Quadra Island Bible Church
– our LPD Church of the Week
Thanks to Anna (Ben) Crumback at Sointula Community Church for producing the Church of the Week!
Quadra Island has always been a special place
for me. I grew up with stories told by my mother who, as a child immigrant from
Scotland in 1923, moved to Cape Mudge on Quadra Island, as her father/my
grandfather fished out of Quathiaska Cove.
My grandfather had fished the North Sea off Scotland, until he joined the Royal
Navy, to serve in WWI. Unemployed after the war, he and his extended family
came to Canada in hope of a new life and new opportunities.
While on Quadra, my mother attended Sunday School, where she heard the Gospel
and was nourished as a young Christian. She went on with the Lord in her life,
but sadly, the little church lost its way, and while they would identify as
Christian, the denomination to which they belong is open to all faiths, or even
no faith at all.
Quadra Island Bible Church, our LPD Church of the Week,
has been birthed out of the need for the Gospel to be both proclaimed and lived
on Quadra Island. They have a history of people coming to faith and going on to
live for the Lord, and even in this time of pastoral transition and search,
people have been coming to faith. Please pray for them, as they seek to discern
God’s leading as they consider a possible pastoral candidate.
***
O Canada, or O,
Canada!
Recently, while out for a walk in Penticton, I came across the
sign pictured below:
What a difference punctuation can make!
While true for us grandpas, it can also be true for our nation. O Canada – or
O, Canada!
I am so thankful for our country and to be a Canadian – O Canada! I also grieve
for our nation, and the lostness I observe every day – O, Canada.
As we celebrate our nation’s 152nd birthday, a recent survey by Wayfairer
Travel, is headlined, “Canada is officially the most spiritual country in
the world.”
At first glance, this is something to celebrate – O Canada!
On the other hand, it is a matter for concern, as the survey results speak more
of compromise than conviction – O, Canada!
The study is called the “Global Spirituality Index: Ranking the
World’s Most Spiritual Countries,” and it states, “Canada
was crowned as the most spiritual country in the world after ranking highly for
quality of life and religious diversity as well as religious freedom, religious
tolerance, spiritual sights and wellness.”
While not a definitive survey, it does provide a snapshot of our nation. Here
is the link:
While we are thankful for religious freedom and tolerance, we
Canadians are not known for our religious conviction. Much like the journey of
the little church my mother attended as a child, our nation’s values of freedom
and tolerance, for many people, make religious conviction seem to be a negative
thing.
In this age of loose and self-defined “spirituality,”
it may seem that the church might struggle for relevance. The Gospel is just as
good news as ever, and Christ has promised to build his Church.
Dan Reilland, in a recent article, “Five Reasons Why the Church is Not Irrelevant,” provides some words of counsel and encouragement to all. Here is the link:
5-reasons-why-the-church-is-not-irrelevant/
Please take some time to review this article – while the Church
remains central in God’s plan – we also need to be relevant and purposeful in
our ministry and mission.
Who’s Who in the LPD?
I am thankful for our Lower Pacific District Board.
With thirty-four churches, two church plants and seven church planting
missionaries, our plate is full, and there is much more that I can see to as
district superintendent.
Our district board is composed of seven volunteers, as well as myself and our
LPD Office Administrator, Josephine Papp.
Ben (Anna) Crumback serves as our Island
Church Liaison, and reaches out to pastors and churches on
Vancouver Island, Quadra Island and Malcolm Island, where he and Anna live and
serve as pastor of Sointula Community Church.
Ben and Anna came to the West Coast, or should I say, came back
to the West Coast in 2011. Though they came to us from Fox Creek, Alberta, Ben
grew up on the West Coast, and he would travel with his father by boat to
Sointula and other communities, as his dad ministered with North American
Indigenous Mission. Anna knew Sointula, as growing up, she would camp and fish
with her parents at Telegraph Cove, near Port McNeil and Sointula.
Ben and Anna love the people of Sointula Community Church and Malcolm Island,
and as a rural pastor, he in many ways serves as a chaplain to the Island. We
know that they are loved and appreciated by their church family, and God is
using them and their ministry in a special way.
Please pray for them as they serve, both in their church and with us in the
LPD! We are thankful for them, and I deeply appreciate his ministry
alongside.
Please pray for:
Upcoming Events:
“Arise Ministers Conference”
We are thankful for Pastor Sammy Kabyemera (Eva),
who pastors Jesus Grace International Church, a church in
Vancouver. Sammy, Eva and their six children came to Canada as refugees from
Congo, via an Ugandan Refugee Camp.
While their church ministers primarily to African Immigrants, they retain a heart for the people and church of Africa. Sammy is troubled by the spread of the “prosperity gospel” in Africa, and is burdened to see that pastors are grounded in the Word of God and equipped to teach and guide God’s people.
Sammy is trusting God to travel to Africa for a mission trip to train and equip African Pastors through a conference that he has been asked to speak at. Please see the attached email, to learn more of this conference, and the need in Africa, and how we can support this important ministry to brothers and sisters in Africa.
Arise_Pastors_Conference_2019.pdf
Please prayerfully consider giving towards this
mission
***
CAMP EVERGREEN
August 5-10
This local summer camp is affiliated with the Lower Pacific District, and provides a great opportunity to extend your church ministry through camp, and to follow up afterwards. Many district families, including ours have benefited through this ministry, both in the children’s camp and leadership development in the LTD program. This summer, there is a children’s camp (Aug. 5-10), a teen camp and the LTD Leadership Program. Check out their website for details:
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LPD/EFCC Pastor and Staff Orientation
All pastors staff and interested volunteers are welcome too this
opportunity to learn about the history, ethos, doctrine and ministries of the
EFCC. Orientation is a requirement for all persons seeking credentialing in the
EFCC, and is valuable for everyone in EFCC churches.
Here
Pastor_and_Staff_Orientation_2019_Invitation.pdf
You can register online at:
https://www.efccm.ca/wordpress/pastors-orientation/
***
LPD Pastor and Spouse Retreat
Nov. 22-24, 2019
Hello LPD pastors, we’d like to invite you to join us on Nov. 22-24, 2019 for a Pastors’ retreat! We’d like to encourage you to take a breather in late November (before Advent begins) with your fellow pastors at Camp Charis in Chilliwack.
Registration is open on our LPD Website. Please see:
https://www.lpd-efcc.ca/event/lpd-pastor-and-spouse-retreat/
