Church Life Announcements

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  • Are you interested in learning more about Baptism? Join us in the lounge after the services, starting next Sunday, Sep 30th, for Adult Learning.

  • Do you have the gift of creativity? Love flowers and decorating? We are needing to bolster our decorating committee. If you can help with making our sanctuary beautiful please contact the church office.

  • We have had a good start to our Playtime in the Village outreach. We enjoy meeting the new people coming and renewing friendships with returning people. Please spread the word and invite others to join us on Tuesdays at 9:30 am.

  • We have already received letters and phone calls from those that we prayed for during our prayer walk, thanking us for our caring and prayers. Let’s continue to cover this neighbourhood and our own neighbourhoods with prayer.

  • The Ladies Small Group Bible Study has resumed for the fall; women are welcome to join at any time. They meet on alternate Monday’s at 1 pm at the church; contact the church office for more info.

Farewell to the Peter’s Family

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Join us Sept 23rd for this special Sunday service as Darson & McQuina are baptised, and as Lara shares what’s on her heart for her church family. After the service we will have cake & coffee in the gym so you will have the chance to wish them well in their marriage and their new life in Edmonton. Note that there will be a group cash wedding gift for Lara and Shawn from our Church family. If you would like to contribute to it, please contact Marilyn by September 16th.

Update from the Leadership Core

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We are pleased to confirm the plans for Sunday School and Youth Group for the fall.

Alicia has been engaged to plan and organize the materials for a Sunday School curriculum for ages 3 to 11 from now until January. The concept is to offer a ‘one room’ school program given the number of children and resources available. Linda R has been reaching out to people to be teachers or helpers for the program. If you are interested and can offer a Sunday or two please let Linda R know. Alicia will do the schedule based on people’s availability. Sunday School will start on September 16th when we will also be having our Celebration Sunday service and potluck lunch. The Pray and Play program will continue this Sunday, September 9th.

Phil D has been engaged (with the support of Jade) to plan and lead a mid-week Youth Group every 2 weeks starting September 14th for ages 12 to 17. Again because of numbers and resources this will be a joint program for all.

Please pray for our Sunday School and Youth Group programs / activities and the leaders / volunteers. May God bless the children and young people who will be attending these programs.

Special Business Meeting

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There will be a Special Business Meeting on Sunday, July 29 following the service to approve hiring the Associate Pastor if we have a candidate to recommend. Proxies will be available in the church foyer on Sunday, July 15th and 22nd, and will also be sent out via email. As the hiring of a pastor must be done at a Special Business Meeting that requires a higher percentage of the membership to vote, we ask that you plan to attend on July 29 or use a proxy.

Refugee Sponsorship Update

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Over 2 years ago, ABC agreed to be a ‘Signature Only Sponsor’ in cooperation with CBWC for Dr. Aws M. who was financially sponsoring his cousin and family as refugees to Canada. The arrangement was that Dr. M. had the financial resources required by the Canadian Government to support the family for one year before the application could be approved. Every sponsor is required to make application through an organization which is a Sponsorship Agreement Holder. CBWC is such an organization but cannot provide actual support for applications. So ABC stepped in to be a signature only sponsor.

ABC was a co-signatory on the bank account in which the required amount of money was held. The good news is that Dr. M’s cousin, Ahmed, along with his wife and 2 children, finally arrived in Canada in May. In the meantime Dr. M obtained a position at a hospital in Grand Prairie so Ahmed and his family moved to Grand Prairie when they arrived. Dr. M had secured accommodation for them and has been helping with all of the transitioning. Reports are the family is doing very well, and they have postdated cheques to draw on the money held in the bank account over the next year.

We're Hiring!

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We're looking for a part-time Associate Pastor for Christian Education who will lead and manage Christian Education programming for children, youth and adults in our community.  This position reports to the Senior Pastor and is supported by staff, Leadership and volunteers. We're also looking for a part-time Worship Musician will musically lead worship services on Sunday morning. If you are interested in applying for either position, please contact the church office for more details. Deadline to apply is July 5th.

 

Update from the Spring Congregation Business Meeting

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At the Business Meeting last Sunday, the membership welcomed Tony B into membership at ABC. The members also voted to hire a part time Associate Pastor to focus on Christian Education for all ages. The vote was 95% in favour. The Leadership Core has proceeded to advertise this position.
Alicia A was thanked for her service & creativity in leading the Sunday School program for many years. Alicia has retired from this position. The congregation also thanked Trudy for her service as Nursery Coordinator for many years. Lara was recognized & thanked for her service on the Leadership Core and contribution to the youth & children’s ministry and for decorating the sanctuary.

Flourishing Congregations Survey

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Life. Vitality. Hope. Possibilities.
Our congregation will be helping the Flourishing Congregations Institute of Ambrose College to learn about qualities in churches across Canada. They are asking us to partner in a larger vision to see congregations, parishes, neighbourhoods, and Canadians flourish, by having us fill out an anonymous national online survey at https://tinyurl.com/fc055c. We hope that most of our adult attenders will take the time to fill out the 20 minute survey. With strong survey involvement, we will receive data unique to our church. Fill out the survey in the next month and you will be entered into a draw for some great prizes. Talk to Marilyn Kaiser or go to www.flourishingcongregations.org for more info.

