CliffsNotes – July 4, 2017

I want to begin by thanking the General Conference for giving me the opportunity to serve on the BOA. This is my third, and therefore final, term on the board and it has been an enriching experience. I have gotten to know board members whom I would not likely have otherwise met, become more knowledgeable about how a denomination functions, been impressed with our National Leadership Team and enjoyed working with Bishop Keith. I now look forward to meeting and working with new members of the board, and, as I am sure you are as well, working with Bishop Cliff as he leads us into the future. I am excited about the next three years.

Cliff asked if I would share some of my goals for the BOA over the next term. Much of this arises from the Life Plan initiated over the past term and coming to the implementation stage. I was impressed with the response of ministers and delegates at our last regional gatherings as they discussed the eight themes of the Life Plan. As the committee continued to discuss the input we received, we were able to discern some directions to pursue in this next term. Certainly, opinions were not unanimous, but there were many points of agreement.

Three of these themes have been identified as ‘pillars’ of our going forward. Two of these are very much in the hands of local churches. Our conclusion was that (1) Canada needs churches that accept responsibility for their entire community. The responsibility of serving our communities has been offered to us by Christ, and churches must ask themselves what accepting it means. I see the BOA working with the NLT and Cliff to determine how to best encourage local churches as they discern what this means in their local context. Another challenge to locals is to be (2) discipling churches. This is the work of the local church, but how should our leadership facilitate this decision and implementation. The third pillar is our (3) Free Methodist identity. What aspects of our identity, our defining beliefs and practices, will facilitate our churches building the first two pillars? We need to talk about these as we move with each other into the future.

The remaining themes had to do with how well we are doing things: how well we (4) communicate, (5) connect with each other, (6) develop new leaders, support our (7) bi-vocational pastors. This is our (8) ‘ecosystem’. We found some weaknesses. We could do better with some of our ministerial candidates as they track toward ordination. We should better recognize the importance of bi-vocational pastors to our denomination and find ways to more effectively include them in ongoing development and support.

Communication is critical in this information age, and it will always be a challenge to keep up. And what will be the basis for our connection, a core value of our church, in the future when previous sources are less a part of our lives. Each time we meet, I expect that the BOA will be asking “How is this activity contributing to our ecosystem and to our pillars of church mission?”. Good function, which we hope to achieve in each of the themes, requires good organization. We are already discussing some ways that we could reorganize to better achieve our eight themes. I expect that we will experiment a bit, monitor our progress, and experiment a bit more.

Most importantly, the members of the BOA must get to know one another, trust each other, appreciate our diverse churches, and find ways to support Cliff and the NLT. This is a spiritual undertaking that takes us back to our identity, and as Paul suggested to the Ephesians, our ‘reasonable service’.  Each of our meetings will include time for prayer; for each other, for the NLT and support staff, and for our pastors and local church boards. In turn, I would ask our pastors and churches to remember us in prayer as well, and say to hello whenever you encounter a BOA member.

Harold Gonyou – Chair, Board of Administration

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MEDIA CONNECTIONS
• The Little Big Picture Blog: A Co-operative Dream in the Dominican Republic: https://fmcic.ca/14279/
Church Health Blog: What Are You Planning?: https://fmcic.ca/what-are-you-planning/ New
• the conneXion – a Free Methodist theology blog: 3 Minute Theology 2.5: Knowing the Bible Inside Out: https://fmcic.ca/3-minute-theology-2-5-knowing-the-bible-inside-out/
• New Leaf Podcast: The Church in Exile – Living in Hope After Christendom – Dr. Lee Beech: https://www.newleafnetwork.ca/podcast/ep-45-church-exile-living-hope-christendom-dr-lee-beech/ New
• Faith and Finances Website: http://faithandfinances.ca
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FMCIC
LifePlan Study Team Files


PHOTO GALLERY
Heart Course – St. Henri

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SCHOLARSHIPS

The next deadline is October 15, 2017 to apply for both the Leadership Scholarship Plan (LSP) for the summer and fall semesters of 2017, and for the Special Scholarships. More information is available at this link: https://fmcic.ca/scholarships/

FOUNDATIONAL COURSES
Heart of Canadian Free Methodism:
Nov 3-5, 2017 in Ontario*

Wesleyan Theology:
Nov 3-5, 2017 in western Canada*
(also available online through FMC-USA: http://fmcusa.org/leadership/courses/)

