Karlene and I were with the Kingston West FM family this weekend. It’s a warm church family and especially fun was the opportunity to meet several first time visitors / guests. Two families came because they were friends of Pastor Stephen and Bev and found their way to their church. One young mom and her child came with a friend. The potluck after service made it so we all had time to visit.
Kingston West is asking the General Conference question: What is it to “accept responsibility for our community”? This was the question that each FMCIC board has been asked to prayerfully consider.
A couple of our FMCIC pastors are partners in a start-up business. It’s a fascinating green building / construction product. Their long term goal includes working with our Inuit community because this “product” would be a perfect fit. Their shorter term goal (besides being profitable) is to hire people in their community to work in this manufacturing plant – in fact they have hired their first one. One response to the General Conference question above could be work creation. I find this inspiring, the stuff of sanctified imaginations…
What about a furniture business? Simply start with some young people (or not young) who need work experience, go to garage sales or to the churches and find old furniture that could be sanded, cleaned, fixed, stained, painted back into a sell-able product (we had an FM church begin a project like this). If not furniture what about bicycles, computers, small engines, start a theater company (if the most costly part of little theater is venue, then that is solved with your church building), a window cleaning business, baking (particularly butter tarts, with pecans – like the ones at Smitty’s at Wesley Acres), landscaping, house cleaning, catering (a youth drop-in does this in Oshawa), or an web-show where youth write a script, and produce a show each week.
Years ago a police officer friend told me how his department had asked him to start a youth mentoring program using the Duke of Edinburgh Award as the framework. Mentors would come alongside youth who were somehow in trouble with the law, and help them complete the Award requirements: so many hours of community service, physical activity, a new skill and an overnight camping trip. The big idea is that these youth would accomplish / achieve something and have a significant award to add to their resume. My police pal wondered why the church wouldn’t try something like that.
We did.
Duke of Ed was very pleased to speak with Shelley, the lady from our church who was eager to run with this. Shelley soon had mentors (which is a fancy term for men and women in our church family who love Jesus and thought that spending a couple of hours each week for 6 months with youth who needed them, was something that Jesus would love). Shelley went to stores in town and received donations of tents, volleyballs and floor hockey stuff. Shelley lined up skill opportunities (guitar lessons, model building, and I don’t remember what else, or if these were even in the first group). Then she found approximately 10 youth-at-risk. I remember the morning that a few hundred people cheered during a Sunday morning service for each of these youth who received their award. They achieved something, learned a skill, experienced a few hundred people cheering for them and best of all made a Christian friend / mentor. I’m Just thinking out loud here but what about combining Duke of Ed with furniture re-furb – they’d have an award and a job for their resume (and oh yeah a Christian friend / mentor!). Discipleship!
If not Duke of Ed then it could be about community hours that our high school students need; or about raising money for a great cause (FMCIC Pastor Pension Fund comes to mind – or something else); or it could be a legit business that helps people get back on their feet…
This kind of imagining does not only belong to well established, well-resourced churches. This does not only belong to the young, or urbanites. So as you PRAYERFULLY (like with fasting and waiting on the Lord) ask what it means for your church to accept responsibility for your community, wonder if job-creation-mentoring is in God’s thinking for you!
There is a new video we released that talks about the perks of subscribing to CliffsNotes – click here to see the video:https://fmcic.ca/sign-up-for-cliffsnotes-and-stay-connected/
LAST THING: Pastors, delegates and leaders please find one person from your church family to be our prayer point person – a contact for our National Prayer Team. Send that name to myself or Ken Roth.
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MEDIA CONNECTIONS
Church Health Thursdays – 8 Ways to Miss the Point of Small Group: https://fmcic.ca/8-ways-to-miss-the-point-of-small-group/New
News & Stories Blog – Welcome Rachel:https://fmcic.ca/welcome-rachel/ 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: Learning Party Talks – Greg Paul: https://www.newleafnetwork.ca/podcast/ep-49-learning-party-talks-greg-paul/ New
Faith and Finances Website: http://faithandfinances.ca
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FMCIC
LifePlan Study Team Files
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PHOTO GALLERY
Kingston West FM Church
Do you know someone who would like to receive CliffsNotes? They can now sign up through the website at:https://fmcic.ca/cliffsnotes-signup/
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 at Trulls Road FMC, Courtice, ON
Wesleyan Theology:
Nov 3-5, 2017 at First FMC, New Westminster, BC
(also available online through FMC-USA: http://fmcusa.org/leadership/courses/)
Personal and Church Stewardship
6-week online course – October 16, 2017
Culture and the Missional Church:
*NEW* Course starts October 2, 2017
Advance online engagement: Oct 2-26 / In-class: Oct 27-28 at Whitby FMC, Whitby, ON
(deadline to register – September 30)
Registration is online for all courses at this link: https://fmcic.ca/foundational-courses/. Those tracking for credentialed ministry should take the Heart course first and then Wesleyan Theology if possible.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Rev. Peter Goodyear – appointed as Network Leader of the Central ON Larger Church Network previously led by Rev. Mike Hogeboom
- Pastor David Moriarity – appointed as Network Leader of the East ON Blend Network previously led by Rev. Peter Goodyear
Ordination and Commissioning
N/A
CHURCHES IN TRANSITION
Interviewing
Dryden FMC, Dryden, ON
Warkworth FMC, Warkworth, ON
Church Profiles available
(Contact Susan DePlanché at the Personnel Office to request a church profile –susan.deplanche@fmcic.ca)
Harrowsmith FMC, Harrowsmith, ON – Personnel Office receiving resumes until October 10
Rustle FMC, Kingston, ON – Personnel Office receiving resumes until October 17
Sault Ste Marie FMC, Sault Ste Marie, ON – Personnel Office receiving resumes until October 17
Preparing Profiles
(If you are interested in seeing the profile for any of these churches, please contact Susan at the Personnel office [susan.deplanche@fmcic.ca] and the profile will be emailed to you as soon as it becomes available.)
Athens FMC, Athens, ON
Asbury FMC, Perth, ON
Caistor Centre FMC, Caistor Centre, ON (Mary Lee DeWitt-Transition Pastor)
Cornerstone FMC, Prince Albert, SK – (Dyan Mouland-Transition Pastor)
Grapeview FMC, St. Catharines, ON
Marmora FMC, Marmora, ON
Melfort FMC, Melfort, SK
Tabernacle de la Grace, Montreal QC
Thunder Bay FMC, Thunder Bay, ON (Andre Korstanje retiring July 2018)
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
Cordova Mines FM Fellowship, Cordova Mines, ON
Eglise Chrétienne Méthodiste Libre de Le Gardeur, QC (Duplan Auguste Lython)
Enterprise FMC, Enterprise, ON
Frankford Community FMC, Frankford, ON (Bruce Kellar, Transition Pastor)
Killarney FMC, Killarney, MB (Raymond Riglin)
Markham FMC, ON (K.K. Leung)
Pineview FMC, Cloyne, ON
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)
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
Roxanne Goodyear
Kim Henderson
Dan Sheffield
Derek Spink
Grant Wolfe
Mary-Elsie Wolfe
Wesley Wood
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Associate Pastor – Barrie FM Church
In-Program Supervisor – Little Blessings Nursery School, Whitby, ON
Associate Pastor – Trulls Road FM Church
Youth and Children Ministry Director – Verona Free Methodist Church
