We have appointed as a denomination at Assembly the following people to lead and serve us in our ministry together.  These people serve because we have set them aside to lead, minister and care for us along with the staff in the denomination.  Many of them have very significant responsibilities in their everyday lives and local churches:  CBWC leadership is only a part of what they do.

I would like to thank them on your behalf and ask you to commit to prayer for them.

As I reflect back on Assembly, I appreciate very much all the hard work that was done to make this meeting of the Canadian Baptists of Western Canada a success.  I know that we all do.  Below is a re-engagement from "Making Connections" written by Ceal McLean and myself.

Assembly 2009 has just finished.  At times, it seemed more like a family reunion than a business meeting.  We have had some excellent feedback, with one person who has attended many Assemblies calling it ‘the best Assembly ever'.  It was an extraordinarily affirming and joyous occasion as 320 Canadian Baptists delegates and other representatives from more than 90 churches worshipped God, shared stories of God's love in our midst and made decisions that will direct our future serving God together.  We would like to share some of the highlights:

Delegates voted in a new board for 2009-11.  They are:

•·        Jan Paasuke, President

•·        Carol Mager, VP Planning

•·        Glenn Rabuka, VP Personnel & Program

•·        Greg Anderson, VP Finance

•·        Regional reps for Alberta are Tim Kerber (Moderator), Betty Smith & Donna Orr

•·        Regional reps for BC Y are Connie Cristall (Moderator) & Jim Galbraith

•·        Regional reps for the Heartland are Devin Seghers (Moderator), Mary Stuber Doerksen & Mike Cantlon

Nine new pastors were accepted for ordination.

Delegates voted to approve the CBWC's budget of $3,532,350 for 2009, as well as proposed budgets for 2010 and 2011 or $3,664,350 and $3,788,350 respectively.  These budgets are substantially less than 2008's actual expenditures of $4,307,001 because of our need to respond to the current global recession.  Our hope is that investments will recover over time.  We also pray that CBWC churches will recognize the value they receive from the denomination and increase their giving so that we do not need to reduce service levels.  

Through presentations called ‘God Moments' we shared our stories of hope and joy about how God is at work in places like Hope Farm and Pelican Lake, with new immigrants and in our camps.  These many  stories connect us together and are so important in helping us see that God is at work provincially, nationally and globally beyond the boundaries of our local congregations. 

We received excellent teaching from Mark Buchanan on leadership.  Mark is a very gifted speaker and author who reminded us that our leadership gifts are from God and that they are to be used for reconciliation and transformation in Christ's name.

 Delegates attended an array of excellent workshops on everything from pressing social justice issues like refugees and human trafficking to intergenerational ministries to worship to church financial management.  I was pleased to hear many comments about how informative and motivating these workshops were.

Although the weather was unseasonably cold and snowy, the fellowship and the mood was warm, thanks in part to the many energetic worship sessions led by Joan Dosso and Ken Dosso. 

We knew that God was with us.  We look forward to welcoming God and all Canadian Baptist pastors and delegates to Assembly 2010 in Vancouver next summer.

Warmly

In Christ,

Jeremy

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