Driving in Peace

Image result for dunvegan alberta
Canola to infinity
My title for this post is a bit of a play on words. A recent road trip took me to the city of Grande Prairie and from there to the  town of Peace River. That whole area of Northwest Alberta is known as the Peace Country, after the mighty Peace River. As a matter of fact, an annual Youth gathering there has one of the coolest titles I've heard; Disturbing the Peace, to be held later this year at Grande Prairie Alliance, a really good Alpha church.

The first picture above is where the Highway 2 crosses the river at Dunvegan. The second picture is of some of the bright yellow fields of canola one sees along both sides of the highway. I love travelling this Province.

In Peace River I had some interesting and encouraging calls. My first appointment was with Pastor Nathan Friedt at First Baptist, a church who has been taking the lead in that community, Alpha-wise. Nathan is a former Youth Pastor who left for Vancouver Island for a time, then was called back to be their Senior Pastor. They must have liked him, and I don't blame him. We had a very encouraging visit and brief time of prayer.

My next call was a cold call on the Catholic Church, appropriately named, "Our Lady of Peace." Fr. Cyril Joseph and I had a good conversation about Alpha and the possibility of his parish using it in conjunction with their RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults).

Finally I dropped in to the offices of the Anglican Diocese of Athabasca. Bishop Fraser Lawton (with whom I get along pretty well, as we are both, "car guys") and his Administrator, Danielle, had just returned from the Anglican Church of Canada national synod in Toronto, at which a motion  was passed which will ultimately lead to the approval same sex marriage in that denomination. Bp Fraser was among those standing against this motion, and in addition to the usual jet lag, I suspect was emotionally weary as well, so I didn't stay long - just long enough to say I was thinking and praying for them.

An interesting "coincidence" took place before all this on our way from St Albert to Grande Prairie. We stopped at McDonald's in Whitecourt. I was just leaving the till when I heard someone call my name. I turned around and it took me a couple of seconds to recognize Fariborz Khandani, a former Muslim from Iran who came to Christian faith and is now Rector of Christ Church Anglican Church in Grande Prairie, also in Bp Fraser's Diocese of Athabasca. He was travelling in the opposite direction, to Edmonton. We had a good time of discussion over Big Macs and a short time of prayer right there in McDonald's. I'm hoping his church will be one to run Alpha in the fall. For various reasons, which I'll not get into here, I believe it was not a coincidence that we met, but divinely ordained.

But you never know who you'll run into. It's a small world when you're a Christian. Family is everywhere.

Blessings,

John

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