The gathering, entitled "Oasis: Refreshment for the Journey" took place from August 25th-28th at Crandall University in Moncton. From the first moment I stepped on campus, I was welcomed and made to feel at home.
Ready to start!
Although there were activities taking place from Thursday afternoon until Sunday morning, my time began on Thursday evening until Friday evening, as I had other commitments looking for my attention. I attended the first Rally (what they call their large gathering), which included music provided by a band from Moncton called "Slane Hill"and talks given by Dr. Peter Reid (Executive Minister) and Rev. Sam Chase that both focused on seeing where God is already at work in our neighborhoods. Dr. Reid asked the question, "Who in our neighbourhoods is God calling us to see differently?" He encouraged us to tell stories of how our congregations are encountering the world--a very important reminder that we need to celebrate all of our congregations and the ministry we are doing, whether large endeavors or small. Rev. Chase encouraged us to think about how well we know ourselves so that we can better focus on hearing God calling us. He passionately told us that, "It's not good enough to do better versions of old things, but we need to do new things." Both of these speakers inspired me to think about the way we see our place in the community and how we interact with the world outside of our buildings and ministries. A timely topic, for sure.
Friday morning, found me accepting an invitation to the President's breakfast, which was a gathering of all of the ecumenical guests and others who serve within different areas of the Baptist Church. The President, Al MacIsaac, or "Big Al," as he was affectionately known, welcomed us to this event. It was here that I met The Rev. Christopher Ketch of the Anglican Diocese of Fredericton, and The Rev. Sandy Sutherland of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. We quickly found out that we held much in common, and were able to discuss many joys and challenges that our denominations face.
The Revs Christopher Ketch, Catherine Stuart, Sandy Sutherland
Then came the business portion of the weekend, known as "Family Business" which to my surprise, was only allotted Friday morning and a small part of Friday afternoon, if necessary. This included the typical welcoming of guests, reading of minutes, presenting of reports, and the ever popular passing of the budget! It also included motions to change the name of the gathering in Atlantic Canada, and some changes to their Regulations Concerning Ministry. Let's just say that by the end of the meeting, I had come to appreciate that the word "Amendment" is universal! I greatly appreciated their attention to prayer time throughout the meeting, even the time given to turn to our neighbour and pray with them.
The Business Table!
Much like our own Conference, later in the afternoon, there was a choice of seminars to attend, giving us smaller groups and different topics to engage. I chose to attend the Kairos Blanket Exercise, hosted by members of the Mennonite Central Committee and Aboriginal Community. Even with so much time that has passed since taking part, I am still at a loss for words with respect to how this exercise opened my eyes and my heart to the experience of our Aboriginal brothers and sisters. My encouragement to you is to take part in this exercise if you have the chance...you certainly will not regret it!
After supper, we attended the second Rally, also including worship and music by Slane Hill, which included a familiar to me piece, "My Lighthouse" by Rend Collective! We heard a keynote address by Dr. Anna Robbins, Associate Professor of Theology, Culture &Ethics at Acadia Divinity College. Wow! What an inspiring message! She reminded us that "Christian Discipleship can look like a lot of different things, only limited by our imagination!" and that it is our faith that is going to get us through the storms of change because they are not going to ever calm down.
Dr. Anna Robbins Slane Hill sings My Lighthouse!
This gathering was a mixture of business, but most importantly, it was a time to refresh and renew ourselves for the work of ministry. However, the main focus was on that, with business as a small part of the necessary work. We heard stories of what was going on in many of the congregations across the Atlantic Provinces (they include Newfoundland and Labrador as well!) It included 755 people, 511 of whom were delegates, 135 non-delegates (like myself!), 8 nursery age children, 52 older children, and 49 youth! I made many connections, and was reminded that, even though our theological expression might be different, in many ways, we have the same passion and love for God and the ministry that calls us to serve.
It was indeed a blessing to spend time at Oasis 2016!
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