live A Baptist resource for women on a mission November - December 2021 · $3.50
Holding Fast More About Helena Bergen (p3) Mark the Date! Baptist Women’s Spring Conference (p19) Reflect on 2021 using the prayer of examen (p20) Programs launch: Soul Sisters Online (p18) Complete (p22)
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COLUMNS 2 CONNECTING 23 A History Moment 23 We Remember BIBLE STUDY 11 Encourage Love | Inspire Good | Hold Fast It’s a Two-Way Street
features connect to GOD 3 More About Helena Bergen New executive director of CBWOQ 4 Let God In Holding fast to God’s love 6 What Holds Us Fast? Who or what pins you down? 8 Walking on the Surface of the Storm 10 Hold Fast Testimony from a Baptist Women’s leader from Telangana, India RESOURCES 19 Shaped by Love | Shaped to Love Baptist Women’s Spring 2022 Conference 20 Holding Fast to What is Good Reflect on 2021 Using the Prayer of Examen 22 Complete A discipleship program for women leaders at any age or stage CONNECT TO MISSION 14 Becoming Present in the City Holding fast through prayer walking 16 How Then Shall We Live? Reflections on Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation 18 Great Canadian Bible Study 2022 18 Soul Sisters Online Cover photo: Unsplash.com/MarkusSpiske
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“Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. Marry and have children . . . Multiply! Do not dwindle away! And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.” (Jeremiah 29:4 – 7 NLT) Jeremiah sends these instructions from God to all the exiles, including leadership, taken from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar to live in Babylon. Over August and September I’ve imagined being forcibly displaced— surrounded by societal and cultural hostility— and hearing Jeremiah’s words. Jeremiah’s words, if we let them, carry the Spirit’s power to revolutionize how we live and how we engage our communities. His words force us to reckon, both with the spaces of exile and injustice in our lives, and with the communities in which we live. Build. Plan. Stay. Plant. Eat. Multiply. Work for Babylon’s peace and prosperity. Pray for it. In fact, your peace and your prosperity; your very welfare are tied to it. Jeremiah’s words, God’s words to us, dare us, even in those spaces, to live with generosity and with faith; to pray the consolation of Christ over all and to expect that the way we live and pray will bring lasting spiritual change. Jeremiah’s words invite you and I to hold fast. RJ
VOLUME 94, NUMBER 6
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 Executive director Helena Bergen Editor and communications director Renée James 416-651-8967 rsejames@gmail.com Art director Donna Lee Pancorvo of GEPM Group Inc. (gepmgroup.com) Contributors Jessica Banninga, Dr. Cheryl Ann Beals, Linda Ellsworth, Kathy Gust, Victoria Mok, Deepthi Paul Nalla, Morgan Wolf Circulation and subscriptions Subscriptions 416-620-2954 live@baptist.ca Subscriptions Individual: $20* (direct or through promoters) US & overseas: $39 All currency in $C unless otherwise noted. 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. Member, Canadian Church Press. ISSN 2293-5096. Canada Post Customer Number 1008592. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada for our publishing activities. *includes HST
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More about Helena Bergen New executive director Canadian Baptist Women of Ontario and Quebec On September 1, 2021 Helena Bergen became CBWOQ’s new executive director. You may reach her at cbwoqexec@baptist.ca.
Helena’s great passion in life is exploring the height, width and depth of the wonder of life in Christ. As a young adult, her life was dramatically intercepted and transformed by God and it set her on a lifelong journey of knowing Him, growing in relationship with Christ, and discovering His purposes for her and the Church. A love for God’s Word and His truths was planted in Helena’s heart from a young age, and she has been an informal and formal student of the Old and New Testaments ever since. Helena also loves the study of culture—to understand the factors that shape, move and motivate people and how these relate
to Christian faith. Another great joy for Helena is her family. She has been married to the same good man for almost 33 years and he can still make her laugh harder than anyone else. They have four beautiful daughters who captured their hearts from the moment they set eyes on them. After the birth of the fourth, they asked God for a son and so He gave them one. They called him Samuel so that they would always remember that this was the son God had given them when they had asked. So far, the daughters have brought three wonderful sons-in-law into the family and five amazing grandbabies. Helena has many other joys in life including reading, adding new books to her ever-growing library, adventures in travelling, and all things outdoors such as walking, biking, swimming and kayaking. She likes family camping trips and gatherings friends and family in the back yard and around the table, but as an introvert, she also needs a lot of solitude and
processing/downtime. Helena comes to Canadian Baptist Women of Ontario and Quebec with a passion to equip and empower women to fulfill their God-ordained callings, and to see the development of vibrant and dynamic communities of women across Ontario and Quebec who are marked by deep and transformational knowing of God’s love for them, love for each other and for their communities. There are many ways in which God has been preparing and shaping her for her role with CBWOQ. These include keeping up with her millennial and Gen Z kids and their culture, ongoing involvement in the local church, working with vulnerable and ethnic populations in the non-profit sector, small business start-ups, and a mid-life return to school. She is presently in her second year at Tyndale Seminary in the MDiv Global Mission and Intercultural Studies program. CBWOQ files
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Let God In Holding fast to God’s love
God is with us. No matter what. It doesn’t matter if our lives are tidy, messy or somewhere in between. It doesn’t matter if we’re in a season full of hope and joy or suffering and despair. It doesn’t matter if we’re measuring up to expectations or disappointing ourselves and others. In any and all situations, God is with us and His posture towards us is love. The question before us is: “Does this fact make a tangible difference in our lives?” Do we know what it is to experience God in all areas of life, including areas of doubt, failure and suffering? Do we know how to experience God’s love and care when the bottom drops out? Are there spiritual practices that can help us get there? One of the most powerful spiritual practices I know is to simply offer to God whatever I have, wherever I am.
