Under Sail

Amherst Wesleyan Church (Pastor Raymond Fancy) reports that despite bad weather, on their first weekend in their new facilities (11/04/07), they had 112 people present in the AM service (LYA 80) and 45 in the PM service (LYA 40). Pastor Raymond Fancy reports, “It all looks great and the people continue to be excited!”
Pastor Ward McComiskey reports that the Seal Cove Wesleyan Church rounded up over $1,700 for Pastor Appreciation in October. The money is to be used towards sending him on a Haiti missions trip.
In just a few weeks pastors will begin to receive the Spring Life material from the Department of Evangelism and Church Growth. E&CG Director Phil Stevenson anticipates this will be a marvelous tool to equip churches to “tangibly fulfill the Great Commission in the spirit of the Great Commandment.” He reports that we had an increase in both the number of salvations and baptisms across the denomination this past year, and both Phil Stevenson and Dr. Jim Dunn, Director of Spiritual Formation, believe that Spring Life contributed positively to this result. Pastors, I encourage you and your local church to take a look at this. It’s a great way to present the gospel message. You can adapt it to your local setting as you see fit.
Our sympathy is extended to Pastor Ron and Dianne Mercer on the passing of Ron’s maternal grandmother, Verna Murphy, on Monday, October 29th. She was 87 years old and had been living in the Kiwanis Nursing Home in Sussex for several years.
Hurricane Noel hit the Halifax area as a post tropical storm mid to late afternoon, Saturday, November 3rd. 50,000 homes were without power and of course, some of our churches in the HRM were without electrical power as well. That did not stop the launch service of the Halifax – Deep Water church plant on Sunday, November 4th! Pastor A.J. Thomas reports 75 people were in attendance for their first service in spite of the weather, and the theatre in the Park Lane Mall where the church meets had electrical power! The pastor says there were a lot of faces present he did not recognize. The Launch Team includes 38 people with their families, so about 50% of those present were visitors. Halifax – Deep Water wants the community they’re trying to reach to know that helping those around them and making a difference for people in need is part of their DNA. The congregation collected 40 boxes for Operation Christmas Child on their first public Sunday together. Congratulations to Pastor A.J. and everyone on the Launch Team.
The Atlantic District Team to Swaziland returned November 7th after ten life-changing days. It was our privilege to connect with pastors and people on the other side of the world that are reaching others for Christ, and are doing so in spite of circumstances that at times are very difficult. I was reminded again that in western society we have so much and yet seem to be so discontent. Our African brothers and sisters in Christ have far less and seem to be filled with much joy. We enjoyed and appreciated the hospitality of Rick and Eunice Cox, our on-site host and hostess. Rick is the Global Partners Area Director for Africa. Selinda Ingalls from Seal Cove, Grand Manan, is also involved in ministry in Swaziland at Emanuel Wesleyan Bible College and we had the privilege of connecting with her as well. While in Swaziland, Pastor John Symonds and I took part in a pastors’ conference. Our responsibility was to share some teaching on mentoring and forgiveness. A lot of beneficial interaction and discussion with the pastors took place as part of our seminar times. Our team was also present for the EWBC graduation. Dr. H.C. Wilson, General Director of Global Partners, was the guest speaker. There were eight graduates in total. The Atlantic District Team members that accompanied Dr. H.C. Wilson on this trip were John Symonds, Graham Perry, Dave Bartlett, and David LeRoy.
Pastor Ken Banks of the Truro – Central Nova Wesleyan Church reports that their 2nd annual “Trunk or Treat” event for Halloween was a great evening of connection with the community. It ran for two hours and included games, prizes, information on their children’s ministries, a free BBQ/hot chocolate, and of course, car trunks loaded with treats. They had 198 people pass through the doors, including 130 children – most of whom were 12 and under. There was a lot of church involvement in the event and many positive remarks from those who attended. The attendance reflects an increase over the event last year when 110 children were present. Pastor Ken feels this is an excellent PR event and a great way to show the community that CNWC cares about kids. They’ll be doing it again next year.
This past weekend I was at the Head of Millstream Wesleyan Church for the installation of Pastor Dan (Rachel) McGuire. This church has been a training ground across the years for a number of pastors. Dr. H.R. Ingersoll, a former Atlantic District DS for 28 years, preached his first sermon in this church. The church is only 20-25 minutes from Bethany Bible College, and as a result, many senior students in their final year or two of ministerial preparation have pastored Head of Millstream as they finished their formal education. I know I preached some of my earliest sermons to this congregation. Head of Millstream recently celebrated its 101st Anniversary. We thank them for being such a willing participant in the development of pastors and leaders in the church.
Pastor Jay and Sharon Guptill plan to give away their Hammond organ with accompanying Leslie speaker and Tone Cabinet. This is a “first come, first serve” opportunity. This could be a help to a local church that cannot afford to purchase such an instrument. If you are interested, please contact Pastor Jay at jay@hillsidewesleyan.com.

Cornerstone Wesleyan Church in Hammonds Plains, NS recently hosted a Wesleyan Women’s Retreat (10/12-13/07). All the excess funds (from registrations and sales of a cookbook) were allocated to the three newest church plants in the Atlantic District. They raised a total of $720 which is to be split equally among the church plants in Sydney, NS – Harbour, CBS – Avalon in NL, and Halifax – Deep Water. Thank you to all the ladies who participated in the weekend, and for your heart to reach others for Christ.
Mr. Jochen Schroer, the environmental engineer that is working on the Beulah Wastewater Project, has been on-site recently to do some further testing along the proposed pipeline routing. He did not find any soil conditions that would cause us concern. Mr. Schroer is also double-checking the size we will need for a lagoon. This means, among other things, checking on the available depth. The deeper we can go with the lagoon, the smaller the footprint that will be needed. We are still waiting on the final approval for the government funding for this project that is so necessary. Please make this a matter of prayer. Things seem positive but we need them to continue to move forward.