The Election Episode (Tim Schindel interview)

As we approach Canada’s federal election with political fever running high, I interviewed Tim Schindel to talk about the spiritual realities we hold onto, regardless of how the country votes.

Tim Schindel is a visionary leader and strategic influencer dedicated to equipping and supporting leaders in Canada’s political and business communities. As the Founder and National Director of Leading Influence, he has built a nationwide network providing chaplaincy, mentorship, and faith-based leadership support to elected officials across Canada. Since launching the organization in 2006, Tim has expanded its reach, fostering a culture of integrity, encouragement, and service among political leaders. With nearly 40 years of experience in ministry, leadership development, and executive coaching, Tim is known for his ability to cast vision, build high-impact teams, and drive meaningful change.

 Links:

Leading Influence

https://leadinginfluence.com/

Previous interview:

Season 2, Episode 18

https://www.sidewalkskylinepodcast.com/sidewalkskylinepodcast/tim-schindel-providing-spiritual-care-for-politicians

DEI and Glocal Church (Harold Gutierrez interview)

Diversity, equity and inclusion are all Christian virtues, but they can be disguised as PCIE - Pressured Conformity, Inequity and Exclusion. That can happen easily inside or outside of the Church, but the Church cannot afford to conflate virtue with political pragmatism. The prophetic Church does the quiet work of diversity, equity and inclusion without press releases.

On today’s episode I have a conversation with Harold Gutierrez, who is from Langley BC where he works as the Intercultural and Indigenous Ministries director for the British Columbia and Yukon District of the PAOC. He has pastored in Florida, North Carolina and BC and currently working on a PhD. Today we want to talk about cross cultural communication, discipleship, pluralism and the ways that we can grow in working together across the cultural divides.

Link:

British Columbia and Yukon District of PAOC

https://www.bcyd.ca/intercultural-indigenous

The Attention Economy (Rick Hiemstra and Andy Gabruch)

In Elizabeth Oldfield’s book ‘Fully Alive’, she wrote, “For most of the week, my value is in what I produce and what I consume. If I’m not careful my main goal in a day becomes impressive and competent, subtly signalling my status with the things I buy, say and post. Sabbath is the opposite. It is a line in the sand. Today I am just a person, and a person is beyond price. Sabbath is about valuing, fighting for and fiercely guarding rest.” [1]

What are the things that demand our attention and distract us from being fully alive in Christ? My guests on this episode are Rick Hiemstra and Andy Gabruch.

Rick is the director of The Centre For Research On Church And Faith at The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.

Andy is the author of Infobesity: How To Be Followers Of Jesus in an Information Overload World.

[1] Elizabeth Oldfield, ‘Fully Alive’ p. 110.

Links:

Rick Hiemstra – Evangelical Fellowship of Canada

https://www.evangelicalfellowship.ca/RickHiemstra

Infobesity Book

https://www.infobesity.ca/infobesity-the-book

Andy Gabruch Website

https://andygabruch.com/

Increase in Bible sales

https://www.wsj.com/business/media/sales-of-bibles-are-booming-fueled-by-first-time-buyers-and-new-versions-d402460e

Igods: How technology shapes our spiritual and social lives 

https://www.amazon.ca/iGods-Technology-Shapes-Spiritual-Social/dp/1587433443/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2S9HZCBUQI4AB&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.aU0UvmNAvigfu5nWqrKrFEHSnGQ3khC7TdlsGEpma7Dh2AL0SQBTynVWPDJdNxiGKBFG4NGYwFYf12HG0uaIRBtYpGkjNDVLOJHh49psynjr5KKvlDMNu7MN3SM321BEta6Qgse8spoyMRskcBQ6LA.8jP7J3hj5dwOXlJLWRq1VxLP1EByMu0-bHGFuMjti0c&dib_tag=se&keywords=igod%27s+book&qid=1738874432&sprefix=igods+book%2Caps%2C130&sr=8-1

How to Break Up with Your Phone 

https://www.amazon.ca/How-Break-Up-Your-Phone-ebook/dp/B072J77B68/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2GGZXH7IPGOBT&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.BrxH8fEW3onrWcfbpGanIrANsvt6MSIDPqgn5-pSmVTH2GUIK3bWrZs3artkG3YW1j4acqps1fo-SxngnRPaTSYwNS8OYM8R0otTX9mQUkjrebv2r4n8qq26vqiXMXSBmXvnORQva9XAHK_DTOAHBbapuY-WwCtpSfNLmAEw3DcQU0QxlmfhULzrvgWhgAcZL1R4IOIvYZgiqfTK71A1M9TbhNFuuM6FVtZSQDJODca9stta5nkG29p7pEk2t2-pdj5CzDiV7XZ51BmaNuEhP-FnevnRKzMuFaDx0Di147zdbV2QFg_hNiO66zzy_3PIt5kbfNwkdrLWMoaG4ahPUoc8ZOHZ7BBi148PniSPR1nngKF6Np7sSRU7zoJDNrLMGw-9kC_N-wxHHoG3kVxXtbfWQoqWfJ5_mw9LuY1ELKvw5tGHg4Z4WBb_FqmC5ble.D5txhFM3pS0OoIUgFcyslqJ2opGcqJ9nEifsapFD7vE&dib_tag=se&keywords=catherine+price&qid=1738874618&sprefix=catherine+price%2Caps%2C155&sr=8-1

