The Banner
In this issue:
1. Starting Tonight: Facebook Live Nightly Prayer Ministry
2. Our Annual Meeting – NEXT Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.
3. Annual Report Booklets for 2020
4. An Update Video from the Frontline of Homelessness/Current Project
5. Worship Services This Sunday, February 21
6. “Life Together” Sermon Series
7. Valentine Thank You
8. Bereavement
9. Our Youth “Greenhouse” Services
10. A Note of Thanks on Behalf of Acadia Divinity College
11. Changes to the BSBC Constitution
1. A New Ministry for Lent: FB Live Prayer Time
One of the greatest benefits of being adopted into God's family is to count on brothers and sisters to cheer us on and to support us in many ways. One of these ways is definitely through prayer.
Indeed, praying for one another is a tremendous opportunity to express our compassion and our ‘brotherly’ love as we turn our eyes on God, our Father in Heaven, that knows all about us and holds infinite power in His Hands.
How to participate
As of today at 7 p.m., and until Saturday April 3rd, you are invited to join a 20-minute time of prayer, live on the church Facebook page. Tune in to share a praise item and/or a prayer request and most importantly to pause and hang out with God, in prayer. You will certainly be uplifted as verses and insights about Lent and Easter will be shared. Make sure to include us to your evening schedule!
Finally, note that you do not need to have a Facebook account to engage. Simply write "Brunswick Street Baptist Church" in a search engine, such as Google, and scroll down to find the link that leads you to the church Facebook page, and there you will find the LIVE prayer time.
Pastor Charles
2. Our Annual Meeting: A New Approach
Dear Church Family,
While in orange, churches are allowed gatherings of up to 50 people IF the space allows for social-distancing between bubbles. In our case, that would allow us to have two locations (as we did for the July meeting), making provision for 100 people.
YET, we recognize that not everyone will be comfortable with such mutual convening and so, we are making provision for people to attend and engage in the meeting through Zoom. Allowing us the possibility of reaching a quorum of 75 between in-person and online attendees.
Register today
Therefore, we are asking you to pre-register ASAP so we can be sure we have a quorum for our Annual Meeting, Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 6:30 p.m.
The following note from our Moderator will give more explanation and seek your help on weighing this option by having you pre-register ASAP so we can determine IF this combined online/in-person approach will work.
Every blessing,
Pastor Greg
From Our Moderator, Dennis Taylor
Our constitution requires 75 members participating to constitute a quorum for the Annual Business Meeting. With socially distant seating, more than 75 members within their family bubbles should be able to be seated in the sanctuary and gymnasium. A live feed to the gymnasium will be established, and as at our special July 2020 meeting, opportunity will be provided for those in the gym to pose questions to presenters in the sanctuary.
Therefore, to ensure we know how many members will be attending in person and so we can assign seating, please pre-register.
Attending via Zoom
Because some members may be hesitant to attend in-person out of COVID-19 concerns, members are also invited to attend via Zoom. These members will also count towards the quorum, as the constitution is silent on this option, given the constitution was written never contemplating a COVID-19 environment. To register your intent to participate by Zoom, click on the Registration link below.
I look forward to the possibility of us all participating in this unique Annual Business Meeting. To make that decision, we need your engagement through pre-registration.
Thank you.
3. 2020 Annual Report Booklets
In preparation for our Annual Meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 24, we invite you to get your own copy of our Annual Report.
This “annual report” booklet includes ministry reports, the proposed budget and the nominations to Teams, Committees and Boards for 2021. The booklet also includes the names and addresses of resident and non-resident members and adherents.
You can pick one up from the foyer of the church office OR we’ll see that one gets delivered to your door.
Please use the link below if you would like your copy delivered to you or emailed. Thanks!
4. An Update Video from the Frontline of Homelessness/Current Project
Be sure to watch this inspiriting video update from Pastors Charles and Steve.
Sadly, there are still some homeless people sleeping rough outside, and so we continue to seek other ways to serve and be helpful.
Currently we are working with Radical Edge who sell hand warmers and re-usable emergency blankets that use and contain natural body heat to help people stay warm.
The cost for one box of 80 warmers is $51 and one thermal blanket is less than $7. We would like to purchase approximately 10 boxes of warmers to start and 15-20 blankets to provide to our street level friends. This would amount to just under $750.
