a thousand steeples

A few weeks ago we went as a group to visit a handful of churches in the city. We spent a morning with each pastor and priest of the different churches, listening to them share a little about their congregations and their thoughts on what it means to be the church. I find the diversity of the church fascinating, and equally interesting to me is which of the traditions I am drawn to based on those short meetings.

One of the mornings, we visited the pastor of a nearby church that meets in an old theater. I had been to this theater before, and during the week when it is empty the building reminds me a of The Phantom of the Opera- kind of creepy and mysterious. Anyways, after a satisfactory meeting the pastor led us up through the theater to a little door at the very top which opened to the roof, and from there we went up a ladder to the very highest part of the roof.

If you can imagine a perfect (well almost, still slightly chilly) spring day, I was facing south and just ahead and to my right was Mount Royal, the tiny mountain situated in the middle of the city. A little further to my right was St Joseph's Oratory, its giant dome perched on the backside of the mount. Further ahead just before the water I saw downtown Montreal, with its modest skyscrapers... an old law makes it illegal to build buildings higher than the cross that rests on top of Mount Royal.

What was most incredible though were all of the churches that could be seen from the roof of this theater. Hundreds of beautiful churches, all telling a rich yet broken story; a story that left off with abuse, mistrust and rejection. The pastor mentioned that when Mark Twain visited Montreal he called it "the city of a thousand steeples." Yet so many of these churches are empty shells, testifying to the culture's speedy shift towards post-christianity.

The view was breathtaking. Montreal is lovely in the spring.

A few weeks ago I decided officially that I would commit another year to living in this city. After much prayer and thought I realized that it wouldn't make sense for my time here to be finished, I am still compelled by the story of this culture and a desire to see redemption in all spheres of influence.

My dts is quickly moving towards its end and I've been in the process of reflecting on all that I've lived and learned since I've been here. In about one month I'll be heading back to Charlotte for the summer to work and raise support so that I can return. Next spring I'll be on staff with YWAM doing a number of things: continuing my photography work, continuing my involvement with St James drop in center, assisting with an urban cultures night class, and taking over some administrative tasks.

I love that I can further invest here, and I am so thankful that I have the opportunity to return.

I wish I could show you a picture of the view of Montreal from the roof of that theater, but I didn't have my camera with me that day. Lesson learned.

getting ready.

Its been a fun and busy few weeks up here. My family and the La Clef team came up here for a visit, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of ywam Montreal with a big party, and as often as I've been able to I've worked on photos for the arts night that is coming up this weekend. Yesterday I locked myself in my bedroom-turned-darkroom all afternoon and evening to finish printing all the photos for this weekend. I'm working on a handful of pieces with some older images that I've kept around waiting for the right combination and time to bring them out, as well as some new work from my time in Montreal. Here is a bit of what I have been doing. I'll have more photos of the finished pieces up here as well.

trying so hard to be organized

some more from the darkroom.

I love having a darkroom in my home! It is such a joy. Here are a few recent(ish) photos from my neighborhood and some portraits of wonderful people.
All are 35mm black and white.

My neighborhood, Parc Extension

Bleachers in Parc Jarry

Parc Jarry

My neighborhood, Parc Extension

The Old Port

Helene

Jeroen

 

Damaris 

Pierre

a little update.

Quebec City

The Plains of Abraham, Quebec City
Reminds me of sand dunes 

In memory of my Pop pop
10.27.1927 to 2.5.2011
Silver Gelatin Print
I took this photo in October 2010, the last time I was with him before he died.

It has been a little while since I’ve updated everyone on Montreal and the ywam world. I’m going to attempt to be brief but a lot has happened in the past month and a half since I was home for Christmas.

It’s been a month since the 24/7 Prayer weekend. I worked with the head of 24/7 prayer Canada to organize 48 hrs of prayer for the city. It was fantastic! We had many churches from different regions of the city come together in Downtown Montreal right in between the Universities and the center of Montreal’s sex industry. What a powerful time… and a whole lot of work. I am honored to have been able to participate in this.

