Canada Conference Pastors Discuss Orientation Process

WINNIPEG, MB (May 6, 2004) - Should the Evangelical Covenant Church of Canada consider its own process for orienting pastors?

That question was a topic of conversation during a recent conference ministerial association meeting at Bethel Mennonite Church. More than 50 participants were in attendance as Robert Peterson, chair of the Conference Committee on Ministerial Standing (COMS), discussed the orientation of ministers in Canada. It has been a requirement that pastors in the Covenant Church of North America be part of a Covenant External Orientation Program (CEOP) to be credentialed by the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC). Canada Conference pastors have expressed concern about how orientation is done as it pertains to Canada.

Peterson said the COMS proposed a modification in orientation, including a clause that would allow pastors to take coursework at Kingsfold Retreat Centre in Alberta instead of traveling to North Park Theological Seminary (NPTS) in Chicago, and that the Department of the Ordered Ministry offered a counter proposal. Peterson acknowledged that the ECC has attempted to respond to unique needs among Canadian pastors, but shared the belief of some conference leaders that the Covenant needs to go even further.

An orientation proposal committee had been formed earlier, including Peterson, Supt. Jeff Anderson, Doug Stapleton and David Johnson. They met with Department of the Ordered Ministry administrator Carol Lawson and ECC Ministerium president Brad Boydston. Peterson reported a number of concerns were discussed, including:

• Delivering CEOP to Canadian pastors is difficult because travel costs/logistics hinder the sending of professors to Canada to teach programs
• Canada pastors have unique issues - including historical, cultural and legal ones - that need to be addressed during orientation
• More pastors have obtained masters degrees than the committee originally anticipated. It is the committee's belief that "a program that focuses on orientation without the added dimension of the seminary educational approach" would best serve Canada Conference needs.

"What we're noticing is that some pastors (eligible for CEOP) are not participating," Peterson observed. "We've discovered that there are barriers to their involvement in the program. You have significant travel costs and the exchange rate makes it even more expensive. And there are Canadian historical perspectives and cultural differences in ministry that may lead us toward a Canadian orientation version."

Peterson asked pastors to consider how the Canada Conference might desire to orient pastors to the Covenant and be prepared to present a response during this fall's conference pastors retreat.

In other news:

• Supt. Anderson presented his report to pastors, encouraging them to be as passionate for the church and the unchurched as those who started the Evangelical Covenant Church of Canada 100 years ago. He also led a discussion on future insurance policy needs.
• Dean Siminoff of the Nelson/Balfour congregation in British Columbia will head a new Office of Stewardship for the conference after being elected by the conference executive board.
• David Johnson of Valley Evangelical Covenant Church in Durban, Manitoba, was re-elected chair of the ministerial association and Dan Olson of Breton, Alberta, was elected secretary.
• Todd Slechta, executive director of CBC-Canada, presented his report, stating that one parent of a CBC-Canada student gave her life to Christ during the school's recent commencement weekend because of the way the school had touched her child's life. Slechta said that the school experienced a small operating deficit this school year, but said he is encouraged by CBC-Canada's continued ministry to Canada and beyond. A CBC music team is currently visiting congregations in Canada and the United States during the next month and a CBC mission trip to Russia is scheduled for June 9-30. From July 16-18, CBC-Canada is hosting Centerpoint, a spiritual weekend retreat for adults in Strathmore, Alberta.
• Neil Josephson, president of CBC International, discussed a proposed partnership with the Evangelical Covenant Church, acknowledging the Covenant's assistance with planting campuses in Windsor, Colorado, and LaMerced, Ecuador. On six issues of accountability (changes to mission statement, calling of a president, the closure/planting of a CBC campus, calling an executive director of a CBC campus, amendment to change corporation bylaws, and acts that may prove detrimental to the institution), the Canada Conference and the ECC would need to give permission on any changes. On 11 other issues, the Canada Conference would have sole say. Josephson suggested this as a way to better answer the question: "Who does CBC answer to?" The proposal would be brought to the conference as a proposed change in the conference constitution and would be voted on at the 2005 conference annual meeting.
• Noted speaker, evangelist and Covenant pastor Lon Allison spoke to the association about a "spiritual cross-training" model to help sustain them when their passion for ministry ebbs. The five components he mentioned included: solitude, a network of "soul friends," small groups, sanctuary of worship in a Body of Christ and a consistent sabbath that energizes one's life and helps them enjoy just being human.

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