(e)mergent Voyageurs

Today is Canada Day and so I thought I would share with you some interesting thoughts on our nation from people of interest over the years. Now, please note that I am not endorsing a quote by putting it here, but rather acknowledging that (fair or not) it is an accurate representation of ideas or perspectives in or about Canada. Enjoy!

“Canadian nationalism is a subtle, easily misunderstood but powerfull reality, expressed in a way that is not to state directed – something like a beer commercial or the death of a significant Canadian figure.”
    -Paul Kopas

“We Canadians live in a blind spot about our identity. We have very strong feelings about who we aren’t but only weak ones about who we are. We’re passionate about what we don’t want to become but oddly passive about what we should be.”
    -John Cruickshank

“Americans are benevolently ignorant about Canada, while Canadians are malevolently well informed about the United States.”
    -J. Bartlett Brebner

“Canada is a country whose main exports are hockey players and cold fronts. Our main imports are baseball players and acid rain.”
    -Pierre Trudeau

“Canada is the essence of not being. Not English, not American, it is the mathematic of not being. And a subtle flavour – we’re more like celery as a flavour.”
    - Mike Meyers

“Canada: A few acres of snow.”
    -Voltaire

“I want to thank all the Canadians who came out today to wave to me – with all five fingers!”
    -President George W. Bush

“A proof is a proof. What kind of a proof? It’s a proof. A proof is a proof. And when you have a good proof, it’s because it’s proven.”
    -Prime Minister Jean Chrétien (on finding no Iraqi weapons of mass destruction)

“Canadians are the people who learned to live without the bold accents of the natural ego-trippers of other lands.”
    -Marshall McLuhan

“Canadians have an abiding interest in surprising those Americans who have historically made little effort to learn about their neighbour to the North.”
    -Peter Jennings

“The great themes of Canadian history are as follows: Keeping the Americans out, keeping the French in, and trying to get the Natives to somehow disappear.”
    -Will Ferguson

“In a world darkened by ethnic conflicts that tear nations apart, Canada stands as a model of how people of different cultures can live and work together in peace, prosperity, and mutual respect.”
    -U.S. President Bill Clinton

“Canadians have been so busy explaining to the Americans that we aren’t British, and to the British that we aren’t Americans that we haven’t had time to become Canadians.”
    -Helen Gordon McPherson

“I don’t even know what street Canada is on.”
    -Al Capone

“We’ll explain the appeal of curling to you if you explain the appeal of the National Rifle Association to us.”
    -Andy Barrie

“Canada is the greatest nation in this country.”
    -Former Toronto mayor Allan Lamport

Happy Canada Day, eh!

My good friend Doug Koop brought this to my attention, so I wanted to share it with you all. “35 Under 35″ is an exciting venture worth checking out. Here is from their website:

God is raising a cadre of young Christian leaders throughout Canada who are being prepared to lead amidst the complexities, challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. Who are these dynamic men and women? What can we learn from their stories? How can we encourage their dreams, invest in their leadership and extend their influence?

The 35 Under 35 National Recognition Project is an initiative of Arrow Leadership, ChristianWeek, the Canadian Council of Christian Charities and the Bridgeway Foundation. We aim to identify, profile, celebrate, equip and encourage 35 key young leaders under 35, to invest in their lives and strengthen their leadership.

Until May 31, 2007, the 35 Under 35 National Recognition Project invites you to nominate Christian leaders (ages 18-35). These leaders will have orientated their lives to serve God and their community through diverse venues – churches, charities, business, education, healthcare, media, the arts, sports, and other areas.

Your nomination will be a significant encouragement to them. In addition, each nominated leader will be eligible for consideration as one of our 35 finalists from across the country.

Check out the website and nominate someone today!

Did you know that in Canada, women were not considered persons, under the law, until 1929? That may seem like a long time ago, but my grandmother was in the first generation of Canadian women to be considered persons. Not so long ago after all.

