In a pandemic world, Upper Room gets set to encourage evangelizers 

Hundreds of Catholics are expected to gather in-person and virtually for worship, prayer, and encouragement at the Archdiocese of Vancouver’s annual Upper Room.

Now in its third year, the Sept. 18 religious event is aimed at inspiring and “commissioning” disciples and evangelizers to go out in the world and spread the Gospel, according to organizer Eric Chow.

“We need to approach our mission differently in a pandemic world,” Chow said.

The pandemic “has accelerated our ability to use digital tools to connect with one another,” and although physical churches have been limited in their abilities to reach out since the spring of 2020, “our connections to our ‘proximate periphery’ remain,” he said.

“If we desire to see our churches come alive in a way we haven’t seen before, we’ll have to look, feel, and act different, while remaining Christ-centred. What might we try, that we haven’t tried before?”

Upper Room speakers include Life Restoration co-founder Heather Khym, who will talk about “allowing Jesus to restore the ‘inner room’ of our hearts,” and Made for Mission author Tim Glemkowski discussing evangelization and discipleship.

Chow said additional speakers will share testimonies of the fruits they have seen from evangelism efforts, and Archbishop J. Michael Miller will lead prayer and a commissioning ceremony.

The COVID pandemic and various restrictions have led to another hybrid format for this year’s event, with options to participate at the main live site where speakers will be presenting, at select parishes streaming video from the main site, or by tuning in online.

The main site will be the Mary Pattison Chapel at Pacific Academy in Surrey. Eight parishes will stream video from the main site and celebrate Mass in person: All Saints, Christ the Redeemer, Immaculate Conception (Delta), Our Lady of the Assumption, Star of the Sea, St. Joseph’s (Langley), St. Mary’s (Vancouver) and St. Matthew’s.

In past years the Upper Room has seen as many as 1,000 attendees from across the archdiocese and even across Canada and Washington State. The registration deadline is Sept. 8.

With prayer, a commissioning ceremony, and Masses celebrated at all in-person sites, Upper Room is considered a religious gathering and exempt from the government regulations that come into effect Sept. 13 and require proof of vaccination at many indoor activities.

However, it is limited by other COVID restrictions, including requiring participants to wear masks and capping participation to 250 people at the main site and 50 people per host site.

Those participating in person will receive lunch and a swag bag that includes Glemkowski’s book. All attendees will be given access to resources to help them become better evangelizers, including follow-up for training to run Alpha, Discovery, or other Gospel-centred initiatives.

More information and registration is at upperroomvancouver.com.