The Banner
Growing Faith, Friends & Families To Serve
In this issue:
1. Easter Letter 2021
2. Holy Week 2021 at BSBC
3. Easter Outreach Project – A Message of Hope
4. Children’s Easter Party
5. Volunteer Tax Clinics
6. Audio/Visual Coordinator Search
7. SWOT Analysis Part 2 of 6: Strengths
8. Recovery Roundtables
9. Praying for the Bereaved
10. Online Reservations for Services/Step by Step
11. Meet Our New Deacons
12. Worship Services This Sunday, March 14
13. Facebook Live Prayer Times
14. Study on the Book of James
1. Annual Easter Letter
On Monday, March 15, we’ll be mailing the annual Easter letter to the congregation.
If you usually receive your letter by mail, but would like switch to email, please simply use the link below to send that message directly to the church office.
To be sure, we are happy to mail, so if that’s your preference, nothing for you to do! Thanks!
2. Holy Week at BSBC
The week between Palm Sunday, March 28, and Easter Sunday, April 4, offers some of the most profound opportunities for reflection in the whole year. And so, at BSBC, over that week, we'll repeatedly stop to recognize the reality of God’s love for us as seen as the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross and His glorious resurrection and victory over the bonds of sin and the power of death. Please plan your engagement in what we recognize as a holy week of reflection.
3. Easter Outreach Project
Nothing compares to the treasure of the light of the Gospel. It comes with the personal recognition that we are lost AND that we are in the presence of a loving and compassionate Savior! It gives us freedom from sin and it provides comfort during difficult times. Now that's a treasure, one worthy of being cherished and shared!
Into Your Hands
And that's exactly why we are inviting our church body to share this treasure through our Easter project called "Into Your Hands". It’s quite simple and yet profound, thanks to a wonderful yet simple card, carrying the message of hope for which so many are searching.
How does it work?
FIRST: We encourage you to turn to our Heavenly Father in prayer, asking him: "Dear God, who is there, close to me, earnestly seeking this treasure but has yet to find it?"
SECOND: prayerfully start drafting a hope-filled, personalized message to the individuals that will come to your heart and mind.
THIRD: As early as Wednesday, March 17, pick up your free Easter card at the church and then, inside, write the words that will surely point its recipient to the hope found in the resurrection of Jesus Christ!
FOURTH: Deliver the card to the persons God has put in your heart.
FIFTH: Pray, each day, for the recipients of your gift of hope.
Let's share the hope!
This is not an exercise in preparing a lecture, but of sharing the hope you find in Jesus Christ and what Easter means to you. An expression of love and caring. The back of the card features the details of our Easter week offerings.
Thank you for reaching out to those you know with a message of hope and an invitation to join us for the journey from Palm Sunday to Easter joy!
Pastor Charles
4. Children's Easter Party
We're so excited to invite kids to join us for a special Easter celebration on Saturday, April 3 at 2 p.m. You can expect our Friends Are Us Puppet Team to share some puppeting joy and there will be singing, games, stories, jokes and more. A great time for all ages.
There are two ways you can get involved:
Participate live
You can register to come to the church and participate live. If you do this, your child(ren), accompanied by their adult, will come to the church auditorium for the program and then, be directed to a room where all in your Bubble can go, find their gift bags and enjoy crafting and snacking together!
Attend virtually
OR, you can register to attend virtually. Register and then tune in to our Facebook Live event and enjoy the program from your own home. If you do this, we'll deliver the gift bag for your child(ren) directly to your door so our virtual audience also get the full treatment.
5. Volunteer Income Tax Ministry at BSBC
The time to file 2020 taxes is almost upon us. The Canada Revenue Agency has again invited BSBC to be part of the "Community Volunteer Income Tax Program" to prepare income tax returns free of charge for seniors, students, and other low income individuals.
But COVID-19 is also upon us. So the opportunity to minister to people from our downtown core and elsewhere in a meaningful and practical way through hosting a tax return clinic will be very different.