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by Kathy Gust Kathy is a spiritual director. She is well known to Baptist Women through her workshops and guest teaching at events. 4
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I learned this practice during a time of great suffering in my life. At first it seemed strange. I would sit outside on my deck, hold out my hands and say things to God like, “I don’t know what to do, I offer this to you.” . . . “I really hate the situation I’m in, I offer it to you.” . . . “I feel like You don’t answer prayer, I offer that to You.” As you can see, these were not prayers full of hope and faith that the situation would change. Those prayers had been said long before and were long gone at this stage. I’d run out of prayers asking for a miracle and run out of faith that there was anything in myself that could make things better or bring freedom. All I was left with at this point was the prayer of letting God in . . . into this place that I didn’t want
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to be, a place of pain, uncertainty and grief. I’d much rather have God invite me to go somewhere else but since that wasn’t happening, I learned to invite Him in to be with me where I was. It changed my life. What happens when we invite God to come in to the places where we are but don’t want to be? What happens when we invite Him to come and be with us as we suffer? Does the suffering immediately end? While miracles are always possible, I’ve learned that quite often the answer is no, the suffering doesn’t immediately end. The feeling of suffering doesn’t immediately end either . . . it still hurts. What does happen is that we learn experientially that we are not alone. In Jesus, we have someone with us who also knows what it is to suffer. Our relationship and love for Him deepen as we consider His suffering and realize a taste of what it might have felt like in light of our own. We can ask: “Jesus, is this what it was like for you?” There is a peace and deep comfort that can come even in the midst of suffering. A love and sense of safety to know that even here, God is with us. It’s inexplicable yet true.
Here’s the thing. There is a great vulnerability required in order to let someone in to our suffering, even when that someone is God. Suffering, doubt, being unsure, feeling fear . . . these all make us feel unstable, out of control, tender and vulnerable. Tell the wrong person about it and the suffering is compounded by their judgement, rejection or lack of understanding. If we believe that this is
I learned to invite Him in to be with me where I was. how God will treat us, we will not let Him in to comfort us. When we find ourselves hesitant to invite God in, it’s helpful to turn to the Scriptures or to a mature believer to see again the way that Jesus treats people who are suffering, who are unsure, who are vulnerable. It’s also helpful to ask God to give us the courage and grace that we need to invite Him in. As I’ve continued the practice of letting God in to be with me wherever I am, I’ve experienced an interior freedom and expansiveness
that I didn’t realize was possible. I’ve discovered that there’s something about just being in the presence of God, being still and knowing that God is God, and that over time, is deeply healing in itself. I have a greater understanding and acceptance of myself, a deeper trust and awareness of God’s very real goodness and care, and an awe of Him that takes my breath away. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Jesus’ words as recorded in Matthew 11: 28-30 NIV).
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What Holds Us Fast? Who or what pins you down?
