Brunswick Street Baptist Church Banner
Seeking to minister in new ways in challenging days!
“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ.” 2 Corinthians 2:14
Ministry Transition
Your Board of Deacons expresses sincere thanks to God and to Jon Wilton for his ministry with us as Youth and Young Adult Coordinator beginning in August of 2018. During this time Jon has provided exceptional support for our youth and young adults, strengthened our ministry reach and programming and been a valuable members of our pastoral team. He has discerned a call to a new chapter in his life which will begin this summer as he transitions out of paid ministry to ministry in the public square.
You can follow up with Jon on his new direction when you thank him for his faithfulness to God and to our young people and their families. Jon will complete his formal ministry with us on June 30, 2020. Thank you, Jon, we're praying for you as you seek to fulfill your calling as a disciple of Jesus. We will be sure to find a creative way to celebrate John's ministry before the end of June. Stay tuned.
Ministry Position
Your Board of Deacons seeks applications for the position of Youth and Young Adult Coordinator at BSBC, ideally starting mid-June, 2020.
The congregation is encouraged to pray for this process as it unfolds and for God's provision of a new leader for this important ministry.
Responsibilities
This position includes responsibility for ongoing connection with our youth and youth adults, largely online during the COVID crisis. This would include maintaining weekly online connections through the summer and into the fall. The vision for this position is 20 hours per week.
How to apply
Applications for the position will be accepted until Friday, June 5 at 5 pm either in person at the church office or by email.
An application consists of (1) a cover letter with a brief testimony of personal Christian faith, why you feel you are an excellent candidate for the position and practical experience you would bring to the position and (2) your resume including three references, one of which may be from the BSBC church family. Interviews for successful candidates will be held the week of June 8.
A full position outline, outlining duties ideally covered in "normal" times can be obtained by emailing receptionist@bsbc.nb.ca or by calling the church office (458-8348). Specific questions can be sent to Pastor Greg.
Worship: Gathering Online - May 17
We had a wonderful response to our dual service format. By Wednesday morning, May 13 there were 241 views of the Contemporary Service and 202 views of the Traditional Service. We suspect some of you were “double dipping” and that’s just fine with us. This compares with 423 total views (as of today) of the single May 3 service. Encouraging news!
Thanks, again, to the parents who submitted recordings of their children taking our Mother’s Day Quiz and to Julianne Moore for putting it all together. Special thanks to Anthony Brown for editing two separate services to enlarge our ministry reach.
This Sunday, May 17, we look forward to Jon & Alyse Wilton and Rebekah Keirstead offering contemporary worship leadership. Traditional worship will be led by Laura McGuire and Gloria Tranquilla and our soloist will be Beth Snow. We look forward to mental health tips for life during a pandemic from Anna Marie Colpitts, Doug and Doris Ashfield leading in Scripture and prayer and Derek Hatchard offering our children’s time. In addition, Maggie Kerr will offer piano selections to enrich our worship in the Traditional Service.
Before a summer break, we have three Sundays left in the “ACTS: 30 Years That Changed the World” sermon series. This week we embrace chapter 15, lines 1-12 in a sermon entitled Famous Last Words. Dr. Keith writes: In his last appearance in the book of Acts, Peter unfolds a passionate speech that underscores how the human heart is purified by faith.
With the dual service recordings we seek to expand our reach just as we do with the services each Sunday when things are normal. Thanks to all who are making this expanded reach a possibility. Let’s celebrate our diversity as BSBC.
Pastor Greg
Post-Secondary Graduate Recognition
In the e-newsletter on Wednesday, May 27 and in our online service on Sunday, May 31 we’ll be acknowledging our post-secondary graduates.
But we need your help!
On Sunday, June 14 we will be celebrating our high school grads BUT you can send those details in now.
Please email the church office with:
The name of post-secondary graduate;
The institution from which they will graduate;
The title of their certificate or degree; AND
A photo.
As a church family we want to do something special for them and this is the first step in that process. Thank you for your cooperation. Thank you!
Your Education Committee
Wedding Bells
Please be in prayer for Lauren Patterson and Benji Curtis as they intimately exchange vows in front of God and immediate family this Saturday, May 16.
We wish them much happiness and the blessing of God as they seek to live for him in the decades ahead.
Bereavement: Praying for Comfort
As a church family we rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. In the last week three church families have experienced loss.
Please pray for the family of the Late Paul Rouse who passed away at the DECH on Thursday, May 7, just over a month after the passing of his wife, Marjorie. Paul was carried over the threshold of the church door as an infant in 1926. He and Marjorie were deeply involved in the life of Brunswick Street Baptist Church through the years. A service to celebrate the lives of Paul and Marjorie will be held at BSBC when it can take place. Please remember their children, Michael (St. Andrews), David (Fredericton), Carol (Grand Cayman) and Nancy (Fredericton). Funeral arrangements are in care of McAdams Funeral Home.
On Saturday, May 9, Kathleen (Kay) Wade passed away at Thomas Hall on the Shannex Campus. Kay came to be part of our church family about 4 years ago when she moved from Harvey Lake, NB. She was married at BSBC in 1950. Kay is a sister to Marilyn Hicks and the Late June Covey of our church family. Please be in prayer for her children Deanna and Cheryl (of Fredericton), Debbie (Ontario) and Jim (Texas). Funeral arrangements are in care of Flewellings Funeral Home in Nackawic, NB.