Sidewalk Skyline Podcast – Season 5, Episode 19

https://www.sidewalkskylinepodcast.com/sidewalkskylinepodcast/infobesity-techicism-and-tekton-andy-gabruch-interview

The Nine Lives of Joe Ritchie

Joe Ritchie grew up with a history of trauma and abuse that nearly killed him. At age fifteen he was in a car accident that left him quadriplegic and without hope. After three times of dying and being resuscitated, it would be a vision of Jesus that would change his life trajectory.

Today Joe serves as part of the pastoral team at Windsor’s New Song Church. Listen as he shares transparently about his struggles with addiction and the journey to freedom.

Healing Spiritual Cataracts (Tim Meisenheimer)

Timothy Meisenheimer has spent decades on the streets with beatitude vision, first in Ottawa and now in Windsor, Ontario. This was his session at the Our City Windsor 2024 conference. Tim takes seriously the path of Jesus in his sidewalk vision of the Kingdom of God.

Links:

Urban Cry School of Mission

https://www.facebook.com/urbancryschoolofmission

Downtown Windsor Community Collaborative

https://www.dwcc.ca/

Capital City Mission

https://capitalcitymission.com/

The Ottawa Mission

https://ottawamission.com/

More Of The Maury Story (Maury Blair interview)

This is part two of my interview with Maury Blair as we revisit his traumatized childhood in Paris Ontario and the journey to wholeness through coming to faith in Christ.

If you have not yet listened to part one, go to https://www.sidewalkskylinepodcast.com/sidewalkskylinepodcast/revisiting-child-of-woe-maury-blair-interview

Links:

Breakthrough Ministries

https://overcomingabuse.ca/

Revisiting Child of Woe (Maury Blair interview)

Years ago I read Maury Blair’s autobiography ‘Child Of Woe’. I was shocked at the severity of the child abuse he suffered from his step-father. How could a man be so filled with contempt for an innocent child and more miraculously, how could a child of violence grow up to be so compassionate and well-balanced?

In this episode I visited Maury at his kitchen table in Cambridge, Ontario as we revisited his faith journey and ministry. We walked on the streets of Paris, Ontario to see the old homestead, the church and the streets he lived on.

This is part one of two episodes.

Link:

Breakthrough Ministries

https://overcomingabuse.ca/

Back To The Shack (Bobby Reaume interview)

Bobby Reaume is the lead operator with Feeding Windsor-Essex’s Soup Shack. Every night from 7-9 pm he ensures that up to 140 people are served with food, snacks, clothing and personal care items. The food is prepared in the kitchens of Feeding Windsor-Essex, a charitable department of New Song Church.

This interview at the Our City Windsor 2024 Conference is filled with stories of hope and the continuing miracle of Bobby’s journey to recovery.

As an update, Bobby and some interested parties are attempting to start a charity of their own to provide a greater platform of services to Windsor’s homeless and street-affiliated population. The Soup Shack would be enhanced by a building where more than food would be served.

In the meantime, donations to help fund current operations can be sent to Feeding Windsor-Essex. Find out how at admin@feedingwindsoressex.ca

Links:

Feeding Windsor-Essex

https://www.feedingwindsoressex.ca/

From Fentanyl To The Soup Shack (Season Four, Episode 18)

https://www.sidewalkskylinepodcast.com/sidewalkskylinepodcast/from-fentanyl-to-the-soup-shack-bobby-reaume-interview

The Gilded Pen of Winnipeg (John Longhurst interview)

John Longhurst's journalistic reflections provoke thought and questions about faith, inviting readers to think beyond their own religions, theologies, and denominations. Why do people believe what they do? What might we learn from each other's acts of faith?

John Longhurst is the recipient of the 2021 Lieutenant-Governor's Award for the Advancement of Inter-religious Understanding in Manitoba. He has served as the director of communications for several international relief and development organizations and continues to write for the Winnipeg Free Press and many other publications.[1]

His most recent book is a collection of writing from his Free Press column and is entitled, “Can Robots Love God And Be Saved?’

