It's time again for some training and education as a Youth Pastor. Each year Youth Specialities puts on 3 youth worker's conventions in the US, and they have recently started to host a Canadian one too.
They rotate from B.C. to Toronto. Last year's was in Toronto. I went, but didn't blog it. This year's is in B.C. I'm here and decided to blog it this time to give you an inside look at what happens at a Youth Worker's Convention.
It won't be an easy feat putting stuff on the blog, as the hotel (The Hyatt) is charging for Internet use. Why is it that the more expensive the hotel, the more they charge you for things that should be free....? hmmmm
Anyway, I left from Ottawa at 8:45am Ottawa time on WestJet. I haven't flown in a long time, so I was looking forward to it. I love airports and flying and such. Seems that WestJet doesn't provide food in their ticket price either. Not even for a 5 hour non stop flight. I had to pay for it, which I wasn't going to do, so I slept instead. I would have had to pay for the head phones too : (. (I couldn't find any of that on the WestJet webiste) The stewards were very friendly though. A far cry from that other airline that flies in Canada.
I arrived in Vancouver at 11:05 am Vancouver time, 2:05 pm your time now. : ) An uneventful trip, and very cloudy so I couldn't see the mountains much. I took the skytrain to the Hotel. Nice public transit right from the airport to downtown, with only one transfer.
The old adage of taking for granted what you live near came to mind as I looked out the window of the skytrain and saw the mountains. I've never been to Vancouver. What a view. I wonder if people do take this view for granted, or if they look in awe each day and think how blessed they are to see such beautiful mountains all around them......probably take it for granted I bet..... : )
I checked into The Hyatt and here is my room. Quite modern looking and posh. I personally don't like the decor, but hey, it's only for a couple of days.
No shower tub, just a tile shower that drains into the bathroom. Interesting to say the least. I'm sharing the room with another youth pastor from the Island. He took the ferry to get here (a two hour trip). Helps to keep the costs down for a conference like this.
A view of the front lobby. Very nice.
This is Starbucks. The place where I first connected to WiFi to check my emails and Facebook. I'll be trying to use WiFi here once in a while because the room daily rates are nuts. McDonald's has it too, which is where I am right now, putting on what I can before going to my first Seminar. Incidentally, I need to go now and be part of that seminar, so I'll get back to you soon. ....
Hello again. It's Friday morning, Rememberance Day. Don't forget your 2 minutes of silence today. Let me continue from where I left off yesterday......
I'm in MacDonald's again, using their WiFi. Here you see a picture of the registration table. All the information needed for the convention....and chocolate to boot! I love Youth Pastor Conventions...... : )
Just before I registered I went for lunch with some other Youth Pastor's / workers. I don't know many people here, as the convention is in B.C., not Toronto. I'm ok with that, as I usually come for more of a silent retreat experience than to socialize with everyone.
After Registration I sat down and went through the schedule. I do this every convention to let God direct me to various workshops that I should be attending. It's an interesting process of just praying over each session options and waiting for something to stir me. I'm quite excited about what I will be going to (even skipping one, and that's ok because God said it was...... : ) )
Once that was done, I decided to take a long walk to explore the downtown core a bit. As I came out of the front doors, I noticed this very old church on the corner. I decided to walk up and take a closer look. It's an old Anglican church, and it was open to the public.
I decided to go in. A beautiful old church. You could smell the wood, the wax, the love and care of this church.
The ceilings were wood with steel trusses. Amazing to see.
The stain glass windows were so beautiful. Some of them having dates from people in the church dating back to the 1800's. These two windows honoured our soldiers that died at sea.
I continued on my walk and, low and behold, I stumbled across the B.C. tent city that I've been seeing in the news. Just like the ones in other cities. I stood for a while and watched from a distant. As I did, executives and others in nice suits and business dresses walked by. I was astonished a bit, but not surprised, that many of them were jeering the tents and making comments like, "They should get a job," or "What do they think they are going to accomplish with that!"
Interesting to see how people react to others who are reacting to their way of life.
Eventually I ended up at the harbour. There were several warships at the wharf. One was even Russian. Apparently one of the Youth Pastor's knew someone who could get them on one of the Canadian ships, and some took a tour. Sorry I missed that, but, oh well.
As I walked beside the new Convention centre built for the Olympics, I came to the waterfront, and was amazed at the view. The sun was setting behind me, and lighting up the other side of the bay. Beautiful. Again, I wonder if people get sick of the view or not. : )
It seems there's a bit of a water airport here as well. Planes taking off and landing in the harbour. I loved to watch this (like a kid in a candy shop) and stuck around for about 1 hour drinking in the beauty of the place and watching planes take off and land.
Here are the docks for the airlines. They've built new ones to my right, but they aren't used much, as they cost $20 a person more to use. Good old Gov't Taxes.....
A picture of all the condo's / apartments that dot the bay. Stanley park is just beyond them, but a bit of hike, so not sure if I'll get to go there or not.
After my wonderful walk, it was time for some dinner and to connect to the Internet again. Mac Donald's was my other option for WiFi, so I bit the bullet and had some dinner there and checked my email, updated my facebook and downloaded these pics, and others for my blog.
I was interrupted from my blog because my first early bird seminar was about to begin. Here's a picture of the room it was held in. The title of it was "Made by God: Harnessing your personality in Youth Ministry"
I'm always curious about how we tick, and interact with each other, so I was interested to know what new insights I might glean from this seminar. The presenter was very good. Sincere, kind, and authentic. Though he was a professor, teaching youth ministry, he was also volunteering in his church as a Jr. High leader. Cool.
We spent some time doing the personality survey using the "Lion, Otter, Golden Retriever, and Ant (formerly Beaver, but aptly renamed).
Lion = someone who's a leader, needs to be in charge, decisive, solution driven, but can be insensitive and bullheaded....kind of like the Apostle Paul.
Otter = gotta talk to people and be out there. Great games people. Mixes easily, but don't put them in front of a desk all day. Kind of like Peter in the Bible.
Golden Retriever = loyal, avoids conflict, likes deep relationships and a good listener. Kind of like the Apostle John.
Ant = organizer, quiet, likes numbers, analytical, detailed and orderly. Kind of like Nehemiah.
We compared notes to share what each of us came up with. I was not surprised to once again realize I'm a Lion and part Golden Retriever.
We talked about how these different traits in people need to be realized as we do ministry. I realized that I sometime miss the differences in people and expect them to be like me (which is another defect of the Lion). As some of you nod in agreement, remember that you have your own animal likeness and it comes with it's strengths and weaknesses too. : )
As we went through the different elements, people in each category lept into my mind. I bet your interested to know where you might fit, or if you were one who lept into my mind. Ask me sometime and I might let you know, if you don't already know what type you dominate in. : )
Some good stuff to re-realize and rethink about it as I continue on in ministry.
After the seminar, I went to the bookstore and display booths to check things out. I like to look over the books and again let God direct me to 1 or 2 that could help me where I'm at in my present career in youth ministry. I found a couple of books of interest and purchased them.
I then looked around at the display booths, but was once again not too impressed. Maybe I'm just getting older, but the booths don't impress me. Lots of hype for things to simply sell a mission trip, or attend a college, etc.
I was tired, so it was off to bed.
I got up at 6:30 this morning. Couldn't sleep any longer, as it was 9:30 my time. I figured I might as well get up and see what the early crowd actually does. My roomy was still fast asleep.
That ends my first day. I'll see if I will blog the rest while here, or wait until I get home. Check back a couple of times over the weekend to see what pops up. There will be some other shorter entries from other Calvin ministries as well. Blessings to you all. Off to my first large session........
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