Full Time Neighbours - Karen

After pastoring for 21 years at a large city church, Karen took the risk 12 years ago to live on raised funds as an urban worker, joining with what God is doing in East Vancouver, one of the most unchurched neighbourhoods in Canada. She lives a shared life intentionally in a 100 year old, six bedroom house,  as a base to seek the flourishing of her community and extend generous hospitality to neighbour and stranger.

Karen has experienced many 'conversions' in herself as she has rooted into her place, leaning into sustainable living practices, urban gardening, valuing the ordinary and simple and moved away from a busy and fragmented life (since you can't be busy and be present to others). After replacing her car with a bike, she now lives 90% of her life within walking distance. She has forged a slow lifestyle of radical hospitality to strangers and neighbours (vs entertaining friends and family) and her home - called Parker House - has become the primary gathering space for neighbourhood Soup Nights, House Concerts, etc. After living alone for most of her life, Karen wanted to live more deeply into her faith, intentionally living with others inter-generationally (over 200 people have lived in her home in the last decade). She organized her neighbourhood to sponsor Syrian refugees 7 years ago (who lived with her for a year), and seeks to join with anyone in the community seeking the common good. 

It has been a wild and wonderful ride - and she is having a blast at this stage of life.  Convinced that the Spirit always works in the particular and in place, Karen will share a bit of her story and wisdom from seeking to love God by loving neighbour...and enjoying neighbour as a way to enjoy God....and listening to our community as a way to listen to God.  

Links:

QUEST Conversation: Qualitative Neighbouring Part One

https://www.sidewalkskylinepodcast.com/sidewalkskylinepodcast/qualitative-neighbouring-quest-conversation-part-1

QUEST Conversation: Qualitative Neighbouring Part Two

https://www.sidewalkskylinepodcast.com/sidewalkskylinepodcast/qualitative-neighbouring-quest-conversation-part-2

Gangland Preacher - Olu Jegede

Welcome to Episode 8 of Sidewalk Skyline Podcast. Today we are starting a series that I call Gangland Preachers. In this and upcoming episodes we are going to hear from some people that have firsthand experience when it comes to gangs and their effect on the community. Most of our discussions will focus on the Toronto area. 

Today’s guest is Olu Jegede who pastors Christian Centre Church in Toronto.

Hey, do you get those Amber Alerts on your smart phone? More than once I’ve been awakened in the night by that disturbing ring tone to report that a minor has been abducted or has gone missing.

I remember in early March of this year getting the alert about a 14-year-old boy that was missing from the Jane and Finch neighbourhood of Toronto. He had been abducted over a $4 million drug debt that his stepbrother had owed from last summer.

Well that young man was a recent example of someone that Christian Centre Church knows and cares about. He was recovered by police and returned home. These kind of stories are very real and personal for people like Pastor Olu Jegede.

In 2007 Jordan Manners was killed by gun violence inside his high school. This was one of the many young men that Olu has mentored over the years. 

Like Nehemiah of old, God calls some people into urban centers to build community and faith in places that have lost both. This session was a presentation that Olu gave at Our City Toronto 2019.

Links:

https://ccctoronto.com/

https://innercityoutreach.ca/

Jennifer and Olu Jegede

Jordan Manners’ funeral