June 2023 Newsletter

President's Column

It has been a couple of months since our last ERA newsletter. It has been a very hectic time with all of the transitions that have taken place. In addition to the transition to Rev. Clayton Blackstone as the interim superintendent, we have also have had a transition in the position of administrative assistant. With Missie Twitchell’s last day of May 1 as administrative assistant there was a need to employ a new person for this position. The ERA Board hired my daughter, Kathleen Irvine to serve in this position. Since I continue to oversee the administrative needs of the region, this has been of great help to me as it facilitated immediate accessibility to the administrative assistant. Once a permanent superintendent is in place the board will be searching for a permanent administrative assistant.

As of April 17 Rev. Clayton Blackstone began serving the region as interim superintendent. Clayton’s primary responsibility, as outlined by the ERA Board, is to build relationships with our pastors. He has been hired by the board to serve in this capacity for about 30 hours per week. He has already visited numerous pastors and attended conference meetings. He also is planning on attending the Nova Scotia Conference Annual Meeting this month. This will be the first time in about 10 years that our superintendent will be able to attend this meeting and spend time with our pastors in Nova Scotia. Please pray for Clayton as he serves the Lord as the ERA Interim Superintendent

The ERA Board has not begun to seek a permanent superintendent. This fall we will begin the process by first establishing a new job description for the position. Your prayers for the board, as we undertake this vital responsibility, are greatly appreciated.

The newsletter, you are about to read, will highlight the ministry and people of the ERA as well as news, prayer requests, and announcements from our region and beyond. You will find a spotlight of an ACGC employee-Director of Finance, Dawn Rutan; a spotlight of one of our ERA Board members-Debbie Reed, ERA Representative to ACGC; and a spotlight of one of our pastors-Jonathan Price, Pastor of Faith Evangelical Church, Melrose, MA.

The newsletter will also highlight our camps across our region. I want to encourage all of us to pray for the ministry of these camps, praying for the salvation of children, teens, and adults as well as challenging many to consider vocational ministry.

I want to thank you for taking the time to read through this newsletter and hope that it will be a blessing as you read about what is happening in our region and beyond.

George

ERA President

Pastor Jonathan Price and his wife Magen have been serving at Faith Evangelical Church in Melrose, MA since Sept. 2019. Jonathan is a graduate of Berkshire Christian (through Eastern University & Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary). During that time of education, Jonathan interned with Pastor Lee Welkley in Jacksonville, FL and Pastor Frank Jewett in Haverhill, MA. After seminary, Jonathan co-pastored at Faith Community Church in Windsor, CT from 2013-2016, until he moved to Boston to marry Magen and teach 8th grade History at a local charter school. Magen is a Nurse Practitioner and works at a Neighborhood Health Care center in Boston caring for some of the most vulnerable citizens in the city.

Jonathan & Magen then accepted the call to serve at nearby Faith Evangelical Church in Melrose, MA, alongside Associate Pastor Josh Duncan, in 2019. They have enjoyed their years of ministry so far and look forward to many more.  

Jonathan enjoys education, history, and travel. He has visited a number of countries, including studying abroad in Israel for 1 year at Jerusalem University College, and teaching English in South Korea for 1 year. Magen and Jonathan have 2 young children (Judah, 4 and Selah, 1).

“I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.” – George Washington Carver

Natural scientists, like George Washington Carver, spend their entire careers delineating the wonders of God in nature—describing the awe of nature’s order, symmetry, growth, resilience, and beauty. Our creation has inspired modern technology & design, but even our best innovations cannot come close to the amazement that stems from one of God’s tiny, patient, (seemingly insignificant) seed. 

The beauty of Spring and the unofficial start of Summer are upon us. I hope that we can take time during this season to appreciate the miracles & beauty of nature and praise God for it. The Psalmist calls all of creation to Praise God in Psalm 148, "Praise him, sun and moon...you great sea creatures...mountains, hills, fruit trees, and cedars!..." and he invites us to join in this natural chorus as well. "Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! Young men and maidens together, old men and children! Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven." (Ps. 148:3,7,9-13)

Just like the trees, stars, beasts, and sky, we too are made to glorify God by being what he made us to be. May this season of beauty and blessing remind us of the beauty and new birth that has been given to us in Christ in order to glorify God. We are an even amazing creation than that wonderous seed, we are a new Creation, the light of the world, and a fragrant aroma of the Love of Christ. Let us glorify God with our lives.

