Dear people of Vanier,
Like you, I’ve read the newspaper articles. I’ve heard the stories. I know what some say about your community. They say bad people live in Vanier. Drug dealers, addicts, prostitutes, bikers. They say it’s a rough community. It’s not safe to walk the streets late at night.
Some have tried to change what others say about your community. Some suggest that things are not as bad as the reports suggest. And yet, the articles continue to be written. The papers tell the stories of police raids, prostitution stings, and drug busts.
Is there any hope for Vanier? Again, some say no. They suggest that crime will always be a problem in this community. They have given up. They have no hope for Vanier.
It’s a good thing they are not God. You see, the Bible is clear: in places where it seems like people struggle with sin the most, God’s grace is more evident. (Romans 5:20) In other words, God looks at a community like Vanier and showers his grace upon it. Upon you.
I want you to know that God loves you. He has something incredible in store for your community. He believes in you. He has a purpose for each of you.
A month ago, Ken Jackson wrote an article for the Ottawa Sun describing the arrest of a twenty year old girl on prostitution charges. The arrest happened in Vanier. As he wraps up his report, he observes that the arrest is happening right below a bright neon blue cross. His final words are a quote from the police officer that Mr. Jackson has been riding along with: “It’s all happening under the watchful eyes of the cross.”
That neon blue cross can be found on the side of City Church. An amazing church in the heart of Vanier. And, beginning this Fall, the new home for Bikers’ Church. That’s right, Bikers’ Church is coming to Vanier. And we can hardly contain our excitement.
You see, many of us who consider Bikers’ Church our home know what it’s like to be on the negative side of reports. We know what it feels like to be written off. To be dismissed. To be told that there’s no hope. And yet, we discovered that the reports are simply not true. There is hope. We are not too far gone for God’s grace. We can live a life of purpose and calling.
We’re coming to Vanier because we want to take that journey with you. We think you have something to offer us. And, hopefully, we might have something to offer you as well. We believe that together we can take a journey into discovering God’s amazing and unconditional love. Some of us have been on that journey for many years. Others are just discovering it. We believe it’s an amazing journey and it will be even more amazing to enjoy it with you … the people of Vanier.
Some may wonder why we’re bothering. Why not stay in the comfortable suburbs of Arlington Woods? Why go into the heart of the city … into Vanier? Again, it’s because we believe God has something amazing in store for this community, and we want to be part of it.
Many years ago, Sir George MacLeod, an incredibly influential but unconventional Scottish Clergyman wrote these words:
“I am recovering the claim that Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral between two candles, but on a cross between two thieves; on the town garbage heap….at the kind of place where cynics talk smut, and thieves curse, and soldiers gamble. Because that is where He died. And that is what He died about. And that is where churchmen should be.”
I couldn’t agree more. And I can’t wait until we are moved in to your community.
