"Excellent response" expected at Graham mission
By ChristianWeek staff
OTTAWA–At last count, some 470 congregations from 42 denominations had pitched in to support the Billy Graham mission which takes place in the nation’s capital at the end of the month.
Supporting churches cover the range of Roman Catholic, mainline, evangelical and charismatic denominations, says mission chair Allen Churchill, senior minister at Dominion-Chalmers United. "Interestingly enough, there’s good strong support from the United Church of Canada," says Churchill. Graham received 18 personal letters of invitation from Ottawa-area United churches–more than from any other denomination.
The fact that so many churches are working together to plan the mission signifies a major shift in attitudes, says Churchill. About a year and a half ago, "a variety of denominations found that they wanted to work together, and found that they could work together." Any perceived problems the churches had had in the past disappeared. "All of a sudden the problems melted away."
Although most of the support comes from English-speaking churches, the June 25-28 mission will include translation into at least eight other languages, including French.
Ottawa is not an easy city for ministry, says Churchill. There’s a "government mentality" that influences the local culture; there’s a self-assuredness that views most problems as solvable by political means.
"It’s certainly one of the more difficult places for church planting and growing the church," Churchill suggests. "People are not easily persuaded to give the gospel a chance."
There’s still a lot of work to be done–in mid-May local organizers were just halfway to meeting a budget of $2.2 million, for example. But the mission chair is confident in the outcome. "I think there will be an excellent response," says Churchill, who predicts crowds of 30,000-40,000 will mean half the people will need to be seated in overflow areas. The Corel Centre, in nearby Kanata, seats just 19,000.
Canadian pop and opera singers lend a hand
OTTAWA–Some of Canada’s finest talent will be in Ottawa the last week in June to participate in the Billy Graham mission.
Opera singers Ben Heppner and Tracy Dahl, and pop singer Susan Aglukark, all Christians and all Canadians, will be present, along with the Montreal Jubilation Choir and the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra. Lena Di Paolo, a Christian francophone pop singer from Montreal, will also be there.
And for the young people, mission organizers are importing Amy Grant, Jars of Clay and Michael W. Smith to perform at a special Saturday night youth rally.
Psalty the Singing Songbook will entertain the children during a Saturday morning "Kidz Gig," says mission chair Allen Churchill.
Local singers will be able to get in on the musical act, too. A choir that currently boasts 2,500 voices is expected to swell to 3,000 or 3,500, says Churchill.
Of course, no Graham mission would be complete without his long-time associates, song-leader Cliff Barrows and George Beverly Shea, now 89.