Did you know that First Nations (native) Canadians were did not have the right to freely vote until 1960? They could vote prior to that, but were then required to relinquish all treaty rights. First of all, this was an unreasonable and unjust expectations. Second, treaty agreements were violated again and again (and still not fully honoured) by the Canadian goverment anyway. Third, 1960 is practically yesterday. We may have come a long way in a short time, but we have a long way to go.

I bring these examples up to demonstrate the realities of the human rights battle that are a part of our own, relatively progressive context. Looking at the global community, we discover that human rights have been (and continue to be) systematically violated. These are battles that must be at the forefront of our missional endeavours as Christian communities- simply as humans created in God’s image.

This is why I am excited about the The Canadian Human Rights Museum being built here in Winnipeg. The CHRM is dedicated to advancing understanding and support for human rights in Canada and throughout the world and will be a national and international destination – a centre of learning and history where people can engage in dialogue and commit to taking action to combat the forces of hate and oppression. Located in at The Forks in Winnipeg,the museum will be the largest human rights centre in the world, with a special focus on equipping and educating young people to become human rights leaders and advocates. Check out the website to find out more.

One way you can support this exciting venture is the Shine pin campaign. They recently launched “Shine” a commemorative “reach for the stars” pin in support of the Museum. The pin is a limited edition pin, intended to raise awareness and funds for the Museum and to promote the idea that everyone can be a human rights “star”. It is great, as it is not a pin at all, but a magnetic “pin”, strong enough to stay put, but without danger of being poked or damaging your clothes. Get it at the website here.

Check it out and get involved. While it won’t official open until 2010, it is worth getting involved with now.

Previous Post – Keep Kim In Canada Update

I just couldn’t resist…

For all of you who have been following, giving and praying for Kim’s (my wife) immigration challenges, I have some good news. As of this week, the last of the paperwork we needed to apply for her Permanent Residency arrived from Australia, allowing us to finally send in the application. Thanks to the generosity of so many of you, we were also able to send the payment along with it. Things are tight, but we were able to avoid the debt that seemed inevitable. We will have to wait several months while it sits in a pile for consideration, then go in for an interview. So, at this stage, things are out of our hands. Thanks so much to every one of you have gave so generously and to those who prayed so faithfully. We’ll keep you posted.

Since the launch of the Keep Kim In Canada Campaign, we have been blown away by the amazing generousity and support we have received from so many of you. However, we have also been receiving several emails asking for two thing. First, people want to know more background on the situation and our ministry. And second, people want an update on where we are at with the campaign. Let me try to answer both here.

As most of you know, my wife & I are the founders and Co-Directors of Youth With A Mission (YWAM) Urban Ministries Winnipeg. We were planted here by YWAM Vancouver several years ago, moving our home & ministry into the inner city community of Winnipeg’s West End. Over the last years of pioneering, we have also becoming increasingly involved in regional leadership within the mission, which has been a real blessing.

However, over the last couple of years, our regular financial support has dropped significantly, in large due to unavoidable financial challenges facing our donors. With the increased leadership responsibility within the mission, our expenses also increased, so this loss has hit us quite hard. It was while we were working to overcome this challenge that the Canadian goverment decided that it was time for Kim to apply for Permanent Residency, an expense of around $2000. Of course, when it rain, it pours. During the same week, we were hit with several unexpected expenses (such as two major appliances dying on the same day).

I asked for prayer from several networks, which I received in excess. An unexpected result was the creation of the Keep Kim In Canada Campaign, dedicated to help us raise the needed funds to keep my Aussie wife to get her Permanent Residency. We have been stunned and humbled by the response. In fact, since it started we have reached the half way mark! While we still need to face the other financial challenges and build a broader regular support team, this has come as a life saver for us. Thank you all for your willingness to stand behind us in our calling.

Should any of you want to receive regular updates of our ministry, please feel free to let me know. You can also check out our personal website for more information. Again, thank you so much for all you have done! We are truly blessed.