Naome Uwamahoro’s visit to St. Simon’s NV from Rwanda

Thanks to the generosity of the Rev Ken Bell and St Timothy’s North Vancouver, we had a visit from Naome Uwamahoro the Rural Development Officer for the Anglican Diocese of Kigeme.

Naome was able to initially join us for our inaugural Saturday morning 9am Prayer Meeting on Oct 8th with our Bishop Silas Ng

Naome with our People’s Warden Candace Gillespie

Hilary King our Rector’s Warden with Naome. Translation services were provided by Naome to the Embrace Rwanda team that Hilary led this summer.

For more information about the remarkable Embrace Rwanda team, just click on this link .

Glen Houghton, a member of St. Simon’s NV, attended our inaugural St. Simon’s NV Prayer Meeting. He loves to pray and leads the Prayer Canada meeting at the District of North Vancouver  City Hall.

Fifteen people were present for our inaugural St. Simon’s NV Prayer Meeting at our Modular Building at Kenneth Gordon Maplewood School. You are welcome to join us every Saturday at 9am to 10am for our St. Simon’s Prayer Meeting.

Our hi-tech Bishop Silas Ng led us in a devotional from his Daily Discipler 123 Blog .  This blog can be accessed daily in written form, or as an English podcast or Cantonese podcast.

Our Bishop Silas Ng is passionate that people become disciples of Jesus Christ who disciple others in daily intimacy with Jesus Christ, and pass this on to others.  He has almost finished his Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary on this subject of Leadershp Development and Discipleship.

Why not dial in right now and join our Bishop Silas Ng? He is passionate that we bring a breakthrough in daily discipleship and intimacy with Jesus. Only 10% of Christians have a regular daily time of intimacy with Jesus.

 

Naome gave a wonderful testimony at St Simon’s NV about her recovery from the trauma of her pastor father’s death during the 1994 Rwanda Genocide. Click to view this story.

Naome also shared a Rwandan song with us which you can watch by clicking.

The St. Simon’s NV family listening attentively to Naome sharing about Rwanda.

Janice Hird our St. Simon’s NV Music Director led our joint Choir in a Harvest Thanksgiving anthem.

Naome having lunch afterwards with other St. Simon’s NV leadership, including Jill Cardwell our Youth & Young Adult Pastor. Jill is leading our 30th Alpha Course for young adults. Click to learn more.

By clicking on the following link, you can watch the film ‘Mothers of Kigeme’

In Christ,

Ed Hird+

The AM–Canada/Anglican Province of Rwanda

http://stsimonschurch.ca

-award-winning author  of the book ‘Battle for the Soul of Canada’

http://battleforthesoulofcanada.blogspot.com

-In order to obtain a copy of the book ‘Battle for the Soul of Canada’, please send a $18.50 cheque to ‘Ed Hird’, #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD.  This can also be done by PAYPAL using the e-mail ed_hird@telus.net . Be sure to list your mailing address. The Battle for the Soul of Canada e-book can be obtained for $9.99CDN/USD.

-Click to download a complimentary PDF copy of the Battle for the Soul study guide :  Seeking God’s Solution for a Spirit-Filled Canada

-You can also download the complimentary Leader’s Guide PDF: Battle for the Soul Leaders Guide

Greetings from Rwanda

By Reverend Ed Hird

As you are reading this Deep Cove Crier article, my wife and I are still in Rwanda (note: we have since returned to Canada). This is our first time to Rwanda. Our former youth pastor for fourteen years, the Rev Ken Bell, now the rector of St. Timothy, recently returned from Rwanda with a team from his congregation. This seems to be the year for the North Vancouver/Rwanda connection. Having met with Ken Bell+ before I flew to Rwanda, I became more excited about this trip that I have dreamed about for many years. My wife Janice as a professional musician and director will be meeting with Rwandan musicians to share resources. As a priest, I will be both listening to and preaching in congregations throughout the Anglican diocese of Kigeme which is led by Bishop Augustin Mvunabandi. Many Canadians don’t realize that most Anglicans, in fact most Christians, now live in Africa and the Global South. The African Church is growing at an unprecedented rate that no one would have imagined thirty years ago.

Hilary King, our Rector’s Warden for St Simons’ NV, has lived in the Seymour/Deep Cove area for years, being very active in the North Shore Health Region. Currently in Rwanda with eleven people on our sixth Mission trip to Rwanda, Hilary is having a powerful impact on the health of the mothers of Kigeme, Rwanda. Hilary began initially with the Healthy Mum’s Project where people bought goats for single Rwandan moms so that they could use the manure for fertilizing their kitchen gardens. The results have been very impressive with these mothers being able to give birth to healthier, full-term babies. With the broader name Embrace Rwanda, Hilary has birthed a number of projects, including supporting a Rwandan nurse to work with the local Mothers Unions in their aiding single moms. A film producer made a striking movie entitled Mothers of Kigeme telling this good news story. It looks at the lives of three women living in Kigeme, Rwanda. The film tells about a community nurse that seeks to improve their lives by teaching women how to improve their health while they are pregnant. As they battle poverty, the mothers participating in the project are discovering new skills within themselves, and a new hope emerges as they begin to support one another. This film can be accessed on the Embrace Rwanda website.

