Dear friends,
With a title like today I feel a bit like a Maritimer or a Newfoundlander. There are many expressions that we use to greet one another, engage in ministry, and encourage one another. I want to share some of them today along with some items for prayer.
Keats Camp is having its gala Admiral’s Ball on Thursday night. Pray for all the staff and volunteers who have organized it and for those who will be there.
I attended the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) gatherings in Winnipeg last week. I was deeply encouraged to be sitting with Tim McCoy (CBOQ Executive Minister) along with the new President of World Vision Canada, Michael Messenger. Michael is from the Moncton and Halifax area originally; my family immigrated to Moncton from England in 1957. When I go to EFC, I am deeply grateful for Bruce Clemenger and his consistent desire to bring Christians of core gospel faith together. Karen Hamilton from Canadian Council of Churches was there, as were some good friends of CBWC including David Wells (of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada). I will write more on the meetings another time.
Our next item is a 17-year tradition for First Baptist Church Kelowna. On the last Sunday of October everyone shows up to church in their jeans and flannel shirts. Why? All are invited to the King’s family orchard after the service. The King family organise a weiner roast and everyone is invited to glean the apples left on the trees after the harvest. Our BCY Regional Minister Rob Ogilivie was grateful to join in this fun community gathering this year.
In Vancouver, someone with a lot of apple trees donated their fruit to the Kitsilano Christian Community so a few families got busy to make as many apple pies as they could. Last Sunday, these were sold to raise funds for refugee sponsorship and since everyone loves apple pie, everything was sold out in about 20 minutes, bringing the church $500 closer to welcoming refugees to Canada.
This week the Executive Ministers of each of the denominations in Canada will be meeting in Mississauga in conjunction with the CBM Working Partners Group and CBM Board meetings (Canadian Baptist Ministries). Please pray for Terry Smith and his installation as the new Executive Director of CBM on Friday evening, and Malcolm Card, the new chair of the CBM Board. We are thankful for the leadership of Ken Bellous over the last couple years as the outgoing chair of the CBM Board. We are also thankful for the CBWC reps to the CBM Board whom we elected at our CBWC Assembly in April: Laura Nelson, Greg Anderson, Val Fenn, and Paul Stade.
Please continue to pray for Sam Breakey and friends as they begin the church health and renewal process with several churches. One of our churches that is engaging in this process had an excellent bulletin insert for the congregation. Here it is: Kitsilano Christian Community bulletin sample.
Finally, Rod Olson continues to work on our behalf in sponsorship of refugees. We have been entrusted with a resource, the legal sponsorship agreement, and now much is being asked of us by the government, individuals and churches. Rod has been in touch with 45 churches that want to be involved in sponsorship, 37 of which are CBWC churches; 3 are ready to select a profile. So far we have had 9 profiles accepted. We have 6 profiles awaiting final decision by the church and we have several in process. These 9 profiles translate into 20 refugees that will be brought to safety by 6 different churches.
Warmly,
In Christ,
Jeremy Bell