A NEW BEGINNING

CBOQ Alumni News| January 2016
A CBOQ Retiree Newsletter
A NEW BEGINNING
My introduction to you is
long overdue.
But you know
how quickly
the weeks and
months go by
when one is retiring from one
job and beginBill Norman
ning another,
if only on a part-time basis. And this
new job is a work in progress; there
was no predecessor whose successes
could be copied or whose mistakes
could be avoided. No, in this job all
the mistakes will belong only to me.
grands live close enough that we
normally see them about once a
week. That, of course, is one of the
great joys of our life.
As my 65th birthday approached,
my plan was to ease into retirement
which I assumed would mean interim pastoral positions (which I still
hope will happen) but a job posting
from the CBOQ caught my attention—Clergy Care Associate.
The job title is accurate; I am to provide as much care as is possible to
the pastors of our church family.
My name is Bill Norman. Here’s
the story: graduated from McMaster in 1974 and over the next 41
years served five churches in our
convention, Calvary Baptist in Cobourg, Temple Baptist in Windsor,
Markham Baptist, Whitby Baptist
(interim) and finally Blythwood
Road, Toronto.
Now the disclaimer—the older I
get the less I appreciate spin, ecclesiastical spin is no exception—with
700 plus accredited pastors in our
denominational family, it is the 375
active ones who are going to get the
bulk of my attention. I am on the
job two days per week; our retired
pastors will not hear from me on a
regular basis.
A year before I began full-time
pastoral ministry I was married to
Christine. We have four adult children and five grandchildren. The
But I am available. The best way to
contact me is by email at bnorman@
baptist.ca or by phone at 416-5204956. The telephone is turned on
most days and turned off most
nights. If you have a concern with
which you think I might be helpful,
please get in touch. I can’t promise
to find an answer to every question
and a solution to every problem, but
I will listen and I will do what I am
able to do.
One last thing. Our retired pastors
reflect our denominational family;
we are not clones, we are very much
individuals. One of our number
recently said to me, “Some of us are
waiting to find out what’s next for us
in ministry.” Is that your issue? Let
me know what’s on your mind and
how you think your church family
can help you find the answer.
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CBOQ Alumni News| January 2016
THE QUIET AFTER THE STORM
It’s the blessed silence that
I often notice
the most,
since I retired
a few weeks
ago—I spent
the last ten
years at Murray St. Baptist
Dale R. Soble
Church in
Peterborough.
At the risk of sounding as if I have
retired none too soon, I’m not
hearing all the voices of ministry
ringing around in my head.
You know, those constant, nagging voices that keep you awake at
night worrying about the future of
the church, the insistent voices of
people who are clamoring for your
time, the hurting voices of those
who need some pastoral care, the
plaintive voices of those in need,
the insistent voices that demand
your leadership, the sharp voices
that criticize your leadership, the
administrative voices that dictate
your time—all the voices of much
beloved people, leaders, community,
staff and ministry.
There are days now that I can
almost hear myself think, or better
yet, I catch the still small voice of
God in this rich, new-found silence.
My prayer life is a little less intense;
more time instead for listening,
reflecting, meditating, being. I have
stopped being in such a hurry all
the time, running to catch up to the
next voice!
Don’t get me wong; I loved my 40
years in church ministry, including
my 10 years as an Area Minister for
the CBOQ. Short of being, maybe, a major league baseball player,
(baseball being my other passion),
there is nothing else in the world
that I would have asked God to
lead me into. It has been a wonderful career for sure.
Yet, I will confess that I am so
enjoying the quietude… for now.
“Be still before the Lord and wait
patiently for him,” (Ps. 37:7). I can
do that! I need to do that!
Dale Soble writes a blog twice a week.
Find him at:
theunconventionalbaptist.blogspot.ca.
CBOQ wishes a very
Happy Birthday to:
Jack Bart
Dorman Quinton
John Lekx
Nov. 10
Nov. 21
Jan. 13
Did we miss your birthday? Send it to
Sheila Dyck at [email protected] or call
416-620-2933.
IN RECOGNITION AND WITH DEEPEST GRATITUDE
All of us at CBOQ would like to acknowledge
the incredible faithfulness and work of Mrs.
Margaret Freeland, editor of Over the Backyard
Fence. She has been a tireless advocate for
CBOQ’s retiree community, keeping our incredible pastors and their families connected.
Margaret Freeland
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Mrs. Freeland began her work on Over the
Backyard Fence over 30 years ago, in response to
the need to keep widow/ers connected with
the community following the death of their
spouse. Over time, the newsletter expanded to
include all retirees.
