live magazine Sep-Oct 2023

INVESTING IN ANOTHER’S LIFE Community matters

SEP/OCT 2023

ONE WOMAN TRANSFORMING THE WORLD An invterview with Sally Susan Martel

A BAPTIST RESOURCE FOR WOMEN ON A MISSION

empowered WOMEN TRANSFORMING THE WORLD

DON’T INVITE THEM TO CHURCH Mark the date for our meet-the-author chat

Contents September/October 2023

CONNECT TO GOD

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Intimacy Empowers I wouldn’t answer me either

5 A New Light Transforming the world as God’s Beloved is all about love 6 Developing Godly Self-Esteem in Kids Three statements worth teaching

Vol. 96, No. 4

FE ATUR E S 10 Between Two Different Worlds You can transform the gap that exists 12 One Woman Transforming the World An interview with Sally Susan Martel

7 Unshaken: Call to be Thankful, Encouraged to Trust Meet Rev. Karen Wong

Editor & Communications Director Renée James 416-651-8967 rsejames@gmail.com Art Director Jennifer Au (jenniferau.com) Contributors Eleanor Chun, Rev. Abby Davidson, Linda Ellsworth, Ann-Margret Hovsepian, Renée James, Marge Kirk, Rev. Elaine Poproski, Nola Shalabi, Heather Skeates, Morgan Wolf, Rev. Karen Wong, Rev. Tanya Yuen

Live (formerly The Link & Visitor) began as The Canadian Missionary Link (1878) and Baptist Visitor (1890). Published bi-monthly

by Canadian Baptist Women of Ontario and Quebec 5 International Blvd., Etobicoke, ON M9W 6H3 416-620-2954 Fax 416-622-2308 bwoq@baptist.ca baptistwomen.com

8 Bible Study World Changers

CONNECT TO MIS S I O N

Executive Director Helena Bergen

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Circulation & Subscriptions 416-620-2954 live@baptist.ca

16 Making Disciples in PostCOVID Marburg, Germany CBM global field staff Xiaodan Frohlich

Subscriptions Individual: $20* (direct or through promoters)

17 Ordinary Women Transforming the World

The publication of comments, opinions or advertising does not necessarily imply CBWOQ agreement or endorsement.

All material is copyrighted and may not be reproduced in print or on websites without permission. Advertising inquiries and freelance submissions should be addressed to the editor.

18 How to Transform the World…

One Grandchild at a Time “Whatever” 20 The Impact of Investing in Another’s Life Community matters 21 Meeting Mireya Being used by the Lord

US & Overseas: $39 All currency in $CAD unless otherwise noted.

12 C O N N ECT TO OT HERS

22 Book Club Review Don’t Invite Them to Church 23 A History Moment

Member, Canadian Church Press. ISSN 2293-5096 Canada Post Customer No. 1008592 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada for our publishing activities. *includes HST

23 We Remember COVER PHOTO KATIE DRAZDAUSKAITE (UNSPLASH.COM)

L ET T ER FRO M EDI TO R

Courage …but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.

1 Corinthians 1: 23b–29 (NIV)

BESTSELLING AUTHOR Patrick Lencioni delivered the

final speech at this August’s Global Leadership Summit (GLS). GLS is run by the Global Leadership Network (GLN) and is the world’s largest leadership conference.

“Leadership is about serving,” said Lencioni. He then focused his talk on the critical virtue of courage. “Courage is the most important virtue leaders today, especially Christian leaders, need to have.” He then unpacked the stories of Esther, Mary ( Jesus’ mother) and Joan of Arc. I found it interesting that, in a conference that featured high-calibre Christian and non-Christian speakers and leadership experts, Patrick Lencioni left tens of thousands of global attendees with the stories of these particular women. Esther, Mary and Joan of Arc transformed the world because they chose to trust – that it was God who’d called them “for such a time as this,” and it was God who would see them through.

Lencioni highlighted a leadership insight with each woman: Another would be raised up to do the task should Esther say no; Mary didn’t let potential consequences (shame, loneliness, sorrow) stop her from saying yes to the angel Gabriel; 15-year-old Joan of Arc persisted for years before getting the approval of France’s king to fight the English.

This issue focuses on Baptist Women’s new vision – empowered women transforming the world as God’s Beloved. Esther, Mary and Joan of Arc show us how it’s done – with humility and courage, understanding that God’s call to transform the world will not emerge in the ways we may think or expect. What has God called you to do?

Renée James Editor

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Intimacy Empowers I wouldn’t answer me either

BY MORGAN WOLF I SOMETIMES FLATTER GOD more than I worship Him. This has been a disconcerting revelation to say the least, because truly, I want to worship God as He deserves. I want to offer guileless praise without being hamstrung by self-consciousness or rendered somnolent and mute by cold heartedness. And surely, there are times that I do, but far too often I approach God as my benefactor, or as the just adjudicator of circumstance rather than as my intimate Beloved for whom I am wholly His and He is mine.

I will linger with a sunset until the last gold flash dissolves into purple beyond the horizon without then describing the sunset to itself and requesting that it send some work my way. I’ll draw near to the intricate unfolding petals of a flower without complimenting it for its ecstatic colours and then asking it for direction. No, in such moments I just behold the beauty for as long as I can and marvel at the God who thought up such fanciful things and gave me the ability to revel in their glory.

Yet day after day, my prayers are more reminiscent of giving God a shortlist of my unchanging problems, than they are of sitting in His presence and beholding His majesty just for the awe and wonder that such a seat affords.

Instead, I feel frustrated and powerless to change any thing at all. My Benefactor isn’t cutting the cheque that will make me feel like I have a harvest in the earth. My just and righteous Judge has other files on His desk of greater 4

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importance. Prayer feels like I’m leaving a voicemail that no one wants to listen to. I know it isn’t supposed to be this way and vaguely I know the remedy has something to do with true worship, so I’ll throw in a few compliments to Almighty God hoping to soften the whole heavens-arelike-brass feeling.

Geez, when I put it like that, I wouldn’t answer me either.

Entering His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise isn’t a say-the-password scenario. The more I ponder it, the more I discover that I keep learning the same lessons over again – deeper and deeper – like drilling downwards to the core of the matter but always circling the same territory.

This new life in the kingdom of God isn’t about I feel frustrated having correct theology or and powerless doing the right things. It is to change any about intimacy. It is about knowing Him and being thing at all. known. I don’t just want to know who God is to all creation; or who He is to His enemies. I want to know who He is with His beloved. The biblical ideal for sexual intimacy is the verb “to know.” Adam knew Eve and she conceived. Not to make our relationship with God weird but the notion of an exclusive and enthralling romance that conceives new life is the picture that we’re given.

Don’t blame me, blame Song of Songs.

The moment I veer wildly off-track, however, is the moment that the circumstance or problem takes preeminence over my intimacy with God; when I vacate our dynamic of “I am my beloved’s and He is mine.” In that instant, I begin to worship my problems, mesmerized by all their complexities and lingering in their attendant anxieties. I go on and on about them with purple prose and then flatter the Lord with a few niceties and wonder why He seems so far away and disinterested. It never even occurs to me that I may have wounded Him with my inconstancy.

