My professional work is definitely a big part of me in many aspects. Responsible for software testing and quality as part of a large organization, I like things to be right and at times am probably too much of a perfectionist! I’m currently managing a team in India in addition to here at home and this has been a tremendous learning experience - particularly ensuring that there is adequate communication across the project team. Caroline’s professional background, as a medical social worker, is quite different to mine but our strengths are certainly complementary. She is very good at listening and strategizing with me when work-related stress, pressure and politics mount! I’m thankful for the opportunities I have had and will endeavour to use my business and people-related skills to the best of my ability in areas where God wants me to.

What is the most meaningful thing you have experienced in the past year?

This would most certainly be the completion of the adoption of our daughter Claire from Kemerovo, Russia and bringing her home to be with us. This was a lengthy, arduous process but we believed from the start that this was God’s intention for us to adopt. He has faithfully cut through the red tape and provided the means to accomplish this.  She already is, and we are certain she will continue to be, a blessing to us.

What do you do just to have fun?

Hanging out and playing with the kids, woodworking and all kinds of home improvements, and of course, an evening out with Caroline.

What do you think are PMC’s 2 greatest strengths and how can we maximize them?

1. The identification and practical outpouring of the “Community of Grace”. I think this has really helped people come along side and support God’s purpose at PMC.
2. Our leadership team and the unity of purpose and vision that has been developed over the last few years. It is a very exciting time to come onto the board and see God at work at Philpott. Continued communication around these strengths will help maximize them.

What are 2 of Philpott’s greatest opportunities and how can we make the most of them?

1. Reaching out in a contemporary, non-threatening manner to minister to our friends, neighbours and community. We have seized excellent opportunities to introduce people to the “Church” through events such as the Valentine’s party and Superbowl Sunday. I think there could be other family-oriented opportunities we could capitalize upon such as a skate night or similar events which could provide that initial link into our church family. There are many opportunities to reach existing and new families. 
2. Focus on God’s character and grace more than our shortcomings. I have learnt a lot in this area during the last few years and it remains a very important element that we need to embrace. Our shortcomings are important to improve upon, that is clearly understood, but it becomes much easier to achieve that if we focus on God’s greatness - His love, grace, faithfulness and patience (to name a few).

What area of board work do you anticipate will give you the most satisfaction? Frustration? and why?

Initially joining the board seemed a little daunting but I very much look forward to working with such a great team of staff and elder couples and learning from their wise counsel - I believe this will be very rewarding and satisfying. In terms of what is frustrating - there is much to learn with respect to policies and other “mechanical” aspects of how the Church runs.

In what area would you like to see the congregation grow this year?

I would like to see more unity between our different age groups. I think there is a lot we can leverage from one another whether young or old. How can we serve one another’s needs to a greater a degree? This is a question that can be difficult to answer. From my perspective, I deeply value the advice of someone I consider a mentor.

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Aaron Benallick, born to Brian & Christine Benallick, last September, was dedicated on Sunday Feb 29th

The ESL program is back with a full program on Tuesday evenings at The Vine.

Luke Janssen and the respirology group at Mac received a grant for 10 new research projects related to asthma.

Congratulations to Juliet Daniel who received the John C. Holland professional achievement award during Black History Month.

Where have Bill & Margaret Paterson been? Next time you see them be sure to ASK!

Congratulations to forestry student Caroline Turek for her acceptance into a special field course which will take her to Wales, Sweden, Finland and Germany this summer. Caroline was one of 12 students accepted and funded for the program.

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When did you first join the Board of PMC?

I’m not sure. I started as a deacon many years ago and served a few terms there. I think the first time I joined the elders’ board was when Lew Worrad was here as senior pastor.

How have you see the Board evolve over the years?

I think over the last 5 years, we have tried to focus on the elder’s role as a shepherd, small group leader, teacher, servant-leader, and tried to have less focus or time spent on “portfolios,” finances, and “administrative”
issues. We have committees, committee chairs, and financial experts who are leading us in those things.

Can you tell us about the recent staff-elders retreat?

We focused on the idea of shepherding. We started out by identifying some biblical principles of shepherds. Then we talked about who had shepherded us in our own lives, and what qualities those people displayed. Then we prayed about and considered how each of us could become better at shepherding. The passages we read and discussed included Psalm 23, John 21:15-18, Isaiah 40:11, 1Peter 5, Luke 12:32-34, Hebrews 3:17, Jeremiah 23:1-4, Matt 9:36-38, Acts 20:20-38, Ezekiel 34.

It was an exciting time to spend with the staff, elders, spouses, Bryan Wylie, our new church administrator, and Pat Major. We got to know each other better and I think we are becoming a good team.

We are thankful for the Vine, which was a great venue for this meeting, and for Bob & Beanie Proulx who helped us set up and prayed with us before we started.

It is inspirational and encouraging to work with a group of people who are dedicated to serving God and encouraging one another. For our next retreat, we will be learning some practical steps to becoming better mentors as we try to live up to the biblical model of shepherding.

Please pray for the Elders Board as we meet the 3rd Tuesday of every month, and pray for our next retreat coming up in October.

