The Freeway hosts many different events at our coffee house during the year. Many are not planned by us, but we provide the atmosphere, hospitality, etc. for other people/groups/organizations to have a successful event.

However, occasionally we do host our own events at the coffee house as well. One of those events that I get excited about is a learning party that we’ve been doing basically twice a year since 2005: Cultivate Gathering. It’s for those who are interested in creating and developing new and evolving forms of missional church in Canada.

We already have a pretty full house for the upcoming Cultivate Gathering on Saturday, March 20th, 2010 but if you sweet-talk us, we may be able to fit in a few more people. Check out the website for more details: www.cultivategathering.com

We will be “live blogging” the event here in this space with some guest bloggers, so be sure and tune-in on March 20th. And in case you miss it, we will be videotaping the presentations at the event as well and posting highlights here eventually.

Larry Strung is the Hamilton based photographer that created the much talked about art exhibit last year entitled Hamilton 365. For those of you who didn’t see our blog post about this project, the premise was that the artist would create a photo portrait of a different Hamiltonian for every day of an entire year.

After the 365 project was completed I remember running into Larry at a downtown street festival, we inevitably started talking about what was next for the artist who had dedicated a whole year to one subject. Larry had a couple different ideas but he was still looking for the right subject matter that he could immerse himself in.

Well it appears Larry Strung has found himself a new Hamilton based muse. The new project is called the: Stinson School Journal

A number of schools in Hamilton have been closed and put up for sale. Sadly many of these schools have not found new uses and remain empty and derelict. Because of this I am always happy to hear of any building being re-purposed and integrated back into the surrounding community (The Freeway Coffee House was originally a bank).

Developer, Harry Stinson (nicknamed the “Toronto Condo King”) purchased the Stinson School to turn the building into (you guessed it) condos. Larry Strung will be documenting the history of the school as well as the process of turning a collection of empty class rooms into homes. Pictures will be posted daily on the website: www.stinsonschooljournal.ca

Viewing some of the photos I can see why Larry Strung took on this project. There is so much Hamilton history and texture within the Stinson School Building. It will also be exciting to see the evolution of Harry Stinson’s vision for this historic Hamilton space.

As all change is in some way controversial, we would love to hear your comments about the Stinson School or any other re-purposed building.

“Neither our experience of God nor our experience of church seems to have adequately prepared us for creative engagement with the world. Not only has the comfortability of the church mediated our experience of God, it has also blunted our participation in the world. The church tends to make God predictable and the world enjoyable. This has much to do with the church’s social location. In the First World, the church is the product of the suburbs where men and women live anesthetized lives. God can therefore be seen as Comforter rather than Liberator, and the good things of the world can be enjoyed while we avoid its problems and pain. Consequently, our experience of God is mediocre and our involvement in the world is for personal benefit not social transformation. As a result, we are not at the forefront of anything. Because we don’t have an adequate vision for God, we can hardly have a great concern for the world. Because God is deeply concerned about our world, our worship of Him should always lead us back into the ideas of our time.”

Jacques Ellul

The Freeway is part of a great city-wide network of churches called TrueCity… “churches together for the good of the city.” Every year right around this time we gather together for a conference to celebrate what God is up to in our midst in Hamilton. This year the conference is happening on February 19 and 20 and there are basically three components to our gathering together:

1. “Stories & Song” – Celebrating God’s active presence in our city. (This takes place at Philpott Memorial Church on Friday evening.)
2. “Prayer” – A time to connect with God’s heart for our city through prayer. (This takes place at Philpott Memorial Church on Saturday morning.)
3. “In Concert Coffee House” – Great music and art and conversation. (This takes place at The Freeway on Saturday evening.)

In addition, there will be a 24/7 prayer room established at Philpott for one week: February 19 to 26. If you are interested in registering (or volunteering) for any of the events of the conference, please drop me a line: pernell@frwy.ca

“Silence”
February 2010 Art Exhibit
Featuring the work of: Scott Ireland

Opening Reception
Friday, February 5th, 2010, 7pm – 9pm
@ The Freeway Coffee House
Cost: Free admission (A “pay what you can” concert will follow at 9pm, featuring the music of Eric Hiedemen & Simon Fallon)

Scott Ireland’s Artist Statement:
The inspiration of my work initially came from urban telephone poles, used as advertisement for various reasons. These non-hierarchal examples allow my ‘posting’, the Bible, to intermesh into the fabric of life and society, infusing my thoughts and beliefs into my secular urban environment.

The process of my work includes the deconstruction and reconfiguration of the Bible. As I pull apart an antique book and staple it to the plywood, I restrict myself within the pattern of Renaissance wallpaper. Using this pattern, I feel alludes to past Renaissance artists who embedded Christianity into their neo-pagan art. By combining the wealthy Renaissance wallpaper pattern, with the message and physicality of the biblical text, allows me to comment on current changes and differences in culture and society.

The shiny staples relate to many aspects of the work; the words in the text, the sacrificial ideas behind its message as well as the ever pervading redemption story. In using the Bible, I am merely changing its package, still allowing for personal engagement and interpretation.