Monday Again
Our Beulah Work Day this past Saturday was one for the record books! As many of you know, the devastating flood brought a whole new set of challenges for our Caretaker, Bruce Cheney, and his team of volunteers. Bruce did an excellent job of navigating the camp through the high-water time and overseeing the flood recovery, but the added workload siphoned away time normally spent on the spring to-do list. This work day was more important than ever, and you showed up in force! Under Bruce’s diligent planning and leadership, 105 workers gave over 500 man-hours of labour to get things ready for summer of ministry ahead. Amazing!
There was even a moose on the loose at Heartland to add a little excitement to the day!
Many thanks to Doug and Rose Tatton and the kitchen crew for an excellent roast beef dinner after a morning of activity. To all who chose to come and serve on Saturday, your contribution to the ministry of Beulah Camp was sincerely appreciated and your support for Bruce and his team was a tremendous blessing.
Be sure to check out Beulah Family Camp and Caton’s Island opportunities as you plan your summer schedule. The future of camp ministry is in question in many places across North America – but not on the Atlantic District! And apparently not for the fastest growing church in America either. I was privileged to be with the DS’s at a WIF sponsored event last September at Crossroads in Cincinnati. With attendance approaching 37,000 weekly (source CT), Lead Pastor and Founder Brian Tome had this to say about the power of camp ministry, “In 2017, Crossroads purchased 400 acres of land to host camps for men, women, couples, and teens. We believe in great weekend services. But pound for pound – nothing matches the bigger impact of getting people outside their normal rhythms in the camp context.” Thanks, Brian. We’ve known this since 1894 and we couldn’t agree more!
- The Crosspoint (Mark Brewer) pastoral team invested a day this week joining the post-flood ministry of Samaritan’s Purse. Mark posted these thoughts, “Took a day as a staff team to do some flood cleanup with Samaritan’s Purse! Lots of dirt and sweat and laughs (and a little blood) and Good Kingdom work with a fantastic crew (Dave Rowe really was with us…he went off to another site for a while).”
- Journey (Matt Maxwell) is serving Fredericton volunteers by providing the church as one command center for the clean-up work. In addition, they are coordinating evening meals for 25-40 volunteers daily. To assist Journey in this good work please contact Joni @ 506.458.9232. Darren Murray (Regional Manager for Samaritan’s Purse) sent this update, “Samaritan’s Purse and they are in desperate need of volunteers to assist with clean-up efforts. They have over 150 work orders and have only done 20 so far. Can put out a plea for volunteers? The gentleman’s name is Corey Joudry and his number is 506.323.1476.”
- Jim Agrell candidated at Sussex (Don Ingersoll) yesterday. He received a vote of 90% and has accepted the invitation to serve as the next Lead Pastor. Jim and Diane will begin their ministry at the usual time of pastoral transition in July.
It has been a privilege this week to serve alongside the Wesleyan Standard Church of Egypt for my eighth visit since 2009. Our Atlantic team includes Ben Medel (Corbett Avenue), Mike MacNeil (Praxis Director of Kingswood University), and David Tysick (3rd Year Global Ministry Major at KU).
The picture above was taken at the conclusion of a meeting with Dr. Andrea Zaki who is the President of the 18 Protestant denominations in Egypt and provides representation to the government for approximately two million Christians including our church. This was a very important meeting and it was an honour to meet with this great leader.
Yesterday our team preached in six churches in Upper Egypt. One service included two infant baptisms by Pastor Basheer (right in picture) and Dr. Atef (National Superintendent – left) including the son of the pastor – Peter. It was a great service of celebration in the first of our churches started in Egypt in 1920. And just for fun, in case you were wondering if we really went to Egypt…
Thot: Science can turn an idea into a device, but faith can turn a dream into a Kingdom reality. (Abouna Atef, National Superintendent of Egypt)
All new for 2018… Check out this summers lineup! Special events, breakfasts, dinners, movies, services and more. Every weekend a great lineup for the whole family. Check out the schedule and don’t miss a minute of the fun!
January 9-12, 2019
Orlando, Florida at The Caribe Royale
More than a minister’s conference. The Gathering is a reunion of ministry family and friends. A sabbath for our souls. Coming together to stop, rest, pray, play and thrive. A chance to celebrate what God is doing in our lives and ministry through meals, stories, inspiration and worship. We know this will be a gathering you won’t want to miss!
Wesleyan clergy & spouses are invited to register this summer. Registration opens June 1, 2018.