Dear friends,
By almost all accounts, we had a very encouraging Assembly. The two primary words that come to mind are thankfulness and gratitude. The sense of community that was apparent through the worship (thanks to Westview for leading us on Thursday evening and Saturday morning, and to Russ Rosen and his band for Friday morning and evening), speakers (Amy Hanson and Darrell Johnson), as well as Bible Study (Dayle Medgett) was an amazing scripture-led, Spirit-filled, Christ centred unity that transcended our quite dramatic differences. I was encouraged at the easy laughter, the excellent questions, the spirit of enquiry, and the strong interest and subsequent attendance at the workshops on Friday afternoon and discussion times on Saturday afternoon.
Workshops: These resources may be accessible by contacting the workshop leader(s).
- The Nuts & Bolts: What are the Trends of Effective Ministries with Boomers and Beyond – Amy Hanson
- Treasurer’s Workshop – Victor Ku and David Holten
- Worship & Justice: Sing a New Song for Justice – Tim Dickau and Rod Olson
- Equipping Families to Worship, Learn and Serve Together – Sherry Bennett
- Women in Focus: Ministry in the DR Congo – Faye Reynolds
- Intergenerational Camping and Mentorship: Creating a Space for a Shared Experience – Steve Roadhouse
- ISIS, Islam & Jesus – Sam Chaise
- Learning from First Nations’ Elders -Tim Dickau and Rod Olson
- Intergenerational Worship: Panel Discussion with Russ Rosen, Joan Dosso and Arlene Overman
- Personal Financial Planning – Bob Webber
- Pensions and Benefits – Louanne Haugan
Discussion Groups:
- The Syrian Refugee Crisis in Canada – Rod Olson
- Renewal in the Local Church – Shannon Youell, Mark Doerksen, Shelby Gregg
- Same Sex Attracted (SSA) Resources – Jodi Spargur and Dennis Stone
Ordination Examining Council took place on Wednesday afternoon / evening, and on Thursday morning. There were seven candidates who appeared before the Council, and around 40 guests over these two days who came to support their candidate.
Thursday evening included an outstanding catered reception and welcome, a time of worship, and a talk from our keynote speaker Amy Hanson on “Reaching Baby Boomers & Beyond.”
Friday was a full day, which began in the morning with a Bible Study from Dayle Medgett, worship led by Russ Rosen & band and communion, and then our first of three business sessions (which included hearing reports from our partners CBM, Carey, and CBWC Foundation, as well as approving our audited financial statements for 2014). Over lunch, Amy Hanson addressed us on the topic of Breaking down the Age Barriers: Practical Ways for Becoming an intergenerational Church.
The afternoon was spent in the workshops listed above.
The evening included the BC Convention & Annual Meeting, a presentation from CBM, more worship with Russ Rosen & band, and Darrell Johnson speaking to us “How shall we then pray?”
Saturday was also a full day. The morning was started off with Bible study from Dayle Medgett, worship led by the Westview Worship Team, communion and our second business session, which included approving our budget for 2015 – 2017 and my address to the Assembly.
Carey had a lunchtime presentation on the College, the Institute and the Centre to start off our afternoon. This was followed by the discussion groups (noted above), and then we entered our third of the three business sessions, where we presented resources, approved changes to our ministerial protocol manual and bylaws, and approved the nominations report, appointing members to the CBWC, CBM, and Carey Boards, acknowledged and thanked the four member of the CBWC Board who retired, and then dedicated our new CBWC Board.
The evening included a bbq, and entertainment from Lou Leventhal in the form of “Illusions and Reality.”
The motions that were approved at Assembly will be available at a later date.
We will make the talks from Amy, Darrell and myself available soon on our website, but in the meantime we have a number of takeaways that you might be interested in.
If you participated in the Assembly, we would love to hear your feedback as we will begin soon to plan for the next one, happening on 25 – 27 May 2017. You can give us feedback here.
Throughout our time, we were able to celebrate God moments from around our denomination via video. You can find those videos here, on our Vimeo stream; feel free to share these with your congregations.
Cailey Morgan took many photos over the three days. You can find many of them here for your enjoyment, to put together a slideshow for a Sunday gathering or to report back to your congregation on Assembly.
On the night I got back from the conference, I was reading some 20th century prayers from the book 2000 Years of Prayer and came across one from Queen Salote of Tonga ( pg 456) which says a lot of what we need to hear.
God, our Heavenly Father, we draw near to thee with thankful hearts because of all thy great love for us. We thank thee most of all for the gift of thy dear Son, in whom alone we may be one. We are different one from another in race and language, in material things, in gifts, in opportunities, but each of us has a human heart, knowing joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain. We are one in our need of thy forgiveness, thy strength, thy love; make us one in our common response to thee, that bound by a common love and freed from selfish aims we may work for the good of all and the advancement of thy kingdom. Through Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Warmly,
In Christ,
Jeremy Bell