by Renée James
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Nails come in all shapes and sizes. I was 18 the night I stopped praying for my brothers. Sean is severely autistic. Niall has Down syndrome. I had tired of hurling nightly prayers for divine healing, or variations on that theme, at my bedroom ceiling: “God, the Bible says You heal. Please heal Sean and Niall.” “God, what about our family made You think we could handle two handicapped sons?” “Is it something we’ve done? Not fair!” “Lord, why am I normal and Sean and Niall not? Is there something I’m supposed to do or be to make up for them?” “God, why their handicaps? Why?” My words always seemed to bounce off the ceiling and fall flat . . . words that couldn’t move an implacable God. God’s non-answer to my “Why?” pierced me deeper than the in-my-face physical nature of my brothers’ handicaps: Niall cannot feed, clean or clothe himself. He will never talk, read or write. Sean fares little better. Nails have names Sean and Niall were my nails: sharp and pointed; driving home one fact: God was God and who was I to expect that He’d answer my prayers the way I needed? Nails hurt. I’d rather pry them out, bandage the holes and limp away—far from the affront Sean and Niall represent to my understanding of God, or rather who I think God is and what His creation should be—beautiful, in order, whole. But Sean and Niall won’t let me pry them out. They are my brothers
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after all. My mind’s eye always sees Sean’s twitching fingers, hunched shoulders and too-thin body in perpetual motion, even when he stands still. Niall’s crosseyed glances and smiles mute the “God, I guess I’ll have to fix all this somehow as You can’t or won’t” script that runs in my head. I can’t hobble away from them any more than I can from the unanswered “Why?” of those countless prayers. Perhaps I didn’t know how to listen. Perhaps my faith couldn’t accept the finality of God’s silence. Whatever the reason, I stopped praying for Sean and Niall’s healing. Instead, I grieved God’s seeming abandonment of them, of my family, of me. And for the first 21 years of my marriage, I chose barrenness over the unknown terrors of pregnancy. I resumed praying for Sean and Niall 30 years after I’d stopped. It was session five in An Hour on Sunday, Willow Creek Canada’s 2006 arts conference. Nancy Beach, then a teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church, had just shared about the reward of Sundays for those leading or involved in worship: transformed lives. “Were we living like how Jesus would live if He were physically in our bodies? What were the places in our lives that needed to be more like Him?” she asked. “What did we need to let go of so that we could discover the depths of God’s heart?” As her questions faded, a video began to play of Bill Hybels and members of his team
baptizing congregants in a lake. In that moment, I let go of my need for God to answer my “Why?” questions about Sean and Niall. I turned off the script in my head for good. I looked away from my nails and up at the images of uplifted hands, joyful tears, water. For the first time, I saw the embodied promise of baptism: that life could be made new, here and now, physically, because of Jesus’ death and resurrection. I prayed. Thirty-year old words shape my prayers but I offer them in a different spirit now: “Dear God, thank you for Sean and Niall. Be their daily bread in the ways they need You to be today.” “Dear God, you are the Great Physician. Only You can heal Sean and Niall. Heal me too.” “Dear God, I don’t understand what great work You are doing in my family so help me to be patient.” What nails do In the hands of Jesus, the Master Carpenter, Sean and Niall have done what only nails can do. First, they’ve held me and continue to hold me in that place where I identify, in a way I couldn’t otherwise, with the suffering Christ who cries, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Glue wouldn’t have had the same effect. Jeremiah’s cries and Habakkuk’s poetry give me permission to lament; to not rush to the assurances that so many of our hymns and contemporary Christian songs offer. Yes, I know
that Jesus is coming again, that this world is not our home and that a new heaven and earth are in the cards. That doesn’t make injustice or grief any easier to swallow. Second, Jesus uses my nails to change my understanding of God. Those nails keep me fastened to the heart of my Heavenly Father who wants me to come to Him and say: “Yes. Nothing, not even Sean and Niall, will separate me from You,” and mean every word. And it’s in that place too that I am slowly learning that God the Father understands my grief because He also grieves. Finally, it is because of Sean and Niall that I am blessed: “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh” (Luke 6:21 NIV). Because of them, I savour the luxury and power of being able to communicate with words that are understood. Because of them I grasp at least one aspect of God’s shaping of and call on my life: “ . . . to mourn with those who know pain or suffering and lack the power or freedom to bring it to speech.” Quarrels, conversations, secrets and belly laughs over family jokes . . . I will never share those experiences with Sean and Niall; One day though, I will. I need nails. We all do. A version of this article originally appeared in Christianity Today Women – CT’s online magazine. Niall passed away in 2019. He was 39.
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Walking on the Surface of the Storm “And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2 RSV)
We all have our YouTube rabbit holes. One of mine is watching videos of storms at sea. Usually, they are filmed from a camera mounted on the bridge of a ship which implacably records the churning waters as the prow of the ship mounts high on the crest of a wave before plunging down into the valley below. An inadequate windshield wiper periodically swabs the glass, impervious to intimidation by the elements at war around it. Facing a terrible storm on land is one thing—the wise man built his house upon the rock and all that—but facing it in a tiny vessel at sea is another. And really, all vessels are tiny in comparison to the size of the ocean at storm.
by Morgan Wolf Morgan is a writer from Calgary. She blogs about her faith and writing at anothergratuitousmdash.blogspot. ca. Morgan has published a book entitled Altruism in Gophers.
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We’ve all been trying to hold on for a while now. Holding on is excruciating when it feels like the storm will never end; that morning might never come; and despair, rather than faith, feels as close as a breath upon your neck. What is there to lay hold of when everything around you is moving water? I’ve been thinking a lot lately of Jesus walking on the water in the fourth watch of the night (Matthew 14:25-34; Mark 6:48). Walking on calm water would be a miraculous feat. But traversing it the middle of a storm when the wind whips spray off the tops of the waves and the waves are cartwheeling across the surface of the turbulent deep in foaming chaos?
