricular activities. They have to make their stay on campus short and efficient, which does not promote a sense of campus community.


Another development of note relates to, well, “arguing”. He noted that previously his students would vigorously debate each other over all kinds of issues. He hears much less of it. In querying his students about it, they responded along the lines of “What’s the point?” , “ Why bother..?”, “It doesn’t really matter” or the catchall..” Whatever..!?. He laments the loss of a passionate exchange of ideas in a civil manner.


Ken is not alone in this observation. When it is believed that one cannot arrive at truth, or if one can it doesn’t really make a difference, it leads to the death of rational discourse. As G.K. Chesterton would argue, it often hides itself behind the respectable veil of ‘tolerance’, which is often little more than timidity and laziness. Allan Bloom in his book “The Closing of the American Mind”, would call it the “openness of indifference”, which, ironically, leads to the closing of the mind.


One more point of interest, for me, was his description of discussions he had with his core group. Some of his key students begged him not to “program” them. This is because they had been programmed from birth, having to run between school, extra-curricular lessons and activities. They just wanted to hang out. I think this is where Ken’s laid back chaplaincy style works well. He provides students, along with faculty and staff the opportunity to approach him on their own schedule. He accommodates himself to their needs.


He does some intentional programming. One of these is activities is “Chewy Tuesdays” where students can come, make and eat lunch in his office. Another activity is where he facilitates U of M students, of whatever ilk, to prepare peanut butter ( yes, peanuts!!) and jam sandwiches for homeless shelters. They literally make thousands of them. Not only does it serve a good cause, but it gives Ken a chance to interact with a broader cross section of the campus community.


Finally, Ken is the senior statesman of a chaplaincy group that includes Ukranian Catholic, Lutheran and Mennonite. The United Church, which has historically had a strong presence on Canadian campuses withdrew its chaplain a number of years ago. The chaplains seem to get along well and have much better space than many of their colleagues on other Canadian campuses. They are located in the Student Centre. While they are not front and centre, they are easily accessed.

My next post will look at a District intiative to complement the foundational work that Ken has done on this campus.

Mount Royal University / Calgary/ Glen Ryland

The next stop after U of C was Mount Royal University (formerly  College ).

Our intrepid university chaplain, Kelly Johnson, had begun a part time ministry to Mount Royal College. Having started it, he has passed it onto Glen Ryland, whom I will let speak for himself….  I am quoting him from a previous email....

I have been a chaplain at Mount Royal College for the past year. the work is part-time at this point, but I fill my time with other work at the college, so I am always around. It is a privilege to be building on what Kelly started here at MRC 9-10 years ago. There is a good group of students who meet weekly, the Multifaith Office is developing, and the campus offers many opportunities for ministry. We are looking forward to the fall to continue what we were doing last year and building further. In addition to building a community of Christian students on campus, I am particularly interested in finding ways for students to engage in positive dialogue about faith and religion in the classroom, in special events, and informally on campus.

 We moved to Calgary in 2007 after some time of study in Germany and the need to be closer to family. Our background is mixed, both in terms of church affiliation and education. I served for a number of years in a Pentecostal church in North Vancouver, then spent a few years in the academic setting (Simon Fraser U, U of Notre Dame, and now at MRC). I had not thought of chaplaincy work when Kelly approached me to consider taking on this role at MRC. But I have had a sense of calling form the Lord to be engaged on our campuses, and I had already been working part-time at MRC as an Academic Strategist.

Mount Royal College is transitioning into a university,which it anticipates becoming in 2010. It began in 1910 as a Methodist college, became part of the United Church, and then in the 1960s became a public institution. There are about 14,000 full-time students, 36,000 Continuing Ed. students. With new degrees being added each year, the student body is expected to grow considerably over the next few years, and the campus is gearing for growth. It is a good time to be here on campus and part of the changes that are taking place.

There.. I couldn't have said it better myself.  Mount Royal is actually an impressive institution. It is actually a small medium sized university, already. It is poised for further growth. 

Glen provides a great model of someone who is working in the college with two hats. He is an academic strategist/sessional lecturer as well as chaplain. It was a privilege to see him relate to the students during his noon hour session and challenge them to be in tune with what God is actually doing in their lives. He was a good role model in sharing freely from his own life regarding how Jesus is helping him with personal challenges.

As well as having the opportunity to speak to the gathered students, it was also a privilege for me to speak with a director of Student Affairs to whom Glen reports. She embraces chaplaincy as part of the Diversity that is so important to the university administration. She  also has real intentions to get the offices out of the basement corner they presently reside. There is actually much more I could say, but that will have to be enough for now...

Robb

At Mission Canada we have embraced what we refer to as the C5 Approach. That includes: Chaplaincy, student Club, Campus Church, Church based ministry and Commercial (e.g. a café ). As we have discussed elsewhere in this blog, we have shining examples of each that have been helpful in our developing a code of Best Practices. We do not espouse a one size fits all approach, but rather look to see which mode of ministry best fits the needs of the institution and which best fits the calling and gifting of the leaders and students.

At the University of Calgary, our man on the ground, Kelly Johnson,  has been instrumental in setting up the inter-faith chaplaincy which is a part of the Wellness Centre, which employs a systemic, comprehensive approach to the development of students as people.

As a chaplain, Kelly has several key planks in his ministry approach. The first would be what we would consider the passive or reactive side of ministry. It means he responds to people’s needs as they come to him. He does not need to go looking for them, they seek him out. He is available to talk with students and administration on a regular basis. Many of these people are barely in the preliminary stages of their faith journey. This would be analogous to a doctor who waits for people to come to him with their needs.

The second would be what we would describe as the proactive side of campus ministry. This means that he sets things in motion in anticipation of the future. He works towards the development of programs and structures that will build people well beyond their awareness of perceived needs. This would be analogous to a health professional who coaches people in how to develop a healthy lifestyle which will cut down on the need for trips to the doctors office.

Proactively, Kelly has developed a noon hour event called Worship at the U, which is a time of singing, prayer, discussion, reflection and challenge. It offers students an opportunity to refocus and recalibrate in the midst of the rush of their school work and obligations. I appreciated the opportunity to offer some reflectioins in that context.  He also runs what he entitles as a Prayer Lab, where people can come and learn about prayer. A big piece of what he does is bring students and administration along with him on a humanitarian mission to Mexico, where they build a house for a needy family. Kelly has led numerous groups like this and it has led to genuine long lasting fruit as people have come to know and follow Jesus and others have developed a much greater appreciation for Him and His people.

We do not have a club presence on campus at present. However, Kelly works in collaboration with several evangelical groups on campus.

Kelly was kind enough to introduce me to his chaplaincy colleague from the Christian Reformed Church, Paul Verhoef. Kelly made overtures to the CRC to get someone on campus, because they have long played a role in campus ministry and U of C was empoverished by their absence. The CRC’s reformed vision is one that I resonate with in the sense that faith and learning belong together and that there is no sphere of human endeavour that God does not deserve to exercise lordship over. Paul ,and his intern Sam, and I had a brief visit in which we realized that we knew many of the same people and shared a common conviction of the place of faith in the academy.

Finally, Kelly was instrumental in establishing a chaplaincy presence at Mount Royal University. That will be the subject of my next blog