Rethinking the Ekklesia - with Eden Jersak
Episode 25, Apr 25, 05:52 PM
I am pleased to be joined by Pastor Eden Jersak for this on-going series of
conversations on the Ekklesia.
I am privileged to call Eden, and her husband Brad, friends and have spent
many rich hours in conversation with them in their home in Abbotsford.
Eden’s understanding of the church as a place of welcome, as a place where
you can always add another leaf to the table of fellowship is striking.
Eden grew up in the bosom of a Mennonite community. Belonging was woven
into her childhood. Her mother and other women were leaders within the
church. She treasured the piety and pacifism of the church and its politics of
caring both for its own and for others. She attended Briercrest Bible College
from 1982-1986, met her husband Brad at the College, and, after settling back
into the Frazer Valley of British Columbia and joined by another couple, they
planted a church called Fresh Winds Christian Fellowship in Abbotsford. Their
expectation was that it would grow into a church for the Gen X folks who
wanted more than their home churches offered. It became a gathering of the
working poor, people with various challenges, and those Eden calls prodigals.
For the last few years Eden has co-pastored The Bridge Church a gathering
place for many who have found “no room in the inn” in the many and varied
evangelical churches in the Frazer Valley.
into her childhood. Her mother and other women were leaders within the
church. She treasured the piety and pacifism of the church and its politics of
caring both for its own and for others. She attended Briercrest Bible College
from 1982-1986, met her husband Brad at the College, and, after settling back
into the Frazer Valley of British Columbia and joined by another couple, they
planted a church called Fresh Winds Christian Fellowship in Abbotsford. Their
expectation was that it would grow into a church for the Gen X folks who
wanted more than their home churches offered. It became a gathering of the
working poor, people with various challenges, and those Eden calls prodigals.
For the last few years Eden has co-pastored The Bridge Church a gathering
place for many who have found “no room in the inn” in the many and varied
evangelical churches in the Frazer Valley.