It’s Monday Again
This church family is 111 years old and yesterday for the first time since 1978, Journey(Matt Maxwell) celebrated being debt free – PTL! The mortgage burning at the conclusion of the full house yesterday on Legacy Sunday was a powerful moment of gratitude and remembrance for all those who have sacrificed and invested in the vision of reaching Fredericton and beyond for Jesus.
- A video compilation interviewing many of the longstanding members of the congregation highlighted the journey from Kings St. to Grand Dame St. and the current location more than 40 years ago. “Pioneers” (those who had been part of the church during these relocations) were invited to stand as the congregation honored them.
It was a deeply moving service that honoured the past but looked to the future – well done to the Journey pastoral team! Matt shared, “In 1978, the average salary was between $16K – $22K and this group of Kingdom pioneers borrowed $1M under the visionary leadership of Rev. B. C. Cochrane.” At one point in the early 1980’s the interest rate on this mortgage exceeded 20%! This mortgage-burning day will always be remembered as another meaning-filled standing stone in the incredible story God is writing through our Journey family.
The weather was perfect on Saturday morning for the Beulah Work Day. Enthusiasm and energy of 60+ volunteers was high as we tackled a lengthy list of grounds preparation for a full summer of ministry ahead. Hats off to Caretaker Mike White for organizing an excellent day!
- Beulah Camp & Conference Center is accepting applications for Summer@Beulah 2022 Activities Coordinator, groundskeeping, and housekeeping. Applicants must be enrolled in a post-secondary education program for fall 2022, a resident of New Brunswick or a member of a First Nations community. If you would enjoy working in a Christian camping ministry environment, Beulah Camp and Conference Center wants to hear from you! Please forward your resume and letter of application to tami@atlanticdistrict.com.
Toes were tapping and hearts were singing last night in Lower Hainesville. Carl & Evelyn Brewer provided leadership to a music concert of worship and the many from Nackawic(Ryan Farrell) joined in the service to celebrate and support the occasion. The service concluded with the first Pastoral Installation of 2022, as Peggy Yetman was duly installed to serve as Lead Pastor.
In April, Cornerstone (Denn Guptill) went to Sierra Leone to visit the village that they have been partnering with for the last three years through World Hope International. While in Sierra Leone the two-member team was able to meet up with different World Hope staff and see various programs that are run throughout the country.
- CLICK HERE (24:00 timestamp) to enjoy yesterday morning’s presentation by Deborah Gilbert and Bee Stanton who had the opportunity to spend two days with the people of Kenenday and participate in a school dedication ceremony. The secondary school was built this past year as the final big project for the partnership. This allows young teenagers the opportunity to have a school close by, so they are not walking long distances for their education.
The Seeking was a fantastic four-night event focused on learning about the person and work of the Holy Spirit and spending unhurried time listening to His voice. Deep Water (AJ Thomas) organized the event which included preaching and worship teams from five different churches and attenders from those churches and several more. AJ shared, “We met with God and it was beautiful.”
Natalie Gidney has been volunteering on the Communications team for Wesleyan Holiness Women Clergy for the past couple years. Natalie shared, “I think there are a lot of women clergy – and student women clergy, even women considering the call – who don’t know we exist.” CLICK HERE to check out this very helpful resource for women clergy. Several of the blog entries highlight the ways our egalitarian history has advanced opportunities for women in Kingdom leadership.
‘Tis the season for annual business meetings in the local church. We are praying for you all as these important times of decision-making serve your preparation for the fiscal year ahead and the celebration of God’s provision and faithfulness for the year completed.
- Local Church Statistical Reporting opened on May 2nd, deadline is May 31st. All Lead Pastors were assigned their church’s LCSR in the TWCHub where ASRs were completed. For assistance in completing this priority report, please contact Karrilee at District Office.
The National Church office is pleased to announce the creation of a Canada/Maine Wesleyan Church employment site. The purpose is to help local churches and specialized ministries (such as campgrounds) and pastors/individuals to connect with one another. If your local church or campgrounds would like to have your ministry opportunities made known, kindly email National Superintendent Steve Elliott (stephen@wesleyan.ca) the following information: Ministry Role, Schedule (Full/Part Time), Tentative Start Date, Name of Church or Ministry, City/Location, Province/State, and Website for More Info.
World Hope International’s 9th Annual Spring Gala
Canal: A Story of Resilience and Hope
Many of you joined World Hope’s annual online gala on Friday night. We heard the story of Madame Scott, and how her community overcame adversity with resilience and hope. They raised $10K for The Hope Fund and you can watch and give until Wednesday at midnight. Every dollar is doubled up to their 25K goal, so let’s help them hit this goal! You can watch or give here.