[1] https://www.commonword.ca/ResourceView/82/27814

Links:

Book: Can Robots Love God And Be Saved?

https://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/9781987986198/john-longhurst/can-robots-love-god-and-be-saved

Winnipeg Free Press

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/biographies/john-longhurst

Signs Of Hope (Brian Egert)

Brian Egert brought this opening message at the Our City Windsor ‘Signs Of Hope’ conference in March 2024. One hundred people gathered at New Song Church in Windsor Ontario to reflect on the hope that Canadian churches can bring to their cities.

Brian is the Director of Mission Canada, an agency committed to raising up workers with a heart of hope for the nation of Canada.

Link:

Mission Canada

https://paoc.org/canada

Becoming Bilingual (Cal & Chrissy Krahn interview)

With almost 30 years of ministry experience, Cal and Chrissy Krahn have often been drawn to those outside of the church walls. As urban workers with Mission Canada, based in Montreal, Quebec, they care for those around them who are lonely, hurting, or in need of a friend. This can be through involvement at the local food bank, sharing a meal or a coffee with someone, connecting newcomers to Canada with helpful resources, or simply giving a granola bar to a person who’s hungry.

In the words of Loren Cunningham, founder of Youth With A Mission (YWAM), "When you take up residence among them, you have an opportunity to do things for transforming that community and those people not only spiritually, but it will change their lives economically, socially, and educationally, and all the things that follow. YOU can make a difference in the world.”
In a province where less than 1% of the population attend an evangelical service on a Sunday morning, and where many do not trust religion or have been hurt, Cal and Chrissy desire to embody "the Jesus way" by living their lives based on the example of Christ - full of generosity, hospitality, and love.

 Links:

Mission Canada Profile Page

https://paoc.org/canada/workers/cckrahn

Widows, Orphans and Warming Centres (Jess Disabatino interview)

Today I’m talking with my friend Jessica Disabatino. Jess and her husband Dave co-lead Journey Church in Calgary. Our connection goes back to the early 2000’s when they were pastoring Lakeshore Church in Toronto. We began dreaming together with Braeside Camp to launch Camp Inner Change, a week of summer camp for inner city children and youth.

Eventually Dave and Jess moved to Calgary to lead Journey Church. Jess also worked for a season in the lead team of Mission Canada.

She has also been a podcaster and a frequent speaker at conferences.

Links:

Journey Church, Calgary

https://www.myjourney.church/

Braeside Camp

https://www.braesidecamp.ca/

 Down To Earth Podcast

https://www.downtoearthpodcast.com/

Asylum Seekers And Homelessness (Mike Morency & Ejay Tupe interview)

Our guests on this episode are Ejay Tupe, director of Toronto Urban Mission Hub in downtown Toronto and Mike Morency, executive director of Matthew House – Windsor.

We will be talking about a story that began unfolding this past summer when over 200 refugee claimants from African nations found themselves sleeping on the streets. Many were outside a homeless support centre at 129 Peter St. in downtown Toronto. There seemed to initially be a funding stalemate between levels of government.

Into the crisis, three churches got involved directly by opening up their buildings to provide shelter, food, and support.

·      Revivaltime Tabernacle

·      Pilgrim Feast Tabernacle

·      Dominion Church International

This story eventually leads to some of the asylum seekers ending up served by Matthew House in Windsor.

Links:

Ejay Tupe

https://paoc.org/canada/workers/ejaytupe

Oct 30th update from Ejay

https://youtu.be/-o4LVpanGmo?si=J11xqAhrKoEd_DPb

Matthew House - Windsor

https://matthewhousewindsor.org/

Our City Scarborough Conference

https://www.ourcitytoronto.ca/

News article:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/church-temporary-emergency-shelter-asylum-seekers-toronto-1.6927489

Ejay Tupe

Mike Morency

Musicians On Mission (The Extreme Tour)

For thirty years, The Extreme Tour have partnered with community groups and clubs, civic organizations, churches, schools, government agencies and municipalities that are working charitably to meet the needs of the disenfranchised.

Collectively they have been in hundreds of communities scattered throughout 20 countries bringing music, art, spoken word, etc. They are musicians on mission and people that want to serve.

In mid-September they spent a week in Windsor, Ontario assisting New Song Church and Feeding Windsor-Essex. This is our round table conversation about who they are and the unique work that they are called to.

Links:

The Extreme Tour

https://www.theextremetour.com/

Danyelle Speaks

https://www.danyellespeaks.com/

Idiomz Da Prophesayer

https://idiomz.bandcamp.com/

Manny Hubbard (Flamuel)

https://www.youtube.com/@MannyHubbardMusic

Samuel Kislow (Salmon Friends)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2CLfjEDGS4

From Fentanyl To The Soup Shack (Bobby Reaume interview)

Three years ago, Bobby Reaume walked into my office and said, “Hey remember me?” It took me awhile before I would remember that he and his wife Grace attended the church briefly a few years prior. When Bobby walked in, he had been released from prison, returned to addiction, and was living in tent city. He came to see me with John Button the founder of Launch Pad Recovery Centre as he was entering into a Christian recovery program.

