604.853.0757 www.sevenoaks.org life@sevenoaks.org

June 9, 2020

The Right Way to Worship Pastor Brian Robertson

This Sunday, June 14th, Pastor Tim will be preaching on 2 Samuel 6. King David has the Ark of the Cove-nant brought in to Jerusalem, and is so joyful in his worship that he leaps and dances with exuberance as he leads the procession. But his wife Michal views this behaviour as foolish and shameful, and tells him so. Their difference of opinion on the appropriateness of David’s behaviour assures us that people have been disagreeing over “the right way” to worship for a very long time.

What kind of worship does God desire? There may be a hint in the passage from which Pastor Jamie will be preaching on Sunday, June 21st. In 2 Samuel 9, David makes a point of showing kindness to Mephibosheth, the badly crippled son of Saul’s son Jonathan, one of the few surviving members of Saul’s family line. There are echoes in this story of an idea that shows up in the writings of several of the prophets. Read Isaiah 1:10-17. The idea expressed here is that God is less concerned with how well we observe the right rituals when we gather together for our Sunday Sabbath assemblies, and more concerned with how actively we strive for justice and fairness in the world, and how well we care for the disadvantaged and the “othered.” This is a timely truth to be confronted with in a season when so many are protesting the injustice and unfairness with which people of colour are still so often treated in our society.

As a crippled man, Mephibosheth would have been an outcast in David’s time. The grandson of a king whose reign had ended in infamy and disgrace, he’d have had even less status. As a member of Saul’s fam-ily line, he might have been treated as David’s enemy. Yet David honours him for the sake of his father and his grandfather. In so doing, David helps teach us what true worship looks like, and no less so than he does when he dances before the gates of Jerusalem!

Father’s Day ‘Life of David’

Bible Trivia Quiz

Can you match the names of the fathers on the

left with the names of their sons on the right?

In this photo, the Enns, Choquettes, Verwoerds, & Carters meet in Dave & Joyce’s backyard.

1. Abinadab 2. Ahimelech 3. David 4. Eli 5. Elkanah 6. Jesse 7. Jether 8. Jonathan 9. Kish 10. Ner 11. Phinehas 12. Saul

A. Abiathar B. Abner C. Amasa D. David E. Ichabod F. Jonathan G. Mephibosheth H. Phinehas I. Samuel J. Saul K. Solomon L. Uzzah

As restrictions begin lifting, many Gospel Communities have resumed gathering, being creative in how they gather while following

physical distancing guidelines. Some groups meet virtually, via Zoom or Google Hangouts, while

others meet in parks or backyards.

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In light of the current extraordinary circumstances, under which it is impractical for us to hold our 2020 Annual General Meeting of the membership in person (while still complying with the Province’s public health order prohibiting gatherings of over 50 AND the Province’s recommended guidelines for ensuring safe physical distancing for public gatherings of up to 50), the Board of Elders has made a decision to hold a “mail-in” Annual General Meeting. This decision was made, after a period of thoughtful discussion and careful deliberation, at the Board’s most recent regular Board meeting on May 28th.

In compliance with our church bylaws, and in keeping with our customary practices, there are three regular substantive items of business to be carried out by the membership at our AGM every year. These are to:

Receive / accept the following reports Ministry Reports Treasurer’s Report and Financial Statements Annual Budget Nominating Committee Report

Elect the Board of Elders

Elect the Nominating Committee

Although it would be preferable for us to be able to hold an AGM in person, the Board’s decision to hold a “mail-in” AGM instead reflects the view that what is essential is that every Active Member of Sevenoaks be given a chance to vote on the items of business set out above. This can be achieved by a process in which the following steps will be taken:

Copies of all of the reports, statements, and other documents that are relevant to all of the motions that will be voted on will be made available to everyone in the church family who wants to see them, through a variety of media, well in advance of voting.

Ample opportunity will be provided for members of the church family to direct written questions to the Board of Elders, the Lead Pastor, and/or to other members of Pastoral Staff – and have them an-swered – well in advance of voting.

Ample opportunity will be provided for alternative nominations to be submitted, and information on any alternative candidates will be made available to the members of the church family well in advance of voting.

Each Active Member of the church who would like to vote will be provided with a written ballot form designed to permit him or her to vote on each motion that needs to be voted on, and to vote on the elections of both Elders and members for the nominating Committee, using one piece of paper.

A 2-week-long voting period will be designated, during which completed ballot forms can be securely deposited in a ballot box at the church building or mailed in to the church office.

Measures will be put in place to ensure that the only ballot forms which will be counted are ballot forms submitted by Active Members, and that no Active Member can submit more than one completed ballot form.

Ballots will be counted by a pre-identified group of scrutineers that will include the current Secretary of the Board of Elders, the church bookkeeper, and three other non-staff, non-Elder scrutineers who are Active Members of the church but not nominated for any position.