6. Audio/Visual Coordinator Search
The Board of Management is seeking to fill the part time position of Audio/Visual Coordinator. Learn more about the position by clicking the link below.
7. SWOT Analysis: Strengths | Part 2 of 6
Thanks for engaging with us in this review of the results of the November SWOT analysis. Here you'll find a summary of the key strengths that were identified through the submissions. From study of the individual responses and reflections on that material by the Board of Deacons, here are the identified highest ranked and corporately grouped strengths:
Biblical Faithfulness/Sound Doctrine/Christ Centered
Repeatedly this was highlight as a key strength in our ministry life together. Faithfulness to the Word of God, a conservative theological outlook and the centrality of Jesus Christ feature prominently.
Highly Resourced: People (Leadership, Skills)/Buildings/Finances
Overall there is a recognition that BSBC has a strong leadership pool from which to draw, a diverse congregation in terms of gifts/abilities, exceptional facilities and, as borne out by the financial stewardship of 2020, faithful givers who respond faithfully to the financial challenges placed before them.
Diversity: More Multicultural Than Ever Before (Chinese Congregation)
A consistent theme is the current diversity of the congregation, more diverse, perhaps, than in previous years, with the great blessing of partnership with the Chinese congregation who have grown to the point of having their own full-time pastor and who enrich our life together. This is seen as a means of reaching out to the diverse cultural backgrounds ever growing in Fredericton.
Developing Online Options for Witness and Outreach
Repeatedly, people spoke of the way in which BSBC was able to respond to the COVID-19 shutdown by providing online offerings to keep the congregation together and to expand our reach beyond the walls of our buildings. Recognition that these offerings have grown and developed over the months and the congregation has grown with them, embracing technology that wasn’t considered as late as March 1, 2020!
Unity
Cooperativeness, community, common purposes, unified response to needs, etc. were seen as a key element in our life together.
Once again I remind you that this is an attempted summary of over 180 individual stated strengths, some with numerous sub points. And, as you will see in coming weeks, others will state these strengths as actual weaknesses, threats or opportunities.
So, there is a profound dynamic at work when studying the whole of the responses, indicating that not everyone sees things the same way. And that is why it will be important for the congregation to revisit these themes to bring these highlights to some accepted conclusions to inform our future reality.
So, please read on to the Recovery Roundtable item below…there’s work for you to do!
Pastor Greg
8. Recovery Roundtables
At the Annual Meeting and in the sermon I delivered on Sunday, Feb. 28, I invited you to consider joining one of our Recovery Roundtable meetings to be held throughout the month of April.
What are they?
These will be in-person and ZOOM small group gatherings which will ask you to consider the predominant themes from the SWOT, the characteristics of Mission Edge Churches and, most importantly, what you believe BSBC needs to be and do to recover from the pandemic years.
Next week I’ll have specifics about how you can engage in this important work.
What is a Mission Edge Church?
The concept of Mission Edge Churches is predicated on such churches serving beyond the walls of the church building and serving to meet neighbourhood needs in Jesus’ name. In fact, the theme of our denomination of Canadian Baptist of Atlantic Canada is “Joining God in our Neighbourhood.”
Therefore, I ask you to consider what you see God doing your neighbourhood and across all societal strata. What is He doing and how can we join Him?
That’s the first question to prepare for Roundtable discussion. The second question to consider is: Do the identified strengths from the SWOT analysis (see above) provide an accurate picture of the BSBC I know?
9. Praying For the Bereaved
Early last week, Diana Carruthers received word from her sister living in Lethbridge, that the sister’s oldest son had tragically passed away. He was a first year student at the University of Lethbridge. The family are heartbroken, as you can imagine, and Diana and Garth covet our prayers for them as they make their way forward from this tragedy.
10. How to Register for Sunday Services
Since we are back to ‘normal’ for Sunday service attendance, we appreciate you embracing our new reservation system which offers a much less labour intensive process for administrative staff and pastors.
So, we really do appreciate your engagement with it.
