The Poor

What is our duty to the poor, living here in Canada?
I was involved in outreach to homeless people for about 8 years in a semi-official capacity (weekly, name signed up-background check) with the Union Gospel Mission. One of those years, I led a group of 100 University students. Other times, I was going because of the girls I knew in high school. Whatever the motivation, I had the chance to speak with hundreds of homeless people, sometimes just one time, sometimes I knew the same people for years. I know a woman who left her life of prostitution and alchoholism to follow Christ. She has maintained that path.
In Canada, there are so many social safety nets, what is our role as the church? It is a very hard thing to be hungry in Canada, and also hard to be without clothes and food. I think Ghandi said that it is violence to give a man who can work a piece of bread that he didn't earn. I have spoken to people who beg, and they have said that they don't want to work. I have offered food, and they reject it and ask for change.
I don't want to enable laziness, and therefore when doing ministry to the poor, I think it requires a great deal of effort and commitment.
I almost dropped out of my undergrad degree to live downtown with the homeless and destitute. Instead I finished my degree and stopped being involved with outreach.
In Canada, you can't starve.

Dave Matthews on Q

And, surfing was good, though I am still not good at it.

decisions etc

Sometimes its hard to figure things out, like, what to do in life.
The other day, I had another opportunity to conduct the band, its a middle school band, and I LOVED it! with exclamation points! It was great, so it makes me think that maybe I should just suck it up and finish school regardless of what happens with the job in montreal (or abitibi, for that matter)
but who knows.
In other news, my Dad is having an opening of his photos at On The Rise Gallery on south granville. I am very proud of him. He has been doing very well with photography lately, and this is evidence that I am not just saying that. He will have an entire wall of his work displayed. If you can make it, check it out. On The Rise, South Granville, all month long. Opening night is tomorrow night, wine and cheese. Check it out if you can.
oh, and the swell is coming on friday, if things go well, I might just get up on the board this time.

in the key of Grrrrrr

well, today is a grouchy day.

One of my teachers is using interesting techniques in her pedagogy class. She is teaching us how to teach, we have ten minute moments with which to teach a class of grade six band students. Except that the students are actually university music majors who are much quicker to pick up their instruments, and already know what 3/4 time is.
I think it is a terrible idea to take this class concurrent with a class that covers the same material but in a REAL context. I love teaching the actual middle school students, because they react like real people because they ARE real people. It's really hard to take it seriously. ah well.
In other news, I have an interview next monday for a job in Abitibi, of all places, which is like the boondocks of quebec, I don't think there is an orthodox church too near by, so I don't know that we would go, but we'd consider it I think. It's a pretty good job.
I spoke french today with the lady who was driving the bus (it's raining, so I wuss out on part of my bike ride) and it was great, I think my french is improving, but its nigh impossible to tell. we'll see. She said the test is easy, her sister worked for the feds in Ottawa and needed an english course, I would happily take a french course while there.
I love Victoria, but I would also love to pay off debt faster. It's all about the benjamins baby.

I had a hermannator last night, I forgot what that was like. It is an experience. It is very dark, and strong. It hits pretty hard, but not on the palate, I find. But you really couldn't drink more than a few, unless you were out in the rain at backyard fire, in winter. or perhaps the snow.

A demain, je vais aller a habit pour parler le francais avec un amis qui aussi est pratique le francais pour les examens meme que moi, mais j'ai les examens dans le 17 Novembre. Cette semaine, je voyager a www.flashcardexchange.com beaucoup, parce que il y a beacoup des cartes de eclair de francais.

Bon soir!

(I doubt very much that my grammar is perfect, or even close, just a little caveat)

Zeke at Sombrio

Zeke at Sombrio
Originally uploaded by pasivirta

"Mom and Dad, you've been holding out on me! What is this glorious thing I am sitting on?"..."Sand? awesome! I am going to eat it, and wear it, and throw it, and pretty much everything I can think of. what? we're leaving? Nooooooooooooooo!!!!!!"

you should have seen the whale.

you should have seen the whale.
Originally uploaded by pasivirta

Surfing on the west coast of Vancouver Island, mysterious hand injury coincides with sighting a grey whale. but you should see the other guy. (okay, it was barnacles) but we had a lot of fun, even though I still don't know how to surf well, or at all really, but like I said, it was an amazing experience. Totally glad that my buddy Ian from school had gear to lend me.

Grey Whale

I was surfing yesterday, at Sombrio beach, and there was a grey whale in the water near us. like 50 yeards, maybe 70 yards, it was really one of the coolest experiences I think ever. I mean, I have seen whales from boats before, but only once, and to have this whale who was kind of hanging around while we surfed, words don't properly describe it. Q always calls them effing majestic, and its true. Majesty is a word we don't often use except in church, and I think for good reason. but this whale, though I think a juvenile, was majestic. peaceful.
I am really not much of a surfer, I really don't know what I am doing, but the people I was with, didn't care, we were all out there, having a blast, and then this whale pops up and says hi. it was beautiful.

