August Bulletin

Messages This Month

The Ballad of the Shepherd King continues in August as David transitions from fugitive to King following the death of Saul. In these final chapters of David’s life, he will display some amazing love and some amazingly poor judgement that will lead to family conflict and tragedy. Yet in each of his experiences we learn more about God’s grace and important lessons for our own faith journeys. We’ll also highlight some of David’s most well-known psalms.

We look forward to a variety of music during the month from; Julie Probert, Nathaniel Sergeant,
and the Worship Team.

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New To Grace

If this is your first or second time coming to Grace, welcome! We would love to meet you and get to know you. Please send us a message or add your email to our weekly newsletter.

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Prayer Ministry Team

Prayer Ministry Team Looking for someone to pray with confidentially with you? A member of the Prayer Ministry Team will be available after worship each Sunday at the front of the sanctuary. You will then be accompanied to the Prayer Room for privacy. (available after in person services).

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Jim & Esther Update

Thank you for your continued prayers for Pastor Jim and Esther Bae. They will soon be here!
They were able to purchase a house last month and the movers will be loading their belongings
on to a truck on July 31. They will arrive in Fredericton on August 1 to take possession of their
new home and should begin unpacking within a couple of days. Pastor Jim will begin work with Grace on Sunday, August 6. Continue to pray for a safe journey as they travel to Fredericton, please pray for a meaningful period of transition as they settle in and begin ministry with us.

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Organ Restoration Update

As you know, we have been fundraising of $58,000 for the restoration of our Casavant Pipe Organ since 2018. We are very excited to finally begin work on this project, and this is an update on the work currently being carried out this month.

On Tuesday, July 4th, Brian Evers and his wife Cecile traveled from Moncton to begin the restoration of the Great division (right side) of our Casavant Organ. Brian first disconnected and removed all the pipes, the largest of which can be seen in the Sanctuary.

The smaller wooden boxes, contain 260 leather valves, springs, and cork gaskets which need to be individually opened and repaired. There are 67 of these and this time-consuming and intricate work will take about a month to complete.

Thank you to all who have generously donated to our restoration fund since 2018. Special thanks also to the musicians, both here at Grace and in the wider Fredericton community, who have performed many concerts for us over the past 5 years and enabled this important work to finally begin. Be sure to be watching for next steps and updates in the coming months.

Julie Probert,
Organist, Grace Memorial Baptist Church

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Discipleship Update

The Discipleship Ministry Team has continued its work, even though it has been without a ministry coordinator since the end of Emily Colpitts tenure. This is because of several amazing volunteer leaders who have continued to offer great programs for our children, youth, and adults.

This includes:

• Graceland, our midweek children’s program continued to run on Wednesdays from noon to 2pm until its summer break began on the first week of June. Graceland saw on average twelve children each week for a time of Bible Story, Crafts, and Games. We ended the year with a BBQ and our favorite game, Gru. Leaders this spring included Maiah Benigno, Vonda Johnson, Glorietta Benigno, and Pastor Peter Lohnes. Just under half the children graduated grade 5 this year and we are encouraging them to check out Grace Youth in the fall.

• The nursery has been open for parents to use as they desire, with the service being livestreamed into that room. At present we do not have the volunteers to staff that ministry, but we were very excited to have two more families dedicate their children on Mother’s Day, in addition to the three that occurred at Christmas, showing that need for family ministries is continuing to grow.

• Grace Kids is the Sunday morning program for elementary school children. Evan Schriver took over coordination of this ministry in March and has a small but awesome group of leaders that includes both adults and youth. There can be as many as a dozen children on any given Sunday. They have been meeting as one group, but consideration is being given to dividing into older and younger groups, if there is sufficient number of leaders. The regular volunteers are getting a well-deserved rest this summer, as Grace Kids in the Summer is led by our summer students.

• Grace Youth met on Friday evenings from 7pm to 9pm. Youth numbers were lower this past year, but significant ministry and personal connections are built during these years of ministry with youth and we are very grateful for the faithful leadership of Robin Mohle and Maiah Benigno and their dependable team of amazing volunteers.

• Grace Groups are small groups of adults who gather to study the Scriptures and fellowship together. Groups led by Rita Monteith & Janet Howland, Kate Thompson, Marilyn & Roger Crisp, Adrian & Valerie Thompson, and Pastor Peter continued to meet through the Spring and even into the early summer. Look for a list of Grace Groups in early September.

