Posted: November 4, 2021
Dear Church Family,
Where does the time go? Well, for better or worse, this weekend we will gain an hour when we turn our clocks back. So, if you need to make up some time, this is the weekend to do it…lol!
I want to take this opportunity to talk about the prayer movement God is starting.
At the end of 2020 Ron Clouzet, ministerial secretary for the Northern Asia-Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventist’s, published a book titled, In the Name of Jesus: Power to Pray for People and Places. Lorna Waterman and her family, who happen to be friends with Ron Clouzet, received a copy of this book. After reading it, Lorna shared a copy with me. At that point I was already reading a book by Melody Mason titled, Daring to Ask for More. As I was reading both of these books focused on prayer, God began doing something different, something new in my life. The result has been, God has revolutionized my prayer life over the last four months, and the key ingredient has been prayer walking. These two books, along with the amazing chapter, “Asking to Give” in Ellen White’s book, Christ’s Object Lessons—have provided much-needed inspiration and encouragement to keep pressing on.
God is up to something big in Salmon Arm, Silver Creek, Revelstoke, and all over the world. The exciting thing is that we get to be part of it. This fall we started a sermon series titled, Power to Pray, and in my last sermon two weeks ago (click here for sermon series), I asked the question: Do you want power to pray? If you do, join the movement. In the near future, we will be providing opportunities to form prayer walking groups. Since the start of the school year, we have begun having Family Vespers programs paired with a prayer walking emphasis—this is just the beginning. Please join us this Sabbath evening at 4:30PM for a prayer walk, potluck supper, and vespers to follow.
It’s time to expect big things.
It's time to move mountains.
My Hi-5 List
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Prayer Walk & Family Vespers — Theme: Move Mountains! Join us this Sabbath at 4:30PM at the Salmon Arm Adventist Church for a pray walk first, followed by a light potluck supper and vespers. If you are joining us for supper we ask that everyone bring something to contribute to the potluck. See side bar for more information.
Note: please keep an eye on the weather, if you are planning to join us for the prayer walk, make sure to dress warm and bring an umbrella. We will plan to proceed with the prayer walk, rain or shine—but for those who prefer to stay at the church and pray, that is perfectly fine as well.
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Vaccine Exemption Letters — As previously mentioned, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada has provided helpful documentation for those seeking exemption from vaccine mandates (click here). Furthermore, I would like to help anyone who needs assistance or endorsement from a pastor in writing an exemption letter. Personally, I am not taking a public position for or against the vaccine but I strongly believe that everyone deserves the right to choose. This is why I wrote two exemption letters this week. Please feel free to contact me if I can be of assistance.
***Note: I recognize that the COVID-19 vaccines and the ongoing pandemic continue to cause a lot of turmoil and division among church members, family, and friends. I pray and plead that regardless of what choice a person, friend, or family member makes that you will NOT let their convictions cause conflict between you and them. This is the time we need each other most. I appeal to everyone vaccinated or not, to do your best to protect and love one another in every way. There is no one way or best way to do this, but many ways to do so. And all of us vaccinated or not have a personal responsibility to be healthy and to make good health choices in every area of our life not merely with reference to the vaccine.
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Speak Out Against Bill 8 — this legislation affects internet-based educational programs, which for us hits close to home. As most of you know our church operates a Learning Centre which has kids enrolled in several virtual schools including West Coast Adventist School. This legislation would shut down our Learning Center and greatly impact the students and families of our school. This is a big deal and we need your prayers, your support, and your voice (see sidebar for more information)…
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Financial Peace — family and personal finances have always been a challenge for many, and it’s not getting any easier. We live in a culture of consumerism and we have learned how to spend—BUT often we don’t know how to budget or save. We want the latest and greatest even if we can’t afford it, but if we have a credit card we at least have options, right? Wrong! I would like to do another Financial Peace Seminar/Small Group. If you are interested please let me know and we will begin planning this for the new year. And if you can’t wait until the new year, I can point you in the right direction with online resources.
- Health Tip: I’ve talked about walking before, but recently I read a short article in the 2021 Shuswap and Area Health Directory, titled: 7 Surprising Health Benefits of Walking. Here are the seven benefits: 1) strengthens bones, 2) boosts cardio endurance, 3) burns calories, 4) improves cardiovascular health, 5) counteracts effects of weight-promoting genes, 6) tame cravings, and 7) reduces joint pain. Some of these I didn’t know so it was a great little article for me. If you want to read the full article, click here.
Sincerely,
Pastor Royce