Many of you have been
blessed by Margaret’s care
and ministry over the years.
We encourage you to continue to remember her in
your letters and prayers.
The Next Chapter
PRAYER
Legacy for Ministry is a stewardship education program
jointly sponsored by CBOQ,
CBWOQ, and CBM.
As this is the first issue of The Next
Chapter, we do not yet have your
prayer requests. However, please do
consider praying for the following:
Our Will and Estate Planning Workshops are offered
through the local churches
and ministries of the CBOQ
at no cost to the participants
or sponsoring organization.
These Workshops address
stewardship issues including
legal documents such as wills,
the appointment of guardians, Power of Attorney for
Property and for Personal
Care. They also discuss how
to order your affairs for a
smooth transition to the next
generation, including tax
considerations and charitable
gifts. Workshops are available
in English, Cantonese and
Mandarin.
• Pray for the staff at CBOQ, that
we would be able to follow God’s
leading as we serve our churches
• Pray for our churches, that they
would be strengthened and able
to reach the communities around
them with the good news of
Jesus
• Pray for those who are mourning
the loss of much-beloved relatives and friends in our family of
churches.
For more information,
contact:
Sabrina Spooner
Legacy Coordinator
416-620-2950
[email protected]
legacyforministry.ca
IN MEMORY
We are grateful for the lives of
service that these men and women lived for the sake of Christ. We
celebrate their lives and mourn their
loss with their families.
Rev. Dr. Earle Cameron
Jan. 9, 2016
Rev. Elmore Boomer
Jan. 3, 2016
Rev. Philip Karpetz
Dec. 30, 2015
Rev. Bill Cook
Dec. 3, 2015
Rev. John Caswell
Nov. 30, 2015
If you have a prayer request to share, Rev. Elmer Anderson
please send an email to Sheila Dyck Nov. 30, 2015
at [email protected], or send a letter
Rev. Eustace Meade
to:
Nov. 3, 2015
CBOQ
Attn: The Next Chapter
100-304 The East Mall
Etobicoke, ON M6B 1E2
Rev. Joseph Ban
Sept. 17, 2015
Did we miss someone? Please let us know!
If you would like to volunteer with CBOQ, let us know! We have
many different volunteer opportunities, from helping with the mailing
to building furniture at Assembly. If you have a gift that you would
like to use, we are most grateful for your time. For current volunteer
opportunities, please call us at 416-622-8600.
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CBOQ Alumni News| January 2016
YOUR NEWS
CBOQ NEWS
If you have news you’d like to share
with the rest of your Canadian Baptist family, please let us know! We
may not be able to publish all your
news, but we will certainly try.
As to news around CBOQ,
Avalanche and Blizzard, our annual
youth retreats are in full swing over
the next few weeks. Please consider
praying for the young people who
are going to go deeper into their
relationship with Christ and each
other on these special weekends.
In this first issue, your news is
scarce, but here are a few highlights:
60th Wedding Anniversaries
Gerald and Kathrine Hunt
Jim and Margaret McGee
65th Wedding Anniversary
CHURCH NEWS
We are also looking forward to
celebrating CBOQ Sunday on
March 6. We are releasing some
special resources for the event, so
find out if your church has signed
up to make sure you get your copies.
Stan and Audrey Smurthwaite
God bless you all with health and
love.
You can find our more at
baptist.ca/cboqsunday, or call our
office.
NEW CHURCHES
Flow Without Bounds Ministries,
Markham
Maitland Street Church, London
Wismer Baptist Church, Markham
Cornerstone Asian Church, Mississauga
CHURCH CLOSURES
Sparta Baptist Church
Calvary Baptist Church, Sudbury
Community Baptist Church, Port Elgin
Brooke-Enniskillen Baptist Church
First Baptist Church, Aurora
DEPARTED FROM CBOQ
Full Restoration Gospel Church, Hamilton
Grace Romanian Baptist Church, Waterloo
Cedarside Baptist Church, Flesherton
First Baptist Church, Picton
We are dedicated to our
churches­—to their health,
their growth and their
ability to serve God in
their community well. We
are committed to providing them with the best
support possible to extend God’s kingdom into a
world that needs the love of Christ.
You are invited to be a part of what God is doing
in our Canadian Baptist family. Please pray for
us, consider volunteering with us or send your
donation today.
baptist.ca/donate | 416-622-8600
A family of churches, transformed by Christ, revealing God’s kingdom
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