UPDATE from the Rev. Ken BellI want to take this opportunity to update all of you on some changes which have been taking place in recent months. Because these updates cover a lot of ground, I do not promise any continuous flow to this note but hopefully by the end you will all feel a little more informed. 1) I wish to update you on Paul Carter. I have had the chance to visit with Paul on a few occasions now and he continues to get stronger. He was officially released from hospital on March 30th after a time of gradual transition. The family of course is thrilled to all be back together full time. Paul has been able to attend Immanuel Church for each of the past few Sundays and Lois has returned to her accustomed place behind the keyboard helping to lead the worship. Please continue to hold them all up in your prayers, praying especially for the Lord to continue to heal Paul’s memory. 2) Immanuel Church Vancouver is also in the process of making some changes while Paul recovers. Now that Paul is in town and recovering, the leadership can begin to focus on the future both short and long term. No major decisions have been made yet, so until then, Barclay Mayo, Ed Hird and I are taking turns twice a month going to Immanuel and leading them in a Eucharist service. 3) There have been some changes too within the AMiA (The Anglican Mission in the Americas). The name change was a big one. To reflect that they are no longer only in the US but also in Canada, Mexico and soon in Puerto Rico they added an‘s’ to their name. Also Bishop TJ has taken on a larger role within the Mission and as such needed to give up some other things he was doing. One of those changes involves us. As of March 1, the Council of Bishops asked Bishop Sandy Greene if he would be willing to become the bishop for the ACiC, so that TJ could work on other things he was being called to but also because of the practical issue of geography. Bishop Sandy lives in Colorado, so he can make more frequent visits much more easily. 4) As you can imagine there have also been significant changes in the operations of the ACiC. Rev. Barclay Mayo has taken over as the Network leader. I have taken over as the Clergy Credentialing Coordinator which is a long way of saying that any persons seeking ordination in the ACiC (or studying at Regent for ordination in the AMiA), any clergy wanting to transfer to the ACiC, or any churches wanting to affiliate with the ACiC, must come to me first and I start them on the pages of paper work. I am also working with Rev. Kathy King on Leadership Development (which covers both clergy and laity). 5) Back in September Paul invited me to help him with ongoing leadership development of the ACiC interns. We meet every two weeks and try to cover areas of Ministry and Ministry Development which are not covered at Regent or other Seminaries. As part of the duties described above I will continue in this capacity as well. 6) Finally I want to talk a little about St. Timothy’s and some of our changes. Together with the leadership and staff, we are always seeking God’s direction and looking for ways to improve on the gifts and calling we have. One of the changes you will note for example is the set up on Sunday morning. We were looking for a way to improve the feel and worship experience in our setting. We wanted it to be more intimate while improving the flow and movement of people. We also wanted to see if we could figure out a way to make the Lord’s Table be more central. The new set-up is the result of that desire. As we lean on God’s direction and experiment with different ideas it is very important to hear your feed back, so please feel free to come to me and share what you like, what works for you and what may be serving as a distraction for you. I could go on but I think this report touches on the major things I wanted to Your Servant in Christ, Ken Subscribe to be notified of future Newsletters by e-mail
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