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What is there to lay hold of? “Impossible” doesn’t quite cover it. The gospel accounts each give a slightly different glimpse of the miracle as they always do. Perhaps most arresting to me is the detail that the disciples wonder if Jesus is a ghost . . . so incongruous is His form to the circumstances; so uncertain is their sight of Him amid the waves. It is disturbing to realize that there are some times when even Jesus seems insubstantial in the middle of the storm. But what seems isn’t what is. In times like these, the temptation is to judge what seems and what is likely; searching for any solid piece of flotsam on which to cling. But that is how idols are made. Instead, straining to see the Lord in the middle of the crashing waves—when we can’t quite get a solid look to know for sure that our Deliverer is at hand—takes us to the outer limits of our measure of faith. It requires lifting our focus from the strain of pure endurance . . . to fixing our gaze on the One who is Spirit and Truth. It is anchoring our sight in another
kingdom and calling the things that are not as though they are. Man doesn’t walk on water, but the Son of Man does. How perplexing that Jesus walked on the surface of the storm instead of calming it. He covered the distance on foot, an experience that must have been cold and challenging as He strode up and down over the swells to reach those straining against the weather in their little boat. It begs the question for me— and for all of us, really—why doesn’t Jesus calm the storm? We’re all exhausted from straining against the wind and the waves of circumstance. We’re all tired of this long night and its troubled weather. Storms are catalysts for revelation, though. They bring to the surface what is hidden in the depths of each one of us and strip away the superfluous from our circumstances. They make the world formless and wild, but they have their purposes—even if those purposes are known only to God on this side of eternity. But even so, I can’t help but feel that the fourth watch of the night is at hand and the Lord is near. You can catch a glimpse of Him—if you look up—He is once again moving over the face of the deep.
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Hold Fast Testimony from a Baptist Women’s leader from Telangana, India Holding on to Christian faith in India is a unique and a challenging personal experience altogether. India is a nation with many religions, traditions and cultures. In many places throughout the continent, many elements exert an influence on and challenge Christianity and Christian believers like me: the majoritarian religious fundamentalism, caste, class, patriarchy, corruption and more. Some churches, Christians, educational and social institutions also encourage and practice such
I am a Christian
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divisive factors. I am a fourth generation Christian and I still see many challenges, not only in the village where my forefathers lived, but also in the well-developed cosmopolis where I now live. One morning a Christian teacher confronted me, asking which caste and class I belonged to. I was not comfortable answering. My parents had never discriminated against anyone nor had they taught me to discriminate. “I am a Christian, ” I answered. I then explained that I did not encourage these questions. Because
of my reply, the teacher developed a grudge. She started involving herself in my personal and social life. I felt so agonized as she began manipulating my academic studies. This troubled me deeply and at last I decided to get transferred to another college, no longer able to endure this fellow Christian. This was the time in my life where I felt I was lost. I felt the darkness hovering. I felt hopeless, stuck in a no-win situation with all doors closed and my dreams of pursuing my education shattered. This was the time when I learned that God had a great purpose—to
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teach me through every good thing and every challenge in my life. These would be holy lessons and values, all precious and not taught in schools or colleges. God taught me from His Word and through His abounding love to learn and unlearn certain things. Even as I went through this season of hopelessness, I learned to have hope. When I faced shame, I learned to stand up high. During times of distress, I learned to destress myself. When pushed away, I learned to swim back. At times of failure, I learned to win. He taught me to reconstruct myself with His power alone. I learned that if I held on to Him, God would take care and make all things beautiful in His time. Faith reposes completely in the love of God. Hope vividly anticipates that God will fulfill His promises in a particular way. And this hope is noticeable and contagious. So today, nothing from the past affects or disturbs me. Every day starts fresh and free, because the past day has ended with the eternal peace, love and joy that comes from the Lord who keeps my heart, soul, spirit and body safe from all evil. by Deepthi Paul Nalla Sister Deepthi Paul Nalla was one of several Telangana Baptist women leaders who took part in Baptist Women’s Life Circles leadership training this spring. She is in her final year of studies for her Bachelor of Divinity degree.
ENCOURAGE LOVE | INSPIRE GOOD | HOLD FAST It’s a Two-Way Street Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works. Hebrews 10:23-24 (ESV)
It was absolutely traumatic! I had just purchased an expensive zero gravity chair for my daughter on her third post-op day following complete knee replacement surgery. A chair of this type had been my best friend following the same surgery a number of years ago, and I longed to see her gain some relief from the painful recovery she was experiencing. She was able to get out to the patio, sit in it, and enjoy the sun for about 30 minutes. Then, quoting “a funny feeling of distrust,” she returned to the house to lie down. Since I had a business call to make, I settled comfortably into the chair. Not five minutes into that call I heard an ominous C-R-A-A-AC-K. Suddenly I found myself lying on my back, knees at my chest, arms squished, completely folded into that chair! My husband came running. The chair would not open. He literally had to pry me out of the chair, as I clung to him for dear life. If I let go of Doug to try to help myself, I would simply end up still folded in the chair on the ground. It was only when I grasped his strong arm that he was able to wrestle me out of that horrendous position. Little did I realize last week that this encounter with a chair would be the life-picture of Hebrews 10:23!
