Beginning with this newsletter there will be a couple of changes to the content. In order to better communicate what the Eastern Region and ACGC (Advent Christian General Conference) are all about there will be a few new monthly columns. Each month one of the ERA Board members will be highlighted so that all of the readers will better know who we are that serve you as a board member. Another column will highlight one of our pastors in the region. A third column will highlight one of the employees of ACGC. A fourth column will list prayer needs of various ministries in our region and beyond. This list will not include personal “physical needs”. As important as they are, there is another avenue available for these type of requests-the weekly prayer list that is sent out each week in conjunction with the regional weekly prayer meeting. This prayer meeting is held every Tuesday at 9 AM to 10 AM. If you are aware of a prayer need, please send them to the regional secretary Missie Twitchell. Her email is: acerasecretary@gmail.com. If you are not receiving the weekly zoom invitation to this prayer meeting, please contact Missie. A fifth column that will be added is an event calendar. If your church, conference or ministry is hosting an event please send the name of the event and date to Missie. Information for the newsletter must be sent to Missie by the 10th of each month.
All of us across the region have been praying for Greg and Missie and their entire family. It has been an extremely difficult time for them. In addition to Greg’s health issues they had also experienced 4 inches of water in the basement of the ERA residence on December 23. Missie has revealed in a Facebook post that Greg’s doctors are recommending a liver transplant. She has also stated that in spite of this being a very trying year, “I also learned how faithful my God really is. I’m looking forward to Praising Him for all that he will bring me through by trusting him with my life. In the good times, praise the Lord. In the bad times, praise the Lord and lean on Him.” I can’t encourage you enough to continue to pray for this precious family. Pray not only for Greg’s well being but also for Missie as she carries a very heavy load. As important as prayer is, they are in need of our financial support as well. The ERA Board is unanimous in its support of them. We have voted to have them remain in the regional residence, at no cost to them, beyond Greg’s severance time. We are also establishing 2 funds for helping to financially support them in this great time of need. We are inviting all of the readers of this newsletter to be a part of this financial effort. The announcement of these funds are in this newsletter.
Finally I want to give a reminder to all of our pastors, church clerks, conference secretaries and camp directors; It is time to submit your annual report. They can be accessed at: acgc.us. After accessing the website click on “get involved”. On that drop down, click on “reporting”. That will take you to the various reports to access for reporting. Please note that ERA pastors have a specific report form to access. Thank you for reporting. I promise to read every pastor’s report that is filed.
George
|
|
Tim and Julie (Heanssler) Soucy have been serving the Bangor AC Church (BACC) since Sept. 2018. Tim and Julie have been married for 32 yrs. and have two adult children. Tim is presently serving as the Interim President of the Maine State Conference and has been on the board since 2019. Tim is also employed as a chaplain and bereavement coordinator for a local hospice agency. Tim has facilitated courses and serves a mentor for students enrolled in Ministry Training Institute (MTI). Prior to becoming the pastor of BACC, the Soucy family lived in Ridgeland, SC for 22 yrs. While in Ridgeland, SC, Tim served the Ridgeland AC Church (RACC) for 10 yrs. After resigning from RACC, Tim served 11 yrs. in the South Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church. Tim’s first 21 yrs. of pastoral ministry were bi-vocational by calling and choice. Tim’s employment history includes working in the construction industry in Hilton Head, SC; a high school teacher, athletic director, and assistant administrator at Step of Faith Christian Academy; and a hospital chaplain in Charleston, SC. Tim has two earned degrees. A bachelors’ from Toccoa Falls College and a Master’s of Divinity from Hood Theological Seminary. In addition, Tim has earned five units of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) and is presently eligible for board certification as a chaplain.