Intimacy is never about procurement, even of good, altruistic things that will benefit others. Feigning intimacy in order to obtain something from another person is seduction. Seduction always involves deceit about the intentions of the heart. But my Beloved isn’t after feigned intimacy. He isn’t going to enable me to play the part of a spiritual gold digger, no matter how good the things after which I hunger and thirst. He wants to be loved as I want to be loved. Genuinely. Unreservedly. He longs to reveal the hidden things of His personality to the one who sees His beauty and delights in Him. He wants an intimacy that conceives and brings forth new life. He’s just waiting for me to want it too.

Morgan lives in Calgary, Alberta, and has published her fourth novel.

PHOTO IRINA IRISER (UNSPLASH.COM)

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A New Light Transforming the world as God’s Beloved is all about love

BY ANN-MARGRET HOVSEPIAN “WHEN’S THE LAST TIME you took

a vacation?” The quiet question came from Darlene, one of the pastor’s wives at our 2019 Quebec Baptist Women fall retreat, moments after I’d broken down in tears during the closing sharing time. I can’t recall exactly what I said to the women but they heard me and saw me. Instead of being horrified that one of the retreat leaders was a blubbering mess, they embraced me and gave me hope.

A month earlier, I’d had a devastating experience during a three-week mission trip to Armenia with my parents. Not in a good place spiritually, I couldn’t sleep. Then I got my period… for 15 days. On our last Sunday, we travelled three hours to a small Baptist church in Gyumri. It was around 40C and my weak, sleepless body began to wobble. During a prayer, I slipped outside for some fresh air. Later, I came to my senses, crouched by the church door. I’d blacked out.

At the retreat, I was still struggling and that continued for the next two months, until I took Darlene’s advice,

flew south, and spent five solitary days on a Cuban beach with my journal, my Bible, a novel, and another book called The Cure. That’s when I finally let God get through to me.

Despite being saved at age seven, much like the Israelites, I wandered in the desert for 40 years…walking with God but grumbling and resisting the whole way. In my teens, after my father became a pastor, I threw myself into serving the Lord. The opportunities to shine were everywhere, but that became a problem.

I worked really hard at being the perfect pastor’s daughter because I didn’t want to let anyone down. I never missed church. I dressed modestly. I obeyed my parents. I didn’t party or swear or smoke or drink or date. Obsessed with appearing responsible and serious, I lost myself.

My life was replete with contradictions: I was a hopeless romantic who didn’t have a boyfriend until 34 (then still never married). I was self-employed at 24 but lived with my parents until age 45. I was too scared to drive

Book Recommendations These books were instrumental in the transformation process that God led me through.

These books also helped:

The Cure: What If God Isn’t Who You Think He Is and Neither Are You? by John Lynch, Bruce McNicol, and Bill Thrall

Boundaries Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend

The Rabbi’s Heartbeat

by Brennan Manning Sensible Shoes (four-book series)

by Sharon Garlough Brown

Sex and the Single Girl

by Dr. Juli Slattery

Lies Women Believe: And the Truth that Sets Them Free

by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth

until 47. Although I served in women’s ministry (including the CBWOQ board for six years) I was critical of others and, especially when faced with overwhelming insecurity and temptation, quite alone.

The flame that once burned so bright in my soul as a child grew faint, but God is so good. He had lined up circumstances and conversations and books and sermons and songs that, like sparklers on a birthday cake, illuminated my life. Sometimes though, those little sparks stung and made me flinch. Between my trips to Armenia and Cuba, I started to see my life in a new light. My laundry list of good deeds was nothing more than a pile of filthy rags ready for burning. I recognized how self-righteous I was – not that I thought I was better than others, but that I was trying to be righteous on my own.

My life changed when I confessed that I’d been striving for the approval of others (while not approving of them). God showed me that I can care about what people think without worrying about it. He reminded me that His is the only approval I should be seeking (Galatians 1:10). And, others answer to Him alone, not to me.

Today, when I speak to the women at my church, when I write, when I develop friendships, I’m no longer trying to impress anyone. I’m also no longer trying to change them.

Instead, my desire is to serve. God has given me a love for others I never knew was possible.

Ann-Margret has authored best-selling devotionals for girls, collaborated on adult colouring devotional books and written numerous magazine feature articles. She attends Temple Baptist Church, Montreal.

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Developing Godly Self-Esteem in Kids

BY REV. TANYA YUEN A POSTER WITH THE THREE STATEMENTS you just

scanned hangs right beside our front door and you’ll find them in Rachel Turner’s book Parenting Children for a Life of Confidence. In this book, Turner presents a godly, Scripturally-based approach to helping children develop godly self-esteem. It is a book I recommend to all adults with children in their lives.

Consider this: As we look around our church culture that often mimics secular culture, how often do we invite kids to emulate “great heroes of faith” or put pastors and missionaries on a pedestal – without teaching these kids what the core of their confidence truly is?

I remember admiring great leaders and people in my church, wishing I could be more like them but thinking I would never measure up. I am so grateful for the patient, loving adults that pointed me to God and what it meant to be rooted deeply in Him, finding my identity, my strength and wisdom in the person of Jesus and daring to dare to dream what He could do in and through me!

As we consider ways to build godly self-esteem in kids it is important to recognize that this is an ongoing, daily commitment that begins with kids knowing they are deeply loved and valued – and not just by their parents! I

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remember hearing another mom, saying “I love you” to her kids, followed immediately with “But who loves you more?

God does!” From when they are young, reading Scripture to kids that show them how much God loves them, created them intentionally and with purpose is so important.

Blessing them and affirming them with Scripture such as Psalm 139 is important for kids’ development of their sense of self. Help kids draw closer to God daily and have confidence in Him by teaching them different ways to pray, read Scripture, worship and praise God. This helps them develop a confidence that is rooted in Jesus.

Self-esteem also grows when parents and caregivers pay attention and notice ways kids are growing, trying new things, developing. Hearing adult praise for their initiative and their effort to learn new skills and develop abilities that are rooted in how God has created them, are ways that kids develop godly self-esteem. Helping kids set and achieve goals, that include how they grow in their relationship with Jesus keeps them focused on Jesus as the source of their confidence.

Highlight the extraordinary way God is working in them when they take faith steps like praying out loud; extending forgiveness to a friend that wronged them; showing kindness on the playground.

Tanya is CBOQ’s associate, children and family ministries

PHOTO DAIGA ELLABY (UNSPLASH.COM)

God is awesome and holy and loves me totally.

God is daily shaping me to be more like him and I am not done yet.

I am invited to be a small part of God’s great plans for this world.

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What if you made those three statements a motto of cheer that you recited with your kids? Maybe as you send them off to school each day, or as part of bedtime routine?

Here are some ideas that develop godly self-esteem.

Unshaken: Call to be Thankful, Encouraged to Trust

God is awesome and holy and loves me totally.

Read Psalm 139 with your child. Talk about what it means that God formed them.

Bless your child. Praying a blessing over your child is a great way to speak words of truth and purpose into their lives. Numbers 6:24–26 is a well-known blessing that you could pray daily over your child.

Practicing Gratitude. Teach your kids to take time each day to share or write down thanksgivings. This is a great way to talk about all the ways God shows His love for us.

God is daily shaping me to be more like him and I am not done yet.

Teach kids how to learn from their mistakes, persevere through difficult situations and learn how to apologize! Kids need safe, loving relationships surrounding them when they fail. These relationships help them learn from failures!

