Opening doors as "the last refuge for the scoundrel" alive in the heart of our city

By Michael J Morris

Some years ago now I was walking along Burrard Street in Vancouver in the early morning hours when I saw across the street from me on one of the churches a huge banner proclaiming, "God is alive in the heart of the city."

I had no problem with the words on the banner, but I immediately thought of the homeless who would be unable to seek refuge there because the doors were locked. Some were sleeping on the steps in front of the church.

Churches have generally kept their doors locked for years now except when open for Sunday services and other stipulated times ostensibly to keep the "bad" people out, whoever they may be.

Perhaps I watched The Hunchback of Notre Dame too many times and looked at the church -- no matter the denomination -- as the last refuge for the scoundrel. At times in my less than perfect life, I have been so grateful when I have found the church door open and I could enter, rest and pray other than on a Sunday.

Shortly after I was elected as the faculty representative to the Board of Governors at College of the Rockies, I convinced Dr Wm Berry Calder, the president, to let me go to Vancouver and look at outreach education programs in the Downtown Lower East Side.

I visited the Carnegie Centre and First United Church right in the heart of the area. I walked from my hotel despite warnings that I should take a cab. It was an overwhelming experience but in the midst of the misery, I met many dedicated people working to make each day a little better for those who had fallen through society's cracks. And yes, the doors of the church were open and some homeless people were resting on the pews. And students were learning too.

I also visited the Gathering Place, a living room for those who need it in downtown Vancouver. There people can get a shower, wash their clothes, have a meal, read, shoot pool, work out it in the fitness centre and get advice and counselling, and of course, just visit and be among people. I have also seen some of the poetry written and art work created by folks at the Gathering Place. Amazing!

The college did not introduce any new programs but to his credit Dr Calder did have a report prepared.

So, you ask, what's my point?

Well, I am really delighted that Street Angel was launched here in Cranbrook. Ktunaxa Nation deserves credit and support.

I wouldn't likely have known about a weekly breakfast served at the Cranbrook United Church, shared by three churches, but I have friends who help with it. Great stuff!

There are other grass roots and "church roots" projects too even if the main doors are not open as much as I would like to see.

Now, lately I have seen more "words chasing words" about the project for the homeless here, but nothing much concrete seems to happen. How about it folks? Other communities, like Medicine Hat claim to be ending homelessness. 


Whatever our circumstances today -- whether we relate best to the citizens of the Downtown Lower East Side in an otherwise beautiful city or are facing the prospect of job loss and foreclosure on a mortgage or are still sitting in a comfortable pew, I am sure there are times when we felt homeless even when we had a place to live.

In these challenging times I believe it is time to throw the doors of the community open so that such banner rings true, "God is alive in the heart of our city" or if you prefer a non religious reference, "We are alive in the heart of our city" -- no matter where we live!

My email is mj.morris@live.ca

Tremendous Power Shift Underway In Connecting With Each Other On The New 'Main Street'

MJ at Cocoa Beach. Photo by Michael Pelzer

By Michael J Morris

Howard Rheingold, one of the pioneers of virtual communities, said, more thn 20 years ago, that " a tremendous power shift is underway ... this power shift is about people and our ability to connect with each other in new ways... " 

Speaking at the first Writers' Retreat on Interactive Technology and Equipment conference sponsored by the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and Emily Carr College of Art and Design, Rheingold noted in 1994 that he was struck by the "citizen-to citizen movement now known as virtual community" popping up everywhere he travelled.

I was at the conference preparing to teach my first Writing for New Media course at College of the Rockies where I was also working on a grad program in New Media Communications launched a year later. 

Very few people at the time agreed with Rheingold and other internet pioneers who believed as I did that we were embarking on the biggest societal change in communications since the days of Gutenberg and his printing press. 

Fast forward to now! You don't hear much about virtual communities now, as all the talk is about social networking, the fastest growing and popular use of the internet. The power shift has occurred despite the naysayers then and now, because of our need to connect, one with the other, especially because we now live in the world of many-to-many medium or one-to-one as Rheingold also predicted.

Simply put, a virtual community is any online community, a social network of people who interact through one of the social media. 

Our Main Street has been redefined. It is anywhere globally. I have Facebook friends in Canada, the United States, Israel, Germany, etc, and I stay in touch with all friends 24/7 whereever we are.
Take the popularity of Facebook for example. I joined  at the suggestion of some of my former students about six years ago, and I extend great thanks to them. I have been able to reconnect with so many people with whom I had lost touch for many years, and catch up on their lives. Facebook is also an example of the success of new media with its convergence of all media to digital forms.

At any given time on Facebook, "friends" are using text, still photos, videos and all kind of cool things to communicate with one another and a broader audience if they wish. One-to-one and many-to-many!!!

However, the communications potential of Facebook and Twitter is not being maximized as far too often it is simply a one-way street. For example, journalists use Twitter primarily in my view to retweet among themselves as part of some mutual admiration society.  However, it is improving now.

While teaching new media at COTR I made many fearless predictions about where we were headed. At times I really didn't have a clue but knew something big was happening.

By 1998 at least five of my students were involved in online romances, and if memory serves me right, three had gone off to meet their new loved one. They met in chat rooms.

One day in the lab, one student who was deeply involved in chat rooms was pounding away on her computer, when suddenly in a burst of anger rushed from the room, went outside and lit a cigarette. I went out to see what had happened. It turns out that the virtual friend turned out to be a he instead of a she, or vice versa, I just forget, but the emotions were every bit as real as in any budding romance in real time.

In the COTR library where students had access to computers, they were banned by the powers-that-be from accessing chat rooms, which in those days was the main reason the students wanted to use the computers. To me it was a sure sign that big changes could not be far off. The kids were way ahead in social networking, while the established order wanted to ban them from the practice. Now kids are "tweeting" and "facebooking" -- at least for the moment. Plus Instagram and a host of others.

And yes, there are extremes. Recently, a friend told me he was in a restaurant with his son and one of his friends and for about 15 minutes they were busy texting on their phones. Finally, he asked who they were texting. It turned out they were texting each other.

When I think of it though, my generation liked to pass notes around the classroom to our friends, which of course was forbidden. Now they stay in touch by texting each other, and using Facebook, Twitter, etc. 

I would love to hear your comments on social networking and its place in your life, and how you enjoy staying connected with others. You can leave comments here or my email is mj.morris@live.ca