Under Sail

Rev. Dwayne Hopkins, pastor of the Coastal Wesleyan Church in Scarborough, ME, was recently interviewed, and asked to serve as the Chaplain for the Maine Association of Police (“MAP”), on a State level. He was recommended as a candidate by several people within the Scarborough P.D. and the State Chaplaincy program. This was followed by a confirmation meeting with the executive that was held in South Portland the week of October 8th. His involvement will include any “critical incidents” throughout the State with police officers, where MAP requests his help. We extend our congratulations to Pastor Dwayne on his appointment, and commend him on his significant community and state involvement.
A Man Alive Workshop is being held Nov. 10th at Fredericton Olivet Wesleyan Church. This is not a rally but a hands-on training session for effective men’s ministry. Information will be shared on what works and what doesn’t, how to get organized and sustain a men’s ministry bringing it to fullness. For more details and information contact Ken McGeorge at 506-444-3885 0r Pastor Tim Guptill at 506-452-7110.
Pastor Nick Graham shares some exciting news that is taking place in Havelock, NB. His church has teamed up with the Havelock Baptist Church and Pastor Jeff Irving to do “40 Days of Community” together. Sunday night October 14th, was week 2 and they had 62 people present (kids included)!!! Pastor Nick said, “It was a great sight to see in our church basement Baptist’s and Wesleyan’s getting excited about reaching our community together for Christ.” They are now working on and praying about several joint community service projects and are looking forward to the outcome. The ones that have already launched are being well received in the community. On November 17th the two churches are planning a joint outreach project. It will be a Gospel Music Outreach with a barbeque and potluck dinner, and a short Gospel presentation. Our hats are off to Pastor Nick and the Havelock Wesleyan Church for having a Kingdom mindset, and a heart to work with others to reach the un-churched and the de-churched.
Dr. Earle L. Wilson, our area General Superintendent, has been recovering at home following his surgery two weeks ago, Monday, October 15, 2007. He is thankful for all the prayers, cards, phone calls, and gifts (fruit and flowers). He is anxious to return to work and will do so when his body allows. Please keep Dr. Wilson and his wife Sylvia in your prayers.
Halifax – Metro has secured a new pastor in the person of Rev. Kevin Wilson. He and his wife, Bev, and their three-year-old daughter, Emma, will move to Halifax this week from the Buffalo, NY area. Pastor Kevin has been flying to Halifax one weekend a month for the last couple of months to take part in Metro’s weekend services. I’m sure this pastoral family and congregation are looking forward to November 4th and the continuity of the pastor’s presence on-site. I will have the privilege of officially installing Pastor Kevin on Nov. 25th.
Used PA Equipment: Pastor Denn Guptill is our district E & CG Director and he has a request on behalf of our “baby” churches that I certainly support. Pastor Denn says, “It seems that we all have needs at various times in our lives. Some we can meet ourselves and other needs can be met by other people or groups. One of the pressing needs that our new churches have is for sound equipment and related technical equipment i.e. speakers, microphones, monitors, amps, laptops and projectors. We felt that if our established churches knew some of the needs they might have surplus equipment that isn’t being used that they would be willing to make available to our church plants.” And in addition, one of our church planters reminded us that Tim Horton gift certificates always come in handy when you are meeting with contacts! Pastor Denn is willing to act as the middle man connecting churches with needs and churches that are able to meet that need. Understand we aren’t looking for “Junk for Jesus”. If you’ve stopped using something because it no longer works or is in need of repair it probably won’t be useful to our church planters. If you can help please let Pastor Denn know at denn@cornerstonewesleyan.ca or 902-832-2222. Thanks for having a Kingdom mind-set.
A team from the Atlantic District will be accompanying Dr. HC Wilson (Global Partners General Director) to Swaziland. The team leaves today (October 29th) and will return home November 7th. Our team members are: DS David LeRoy; Pastor John Symonds, Fredericton, NB – Corbett Ave. Wesleyan Church; Pastor Graham Perry, Mount Pearl, NL – Solid Rock Wesleyan Church; and Dave Bartlett, vice-chairman of Solid Rock’s LBA. While in Swaziland Pastor John and I will be taking part in a pastor’s conference with Dr. Wilson. Pastor John will do three sessions on “The Ministry of Mentoring,” and I will do three sessions on “Forgiving: A Christian Lifestyle.” HC will be speaking in the evening sessions, and will also be the keynote speaker at the EWBC graduation Sunday morning, November 4th.