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READ Hebrews 4:14-16 and Hebrews 10:23-24 (References from the NKJV and NLT unless otherwise stated) What do you think the writer means when he refers to “. . . holding firmly to what we believe” and “. . . hold fast the confession of our faith”? _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ It is so interesting to realize that even our Saviour, Jesus Christ, had to cling to the Father in order to fulfill His purpose on earth. READ Isaiah 42:1-9 Through the prophecy of Isaiah regarding the coming Messiah, God revealed several wonderful truths. In verse 1, God refers to Jesus as His: a) ____________________, Who is _____________ by the Father b) _________, Who brings the Father ____________________. As His “Servant Elect” Jesus is ordained by, upheld by, and delighted in by the Father. Unsplash.com/PYL
by Linda Ellsworth Linda is the member care coordinator for Christian Camping International, Canada.
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In verse 4 God promises that the Messiah will not ______________ , nor will He be ____________________. In verse 5, God establishes His “credentials” as a trustworthy Father
by stating three creation facts: 1. ________________________ _________________________ _________________________ 2. ________________________ _________________________ _________________________ 3. ________________________ _________________________ _________________________ Are you getting the picture of a God to whom you would want to cling? Way #1 of the “Hold Fast” TwoWay Street READ verses 6 through 9. In these verses, God addresses Jesus directly. Verse 6: “I the Lord, have called You in righteousness, AND WILL HOLD YOUR HAND!” Jesus, Very God of Very God, was CALLED by the Father to a specific purpose. God the Father promised the Son that He would “hold fast” to the hand of the Saviour . . . keeping and guarding Him. In the last half of verses 1 and 6 and in verse 7, God then spells out the four-fold mission and purpose for the sending of the Son to the world: 1. ________________________ _________________________ _________________________ 2. ________________________
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_________________________ _________________________ 3. ________________________ _________________________ _________________________ 4. ________________________ _________________________ _________________________
your own words: _________________________ _________________________ _________________________
I can just imagine the Triune God shouting the victory exclamation mark in the words of verse 8. State verse 8 in your own words. _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ God the Father promised to hold fast to the hand of the Son throughout His time on earth . . . that’s way one of the two-way street. (As we celebrate the birth of the Saviour, just picture those tiny fingers clinging tightly to Mary’s hand!) Take a few moments to search through the Gospels and list the many times cited where Jesus had to cling to the His Father’s hand. (John 17 is particularly beautiful). Did you find a common thread? _________________________ _________________________ _________________________
READ Psalm 37:23,24 and record His promise to you _________________________ _________________________ _________________________
Way #2 of the “Hold Fast” TwoWay Street READ Luke 23:44-46 Even in His final breath, the Son was holding fast to the Father’s hands. Write verse 46 below in
How does the “Two-Way Street” work in your life? God promises to cling to you!
READ Psalm 63:1-8 and record the two-way-street statements I will . . . _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ Because You… _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ READ Isaiah 40:10-11 He will . . . _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ READ Isaiah 40:28-31 Because He will _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ “They” (you) will _________________________ _________________________
_________________________ My tale of woe with that chair Remember my tale of woe with that chair? Picture that chair as the everyday circumstances and sins of life that trap me in their vice, keeping me from fellowship with the Father who loves and sustains me. Just like the Father, upon hearing my shrieks of woe, along comes my husband Doug who, for 50 years, has fulfilled his vow to love, cherish, and rescue me from my self. Doug immediately gripped my arm with his strong hand. He was not about to let go until I was safely on my feet. However, when I had the brief brilliant idea that I knew better how to get myself out of the tangled mess, I pulled away, landing myself on my side . . . still trapped in the chair. Only when I returned to the safety of Doug’s grip was he able to extract me from my predicament. And so we are . . . with the Father who has vowed to hold us in the palm of His hand—loving us, protecting us, and saving us from ourselves. Yet how often do we choose to let go and try to save ourselves? Holding fast . . . clinging to . . . really is a two-way street! Keep holding on to Him—He never lets go of you.
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Becoming Present in the City Holding fast through prayer walking
by Victoria Mok Victoria can be found exploring and prayer walking in her neighbourhood most Tuesday evenings. She worships at Mississauga Chinese Baptist Church.
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Suburbia offers a perfect venue to disengage from a busy life. Paired with the recent lockdown measures of COVID-19, I relished the opportunity to unplug from everything. As an introverted homebody, I had a fantastic time bundled up inside my home bubble, catching up on knitting and resting from the social interactions that often drained me. I was nice and comfortable being by myself, unchallenged and untethered from many of my usual obligations.