• Grace Summer Camps are focusing on wonder this year. There are two weeks of all day camps with the theme of Wild Wonder. These camps have an environmental focus, specifically helping children explore the wonder of God’s creation with hands on experiences in the outdoors, along with the usual fun of water slides, cooking classes, and of course games of Gru. The first camp was held July 10 to 14 and saw 19 children working with nine staff. Even though we have tried to cap the registration to twenty children both to make the camps manageable and more personal, the second camp has twenty-four children registered.

• The Vacation Bible School theme was Wonder Labs as we explored the wonders of science alongside the miracles of Jesus. Thirty children participated in the free morning only program from July 24 to 28 and we are extremely grateful for the fifteen youth and adults who helped run the program.

Without a Family Pastor or a Children & Youth ministry coordinator, Pastor Peter has been working with the summer students to help plan and prepare the camps and Sunday morning programs this summer. We were disappointed in the Spring to learn we did not receive funding through either the Provincial or Federal Summer Job programs, but still sought to employ a couple of students to run the planned programs. It was a joy to be able to have John Benigno and Thomas Li, two young men who have been part of the church’s kids, youth, and music programs, to apply and be accepted to serve this summer. They began work at the start of July. The Lord surprised us in mid-July with not one but two summer job grants that has allowed us to employ both John and Thomas until the end of August.

Please continue to pray for your discipleship ministries. We have a group of awe-inspiring and dedicated volunteers, but we also need more who have a heart for sharing the good news with the next generations.

Pray for the children and the youth as they seek to navigate a culture which does not always value Christian faith and pray for our leaders as they seek to discern God’s leading for the ministries this fall.

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Loving Grace

Update on Behzad – After almost three years of applications, assessments, delays, letters to our MP, and more waiting, Behzad now has a ticket to arrive in Canada. Behzad is a refugee who had to flee Iran more than a decade ago after converting to Christianity. He has been in a refugee camp in Indonesia for most of that time. We received word in July that he should arrive in Fredericton on September 15. We have a place for him to live in the city, but there will be lots of needs to help him settle into his new home and adjust to life in Canada. Look for more details in the September bulletin, but for now pray that there will be no last-minute changes or delays and for a safe journey as Behzad begins a new life among us.

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A Second Church is in the Building

You may notice starting in August there are some extra people in the building early on Sunday mornings. Deeper Life Bible Church Fredericton is a Canadian church plant of the Deeper Life Christian Ministry based in Lagos, Nigeria. The church will be renting space for both mid-week and Sunday services starting in August. Their Sunday morning service goes from 7:30am to 10am in the gymnasium, so you depending on how early you arrive, you may notice some of their congregation leaving as you are arriving. We are looking forward to this opportunity to partner with another congregation and please pray both congregations will find the relationship a blessing. We do ask for consideration and patience as we adjust to sharing our space.

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Active in Mission Update

Our Grace in Motion team has been on the move this summer raising funds for the hungry in New Brunswick and around the globe. Active in Mission is an annual Walk-Run-Bike-a-thon put on by Canadian Baptist Ministries and this summer we are raising funds to address food insecurity in 13 different countries, including Canada. So far, the team consist of Roger Crisp, Vonda Johnson, Carolyn Lovely, and Peter Lohnes, have raised $750 towards our $2000 goal. It is not too late for you to join the team, if you would like to help. Go to https://www.activeinmission.ca/team/grace-in-motion and click Join Team. This will take you to the sign-up page where you can register and join the Grace in Motion team and create your personal goals. If you would like to sponsor the team, just go to the same page and click on the donate button. All donations over $10 will receive a tax receipt for 2023 from CBM. Alternatively, you can also donate to the team though the church; mark your envelope or e-transfer as “gift for Active in Mission.” Find out more about Active in Mission at activeinmission.ca. Thank you for your support!

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As the Summer is winding down …

families are getting ready to go back to school. Just a reminder that stores will be having sales throughout August and September for items such as school supplies, snacks, etc. which are needed for Greener Village to be ready for the school year. Greener Village would appreciate supplies to be in by mid-August but they will certainly take them any time. Thank you for supporting our community!