Under Sail

Pastoral Changes: Don Ingersoll resigned Sunday as Senior Pastor of King’s Valley Wesleyan Church in Quispamsis, NB. He has accepted a position with Moncton Wesleyan as Associate Pastor. We have had ten resignations on the district to date in the following churches: Black’s Harbour (Bruce Cheney); Fort Fairfield (Wes McNeil); Nackawic (Carl & Evelyn Brewer); Presque Isle (Rick Kavenaugh); Quispamsis (Don Ingersoll); Sandford (Bill Moore); Shelburne (Ed Otis); Sussex (Neville Gosman); Sydney (Michael & Tammy Hutton); West Head (Perry Ingersoll).
Pastoral placements have been secured in four of the churches: Black’s Harbour – Jeff Hoyt; Fort Fairfield – Doreen (Dee) Lower; Sandford – Perry Ingersoll; Sydney – Kevin Myers.
I have had at least one LBA meeting with nine of these churches and will meet with KVWC this Thursday. The most important decision a church makes is the one about pastoral leadership. Continue to keep these transitioning churches in your prayers as they move forward with interviews and the selection process.
In the last two weeks, along with the regular flow of responsibilities, I have attended two days of DBMD meetings, attended a board meeting in Indianapolis, chaired a DBA meeting April 8th, and met with three LBA’s in the pastoral search process.
Congratulations to Anna Stephenson who was recently named Miss Carleton North 2008 (also Miss Congeniality). Dean and Carol Stephenson are her parents. She and her family attend the Bristol Wesleyan Church. Dean has served effectively as the Director of Caton’s Island for a number of years.
Two major regional youth events are replacing the annual District Youth Rally. Be sure your teens get the information and tie into one of these weekends:

• Rally in the Valley will be held at King’s Valley Wesleyan Church, Quispamsis, NB on May 2-3, 2008. Go to www.kingsvalley.ca and click on “special events.” Then click on “click here,” and you’re there! All the information you need is there including the form to register, and a well done promo video.
• The Nova Scotia District Youth Rally is coming up May 16-17, 2008 at Hillside Wesleyan Church in Dartmouth, NS. Note the following: Theme: “Taking it to the Limit”; Worship Leader: Jason Vienneau and Band; Speaker: Mike MacNeil; Cost: $30; Registrations and Flyers were sent to the churches; Questions: Contact Rob McDowell 902-434-6333.

Ken Moore, the marketing manager at Harbour Station in Saint John, has some great news for southern gospel music fans. Bill Gaither and his Homecoming Friends are coming to Harbour Station and will be holding back-to-back concerts on Saturday and Sunday, May 17 and 18. The Saturday concert is sold out but great seats remain for the Sunday afternoon concert which begins at 3:00 PM. Individual and group tickets (special discounts apply) can be purchased by calling the Harbour Station Box Office at 1-800-267-2800 or by visiting www.harbourstation.nb.ca. Outside of their traditional annual visit to Toronto this coming September, the two Saint John concerts are currently the only Gaither Homecoming appearances scheduled for Canada in 2008. Contact Ken Moore at kmoore@harbourstation.nb.ca  or via phone at (506) 632-6102 if you have any questions.
The first Sunday of April, Joanne and I were in Perth-Andover Wesleyan Church. They were beginning special meetings which were held Sunday over Wednesday. The evangelist was Dwayne Broad, a layman in the church who is a very effective communicator. The meetings got off to a good start on Sunday, and the pastor reports that it was a good week for the church. I brought greetings on behalf of the District, and then we shared a delicious meal at the parsonage with Pastor Ryan and Maridel Farrell, and Asst. Pastor Ben and Sarah Canney. We enjoyed their fellowship very much.
This past weekend I was in Houlton, ME on Saturday evening for an LBA/Staff/spouses dinner. I then met with the LBA to dialogue about “next steps” and the challenges facing the church as they work at reaching their community for Christ. The Holy Spirit’s ministry was evident in the Sunday morning service. Pastor Wayne and Brenda Robertson are completing 11 years in Houlton this summer. There is a wonderful cohesiveness between the LBA and the ministry leaders which is reflective of the spirit and leadership of this pastoral couple. This is also complimented by the effective ministry of Asst. Pastor Dave and Vicki Rowe. I also had opportunity to spend some time with Intern Dave and Stephanie Hargest. The Hargests (summer graduates of BBC) will complete their internship at Houlton in early July. We had wonderful fellowship over Sunday’s delicious noon meal.
Pastors Darren and Janel Clark, CBS – Avalon in Newfoundland, will soon be launching the first of three preview services which will be held May 25, June 8, and June 22. Relationships have been built with people they associate with in the workplace, and a site has been secured for the launch services.
They have done a good job of projecting the costs for these strategic services and are working with our E&CG man, Pastor Denn Guptill, to bring all their planning to fruition.
Halifax – Deep Water had their largest attendance to date March 30th with 82 people in attendance. People are “plugging in,” and Pastor A.J. Thomas is developing relationships and having opportunity for some good conversations with people. The pastor reports that 50-60% of their congregation is coming from the peninsula (where the church meets) and are people in their mid-20’s that live in apartments in the surrounding area. He is definitely encouraged!
Friday, April 11th, Joanne and I attended the retirement reception for Dr. Arthur Maxwell, Academic Dean of Bethany Bible College. Dean Maxwell has served at BBC for 17 years and under his leadership nine programs of the ten majors offered have been developed since he became Academic Dean. Dr. Maxwell’s family and several relatives were in attendance as well as faculty members, BOT members, students, and friends. Several faculty members brought remarks honouring Dr. Maxwell for his significant contribution to the College. Mention was also made of his wife, Sherry, who has been solidly behind her husband, and also made significant contributions to the college with her service, talents, and gifts. We wish the Maxwells God’s richest blessings in this next chapter of their lives.
Pastor Jim Agrell reports a huge win for Yarmouth Wesleyan. They just had the Power Team in Yarmouth from Wednesday through Sunday night (April 2-6).  Among all the great things that happened in individual lives, there were over 4,000 people that attended the evening performances. The Power Team held assemblies in ten different schools in the area, talking with over 3,500 students in three days. The Yarmouth church had the largest attendance since being in their new facility with over 1000 people attending on Sunday evening. And most praiseworthy of all, over 400 commitment cards were received from people making first time commitments to the Lord Jesus Christ!!  Pastor Jim says “It was nothing short of revival!” We give praise to our mighty God for His Spirit’s power and faithfulness!
Beulah Wastewater Project – Let me give you a more detailed up-date regarding this important matter:

• A portion of the proposed wastewater pipeline crosses Mrs. Jean Irving’s property. In recent weeks the path for the laying of the pipeline was finalized and agreed to by Mrs. Irving and The Atlantic District. The District and Mrs. Irving signed a “memorandum of understanding,” and this will allow the work to proceed once some other key factors are finalized, the biggest one being approval for the government funding. We very much appreciate Mrs. Irving making allowance for the line to cross her property.
• Some tree removal has taken place in the last month along the proposed pipeline route for the purpose of providing access to designated areas. This allows for surveying and geotechnical work.
• We have also made application this past January for a watercourse and wetland alteration permit ensuring we are in compliance with any conditions set by the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). We cannot, however, proceed with the major scope of the work until the government funding has been approved.
• Last week I contacted Mr. André Chenard, Director of the Green Infrastructure Programs for the Province of New Brunswick (PNB), and got his latest response on the new agreement. He said, “We [PNB] are in the last stages of finalizing the agreement. We hope to have the new program applications available sometime in late May. We will be contacting you once the program is launched.” In other words, the government has to finalize the financial details regarding the infrastructure priorities in NB, and then the next step will be our formal re-application under the new program. That application will have to be approved before we start any major endeavors, and that approval may not happen before the fall. We are told our project has a high priority. However, it looks like the earliest we could begin the major on-site part of our project is 2009, and that is pending approval for funding by this fall.
• It should be noted that if we had received government funding approval by the end of June 2008 (as we had originally hoped) we still would not have been able to start the construction phase of this project before this fall, and completion would have been in 2009 anyway. If we can get the approval by fall, our goal will be to complete the project before July 2009.
• This project, all taxes in, is approximately $1.8 million dollars. Our financial obligation, upon government approval, is one-third of the costs ($600,000). We cannot start any major portion of the on-site work for this project before being approved for the infrastructure programs funding, or we are no longer eligible for that funding. We have been given guidelines as to what we can and cannot do prior to our project’s approval and we are being careful to abide by those guidelines.
• Please understand, we are not in a position to carry the full expense of this project. We need this financial assistance. With that said, I’m asking you to be much in prayer about this matter as it has definite bearing on our camp’s future. We had a great response to the “largest Beulah offering ever” last year – approx. $130,000! We now need to receive a new “largest offering ever” at Beulah! Yes, we again need an unprecedented offering. Ask God what He wants you to give as an investment in the future ministry of Beulah Camp.

Speaking of Beulah Camp – The dates this summer are July 4 – 13. The evangelists are Rev. Lane Loman and Rev. Steve Wilson. Pastor Jay and Sharon Guptill will oversee the music. Damaris Carbaugh will be with us the first weekend. You do not want to miss her concert Sunday afternoon, July 6th. District Conference is July 10th beginning at 9:00 AM (pre-registration at 8:30 AM), and the ordination is July 11th at 10:00 AM. More detail regarding the daily schedule will appear on the website soon.
Natalie Brown, wife of Pastor Dennis Brown, and daughter of Fred and Maridel Symonds, died peacefully yesterday (4/16/08) while at dinner with her family. She has had severe heart problems for a number of years. Natalie was part of the Olivet Wesleyan Church until she left home. The Browns pastored in Black’s Harbour in the mid-nineties, and they have lived in Pennsylvania since that time. There will be a memorial service at Olivet Wesleyan in Fredericton Wednesday, April 23rd, at 2:00 PM. Natalie’s uncle, Rev. John Symonds will officiate.
Rev. Doug (Rose Mary) Tatton has accepted the position of Camp Manager for Silver Lake Wesleyan Camp in Ontario. This camp is part of the Central Canada District. Doug and Rose will be moving the first of June to assume this year-round responsibility. We wish Doug and Rose God’s best as they assume this new role.
Cottage for sale at Beulah Camp – 2-bedroom winterized cottage with a wood stove. Appliances remain. For more information contact Linda Hawbolt at (506) 468-2479.
My executive assistant, Karrilee Bremner, is taking some vacation from April 17-22 but will be back in the office April 23rd. Joanne LeRoy will be available to assist you this Thursday and Friday, and next Tuesday. She will be traveling with me to Wood’s Harbour for the weekend and we both will be out of the office on Monday. I have a DBMD meeting at Cornerstone Wesleyan in Hammonds Plains, NS on Monday.

“When we come to the end of ourselves, we come to the beginning of God.”
                                                                                                                                         – Billy Graham