Vancouver housing has become so expensive that only the very rich can afford to live in a private home. About a quarter of the city have a more insecure existence in social housing, or for some, on the street or in shelters. These populations do not naturally mix. Tim Dickau, Joy Banks and Mark Glanville are ministers at Grandview Calvary Baptist Church and describe how their church has sought to be part of reshaping the city by living into signs of Shalom which show an alternative to its individualism and segregation. They talk here with Alan Roxburgh about their refugee housing projects and about the hope they have discovered in their experiences of shared life.
Housing and Shalom in the New Commons – Part 1 from The Missional Network on Vimeo.
In this second video Tim, Joy and Mark unpack further how they have experienced shared life in their church. The church has undertaken some large scale projects but the group explains how these were preceded simply by encounters with people who are different, encounters which gave rise to mentoring, modeling and mutual transformation. In this creative setting questions emerged about homes and homelessness and about the potential of the houses next door to the church. Eventually the church came to look at its own parking lot with new eyes and are now building communal social housing in this space.
Housing and Shalom in the New Commons – Part 2 from The Missional Network on Vimeo.
Interview by Alan Roxburgh.