In January an incredible man named Paul Martinson came to spend the week with us, he was our speaker on ‘Knowing God’, which was actually an excuse to talk about whatever he wanted. The Lord used him to speak wisdom and truth to my DTS group, we have had some real trials as a group and he was really sensitive to what the Lord wanted to speak to us.

I’ve really loved my time at St. James drop in center. I am enjoying building friendships with a few of the folks that go there. I’m learning so much, these guys have faced some harsh realities, but they have built a beautiful and interesting community.

We had a great trip to Quebec City a few weeks ago. It was good to get away and spend some time growing as a group without the usual distractions. I really enjoyed the time we took to learn about Quebecois history and culture. We also went to Café Mosaic, a coffee shop started by a former pastor, who spent an evening with us sharing his vision. The whole purpose of the Café is to build loving friendships with those in the community, and because coffee shops tend to be places with lots of regular customers they have been able to establish many relationships. Volunteers and one paid manager run it, and all profits are sown into the community. Café Mosaic is one of the most interesting and fruitful examples of Christians loving their surrounding community that I’ve seen since I’ve been here learning about different ministries.

My brother and I drove down to New Jersey for my grandfather’s funeral last week. It was a very sad time, and harder than I thought it would be, but so good to be with family to remember him. I’m so glad I could be there.

It has been a very challenging few months for my group as a whole as well as for me personally. There have been a lot of changes and transitions and we have had a few weeks that were just emotionally exhausting. Thankfully the Lord is so gracious. It has been very humbling to find out just how broken I am and learning to trust the Lord to heal me and redeem broken relationships. But it hasn’t been easy, and the process has far from ended.


I'm looking forward to the visit of my family and a few others from Charlotte in a couple of weeks. It'll be fun to watch part of my Charlotte world and my Montreal world collide for a week!

Prayer for the city.

I had the privilege of being involved in organizing 48 hours of prayer for Montreal in a prayer room that was created downtown this past weekend. I was a really beautiful time of intercession and unity among believers. We were praying specifically for the downtown borough Ville Marie. I was asked to photograph specific key areas in Ville Marie that are somewhat representative of certain aspects and industries in the city so that we could pray over these places and the activities that take place at each of them.

The corner of St. Catherine and St. Laurent- praying for those caught in the sex industry

Place Des Arts- praying for the arts community

McGill University- praying for education

UQAM- praying for education

Concordia University- praying for education

Atwater parc- praying for the city's homeless

Place Ville Marie- praying for the business community

A man raising his hands in worship during the 48 hours of prayer for Montreal

a quick update..

It has been busy month for me.. and I don’t think I would really be doing anyone justice to try to sum up everything, so I won’t.

A few weeks ago a man speaker named Jeff Pratt came and spent a week with us. All I knew about him was that he would be speaking to us about spiritual disciplines. I was excited, at last someone would clear things up for me in this broad and necessary subject. I had no idea that we would have very little actual discussion on spiritual disciplines. Jeff led us into many times of real self-examination and times alone with God to face the realities of our relationships with him, for good and for bad. For me it was kind of scary; I naturally have a difficult time opening myself up to the Lord fully, it is easier at times to keep him at an arms length than to truly become vulnerable. But what a beautiful and honest time it was. Spiritual disciplines are so much more about living than the theories I had always made them, and there is no formula, there cannot be. It has been so good to enter into communion with the Lord with no agenda other than enjoying his presence.

Much has continued to develop during my time here, one of which is my involvement with 24/7 prayer Canada. Plans are moving forward for a 48hour prayer event in the beginning of January, which I am really excited about!

I’m looking forward to heading home at Christmas for two weeks, and I’m looking forward to seeing lots of you then.

Lauren and baby exclamation!

 

 

A little bit of Toronto

Montreal is a Laboratory.