Help kids identify their gifts and abilities and provide ways for them to grow in them.

And help them to set goals that are achievable and celebrate those growth steps!

I am invited to be a small part of God’s great plans for this world.

Engage kids in serving others! Get them involved in mission from a young age and help them discover that they have an important role in sharing God’s message with those around them. What are the ways they can serve at church, in their neighbourhood or school? What service projects can families do together?

Rev. Karen Wong is CBOQ’s new associate of congregation life and leadership. She shares on what keeps her unshaken, thankful and trusting.

What’s kept you unshaken in your call to ordained ministry?

Whether ordained or not, I’ve always returned to God to seek His wise counsel and direction. There are times in ministry where there are uncertainties, but once I receive clarity on my calling and purpose, God strengthens me to continue following His pathway. It also helps that I’m not serving alone (Ecclesiastes 4:12)!

How has thankfulness shaped your approach to ministry and in particular your approach to being an ordained pastor?

Perhaps this comes from my Asian culture but I humbly recognize that there are many gifted and more suitable people God may use. Therefore, whenever God puts me in uncomfortable situations such as in leadership, I give thanks for the opportunity to learn and to be used as God’s instrument. In those moments, I am overwhelmed

by His Spirit, and I recognize how I must learn to trust in His ways even more.

What encourages you to trust?

Remembering past faith experiences, and hearing Christian testimonies, renew my trust in Jesus. As for trusting people, I’ve accepted that we are all sinners in need of grace. When trust has been broken I’ve learned to practice forgiveness, which is the key to healing in relationships.

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BI BL E ST U DY

WORLD CHANGERS

BY LINDA ELLSWORTH

Eve

The first woman Read Genesis 2 & 3. Discuss how Eve influenced her new world. Although she is charged with humankind’s fall into sin, how did God “redeem” her and give her a place of honour? All of earth’s descendants came from Eve, including numerous women who completely changed the course of their worlds for God.

Esther

The captive who became queen and saved a nation Read the entire book of Esther to get a perspective on her character. “The events in the book of Esther occurred from 483 BC to 473 BC, during the first half of the reign of King Xerxes, who chose Esther as his queen. During this time period, the first remnant of Jews who had returned to Judah were struggling to reestablish temple worship according to the Law of Moses. But Esther and Mordecai, along with many other Jews, had chosen not to make the trek back to Judah. They seemed content to stay in Susa, the capital city of Persia, in which the story is set.”

Charles R. Swindoll, Inc.1 Esther 1 We see God’s plan unfolding, even though God is not mentioned once throughout the book. What is your reaction to the deposition of Vashti?

Esther 2 In this chapter, how did God further His plan for the remnant of Israel remaining in Persia? What characteristics do you think young orphan Esther displayed to so win the approval of Hegai? Discuss the implications and results of Mordecai’s foster parenting, including Esther’s first act of bravery.

Esther 3 Born out of pride, the scene for the annihilation of the Jews remaining in Persia is set in this chapter.

Esther 4 spells out Mordecai’s plea to Esther, one which put her life in danger. Explain why obeying Mordecai was: a) so crucial and b) could well end in disaster for Esther.

1 insight.org/resources/bible/the-historical-books/esther 2 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lydia_of_Thyatira

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Esther 4:14 indicates how Esther’s faith had been developed by Mordecai. What hint of this are we given here, even though God is not mentioned? Included in verse 14 is a very well-known phrase indicating Mordecai’s recognition that God is at work. Explain.

Esther 6 & 7 recount the first steps in Esther’s plan to foil Haman and save her people. What ironic twists develop in the story as Esther continues her quest in bold obedience?

Esther 8 The truth will out, and this chapter reveals the relationship between Esther and Mordecai, as revealed to the King. Describe the heart-wrenching scene as Esther pleads for the life of her people, and the ensuing result.

Esther, through her faith in her cousin, and in their God, saved the entire remnant of Israel remaining in Persia. Describe three lessons learned from Esther’s example that apply to your life today.

Lydia

The businesswoman who started a church Read Lydia’s story in Acts 16.

“Lydia was most likely from Greek background, since originating from Asia Minor, but probably a Romanized one, while she lived in a Roman settlement. She was evidently a well-to-do agent of a purple-dye firm in Thyatira, a city southeast of Pergamum and approximately 40 miles (64 km) inland, across the Aegean Sea from Athens…[S]he was one of a large group [considered]…sympathizers with Judaism, believers in the one God…”2 Acts 16:6 Beginning in verse 6, we encounter the moving of the Holy Spirit to direct Paul, Timothy, and Silas to the city of Philippi. Describe these important events. Has God ever drastically changed your direction for His purposes? How? Acts 16:13 is possibly one of the most overlooked verses in Scripture! Consider the following: Why would these men not go to the synagogue on the Sabbath? (Was there one in the outpost of Philippi?) Why was the river considered the place of

habitual prayer on the Sabbath? Why did only women meet there? Why would Jewish teachers of Roman citizenship sit down and chat with the women gathered there?

Bernice’s Picks

All of the above actions were completely antithetical to what would be considered the norm for Jewish men – especially those acting in a teaching capacity – except for God’s perfect plan and the leading of the Holy Spirit. (Look again at Paul’s specific call in verses 9 and 10.)

Acts 16:14 & 15 recount the beautiful story of the heartchange of a Gentile woman. According to verse 14, what was Lydia’s part in her transformation? What was God’s part?

Take a moment to write out your transformation story.

When God transforms a life such as Lydia’s the overflow is overwhelming. Describe the overflowing results of Lydia’s newfound faith as portrayed in verse 15. Lydia is thought to be the first female Gentile convert to Christianity.

Acts 16:16–34 The second reason Paul and his team were directed to Philippi is found in these verses. Outline the continuing story, including the response of Paul’s team. As an outcome of their faith and faithfulness, what resulted?

Now I Become Myself: How Deep Grace Heals Our Shame and Restores Our True Self Ken Shigematsu $22

As Christ-followers our way is not always easy, and we may be challenged on every side in today’s society to compromise. Will you hold fast in the wake of adversity as Paul did?

Will your faith overflow to all around you as Lydia’s did? Keep a journal of how God is at work around and through you.

Acts 16:35–40 The last time Lydia is mentioned is in verses 35–40, however this is likely not the end of the story. The church established at Philippi was one of Paul’s strongest and most loved supporters.

Read the book of Philippians to get a sense of Paul’s heart for this church. Could it be all because of a strong businesswoman named Lydia? Amongst the seven churches (which existed in the first century A.D.) listed in the Book of Revelation, is the church at Thyatira. Might it just be that a strong, astute seller of purple had a hand in that?

Esther and Lydia. Two women used of God to change their world. Are you next?

Linda is the member-care coordinator for CCI, Canada.

My Vertical Neighborhood Lynda MacGibbon $21

All books available from Read On bookstore.

Free shipping on all orders.

5 International Blvd.

Etobicoke, ON M9W 6H3 tel: 416-620-2934 fax: 416-234-8840 e-mail: books@readon.ca

READON.CA

You can transform the gap that exists.

