It’s Monday Again
It was a huge day yesterday at Crosspoint as we celebrated the Installation of John Sherwood as Lead Pastor. It was a beautiful afternoon to honour John & Kelsey as the staff and LBA gathered for a delicious meal and time of fellowship. As this 3.5 year journey of transition has come to this happy conclusion, special appreciation was offered in both services for the Pastoral Interim ministry of both John Symonds and Tim Guptill.
Congratulations to Dr. Wayne Schmidt on his reelection as General Superintendent! It was a fantastic week in St. Louis as nearly 350 delegates gathered for the 14th North American General Conference of The Wesleyan Church. Special thanks to the Atlantic District delegation who served on our behalf in discerning the decisions determined for Memorials and the election of General Officers.
- CLICK HERE for a full slate of articles and updates outlining all the events and outcomes of this historic gathering for our denomination. Two Memorials passed propose changes to our Constitutional Law and will require further action by all 24 District Conferences. Stay tuned!
Marc Jolicoeur (Moncton) scooped this very informative and timely interview with David Drury the day after the proceedings concluded. CLICK HERE to enjoy the insider perspectives from our former Chief of Staff at HQ. It is an impressive podcast as Marc takes a deep dive into discussion of several Memorials with a poignant reminder of our need to stay on mission and not be distracted by lesser things.
Corbett (Jason Vienneau) held a special Volunteer Appreciation event this weekend. Jason shared, “It takes a lot of hard work and hard working people who love this church to make it work week in and week out. So many are behind the scenes who never ask to be thanked.” It is encouraging to see our churches finding more ways to gather in-person as pandemic restrictions have lifted.
It was an exciting service at Houlton this weekend. Wayne Robertson announced the immigration process was complete as he officially launched the staff ministry of Andrew & Emily Ross! Andrew will be serving as Assistant/Youth Pastor. Wayne shared, “We are very excited to welcome them to our team and look forward to working together with the great people of HWC!”
Preparation has begun for the 2022 Caton’s Island camping season. In addition to the annual process of opening the island, multiple special projects are underway. Work continues on the Choate Dining Hall expansion with completion expected this summer. As registration numbers increase, the need for more camper and staff accommodations is a current a priority. Special thanks to Hillside (Jay Guptill) for funding the new “Parkway” cabin and for sending an awesome team of seven to build it!
- Another team of energetic volunteers milled lumber from trees cut on the island for the expansion of staffing accommodations in the red barn. This significant cost saving is a great blessing! Our warmest thanks to the team and to Camp Board Member Kevin Cox for the use of his sawmill.
While in St. Louis this week, President Steve Lennox leveraged the opportunity for an in-person session of a board-appointed group for special ABHE Governance Training for the Kingswood University Board of Trustees. The fall session of the BOT will include an additional day to implement recommendations of this group in serving the mission of KU.
Congratulations to Scott & Brittany Trafton on the May 24th arrival of two exciting new additions to our ministerial tribe! Big brother Quinn Edward was born @ 3:35 p.m. weighing in at 5 lbs. 8 oz. followed by his sister Isla Lavinia @ 3:49pm (4 lbs. 11 oz.). The list of proud relatives runs long and deep through our district family – make sure you greet the new duo at Beulah Family Camp in a few weeks!
Ellen joins me in expressing sincere condolences on behalf of the Atlantic District family to Peggy Yetman (Lower Hainesville) on the passing of her father, James Yetman. CLICK HERE for his obituary with opportunity to share words of support to Peggy and her family. Special thanks to Diane Hutchinson (Norfolk) for traveling with her to Newfoundland this week for the celebration of his life.
Points to Ponder
- The Wesleyan Quadrilateral only works accurately when Scripture is the lens through which the other three laterals are viewed. (Dan LeRoy) #reason #tradition #experience
- Holiness isn’t about us. It’s about loving God with everything there is of us and loving others the same way we love ourselves. (Dan LeRoy)
- If our holiness doesn’t take us outside the walls of the church, it’s not the real thing. (Dan LeRoy)
One Conference was formed out of the desire to see churches in our region united in their pursuit of Jesus. Over the last few years, we’ve gone from being in ONE arena with massive crowds and energy, to being exclusively online during the pandemic. This year, we are excited to take a step toward having everyone together again soon! One Conference will be hosted at three sites throughout the region this year in Halifax, Moncton, and Saint John! Combined, these three sites will be able to accommodate everyone who wants to attend, and we’re thrilled to make this transition toward being together in ONE room once again in 2023. CLICK HERE for more information about how to register your youth group for your preferred location.
