Your Mission Centre President Team has a Christmas message for you! Click on the picture above to watch the video or click on the button below. Happy Holidays! ![]()
0 Comments
JOY - Third week of Advent I live in a condo in the city. When I sit out on my balcony at night, I look for stars. I usually only see the brightest stars and there does not seem to be many, yet I know they are there. Ambient light interferes with how many I can see. When I am out on the farm, there is less ambient light and I see more of them. I always look for the brightest star and think about the wise men who followed a star to find the newborn King. Matthew 2 : 9-10 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. The wise men left King Herod to continue following the star till it stopped over the place where Jesus lay. Would I notice a new star and followed that it across the horizon? If I knew that I would see the Messiah, would I step out in faith and follow where it leads? Look up at the sky tonight and remember the journey made by wise men to the manger that holds the Messiah, the King of the Jews. Advent represents this star by a candle that reflects the joy that comes through Jesus’ arrival, and through the salvation he has gifted us. Think about your faith journey and where it has taken you. May you be filled with JOY this advent season! Hymn 438 refrain - O star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright, westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light! ![]() LOVE - Second week of Advent As I prepared for the December communion service, I thought about the ultimate gift of LOVE that we all received. The baby born to Mary in Bethlehem! This week is the second week of Advent and our thoughts have focused on LOVE. As the second candle is lit HOPE and LOVE are offered up in the form of a child, Jesus. His birth, life and ultimately his death give us HOPE for eternal life. The teachings he shared taught us the importance of LOVING one another. We all do give gifts this time of year, but we can pass along Jesus’ gifts to others. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Material gifts are appreciated, but some gifts just feel right! The gift of time serving in a kitchen at reunion, time given to prepare for Sunday school classes, time volunteering in the hospital auxiliary, time preparing for a Rotary club book sale, time filling boxes for a food bank, time gleaning fields for the food bank, time visiting someone in a nursing home, time taking someone to an appointment, time making cards to send to strangers and friends, time to shovel a neighbour’s walk, time … you get the idea. Mark 12:30-31 you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” I have never given a gift as great as God gave us. Through Jesus Christ, we have been gifted with LOVE and Eternal life. May you be gifted with Hope, Love, Peace and Joy ! ![]() HOPE - First week of Advent This is the first week of Advent and as we move toward the day set aside for the birth of Jesus Christ, we are filled with Hope! Hope this Christmas season is for good health! I am hopeful that we are learning to live with COVID, masks, social distancing and health passports. There is hope that, with vaccines, our health care workers will get some relief from their long days and hard work. Hope this Christmas season is for a healthier planet! I am hopeful that we are learning how to care for the earth, that we can reverse some of the damage that has been done and slow down climate change. There is hope that the world leaders will work together to reduce our carbon footprints. Hope this Christmas season is for a true awareness that every child matters! I am hopeful that we are learning to respect each person’s differences and that we are learning to look for our similarities. As we grow in knowledge of others and we turn to God to bless us with understanding of others, the new year will bring blessings to everyone. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 ![]() As “Giving Tuesday” fast approaches, we offer up this reflection on generosity from our Bishop of Canada, Dar Shepherdson. Watch your email the next few days for invitations to share generously! Tithing: God’s Grace in todays world When I was 8 years old, in our pre-baptismal class we were told that tithing was 10% of our income, this thinking has long been the traditional thinking within Christianity and one I accepted without question – and I meticulously recorded my dimes and quarters as income and faithfully gave 10%. A few years later the Church’s position on tithing had morphed from 10% of income to 10% of “increase”, again without much question I meticulously categorized my expenses as necessities or increase and paid my 10% accordingly. In looking back, it was interesting that most of the deep discussions we were having about tithing was not that the premise of giving had changed but “what constituted a necessary expense”. Little did I realize that even these accounting discussions were my early introduction to the discernment process and into what it meant for us to become a prophetic people. You have been given the principles of generosity, rightly interpreted for a new time. These principles call every disciple to tithe faithfully in accordance with means and capacity. —Doctrine and Covenants 162:7c The giving of our tithing from our generosity or capacity is not an end to our responsibility but the beginning of our becoming the embodiment of Jesus the Peaceful One in extending his Grace to a world in need through our generously giving. The tithing dollars we generously give should support all the jurisdictions of the Church equally – Local, Mission Centres, and Worldwide Mission, and it is our