Welcome to Saint John First Wesleyan Church. We’re working on our site right now, but hope you will check back soon to see how we’re doing.

SJ1

It was great to see our summer crowd increase yesterday following the conclusion of the Beulah camping season. All went well with the funeral I conducted in Woodstock on Sunday afternoon. The McKell family passed along their thanks for your prayers as a church.

Last Tuesday I served at the Saint John Chaplaincy with our youth team that is preparing to go to New York City in August for a mission trip to the Bowry Mission. Crystal Koven is the leader of the this team and had the teens there to learn about working in a mission environment. I was so proud of all the teens and adults who helped on Tuesday. We served over 100 people a spaghetti dinner that was prepared by the teens. Thanks to Crystal and Mark Koven, Rhonda Esty, Cory Esty, Sheila Young, Daniel Young, and Megan Young.

Friday evening, I traveled to Woodstock to meet with the McKell family and Pastor Dale MacDonald on Saturday morning to plan the funeral service for Walter McKell and then traveled once again to Woodstock right after preaching here in Saint John on Sunday morning. I am growing more and more familiar with the trip between here and Carlton County. I have been seeing moose and deer almost every trip. Please pray that I continue to see these animals off the road and not near my moving vehicle.

We will now be holding our church town hall meeting for Sunday August 6^th at 6:00 PM. This will be an opportunity to prepare for our Fall ministries and allow congregation members a chance to ask ministry related questions in an open forum. One of the events that we will be highlighting will be our September Fall Community event. Our Noahs Park childrens ministry will launch that day and we are going to invite the community to join us for church and a BBQ following the service. We will need all hands on deck that day. Please let me know if you are willing to help in one of the following areas..

BBQ Team: Leader is in place, 3 people needed

Greeters/guides for before and after service: 6 people needed

Set Up Team: 6 people needed

Clean Up Team: 6 people needed

Refreshments/Serving Team: 4 people needed (These people will serve seniors or people with special accessibility needs)

Traffic Control Team: 4 people needed

Please e-mail me or call me at the church office 634-8900 to let me know where you can serve. Thanks to Lloyd Teakles for lending his contribution to our logistical planning.

Please remember we are invited to celebrate this weekend with two wonderful couples. Friday evening with Allan and Isobel Young on their 60^th anniversary and Sunday afternoon with Aubrey and Grace Moore for their 55^th anniversary and 80^th Birthdays.

Quotable: We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the hurts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedomsto choose ones attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose ones own way

Victor Frankl, Mans Search for Meaning

Have a great week!

E

Dr. Eric R. Hallett

Lead Pastor

Saint John First Wesleyan Church

www.saintjohnfirst.org

Greetings SJ1 E-mailers,

After today, July, 2006 is in the history books. The summer is going by too fast as always here in NB. I am looking forward to August as I have two professional development events to attend and a couple weeks of vacation scheduled with my family. I will be attending the Leadership Summit in Moncton from Aug. 10^th to 12^th. The event is a simulcast that 50,000 church leaders from around the world attend. I started attending this event eight years ago in Boston, then Orlando and now here in NB in Moncton. My other professional development event is taking place in Indianapolis from Aug. 28^th the 31^st. I will be trained in assessing potential church planters for the Atlantic District of the Wesleyan Church. I am going at the request of our District Superintendent, Dr. Wilson. The district and denomination are funding all the expenses. Our family vacation will be taking place August 14^th to August 28^th. Pastor Paul and Pastor Renata will be handling day to day details and our Pastor emeritus, Pastor Jack MacKenzie has agreed to be available to conduct funerals should there be any while I am away.

This past week, I attended two special events. On Friday, I was honored to open in prayer for the celebration of Allan and Isobel Youngs 60th anniversary event. A highlight for me was hearing three of the Young sons sing together along with hearing the whole family sing as an ensemble.

The other special event was the 55^th anniversary and 80 birthday celebration for Aubrey and Grace Moore. It was once again an honor to represent First Wesleyan Church and bring greetings and the opening prayer. Special thanks to Gwen Griffin, Maridel Green, Donna Gilliland and others (Please forgive me as I know I am forgetting some who served in significant ways) for serving over the weekend with hospitality. Thanks as well to all the First Wesleyan folks who attended and helped with refreshments.

This week, I was also able to catch up on a number of projects and items of correspondence that had been piling up on my desk since late June. One of these is a stewardship and giving update that will be arriving in your mailboxes within the next week or two. Thanks to Gary Arthurs and Gail Weyman for their work on this project. Gary is our volunteer business manager and he tells me that our regular givers deserve a word of thanks for their consistency and generosity. Thank you to all of you who give. I do ask that you would pray that our core of consistent givers would continue to grow as we meet the challenges of growing our church together.

I also had the opportunity to work with one of our summer students, Sarah Arthurs, on donation letters for our Sept. 10 Community Service/Noahs Park kick-off and BBQ. Sarah has also been working on an invitation postcard that we plan on sending to the 5000 closest residents to our church. Our community is just as important as and probably more important as a mission field than anywhere on planet Earth for us. Our mission is to invite people to follow Jesus Christ. Please pray that these invitations will help draw more people to check out our church and that many will find faith and fellowship here.