BETWEEN TWO DIFFERENT WORLDS

BY NOHA SHALABI MY NAME IS NOHA SHALABI, an Egyptian currently settled in Hamilton, Ontario, with my husband and son. Prior to coming to Canada, I had lived with my family in Egypt. A single mother, I struggled in the traditional society that was upper Egypt and I could not sense God’s existence in my life. I worked at a shelter for violated girls, and one day during devotion time, while leading us through the story of Elijah and the widow at Zarephath, our leader asked: “Why do you think the widow helped Elijah?” I promptly answered, “Maybe because she felt hopeless, so she was just trying to get any help…” I realized I had just talked about myself, my situation, my hopelessness. My life changed on that day. That question and my answer showed me how God uses the weakest and most vulnerable to contribute to His big story. I started to feel hopeful – that maybe something would come out of my life.

I travelled to Lebanon to pursue my theological studies at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary (ABTS) in Beirut. ABTS faculty and leaders did not only teach me theology in the classroom. They taught me practically how to

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follow Jesus and how to love and serve others in need – just as Jesus loved me. ABTS leaders accepted me as I was, which brought healing to my life. While there, I heard God’s clear call to me to minister to refugees in the camps in Lebanon. And indeed, living in a multicultural context with students from different places and regions had prepared me to minister to refugees. ABTS leaders were hospitable to me too, which taught me how to be hospitable to refugees in the camps. I encountered God in those refugees who lived in terrible conditions, yet thankful most of the time. What kind of gratitude was this? I’d wonder. I used to be a single mother, with a young kid, and life was not easy, but I found comfort as I supported others who were in more urgent conditions than myself. I learned how God can be my refuge too.

When I returned to Egypt, that calling did not fade as I was drawn to refugees fleeing tribal

B E T WE EN T WO DI F FEREN T WO RL D S

wars from Sudan and other African countries and coming to Egypt. Later on, I went to Greece to serve in the refugee camps on the borders. I lived with refugees in tents, heard terrible stories with tears, and shared sparks of hope as I laughed with them. During my field outreach trips in the Middle East, I went to Iraq and saw how desperate people were, especially after they had lost their houses, significant family members, fleeing for their lives as soon as possible. Air strikes were happening at the very time I was training church members in Baghdad on how to support their people during this difficult time. God really protected me during this time and shaped me into the person I am today.

My call to support refugees wasn’t capped even after I migrated to Canada. I arrived in Hamilton with my husband who is pursuing his PhD in Biblical Studies and we found ourselves in the very struggle that many newcomers face once they land in Canada. I had arrived with zero knowledge about what I was about to face: cold winters, an insane housing market, my lack of cultural knowledge – just to name a few challenges. Life was really difficult with no family, friends, or any sort of community support or a community within which to serve.

We remain so grateful to the Open Homes Hamilton team members who supported us and helped us navigate our new life until we got on our legs. Today, I serve as a Kinship Circle Leader with Open Homes Hamilton,

PHOTOS COURTESY OF NOHA SHALABI

‘‘

I started to feel hopeful – that maybe something would come out of my life.

opposite Noha with her family below Guests at Open Homes Hamilton

coordinating and supporting settlement and housing for newly arrived refugees in Hamilton.

As someone who lived the struggle firsthand, I know the challenges newcomers face, and the struggles they go through. I also know that a refugee can cross the gap between two different worlds – the home country she’s left and now, Canada. So it is with great joy that I serve with an organization like Open Homes, Hamilton – they made all the difference in my life.

Why am I telling you all this? Simply because I want to encourage you to be open to supporting the weak and vulnerable who arrive in Canada. I love to draw a parallel between the city gates of Jerusalem and Canada’s borders.

All significant conversations and transactions took place at the city gates: judges used to sit there to resolve conflicts; support was always offered there; blessings given to the many persons streaming in to Jerusalem. Is it possible to imagine the Canadian borders in the same way – as a source of blessings to the vulnerable and weak who arrive at those borders? I want to invite you to adopt a new perspective.

Let’s offer refugees and newcomers protection, hospitality, and community. From these weak people may become future leaders who can be sources of fulfilment and life to others.

Open Homes Hamilton – IAFR Canada

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ONE WOMAN TRANSFORMING THE WORLD Live Magazine interviews Sally Susan Martel, former Chief of Beaverhouse First Nation about what it means to transform the world as God’s Beloved.

BY RENÉE JAMES

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O NE WO MA N T RA N SFO RM I N G T HE WO RL D

S

ally Susan Martel is currently a deacon at Tower Street Baptist Church in Kirkland Lake and a former Sunday School teacher there. From the Beaverhouse First Nation, you may know her as Marcia Brown Martel in the years when hers was the face of the thousands of Ontario Sixties Scoop survivors who had taken Canada’s government to court. A Scoop survivor herself, she wanted the government to be held accountable for a child protection services system that had made it OK for Indigenous children to be removed from their homes without parental consent – a practice that had been in play for decades.

Google Marcia Brown Martel and you’ll find dozens of national media photos, news articles, video clips and interviews about this case. You’ll see clips of Sally Susan dressed in traditional attire, playing her drum and singing – outside the courtroom after the judge ruled in favour.

You were taken away by the Government in 1967.

Yes. I learned about the Sixties Scoop in the early 2000s.

I was working in the band office as a Council member and Vicky Hardisty came in and did a presentation on the Sixties Scoop. As I listened, I found that there were similarities between what she was presenting about the Scoop and what had happened to me. I talked to her and I said “I think this happened to me.” And sure enough, it had.

PHOTO KAYTLYN JULIEN

To discover that, so unexpectedly!

I’d thought I was the only one that the process had happened to: taken away from family, placed into foster homes, never seeing family, physically and socially isolated. That that dynamic had happened to thousands and thousands of Indigenous peoples – it took me a month to grasp the reality of what had happened to me and to others.

What did you think and do next?

I learned about things and I asked, “What’s happening about this? Has anyone done anything to tell the Government that this is wrong?” Eventually I said, “That’s enough. It’s got to stop. The Government needs to know that they are harming our children and our communities.”

So at some point, I wanted the Government of Canada to make it against the law to take someone and totally remove them – from their community, their language, their history of their people; where they belong.

Take us back to your life as someone who’d been taken away from family and community.

Could you tell us a bit about that?

I was bounced around in the foster care system.

I felt that no one wanted me. I heard my caregivers refer to me as a burden. My first thought was: “Well, send me back!” I thought that my community didn’t want me or else they would have come to get me. I was a child. I didn’t understand. I was alone, abused, isolated, wanting to die but not knowing how to kill myself.

As an adult I experienced homelessness for a time, living in abandoned places, washing my clothes in gas station washrooms and putting them back on wet. Those were challenging times.

Where was God in all this?

I was sent to Catholic school and it was there that adults taught me about God and that God was someone, somewhere, who was really powerful. I was quite young when I heard about God and realized that He was real. At a young age I thought that God could take me because no one else wanted me. So I’d pray to God take me away to be with Him. But He didn’t. Day after day for years I’d cry myself awake because I’d wake up and I’d still be here. Even God didn’t want me.

I had no one who’d answer my questions. The school stated, and it’s on my school record, that I was mentally handicapped and I’d never grow in capacity beyond the age of 10. Why would anyone talk to me about spiritual issues?

I had a child’s faith. I listened when people told me about God and His character.

I learned early on to be discerning about what people were teaching – I’d read the Bible for myself and not let the adults know that I was actually reading the Bible, not just looking at it. I didn’t want to get into trouble. I also learned really young that not everyone who talked about God and Jesus really believed what they were saying.

