Under Sail

Beulah Camp 2011 begins July 1st, one week from this Friday, and runs through July 10th!  Rev. Lane Loman and Dr. Steve Lennox will be the evangelists this year, and Rev. Scott & Elizabeth Rhyno will be the worship leaders.  Musical guests such as Covenant Sons, Heather Allison, Stephanie Israelson, Janice McLaughlin, Jayme Hall, the EXALT Choir and others will join us throughout the ten-day gathering.  You can visit the Beulah website at www.beulahcamp.com for the detailed camp schedule and further information on our special guests.
Beulah Baptism Celebration: In the last two years, we have had a strong emphasis on “getting back to baptisms” across the District.  This is a good thing!  The opportunity to be baptized is a part of every Beulah Camp experience, and Beulah Camp 2011 will be no exception.  We want to put a strong focus on baptism as we close out Beulah Camp 2011 on Sunday, July 10that 2:30 PM.  We’re planning a “Beulah Baptism Celebration!” All of our pastors received the details regarding this at the end of last week.  If you are a Christ Follower, have never been baptized, and would like to be, you can be part of the Beulah Baptism Celebration experience!  The EXALT Choir is going to give their full concert this year at 5:30 PM, and not just the abbreviated version.  This will be the final service of their 2011 tour, our final service of the camp, and an incredible celebration! It will be an awesome capstone for those who were baptized, and for the ten days of Beulah Camp 2011.

Beulah Camp 2011 Announcements – Those of you creating announcements, PowerPoint, or missions media for Beulah services, please have them to Joel Wydysh at joelw@rogers.com immediately.  All announcements will need to be pre-approved.
Riverside Camp 2011 is our regional camp in Mars Hill-Blaine, Aroostook County, Maine.  The dates for family camp are July 31st, and August 3-7.  The service times are at 6:30 pm Eastern (7:30 PM Atlantic), with the final service on August 7th at 3:00 pm Easter (4:00 PM Atlantic).  Rev. A.J. Thomas, pastor of the Halifax-Deep Water Wesleyan Church, is the special speaker.  Further information regarding family camp, and the youth and children’s camps can be found on the Riverside website at www.riversidecamp.co
Pastoral Transitions: Pastor Dee Lower resigned from Fort Fairfield Wesleyan this past spring.  The church asked her to reconsider on more than one occasion.  On Sunday, June 12th, at her request, the church voted on approving her husband, Pastor Ed Lower as a Co-Pastor along with Dee.  Ed is a licensed minister and already serves on the staff at the church.  The members voted unanimously to approve this arrangement and the Lowers have accepted.  This will allow the Lowers to have greater flexibility orchestrating the bi-vocational piece which is a part of their arrangement with the church.  We are pleased to report that at the time of this writing all of our churches have pastors.

St. John’s – Avalon Wesleyan:  Pastors Darren & Janel Clark report that they had a high day of 34 in attendance on Mother’s Day.  Then, in the month following they averaged 21, and had 20 new people attend a service to “check them out.”
The weekend of June 12th we were at Dartmouth-Hillside Wesleyan Church.  It is always interesting to return to places where we pastored, renew acquaintances, and also greet new people who have joined the congregation.  The two-service format (9:00 & 10:30 AM) is providing good alternatives for people at Hillside.  They are going back to one service at 10:00 AM for the summer.  The summer format began this past weekend.  The congregation is working hard at finding creative ways to minister to their community.  The staff and LBA are discussing the possibility of adding a satellite location to provide another alternative to reach their community.  I visited two potential satellite sites with Pastor Jay Guptill while I was in Dartmouth.  The matter continues to be under discussion, and nothing has been finalized.  They are still doing their homework.  Following the service, Joanne and I enjoyed a meal and good fellowship with Lead Pastor Jay & Sharon Guptill and Pastor of Youth & Outreach Tim & Julie Long.

Takin’ One for the Team!  Pastor Randy Forbes, Norton Wesleyan Church, is experimenting with a different hair color!  Last fall, two children (a boy and a girl) in their Junior Church wanted to raise money for missions in a penny drive.  Pastor Randy challenged them to petition the entire church to help with this by donating their pocket change.  If the pocket change outweighed Pastor Randy (160 pounds) by the first Sunday of June (2011), then he would color his hair.  The pastor was asked, “If the girls get more pennies will you dye your hair pink, and if the boys get more pennies, will you dye it blue?”  He agreed.  Altogether, they brought in over 180 pounds of coin!  They will send the money to Samaritan’s Purse to buy goats for those in need on a mission field.
This past weekend (Father’s Day), Joanne and I were at Norton Wesleyan for the Sunday morning service.  We enjoyed the service, and the opportunity to greet the Norton congregation.  Pastor Randy & Alma Forbes are faithful servants.  Their optimism always shines through as they lead, and interact with their people.  And, oh yes, Pastor Randy has pink hair!
Bud Fancy, Senior Pastor at Presque Isle Wesleyan Church, reports that David Sylvain will be joining their staff effective July 1st.  He will serve as Minister of Youth & Young Adults.  David and his wife, Kacie, are from Biddeford, ME and are presently serving in a non-denominational church in southern Maine.  They have three young children – ages 4, 2, and 4 months.  We welcome the Sylvains to the Atlantic District Team.
Houlton Wesleyan Church needed to raise $21,500 for a Missions trip to the Czech Republic, and raised about $23,000!  They are grateful for the way God has provided the necessary funds.  In addition, Houlton Wesleyan has over 30 people going on an inner-city mission trip to New York City in August.  Wayne Robertson is the Senior Pastor.
Pastor Scott Lewis, Lower Hainesville Wesleyan, reports that they had 27 in attendance Sunday morning for Father’s Day.  Sadly, when Pastor Scott arrived at the church early Sunday morning, he found the rail for the wheel chair ramp had been torn apart and then thrown at the wall of the fellowship hall.  One of the hall windows had been smashed (only the outer pain of glass) and the front door had been peppered with eggs.  He says the rail is easily reassembled, a neighbor has offered to replace the glass, and some hot soapy water will wash off the eggs.  On a more encouraging note, Sunday night was Lower Hainesville Wesleyan’s turn to sponsor the “Sunday Night Riot” which is a community youth service held in churches around the area.  83 people were in attendance and they presented the graduates from their area with Bibles, and had prayer for their futures.  This was followed by a barbeque, fun, and fellowship.  Pastor Scott also took the opportunity to show a DVD presentation that they had made of Beulah and its ministry.  Pastor Scott says, “What a tremendous day!”
Anniversary Milestones!  Dr. Ken & Anne Gorveatte celebrated their 53rd anniversary on June 17th; Rev. Laurence & Vesta Mullen will celebrate their 60th anniversary on June 23rd; and Rev. Ron & Kay Morehouse will celebrate their 60th anniversary on July 11th.  Congratulations to you all!

The District Office, as of June 20th, is operating out of the Beulah Campgrounds location and will do so for the summer months.  Karrilee Bremner will be in the Moncton Office through June 28th, and then join us at Beulah until after Beulah Camp.
Note:  The next edition of Under Sail will come your way in July, after Beulah Camp.

“If I look at the masses I will never act.  If I look at the one, I will.”   – Mother Teresa