Quick reminder that our church Town Hall meeting that was scheduled for Sunday July 23^rd has been rescheduled for Sunday August 6^th at 6:00 pm. Please feel welcome to attend. I will be laying out our mission for the Fall ministry season and fielding questions from congregation members. This Sunday morning, August 6^th, We will have a guest representative from Creation ministries offering a Christian perspective on the Creation/Evolution cultural discussion. Come and bring a friend.

On Saturday, I visited Kennebec Nursing home and had the chance to see Mrs. Ramona Whipple and Mrs. Edwina Wilcox. Please pray for Edwina, she was transferred from hospital to Kennebec a little over a week ago. If you have a chance to drop by and see her, I believe it would make a difference.

Finally, Congratulations to David and Gail Weyman. Their son Stephen was married on Saturday. We wish them Gods Blessing!

Quotable: One of the keys to achieving worthwhile goals in life is the ability to understand the principle of delayed gratification.

E.H. Reflecting on the Weight Watchers experience

Have a great week! E

Greetings SJ1,

For me a great week is when I can have the opportunity to get out of the office and visit with people. By that standard, this was a great week.

On Monday, I met with Pastor Dave McElhinny and Pastor Shawna Rogers of River Valley Wesleyan Church and Pastor Don Ingersoll of Kings Valley Wesleyan Church. We get together monthly to share together and support one another as local Wesleyan pastors. I am grateful to serve on the team with these colleagues.

Tuesday was a visitation day. I spent time with Bob and Carole Giggy, Joe and Aldeane McNeill (Aldeane was released from hospital for Anemia treatments), Mrs. Ida Bradley and Mrs. Leota Farnham at the St. John St. Stephen home. I also visited Ron Inman at his work and stopped in to see Les Callahan but missed him by a few minutes.

Wednesday morning was an early start. I woke up at 3:45 am to send off our team serving this week in New York City at the Bowry Mission. Please be in prayer for our teens and adult leaders who are serving in this Christian outreach by preparing meals, conducting services and doing general repairs. Later in the day, I met with Ralph Smith and Janet London to discuss wedding preparations and met with Lloyd Teakles and Pastor Paul Tweedy to work on our Sept. 10 Community BBQ logistics.

Speaking of Sept. 10, we are intending this day to be a time to invite new people to our church and show them that Christians can worship and have a wonderful time. In order for this event to succeed, we need to pull together. Here are some of the ways we need to cooperate. 1. Invite Friends 2. Bring an extra lawn chair 3. Bring Food and Pop (more details on this in the next couple weeks) 4. Park on the unpaved portion of our lot or on the street (we want to make our best parking spots available for guests and those with special needs) 5. Save the best seats for guests (same concept as the parking, we are asking that our people fill up the front section and far side of the sanctuary so guests and regular attendees with special needs will have the seats near the door and at the back of the room.

Friday, I visited in hospital with Burton Guptill and Elga Garnett. Both of these church members had heart incidents on Thursday and had to be admitted to SJRH. The doctors discovered blockages in Burtons heart that they are going to treat with medication and diet. Elga had a 95% blockage of one artery and two stints were inserted in order to open up the passage of blood. Burton and Elga and their families were all in good spirits when I visited and had prayer with them. Please hold them all up in your prayers.

Saturday, I visited Mrs. Wilcox and Mrs. Whipple at Kennebec manor.

Sunday afternoon, I want to thank Andy and Paulette Young for taking our oldest three children to the beach. Kimberly and I picked them up mid afternoon and had the opportunity to meet Paulettes brother and sister in law. Late afternoon on Sunday, I had the chance to meet with Duane and Heather Milbury. Duane and Heather are new to our church. Heather attended Saint John first as a teen and Duane grew up just up the street from me in Woodstock. Duane graduated from BBC in May. He and Heather have two children, Erin and Megan. We are thrilled that they are seeking ways to use their ministry gifts to serve God here at SJ1. Sunday evening, we had approximately 35 people come to our Town Hall meeting. We had an excellent time of sharing ideas and the opportunity to ask questions. I will be sharing these ideas and questions in upcoming update e-mails. My final pastoral task on Sunday evening was to place a call to Heather Duley, the daughter of Pastor Walter and Mabel Fernley. Mrs. Fernley passed away on Sunday morning. Heather and her father are mourning but they are also grateful to God that she died at home and with beautiful peace. The funeral will take place Tuesday at 2:00 at Moncton Wesleyan Church.

Please pray for our Forty Days of Community campaign that begins in September. Our discipleship pastor, Paul Tweedy is serving as campaign director and Doug Finlay has agreed to serve as prayer director. We are praying that we can at least triple the number of small groups we have meeting around the city and here at the church. All full time staff members will be leading groups and we are hoping to invite many new people in the community to check out our church by joining a small group in their neighborhood. Stay tuned for more information and more ways to help in the coming weeks.

Quotable: In 40 Days of Community, I want you to think exponentially and believe God in greater ways than youve ever believed in him before. This is not an easy thing. Believe him for more small groups. Believe him for increased attendance. Believe him for greater offerings. Believe him for more people coming to Christ. And let this campaign stretch your faith, the faith of your leaders, and the faith of your members. Let it challenge your creativity and strengthen your dependency upon God.

Pastor Rick Warren

Have a blessed week!

E

Dr. Eric R. Hallett

Lead Pastor

Saint John First Wesleyan Church

www.saintjohnfirst.org