Right now I'm sitting by a window in La Grand Bibliotheque in downtown Montreal and have been reflecting on all that has happened over the past 6 weeks. First of all, I cannot believe its been 6 weeks already! Time has a way of tricking us, the more we fill it the faster it goes by. My time in Montreal certainly has been very very full, which is why blogging has fallen by the wayside, I've needed the time to process all that has happened before I could really write about it.

The only word I can think of to describe this DTS is holistic, it has been challenging and exciting and thought provoking in so many way; in areas such as personal spiritual growth, ministry in an urban context both theoretically and practically, community life, finding areas to get involved in the city. I've learned so much about the Christian network in Montreal, it is so small that everyone must work together. Every ministry is very connected with every other ministry in the city, I find this so unique, especially after living in places where there seems to be more division in the church than there is unity.

The past few weeks I've begun helping at St. James, a drop-in center for the homeless and destitute. Most of the folks who come are dealing with serious substance abuse problems and in most cases mental instability. St. James offers them the opportunity to spend their days off the streets, have a meal, take a nap, make art, and enter into a supportive community. The staff also helps them with handling their finances, and finding jobs and apartments. Mainly all that I do at St. James is build friendships with those who come and helping the staff with whatever they need. There is such a beautiful community among the men and women who come to the center, in spite of their circumstances they show so much love to each other. 

Last week we spent time with a (brilliant) man named Glen Smith, the head of Christian Direction. Together we went through what the bible has to say about cities, looking at God's heart for the city, and the call of believers in cities. Afterwards we took all that we learned in scripture and all that the Lord was speaking to us individually through scripture and each developed a 'theology for cities'. I was most moved by the Jeremiah 29, when God calls Israel who is shamed and in exile, to become intimately rooted in the city of Babylon and its structure (socially, economically, culturally), praying on behalf of the city, because "in its welfare, you will find your welfare" (Jer 29:7). He calls them to live as the people of God in this foreign place, seeking redemption and goodness for the city.

We also spoke with Glen about what this means practically for a city like Montreal. We met his daughter who has begun a project with some kids in poor neighborhoods, teaching them basic financial skills and budgeting. They recently gave this group of children $100 and have helped them start a business making chocolates to sell over the holidays. The kids decided themselves that whatever profits they make will be given to a charity. What an awesome and creative idea! Not only are they teaching kids how handle money and giving them practical experience, but most of these children come from broken families and live in difficult circumstances and Glen's daughter and the staff are believe in them and are showing them how to work hard and persevere.

I am so blessed to have been GIVEN everything I need for a darkroom, which I set up in my laundry room. I'm working on a handful of different photo project which are all really exciting.

Yesterday I had a meeting with a wonderful lady named Daria who is the director of 24/7Prayer in Canada. Daria is also involved with organizations that are working to bring awareness to the sex and human trafficking industry in Montreal. I learned that Montreal has one of the biggest human trafficking industries in North America, but what is crazy is that it is so well organized and hidden. We talked about what is happening in Montreal and how I (and Amy, another girl in ywam) can be involved. Right now Montreal doesn't have a prayer room, but we talked about what we could do to get momentum going in the city to start one. We will start working on the details of having a city-wide 48 hr prayer event with all the churches in an area in the middle of the major Universities as well as near where there is a lot of prostitution.

Please be praying for me and the DTS team. Pray for us as we are each finding our place to get involved in and serve the city. Pray that we will be open to what the Lord is speaking to us during our weeks of training. Pray for unity within our community, we have definitely been facing the challenges of living in close contact with people from other cultures and who came with different expectations. Pray that my French will continue to improve. Pray that the rest of my support will come in the next 1.5 months.

I'd like to thank everyone who has encouraged me over the past month and a half, you really have no idea how much it means to me.

2 weeks of DTS...