Prayer List

*Pray for Rev. Clayton Blackstone as he serves the ERA as Interim Superintendent.

*Pray for the ERA Executive Committee as they plan the ERA Convention.

*Pray for the ERA Board as they will work at constructing a new superintendent job description.

*Pray for Vernon Homes Director Brad Ellis as he continues to direct the Green House project.

*Pray for the many camp personnel across our region as they prepare for summer camp ministries.

*Pray for the ACGC Transitional Committee as they begin the process of searching for a new ACGC Executive Director.

*Pray for the sale of the ERA residence/office.

*Pray for the various committees and ACGC personnel as they prepare for the Triennial Convention.

*Pray for successful recruitment of BICS students for the 2023-2024 year

Growing up in California during the 60s was interesting. I thought my circumstances with an absent father followed by a stepfather was normal. Our saving grace of continuity was going to my maternal grandparents every Sunday. It was with my grandmother that we went to church every Sunday, in fact we could walk there. Going to St. Philemon Catholic Church each week I felt the presence of something, not understanding what it was. Stepping into the sanctuary each Sunday my heart was full of awe and wonder. Through the years I would almost feel that I was being looked after, protected comes to mind.

My husband Allen was in the Air Force and stationed in California, that’s how we met. Upon his completion of his duties, we moved to Connecticut, Al’s home state. I jokingly call myself his “war bride”.

I attended a couple of churches, but always felt out of place.

In 1976 we started looking for a house to purchase and found a house in Windsor Locks. Al was working days, and I worked second shift. Financially I needed to work so we needed care for our two children. In God’s remarkable way, the neighbors right behind us had an in-home daycare, just walk through the backyard into their back door. Chuck and Gloria Spencer became our surrogate parents. I will always be thankful to have a strong Christian woman caring for our children.

Chuck asked people into his home to discuss dealing with stress, this became my first Bible study. This was the first time I opened a bible and read the Word. With the Spencer’s I began to attend Faith Community Church in Windsor under the leadership of Pastor Lou Going.

January 28, 1986 the space shuttle Challenger exploded. When I heard this I realized how suddenly life could end. That’s the day I made my decision to be baptized and give my life to the Lord. That March I was baptized with my family, friends and my new church family present.

The church was a wonderful place to grow in my faith, many faithful wise men and women and the wonderful friendship and witness of Chuck and Gloria.

I held many positions throughout the years; treasure of WHFMS; church clerk; and secretary to the New Life Conference.

I spent 32 years at the New England Air Museum retiring as the Executive Director. What to do with my time in retirement… I was asked to serve on the board of the Eastern Region as the representative to ACGC. I’m honored to serve, and the opportunity to meet the ACGC representatives throughout the country.

I was voted onto the board to the Advent Christian Retirement Community last year, giving me an opportunity to learn about the care of the elderly.

Al and I are the proud parents of Dr. Christine Davis, her husband Scott and grandchildren Cooper and Emma in Charlotte, NC; Derek and Shannon Reed, both 20 year veterans of the Marine Corps, their children Brady and Katelyn live in Ellington, CT.

In 2018 I made my first trip to Israel with BICS which made a big impact on my walk. I thought I knew the Bible, I came back with a real desire to know the Bible.

1 Corinthians 2:9: “what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived - the things God has prepared for those who love him -“

I remember reading this for the first time and how these words affected me. Remember I never saw a Bible until my 30’s. And if God really knew all that I did and went through, how can He love me? What does God have in mind for me, I don’t deserve His forgiveness or His grace.

I think back on that simple invitation to join others to discuss stress and were it lead. As I look back on the in-home studies I attended through the years, the men and women I got to know, what I learned from every study and each person, God was always there. I don’t know why it took so many years to really understand His love for me, to put all my trust in Him, to let him be my guide. As I look back, I realize the importance of bible studies, of sitting under the teachings of pastors and lay leaders, gathering together in fellowship. God made us to be together, to share the good times and the hard times. I’ve seen him answer prayers, as I look back on my life, even before I was saved, He was there. Our human minds can’t comprehend that we are loved by God, and what he has planned for us. Some days are a struggle, but I thank God for his strength and faithfulness. We can’t do it alone.