Here is a step by step overview of how to make your weekly reservation. However, if this proves too much of a challenge, please simply call the church office by Friday and our admin staff will make the reservation for you.
11. Meet Our Newly Appointed Deacons
At our Annual Meeting we welcomed four new Deacons to our board. Get to know them by clicking the link below.
12. This Sunday's Worship Service
Join us this Sunday, March 14, for our in-person and ONLINE services. If online, 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 lead you in worship. In the sanctuary, David Steeves and Gloria Tranquilla are joined in musical worship leadership by Peter and Maureen Steeves and the return of our Sunday vocal ensembles. This week we’ll also find blessing in Denise Mersereau sharing her “His Name is Power” interview with Sheila Ross. Finally, our children will enjoy a lesson provided by the Pastor Greg and Mikey.
Sermon notes
This Sunday we welcome Dr. Bodner back to the pulpit…and when we say ‘to the pulpit’ we mean, physically present in both services!!! His sermon is entitled “Going Through Hardships” and is taken from Acts 20: 13-28. Of this sermon he writes:
Our voyage in the book of Acts continues this week, quite literally as we sail with Paul and his leadership team from Troas and around the eastern Aegean to the port of Miletus. In a hurry to reach Jerusalem, Paul sends for key representatives of the Christian community in Ephesus to come and meet him for some farewell fellowship.
To this point in the book many of the great speeches have been articulated for the benefit of “outsiders,” that is, those interested in learning more about Jesus the Messiah. However, this episode in Acts 20 features a long speech primarily addressed to insiders, that is, those who already are disciples. To this group—from the influential city of Ephesus, that we have compared to Toronto or New York—Paul discusses several important ideas.
First, Paul shares about the inevitability of hardship in the journey of following Jesus. What kind of obstacles should we expect, and how can we best prepare ourselves for adversity? Second, he talks about the necessity of spiritual discernment. Paul warns the Ephesians that “fierce wolves will come in after I am gone, and they won't spare the flock. Yes, even from among yourselves people will arise, saying things which will distort the truth, and they will draw the disciples away after them.” Are any such wolves around today, and if so, how should we respond? Third, Paul concludes with a long encouragement about our inheritance from the Lord, infinitely greater than silver and gold, encouraging us to be generous and help those who are weak.
Because we at TheStreet are living in uncertain days, Acts 20 provides a great deal of practical wisdom to a prominent group of first-century believers that we can apply in our lives today.
14. Study on the Book of James
What: Bible Study on “the Book of James.” Video from https://www.rightnowmedia.org/Content/Series/159923 and material from Francis Chan.
Why: True faith produces fruit. A faith without action and without life change is ultimately a dead faith. The book of James speaks to the realities of a living faith in Jesus—the kind of roll-up-your-sleeves and get-your-hands-dirty discipleship that is borne out of an authentic relationship with the risen Lord. James writes to believers who know suffering, who've faced trials, and who ultimately desire a deep relationship with God.
Francis Chan unpacks the dense truth contained in the book of James in front of the iconic backdrop of San Francisco, the city where he lives and ministers. Through 12 sessions, Francis works through James verse-by-verse, challenging followers of Christ to move beyond a private, intellectual knowledge of God and His Word, to a vibrant faith that impacts every square inch of life.
Where: Bible study will be via the Zoom platform only. Please register at https://www.thestreetonline.ca/adults or with Jason at (xinkaixk.zhou@gmail.com ) .
Who: Everyone (believers or unbelievers) are welcomed (Bible study is free). Feel free to invite your friends and family.
When: twelve-session (12) series. Every Thursday evening: Starting April 1 and finishing June 17 from 6:30 p.m. until 8 p.m.
How: The Bible Study is held through the RightNowMedia online platform. Contact Jason for information and registration (xinkaixk.zhou@gmail.com) or through https://www.thestreetonline.ca/adults. Daniel Savard will facilitate the discussion during the Bible Study periods.
See you online on April 1 (It is not an April’s fool joke), 2021.