For how to obtain a copy of the 2019 Annual Report & Nominating Committee Report, please see page 4.

Timeline for Mail-in Annual General Meeting

Thursday, June 12 - Annual Report and Nominating

Committee Report made available

Monday, June 22 – Deadline for submission of

additional nominations

Tuesday, June 23 – Ballot forms made available

Monday, June 29 – Voting opens

Monday, July 13 – Voting closes

Tuesday, July 14 – Votes counted, results announced

Mail-in Annual General Meeting

Reflections on Recent Events

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A man is arrested by the police and dies in their custody, probably suffocated to death. He belongs to a group of people who tend to be viewed - by those in power - as somewhat threatening. To those who don’t know much about him, he seems to be fairly ordinary. A poor guy from a poor background. A common criminal, perhaps, although it’s not all that clear just what specific crime he may or may not have committed, and it is argued that it certainly wasn’t something for which he deserved to be executed. His death might have gone largely unnoticed, but there were witnesses who were there, and they are motivated to tell his story. And the result is the beginning of a revolutionary movement that grows so rapidly and so exponentially that it ends up capturing the attention of the whole world.

Recognize the story? You’ve heard it at least twice. It is the story of Christ’s death at the hands of Roman soldiers. And it is the story of a black man named George Floyd, who was suffocated to death under the knee of a white police officer in Minneapolis on May 25th, after being arrested for allegedly attempting to use a counterfeit bill in a convenience store.

The two stories have several elements in common. One of the common elements is that both of them are stories which we, as followers of Jesus, are involved in. As Christians we don’t have the option of saying that the death of George Floyd has nothing to do with us. There is a bigger story that has been painfully brought into the light over the last few weeks, and we are all in it.

The national leadership of the Christian and Missionary Alliance have created a series of video messages to help us all work through the questions and issues that we have all been compelled to confront in the wake of George Floyd’s death. In a message sent out to all Canadian Alliance pastors and leaders on June 4th, CMA-CAN National President David Hearn wrote:

Dear Alliance family, As Christians, we understand that the evils of our world signal the deep problem of sin. We’ve seen many facets of sin in the news recently: racism, injustice, prejudice, violence, and grasping for power. This week, some of us have relived, or experienced racial injustice again personally, and many of us began to grapple with our own ignorance, and many of us simply don’t know what to do next. I am praying for you as you lead your churches through these questions. We also want to share with you a few videos from Alliance voices that you may find useful. Feel free to make use them in a church service, or just watch and learn. And, if you want to share your own thoughts, or a resource you’ve found helpful, please let us know. We have much more praying, learning, and discussing to do in the days ahead. I am thankful that we are in this together. Praying together for our nation and our world, David Hearn

If you are interested in viewing these very helpful video resources, we encourage you to visit the CMA-CAN Vimeo page at https://vimeo.com/showcase/7210855

Financial Giving

Cheerful, sacrificial giving is part of our life in Christ, an act of worship to the living God & an expression of trust in Him. Your generosity helps us fulfill our vision

of knowing Jesus & making Him known.

Online via Pushpay

Make a secure, one-time donation or set up a recur-ring gift to the church using Pushpay. Use a credit card & designate where you want your gift to go.

Online Banking

There are 2 ways to give through your financial institution’s online banking site:

1. Bill Payment

Like paying bills, add Sevenoaks Alliance Church as a payee. Note your offering envelope number as your

account number.

2. E-Transfer

Like sending money to someone, add life@sevenoaks.org as a payee. Enter the amount

you want to give & make up a security question. Then be sure to send the security question answer for the e-transfer in a separate email to life@sevenoaks.org

so that we can accept it.

Cheque

Make a cheque payable to Sevenoaks Alliance Church. Ensure that your name or offering envelope number is clear for tax receipt purposes. Place the

completed cheque in an envelope & mail or bring it to the church office.

Thank you for supporting the ministry of Sevenoaks Church!

Contact Information

Sevenoaks Alliance Church 2575 Gladwin Road

Abbotsford BC V2T 3N8

Help us keep your information current. Contact Tammy at the church office or email

ttoews@sevenoaks.org

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communities featuring stories & testimonies

presenting the gospel at work. It highlights arts,

news & events, encouraging readers in their

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This magazine has now moved away from print

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Obtaining a Copy of the 2019 Annual Report & Nominating Committee Report

Starting June 12, there will be three ways for you to obtain your copy of the Annual Report and the Nominating Committee Report:

1. They will be posted on the Sevenoaks website (sevenoaks.org), and from there you will be able to read them, download them, and/or print them off.

2. Paper copies will be available for pick-up at the church office during regular office hours (Mondays-Thursdays 830am - 4pm).

3. If you would like to receive a printed copy of the documents by mail, call Tammy at the church office (604.853.0757) and she’ll send them to you.