So many good things have happened during these six mission trips. In partnership with the Schmidt Family Foundation, two chapels have been built in the Kigeme Diocese and three more are under construction. These buildings will be used for worship as well as providing a much needed facility for the development of pre schools. It is also hoped to use one of the new chapels as a facility where teenage boys will be taught construction skills.

 

Hilary King’s remarkable leadership proves that a congregation does not have to be a mega-church in order to make a positive difference in the lives of others. We can partner together in doing good for others. You are invited to consider how you might play your part in helping Rwandans rebuild their lives and families through Embrace Rwanda. For more information, please contact the Embrace Rwanda Canadian Office at Unit 301 – 3980 Inlet Crescent, North Vancouver BC, V7G 2P9: Tel. 604.929.1837

The Rev. Ed Hird, Rector

St Simon’s Church North Vancouver

Anglican Mission in the Americas (Canada)

http://stsimonschurch.ca

-an article published in the August 2011 Deep Cove Crier

-award-winning author  of the book ‘Battle for the Soul of Canada’

http://battleforthesoulofcanada.blogspot.com

-In order to obtain a copy of the book ‘Battle for the Soul of Canada’, please send a $18.50 cheque to ‘Ed Hird’, #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD.  This can also be done by PAYPAL using the e-mail ed_hird@telus.net . Be sure to list your mailing address. The Battle for the Soul of Canada e-book can be obtained for $9.99CDN/USD.

-Click to download a complimentary PDF copy of the Battle for the Soul study guide :  Seeking God’s Solution for a Spirit-Filled Canada

-You can also download the complimentary Leader’s Guide PDF: Battle for the Soul Leaders Guide

Join us on March 6th on Bishop Silas Ng’s 3-month Discipler123 process

http://discipler123.blogspot.com/ 

By Bishop Silas Ng

This is a sample of what will be starting on March 6th. Please join us for the 3-month campaign.

 

Discipler 123 Daily Devotion

DAY 1 – Choose Light, Away from Darkness!

Welcome to my new blog to support those who participate in our Discipler 123 Campaign. This one is DAY 1 and I publish this one on January 23, 2011 as a sample so that you know what this blog will look like. DAY 1 is for your daily devotion on March 6, 2011. I will publish DAY 2 on March 7, 2011. You may choose to follow my first blog which I started in July 2009 and today is DAY 522 and on 1 Samuel 31. The easiest way to go to my first blog is to type me name “Silas Ng” and have a google search. It will be on top of the list and the name of the blog is “Devotion on Fire”.

 

The site of this blog is: http://bishopsilas.blogspot.com

The pictures attached were taken on January 23, 2011 during the Installation of our new Primate, Archbishop Onesphore Rwaje, with the presence of the President of Rwanda and his wife. Please pray for Archbishop Rwaje, his family and his new ministry.

Today’s Reading: John 1 Please read John 1 and listen to what the Lord Jesus Christ would like to tell you before reading my Spiritual Journal below. If you would like to learn a simple and good way of Daily Devotion method you may click this link directly for the method: Subject Shifting Devotion.pdf.

 

Please click this link to worship with us – You Are My All in All http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC617kE1maU&feature=related
Please click the links below to John 1:

• Chinese: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John 1&version=CUV

• NIV: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John 1&version=NIV

• ESV: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John 1&version=ESV

• Message: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John 1&version=MSG

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.John 1: 14

 

Welcome to Day 1 of my second blog!
May you feel the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ every time when you read His Word and may you be able to enter into a daily intimate personal relationship with Him!

 

I have been praying for months to ask Jesus whether I should start this second blog so that those who join our Disciplers 123 Campaign can have a place to start their daily devotion. It would be difficult to ask those who have not started their daily devotion to follow my first blog which has already gone through nearly half of the Bible. It would be easier for me just to write my first blog: http://bishopsilas.blogspot.com , but what I received from the Lord is to start this new one for you so that you can “STAY WITH HIM”!