responsibility not only to use these funds wisely within our own congregations but to faithfully support others who are also bringing hope and peace in areas throughout the world where we cannot. In a recent Daily Bread article Michele McGrath introduced me to a book “A Bigger Table” where the author John Pavlovitz suggests there are two kinds of Christians: those who see sin and those who see suffering. When we begin to recognize and see suffering, our tithing truly becomes an act of generosity, an extension of God’s Grace – fulfilling God’s call to be a prophetic people. ![]() Where does your mind go when you see the Poppy? Do you wear a poppy on your jacket in November? Remembrance Day is commemorated on November 11th each year and marks the end of World War I in 1918. The armistice took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning - the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month." November is the month that we honour the military personnel who have defended both our borders and other international borders. I know some who have been part of both Canadian and US military and I want to thank them for their service. How do we align our mission initiative “Pursue Peace on Earth” with the need to have a military that is here in Canada and operates through the world when asked? Canada has been known to participate with the UN in peacekeeping operations. The Canadian military has been called upon in the last 2 years to assist the health care teams “fighting” COVID - 19. They have gone into care homes and hospitals. They have established care places in school gyms and warehouses and helped the health care system any way they could. Many people have benefited with getting education paid through the military and all they have to give is time as an active military member. Approximately 118 Canadians were serving in peace operations as of 31 August 2021 (58 in UN missions). Pause for a moment when you see a Poppy and remember that we have our freedom of religion and speech and live a more peaceful existence than most. Lest We Forget ![]() Our First Weekly Wire column! Hello from your new Mission Centre President Team! We are so excited to share our first Weekly Wire column. We want to start by saying thank you for the notes and greetings of support we have already received. We are so happy to hear from you. The three of us would like to take this opportunity to give a warm thanks to Steve Thompson on behalf of the entire Canada West Mission Centre. Steve has modeled servant ministry in his seven-year tenure as Mission Centre President and has helped us be sustainable by serving as both Mission Centre President and Chief Financial Officer for a time, and by taking us into the territory of volunteer leadership even through the difficulties that COVID have presented us. His connections throughout the Mission Centre are strong, and he has shown by example how to strengthen the body of Christ in Western Canada. We wish Steve well, we're glad he's not disappearing, and we offer our sincere thanks! We would also like to share an update with you on how we are moving forward with some aspects of our new MCP role. This is a “work in process” as we discern how best to serve in this shared leadership model. One of the metaphors we’ve been using to describe ourselves is Kat being the heart, Gwyn the hands, and Shannon the head! But you will often find us cc’ing one another on emails so we can all stay in the loop on what’s going on. When in doubt, email all three of us. Here is how we are beginning to share out the work:
We are keen to mobilize as many volunteers as we can to support the mission centre, so we humbly ask you to share with us what aspects of Christ’s mission in Canada West speak to your heart and calling. Financial stewardship? Camping? Spiritual formation? Innovative new ministry ideas? Leadership development? Diversity and inclusion? Truth and reconciliation? Care for creation? As we reflect on what a Mission Centre is, perhaps we may sometimes think of it as a president and staff, or as a once-a-year conference gathering, or perhaps gathering at camp, but really, the Canada West Mission Centre is you! And it’s us, and it’s a large, interconnected group of diverse disciples who are moving toward the Peaceful One together. Our email inboxes are ready and waiting for those of you who feel the call to serve, and to those who have questions and wonderings. ![]() By Apostle Art Smith Are you readily recognized as a leader in your congregation or in other aspects of the life of Community of Christ? Do you have a strong personal testimony of the place of Jesus Christ in your life as Christian disciple and leader? Are you an enthusiastic advocate for Community of Christ? Would you like to have a strong influence on the direction of Community of Christ in the Canada East Mission Centre and Canada as a whole? If so, have we got an opportunity for you! Applications are invited from interested and qualified persons for a volunteer position on the Canada East Mission Centre President Team. From three to five persons will be selected to serve on this team. One team member will be identified as the “Mission Centre President of
Record” for purposes of official contacts with Community of Christ International Headquarters. The others will be recognized as “Co-Mission Centre Presidents.” Here is where you may find a detailed Position Description. Applications are to be submitted to Apostle Art Smith ([email protected]) by Wednesday, December 1, 2021. by Apostle Art Smith At our recent mission centre conference I announced that we’re planning to move to a “volunteer mission centre president team” leadership model in the near future for Canada East Mission.
