Dr. George Allen Honoured as Pastor Emeritus

On Sunday, May 6th at 3 p.m. the Bridgetown Baptist Charge, the faith community, Allen family members, pastoral colleagues, church members, community residents and friends met in the Bridgetown sanctuary to praise God for His faithfulness to and through the life and ministry of, Dr. George Allen, 99.

Past Deacon, Thurston Marshall, opened the Service by reciting Psalm 121. Following the Opening Hymn, Lay Pastor Dave Buzza outlined the purpose of this rare service (this honour only being conferred once since 1900) and led in prayer. Deputy Clerk, Marguerite Hirtle, introduced the Congregational motion and Julie Hannam, Clerk, West Dalhousie Baptist, and Louise Bruce, Organist/Honourary Deacon, Centrelea Baptist, respectively read Psalm 67 and Col. 3:12-17.

NMBC Hosts "How-To" Worship Workshop

As part of our ongoing commitment to train and equip local worship/tech teams, New Minas Baptist Church (NMBC) Worship Arts ministry hosted the 2nd annual How-To Training Days worship workshop “Equipping and Building Skill”. Thirty-five people from various local churches attended the 4 hour event on Saturday February 25th.

Along with times of corporate worship, a biblical teaching session on the importance of remembrance and a session on song arranging, the highlight of the day was an interactive rehearsal where everyone had the opportunity to arrange a brand new song. It was a fantastic time of worshipping and learning together!

A few comments from participants:

New Minas Baptist Hears Ministry Stories

On February 26, New Minas Baptist Church welcomed Anne Embree, Danielle Gates and Laura Ells to share their stories.

Anne was involved with The World Race last year, leaving Canada in January and travelling to 11 different countries in 11 months. During this time she shared her love for Jesus with both children and adults of many cultures. By giving her time and energy helping and ministering to these people, she encouraged missionaries from these countries, dug a fish pond in Nepal, played with children in an orphanage in India, witnessed to prostitutes in Thailand, and many more experiences that you can read about in more detail on her blog. All of these experiences not only benefited those she visited, but Anne was challenged in her own faith, learning how to live in community and work alongside others with similar passions.

Happenings at Debert Baptist

After School Program

Just wanted to let you know of the many things we are up to in Debert, NS. It has been and continues to be a very active and rewarding time.

Our small church is growing and reaching out in a very meaningful way:

Central Norton Teen Service

On Nov 27th the youth took to the stage at Central Norton Baptist and really shook up the church. It was an amazing time with singing, dramas, testimonies, and baptisms. We would like to share with you just what the morning service was like and just how encouraged we were and blessed by our teenagers.

Harvest for the Hungry

Every year for the last 16 years, on Halloween night, Forest Hills Baptist Church (Saint John, NB) has collected non-perishable food to support the Saint John East Food Bank. It takes many volunteers to make this work. We have people who deliver flyers advertising the event, gather food, drive canvassers, pack, sort, and deliver to the food bank, each person contributing in their own way.

This year we took approximately six truck loads to the food bank, filling their room with supplies and their hearts with amazement at the goodness of those who donated food, and those who worked so hard to gather the harvest for us. The donations given will help feed many families into the New Year.

Baptism in Shediac Bay

It was quite a day we had today. Despite the nor'easter, a little snow, 6 foot storm surge, a lot rain and stinging sleet we had great morning crowd that celebrated in worship and we welcomed 4 new members to our fellowship. We welcome Terry and Linda MacKinnon and Mike and Saunya LeBlanc as new members.

In the evening about 30 people gathered near the pounding storm surge on Riverside Drive. Winds were gusting up to 50km/hr, sleet and rain soaked us, the water temp was well below comfort but Derek Richard entered the waters of baptism.

A video of the baptism this evening is on the home page of our website hope4shediac.com. The video is half way down the page. Pictures of the baptism are attached. Congratulations Derek!

Submitted by Rev. Brock Symonds, Senior Pastor of Shediac Bay Community Church.

Weekend for Hope at First Cornwallis

On September 10, 2011 thirty eight people gathered at First Cornwallis Baptist to put on bright orange T-Shirts and spend their day serving the community. The event, organized by the Christian Education Committee, was timed to match the tenth anniversary of 9/11 as a way to emphasis HOPE in response to evil. The church asked community leaders and agencies, “If we could provide you three to six volunteers for a day, what could we do for you?” Eventually ten projects were proposed and posted to for volunteers to choose.

News from Nerepis

Nerepis Baptist Church Yard/Bake Sale -- On Saturday, October 2nd, our church had a yard sale/bake sale for our community. We had a lot of contributions from people in our congregation, including some delicious homemade bread, cookies, and whoopee pies! Though it was a wet, rainy day, we had a good number of people come out. It was also a good time of fellowship for those of us from our church. We never charged for any of the items but asked for donations that would go to the food bank in Grand Bay-Westfield. We raised just over $200! We consider that a success! Whatever items weren’t sold that morning were dropped off at Value Village during the week.

Baptism Celebration at Sackville

On Aug 14 2011, history was repeated when Sackville United Baptist Church held a Baptism celebration in Hefler’s Millpond. A beautiful sunny day greeted members of our congregation at the water’s edge while Pastor Marlene Knowles and Deacon Roy Lounsbury led 3 believers into the waters of Baptism. It is believed this millpond, formerly known as Webber’s Millpond, was the location of the first Baptisms for our Church back in 1832.

Following the Baptisms, everyone lingered on the banks of the millpond enjoying the sunshine, a picnic and fellowship. For many it was the first witness of a river Baptism which is not a common practice today. To see more pictures, visit their website: www.sackvilleunitedbaptistchurch.com.