 

What I heard from Jesus today is very simple and important: “Choose light, away from darkness!”
Jesus led me to count how many times the word “light” appears in John 1. There are seven usages of “light” and afterwards two of “glory”. After verse 14, I can’t find any usages of “light”. And then Jesus asked me to count how many references to “Jesus” or words similar to Jesus like “the Word”, “that light”, “Christ”, “the One”, “the Only”, “He”, “Him”, “Lamb of God”, “the Lord”, “Son of God”, “Son of Man”, “the King”. I was and actually still am speechless with tears flowing down on my face. I am feeling so strongly the love and presence of Jesus Christ our Lord here in this room with me. He said, “How many?” I typed it right now to answer Him, “67 times, Lord! It was repeated 67 times in just one chapter. I asked: “Why was I never aware of this, Lord?” Jesus replied, “Did I not tell you in the first day(one and a half year’s ago) in which you wrote your first blog that you are blind, my son?! You need the Light so that you can see and can see more and more clearly.”

 

So many people are in darkness, for they do not want to receive the Light. You can go to church weekly, thinking that you can get out of your darkness, or you can read the Bible as hard as you can be or take many courses to study the Bible, or you can be a leader in your church for many years; but only you know whether you are still in darkness or not. When you receive Jesus into your life as your Savior and Lord of life and when you have a daily intimate personal relationship with Him, then you should be in the true Light and not in darkness. Only Jesus can give you light for He is the Light!

 

Why did John use the name of Jesus 67 times in his first chapter? Because God told him to do so in order to tell us that Jesus is your only answer! Is Jesus just a historical name to you or is He really your Lord, your Savior, your King and your friend?

Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus… Come, Lord Jesus!

 

Dear Lord Jesus, Thank you Lord for such a powerful experience of enjoying your presence and your words. Help me to stay with you and in you daily as much as I can be. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

 

Please click this link to worship with us – Shout to The Lord http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzNsEBPB-Z8&feature=related

Prayer items today:

For ACiC/AI
Bishop: Rt. Rev. Silas Ng (Michelle)
Network Leader: Rev. Peter Klenner (Jenny)
Network Leadership Team: Rt. Rev. Silas Ng, Rev. Peter Klenner, Rev. Ed Hird (Janice), Rev. Simon Neill (Jo), Rev. Ken Bell (Sonya)
Bishop’s Chaplain: Rev. Ed Hird (Janice)
Clergy Formation Advisor: Rev. Ken Bell (Sonya)
Administrator: Mrs. Zenia Cheng (Clarence)

 

Pray for our Rwanda bishops and Anglican Mission bishops:

The Most Rev. Emmanuel Kolini

The Rt. Rev. Chuck Murphy, III (Margaret)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pray for our ACiC/AI churches:
All Saints Community Church

 

Rector/Senior Pastor: Rev. Peter Klenner (Jenny)

 

 

Welcome! The purpose of this blog is to encourage those who join our Disciplers 123 to have a place to start their daily devotion – a wonderful and intimate time with Jesus.

There are three reasons for you to use this blog as your daily devotion:

1. A healthy spiritual diet – One chapter of the Bible daily. We really need at least one chapter of Bible daily so that we are well fed.

2. A good example of Spiritual Journaling – What I have committed for 1,189 days(the Bible has 1,189 chapters) to write this daily post is not for teaching purposes but this is my daily spiritual journal – I write down what I hear from Jesus and how I experience His intimate relationship with me each day. I have launched a wide-spectrum research on daily devotion and have found out that there are less than 10% of Christians that are having daily devotion. Out of that 10%, many having daily devotion are doing so because of guilt (they know that they are Christians and need to have daily devotion and feel guilty if they don’t do that), duty (they need to fulfill their duty as a Christian) or study(lots of Christians primarily use their daily devotion as a time to study the Bible). I do pray and hope that you will make up your mind to have a relational daily devotion so that you can have an intimate time with Jesus. I pray that you will write your own spiritual journal as well.

3. An online discipler – One of the reasons that so many Christians do not have daily devotion is because they do not have a discipler. A discipler can help them build up this basic element of discipleship when they first become Christians. The best way for you is to have a discipler to walk with you for a certain period of time so that daily devotion become a good habit. Or, you may have a small group of two to three people to encourage and be accountable to each other so that you won’t stop your daily devotion. I offer myself as your online discipler to walk with you daily to enrich your spiritual journey. So, shall we start this journey with Jesus Christ our Lord

Thanking God for godly mentors in 2011

By Rev Ed Hird

 

Happy 2011! The New Year season is a time for both remembering and anticipating.  This New Year, I particularly remember one of my mentors Ernie Eldridge who has helped me more effectively spend the last 6,900 days on the North Shore. 

 

Healthy mentors make the world of difference. Ernie Eldridge mentored me when I was just finding my way in the world.

 

Ernie believed in me when I first came to faith in 1972 and reassured me that I had done the right thing.  Ernie gave me sage advice about relationship choices, even assisting at my wedding thirty-one years ago.  When I was completing my Social Work degree at UBC, Ernie carefully listened as I shared my dream about becoming an Anglican priest.  After thirty years of ordained ministry, I am grateful that Ernie could see potential in a well-meaning, rather naïve young adult. 