How did healing happen for you?

I didn’t know it at the time but God’s healing of me began when I was young. God gave me gifts of discernment and insight that allowed me to have visions and awareness. These gifts enhanced the skills I already used to protect myself from people who would hurt me. Those skills included learning how to watch the nature of people – how they turned; how they walked; the cues that would tell me they weren’t telling the truth. Even so, having these skills and gifts

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It is not right, fair, or any other noble word you may use, that Indigenous Peoples in northern Ontario cannot use the water to drink. And they face exorbitant food prices. Food and water insecurity should not be tolerated in any part of Ontario far less Canada – there’s something inherently wrong with this!

didn’t keep me from being abused. As a young adult, this was one of the greatest challenges to my trusting in God. When did you know that God loved you?

I had promised God at my son’s infant baptism that I would raise him in the church, in the life of the church. Christian living would become everyday living. So I knew that if I just went through the motions that my son would see through it. How I was conducting my life would have to change – there was no other way. I knew I had to make that move.

So there was a moment at home. My son was two and a half years old. I gave up my hold on what I wanted for the future and I said to the Lord that this was going to be a different walk. I gave my life to Christ: “Jesus, I don’t know what is going to happen but if I keep talking to you, you will guide me. I will read and study your Word.”

The hour I spent with Jesus after I said that, was the first time I loved Jesus. I did not know until then that salvation could be so freeing. And after that hour I could now say I am a Christian. I spent months and months studying the Bible, the Ten Commandments. I never wanted to be surface level. I wanted to go deep.

Why did you decide to be the plaintiff in the Sixties Scoop settlement case?

I didn’t decide to be the plaintiff! I just decided that somebody needed to do something about it because enough was enough. And I knew it wasn’t going to be lickety-split. It wasn’t going to be quick. I needed help. I found Jeffery Wilson of the law firm Wilson Christen. The law firm needed two plaintiffs and I was ready to be supportive doing whatever I could – getting the word out, speaking and going to rallies.

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You ended up standing as the plaintiff.

I chose to stand for three reasons.

First, someone had to and it had to be an everyday common person that had gone through the Sixties Scoop and had lived that experience and I was one of those people.

Second, our children continued to be taken. The mandates that had allowed for the Children’s Aid Society to take children in the ‘50s, 60s and 70s were still in place and a large number of Indigenous children had been taken away from their communities. They still are.

Third, each Indigenous community has a future and it’s based in the demographics of the children in the community. If we were to continue to become and be the Peoples we were intended to be – we needed our children.

To every Nation, children come with gifts – for themselves to thrive in this world – but also to better their communities.

Each child has spiritual gifts. If Indigenous children aren’t in their communities, how are the adults in those communities supposed to help these children reach their milestones?

Only a community can raise up a medicine man or woman because the teaching of these roles begins when children are toddlers or earlier. If someone is going to be a storyteller or songstress – they hear the songs and the flow of language before they are born. And all through their toddlerhood and childhood, they’re becoming experts in their role in the community so by the time they’re 12, 13, 14 years old, they’ve had 10 years of being involved in the role they’re going to have and that they’re going to want to choose as a community member. By the time they’re 25, they’ve become masters of their gift.

When these spiritual gifts are not present, how can you raise up a community in wholeness and wellness? There are missing pieces – individuals are not there to fulfill their roles.

How was God preparing you to step into the role of plaintiff?

I prayed that God would help me to become the kind, wise person He wanted me to be. I studied and read the Bible because I wanted to see the Word and then pray. I knew that was how gentleness would grow in me.

I learned a lot from Daniel – that Indigenous Peoples weren’t the first to be oppressed in the world. Daniel went to the kings and he spoke to people; he led his people. He did what he did

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for the people – in obedience. I looked at that and said, “I have to learn how to do that.”

I had to learn to temper my anger – you can’t slap people and tell them to be nice. I know anger, but I chose.

There’s a place for anger, but when you’re trying to help somebody to learn something new and to learn a different way, that anger has to be put aside. In order for our Canadian government and those people who administer the laws and write those mandates to change, we had to place that opportunity to change before the Government in a gentle and good way.

I despise and dislike what happened to me – but I can stop and choose to be kind. The fruit of the Spirit – kindness, gentleness, self-control – are all available to me whether I was at a rally or in court. Some people once asked me: “What are you trying to do – change the world?” I don’t separate myself from the hurt of my Sixties Scoop experience…but I tell them “Yes – common everyday people can – we just have to be consistent.”

Gentleness is a conscious act; a deed that one does. You can’t help people if you’re going to harm them in the process. “You can’t beat up the people you invite,” an elder told me one time. If I lived by the eye for an eye rule I’d be walking around blind and people around me would be in pain.

I couldn’t ignore the realities in my life but I had to remember that it was because of them that I carried the burden I did. My elders told me to lay my heavy-burdened blanket down and leave it alone. Do what I had to do, then return, pick up my blanket and continue on.

What was that burden?

My desire to live in a country that has laws that say you can’t take children away from their communities. If I had to endure a long court process to make a different, better country then I was going to do that!

What did it cost you to be the lead plaintiff – the voice and face of thousands of survivors?

In 2002 I began seeking a way to do this work. In 2009, we made our first court filing and the process ended with a settlement made in 2017. This was a struggle for all of Canada. This was about creating laws in Canada for all children.

What do you wish you knew back then that you know now?

I wish I had known a human being with whom I could have shared all of the experience, without causing them to become fearful; depressed or concerned about me and my wellbeing; someone who wouldn’t have been traumatized by my story. I couldn’t tell all my life’s traumas to the media because I didn’t want to hurt people. I only shared enough so that people could understand that people will inflict horrendous abuses on the vulnerable when there

is no blanket of community protection; when no one is making others accountable.

I also wish I had known that as well and healthy as I was, that no one is ever done healing.

Did you have any Scripture that carried you during those court years?

Joshua 24:15 (ESV): But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. This was my verse from 2002 when this journey began. It was the truth that said to me whatever happens here, I will serve the Lord. I could stand up and say this verse no matter where I lived.

You can’t live the life I’ve lived and not know anger and hurt, but the gifts of the Spirit – we choose to allow them to grow in our lives, and that’s the peace – that choice to serve the Lord – that’s the peace that helped me to walk through the process. I wanted to show Canada a better way.

What’s next for Sally Susan Martel?

I want to do more fun stuff. I love drumming and singing and doing fun grandma (zaama) stuff. I go into schools more now and sing with the toddlers. And I sit at meetings and speak of how to make the world better; how to help people find their voice.

What do you want Canadians to remember now, almost six years later?

That the mandates of departments and organizations that get funding through the Government still have in place the same words, the same policies and procedures that allowed for the Sixties Scoop to occur. This is Canada’s choice – to keep in place all that was built on oppressive laws that are written into the Constitution. This is why Canada’s laws need to be implemented in a way that says that which is tolerable now, is actually oppressive and harmful and needs to change. Go to the Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation to learn more. People are working there to make sure that the laws being changed are effective and being followed.

Whatever we tolerate as Canadian citizens will continue. It is not right, fair, or any other noble word you may use, that Indigenous Peoples in northern Ontario cannot use the water to drink. And they face exorbitant food prices. Food and water insecurity should not be tolerated in any part of Ontario far less Canada – there’s something inherently wrong with this!