Razorrection/Parenting

Razorrection
Originally uploaded by pasivirta

I just love this picture so much, and I miss these guys a lot. Its been since this day that we were last all together, I think, and that is far too long. Life has morphed in many ways for all of us, we all look a little different, not much.

Last night, zeke had this crazy sounding sore throat, where every time he would breathe when he was lying down, it sounded like a dry cough. We fixed him up with some steam, and a better position to sleep in, but at first it was really scary. It was the first time I was scared for him. He falls and bumps his head sometimes, and he cries, and its tough, but I kind of laugh and comfort him and tell him it will be okay, because a little bump and a few seconds of crying is not a big deal, but last night he was scared and in pain, and it really really sucked.
he's a little better now and he got some good sleep, so I am not as worried. Being a parent changes your perspective on things in a way that nothing else ever could.

Video/Other News

A Video I made a few years back while doing my undergrad at TWU.

In other news, there is no other news. I will just have to wait until next week to find out when I can take the french test.

In reality, we never expected them to offer me the job, which is partly why we never really talked about it. That, and we have learned to not talk about possibilities before they become reality. But the reason we never expected an offer was because my french is mediocre, passable, but maybe not up to working with the french speaking public standards. we'll see.

OH, and this is rich. Yesterday, they asked me where I live, because if I live in Quebec, they can set up a test quickly. Where do I live? are you kidding? they offered me a job without realizing where I live? very unprofessional.

swear words

Edit.




Dear Friends, this post has been edited for confidentiality's sake.

Love,
David

Moving

Well. we're moving.

Montreal, here we come.

we're excited and sad. Happy to finally have been offered a federal government job, saddened to leave behind a treasure trove of beautiful people. It makes me cry when I think about that part. There are so many people that I really don't want to be that far away from.
But excited at the adventure, the challenge, the opportunity.
but we're sad too. we'll miss you.

pray for us.

odd/family/pumpkin beer/Bachelorhood-briefly

So last night, in church, a man told me that "These are our prayers, and if you don't know them and try to sing along, you mock God" which I thought was odd. I didn't think I was singing that poorly, but I was kind of humming and didn't know the translations. But I was also singing that one harmony in Tone 1 that really gives it its zazz, and maybe he couldn't hear the harmonies properly. anyways, it was weird. I couldn't believe a guy I have never met would talk to me like that. I mean, how un-canadian, and he really was quite canadian, ie, no audible accent. (and I have a good ear)

Anyways. It was weird. It also caused a bit of a row on facebook, but it was all good. I really like having discussions, and am all for being told the other side of things. My problem with this guy last night was how he said it. If he had quietly pointed out that usually people who sing, sing in the choir, and maybe I should go over there, I would have disagreed, but got the point, and been quiet. I just don't like being told to shut up when singing in church. Its...weird.

I watched duck hunting on TV this morning at work, and was thinking about things I can do with Zeke when he gets older, I would love to have a motorcycle for him that we can work on, slowly, a super cheap little bike that he can ride around when he gets his licence (so I don't have to drive him everywhere) but also because doing projects like that is really cool. I made a model with my dad when I was super young and it was really fun. I also just put a new distributor in my car, and while I have not grown up feeling mechanically inclined, wrenches are not that complicated. It's either push or pull.

just about 1/3 of the way through a year of not smoking at all. the frequency of mentioning it is going down, but I still think about it. clearly I am not physically dependant on it, but also evidently I am emotionally attached to the idea. more likely it is the image. one night Gabe and James and I all had G&T's and cloves, and took some photos and wandered to 7-11 when we all lived on eastleigh, it was very high school.

L and Z are on the mainland, and have been since wednesday. I thought that I would have fun, doing all the things I want to do but am too busy to do, but really, I just miss them and wish they were back here so I could do those things with them. It is like someone took the salt away from my life. I am fine, but everything tastes bland and I would rather be with them and tired, than alone and sort of tired. I did go to yoga again, which was awesome. and I doddled my way home from work and had a terrible free espresso at discovery, which is generally one of the best in town. I saw Chris there, which was cool. I stopped at a few garage sales, but nothing like the previous week where I got a free bike. fantastic.
today I miss church while on the ferry, which is too bad. but I get to see my family, and for that, I am very excited. very. vferry. puns like that don't work online as well.

and I just found yet another childhood friend on the ol facebook. one of my fort building, skateboarding, black hair dying buddies. good times.


Happy Turkey!

one more thing. I know I whine a lot, but its because I want the truth to win out. When it comes to my life, and I am reflective, I know I have nothing to complain about. I have a beautiful wife and son, and really, what is better than that? Nothing.

Imagning the Future

Clever title eh?

So, I know you haven't even had time to comment on the last one, but here's another ramble.
Imagine if the future has national boundaries that are drawn on ideological lines.

the example is this:
All of the people who are neo-luddites like C. Townsend et al and don't like technology and its dehumanization of everything band together, buy a chunk of land somewhere in the nether regions of Montana or Southeastern BC and set up their own country. It would be small, the size of a city, but there would be no internet and everything would be grown locally and made locally. I know it sounds utopian, but wait, there's more.
Other nations would be based on things like brand identity, Appleland and Blackberria could have annual tech wars. like color wars, only different.
imagine the possibilities.

