Stories of Hope

Waiting in Hope   I still remember counting the number of sleeps until Christmas as a child. Christmas meant time with family and friends, delicious food, and the excitement of getting to see what was in those strangely shaped packages under the tree.

  As many of you already know, Jenny and I will be leaving Courtice and moving to Hamilton this coming week. Although this has all happened very quickly, the reality is that we have been thinking about, and researching, this move for more than a year.

  This year we have over 40 GEMS! We have amazing counselors who pour the truths of the Bible and the love of God into these girls each week. This year’s GEMS theme is Be a Blessing. The counselors have done an amazing job exemplifying this theme weekly through bible talks, crafts, service projects and games.

  We are a few months into the new ministry year, programs are well under way and there appears to be a growing energy throughout our church family. Although we could probably still use a few more people in the children's ministry area, and I'm still not sure why certain people like to vandalize stuff around here, we are hearing stories of blessing and hope throughout the apparent randomness that each day brings.

  As a church, we don’t often consider our impact on the environment as we have a small staff and usually don’t create much more garbage than a typical household. However, the church’s Property Committee has been looking at this recently as the number of rentals in the building has steadily increased.

  When I woke up on Labour Day Sunday, I thought about how my life was totally in God’s hands – both the big and the little things. Pastor Dale’s sermon on Sunday talked about Paul’s confidence and how God would fulfil HIS promises, even through suffering. I had been suffering from heaviness in my chest and shortness of breath since our trip to Maine in the summer. I decided to book an appointment with a cardiologist, which was STRONGLY encouraged by my family.

  Fall has arrived: two indicators that this is true is that the tree leaves are turning colours, and we have returned to two worship services each Sunday. Along with the need to rake the leaves, the subject of why we have two services returns to the foreground. I would like to explain why we hold two services.