Beulah Family Camp is back for the summer of 2022!!! CLICK HERE for the Camp Evangelists’ bios. CLICK HERE for a downloadable PDF version of this poster to print off for your church bulletin board. CLICK HERE for a JPG download of the poster for announcement loops and social media promotion. We can’t wait to see you all again as we pack into the Tabernacle to praise our God and to be challenged with a fresh call to holiness through the theme: Now Is the Time for Renewal!
I joined David Zigler (Coastal Community) and AJ Plaizier (Yarmouth) in February to share our perspectives and experiences in developing and implementing what Pete Scazzero calls a Rule of Life. This was a companion conversation for the panel discussion offered on February 10th regarding Emotionally Healthy Leader. If you are new to the idea of having a Rule of Life, you will find the following resources helpful:
- CLICK HERE to watch the recording of our conversation about having a Rule of Life (Feb 24th Zoom).
- CLICK HERE to review why Emotionally Healthy Leader is so different from just any book on pastoral leadership (Feb 10th Zoom).
- For those of you just getting started, CLICK HERE for an excellent resourceprovided by Dave Zigler to walk you step-by-step through the creation of your own Rule of Life.
- CLICK HERE for access to additional materials that will help guide you through the prayerful creation of your own Rule of Life.
Pastor Cluster Leaders are encouraged to use these resources to inform and inspire the journey of renewal unfolding in the months ahead in our Clusters. I completed my 48-hour retreat in February to develop my own Rule of Life. I will be praying for each of you to make it a priority sometime before summer to go on a personal retreat as you ask the Lord to show you better ways for better days of abiding in The Vine.
Pentecost Sunday is June 5. We need the power of God’s Spirit for the living of these days! General Superintendent Wayne Schmidt is calling Wesleyans everywhere to a season of prayer inspired by the message of the Acts of the Apostles. CLICK HERE to watch this invitation and consider sharing this with your church family.
There are the two ways to participate in the prayer experience portion:
- You can download the Discipleship App and click on Pentecost
- You can also go to www.Wesleyan.org/Pentecost
Each day, we will read in the Book of Acts, and be guided in our prayers from a prayer prompt provided by Dr. Wayne Schmidt, General Superintendent of the North American Wesleyan Church. Then you have the opportunity to share your prayer on the prayer wall if you desire. And finally, click on the global voices section to hear prayers from around the Wesleyan world in various languages where our hearts can sense and be in agreement with the spirit of the prayer. So let’s join together as Wesleyans in days of earnest prayer as we read through the Book of Acts and pray for an outpouring of God’s Spirit around the globe.
- At the conclusion of this journey, you will be able to view a Pentecost service (available for June 5) where our International Wesleyan Church leaders will lead us in prayer. This worship service will be able to be downloaded from www.Wesleyan.org/Pentecost for viewing at your convenience.
‘Tis the season for annual business meetings in the local church. We are praying for you all as these important times of decision-making serve your preparation for the fiscal year ahead and the celebration of God’s provision and faithfulness for the year completed.
- Local Church Statistical Reporting opened on May 2nd, deadline is May 31st. All Lead Pastors were assigned their church’s LCSR in the TWCHub where ASRs were completed. For assistance in completing this priority report, please contact Karrilee at District Office.
The National Church office is pleased to announce the creation of a Canada/Maine Wesleyan Church employment site. The purpose is to help local churches and specialized ministries (such as campgrounds) and pastors/individuals to connect with one another. If your local church or campgrounds would like to have your ministry opportunities made known, kindly email National Superintendent Steve Elliott (stephen@wesleyan.ca) the following information: Ministry Role, Schedule (Full/Part Time), Tentative Start Date, Name of Church or Ministry, City/Location, Province/State, and Website for More Info.