Update from Kurios – A Psalm of Thanksgiving
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The Kurios students did a session on Psalms and, at the end, were challenged to work together to write their own. Below is their Psalm of Thanksgiving. Above are some pictures of their adventures!
Psalm of Thanksgiving
Thank you, O Lord,
We take joy in Your ultimate plan,
Your thoughts are higher than our own
We marvel at your blessings.
Thank You for this gift of life,
That we have been able to live it to the fullest,
We recognize Your gifts to us daily
Our reflections on the day bring us closer to You.
You planted a seed for a Bible experience to grow,
Three years in the making, with the seven of us hand-picked by You
We are so grateful that You intentionally placed us in each others’ lives
All of us are where we are meant to be for this time of spiritual and emotional growth.
You drew us closer together in the mountains
There we walked beside You,
The waters reflected Your beauty
Seeing wildlife throughout our journey made us feel Your presence.
Every day of our experience was overseen by You
We are thankful for all the beautiful stories and emotions behind it all.
And through the good and bad times we see Your love reflected in us all.
As we head to the end of our journey together, we are thankful for many miraculous experiences.
Thank You for showing Your goodness and kindness through people.
Faces sharing shalom from Kananaskis to Vancouver to Keats Island.
Our gratitude sparks the fuel of our heart;
When our engine fell apart, You put it back together
By love and mercy, we journeyed back home with new friends in our hearts.
Gifts that Change Lives
Submitted by CBM
The global pandemic has made life uniquely challenging for us all, but more so for those who already faced being marginalized by poverty. CBM’s Hopeful Gifts for Change gives you the opportunity to give gifts to those in need. Nazario and Dorcas are only two of many who have benefitted from others’ generosity.

Nazario is a recently-widowed father, living in a remote area in Bolivia. He lives in an area where a disease called Chagas is rampant and common. Poverty is widespread here, and many cannot afford to take necessary measures to protect their homes against the disease-spreading bugs. CBM and local partners provide assistance to Nazario and many others through prevention, education and treatment programs. Participants also receive crucial farming provisions, allowing people like Nazario to grow and produce crops which help provide a source of income, while also feeding his family.


In Rwanda, families struggling with poverty often do not have sufficient income to meet basic needs. While men are typically engaged in agricultural work, women and girls often care for the needs of the household and do not always have an opportunity to receive an education. The inability to read and write can be a roadblock for women who want to further provide for the family. CBM’s literacy program gives access to skills needed for more opportunities. Dorcas, one of the participants, shared that when she was illiterate, she felt ashamed and sad. She relied on her husband and children to read and write. Through the program, she gained dignity and now enjoys a newfound freedom.
This Christmas season, you can help others like Nazario and Dorcas and give gifts that bring hope and transformation to those in the margins.
Visit hopefulgifts.ca.
Updated Resources & Events
The CBWC Executive Staff have been standing alongside your CBWC Pastors during this challenging leadership season with ongoing ministerial clusters via Zoom, personal phone calls to check in, board support, pastoral searches and settlements, conflict management, and leadership resources. While many CBWC events needed to be cancelled or postponed this fall, the resources below were developed to meet the specific, spoken needs of our pastors as they seek to love and lead well.
For updated resources related to COVID-19, follow us on social media or check out our COVID-19 page.

Disruptive Hope Sermon Series: in the coming weeks, a 6-week Advent Preaching Series will be made available. These downloadable sermon videos by CBWC Executive Staff can be used individually or as a series from November 22 to December 27. Visit our Advent Resources page.

CBWC Sunday: Each year, we ask that churches set aside a Sunday in November to celebrate what it means to be part of the larger CBWC family and its shared ministries. This year, we are inviting you to celebrate a bit differently! On the Sunday that would have followed Banff Pastors Retreat, November 8th, we’d like to bless you with all of the pieces needed for an online service. We will include everything from worship music to children’s moment to the benediction and everything in between. Executive Minister, Rob Ogilvie, will be sharing a special message. See CBWC Sunday for more details.

Pastoring the Pastor Webinar Series Fall 2020
CBWC is offering a free webinar series for pastors, chaplains and ministry leaders. Visit the Pastoring the Pastor page to register for topics such as Digital Mission, Nurturing Emotional and Mental Health, and Facilitating Crucial Conversations.

Reduced Rates for a Room at Banff
Nov. 2-5, 2020: Because of our longstanding relationship with Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, they have agreed to retain our substantially reduced conference rate for the contracted dates that the conference would have been held. If you are a CBWC pastor or chaplain and would like to take advantage of booking a room at the Banff Springs Hotel over the nights of Monday, November 2 (arrival) to Thursday, November 5 (departure), please call 604.225.5916 for the discount code. (Based on availability).

A Gift of a Free Book for Pastors and Ministry Leaders
We know how important it is to keep learning and growing in leadership skills, especially during a season of disruption. And, we know how fun it is to get a free book! CBWC Pastors, register here to choose your book.
Justice & Mercy Network – Resources for Churches

The CBWC’s Justice & Mercy Network seeks to inspire and equip churches in their theological vision of the kingdom of God so that we all pursue right relationships with God, with self, with others, and with the world. We seek to provide a thoughtful and wise social analysis of injustice, and to offer various resources that help inform decisions about justice.
As Christians we have a calling placed on us by the Lord. He has commanded us to love others and to care for those in need, to be His representation on this earth. What does this look like practically? What is the church’s role when it comes to problems facing society and daily injustices? How can we act and help those in need?
The Justice & Mercy Network (JMN) is a group of passionate people who are working to help answer some of these questions and equip churches with resources to better understand various issues.
While there are many topics that JMN discusses, the top six areas focused on are:
Engagement: Being attentive to current events regarding injustices and providing resources to churches to help them engage.
Creation Care: Exploring what it means to fulfill God’s calling to be stewards and caretakers of the earth, and what the church’s role should be in the pursuit of environmental justice.
Poverty: Recognizing the church’s calling to come alongside the poor in God’s name, and to care for those living in poverty, whether it’s locally or globally.
Homelessness: Striving to understand the complexity of the homeless issue and showing compassion and love towards those who desperately need it.
Indigenous Issues: Recognizing and acknowledging the hurtful past the church, and Canadian culture has with the Indigenous community, and strive to support and make amends.
Refugees: Assisting churches with sponsoring refugees to Canada and providing follow up support.
The goal of JMN is to provide up-to-date resources to help churches engage in discussions that help to understand various issues and spark action. We are excited to share our updated webpage on the CBWC’s website, https://cbwc.ca/our-ministries/justice-mercy-network/.
Please check there regularly as a source for the above issues and share it with others who have been wanting to explore the issues of injustice.
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Making Connections is the monthly newsletter of the CBWC.