Posted by on March 13, 2017 at 07:43:41
Hello,My name is Alex Strohschein and I am currently a student at Regent College in Vancouver, BC. I am hoping to write an MA thesis on the Jesus People in Metro Vancouver. In particular, I am looking at analyzing why the Jesus People movement overall seemed to last for such a short period of time (c. 1967-1973). My hypothesis is that a lot of the things that originally made the Jesus People distinct (Jesus music, charismatic spirituality, casual attire, etc…) were gradually adopted by mainstream evangelical churches; with the loss of distinctiveness, the Jesus People simply joined evangelical and charismatic churches. Sources I have consulted so far include:Larry Eskridge – God’s Own Family: The Jesus People Movement in AmericanPreston Shires – Hippies of the Religious RightRobert K. Burkinshaw – Pilgrims in Lotus Land: Conservative Protestantism in British Columbia, 1917-1981Hugh McLeod – The Religious Crisis of the 1960sJohn Webster Grant – The Church in the Canadian EraBeth Carson – Pastor Bob: A Statesman of Prayer for CanadaCurrently readingLawrence Aronsen – City of Love and Revolution: Vancouver in the SixtiesRichard A. Bustraan – The Jesus People Movement: A Story of Spiritual Revolution Among the HippiesAs stated above, my research is focused on the Jesus People in Vancouver, but from what I have gathered thus far, there was a Jesus People Army in Vancouver that was under the leadership of Russell Griggs before the group and its property were placed under the control of the Children of God. Thus, there was some overlap between the two groups. Eskridge recounts the COG’s takeover of the Jesus People Army in the Pacific Northwest but not a whole lot of attention is focused specifically on Vancouver. Eskridge writes that “Russell Griggs…had already handed over the Vancouver JPA with its chicken farm, bakery, and 150 followers to the Children” (p. 192). Generally speaking, I would like to know more about Russell Griggs and the Jesus People Army in Vancouver BEFORE they became involved with the COG. Would anyone have contact information for Russell Griggs (I saw his email posted but that was back in 2003 so I’m wondering if there’s a more recent one)? Was anyone here a member of the Vancouver JPA who would be willing to share their experience? Could anyone provide me with their account of how the COG took control of the Vancouver JPA? How did the takeover of the Vancouver JPA by the COG affect the wider Jesus People movement in Vancouver?From what I can tell, St. Margaret’s Episcopal Reformed Church in East Vancouver under the leadership of Robert “Bob” Birch was the main Jesus People church in Vancouver. I am currently trying to find other folks who were involved in the Jesus People in Vancouver, either those who attended St. Margaret’s or another church.At this stage I am only in the process of writing the proposal. I am cognizant of the message board guideline “get specific: ask direct questions (avoid talking about talking someday sometime somewhere else)” and because of that stipulation I was hesitant to post. I admit that at this stage of my research I do not have specific and direct questions (save the more general ones above). At the same time, I believe that the longer I have this post up, the greater the chances of someone who was involved in the Jesus People/COG in Vancouver seeing it and being able to get in contact with me. My plans would be to conduct interviews during the spring and summer months of 2017 (May-August). If folks are still in the Metro Vancouver area then a face-to-face interview would be my preference but if not, or if people living in Metro Vancouver don’t feel comfortable with face-to-face interviews, then would folks be willing to engage in email correspondence?My purpose in doing this thesis is that to the best of my knowledge, no one has yet done a study of the Jesus People in Vancouver. Most of the research on the Jesus People has been primarily focused in the USA. I am very interested in local church history and I think this study would be a good contribution to the history of Christianity in Vancouver. At this point I don’t know where the COG fit into the wider story of the Jesus People in Vancouver. This post, and the answers folks provide, will be a way for me to clarify this for myself.