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It challenged me to pray out . . . into the corners
However, in the midst of this season of disconnection and a dire worldwide plague which did not leave my home city unscathed, an old passage I had encountered nudged me and reminded me not to stay curled into myself. I have always been intrigued by Jeremiah’s exhortation to the exiles in Babylon to keep invested in the place they had been forced to go to by building houses, planting gardens and giving their children in marriage. Rather than disengaging from this foreign place, God’s direction is for the Israelites to make themselves a part of the life of the land, giving them this crowning command: “Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper” (Jeremiah 29:7 TNIV). Jeremiah 29 offered me two things during the pandemic. It reminded me that I needed to expand my prayers beyond my own circles and into the whole city, and it challenged me to pray not only in my home, but also out in the corners of my city. So, in the depths of the winter lockdown, I wrapped myself up in my thickest coat and ventured out into my neighbourhood to pray over COVID’s effects on my city. Wandering the streets along with my housemate, we saw shuttered schools, quiet office buildings and closed-up retail shops. These places would not normally make it onto my prayer list, but seeing them reminded me to pray for the students, managers
and workers who used to populate these places. Our thoughts then drifted toward the difficulty of online schooling, the financial impacts of joblessness on families, and the stresses of essential workers. There was no shortage of prayer points springing from the sights we saw, and we lifted to God anything and everything that came to mind. The funny thing about investing in my city through prayer walking is that it’s addictive. I notice little quirks about my neighbourhood that I would not have discovered by car, like how a creek is nestled in the midst of high-rise buildings, or how I can watch buses pass into a transit way from a pedestrian bridge above. Prayer walking made me fall deeper in love with the city in which I am locked down. It also created a thirst to explore more corners of my city so that I can cover more areas in prayer. For me, prayer walking has become a vital antidote to the disconnection I feel living in suburbia. While suburban life often involves driving from one place to another without noticing the needs that exist in between, prayer walking has removed my constant rush, allowing me a chance to pay attention to the details of my city in order to pray. Suburbia is no longer just a place where I detach from my daily stresses and retreat into my own selfcare. I am aware that my presence in the city means that I am to take part in life here. God is invested in the people of my city, and He desires His people to grow roots in the city and love it just like He does, one step at a time.
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How Then Shall we Live? Reflections on Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
by Jessica Banninga Jessica is communications and social media specialist with CBM
As a 24-year-old woman, my first sustained learning experience of Indigenous history and justice issues was at university. In one of my classes, the Truth and Reconciliation’s 94 Calls to Action were handed out in small booklets. Indigenous issues continued to be a theme through my learning and I am very grateful to the professors who intentionally integrated these topics into my degree. It’s through those learning opportunities, I have become aware of my responsibilities to walk in a good way with the First Peoples of Turtle Island (North America). September 30 was a historic day. For the first time in Canadian history, people across the country paused to recognize the first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. Many people also wore orange shirts as awareness around Orange Shirt Day and Phyllis (Jack) Webstad’s story continues to grow since its establishment in 2013. Canadian Baptist Ministries (CBM) invited Canadian Baptists across the country to take part in a Service of Remembrance and Reflection. Speakers included Cheryl Bear, former CBM Indigenous Relations Specialist; Danny Zacharias, associate professor for New Testament Studies at Acadia Divinity College and a faculty member at the North American Institute for Indigenous Theological Studies (NAAITS) and pastor Gordon Petawabano with his wife Mary Jane Petawabano—both of whom are Indian Residential School survivors. BigStock.com
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Danny Zacharias shared a reflection on the importance of this new national day and closed with a drum song in honour of the children, and for the healing of survivors, and for families and communities whose children did not come home. The importance of remembering Danny shared about why this new national day was important. “The future is nothing but what we tell or don’t tell about the past. [And] the future will be as good as the telling of our past is truthful,” he shared. Danny attributed this insight to theologian Chris Green—an insight that sparked him to meditate on the importance of remembering. We speak the truth and tell the stories as we move forward in a better way, and commemoration is an important way to do this—human beings are forgetful. Danny reminded us that throughout Scripture, God called His people to remember: when they were in slavery, when they were in exile, when He gave them victory. For Danny, Scripture also shows us that physical ceremony or embodiment is an integral part of that holy call: eating lamb during the Passover to remember the Exodus; living in tents for seven days to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles; taking communion to remember Jesus’ death on the cross. “We are forgetful people,” said Danny, “and we need to remember in good ways. Not simply to recall something to mind, but to enter into an embodied act of remembrance. We must educate ourselves and listen to the stories. As Chief Justice Murray Sinclair said, ‘This nation must never forget what it once did to its most vulnerable people.’”
