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Open up, ancient gates! Open up, ancient doors, and let the King of glory enter. Who is the King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty; the Lord, invincible in battle. (Psalm 24:7-8, NLT)

Beloved, so many good things and so many challenges are at our door!

Firstly, would you hold Barb Geistlinger & family and Bill Clark & family before the Lord in prayer? We learned this week that Barb’s cancer has progressed to her liver and Bill is in hospital suffering from terrible pain related to his pancreas. Please listen to the Spirit and pray as He leads you for our dear brother and sister. O God, bring healing and comfort; draw us away from fear and ever deeper into your loving presence. King of Glory—Please come in! Be strong and mighty!

Secondly, we want to affirm our 2017/2018 Board of Elders, recently elected at our Annual Ministry Meeting last Sunday:

Continuing: Dwain Black, Bill Clark, Sandy Colero (ex officio), Barb Geistlinger (honorary), John Geistlinger, Brendalee Robinson

New: Michael Blackman, Bonnie Derksen, Dori Hewitson, Flo Kronstal, Derek Townsend

May the King of Glory shield and empower our elders as they fling their arms wide before Him in service to our community.

Thirdly, we joyfully welcome our interns: Shelley Potts, a senior undergrad from Ambrose University (AB) who will be serving our community in the areas of worship and youth through the summer and fall; and Molly Davidson, nearly graduated from George Elliot Secondary and helping us with our Children’s Ministry through the Canada Summer Jobs program. May the King of Glory imbue these young women with great joy and power!

Fourthly, recent thefts from our tool shed have prompted us to re-evaluate our security measures. Though the purchase of a steel storage container was approved as part of our 2017 Facilities budget, we have held off on this and other Facilities projects in view of the disparity between our giving and our larger annual budget (due, in no small part, to the addition of a certain new staff member’s big fat salary:). However, we now believe it would be poor stewardship NOT to take action with respect to providing more secure storage for our outside tools and equipment. Therefore, we appeal to you, Beloved, and ask if anyone might know of a steel storage container (8’x12’ or bigger) that could be donated or purchased at a discounted rate; if so, please let us know! As a further means of deterring thefts and vandalism, our industrious Robby Van Bruinessen (Grounds) will also be adding a gate to the parking lot entrance once the Oceola roadwork is completed.

So: while some things are being locked up, many things are being flung open! We open ourselves to new leadership, new challenges, and new possibilities. King of Glory, our Invincible Leader, Please give us courage and strength to fall in step with You. You surround us, You go before us, and You fight our battles. Merciful God and Saviour, we thank You for who You are. Lead on!