Much of the USA church moved to a volunteer leadership model for mission centres a few years ago. At that time declining world church budgets led to the withdrawal of funding for mission centre presidents and financial officers in the worldwide mission budget. We didn’t immediately make that transition in Canada. Initially, in both Canada East and Canada West, we began funding our mission centre presidents out of our mission centre budgets. But our income was not sufficient to sustain this long term. In Canada West, we spent down a significant percentage of our reserves trying to maintain the fulltime paid mission centre president as long as we could. In Canada East, we recognized that much of Kerry’s leadership was focused on the innovative revitalization project funded in partnership with the Shaw Family Foundation. So we were able to fund a significant part of Kerry’s position from the project budget. Meanwhile, in other places, we’ve seen how positive and effective volunteer leadership teams have been for mission centres. Our volunteer mission centre president teams have brought fresh vision and a grassroots energy. The new team in Canada West Mission officially assumes responsibility for their mission centre on November 1st and I’m very excited for how that is going already. Here in Canada East, conversations with Kerry have led us to realize that it is time to focus his position on planting new expressions of the church. I’ll have more to announce about his new role soon. Based on our current income projections, hiring a new fulltime mission centre president would lead to the same depletion of reserves that we experienced in Canada West. In addition, as we have embarked together on our All Voices: Discerning Across Canada journey, we have sought to be entirely open to where the Spirit leads. The All Voices process will ultimately result in a new strategic plan for Community of Christ in Canada. But the details of that plan are not preconceived. Committing to a new fulltime hire in this moment would limit our flexibility and our potential for creative innovation. We will still have staff support. The Canadian church office will continue to operate with the excellent support that they provide. Melissa Freer will provide support to the new team and will keep working on camping support. The communications team will continue keeping us informed and sharing about our mission with the world. The projects supported in partnership with the Shaw Family Foundation will continue, including Troy’s work on Creating Connection and David Lloyd’s work on leadership development. Next week, I plan to share with you the position description for the Canada East Mission Centre President Team. We’ll be looking to identify a team of three to five leaders from around the mission centre to serve on a volunteer, part time basis, alongside our staff, to bring leadership to our mission centre. You are invited to prayerfully consider this opportunity. Do you feel a nudge of the Holy Spirit to get involved as a team member? Is there someone you might encourage to consider taking this on for a time? The new MCP Team will not only bring important leadership to the mission centre in this pivotal moment, but will work with me and the entire Canada leadership as we continue our discernment journey towards a new strategic plan for Canada. Community of Christ in Canada has so much to offer to the world. Wonderful things are emerging. It’s an exciting time to get involved. This is my last weekly message as the Canada West Mission Centre President. (My apologies that it is a bit long!)