“If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” Isaiah 7:9b

Debbie Reed

Dawn Rutan comes from five generations of Advent Christians that included several pastors

among the Rutans, Knoxes, and Osbornes. (Rev. Percy E. Osborne was one of the editors of The World’s Crisis.) Having lived in multiple states where there were no Advent Christian churches, she learned A.C. doctrinal distinctives by hearing her parents, Randy & Lois, explain them to the pastors of other denominations they attended. Dawn earned a B.S. in Biology from Bethel

College (now University), where she was discipled by Rev. Dwight Carpenter as part of his student ministries role with the denomination. God then redirected her path to Wheaton College Graduate School where she received an M.A. in Educational Ministries. While there she connected with Bob Mayer at ACGC and did a long-distance internship in writing and editing. After graduating in 1997 she moved to Charlotte to join the staff of ACGC. She has held several positions including Bookstore Sales, Assistant Editor, Finance Assistant, and now Director of Finance, thanks to on-the-job training from retired director Jim Smith. She also earned Not-for- Profit Certification from AICPA. She is also a third degree blackbelt in taekwondo. Dawn attends Dulin’s Grove A.C. Church, where she serves as treasurer and helps with music at times. In her free time she enjoys hiking, reading, writing, and drawing (not all at the same time). She blogs at https://mental3degree.blogspot.com/.

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“Imposter Syndrome” is the feeling that if people really know you they’d realize you are a fraud, not really qualified, and it often leads to anxiety and striving to keep the mask in place. It’s a fairly common experience, and one that I’ve dealt with at times because of my unusual path into an accounting career. I have to remind myself, as the saying goes, that “God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.” We may tend to think that if we just take a spiritual gift test we’ll know exactly what God wants us to do for the rest of our lives. But oftentimes our confidence in our own abilities makes us prideful and robs God of the glory He should be

receiving. He delights in using those who know they are unqualified. “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong” (1 Cor. 1:27-28). It strikes me that God chose Saul of Tarsus, the man educated under Gamaliel and a “Hebrew of Hebrews,” to send him not to his fellow Jews, but as an apostle to the Gentiles. And God sent Peter, the uneducated fisherman, as an apostle to the Jews. God likes to take people out of their comfort zones so that they will rely on Him. As Paul wrote, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor. 12:9b).

Another manifestation of Imposter Syndrome is the feeling that you don’t quite fit in and would be rejected if people knew you. As I write this, Rev. Glennon Balser is nearing the end of his days. If you know Glennon, you know that he’s a great hugger. That made me start thinking about all the hugs that will be shared when we all meet again in the Resurrection. But then it hit me that it’s far easier for me to imagine that than to imagine the embrace of my Savior when He comes. I’ve tended to picture the Judgment Day as an impersonal sorting— “Sheep… sheep… goat… All the sheep to My right, all the goats to My left…” Yet if you look at the life of Jesus, you get a different picture. He was known as a friend of tax collectors and sinners (Matt. 11:19). He reached out to touch and heal the unclean (Matt. 8:3). He stopped to talk to a woman in the middle of a crowd and called her “daughter” (Matt. 9:22). And He told a parable of the prodigal son and said “while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20). We too can expect to be embraced when we come to our eternal home as children of God.

The fact is, we’re all imposters. None of us deserves the blessings of this life or the privilege of serving God, and none of us deserve eternal life in His kingdom. But that doesn’t matter because our Creator is the One who chose us, redeemed us, and adopted us into His family—not for anything that we have done but simply because He delights to show us His love. What a day that will be when we can run into the arms of our Father!

William Miller Chapel Service

The annual William Miller Chapel service will be held on Sunday, June 25th at 3pm at the William Miller Chapel located at 1592 County Route 11, Whitehall, NY. The Reverend Don Plummer will be the speaker for the service, he will also present the special music and lead our congregation in hymns.

If you are able to arrive by 2pm you may join a tour of the William Miller house and museum. Whereas the Chapel is owned by the Advent Christian denomination, the house and museum is owned by the Seventh Day Adventist. Ascension Rock is also available to be seen.

On Saturday July 8th beginning at 9am there will be a work day at the ERA residence/ office. We will be removing all items from the property in preparation for selling it. Rev. Josh Rice will be heading up the work day. We recognize that most people reading this announcement will be quite a distance away but anyone who is in close proximity, please come. We need your help! Lunch will be provided. Thank you.

The address is 32 Four Rod Rd. Rochester, NH.

Eastern Regional Association

P.O. Box 214 Winchester, NH 03470

Phone: 603-332-1412

www.aceasternregion.org