People say Canada is the best country in the world. It’s the ordinary everyday people that make this so and they need to recognize that they – everyday common individuals – are capable of moving mountains.

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Making Disciples in Post-COVID Marburg, Germany An Update from Canadian Baptist Ministries National Field Staff Xiaodan Fröhlich

BY ELEANOR CHUN XIAODAN HAS BEEN SERVING with Canadian Baptist

Ministries (CBM) in Germany for the past twelve years.

As part of the Chinese Ministries Team, she and her husband, Philipp, minister to Chinese students, many of whom have never heard the Gospel before. These students flock to Germany for the free post-secondary education.

But first, they must adjust to their new surroundings and learn the language, which can be quite challenging.

Xiaodan notes that many of these young people often experience culture shock and homesickness. By extending hospitality and friendship, the Fröhlichs are able to welcome them and help them through these significant life changes. They also offer practical knowledge and help in navigating the administrative and bureaucratic aspects of life in Germany, as well as addressing issues of loneliness and depression. Along the way, they share the Gospel with many who have never encountered it before.

The majority of those coming from China have heard of Christianity but may not necessarily understand what it truly means. A fair number of them are curious to learn about the Bible, even if they don’t yet profess faith.

Having grown up in an atheist family herself, Xiaodan is well-positioned to understand this curiosity. She came to faith while studying in Switzerland which eventually

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led to her call to full-time ministry in 2005. She studied at St. Chrischona Theological Seminary in Basel and served the Church in various capacities. Rev. John Chan, CBM’s Director of International Partnerships, was serving with the Chinese Ministries Team around this time and invited her to Germany. This initial experience sparked her heart to minister in this area.

“I was really touched by the holistic approach CBM has to the world, specifically integral mission. CBM allows us to bring healing to the world, act out our faith in our everyday life while following our calling,” she shares.

Her favourite part of the ministry is having meaningful conversations with the students, particularly the women.

While sharing a new perspective on the meaning of life in Christ, she’s also able to counsel them in relationships and in their future plans.

Xiaodan and Philipp also started a youth group in February to minister to the younger generation who gather from the neighbouring cities of Kassel and Göttingen. Recently, God answered prayers for a space in Marburg for childcare and children’s programs.

Most of the students return to China after completing their studies in Germany. This opens a wonderful opportunity for them to influence the culture in Chinese society. Xiaodan walks alongside them as they re-transition to life back home by helping them locate a church.

When asked about how we can pray for her, Xiaodan noted: “Please pray for strength and for joy to be refreshed continually in this ministry. I wish I could keep in contact with those who have returned home, but our time is limited, and our focus must shift again to the next set of new students coming to Germany. There are many relationships fostered and opportunities to share the Gospel in a short time frame of six months to three years. But with that are many goodbyes; it’s a continual cycle.”

The Fröhlichs have recently been able to welcome SENT teams again after the pandemic. In a recent visit to Canada, they were encouraged by Canadian Baptists who had participated in short-term mission trips years ago.

They shared how they still pray for the students they had met during their visit to Germany.

You can find out more about Xiaodan and Philipp’s ministry by visiting cbmin.org/xiaodan-frohlich

PHOTO COURTESY OF CBM

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Ordinary Women

empowering us – both the extraordinary and the ordinary women of the world. Maybe it’s about us joining in what He’s doing with whatever we have to offer, whether it’s Nobel Prize-worthy or not. Maybe it’s enough that I am Transforming the World God’s beloved daughter, placed exactly where God would have me be, and provided with exactly what is needed for my part in God’s work.

BY REV ELAINE POPROSKI I’m the pastor of a very small church. I have a good education. I’m a decent preacher. I love hearing people’s stoWHEN I READ BAPTIST WOMEN’S new vision state- ries and gathering with one or a few people over coffee or ment – empowered women transforming the world as God’s a meal to discuss deep questions of faith and life. I’m also Beloved – the names of a number of extraordinary women chronically late for things. I struggle to keep my apartcame to mind: ment tidy. I’m acquainted with depression. I often can’t Leymah Gbowee – an African woman at the centre of be bothered to cook for myself. I almost never invite peothe Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace campaign in ple to my apartment for a meal or a visit. If I was God, I’d the early 2000s. She inspired thousands of women to stand want to deal with these less admirable traits in me before against the violence and corruption of her country, ulti- entrusting me with anything or anyone. But I’m not God. mately witnessing the resignation of And God has chosen to empower me, Liberia’s war-lord president, the dis- God has chosen to as I am, to be part of His mission to armament of her countrymen, and transform the world. He doesn’t need the democratic election of Liberia’s empower me, as I me to be extraordinary. He just needs first female president. Leymah was am, to be part of His me to be willing. awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011.

Last fall I brought lunch in a slow Mother Teresa – an Albanian mission to transform cooker for a small group that was nun who dedicated her life to living the world. He doesn’t meeting after church. I’d intended among India’s poorest and sickest to buy a platter of sandwiches, but people. She is widely remembered need me to be I didn’t get around to ordering it for her extraordinary grace and com- extraordinary. He just until it was too late. What you need passion as well as her fearlessness to understand is that I’m not a great needs me to be willing. when it came to challenging those in cook. I don’t love cooking. No one power worldwide. She was awarded has ever accused me of having the the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. gift of hospitality. But that Sunday’s slow cooker meal Harriet Tubman – an escaped American slave who turned into another Sunday’s slow cooker meal and then returned to the American South numerous times to bring another and another and another. When the small group other slaves to freedom. She was never caught, and she study was done, we decided we wanted to keep having never lost even one escapee. During the Civil War she lunch together. We invited the rest of the congregation fought, spied, and nursed as part of the Union Army. If to join us. Now, a year later, I’m still bringing lunch every there’d been a Nobel Peace Prize in those days, Harriet week (occasionally we order pizza) and every Sunday Tubman should surely have been awarded one. everyone, or almost everyone, stays for lunch. This time I don’t know about you, but I’m nothing like these together around the table has proven to be one of the most women. I can’t imagine having their strength, their important things God is doing to revitalize our church. compassion, their force. These women transformed the As we sit around the table laughing, eating, talking world. Women like them are still transforming the world. about our lives – the good and the bad – God is doing Next to them, who am I? I’m not extraordinary; I’m very something extraordinary. We are being changed. We are ordinary. Is Baptist Women’s new vision statement about being transformed more and more into Jesus’ likeness. I the likes of me? am being transformed more and more into Jesus’ likeness.

And as we are transformed, so are the bits of the world Empowered Women Transforming the World we touch in our day-to-day lives. I may not be a Leymah as God’s Beloved Gbowee or a Mother Teresa or a Harriet Tubman, but I Maybe this vision statement isn’t about me transform- am nevertheless an empowered woman transforming the ing the world. Maybe it’s not about Leymah Gbowee, world as God’s Beloved.

Mother Teresa, or Harriet Tubman transforming the world. Maybe it’s about God transforming the world by Elaine is the lead pastor at Walmer Road Baptist Church, Toronto SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023

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How to Transform the World…

One Grandchild at a Time

Philippians 4:8 (ESV)

BY REV. TANYA YUEN with HEATHER SKEATES

AS I BEGAN WORKING on “Grandtastic Aventure,” a new CBOQ

Kids initiative to inspire, encourage and support grandparents in intentional spiritual grandparenting, I began contacting people I knew were investing in the lives of their grandkids. I immediately thought of Heather Skeates, a woman I have known since my childhood and a member at First Baptist Church Kingsville. “What is an example of how you intentionally nurture the faith of your grandkids?” I asked her.