How you can help
Consider giving toward this project by marking your donation “Warmers”
Consider purchasing your own hand warmers and/or these emergency blankets (available at Radical Edge) and delivering your gifts to the church office
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me at steve@bsbc.nb.ca or 458-8348. May the Lord bless your continued giving so that together we may serve with compassion.
Pastor Steve
5. This Sunday's Worship Livestream
Join us for our live ONLINE services (not in-person) from both the gym and sanctuary this Sunday, Feb. 21. Tune in by 10:25 am and you’ll be set for all we have to share.
Worship leaders
In the gym, Pastor Steve and friends will be your worship leaders. In the sanctuary, David Steeves and Gloria Tranquilla are joined in musical worship leadership by soloists Chris Graves and Beth Snow.
Children's message
Please share with your kids that this week, a member of our youth group, Annaclare Culberson, will be providing the children’s time with a message about “the church”.
New sermon series
Our guest preacher, launching our 3 week series, Life Together, is Dr. Greg Jones from our denominational office (see following note on this series).
6. Life Together Sermon Series
For three Sundays, Feb. 21, 28 and March 7, we’ll be engaging in a short sermon series called Life Together.
It’s time for us to continue considering our life together as the congregation of BSBC. A first step was the pre-2021 SWOT analysis, a presentation of which will be offered at the Annual Meeting.
This provides a slice of our reality. But I’m sure we all know that our corporate life has to adapt in order to effectively engage a society with changing norms and values, as well as the impact of the pandemic. “Life Together” will invite us to take “first steps” in considering “next steps” toward a new or reaffirmed understanding of who we are as the people of God in this time and place.
Life Together Series
This Sunday, Feb. 21, we’ll welcome Dr. Greg Jones to our pulpit. Greg serves our denomination of Canadian Baptist of Atlantic Canada as the ‘Associate Executive Minister for Congregational Renewal’. Greg will be introducing us to the concept of “Mission Edge Churches” and the characteristics which define theme.
Our denomination deems Mission Edge Churches to be on the cutting edge of effectiveness in gospel ministry and engagement with society. Please be sure to ‘tune in’ for Feb. 21.
The following Sunday, I’ll pick up that theme and introduce a journey that will lead you to engage with the concept of Mission Edge Churches within the context of BSBC. Then, the following Sunday, March 7, Pastor Charles will be inviting you to engage in our Easter Outreach Offering, a way for you to prayerfully consider touching a life or lives with a practical expression of your testimony.
Defining our Mission
One day the pandemic will be over. By that time, the BSBC family needs to have already coalesced around a defined mission and to have already dreamed and planned and continued to act from a resolve to “make disciples of all nations” with loving, thoughtful and Spirit-led ministries.
It’s a tall order. My prayer is that it continues with earnestness and purpose starting Sunday, Feb. 21. Please pray to that end.
Pastor Greg
7. Valentine Thank You
Last Saturday, your pastors had a great time engaging online with our children as we shared a Valentine party – celebrating God’s love.
A big thank you
Thanks to Naomi and Paul Robert who packed the treat bags that were delivered to the nearly 50 pre-registered children. Thanks to Mike Ross, for assisting with deliveries. Our tech team included Mark McAllister, Adrian & Matina Verboom and Anthony & Kellie Brown.
Thank you to our Friends Are Us Puppeteers
BUT, the ‘stars’ of the event were our Friends Are Us Puppeteers who did an awesome job under the leadership of Chris Graves. So, special thanks to Chloe Robert, Sammie Powers, Rukeme Akalusi, Rotimi Akalusi, Erik Dunfield and Alexandra Dunfield, for putting in the extra effort to rehearse, perform and proclaim gospel truth – God is love!
Our next Kids Party – An Easter Extravaganza - will be on Saturday, April 3 at 2 p.m. Stay tuned!
8. Bereavement
Please pray for comfort for Dawn McNiven and family on the passing of Dawn's mother, Barbara McNiven, on February 8 at the Dr. V. A. Snow Center in Hampton, NB.
In the beautiful tribute we learn that Mrs. McNiven graduated from Saint John High School in 1958 and then from the New Brunswick Teachers' College in 1959. She taught for a short time in Saint John and then stayed home to raise her seven children. During that time she used her teaching skills to open the Raggedy Ann Kindergarten which she ran for 13 years. Most recently Barb employed herself as a real estate agent for over 25 years, dedicated to her clients whose interests she held above all others. Throughout her life she showed kindness, respect and love to everyone she met. Jesus was the centre of her life and He shone through in every decision, action or undertaking. You can read the complete obituary at https://obituaries.tj.news/obituary/barbara-mcniven-1081599265.