We also pray for Traci Simmons and family on the passing of her dad, Brian Glenn, who passed away on Saturday, May 9 at the Saint John Regional Hospital, following heart surgery. Please remember Traci, Clint, Luke, Kristen and Ella in your prayers. Funeral arrangements are in care of Hogg Funeral Services, Minto, NB.
Thank You, Youth!
A big thank you to a number of our high school youth who came out last Wednesday afternoon to sweep up the winter sand from our parking lots. Don’t worry, we treated them right! Mr. Freezies all ‘round…and a donation to Green Hill Lake Camp in their honour. It’s great to see another generation “rolling up their sleeves” to bless their church family. Thanks, youth!
The Board of Management
Crandall University
We all recognize that COVID-19 has global implications and that includes institutions of higher learning. I am happy to commend the following video update from Crandall University in Moncton. Find out how Crandall is doing in these days with victories to be celebrated and intercessions to be offered.
For those who might not know, Crandall University is a Christian Liberal Arts university, operated by the Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada — our 'family' of churches. Since many of us seem to have time these days, why not visit the university website and have a "look" around. In its 70th year, Crandall has lots to offer including a great faculty comprised of people like Dr. Keith Boder and Dr. Coreen Bodner, just to name two.
BSBC financially supports Crandall through our annual mission budget. This update features Dr. Bruce Fawcett, President and Dr. Bob Knowles, Vice-President for Advancement — both my “peeps” in the days we shared together at Atlantic Baptist College, as it was then known. Please pray for our institution and its ongoing ministry.
Pastor Greg
Update from our Partners in Mission
Hi, BSBC Family. Not a whole lot has changed except the Covid numbers are now a closely guarded secret. Not sure what's going on!
I belong to Rotary Club if Arusha, and, in cooperation with a club we just helped to charter, we are churning out masks and hazmat suits. These are mostly being delivered to private (read:-mission-run) hospitals, although we are also helping equip isolation rooms for the local government hospitals.
As far as is known, numbers continue to climb. Dar-es-Salaam is the main hotspot, followed by us (Arusha). Arusha is the chief hub for tourism (Kilimanjaro, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Lake Manyara, Tarangire National.Park). The government expects loss of half a million tourism-related jobs, largely in this region. So the situation is not good.
On the personal side, we are all well. A good friend and former colleague has Covid and is very sick. I have been delivering groceries (he wants chicken soup and moringa powder!) via his building security staff. I think he has turned the corner (hard to say) but haven't heard from him in 24 hours. This is only going to get worse.
We are preparing for the long haul. We are planting like crazy, lots of veggies. We have laid out a bed for a new greenhouse and are considering a chicken coop and/or rabbit hutch.
Still, all in all, the region remains surprisingly calm. I expect things to get much worse as people run out of financial resources. We are in a fairly secure spot, but everything is relative, and there is a noticeable increase in children begging in the streets.
So keep us in your prayers, especially Diane who has to go to work daily, and the boys - N and A, ages 13 and 16, who are bored stiff and having great difficulty with on-line learning - losing the emotional energy to keep focused. Our finances haven't taken a hit, but we will need more income as people come for help and prices rise.
I have preached twice, and Diane once, in our online services if anyone wants to check that out!
We are getting around, still mostly enjoying life, but trying to anticipate the long-term effects of the tourism shut-down.
The pandemic could end tomorrow, but there won't be an uptick in tourism for a year or so. In the meantime, families will suffer terribly. That's our chief concern at present.
Here's a pic of the family we are sponsoring. We provide US$250 per month, which is not sustainable, but they are personal friends, and we are not about to turn our backs.
If you feel you can contribute to the Bannister’s ministry in these challenging days, please go to www.missiongo.org and follow the prompts to find their site. Let us continue to support them in prayer.
Stewardship Update
If you have questions about ways to give financially please visit our giving page. Thank you for your faithfulness.
Coffee with Pastor Steve
We're not letting this COVID-19 thing keep us from getting together! Even though it's not quite the same as sitting together at Second Cup or Timmy's, it's still making connection to say hello!
Let’s get together on a Zoom call Tuesday at 7pm!*
We’ll meet online to visit with one another and I’ll end our call with a word from THE WORD and prayer.
To participate, please contact Naomi at the office to confirm your current email address, so she can help keep track of who I’ll be sending the Zoom invites out to! (receptionist@bsbc.nb.ca OR call 458-8348).
With warmth and love,
Pastor Steve
*Please note: Friday’s Zoom call will not be taking place this week as Pastor Steve is on holiday.
BSBC Kidz Klub
Today, we’ve posted the newest edition of our BSBC KIDZ KLUB and it will be up all week to be enjoyed by children of all ages! We’re studying The Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and this week we focus on the third fruit – PEACE.
YOUR INTERIM LEADERSHIP TEAM
Dr. Keith Bodner, Preaching Pastor
Pastor Greg Geldart, Lead Pastor
Pastor Jim McLellan, Pastor of Senior’s Visitation
Pastor Steve Patterson, Outreach Pastor
Jon Wilton, Youth & Young Adult Ministries