Heather responded “I’m not sure my input would be valuable however I have many thoughts on how, so maybe I will just email them to you?”

Following are some of the many ways Heather intentionally nurtures faith in her grandkids.

Sunday School I taught Sunday school for years and so the benefit of having my grandkids in my class so that the lesson I taught on Sunday could be brought into their weekday lives has been invaluable – I’m able to encourage and reinforce things they’ve learned.

Gratitude jars We would go over their days at school and encourage them to look for good in their days – like someone letting another go first, sharing a toy, opening a door, saying “I’m sorry” – and record it on a paper and fill their jars.

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PHOTO BENJAMIN MANLEY (UNSPLASH.COM)

“…whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

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Movies They love watching movies together, so Christian movies are a great way to spend time with them…popcorn, jammies and cuddles!

Gardening As they get older, they realize the amazing things that God provides when we plant a little seed. In time, we have food to eat!

Praying I talk to God with them continuously as we walk, eat, speak and live life.

I’m teaching them to pray for their ‘enemies’ and give all their frustrations to God.

Life opportunities We continually chat with them about what they want to pursue after high school and share about things they might want to consider doing to use the gifts God has given them Praying for them Every day we lift them up many times before our Heavenly Father for Him to guide and direct them and lead them closer to Him.

‘Whatever’ This is my codeword for them from Philippians 4:8. Brett Ullman was a guest speaker at our church years ago and I’ve never forgotten that he encourages youth to use that verse as a filter for making choices. If whatever they’re figuring out fits through the screening of verse eight then it’s a go! I sign each of their cards, with ‘whatever’! And they all know what it means (I hope!).

Heather (centre) with her granddaughters

Texting Every so often I send a quick love or encouragement text

PHOTO COURTESY OF HEATHER SKEATES

Giving Rather than buying gifts for them at Christmas, we give them photos from the Canadian Baptist Ministries gift catalogue and tell them what we bought…chickens, rabbits, goats, schooling etc. This teaches them that there are people in the world that don’t have all the ‘stuff ’ we have here.

Dates When each child reaches their 10th birthday, my husband and I (Nana & Papa) take them on a ‘date.’ We get cleaned up and go to an event of their choosing and then out for a special dinner together. We tell them stories about what they were like as babies and little children. I then create a book for them of their first decade that includes photos, stories and a letter from Nana.

God-sightings This is the easiest thing to do whenever and wherever we are…

God-sightings are everywhere! They all learned about this at Vacation Bible School.

Grandtastic Grandparents Heather, living out her life as a beloved daughter of God, is investing into the lives of her grandkids in a way that will continue on in generations to come.

Intentional Spiritual Grandparenting Matters Grandparents are the second most influential people in the lives of kids, after parents, and so CBOQ Kids is committed to seeing grandparents thrive in their God-given calling of investing into the lives of children.

Psalm 78 reminds us to “tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power and the wonders he has done…so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.” cboqkids.ca/grandtastic Visit for a downloadable resource kit, books recommendations, videos and more and join the adventure with our family of Grandtastic Grandparents!

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The Impact of Investing in Another’s Life Community matters

Maria (on left) with Abby

BY REV. ABBY DAVIDSON DURING MY TIME in university we

were always encouraged to seek out mentors and among the staff and faculty, I was able to find people who were living lives that I wanted to emulate. People who were humble and influential. People who loved Jesus and found ways to show it. When I entered the world of ministry, first in a local non-profit and then in the local church, I was fortunate enough to have women and men in my life who were very willing to invest in me.

Their investment helped me say yes to my calling. In 2017, two years after stepping into a pastoral role, I was ordained. The whole process was very encouraging and I remember thinking that everyone should go through this process of affirmation and celebration of calling, regardless of their vocation.

In 2018, I participated in Uptick North America, a discipleship program for emerging young Baptist women leaders. Through this 20

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experience I learned so much about God, ministry and myself – that part of my calling is to encourage and walk alongside leaders, particularly leaders who may not recognize their own abilities and callings.

I felt that prompting from the Spirit when I met Maria, a young woman who attended my church.

She and her family had come right before the pandemic. They didn’t know many people at the church, but she reached out to me and we started meeting regularly. She opened up about her life and we would talk and pray together. She worked for a local non-profit and her heart of service came through every time she mentioned her work. Not only that, but her life experience had given her unique insight into the lives of the people she was serving. The child of immigrants, she had grown up in Toronto and knew what it was to live with very little. She understood poverty and the systems that perpetuate the cycle in so many families. She was also not afraid to name those systems and call out injustice when she saw it.

It became clear to me that she was unaware of the impact she had on those around her. Around that time, Uptick Baptist Women was preparing to run a third cohort of women and I nominated Maria. I remember her saying to me after our first meeting that she questioned whether she belonged in the group. Not only was Maria was new to ministry, she had grown up in a very different church context. After Sunday worship she would often ask me what certain words meant or why we did things a certain way. She felt

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like she was an outsider coming in and was more comfortable serving in the background, yet Uptick was preparing leaders to serve in upfront and visible ways.

Through Uptick, Maria was introduced to different ministry leaders and had opportunities for personal, professional and spiritual development. As Maria’s time with Uptick was coming to a close, the executive director of her organization announced she was leaving. I asked Maria if she would consider the position and she was adamant that she was not the right person for the job. I gently challenged her on it but didn’t push too hard. A few weeks passed and the organization asked her to consider the director position. She decided to take time and pray about it and realized that this was what God was calling her to and what He had been preparing her for over the last year.

Maria has made amazing strides in the short time she’s been executive director. She is committed to justice and has fostered a culture of belonging in the organization, not only for the communities they serve, but for the staff and volunteers as well. Her humility is one of her greatest strengths as she prays about everything and relies on God for movement and change.

Every time I talk to her she says: “You won’t believe what God has done…,” and tells me about something good that is happening. I smile because I do believe it. I believe that God is using her, His beloved daughter whom He has gifted, to lead and to show His love in a way that is uniquely hers. And I thank God that He used me to be a small part of her journey, to be one of the many people who encouraged her, prayed for her, and maybe pushed her to consider more. *Maria is the Executive Director of Neighbourlink North York, a community development organization in Toronto. You can read more about their impact at neighbourlink.org Abby pastors at Spring Garden Church in Toronto

PHOTO COURTESY OF ABBY DAVIDSON

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Meeting Mireya Being used by the Lord

PHOTO JEM SAHAGUN (UNSPLASH.COM)

BY MARGE KIRK WHEN WE DOWNSIZED from our home of 35 years to a condo unit it soon became clear: We had downsized our home but not our neighbourhood, because in this building we have hundreds of neighbours!

We’ve lived in our condo for 10 years now. Early on, I had joined the social club to meet residents and greet newcomers. And sometimes we had an opportunity to help our neighbours in this condo: a ride offered; people picked up from the airport; food shared; plants watered and mail gathered while owners are away; giving minor medical help. Really – just ordinary things people can do for each other wherever they live.