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David is Vice-President of St. Pauls Insurance. He and his wife Julie (Smith) have three children: Lindsay, Alexander and Kevin and dog Zipper.

My daughter, Janet, is a Music teacher at First Baptist Church, Grand Cayman. Janet and her husband Steve (Durksen) have two children: Stephany and Joel.

Allison is on staff as a dietetic assistant at MUMC. Allison and her husband Ian (Pottinger) live in Burlington.

I have a B.A. from McMaster University (1968) and a M. Ed. degree from the University of Toronto (1974) plus special education Part 1 and Part 2. Plus principal’s courses Part 1 and 2. I have been a member of Philpott Church since 1961.
   
What is the most significant training you have received for living the Christian life?

The most significant training I received for living the Christian Life and for taking on responsibility for church work was through mentoring. I first attended Philpott Church in 1959 and began regularly to attend young peoples and prayer meeting. It was there that I learned to pray out loud and to receive encouragement and feed back on my Christian walk. As a young married man, men like Vic George, Clarence Coombs, Jack Slater, Wilf Young, Jack Penhall, Bob Whyte, Jim Whyte, Tom Robertson, Harry Wilson, Gord Smith, Fritz Wilton, Mel Harvey, Charlie Drummond all played a major part in encouraging me and were trusting enough to give me responsibility. Over the 46 years I have been at Philpott, it has taken the ‘Whole Church’ to mature me and to help raise my children to be godly followers of Christ. Pastor Stein was one of the first who asked Marjorie and I to take on ”Teen Time’. Teen Time was a transitional step between Sunday School and Young Peoples. This we did without special training other than the training that I had had at Teachers College to teach in the Hamilton School System.

On another occasion, I was approached by men from the congregation to start a Christian Boys in Action Group.  We targeted 25 high school seniors from Sir John A. Secondary. We were blessed with two great leaders during this period: Len Brierly and Gord Wilson.

Over the years, I was involved in Young Peoples, Sunday School, special Adult Couples Classes, Christian Sports events, football, softball, retreats for young and old. All of these events helped me acquire the skills I needed to cope with different kinds of programming for different needs groups. I thank God for the cloud of witnesses to His saving Grace that he cloistered around me to help me become an effective Christian.

At the age of twenty five, I started teaching elementary school for the Hamilton Board of Education. It was a job I have worked at for over 41 years. I am still working at it today. “As my days, so shall my strength be.” I love teaching. I have never met a student I didn’t like. I believe that I was called to that role. Christ gave me the ability to relate to children, a gift that I have tried to use for His Glory.      My wife, Marjorie, was also a teacher and has been choir and church pianist for 35 years. As well, she has served on the Nominating Committee and Pulpit Committee several times and has chaired both the Music Committee and Missionary committee. She has also been very supportive of me and all the areas in the church that I have been asked to serve.

What is the most meaningful thing you have experienced in the past year?

The most memorable thing over the past year has been the beginning of our small group. This we co-lead with Pat Harvey and we hold the meeting in my home. We meet every other Wednesday with an average attendance of 14.  We have all tried to be responsible to the teaching of Scripture and hold one another accountable for growth and discipleship.

What is the most important thing for the congregation to know about you?
 
One of the things that I think the congregation should know about myself and Marjorie is that we both want to be striving everyday to become more like Christ in word and deed. To be a witness for his glory wherever he might lead us and to model the Grace of God.

The dream that I have for Philpott is for Philpott to be a true Community of Grace; that people in the downtown core and in local communities to the four corners of our county know of our Love for Christ and our willingness to reach out to those in need; that our integrity and dedication to Christ will draw all men to Him; that our focus will not be internal but external; that our energies be spent in proclaiming His Word; that we focus on the things that bind us together not on those that separate us.

It has been our great joy to serve Him in this place for all these years.

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We first attended Philpott in 1979 and became members about one year later.
 
What is the most significant training you have received for living the Christian life?

“Significant training” has been different for specific stages of my Christian life.  It has been things like sponsoring in our church youth group in Ireland and leading youth bible studies and discussions. At Philpott I have served as Elder, Finance Chair, Nominating Committee Chair, ABF leader, monthly speaker at City Mission and Nursery assistant.

So you can see that I consider the “most significant training” is not done so you can serve, but while you serve. And the training will always continue.

How do your feel about your professional work?

I work in a local steel mill, and am responsible for all mechanical maintenance in the Rolling Mill and Shipping departments. This has given me a wide exposure to, and a lot of enjoyment in, using the many facets of mechanical and electrical systems and controls. The most challenging aspect of the work is dealing with a broad range of people from many differing backgrounds and languages. In every respect, it makes for some fun days.

What is the most meaningful thing you have experienced in the past year?

The closeness, confidentiality and caring of a Small Group. Together we have studied God’s Word, prayed, shared personal issues and concerns, laughed, cried, regularly provided for community needs, and generally demonstrated how deeply we care for each other.

What do you do just to have fun?

I am trying to rekindle an interest I had many years ago in radio-controlled aero modeling.  Other commitments are making this a very slow task.  Enjoying our nineteen-month old granddaughter is fun beyond compare.

