It’s Monday Again
Pandemic restrictions for in-person ministry options are slowly beginning to shift. The weeks ahead will continue to offer contextual challenges based on region and church size. And the landscape for reopening various forms of programming and services will include at least some of the tug of war expressed in the opposing perspectives above. The Atlantic District is blessed by your leadership as you discern the best next steps to serve your church and community. So many resources are available on expectations of the post-pandemic church including this timely blog by James Emery White. Thank you all for the incredible work you are doing – you are appreciated!
Friday’s announcement by the Province of New Brunswick was very good news for Caton’s Island Camp. There will be camps for kids and teens this summer beginning the end of June! Caton’s leadership convened on Friday in the Zoom above to begin careful review of the provincial directives provided to to make this possible. Stay tuned for the June 1st announcement next Monday as camps may have limited registration and are subject to changes. Hats off to Director Dean Stephenson and his team as they work diligently this week to provide a detailed Facebook announcement on June 1st.
Planning meetings have been underway the past couple of weeks for a VIRTUAL offering of Beulah Camp. After 125 years of meeting onsite during the first two weeks of July, this historic year will offer an abbreviated mini-camp with online services. A detailed announcement is coming soon – stay tuned!
This Thursday Brent Ingersoll (Kings) served as a key presenter (including Daniel Im, author of No Silver Bullets) in a nation-wide webinar hosted by Alpha Canada entitled “Prayer, Leadership, and Evangelism in a Season of Separation.” Excellent insights and inspiration were shared by Brent and the others for all of us as Kingdom leaders who are courageously facing the challenges of ministry during this pandemic.
And speaking of No Silver Bullets, several of our Discipleship Pathway Cohorts convened this week for the next session in our district partnership with Executive Director Jon Wiest of Groundswell. The 5th Session includes presentations of contextual pathways by each of the 46 Atlantic churches participating in this process.
The samples above include Discipleship Pathways in process for Kings, Framework, and Deep Water. A bonus session offered by Jon in June will be offered for participant churches (including Lead Pastors) to begin plans for fall implementation to Renew Discipleship Pathways concluding Phase One of our Atlantic District Values-Driven Vision – 2025 Horizon Storyline.
Pastoral Transitions & Votes
- Congratulations to Jason (Marla) Vienneau who received a vote of 99% this past week to continue as Lead Pastor of Corbett along with very strong support for an Extended Call.
- Mark (Christine) Soone (pronounced like Sony) has accepted a 98% vote received this week for an Initial Call as Lead Pastor of The River – congratulations! The Soones are new to the Atlantic District and the entire interview and candidating process was conducted virtually including this 4+ minute introductory video of their family. Why not take a few minutes to watch it and send a welcome note to pmsoone@hotmail.com as Mark & Christine and their two youngest children prepare to begin this next chapter of their lives in Bangor at the normal time of pastoral transition in July?Mark became an Ordained Wesleyan Minister in 2006, and has served in New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania during the past 14 years. Mark and Christine will be celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary this September and they have five children: Stephen, Joshua, Alyssa, Sarah (15) and Rachel (10).
Ellen joins me in expressing sincere condolences on behalf of the Atlantic District to Brian Murray and the entire family on the passing of his mother-in-law, Betty MacPhee on May 17th. Thank you for lifting up Brian during these difficult days. Her full obituary is posted by Fergusons Funeral Home.
Points to Ponder from Ravi Zacharias – Promoted to Glory on May 19th
- God has put enough into the world to make faith in Him a most reasonable thing. But He has left enough out to make it impossible to live by sheer reason or observation alone.
- It is Christ who shows that unless a person’s pain is understood, one will never understand a person’s soul.
- This call to a life reflecting the person of Christ is the ultimate calling upon the apologist. Skeptics are not slow to notice when there is a disparity, and because of that, may question the whole gospel in its supernatural claim. Yet when they are met with gentleness and respect, we will help meet the deepest longings of the heart and mind— and they will find where true discovery lies. Let us live so accordingly.
The Division of Church Multiplication and Discipleship (CMAD) has provided resources for your use to participate on Church Multiplication Sunday (CMS) on May 31st. All of the CMS information, including sermon resources, video bumpers, kids and youth ministry curriculum, and Winfield Bevin’s FREE EBOOK “Multiplying Disciples” can be found here: www.Wesleyan.org/cms
- What: An Online Pentecost Prayer Event (click above for the video greeting)
- When: Pentecost Sunday, May 31st (7:00 p.m. ET, 8:00 p.m. AT, 8:30 p.m. NT)
- Who: The Wesleyan Church across North America and beyond
- How: Graphics and social media messages are available to promote this call to prayer – just visit https://www.wesleyan.org/event/together for more information for you and your church family to participate
ATTN: Lead Pastors, Staff Pastors and Ministerial Students (Deadline: May 31st)
It is that time of year to start thinking about filling out your Annual Service Report (ASR). You should have gotten an email from Headquarters with your login username. Below is a link to help you with the process. Please go to this link before calling the office: https://www.wesleyan.org/asr-and-lcsr-instructions – Please call the District Office if you have problems getting logged in or have questions about the process. Also let the District Office know if you didn’t receive an email with your username.
