Pilgrim Church

The journey to authenticity is key to the Christian life. The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah was raised up by God to condemn ritual without intention or worse, ritual used to cover up what was actually going on.

Religious consumerism keeps us from truth. True religion calls us to care for more than ourselves but starts with hard conversations. Thankfully, the prophets are sent to help us find freedom. 

Jesus takes Peter, James and John on a pilgrimage. A journey to a place to draw closer to God, out of their ordinary day-to-day life. Setting aside time and place beyond the normal daily and weekly patterns of worship help us enter into new experiences of God's grace and power. 

Transfiguration - an outer experience can empower a vision for inner change in you. 

 Eat, drink, be merry, keep scrolling Instagram, ignore gathering with others, seek a life of ease, etc. is how the powers control us and keep us from new life and possibilities. Overcoming this numbness of the corporate and the empire starts with grief-acknowledging and lamenting that the world is not as it should be. This keeps us distracted or superficially enraged, but away from deeper community, truths, and change. Truth-filled language is required for deeper work and joy.

Join us this Sunday at 10 AM to find out how Jeremiah gives us vital knowledge about coming alive!

Police Verso ("Turned Thumb") by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1872 

Every Q+A we get a bunch of questions premised on following Jesus being about falling on the correct side of a border, line, or wall. These great questions tell us about the desire for order in our lives. Many religious systems are based on amplifying this sense, even churches have built systems of "world non-conformity" on this impulse.

But what if there is another way to judge or discern our actions and growth? What if isn't about a line but a direction? What if holiness is not measured by lines but capacity and inner character? Colouring in the lines can lull us into a false sense of stability and safety.

There are lines that matter. But they're different than the ones we seek. Covenantal boundaries are not the same as contractual obligations.

Join our first Question and Answer event of 2019!  Former guest Dr. Ed Ng will join Pastor Shel for our Q&A. Dr. Ng has a Masters of Divinity (Regent College) and Doctorate of Psychology (Fuller), and is the Director of Counseling Services for Soma Counseling and Family Services in Vancouver.  We gather on Sunday morning as usual but leading up to and during the traditional teaching/sermon, we welcome questions for discussion.  Bring your questions about life, mental and spiritual health, church, relationships, boundaries, spirituality, wellness, purpose, Jesus, and more!  We don’t promise to have all the answers, but we want to have the conversation! 

Jeremiah was a prophet in the Old Testament who did his work during the end of the political nation of ancient Israel. God called him to speak words that would tear down false promises and build up new community. Christians are called to a similar work today. 

Reconciliation is part of the Gospel. Yet our world thrives on antagonism fuelled ideologies.

Join us at 10am this Sunday as we learn to move away from the antagonistic way of life.

Making space for others to flourish requires we understand some core practices given by Jesus. This Sunday at 10 AM, learn how to open up your life to be used by God. #pilgrimpeople 

Flourishing requires us to take inventory of our desires. Through Jesus, our desires can be redirected. Redirecting or decluttering your desires requires active tending to.  Join us to start the clean up this Sunday. 10 AM 

First Sunday of 2019