Our call to remember As September 30 becomes an annual event on our calendars, may we strive to be people who choose to remember. May we remember God’s call to do justice, spoken through the prophets (Isaiah 1:17, Micah 6:8). May we sit in the uncomfortable truth of Genesis 4:10, when God tells Cain that Abel’s blood cries out to him from the ground. Injustice is not forgotten by those who are affected. Families remember. Communities remember. God remembers. And the land remembers. May we also recognize that we have benefitted and continue to benefit from injustices of the past— injustices that were intentionally and expressly done to the Indigenous peoples of this land. And so, may we be people that enter into holy lament. May we take the time to feel and wrestle with the necessary emotions of shock, anger, despair and shame. May we not shy away from hard truths as we speak with our friends, families, churches and colleagues. May we walk away from complacency and into right relationships of mutuality as we seek to repair and renew this broken world as Jesus’ ambassadors. May we recognize that our liberation is bound together—that we cannot be free until all are free. May we speak up and show up—not just on September 30, but every day of the year. May we demand that all the 94 Calls to Action and the 231 Calls for Justice be implemented. Danny left us with this question: “Who do I need to be, given what I now know?” May we seek to walk in a good way, both in word and deed. We encourage you to read and wrestle with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action, as well as the 231 Calls for Justice from the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Inquiry. https://nctr.ca/records/reports/ https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/final-report/
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Great Canadian Bible Study 2022 Every year, Baptist women across Canada meet in small groups to do a pre-set Bible study that focuses on women from the Bible. Participants bring a small offering to support an overseas project endorsed by Canadian Baptist Women. We will publish Information about 2022’s project on our website at baptistwomen.com/events. How the project will work Most women’s groups pick a date in January but any date that works for you and your women will do. 2022’s Bible Study: Titus’ Call To Women This study is a departure from our usual emphasis on a particular woman of the Bible and instead looks at the instructions given to Titus as he leads the church of Crete.
The focus is on relationship—how women can mentor and encourage other women—how community makes our faith stronger when we share our stories reflecting God’s faithfulness. It is a call to positive attitudes and behaviours that best reflect the image of Christ in our lives. Yes, older women are to mentor younger women but more than that, we need to share in spiritual friendship. During the past season of masks, distancing, limited church gatherings and other restrictions, we may have been tempted toward a more reclusive lifestyle than our normal patterns. Study author Rev. Faye Reynolds hopes that “God can use this study to once again pull us toward one another in deepening friendship and spiritual care.” You’ll find the guide and a collection form on our website at baptistwomen.com/resources.
Soul Sisters Online How is your soul today? Do you want to learn how to share your spiritual life with other women in a safe small-group setting? And then pass your learning on to others in your community? Join Baptist women leaders for Soul Sisters Online. Date: Monday January 17 – Monday March 14 Time: Monday evenings | 1.5 hours per session | 8 sessions in total To register: Visit baptistwomen.com/resources/soul-sisters and sign up online. Registration opens December 1 and closes on January 7.
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Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works. HEBREWS 10:23-24 (ESV)
SHAPED BY LOVE SHAPED TO LOVE B AP TIS T WOM EN 'S S PR IN G 2 0 22 CO NF ERE NCE Fri Apr 22 • Sat Apr 23 baptistwomen.com/events
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holding fast to what is good Reflect on 2021 Using the Prayer of Examen Investigate my life, O God, find out everything about me; Cross-examine and test me, get a clear picture of what I’m about; See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong— then guide me on the road to eternal life. Psalm 139:23-24 (The Message) The beginning of a new year is a great opportunity to reflect on the old and the new. • What did we learn in the last year about ourselves, God and others? • How did we grow? • What losses did we experience? • How was God present with us? • What are we hoping for in 2022? There is a spiritual discipline called the examen prayer where we ask the Holy Spirit to help us see where God has been present and where we have missed Him. It is usually a daily spiritual exercise, but it can be used to review a longer period of time, like a year. “The examen makes us aware of moments that at first we might easily pass by as insignificant, moments that ultimately can give direction for our lives.” ~ Dennis Linn In this guide, I have summarized my experiences and the teaching on the examen prayer that you’ll find in Adele Calhuon’s work, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook. by Dr. Cheryl Ann Beals A version of this article first appeared in the January 2021 issue of Tidings magazine and is used with permission. Tidings is published by the United Baptist Women’s Missionary Union of the Atlantic Provinces.
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This exercise of examining your past year can be as short or long as you want it to be. It will probably take at least 30 minutes but could be done over several days if you feel God leading you to reflect more deeply. You will need a notebook or journal, a pen and uninterrupted time in a quiet spot. 1. PREPARE Recall that you are in the presence of God. • Pray: “God, I believe that at this moment I am in Your presence and You are loving me. Thank You for Your everlasting love and faithfulness.” • Reflect silently on God’s loving presence with you. Request help from the Holy Spirit • Pray: “God, You know me better than I know myself. You know my needs better than I know them. Lord, I want to learn from 2021. Give me the light of Your presence to guide me as I review last year. Help me to recall the things that You want me to remember and see what You want me to see. Holy Spirit lead me!” • Reflect on being open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. 2. REVIEW Remember 2021 • Reflect: • What are your general impressions of 2021? • Jot down one- or two-word descriptions of 2021 (no more than 10). • Make a list of emotions that you had, or feelings you have now, about 2021.
RESOURCES
holding fast to what is good Reflect on 2021 Using the Prayer of Examen Review 2021, month by month • Pray: “God help me to determine which events or experiences you want me to review. Help me to see these events and experiences through Your eyes.” • Review major events and experiences • What events, experiences and people impacted you in 2021? • What significant events and experiences do you remember? • Make a list. 3. REFLECT • Pray: “God, help me to reflect on the events of 2021, in order to recognize Your presence, Your blessings, and to see what You want me to discover and learn about You, myself and others.” • Reflect on your list of events and experiences. • What was most life giving? What was life thwarting? • How have you been impacted? What was positive or negative? • What are you most grateful for? Least
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grateful for? When did you experience God’s presence? Where did God seem absent? Where did you feel connected to God, self and others? Where did you feel disconnected?