On November 1 the new Mission Centre President Team will assume their responsibilities – and among those responsibilities will be this column for next week and for each week thereafter. Watch for it! The focus of this column is to express to all readers how much I have enjoyed being your mission centre president since July 2014. It has been a wonderful seven years for me with many blessings of God’s spirit to assist me. This ministry has given me many fulfilling opportunities to interact with members from across the mission centre. I have worked with and supported Pastors, Financial Officers, and other leaders from all our congregations from Winnipeg to Victoria. Let me affirm the welcoming and accepting congregations that comprise the Canada West Mission Centre. It has been a privilege to meet with members in all congregations multiple times over the years. Similarly, the chance to enjoy the fellowship of our annual reunions and family camps at Hills of Peace and Samish Campgrounds have been true highlights. Let me also affirm the beauty of God’s creation exhibited in the Canadian landscape from the prairies to the mountains to the ocean coast. I need to express my sincere appreciation to the staff of the Canada West Mission Centre for their work and accomplishments over the years, for their true professionalism, and for their enthusiasm for the mission of Community of Christ. If it were not for the work of Lisa Neudorf, Debra Donohue, and Sandra Rodriguez, we would not enjoy the quality of programming, communications, and creative expressions of the church that we might take for granted. If not for Sam Smalldon as mission centre financial officer our finances might not be in good order, and they would not be in the strong position they are now. If not for the work of Linda Klughart as our recorder and inputting contribution data, our membership rolls would not be up to date and our tax receipts would not arrive on time. I also want to acknowledge our now-retired mission historian, Anita Bates, who promoted the significance of maintaining congregational and mission histories each year and developed a truly positive impression for the mission centre in the eyes of the World Church Archivist and Librarian. Let me also acknowledge the significant role of Parker Johnson for his five years of service to the mission centre and the Calgary congregation in so many different ways. The support from our Apostle, Art Smith, and the Bishop of Canada, Dar Shepherdson, has been fully appreciated and accepted in more ways than can be adequately stated. And thanks to John Glaser, our President of Seventy, for his enthusiastic support and encouragement. My thanks to the members of the Mission Centre Advisory Council for serving in that role (Carl Bolger, Shannon McAdam, Caitlyn D’Esterre, Denise Esch, Corleen McLean, and Stan Freer). I am only sorry that I did not use their skills more frequently. That is my loss. There are many other volunteers who I cannot adequately recognize here who contribute their time, expertise, and enthusiasm as event directors and staff to ensure that camps, retreats, and reunions are planned and operate effectively and safely. Others work in congregations doing work that is somewhat invisible, even to the rest of their members, that keep buildings operating, ensure worship and other programs happen, and undertake communications methods to keep members informed about what is happening from week to week and month to month. The same appreciation must be expressed to our campground board members and staff who ensure that those facilities are available for our use and enjoyment. My prayer for the Canada West Mission Centre is multi-faceted. I pray that congregations can find ways to strengthen themselves, to be of true service to their surrounding communities, and to avoid further decline in membership or participation. I pray that the next seven years will show growth in the church in western Canada. I pray that we can find relevancy in the lives of young adults and young families and enjoy the vibrancy that they can bring to congregations and camps and reunions. I pray that the lessons learned during the pandemic of the usefulness of technology in our congregational and mission centre operations will be reinforced and continue to be implemented. Mostly I pray that each of you will find meaningful ways to support your new Mission Centre President Team: Shannon McAdam, Kat Goheen, and Gwyn Beer. They have taken on the role in a truly experimental manner: trying to divide the MCP role between them as volunteers while carrying on other commitments to their employers, families and home congregations at the same time. Please watch for ways to support these energetic and creative people as they begin to lead the Canada West Mission Centre in new and exciting ways. My friends, with the strength and assistance of God’s Holy Spirit, it has been my pleasure and my privilege to serve with you in pursuit of the mission of Jesus Christ. I look forward to continuing my relationship with many of you in the years to come. I may be retiring as Mission Centre President, but I am not going away! As always, I pray for you God’s blessings of joy, hope, love, and peace in these challenging times. Steve Thompson Canada West Mission Centre President (Retired) [email protected] |
![]() Archives
July 2024
Categories
All
|
Quick links
|
External links
|
community of christ
355 Elmira Road North, Unit 129
Guelph, ON N1K 1S5 Canada Canada West Mission: 877-411-2632 Canada East Mission: 888-411-7537 |
Site powered by Weebly. Managed by Community of Christ
|