Please pray for Dawn, Paul and their children Siobhan; Laura, David (Hannah Lucas), Molly and Maggie.
9. Our Youth Greenhouse Services
Did you know that every other Sunday, a fourth service (contemporary, traditional, Mandarin) takes place that is tailor-made for our middle/high school youth and young adults?
This new ministry offering, which began late fall 2020, seeks to educate our young people about worship, encourage them to worship and equip them to lead worship. And amazing things are happening as we meet (currently online).
As leaders, we are so fortunate to witness the growth of our students who are taking more and more leadership in the Sunday morning youth services, appropriately called Greenhouse! More than ever before, we acknowledge the many gifts that God has placed in them and we rejoice in saying that the youth are definitely today's church not tomorrow's church!
We envision that when spring rolls in, the whole services will be led by our middle and high schoolers! Similar to Josiah, the kid-king, entrusted by God with this important adult role at 8 years of age, our students are strengthened by their Heavenly Father every step of the way and it is wonderful to see!
Please be in prayer for both leaders and students as we desire to grow together in the service that our Lord desires for us to accomplish, week in week out, thanks to the gifts and abilities He has given us!
Pastor Charles
10. A Note of Thanks on Behalf of Acadia Divinity College
A couple weeks ago I received a postcard featuring a photo of Sharon White, a Master of Arts in Theology student at Acadia Divinity College who is also a volunteer chaplain and firefighter. Here’s the photo:
On the reserve was this handwritten note:
Dear Congregation of Brunswick Baptist, I have the honour of sending you this thank you card on behalf of the students of Acadian Divinity College. Thank you! Your support helps out students (like me) more than you realize. Not only does your donation help make tuition affordable; your support is like our own personal cheering team right in Fredericton. This encourages us through the stress of assignments deadlines. I expect to graduate in 2022 and have recently accepted a call, part-time, to a church in my local area. I pray you will all be protected from this virus; and may you be inspired and strengthened to serve your community during these trying times in 2021. Peace & love in Christ, Lic. Sharon White.
Through our 2020 budget (realized through your giving), BSBC gave $10,000 in support of our denominational seminary:
$5,000 to their general fund, and
$5,000 in support of a building rejuvenation project.
Thank you for your faithfulness to giving which allows us to be a blessing to students like Sharon.
Pastor Greg
11. Changes To Our Constitution
The Annual Business Meeting will be held Feb. 24, 2021 in the sanctuary beginning at 6:30 p.m. Register today!
75 members attending are required for a quorum. The agenda will be available in the 2020 Annual Report which will be available prior to the meeting (see item above). Two agenda items, proposed changes to the Constitution, require prior notice.
Article 6.8.3.2 is to be changed by dropping the phrase “by cheque only” regarding payment of bills. E-transfers are a new, safe, and more efficient process which can also be used.
Articles 2.1, 4.1, 5.2.1, 5.3.1, and 7.2.8.15 are to be changed to update the “Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches" to its proper "Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada" name.
Moderator, Dennis Taylor
This Week at BSBC – Feb. 17 to 24
Wednesday, February 17
12:00 Prayer Time with Pastor Charles (Facebook Live)
6:30 Micah 6:8 Bible Study with Pastor Greg (Zoom)
6:30 Youth Bible Study with Pastor Charles (Zoom)
Thursday, February 18
7:00 GriefShare (Cancelled)
Friday, February 19
7:00 Youth Groups (Zoom)
Saturday, February 20
7:00 Just Church (Gym)
Sunday, February 21
10:00 Chinese Worship Service (Zoom)
10:30 Traditional Worship Service (thestreetonline.ca)
10:30 Contemporary Worship Service (Facebook Live)
1:00 Youth Worship Service (Zoom)
2:30 Young Adult Lunch (Zoom)
Tuesday, February 23
6:30 Bible Study with Pastor Steve (Zoom)
6:30 DivorceCare (3rd Floor)
Wednesday, February 24
12:00 Prayer Time with Pastor Charles (Facebook Live)
6:30 Annual Business Meeting (In-person/Zoom)