4. RESPOND • Pray: “Loving God thank You for all that You are showing me. Help me understand. Help me to receive. Help me to respond to Your amazing love.” • Respond: • What is God showing you? • What are you discovering about yourself, God and others? • What themes do you notice? • What lessons are you learning? • What message is God giving you? • Pause and silently reflect. • How will you respond to God and all He has shown you? • Write a prayer of response and thanksgiving. • Share your experience with a friend.
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Complete A transformational discipleship program for women at any age or stage
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His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3 (NLT) The second season of Complete, CBWOQ’s transformational discipleship program for women at any age or stage, will run from January to December 2022. Do you long for an ever-deepening relationship with Jesus that sustains you in every season of life? Do you want to experience the ongoing support of a simple faithful community in which to grow with others and discern God’s voice? Do you want relationships that will launch you into new ideas, new growth and produce real fruitfulness for the kingdom? We believe God wants this for you too, and if this sounds like 22 live • November - December 2021
you, then would you consider joining us for this second season of Complete? Our desire is that this program becomes a catalyst for deep spiritual transformation and maturity. Most of all, we hope that through this program, the Holy Spirit will fan into flame a love for your local community and a vision for your God-place in it. Through guest speakers, assigned readings, practical exercises, assessments, guided discussions and the practice of some spiritual disciplines, we will explore a variety of topics including identity, intimacy with God, discipleship, grief, brokeness, forgiveness, transformation, community, mission and being missional. Being part of this program will require some commitment:
• taking part in two web conferences every month excluding July and August • reading assignments and homework activities every month (minimum one hour/week) • attending one in-person gathering (to be scheduled pending social distancing requirements) There is no charge for the web conferences or the in-person gathering; you will need to cover your own transportation and texts (approximately $50). Helena Bergen, Hilary Vanderwater and Joan Peacock will facilitate the group sessions. We warmly invite you to sign up on our website at baptistwomen. com/resources/complete. Feel free to contact our group administrator Joan Peacock for more information: joanpeacock@gmail.com or 705-761-7602.
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a history moment
WE REMEMBER
Stressed Mother, 1940
Each generation has the opportunity to fuel mission for the next. We are thankful for the following gifts:
A testimony about holding fast
“The Links* of this era say almost nothing about the domestic lives of Baptist women. So this 1940 testimony from an unnamed circle member comes as a surprise. “Loud, angry voices of quarrelling children, ages four and two, sent me tense and irritable to my bedroom. Past experience had taught me that scolding, cajoling, or demanding would not solve the difficulty. I left my door open, and on my knees before God, tension left. “Soon came the crying, clamouring children. My son knelt on one side of me, my wee daughter on the other. Gradually the sobbing subsided. I asked God to forgive our impatience, quarrelling, and hitting, and to help us be more loving. “My son softly repeated each phrase and the baby echoed a few words. The children ran happily to their play and I to my work in the kitchen.”
An extract from page 127, Our Heritage Becomes Our Challenge - A scrapbook history of the Baptist Women’s movement in Ontario and Quebec by Esther Barnes *”The Links” refers to the Baptist Women’s magazine, The Link & Visitor, the predecessor of Live magazine.
IN HONOUR OF Mary Goddard, Brantford (birthday) Helen Hales, Belleville (103rd birthday) Carol Tribe, Otterville (75th birthday) In Memory of Leola Angus, Ottawa Sadie Clark, Hamilton Ruth Ann Haley, Springford Betty Hillyer, Toronto Linda Irwin, Cobourg Jean Matthews, Hamilton Dorothy Rice, St. Thomas Patricia Sedore, Niagara Falls
Bernice’s Picks . . . Faithful Families for Advent and Christmas by Traci Smith $12
Look: A child’s guide to Advent and Christmas by Laura Alary $20
Order online, call or email. All titles available from ReadOn Bookstore 5 International Blvd. Etobicoke, ON M9W 6H3 Tel: 416-620-2934 Fax: 416-234-8840 E-mail: books@readon.ca readon.ca
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Will your anchor hold in the storms of life, When the clouds unfold their wings of strife? When the strong tides lift, and the cables strain, Will your anchor drift, or firm remain? Will your anchor hold in the straits of fear, When the breakers roar and the reef is near? While the surges rage, and the wild winds blow, Shall the angry waves then your bark o’erflow? We have an anchor that keeps the soul Steadfast and sure while the billows roll; Fastened to the Rock which cannot move, Grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love! Priscilla J. Owens
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How we connect with each other has had to change, but live magazine keeps our bonds lively and strong. Let a woman in your community know about live magazine. A subscription costs just $20. Pay at baptistwomen.com or call the editor, Renée James. Choose from three formats: print, audio (CD) or online.
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