I'm sorry if this is an incoherent mess... It has been such an incredible experience being here for just a few weeks. There is so much that I could say but with only a short time to write I will have to be brief. The past weeks have been full of orientation and building relationships. I am here with a really great group of young people and am excited to share the next 8 months with them. Each of us is busy right now trying to meet the necessary people and find the right organizations for our internships and volunteer work in the city, both of which comprise the majority of our ministry. One really neat thing about this particular DTS is that we are given a lot of freedom to learn and explore ways to develop each of our gifts and learn what it means to use them in ministry. I have a met a few people and set up meetings for the upcoming weeks and am really excited about all the possibilities for me to get involved in the city.

Over the weekend I attended Street Level Quebec, a Christian conference on social justice in Quebec (which was all in French, I understood almost everything..). The conference itself was really great but I was really encouraged to meet a lot incredible people from different organizations and churches with hearts to simply serve the city. I find it really unique here just how closely linked all the Christian leaders are here.

I really love being here. Montreal is so alive and full of layers and texture. Yesterday, I went with a few friends from my DTS to hike to the top of Mount Royal (a large hill, right in the middle of the city), and at the base of the mount we were met by a huge crowd surrounding a large drum circle. Everything was clapping and dancing and just enjoying the music and the beautiful fall day. It was such a fun experience. After hanging around the drum circle for a while we hiked to the top of the mount where there was a breathtaking view of the entire city of Montreal. It was such a reminder to me of God’s faithfulness in my life, especially in bringing me here, something that I had been praying about for a few years. 

a beautiful beginning. DTS days 1.5

I arrived in Montreal monday evening after a a long drive and a few quick visits with my best friend, one of my dad's college friends, and my family in New Jersey. The immigration process wasn't nearly as terrifying as I had imagined it would be and thankfully I had no problems getting a "non-salaried religious workers visa." When we first pulled up to my brother's apartment, he ran out to meet us, gave me a big hug and said "welcome home." I spent the part of the week with my family, shopping, walking around the city, visiting a museum, and seeing friends. We threw my dad a surprise 50th birthday party (a month early...) with all our friends from up here, it was so wonderful, like a huge family reunion.

I moved into my apartment Thursday afternoon, and the DTS started Friday. We met at 8 am at the Jeunesse En Mission (YWAM) office at 8am to be given a task and to meet everyone. Our DTS has ten people from all over the world; 2 men from France, 2 men from Holland, 1 man from Brazil, 3 ladies from Canada (2 anglophones, 1 francophone), 1 lady from Switzerland, and me. The DTS staff gave each of a list of places and things around the city we needed to find and photograph, and a metro card. It seemed easy enough except they gave us no addresses and no map, and some of the places were pretty specific, for instance we had to photograph the 4th floor of one of the local libraries.

My partner was Jisca, a girl from Sherbrooke, a town about two hours from here. We managed to get find a handful of maps and metro maps and made a plan of the best way to find as many spots on the list. The first place we went to was pretty tricky, and we ended up wasting an hour and a half walking around aimlessly and waiting for a bus that never came. We decided after that to ask folks for help so we wouldn't waste so much time. We made it to about 7 spots before running into 3 other teams (who were chilling in the library). At that point we all decided that we were tired and wanted to take a break from the game so we all went to a little cafe and hung out until it was time to go to our rendezvous.

It was being forced to spend time figuring my way around the city, and even though it was just for a day I feel like I have a pretty good handle on the metro system. I've also enjoyed getting to know my group, everyone is from such different backgrounds and were all brought here by unique reasons circumstances. I've also spoken so much more french in just the past two days than I have in quite a while!

This morning (sat), one of the DTS staff members took a few of us to the Jean-Talon market, a HUGE farmers market with local produce, meats and cheeses, and pastry and bread shops. It was really fun! A few of us girls bought some produce for our apartment and did a little more exploring.

Thats all for now, things will really get rolling around here on Monday. Next week will be one of mostly orientation, and I believe we will begin studying Genesis together.

I really love this city.