I live in Winnipeg but I didn’t grow up here. When I first began to tell people I was moving to Winnipeg they would say, “Winnipeg? Why would anyone want to move there? “
Maybe you think the same way.
But let me let you in on a little secret.
People who move to Winnipeg have a tendency to fall in love with this place and never leave. I know
that’s what happened to me and a lot of my friends. It’s a place that inspires deep loyalty and love,
despite the extreme weather and mosquitos.
So I’m thrilled as part of the Design Team for the Recall conference to be able to welcome you all to
Winnipeg in a few weeks. I hope you will get a glimpse of why this is the place I have chosen to make my
home. If you want to know the best places to eat, shop, or take in the rich culture of our city just let me
know.
But more than just a great city to live in, Winnipeg is a city where God is alive and active and up to
something unique. It is such a privilege to live in a place where so many passionate and creative people
are dedicating their lives to partnering with what God is up to in our city.
Do you want to meet them? Want to learn more about what God is up to in our city, our country, our
world? Join us at ReCall.
I look forward to meeting you when you do.
Rachel Twigg Boyce is the pastor of House Blend Ministries (www.houseblendministries.com) and is part of the Design Team. When she is not working she can often be found drinking coffee, walking her dog, or doing both at the same time.
I actually have this sense, Rachel, that it is in places such as Winnipeg that some of the most interesting and creative work can be done.
It is big enough to generate a critical mass of innovators, yet sufficiently small for those innovators to actually connect with each other, often across lines that might otherwise divide.
In large cities like Toronto or New York the networks tend to stop at denominational lines. And sometimes the deep pockets in those sorts of cities can keep churches in a holding pattern far too long.
Why is it that a mid-size city such as Minneapolis has birthed Solomon’s Porch and Spirit Garage? To this Seattle has added Church of the Apostles, and Kansas City has given us Jacob’s Well. All interesting variations on the theme.
And what of Winnipeg? Well, there is our own saint benedict’s table, but you need to add the innovation that is Winnipeg Centre Vineyard, the Exchange Community Church, Jamie Arpin-Ricci’s “Little Flowers Community”, House Blend Ministries, and an armful of other ministries bubbling away in this city of ours. And how great that people from these various communities keep bumping up into each other, and engaging in conversation and the sharing of ideas.
It is a good place to be.
Well said, Jamie.