For years I have used the devotional, A Guide To Prayer by Rueben Job and Norman Shawchuck, copyright 1983 by The Upper Room. Several days ago, John 1:35-39 was the Gospel reading of the day. I never tire from hearing, again, John the Baptist’s proclamation concerning the Lamb of God. I have often attempted to imagine what it would have been like to witness the baptism of Jesus, hear John’s voice proclaiming “Look, here is the Lamb of God,” and to be one of the first curious followers of Jesus. We are told that two of John’s disciples started following Jesus. One questions I have is, what drew them to follow Jesus? This leads me to ask what first drew us to follow Jesus? I know that we could discuss election and free will; however, what is it that drew us and continues to draw us to follow Jesus the Christ?
The first recorded words of Jesus in The Gospel of John are “What are you looking for?” I have imagined Jesus, walking along, knowing all along that these two disciples of John were following him. I have often wondered how long they followed before Jesus asks, “What are you looking for?” This same question was asked by Jesus many times throughout the Gospels to crowds following Him for a variety of reasons. Today, the Eternal One of God is asking us the same question, “What are you looking for?” The disciple responded with “where are you staying?” I understand their question to reveal their desires to be present and spend time with the Messiah.
The “come and see” invitation of Jesus to these two disciples is and still remains an invitation to come, talk, and learn the things that only Jesus can reveal. It is my prayer that you and I will continue to be curious followers of Jesus the Christ. May you continue to desire to “come and see.”
|
|
Prayer List
~Brad Ellis, Executive Director of Vernon Homes has recently submitted a 180 page report to the state of Vermont to document need for the new Green Nursing Home. Please pray that the state will look favorably upon the document.
~Please pray for Erik Reynolds as he is launching a church planting ministry in the Auburn, MA area.
~Pray for Andy Rice, President of BICS as they have begun the second semester. Also pray for the BICS board as they meet on January 16 and 17.
~Pray for Matt Larkin, ACGC Coordinator of Leadership Development, and the MTI ministry as they work with students at centers in Bangor, ME, and Oxford, MA.
~Pray for the ERA Board as they seek an interim Superintendent.
|
|
|
|
February 25 - New Life Conference Annual Meeting held in Bristol, CT.
March 4 - Maine State Conference Annual Meeting held in Bangor, ME
August 7-11 - ACGC Triennial Convention will be held at Ridgecrest Conference Center, NC
October 20-21 - ERA Annual Convention. Place to be determined
BICS Ministry Team places and times:
January 28 - Oak Hill Bible Church, 6:30 PM
January 29 - First Congregational Church (Blandford, MA) 10 AM
February 26 - Faith Bible Church, 10AM
|
|
Scholarship Opportunities
Dubois Scholarship - Sponsored by the Maine State Conference, amount awarded depends on number of applicants and funds available; This scholarship is given in loving memory of Rev. Wendell DuBois, Tammy DuBois and Virgene Hughes. It is designed to assist those seeking a call to vocational ministry in achieving their academic goals. The application needs to be postmarked by August 31 to be considered. The scholarship monies will be disbursed during the 2nd semester of the academic year.
Berkshire Christian College Scholarship Fund - Scholarship amount varies depending on the program of study. The purpose and description of the scholarship is:
- Seminary education in partnership with Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary at four campuses - two in Mass., one in Fla., one in NC. (www.gordonconwell.edu) Advent Christian students receive up to a 50% tuition reduction. (Additional scholarship assistance may also be available.)
- Theological formation through the Ministry Training Institute (MTI). Students enrolled in MTI are eligible for scholarships through Berkshire Christian.
Castle Hill Scholarship Fund - The Castle Hill Advent Christian Church closed its doors in December of 2019 due to declining numbers and the difficulty of finding pastoral leadership. Through a generous donation, a Ministry Scholarship will be established in their name. It is their desire that this ministry scholarship be established to help fund individuals who are seeking vocational ministry training either from a ministry training program within the Advent Christian constituency, or if a person chooses to seek to prepare for vocational ministry outside of the Advent Christian constituency, the Christian institution must be accredited.