 

In the mid 1970s, we started a singing group called Morning Star and a parallel LivingStone Productions which organized contemporary music concerts at Queen Elizabeth Theatre and the PNE Gardens.  Thanks to Ernie Eldridge’s mentorship, Morning Star received a national grant that enabled us to sing throughout BC, including an extensive outreach to Vancouver Island.  During that period, we sang extensively on the North Shore, including Hillside Baptist, West Vancouver United, and St. Simon’s North Vancouver. 

 

As a social worker, I had the privilege of working for John Braithwaite in 1975-76 at North Shore Neighbourhood House.  But I had no idea that God would one day have me spend several decades living on the North Shore.  That was never on my radar screen.  After four & a half years serving as the assistant priest at St Matthew’s Anglican Church in Abbotsford, I knew in 1986 that it was time to become a Rector/Senior pastor. One of the first people that I asked for advice and prayer was Ernie Eldridge.  Ernie agreed that it was time to move on.   In ‘casting my bread on the waters’, I applied for two positions: St Thomas Chilliwack and St. Simon’s North Vancouver.  When I met with the St Simon’s selection committee on Badger Road in Deep Cove, they asked me a lot of challenging questions.  My answers did not always impress myself, but I left that meeting with a deep sense that I would be moving to the North Shore. 

 

Ernie Eldridge always cheered for me when I was facing my next major transition.  One time he went to bat for me with my bishop at great personal risk.  Two of Ernie’s gifts to me that have been invaluable on the North Shore were his ‘Death & Dying’ and ‘Time Management’ courses.  He taught me the need to prepare for one’s death and to grieve the inevitable losses that we will all face. While writing my book ‘Battle for the Soul of Canada’, my wife and I were privileged to visit Ernie and Barb in Beaver Harbour New Brunswick before Barb died from ALS. Recently Ernie produced a thoughtful book ‘Hope, Help, Heaven’ on his last ten years with his dear wife Barb. 

 

Because Ernie uses a time management system, he was able to write his book in which he journals his thoughts and activities on a daily and weekly basis.  One of Ernie’s favourite verses was Psalm 90:12: “Teach us to number our days aright that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”  Through Ernie’s influence in 1982, I began using the Seven Star Diary system after my voice was restored through surgery.  For the past twenty-eight years, I have regularly recorded my work activities in a journal format.  As a result, I know exactly how many hours I have spent on any particular activity. Ernie taught me to ‘redeem the time’ because life is short and easily wasted (Ephesians 5:17, Colossians 4:5). 

 

Through Ernie’s time management system, I am aware that I have now spent 6,900 days serving the North Shore.  Time flies when you enjoy your work. It is a great privilege to serve each of you. It has not always been easy.  In the past twenty-four years, I have been privileged to be involved in some of your baptisms, weddings, and funerals. Through the Deep Cove Crier and the North Shore News, I have been privileged to communicate with each of you in hundreds of diverse articles.  Over the last two decades, St. Simon’s NV has served many of your children, preteens, teens and young adults through our gifted young pastors, the Rev Ken Bell, the Rev Josh Wilton, and Jill Cardwell.  In the past 17 years, I have had an opportunity to personally visit over 6,600 of your homes to see what you think and feel.

 

 I am excited in 2011 about the possibilities of having even more impact on the North Shore.  St Simon’s NV, which has been in existence for the past 65 years, recently celebrated its 6th anniversary at Maplewood School.  We, the St. Simon’s NV family, are here to stay and committed to serving you using our time, talent and treasure.  In the same way that Ernie Eldridge has helped me make better use of my time, I pray that each of us reading this article will learn to more effectively redeem our time and become better stewards of this sacred gift of our fleeting days. 

                             

The Reverend Ed Hird, Rector

St. Simon’s Church North Vancouver 

Anglican Mission in the Americas (Canada)

http://stsimonschurch.ca

- previously published in the Deep Cove Crier

-award-winning author of the book ‘Battle for the Soul of Canada’

http://www.battleforthesoulofcanada.blogspot.com

p.s. In order to obtain a copy of the book ‘Battle for the Soul of Canada’, please send a $18.50 cheque to ‘Ed Hird’, #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD.  This can also be done by PAYPAL using the e-mail ed_hird@telus.net . Be sure to list your mailing address. The Battle for the Soul of Canada e-book can be obtained for $9.99 CDN/USD.

-Click to download a complimentary PDF copy of the Battle for the Soul study guide :  Seeking God’s Solution for a Spirit-Filled Canada 

You can also download the complimentary Leader’s Guide PDF: Battle for the Soul Leaders Guide