ROCOR

well, goodness.
I don't know why I had such a questionable impression of the ROCOR church, I suppose it has something to do with the fact that we only very recently returned to official communion with them, which I find a bit odd, and to be sure the extra prayer that gives a dash of nationalism to the liturgy was a bit offensive. I am not exaggerating, I mean exactly that, it was only a mild offense, but it was offensive. It was a part of one of the litanies and it was a prayer for those in Russia and those in the Diaspora, and I think the use of the word Diaspora implies that Russia is The Homeland of the church, in the same way that a young midwesterner may be surprised to find that Jesus was in fact not a white american.
but at the same time, the name of the church says it, Russian Orthodox Church Abroad. I think it will be a long time before we get real orthodox unity, and I wonder how bad that is. Partially because the church we went to today had a definite Russian flavour, but man did I like it. I mean, I love my home church, it is my family, and I love it.
Today, we experienced serious beauty. It was serious, in that they were working on a beautiful, and I mean beautiful mosaic Pantocrator icon in their very small dome. The dome was wonderful too, a brilliant work of architecture that is hard to understand from the outside because it is so subtle and not at all dome shaped, but inside is perfectly orthodox and clearly intended that way. Anyways, it is not finished, but what is there is absolutely beautiful and serious. Professional.
When I was writing an MA thesis, a hundred years ago, one of the big themes was going to be the difference between the meaning of professional and amateur. Etymologically speaking, one who claims to be able to do something is a professional, they profess ability in a field. One who is an amateur is one who loves what they are doing, but doesn't claim a level of ability.
The whole church was set up by people who were serious and thoughtful about what they were doing, and they knew the right way to do it. There was a little strip of mosaic, halfway up the wall, simple geometric pattern, but it was classy.
The choir was prepared and very easy to understand, though the congregation didn't sing along that much, I found it quite easy to join in because they did all the familiar tones, though some translations were different ie Habitation=Commonwealth(?) But the whole thing was so well put together, everyone was quiet and serious including the kids, it sort of made me sit up and pay attention.
I was glad to visit the ROCOR church, because I had never been, and I had a bad impression which has been erased and replaced by good memories. I am sure we will go to their vespers some sunday night.

GLEE/Organic Farm/Asceticism vs Pleaure/

I have been watching GLEE, and I love it. It is somewhat formulaic, in that the show is not deep, but reflects so much of high school politics, and probably is the result of the success of the high school musical series, and the nostalgia of the genre in general, but it is capturing something that I think a lot of people are going to relate to. Now, I have said before here that I don't think competition is what Jesus had in mind, in general, at all. ok, that may be a nuanced version of what I said, but its what I was one day going to think that I meant. I don't think competition at its root is reflecting the glory of God, but creating and taking glory for ourselves, which is the essence of our screwed up world. Taking something good and instead of seeing the goodness of God in it, seeing the goodness of ourselves in it, which is actually I think a misinterpretation, which can't always be blamed on the one doing the interpreting, so thank God that he is merciful.
But this show is so entrenched in competition that it makes me cringe, but I think that's what High School is like for just about everyone, and its hilarious the way they do things, well, some things. other things make me cringe.
you know, as I write this, I wonder if I will like it by the end of the season, things that are easy to like quickly, often are too much of something, too sweet, too salty, etc, and maybe this won't last. But I am liking the struggle of the music teacher, cause that is what I will be doing soon too. I grew up and went through a music program that was fantastic, but never entered competitions, not because we really weren't excellent, my school won every category it entered at national festivals during the 80's, but our teachers thought that non competitive festivals were more focused on sharing and education, and I agree.

We found a fantastic organic farm today on our saturday family ramble, we were driving out towards sooke, and stopped at a place with a sign for eggs. They were sold out, but they took us to their HUGE garden, and cut us some chard, red onions, beans, orange peppers, tomatoes, basil, kale, zucchini, and they had strawberries that were just getting ripe, and grapes, and everything you can think of. and chickens. It was like my dream of the future. literally. you should come and see it. It was beautiful.

If monks take the road of asceticism towards holiness, does that mean that those of us who are not ascetics are meant to enjoy things that God has given us as a way of glorifying Him? I mean, I know the answer is yes, but I never thought of it as a duality, where we can say that we are categorically not ascetics. We are meant to fast, and pray, but we also have moments and opportunities to see God through the consumption of his many gifts to us, both edible and not, with which to see and reflect His glory, giving thanks in word and deed. The garden and making music are both examples of that, and I am hopeful that despite the fact that I don't feel much like I did when I talked about church a lot more, that I am still growing towards that state of being we all know we are meant for.

It was so nice to take a little family trip today, we stopped at a little fair in luxton, and eventually did find backyard eggs from an old old guy down the street from the fair, it was great. I don't get to encounter really old people much these days, it was nice.