I met Mireya in the elevator one day and discovered that we lived on the same floor, a few doors apart. She was an outgoing, vivacious Latin American. We quickly became friends, connecting in various ways and always glad to see each other for conversation, sharing food and plants, ideas and experiences.

Then, one day last December she found out that her stomach pain was serious. Cancer. Not operable. Not treatable. Sadness set in.

She soon had to spend time in the hospital and then she decided to do hospice at home. Her husband was wonderfully supportive through it all. He arranged for the many necessities of home care and organized their condo in such a way to suit her requirements. His care for his wife was admirable! In the midst of that he hosted two members of his wife’s family who came from their home country for two weeks. The family members stayed with us in our unit, just down the hall from their Mireya. Convenient for them yes – but what a blessing that was for all of us!

Her husband took some much needed care for himself over a three-week leave from work: long walks, good nutrition, meetings with a counsellor…and prayer.

Mireya did have some Christian caregivers and an attentive and kind doctor, all of whom were with her regularly.

And she chose me to be her confidant, encourager, dispenser of hugs, and sometimes personal helper. I was able to assist somewhat in her business affairs and decisions concerning end-of-life care. I prayed often with her – for her need for strength to keep on; for all the decision to be made; for God to give her His peace.

Three nights before she passed, her husband asked me to come – now! To pray with her. I went in to her home.

Mireya asked me, “How do I know where I’ll be after I die, and how do I get there?”

Wow! God, what an answer to my prayer request for Mireya: Salvation – a personal relationship with Jesus, thus securing a place with Him after she left this world. I explained simply what Jesus had done for us and asked if she would like to receive His forgiveness and have a relationship with Him. She followed me in praying the words and then heaved a great sigh of relief. There was joy in her eyes as she said, “Now I’m OK. Now I’m ready.” We and her family prayed the Lord’s Prayer together. We were all present with her at her passing.

The celebration of her life and the reception were at my church – Kanata Baptist – as her family didn’t regularly attend church. Thankfully my pastor was very helpful and accommodating. The service was appropriate and meaningful for the family and sincerely appreciated.

As I reflect on Mireya and the relationship we had, I recognize that I had been given the unexpected privilege, and honour, of playing a part in this important drama of life…and end of life, on this side.

Marge goes to Kanata Baptist Church, Ontario SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023

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BOOK CLUB REVIEW

Don’t Invite Them to Church Loving our neighbours

BY RENÉE JAMES DR. KAREN WILK’S GUIDEBOOK gives us 123 pages of practical help on how to obey Jesus’ strong reminder that we are called to love our neighbours.

By the time you’ve read and worked through this 8-week guidebook with your small group or with other believers who live in your neighbourhood, you’ll be well on your way to living a richer, more rounded life – simply because you’ve begun to relate with your neighbours. You’ve invited them to know you and to be known. Karen’s guidebook lays out this understanding with fresh insight and lots of testimonies: Neighbours aren’t projects and loving them isn’t a concept or program. It’s building true, honest one-step-at-a-time relationships with people who may be agnostic, atheistic, never-go-to-church, of another faith – it doesn’t matter. “How could this be?” you may ask. “And why would I want to?”

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SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023

You’ll have to read the guidebook and plan to attend our meet-the-author chat later this fall to learn more, but as Karen posits in her introduction, “What if believers who lived in the same neighbourhood formed a community with a mission right where they lived, whose purpose was to make their neighbourhood a place where the values of God’s kingdom become more visible and real?”

Karen taps into a long-overlooked fact here: Most of our neighbours want the same things we do for our neighbourhood. We may actually share more than a street name; we may share values, and a common desire to see good happen on our street, and the next one over, and the next, and the next.

This guidebook “invites you to pursue the calling and challenge of loving your neighbor, not just with words, but with postures and practices.” To that end, Karen lays out four pursuits to be done each week for eight weeks – a weekly group meeting, plus daily in-depth devotional readings, experiences in spiritual disciplines and thought questions – all to help you and your group grow in your relationships with God, in your spiritual lives, and in love with your neighbours.

Yes, you’ll cover a lot of theological, spiritual formation, prayer and community-building ground over the eight weeks. I enjoyed how Karen’s teaching on the spiritual disciplines highlighted their importance to our call to love our neighbours. In fact, she covers practices some of you may already know from Soul Sisters, Complete and the Sensible Shoes book clubs: breath prayer, lectio divina and more. We cannot be missional women unless we are empowered by the Spirit and equally important, know how much each one of us is God’s Beloved.

I did lose my way at times as I read through the guidebook though perhaps this was simply a case of how the pages are laid out. Even so, this guidebook is well worth the read and a great gathering tool for your groups this fall. Buy it if your group is looking for a practical, experiential, biblically-grounded and in-depth guide on how to really step into its calling to transform the world. That world is a doorstep away.

Order your copy from Read On Bookstore and receive free shipping.

Mark the date! Join us to meet author Dr. Karen Wilk on November 9 at 7:30p.m. EST. We’ll have a chance to ask Karen about the book’s content, her writing process and more. ED Helena Bergen will facilitate this meet-the-author chat.

Not to be missed!

Online registration opens in September at baptistwomen.com/events

CO N N ECT TO OT HERS

A HISTORY MOMENT

Inspirational Leaders EVERY CIRCLE is asked to choose “‘an inspirational Leader’ – a woman who cannot fulfil her duty in her own strength, but whose ‘strength is made perfect in weakness’ and who by example and precept can lead all the women in her circle to say ‘Have Thine own way, Lord.’ “There is no circle so poor but has one woman of this kind,” says The Link & Visitor “– one who is anxious that the Spirit should have more of her rather than that she should have more of the Spirit.” By 1931 there are 90 inspirational women.

— from Our Heritage Becomes Our Challenge – A scrapbook history of the Baptst women's movement in Ontario and Quebec by Esther Barnes, p. 86

We Remember Each generation has the opportunity to fuel mission for the next. We are thankful for the following gifts:

IN MEMORY OF

Audrey Mitton, Cornwall Ruth Wilton Dundas, Hamilton

CBWOQ (Baptist Women) Seeks A Volunteer Treasurer The treasurer will work collaboratively with the Executive Director and Board to provide expert financial oversight for the organization and support the organization in achieving its fiduciary responsibilities. She will take the lead in working with other professionals our organization engages with including a bookkeeper, investment manager, and auditor.

This is a volunteer position of approximately 5–10hrs/month (hours will vary depending on time of year).

If you fit the criteria and you have a passion for the women of our churches, this is an opportunity to impact and help guide, shape and ensure the future of this ministry.

Rev. Ruth Esther Brown, Port Colborne

MORE INFORMATION Find a link to the full description of the role at baptistwomen.com on our home page.

TO APPLY Please indicate your interest in this position with a cover letter outlining credentials, experience and prior ministry involvement to Helena Bergen, CBWOQ Executive Director, at cbwoqexec@baptist.ca

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023

IN HONOUR OF

Kathy Donevan, St. Catharines, 90th birthday Nancy Taylor Dundas, Hamilton, 90th birthday Mrs. Edith (Edi) Faiers, Peterborough, 100th birthday

LIVE MAGAZINE

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If you would live in victory…you must refuse to be dominated by the seen and the felt.”

Attributed to Amy Carmichael, missionary

How we connect with each other has had to change, but Live magazine keeps our bonds lively and strong.

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