Applicants are required to fill out the application and have all of the required information turned in to the Superintendent’s Office by September 15th in order to be considered by the Eastern Regional Board of Directors. The Board will present scholarships to qualified applicants by dividing $2000 dollars among them per year. If only one applicant applies, the cap for an individual scholarship is $1000 dollars made out to the school of their choosing.
|
|
Announcement from the ERA Board of Directors-The Twitchell Funds
A collection of funds from churches for a specific need has Biblical precedent. Ligionier.org in an article on their website writes the following: “in 16:1 (1st Corinthians, my addition), Paul makes reference to ‘the collection for the saints.’ He is talking about the gathering of funds to assist the Christians in Jerusalem and Judea, who were suffering under severe poverty because of the intense persecution they had to endure. Paul talks about this collection often in his epistles, as he regarded it as a vital and tangible way to demonstrate the unity of the Gentile Christians outside of Judea with the Jewish Christians who lived there (e.g., Rom. 15:25-29; 2 Cor. 9).” Certainly, the Twitchells are not under this type of persecution but they are certainly in need. The ERA Board is organizing 2 fund drives to be able to provide ACGC, the ERA, conferences, churches, members and friends both inside and outside the denomination, to be united in our financial help for the Twitchells. With this as a background the ERA makes this announcement concerning these two funds.
The ERA board has established the Twitchell Benevolent Fund to assist with the family’s financial needs.
Since this is a designated fund, the donor receives no tax benefit.
Please make a check payable to the Eastern Regional Association and write Twitchell Benevolent Fund on the memo line.
All checks are to be mailed to the following address:
Twitchell Benevolent Fund
C/O Vernon Advent Christian Church
4554 Fort Bridgman Road
Vernon, VT 05354
Attn: Lisa Godard
(Lisa is the ERA bookkeeper)
If you want to make a tax deductible donation, the region has a Pastor’s Benevolent Fund where you can make a contribution.
This fund assists any pastor in our region who has a need and may be used to assist the Twitchell family during this time. (Please note, because of the nature of the Pastor’s Benevolent Fund, the board cannot make any guarantees that all of the money from this fund will go to the Twitchells, whereas all funds contributed to the Twitchell Benevolent Fund will be forwarded to them.)
The second fund that the ERA Board has established is through “GiveSendGo”. It is similar in its funding opportunities as “GoFundMe”, but is a Christian based organization. In order to give to the Twitchell’s through this fund go to: www.givesendgo.com. Go to search (the magnifying glass in the upper right corner) and then type in: The Twitchell Family. Their campaign then comes up. From there just follow the prompts. (I am electronically challenged and was able to successfully navigate through the steps.)
On behalf of Greg, Missie, and the entire Twitchell family, the ERA Board of Directors want to thank you all for your generous support.
In His Service,
George Karl, ERA President
|
|
Announcement from the ERA Board of Directors-The Twitchell Funds
A collection of funds from churches for a specific need has Biblical precedent. Ligionier.org in an article on their website writes the following: “in 16:1 (1st Corinthians, my addition), Paul makes reference to ‘the collection for the saints.’ He is talking about the gathering of funds to assist the Christians in Jerusalem and Judea, who were suffering under severe poverty because of the intense persecution they had to endure. Paul talks about this collection often in his epistles, as he regarded it as a vital and tangible way to demonstrate the unity of the Gentile Christians outside of Judea with the Jewish Christians who lived there (e.g., Rom. 15:25-29; 2 Cor. 9).” Certainly, the Twitchells are not under this type of persecution but they are certainly in need. The ERA Board is organizing 2 fund drives to be able to provide ACGC, the ERA, conferences, churches, members and friends both inside and outside the denomination, to be united in our financial help for the Twitchells. With this as a background the ERA makes this announcement concerning these two funds.
The ERA board has established the Twitchell Benevolent Fund to assist with the family’s financial needs.
Since this is a designated fund, the donor receives no tax benefit.
Please make a check payable to the Eastern Regional Association and write Twitchell Benevolent Fund on the memo line.
