Front and Centre

2021 is panning out to be an exciting year in the Brigades. The pause that was forced upon us last year was a great chance to reflect upon the activities that we do and place a high emphasis on the activities that are important to achieving the aims and objectives of Brigade. I know that within BB, we have had numerous changes in the activities that we do over the years but the purpose behind the activities have not. This is the main reason that the movement has existed for so long.

Within our company it has been great to see the development of new leaders in the last few years. The most pleasing aspect is to see how they learn skills and can implement these practically through multiple areas of the program. This year we have seen significant changes in how the company operates, both in terms of people and structure.

This reminds me of Galatians 6:7 (parable of the sower) that tells us that we reap what we sow. While we are concentrating on sowing seeds, it is equally important to nurture the seeds that we have sown and that have had the pleasure to see germinate. Without any guidance and continual nourishment these germinations will shrivel and die off. This is a major factor as to why BB has been around for so long worldwide and a long-term program at Emmanuel.

Noel Pinkerton

Boys' Brigade Company Captain

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Front and Centre

The church year is made up of a number of seasons and these seasons help give a rhythm to our Christian life. The Church year begins in late November with Advent which runs for four weeks leading into Christmas. Christmas lasts 12 days and leads to Epiphany which varies in length each year to accommodate Lent and Easter. Lent leads us into Easter which lasts 6 weeks and concludes with Pentecost. The post Pentecost season is known as ordinary time and takes us through to the end of the church year when we begin Advent again.

Next week marks the beginning of Lent with the celebration, or memorial of Ash Wednesday. Lent is a time of reflection, denial and preparation leading up to Easter. Though we are not particularly emphasising Lent we will be picking it up in our daily devotion and providing people with a daily bible reading plan to help people reflect during the Lenten season. After Easter we will be starting a whole of church study. For now the daily plan will help people focus upon discipleship and how to be a part of our journey as a church to grow disciples who grow disciples.

The material from the daily plan (see attached pdf) can be done as a daily devotional and the reflection questions, though the same each day, help us focus on how we allow God’s word to influence our Christian living. The Sunday readings are the ones we will be using each Sunday if bible study groups would like to focus on those.

Blessings,

Brian

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Front and Centre

Last week I was reminded once again of why I am so glad to be here at Emmanuel. The strength of any church is its people, and last week as we commissioned our elders and our group leaders and our volunteers in our various ministries and groups I could see the strength of our church. It is great to work with amazing people as they respond to the call of God in their lives and express that through their daily living, and through their involvement within the Christian community. Last year was a challenging year and many things were put on hold. As a result many things were paused. As we enter this year it is time to hit the play button. The issues of COVID will continue to be with us, and I doubt that a vaccine will change that very much, as we will always be trying to respond to the latest variant or mutation. The result is that we are entering the new normal and as a church we want to tackle that proactively.

The Church Council and Ministry Team have met over the last 2 Fridays doing a disciple making seminar. The question we are grappling with is how we create a disciple-making culture within this new normal that COVID has given us. We want to re-launch our small group ministry through lent and will be encouraging people to form into groups either face-to-face or on-line or a hybrid of both.

As Sunday school resumes it is exciting that we have more children, and as a result need more leaders, what an awesome problem. The way we band together and work together and share ministry together is the strength and potential that we have. As we keep a clear sense of purpose and vision, as we remain focussed on developing a disciple making culture, as we seek God’s wisdom and direction, we will flourish and grow as the church God is calling us to be. This is not an unrealistic dream but it is grounded in our own experience of the Holy Spirit working in and through us.

As I said I was excited last week as so many people were affirmed and commissioned into roles, and our desire for the Holy Spirit to bless and lead us in those roles. Friends it will be an interesting year, and one that I believe that God will bless and use us.

Blessings,

Brian

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