Summer Youth Group

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Lots of the youth will be busy this summer with family and camps, but they would like to get together a few times and are hoping to plan some events where they can hang out with some of their church family -maybe even another progressive dinner! If you would be willing to host the youth sometime this summer, please email the church office. Thank you everyone and have a great summer!

Supporting Our Youngsters

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If you are planning to send your child/children to camp or LTD programs this summer, and could use some financial assistance, Altadore has subsidies available! Please complete the form sent out with this newsletter (or request one from the church office) and send it to abckids@altadorebaptistchurch.com. Deadline for subsidy applications is June 2nd, and all subsidy information will be kept confidential.

Taizé Prayer Service

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This Sunday we will worship together in the Taizé style. The Taizé prayer service is a community prayer express-ion, using simple songs repeated several times as our joint expression of prayer & praise. The repetition of songs allows the meanings to seep deeper into our being, moving beyond words. In addition, silence, visual focal points, & spoken prayers with communal responses facilitate a thoughtful, but not “thought driven” experience of the presence of God. Some find this gives rise to emotion; others find it quiets emotions. Whatever your experience, let God meet you here!

Leadership Core Update

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Dreams Team: Mark D, Val W and Paul H have agreed to join Pastor Judy on the Dreams Team. (Immigrant & Refuge and First Nations Ministry Research planning task force).

Staffing & Grant: We have received a Federal Grant for one student position for the summer, which will pay for a portion of the costs for our research consultant. Denis S has been hired for the position and he will be starting May 1st. Denis is enrolled in a Masters in Social Work at U of C. His current practicum is with Calgary Catholic Immigration Services (CCIS) which will be a source of information for the Immigrant & Refugee situation and assistance in Calgary. Denis and his wife came to Canada 4 years ago and while living in Vancouver attended First Baptist Church. In addition, there is a student at Mount Royal University that is enrolled in Indigenous Studies who is interested in volunteering with our First Nations research.

ABC’s 65th Anniversary: 2019 is the 65th anniversary of the opening of our original building which included a gym, washrooms, a small kitchen and offices on the main floor. An excerpt from the Altadore Baptist Church: The First Fifty Years publication, “On January 3, 1954 Sunday School began meeting in the new building …and on January 10 the new building was dedicated. It was a joyous occasion; we now had our own space. Having our own facility enabled us to add a morning worship service, which followed Sunday School.” We are setting up a Celebration Team to plan activities around the anniversary. 

A Note from the Leadership Core

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God Dreams for Altadore Baptist Church - As we look to the future of ABC’s place in God’s ministry, the Leadership Core is putting together a ‘Dream Team’ to work with Pastor Judy & the outside research consultant approved by the membership last October. Major focus of this research will be on serving new Canadians (refugees, immigrants) and First Nation neighbours. Applications have been received for the contracted position and we are pleased that the Mount Royal College faculty has decided that our position qualifies as course credit for students in the Policy Studies program. We expect to hire later in April.

Worship Service Support - As noted at the Business Meeting on March 4th, Richard C has been hired to musically support Sunday morning services for up to 3 Sundays per month and Phil D has been hired to musically and/or vocally lead Sunday worship services for 2 Sundays per month. Pastor Judy will serve as the Sunday worship service coordinator. We are blessed with many individuals in the congregation who have various gifts to participate in our worship services.

Facilities Update - Work has been done around the church such as repairing one of the furnaces in the sanctuary, installing shelving in the new storage room, replacing expired fire extinguishers and testing emergency lights, and installing weather stripping around the exterior doors. Note that recently one our renters experienced some theft from the lobby while they were elsewhere in the building; we remind everyone not to leave personal belongings or keys unattended in the lobby or kitchen during the service.

Easter Offering

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We would like to again bless High River Baptist church and their Foothills Growing Project with our Easter offering.  The Foothills Growing Project consists of local farmers donating a portion of their acres to go toward raising funds for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. It is an opportunity for us to come alongside them to help end hunger by giving money towards the cost of seeds and fertilizer which amounts to $250 per acre.  The 2018 Foothills Growing Project is 115 acres and the crops this year include:  30 acres of barley, 58 acres of wheat, and 27 acres of hay.  Last year the Foothills Growing Project raised $50,000 which was then matched by CIDA for a total of $250,000!

Holy Week Activities

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During Lent we journey together toward the cross and remember the death and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This year our Holy Week (March 25 to April 1st) activities are as follows:

Prayer Labyrinth, Wed 28 & Thur 29, 4-7 pm, Gym

Maundy Thursday Communion Service 7 pm

Good Friday Service First Baptist, 11 am

Easter Sunday Service, 10 am, followed by Hot Cross Buns & coffee in the gym