Ellen joins me in expressing sincere condolences on behalf of the Atlantic District to Darren & Janel Clark (River Valley) on Tuesday’s passing of his father, Charles. CLICK HERE for the obituary with opportunity to post words of support to the family during this time of loss. You may also CLICK HERE for Darren’s Facebook post with opportunity to share your own memories of his father and share others that have been posted.
- The Memorial Service was held on Saturday afternoon – thanks to those in our ministerial tribe who were able to be present. Darren’s eulogy was an incredible testimony to the influence a father can have on his children, family, and church family. Darren, thank you for your transparency, humour, and for letting us see your deep love and admiration for your Dad.
Points to Ponder
- If you love change more than you love people, you have already failed as a leader. (Thom Rainer)
- Holiness is about the love of God filling me, changing me, and overflowing from me into the lives of those around me. (Dan LeRoy)
- In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity. (Rupertus Meldenius or Augustine?)
CLICK HERE to visit the official HQ website for UNLEASHED, our 14th North American General Conference. The full schedule and all of the Memorials (resolutions for voting) are available. Thanks in advance for praying for the Atlantic District Delegates as we take part in these historic days of leadership in our denomination.
One Conference was formed out of the desire to see churches in our region united in their pursuit of Jesus. Over the last few years, we’ve gone from being in ONE arena with massive crowds and energy, to being exclusively online during the pandemic. This year, we are excited to take a step toward having everyone together again soon! One Conference will be hosted at three sites throughout the region this year in Halifax, Moncton, and Saint John! Combined, these three sites will be able to accommodate everyone who wants to attend, and we’re thrilled to make this transition toward being together in ONE room once again in 2023. CLICK HERE for more information about how to register your youth group for your preferred location.
By action of the Atlantic DBA this week – Beulah Family Camp is back for the summer of 2022!!! CLICK HERE for the Camp Evangelists’ bios. CLICK HERE for a downloadable PDF version of this poster to print off for your church bulletin board. CLICK HERE for a JPG download of the poster for announcement loops and social media promotion. We can’t wait to see you all again as we pack into the Tabernacle to praise our God and to be challenged with a fresh call to holiness through the theme: Now Is the Time for Renewal!
I joined David Zigler (Coastal Community) and AJ Plaizier (Yarmouth) in February to share our perspectives and experiences in developing and implementing what Pete Scazzero calls a Rule of Life. This was a companion conversation for the panel discussion offered on February 10th regarding Emotionally Healthy Leader. If you are new to the idea of having a Rule of Life, you will find the following resources helpful:
- CLICK HERE to watch the recording of our conversation about having a Rule of Life (Feb 24th Zoom).
- CLICK HERE to review why Emotionally Healthy Leader is so different from just any book on pastoral leadership (Feb 10th Zoom).
- For those of you just getting started, CLICK HERE for an excellent resourceprovided by Dave Zigler to walk you step-by-step through the creation of your own Rule of Life.
- CLICK HERE for access to additional materials that will help guide you through the prayerful creation of your own Rule of Life.
Pastor Cluster Leaders are encouraged to use these resources to inform and inspire the journey of renewal unfolding in the months ahead in our Clusters. I completed my 48-hour retreat in February to develop my own Rule of Life. I will be praying for each of you to make it a priority sometime before summer to go on a personal retreat as you ask the Lord to show you better ways for better days of abiding in The Vine.
Registration for Caton’s Island camps skyrocketed in the opening week of February 15th with 397 registrations plus 45 families for the two family camps. Registrations are continuing to roll in! Don’t delay registering to ensure the camps/dates you want for your family summer schedule are still available.
Pentecost Sunday is June 5. We need the power of God’s Spirit for the living of these days! General Superintendent Wayne Schmidt is calling Wesleyans everywhere to a season of prayer inspired by the message of the Acts of the Apostles. CLICK HERE to watch this invitation and consider sharing this with your church family.There are the two ways to participate in the prayer experience portion:
- You can download the Discipleship App and click on Pentecost
- You can also go to www.Wesleyan.org/Pentecost
Each day, we will read in the Book of Acts, and be guided in our prayers from a prayer prompt provided by Dr. Wayne Schmidt, General Superintendent of the North American Wesleyan Church. Then you have the opportunity to share your prayer on the prayer wall if you desire. And finally, click on the global voices section to hear prayers from around the Wesleyan world in various languages where our hearts can sense and be in agreement with the spirit of the prayer. So let’s join together as Wesleyans in days of earnest prayer as we read through the Book of Acts and pray for an outpouring of God’s Spirit around the globe.
At the conclusion of this journey, you will be able to view a Pentecost service (available for June 5) where our International Wesleyan Church leaders will lead us in prayer. This worship service will be able to be downloaded from www.Wesleyan.org/Pentecost for viewing at your convenience.