Dear Folks,
The CBWC Assembly conference this year centres on the theme, “The Whole Health of God”. We are trusting in this same God, who desires our health, to create in us a hunger for health as well as an understanding within us as to how we might as individuals and the body of Christ continue to deepen and experience this. There is much thinking and writing in contemporary Christian circles around the topic of health and also a tendency to repeat the disastrous dualisms of the past, which separate out types of health. We trust as Glenn Rabuka, Jan Paasuke and their team have been reflecting and planning for this Assembly that we will discover such a breadth of experience of the health of God that we will think of all that health offers and not be selective.
Our guest speaker, Dr. Marva Dawn, is an internationally renowned author and educator. She serves as Teaching Fellow in Spiritual Theology at Regent College, Vancouver, BC and works under Christians Equipped for Ministry, Vancouver, Wa. She has four masters degrees and a PH.D (in Christian Ethics and Scriptures) and is a popular preacher, speaker and author. Those who have experienced various forms of ill health, like Marva Dawn and yet have seen the faithfulness and health of God despite their circumstances, are the people we must most attend too.
Far too often our evangelical Protestant theology seeks to escape and avoid the inevitable consequences of our separation from God; our sinfulness. This Assembly seeks to bring into our collective focus a healthy balance in a variety of areas that impact our lives. There are a whole host of workshops and seminars on Friday and Saturday that will address many of these issues, including health in spirituality, relationships, communities, and the environment. As well, there will be opportunities to explore what some of our partnerships are doing and be part in the visioning process as they seek to serve God in specific ways. For more information regarding this event and all of its opportunities, go to the CBWC website here. (https://www.cbwc.ca/content/view/1617/171/)
Assemblies are traditionally gathering times for CBWC churches. They are CBWC Board led; specifically this year by Jan Paasuke and Glenn Rabuka, who are supported and resourced by ministry network members and staff. The conference this year is organized by Liz Swab with the able support of David Holten, Colleen Schneider, and Shelby Gregg. Because we only meet every 2 years it is essential that all who are able take time to be part of our community time together, attend the business we need to do as a family of churches and benefit from the huge array of quality, educational and personally formative experiences. On Thursday, the Ordination Examining Council meets with 6 candidates being presented and the Ministry Networks will also be meeting together. Friday night we have a wonderful opportunity to worship and meet the Lord in new ways as the Russ Rosen bands leads us.
Warmly,
In Christ,
Jeremy