COVID-19 Resources
There is little doubt we are in a season of testing and refinement…
not only for the Church, but for her leaders.
not only for the Church, but for her leaders.
- “The three determinants of culture are shared values, shared language and shared vision. Can you see ways to nurture and cultivate all three virtually?” (Scott Rodin) Shaping culture virtually in crisis is far from business as usual. These are days of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA). As James Emery White so clearly articulates, “You are leading in a VUCA world.” This blog gives excellent direction in how to effectively shape culture in our current context.
- National Superintendent Stephen Elliott has provided this helpful Summary of Government Financial Direction for consideration by local church leadership in response to the fiscal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Canadian Government Financial Link for COVID-19 Response. Canada Helps has also provided this Guide for Charities with Government Programs.
- HQ RESOURCES: We are grateful for the excellent and growing online hub of COVID-19 resources provided by The Wesleyan Church HERE which includes links such as our CMAD Division with specific direction for NextGen ministry innovationsuch as the NextGen Facebook Group for Wesleyan Youth Pastors/Leaders.
- This COVID-19 Ministry Resources PDF includes a variety of ministry links to explore as you seek the best way forward in leading your church family. Barna Research provides this Local Church COVID-19 Report from 1500 pastors recently surveyed.
- Online Service Webinars: “What if [Church] leaders started thinking of themselves as a digital organization with a physical presence, instead of a physical organization with a digital presence?” (Carey Nieuwhof) During Easter week, two of our local church pastors provided workshops (pictured above) for a Beginners Online Service (Tom Cann – Yarmouth) and an Intermediate Online Service (Shane Grant – Moncton). Also, a friendly reminder that your local church CCLI License does not cover streaming your worship songs. However, you can check out their CCLI Streaming License info HERE.
- A presentation on The Power of Liminal Spaces
- Planning for a Phased Reopening by Amplio Group
- A chart for Digital Engagement Pathway
What about Beulah Family Camp & Caton’s Island for 2020?
CLICK HERE for a full announcement dated April 27, 2020, by action of the Atlantic DBA
Executive Director Tanya Nace of World Hope International (Canada) invites you to take a virtual trip around the world as we celebrate lives changed and give as we anticipate continuing to build hope this coming year. This fall thousands of Bahamians received clean water and life-saving supplies after the destruction of Hurricane Dorian. Throughout the past year World Hope provided clean water through wells and piped water to communities in West Africa and Cambodia and we continue to help transform the lives of young orphaned girls in Ukraine.
Join us online in Celebrating the Passionate Purpose at our Online Gala on May 29 at 7:00 p.m. Atlantic Time. We will go LIVE from Facebook and can’t wait to have you join us as we come together with a shared purpose and vision to provide hope. RSVP here and follow this link and prompts to get exclusive content leading up to the gala. See you there!
Looking for a meaningful way to celebrate Father’s Day for your family or through your church family? Look no more – CLICK HERE for details on how you can honour your parents by investing in those who have no parents to provide for their future. You can also use this video presentation to highlight the impact of this ministry.
World Hope International has created an online platform, Get-Support, to help communities and churches stay connected and provide support to one another. This is a platform where users can submit and respond to requests for assistance from one another. Five churches in the Atlantic District are registered to use Get-Support. If you are interested in using this tool in your church, watch this Webinar that explains how the system works. For more information and to register, https://get-support.ca/
National Superintendent Steve Elliott shares this helpful video of encouragement and challenge for us all during these days of challenge and opportunity. In addition to a special focus on Global Partners and World Hope International (Canada), he also highlights that the publication of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), Faith Today, is now available for free subscription by CLICKING HERE.
The national office of The Wesleyan Church of Canada is pleased to provide access to some helpful documents for the pastors in our Canadian churches. Included in those documents are:
- Summary of Canadian Government Financial Direction for COVID-19 Response
- Overview of the Retirement Plan Life insurance and Long-term disability benefits
- Information for the Wesleyan Retirement Plan
- New form for allocating contributions to a Tax Free Savings Account
- Prayer Poster for our Canadian Missionaries (current as of Dec. 31, 2019). Full size posters are available from: Stephen@wesleyan.ca
- Poster promoting the need/opportunities for Church Planting in Canada. Full size poster are available from: Stephen@wesleyan.ca
- Direct Deposit form for the financial support of our Canadian Global Partners missionaries (accelerates donor process by at least 50%)
- 2020 options/contact info for the National Cell Phone Plan (Bell Aliant)
Additional forms, such as ‘Sexual Harassment Avoidance’ policy are available at: www.wesleyan.ca (click: Menu : Ministries : Resources)
Want to know about the Atlantic District’s 2025 Horizon Storyline – Values-Driven Vision? Click here to see a one-page overview
Click here for the 45-minute video 2025 presentation
Click here for the 45-minute video 2025 presentation