The weekend of October 13-14, I was in the Halifax-Dartmouth area. I installed Pastor Jay Guptill at Dartmouth-Hillside on Sunday, and on the Saturday previous I visited Cornerstone Wesleyan in Hammonds Plains to see Pastor Denn Guptill and the facility where their congregation meets to worship. I also met with Pastor Mike White, Sackville Wesleyan, and we visited the prime land their church owns which will help them with future expansion needs. I also met with A.J. Thomas, pastor of our new church plant, Halifax – Deepwater, and saw first-hand the facilities they are renting. This is a great arrangement for the start-up needs of this group. They will have their first public service November 4th in a movie theatre complex on Spring Garden Rd. in Halifax, NS.
Sunday, October 21st, I was at Fredericton-Corbett Ave. to install Pastor John Symonds. The church was about 80% full as just under 200 people gathered for worship. Creative ways will need to be explored to allow for more people as this congregation grows. In the last couple of weeks, four people have given their lives to Christ. There is a wonderful spirit in the services and a wonderful spirit of expectancy about the future.
A few weeks ago it was discovered that Rev. Ken Foote has cancer. The seriousness of it was confirmed in a doctor’s appointment last week and Ken was admitted to the Saint John Regional Hospital last Tuesday morning (10-23-07). The doctor confirmed that Ken has brain cancer. It is on both sides of the brain and also in the front. Please keep Pastor Ken, his wife Judy, and their family members in your prayers. Pastor Ken began chemo treatments this past Saturday.
Yesterday (10-28-07) the Amherst Wesleyan Church held their final service in their Spring St. location. Next week they will begin worshipping in their newly acquired facilities on Cornwall Ave. This property was purchased from the Roman Catholic Church and includes a church and adjacent house. Over the last month a lot of renovations have been done as the church gets ready to move in to its new home. Things like a new platform, new A/V balcony, new entryway and foyer, new lighting, fresh paint inside and out, new furnaces installed, and the list goes on. A few men from the church took on the furnace installations and saved the church $10,000-$15,000! In fact, 99% of the renovations were done through volunteers. This truly has been a group effort. Pastor Raymond Fancy has been interviewed locally (Amherst Daily News) and provincially (The Chronicle Herald – Halifax). In appreciation for Pastor Raymond and Trista Fancy’s leadership and hard work, the church honored them Sunday, October 21st, and presented them with gift certificates to local restaurants, flowers, and an extra week off in November. The new facility will be dedicated February 17th in conjunction with the church’s 77th Anniversary. We extend our congratulations to Pastor Raymond and the Amherst congregation for their vision, and a job well done.
Note: Pews Available – The old pews in the sanctuary are being replaced as part of the renovations. Amherst Wesleyan has available 30 oak pews that are 75-100 years old. Each pew is eight feet in length. The asking price is $100 per pew. They are available on a “first come, first serve” basis.
The upcoming International Wesleyan Youth Convention, Set Apart ’07, will be held in Orlando, Florida over the dates of December 28-31, 2007. The District WY Leadership Team is not orchestrating any centralized travel and registration arrangement for this event. Individual youth groups are responsible for making their own arrangements. Due to the distance and timing of the event, teens from our area would have to fly. If your youth group plans to attend, this is a reminder that the early bird registration deadline is November 1, 2007 which is obviously approaching fast. And travel arrangements need to be finalized ASAP. It is a proven fact that teens make significant spiritual, life-changing decisions at these events so it is worthy of your consideration. Further information can be obtained on the Set Apart website at www.SetApart07.com Should anyone have questions about the convention, please contact Dr. Jim Dunn at the Spiritual Formation Department. If he is not in at the time, then ask for Scott Simmons or Matt Rhodes in the Youth Division of the SFD.
Yesterday I was at Island Wesleyan Church in Hampton, PE to install Pastor Joel (Vicky) Wydysh. Pastor Joel’s is the sixth of nine installations that will happen this year on The Atlantic District. The other three will take place in November. Again, I was privileged to worship with a wonderful group of people that have really embraced their new pastor and his family. Our prayer is that Pastor Joel will have a long and fruitful ministry on PEI. Joanne and I enjoyed a wonderful meal with the Wydysh family prepared by Vicky, and very much enjoyed our fellowship with them.
“Enthusiasm is the electric current that keeps the engine of life going at top speed…” – B. C. Forbes
“Nothing ever succeeds which exuberant spirits have not helped to produce.” – Nietzsche