All checks are to be mailed to the following address:
Twitchell Benevolent Fund
C/O Vernon Advent Christian Church
4554 Fort Bridgman Road
Vernon, VT 05354
Attn: Lisa Godard
(Lisa is the ERA bookkeeper)
If you want to make a tax deductible donation, the region has a Pastor’s Benevolent Fund where you can make a contribution.
This fund assists any pastor in our region who has a need and may be used to assist the Twitchell family during this time. (Please note, because of the nature of the Pastor’s Benevolent Fund, the board cannot make any guarantees that all of the money from this fund will go to the Twitchells, whereas all funds contributed to the Twitchell Benevolent Fund will be forwarded to them.)
The second fund that the ERA Board has established is through “GiveSendGo”. It is similar in its funding opportunities as “GoFundMe”, but is a Christian based organization. In order to give to the Twitchell’s through this fund go to: www.givesendgo.com. Go to search (the magnifying glass in the upper right corner) and then type in: The Twitchell Family. Their campaign then comes up. From there just follow the prompts. (I am electronically challenged and was able to successfully navigate through the steps.)
On behalf of Greg, Missie, and the entire Twitchell family, the ERA Board of Directors want to thank you all for your generous support.
In His Service,
George Karl, ERA President
|
|
Top 5 Financial Supporters in 2022
- Hope Church ~ Lenox, MA
- Sunshine AC Church ~ Deer Isle, ME
- Vernon AC Church ~ Vernon, VT
- Riverpoint AC Church ~ West Warwick, RI
- Faith Evangelical ~ Melrose, MA
|
|
 |
This month's ERA Board of Director's spotlight is on the board president, George Karl. George received Christ as His Savior and Lord in 1969. After seeking counsel and praying, he attended Berkshire Christian college where he trained for pastoral ministry. It is there that he met his future wife, Laura Page. Whereas George had no AC background prior to coming to BCC, Laura is a fourth generation Advent Christian. George and Laura have four married children and 9 grandchildren. Their older daughter is married to Derek Irvine who serves as Associate Pastor at Vernon Advent Christian Church and their younger son, Daniel, serves as an Associate Pastor at the Knightdale (NC) Advent Christian Church. George has served Advent Christian churches as pastor both in the Southern Region and Eastern Region. For the last 8 years, he has served as pastor at the Wyben Union Church in Westfield, MA. George has just begun his 7th year as president of the ERA.
A couple of days ago I was reading in Philippians 1 and it struck me that Paul’s outlook is very similar to the Twitchell’s outlook during this difficult time in their lives. He writes these verses, not for the purpose of moaning and groaning, but rather to encourage his readers to know how the Lord is sustaining him during his imprisonment and even more so how it is an opportunity for the gospel to go forward. Phil. 1:6-“for I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” God is at work in our lives regardless of the circumstances and as we see in the next verse, trials are an opportunity for the furtherance of the gospel. Phil. 1:12-13-“now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else.”
It has been a great testimony to the Lord that Greg and Missie are giving glory to God and thanking Him for His working in their lives. It is not the circumstances in our lives that should dictate our relationship with the Lord but rather our firm belief in the promises of God. Paul writes this promise in Romans 8:28-“and we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purposes.” Let us rest not in our circumstances but rather the loving arms of our Savior.
|
|
|
|
Steve D. Lawson was born in Savannah, GA in 1959, grew up in the Hardison Memorial Advent Christian Church which became Hope Church in Savannah. He is married to Karen Thoresen Lawson and has a son Stephen Bradley Lawson and daughter Rebecca Lawson Daigle married to Alan Daigle, who served in Marines Corps and is now serving in the Marine Reserves. They now live in Houston Texas with our two grandsons Jaxon and Aiden.
