June 2, 2020  

Hello Dear Friends,  

The words of Jeremiah in Lamentations 3:22 – 24 are timeless: “Because of the Lord’s great love (mercies) we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I wait for him.’ ” The Message puts it this way: “God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out, his merciful love couldn’t have dried up. They’re created new every morning. How great is your faithfulness! I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over). He’s all I’ve got left.”   These verses are amazingly encouraging! Surely the song The Solid Rock rings in our ears! “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.” These are troublesome times and the default for our focus can heavily lean to all of the negatives…to the anarchy/chaos displayed in major US cities, the racism, the pandemic, personal health issues/concerns and the list continues. Let’s be careful to ensure that our focus is on Jesus and be assured again and again that He cares for us! Hebrews 4:14 & 16 says: “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess….Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”  The word of God is our standard for faith and practice. It is our anchor and will keep us steadfast in the storms of life!   Please be assured that June and I continue to pray for you. We are so very thankful for the fine congregation at Evangel. You are a gift of God and a wonderful blessing to the work of God locally, provincially, nationally and globally. Your prayers and tangible financial support makes all the difference as ministry for God’s kingdom continues in spite of challenging times. THANK YOU!  

ONLINE CHURCH – Each week is another great opportunity to proclaim the word of God in a venue that serves us well! It is somewhat of a “lonely” feeling when we do the pre-recording to an empty sanctuary! You are missed! Even though we haven’t seen you for many weeks you are not forgotten! Again, we ask you to pray daily for online church. Pray that believers will be encouraged and unbelievers will be convicted and surrender their lives to Jesus.  

RE-OPENING CHURCH – Re-opening church is still vague as to setting a date. Be assured that we are closely monitoring the acceptable trends and will keep you posted. We are not sure what re-opening looks like yet but will have a practicable and  workable plan in place when the time arrives. Hopefully this will be sooner than later!  

PRAYER NEEDS – Each week there are various needs that come our way in addition to those for whom we have been praying recently. Please remember Wilma, a young man facing surgery, Rose (surgery soon), Tim, Lori, Laura, Olivia,  our seniors who are shut-in, Pat, Franz, Bonnie, Angela, Shawn, Ken’s niece, Robbie, Allan, Elizabeth, Linda, businesses and business people, new pastor, some unspoken needs, online church, Kids Sunday School and VBS (coming July 6 – 10). There may be others that we should add to this list. Please let us know if that is the case and we will gladly include them.  Be sure to send an email or telephone us should you have a need. You may reach us at office@evangelnapanee.com or 613-354-4281. There are lots of prayer needs!  

PASTORAL SEARCH – We will be corresponding with our District Office this week and begin moving along with the CHAT survey analysis. It is good to be poised to continue the process when restrictions are eased and/or lifted.

ZOOM PRAYER MEETING – Each  Monday at 6:30 p.m. we host a ZOOM prayer meeting. Please plan to join us. If you need assistance to install ZOOM on your computer, give us a call and we will do our best to walk you through the steps. This is a significant time and an opportunity to connect with others for a few minutes. I will send you the link plenty of time beforehand. Please take note that sometimes ZOOM will ask for a password. If so, please enter the password that is on the invitation (email) you receive. Again, you simply need to click on the link and you will be taken to the meeting. Hope to see you there!  

BOOK OF HOPE – Here is another opportunity for you to request a copy of the Book of Hope. Simply email or call us and we will make this book available to you free of charge.  

  BIBLE READING – The Bible reading assignment suggestion for the month of June is Psalms. The challenge is to read at least 5 Psalms per day. That will include all 150 Psalms for the 30 days of June! Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible so you may want to pace your reading somewhat…whatever works for you. The word of God will bring you spiritual encouragement and strength.  

COMMUNIONThis coming Sunday, June 7, 2020 we will celebrate communion together as part of the YouTube presentation. Please be prepared with your family to “join” us at the “Table of the Lord” for this very meaningful and significant time.  

WEDDING BELLSCongratulations to Dale and Norma Vinkle who were married on Saturday, May 30, 2020 at Faith Pentecostal Church in Conception Bay South, NL. Both Dale and Norma were part of our Eastern Pentecostal Bible College (now Master’s College & Seminary) class – Communicators ’72. We wish them all of God’s best as they begin their journey of marriage together! For now they will reside in NL and, hopefully, come to Ontario sometime in the future.  

SUMMER CAMPSWord has been received from the Eastern Ontario & Nunavut District that all summer camps – Ottawa Valley Pentecostal Camp and Lakeshore Pentecostal Camp – have been cancelled. This is the first time in the history of the PAOC that such a thing has happened. For many years June and I were the directors of OVPC and we know the deep disappointment this year of so many who look forward to camp each summer. In light of current realities it makes sense for the decision to be made. From what we understand, it appears that all camps in all districts across the country are following the same protocol.  

ADMINISTRATION – It is hard to believe that we are now at June 1, 2020! Since the beginning of this year we have been in the church building for 11 Sundays and out of the building for 11 Sundays! You are to be commended again and again for your faithfulness in the practical aspects of ministry, i.e. financial resources. The trend improves as time goes by. The last time I reported the financial standing to you we were down by approximately 8% overall. To the May 31, 2020 that trend is improving!!! I am very happy to report that our financial giving for the first 11 weeks totaled $68,477.73 compared to $64,209.52 for the 2nd 11 weeks. This signifies a little over a 6% downturn! Even though we do not want to see any less financial resources, we are grateful for just a marginal difference. Hopefully this will further improve as we go along.   Having said that, it is important to take note that our annual overall budget is down significantly by 21%. This is something we need to keep in mind as we go forward, especially in consideration of new pastoral staff later this year. As of May 31, 2020 the budgeted income amounts to $167,917.00 but only $132,687.00 has been received – a shortfall of $35,230.00. By the grace of God we pray that this budget trend will improve considerably in the next few weeks. Still, we are so grateful that ALL financial obligations are being met and we are not under pressure to meet the various needs. Here again are the giving options: (1) online banking through e-transfer, (2) come by the back foyer entrance and use the drop box, (3) use the debit machine in the front foyer, (4) use postal service – P.O. Box 459, Napanee, ON K7R 3P5.   The annual general meeting (AGM), as you know, was scheduled for March 22, 2020. For obvious reasons this had to be postponed for a time to be announced. In the meantime the current board members will remain in position until such time as we can reschedule the meeting. You have already received the 2019 Annual Report and this will be accepted officially in due time…probably 2 or 3 weeks following the re-opening of the church building. Thank you for your patience, faithfulness and diligence in standing by Evangel Temple. This assembly has a rich history. One of the outstanding characteristics of this church is that of men and women of God who were and are consistent in serving the Lord with deep commitment!   These are exciting days for the church of Jesus! May God’s peace and presence fill your live always!  

Cal and June