What is the most helpful thing for the congregation to know about you to truly understand “the real you”?

Although I am very serious and passionate about things I consider important, I also have a keen sense of humour and am always ready to hear or share a good joke with anyone who will participate. Children are a delight to me, and I have a very tender spot in my heart for them.
 

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I spend Thursday afternoons helping out at a Kids Club at Hughson St. Baptist Church in the North End of Hamilton. It is an outreach for inner city kids, many of whom come from families who struggle daily to make ends meet. I leave each week feeling completely exhausted yet richly rewarded as my own life is changed by their probing questions, their laughter and their unconditional love. 

One of the prayers we often lift up after the kids leave is that God would open the eyes of our hearts to see each child as He does. Last week God answered this prayer in my own heart. During snack time (I admit, a moment of utter frustration), I was overcome by the thought that the place on which I was standing was “holy ground” (Exodus 3:5). I was filled with an overwhelming sense that God was at work raising up leaders from among these often neglected and forgotten children, shaping them to be faithful servants who will not only believe and trust in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, but who will respond in obedience to his call to “make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19).

My initial reaction was to run home and get on my knees to confess. Had I truly loved my neighbour (each child) as myself, I would have already seen such promise in their lives! I realized, however, that yet another glass of juice had spilled, and a quick prayer was offered in confession as I ran for more paper towels. My interaction with each child from that moment changed as God granted me a new sense of vision, hope and faith in His transforming power.     

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Are you aware that Philpott Church has around 48 Homebound Seniors who are visited each month? They live in retirement Homes, long term care centers, frail care facilities, some still live in their own home or apartment, and some stay in the home of family members. The majority of the Homebound usually have one thing in common - they can no longer make it to church on their own.

There are various ways that contacts are made with those we visit regularly. One of their friends or a relative may speak to the Visitation Pastor and ask me if I would mind visiting a person. Sometimes we get names from the Grace Care Ministry. 

Once as I was about to leave the ward after a regular visit to a man, another man in the ward asked if I would have a word of prayer with him. A friendship developed and we have been visiting with him for over a year now. We are glad when people call the church secretary or speak to me personally to let us know when someone is going to the hospital for an operation, giving us an opportunity to visit and pray with them.

I used to visit with a lady in the living room of her home and as usual we’d talk about the events at the church, read from the Bible and have prayer. Some months later I was delighted when another member of the family called and asked if I would come and pray with her. She had been sitting in the kitchen and I didn’t always know she was there. I counted it a great privilege when she called again and asked me if I’d come and talk to her friend who was not well and pray with her. These visits develop into times of mutual friendship and blessing.

We have twenty visitation teams which seek collectively to visit each of the Homebound Seniors each month. Some of those on the visitation teams have built friendships with those they visit which continue for years, even after the person enters a retirement home. Others visit seniors as one of their ministries for the church.

At the Philpott Ministry Fair held last October, we had five people sign up at the visitation table, indicating they would like to be involved: Jo-Ann Benedict, Sonya Cutriss, Jane Dobson, Larissa Long and Courtney Wilson. Now these five have joined visitation teams and the new friendships are much appreciated by Homebound and visitors alike.
For many of the Homebound, Philpott church was their way of life - they grew up in the church through Sunday School, young peoples and adult groups and they were involved in many activities of the church. They have given sacrificially, leaving for us the church and property which we enjoy and benefit from today.

They often feel cut off and in some sense forgotten. Many of their friends have gone Home ahead of them. For some, time weighs heavily and boredom is a big problem. For others, lack of energy and declining health deny them the opportunity to do the things they would like to do. Yet their interest is always in their church and they are always asking “how are things at the church?” Imagine how one feels when one’s health is failing, or one is told they can’t drive any more because of frailty of body. Imagine not being able to see, nor hear, or having to depend on a walker or wheel chair to get around.

These dear ones need people to visit them, to encourage them, to take an interest in them. Seniors, like anyone else, need recognition and support. Music teams and groups would be welcome and greatly enjoyed.

As Youth are the church of tomorrow, Seniors are the church of yesterday. There would be no Philpott Church today if our seniors had not given sacrificially to help our church survive through God’s grace.

Let us remember to pray for the Homebound that they may know His grace and sufficiency and finish their course well. And let us take some time to bring joy to their lives.

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O God, our Father, as we rejoice in the anticipation of all the beauty of spring after the gray days of winter, we thank You for the first Easter.  We thank You that the dark tomb was empty in the silent early morning as the women looked in.  We thank you for their joy, so unexpected as they hurried away to tell the angel’s message. May we, in our hearts, accept this fact of life beyond the grave, and so share in some of the happiness of that first Easter morning.  In quietness, tranquility and peace let us rest in Your peaceful presence until all the doubts of life subside and the vision of your truth and beauty is all there is.  (John Newman prayer?)

O Lord, support us all the day long, until the shadows lengthen and the evening comes, and the world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done.  Then in thy mercy grant us a safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at the last.  (John Henry Newman)

God speaks to us in a thousand voices, each with the same clear message:  “I love you.  Please trust me on this one.”  (Hugh Prather)

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