Steve graduated from Berkshire Christian College in 1981 with a BA in Pastoral Studies and Reformed Theological Seminary in 1983 with a Master's in Christian Education. He has served as pastor at West Bay A.C. Church in Panama City Beach, FL for four years, Holly Grove A.C. Church in Benson, NC for four years, First A.C. Church in Augusta, GA for one year, Hickory Grove A.C. Church in Four Oaks, NC for twelve years, Village Church at Dowling Park, FL for five years, and at Lees Chapel A.C. Church six years. He has held various positions in national, conference and regional work. Positions include member of the Executive Council of ACGC, Chairman of International Advisor Committee, Berkshire Board of Trustees, ACGC Finance Committee, and Scholarship Committee Chairman for Eastern North Carolina Conference, President of Eastern North Carolina Conference, Ministerial Committee of Eastern North Carolina.
Steve currently services as Executive Director of Advent Christian General Conference and has served since November 2015.
Ephesians 4:2, “be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”
A key ingredient in any relationship is patience. What does the word patience mean? It means to suffer long, it means to show patience in spite of troubles, in spite of afflictions. To be patient we must understand that none of us are perfect yet and each of us have things God is still working on in us. We must also accept that we are all different in how we think or understand our world. We must learn to be patient and forgiving with one another bearing our differences. Sometimes we may have to speak the truth in love but even this must be done with great patience and gentleness.
Our patience with one another is rooted in Gods patience towards us. Thankfully, God does not treat us like we deserve but through His grace He shows us great love. Psalms 103:8, “the lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love”. He doesn’t treat us like our sins really deserve but He is patient as we slowly grow in righteousness and holiness. If the creator of the universe can show love and mercy to us, we need to strive to show mercy and patience to one another.
Who needs our patience today? What can I learn from seeing God’s patience with me?
Let’s pray together, Gracious heavenly Father, thank you for being patient with us and extending your grace by forgiving our sins. Please help us to show love and patience to those in our path. Let us be longsuffering and restrained as I deal our brothers and sisters in Christ. Thank you for your Holy Spirit that works and strengthen us daily. In Jesus Christ Holy Name. Amen!
|
|
|
|
Meetinghouse Village reminds active and retired AC pastors that they may stay free of charge on Sunday and Monday overnights at our Tower Memorial Suite. Other nights are available at the reduced rate of $25 per night. Availability is dependent on prior bookings and certain Covid-19 protocols. To inquire about a reservation, email info@meetinghousevillage.org.
|
|
Click on Willie's picture to visit his website for upcoming events. |
|
ACGC Triennial Convention 2023 |
|
Click on either document above for information on the upcoming Triennial Convention. |
|
Previous copies of the monthly newsletter are on our website. |
Have a mobile phone? You can now give to the Region through Venmo!
|
|
Online Prayer Meeting Tuesdays from 9-10 AM |
|
ERA Board of Directors
Rev. George Karl, President - sumkarl@yahoo.com
Rev. Dwight Dean, Vice President - fsufandsd@gmail.com
Rev. Allen Latimore, Clerk - aclatimore@netzero.net
Mr. John Jones, Treasurer - pastorjoj@gmail.com
Rev. Doug Tourgee, Heritage Conf. President - dougin401@aol.com
Rev. Alan Chamberlin, Maine Conf. Vice President - polarpastor@roadrunner.com
Rev. Josh Rice, Maranatha Conf. President - jrice@emmanuelacc.net
Rev. Derek Irvine, New Life Conf. President - drick1221@gmail.com
Mr. Adam Facteau, New York Conf. President - afacteau@twcny.rr.com
Rev. Ken Perkins, Nova Scotia Conf. President - Ken.perkins@EastLink.ca
Mrs. Deb Reed, ERA Representative to ACGC - deborahjoreed@yahoo.com
Rev. Steve Lawson, ACGC Executive Director - slawson@acgc.us
The Eastern Regional Association Newsletter is published as a ministry of the Eastern Regional Association of the Advent Christian General Conference.
|
|
Eastern Regional Association
32 Four Rod Road, Rochester, NH 03867
Phone: 603-332-1412 / Fax: 603-332-1648
www.aceasternregion.org
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