Today Bobby is working full-time, sober, spirit-filled and serving the homeless population in our city of Windsor with the Soup Shack, a trailer set up to distribute food and basic supplies to people on the street.

 Links:

Soup Shack organized by Feeding Windsor-Essex

https://www.feedingwindsoressex.ca/

Launch Pad Recovery Center

https://launchpadrecovery.org/

Hope On The Streets Of Leamington (Jennifer Hyde interview)

In the fall of 2022, three Leamington entrepreneurs came together to establish the Leamington Community Hope Centre at the old Knox Presbyterian Church located in the downtown core. Their goal was to secure a community space where necessary resources would be available to people in need to help ensure their physical, mental, social, and spiritual health was prioritized.

The Centre is taking shape quickly with a surge of community volunteers getting involved, many from area churches. Jennifer Hyde is the executive director of a new organization known as the Leamington Community Hope Centre.

Links:

Leamington Community Hope Centre

https://www.leamingtonhopecentre.ca/

Feeding Windsor-Essex

https://www.feedingwindsoressex.ca/

Captain Kindness Lives In Brantford

Dave Carrol is the lead pastor of Freedom House, a community minded church in Brantford, Ontario. Through many years of working closely with civic leaders, the church has gained a reputation for serving with a great attitude.

There’s a good story here about the day that David donned leotards and a red cape and became Captain Kindness. The Kindness Project was launched to make Brantford the kindest city in Canada. Perhaps podcast listeners will be inspired to release their own inner superheroes.

Links:

The Kindness Project

https://freedomhouse.ca/kindness-project/

Freedom House

https://freedomhouse.ca/

Two Wise Fools Podcast (with Aaron White)

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/two-wise-fools/id1547557549

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

African Christians In Canada

Our conversation today is going to focus primarily on Christians that were born in Africa and are now living in Canada. What strikes me demographically is that the African continent has a higher percentage of the population identifying as Christian than we do in Canada.

Prior to 1960, black Africans comprised a very small, scattered and almost unknown group of newcomers to Canada, although Africans of European and Asian ancestry had a clearer presence. According to the 2016 census, 1,067,925 Canadians reported being of African origin.[1]

Rev. Isaac De-Graft Takyi is the pastor of Living Word Assembly of God in Toronto. One of his recent accomplishments was authoring a book entitled, ‘The Story of Ghana Assemblies of God Church In Canada.’ This historical document gives a first-hand account of Ghanian Christians starting Ghanian churches in Canada and some of the controversies and successes they have experienced thus far.

Sammy Molloy works at Matthew House, a refugee resettlement service and residence in Windsor, Ontario. They have about 70 beds in the residence and are serving refugee claimants in the hundreds across our city. He is also a worker with African Inland Mission where he organizes summer camps across Canada for children and youth of African origins.

Kirubel Masresha (Nahum) is a student born in Ethiopia but has lived in Windsor from a young age. He lives with Pastors Wodaje Tekeste and Nardi Abraha, on staff at New Song Church and former pastors of the Emmanuel Ethiopian Church. He works at Serenity Coffee House.

Links:

The Story of Ghana Assemblies of God Church in Canada, by Isaac De-Graft Takyi, https://www.amazon.ca/Story-Ghana-Assemblies-Church-Canada/dp/1988439221/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1LWNTDVPMD4KT&keywords=isaac+de-graft+takyi&qid=1678714386&sprefix=isaac+de-graft+takyi%2Caps%2C146&sr=8-1

Living Word Assembly of God

https://livingwordag.org/

Matthew House Refugee Welcome Centre – Windsor

https://matthewhousewindsor.org/

Africa Inland Mission

https://aimint.org/ca/2022/05/01/appointment-of-director-strategy-and-operation-for-mac-camps/

Camp Rhino

www.camprhino.ca

[1] https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/africans

Jesus In The Diaspora - Charles Hermelink interview

Charles and I work together with Mission Canada, a Christian ‘mission agency to reach Canada with the gospel in unique ways. There are many contexts where there is a gap; campuses, people groups, regions, and communities where Jesus is inadequately represented. Mission Canada is committed to identify and equip those who will pursue their calling to fill these gaps.’[1]

I am the urban ministry consultant and Charles is the Cultural Ministries consultant. As part of that role, he gives leadership to Neighbours & Newcomers Network National.

Links:

https://paoc.org/canada/workers/priorityculturalministries

https://paoc.org/canada/workers/nnnetworknational

[1] https://paoc.org/canada/about