Personal and Church Stewardship
6-week online course – start date TBA

Culture and the Missional Church:
Date and Location TBA

(*these locations will be selected based on where the majority of the participants reside – so please register early!)Registration is online for all courses at this link: https://fmcic.ca/foundational-courses/ and now includes PayPal or credit card payment options. Those tracking for credentialed ministry should take the Heart course first and then Wesleyan Theology if possible.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

Rev. Doug Wightman has been appointed as the Network Mentor for Western Canada effective July 1, 2017

Ordination and Commissioning Services Schedule
N/A


CHURCHES IN TRANSITION
Interviewing
Dryden FMC, Dryden, ON
Pineview FMC, Cloyne, ON
Ryde Centennial FMC, Gravenhurst, ON
Smiths Falls FMC, Smiths Falls, ON
Westdale Park FMC, Napanee, ON
Whitby FMC, Whitby, ON


Church Profiles available
(Contact Susan DePlanché at the Personnel office to request a church profile – [email protected])
Frankford Community FMC, Frankford, ON  – Personnel Office receiving resumes until August 8
Warkworth FMC, Warkworth, ON – Personnel Office receiving resumes until August 8

Preparing Profiles
(If you are interested in seeing the profile for any of these churches, please contact Susan at the Director of Personnel office [[email protected]] and the profile will be emailed to you as soon as it becomes available.)

Athens FMC, Athens, ON
Blue Mountain Community Church, Thornbury, ON
Caistor Centre FMC, Caistor Centre, ON (Mary Lee DeWitt-Transition Pastor)
Cornerstone FMC, Prince Albert, SK – (Dyan Mouland-Transition Pastor)
Harrowsmith FMC, Harrowsmith, ON (Carl Bull – Transition Pastor)
Rustle FMC, Kingston, ON (Todd Stelmach-Interim Pastor)
Sault Ste. Marie FMC, Sault Ste. Marie, ON
Tabernacle de la Grace, Montreal QC


Functioning with approved local arrangements
Avonlea FMC, Avonlea SK
Campbell’s Bay FMC, Campbell’s Bay, QC (Orville White)
Church On The Hill, Orillia ON (Ousman Ali)
Cordova Mines FM Fellowship, Cordova Mines, ON
Eglise Chrétienne Méthodiste Libre de Le Gardeur, QC (Duplan Auguste Lython)
Enterprise FMC, Enterprise, ON
Killarney FMC, Killarney, MB (Raymond Riglin)
Markham FMC, ON (K.K. Leung)
Richmond Hill Chinese & English Churches, Richmond Hill, ON (K.K. Leung)
Roblin FMC, Roblin, MB (Heath Butler)
Surrey FMC, Surrey BC (Nathaniel Prakash)
theStory, Sarnia, ON
Timmins FMC, Timmins, ON (Lewis Byer)
Vennachar FMC, Vennachar, ON (Laurie Lemke)
Verona FMC, Verona, ON (Kathy Casement)
Wesley Chapel Japanese FM Church, Toronto, ON (Misa Mochinaga)
Wyevale FMC, Wyevale, ON
Yarker FMC, Yarker, ON (Ken Babcock)

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PASTORS IN TRANSITION

William Crozier
Kim Henderson
Dan Sheffield
Derek Spink
Wesley Wood


EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Children and Youth Summer Worker 2017– Westdale park FM Church
Associate Pastor – Barrie FM Church
In-Program Supervisor – Little Blessings Nursery School, Whitby, ON

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2017 ORDINATION ANNIVERSARIES

10 years 25 years 30 years 35 years 40 years 45 years 50 years  55 years
Hilkka Aavasalmi Brian Eschbach Glen Coates Doug Wightman Floyd Babcock Sheldon Carlson David Ashton Frederick Gordon
Mary Lee DeWitt Barry Smith Robert Lay David Howick David Panton
Jennifer Donnell Brenda Tursa Steve Lougheed John Vlainic
Michael Gibney
Raynal Jean-Charles
Andrew MacKay
Joseph Manafo
Matthew McEwen
Pierre Sanambe
Grant Wolfe
Abraham Yonas