Those Summer Days

When people first asked about the newsletter, they wondered if we’d be spamming them with too much information and too many updates. If that was you, hopefully, by now, that worry has subsided, as you can tell by the lack of newsletters over the past few months.

Our Sunday rhythm

Since we last shared, not much has changed, which in many regards is to be expected, when you’ve got your head down and you’re just putting one foot in front of the other doing the hard work of daily ministry while also working outside the church.

But we’re still happily gathering every Sunday morning at the Belmead Community Hall. It’s been a good few months of steady operations and rhythm. 

Since April, we’ve been working through the book of 1 Peter together, and it’s been an encouraging time of learning how many of the same struggles the early church went through aren’t so different from what our lives look like today (just maybe not to the same concentration when it comes to persecution here in Edmonton), but through it all, we see week after week, that Jesus reigns supreme, and his call to us to live as missionaries and ambassadors for his Kingdom is something we don’t want to take for granted. 

And as for who is joining us, ever since Summer started to peek out from behind the dark curtain of Winter (Spring in Western Canada doesn’t feel like it really exists for more than a week), we’ve been fluctuating with who shows up on a Sunday. Our numbers are still fairly consistent (hovering around the 40 mark), but the faces have been slightly different almost every week.

Some of that is that those who have been our regulars are starting to take trips and vacations, and some is that we are having people join us who are visiting from out of town on trips or vacations.

Marshall, for example, who is from one of our partner churches in Seattle (Downtown Cornerstone Church) was able to pass on greetings and encouragements. 

Dominion Day

For the second year in a row, (at what point does it become a tradition?) we brought our families to visit Fort Edmonton Park as they had their Dominion Day celebrations. For those unfamiliar with the term, what we now celebrate as Canada Day on July 1st every year, was previously known as Dominion Day prior to 1983. I enjoy that original name, because it reminds me that this country, no matter who is ultimately leading it, is still under the Dominion of King Jesus.

Fort Edmonton Park is Canada’s largest living history museum and one of the largest outdoor historical museums in North America. So for museum nerds like me (Clay), it’s a fun way to learn about the history of our city and bring our families together while doing it.

Continued Potlucks

Our monthly potlucks have continued to be a great time for us as the church to slow down and enjoy getting to know one another better. 

It’s such a blessing to see real community forming and, as pastors, not feel like everything needs to revolve around what we do. The potlucks are just another example of seeing the church be the church. And having great food to share helps too.

Though we’re going to take a break for August, we’re looking forward to starting them up again the first week of September.

Faithfulness over speed

One of the most encouraging things for us right now is not just that people are coming, but how they’re responding. 

There’s a genuine thankfulness from those who are now a part of Grace Edmonton. People are expressing that they’re hearing the Scriptures opened up in a way that helps them actually rest in what Jesus has done for them. 

To us, that matters more than numbers. Obviously, we want the number of people who know, love, and worship Jesus in this city to increase. But we don’t want to build something quickly that doesn’t last. We want to build something rooted. Something that moves those God has called in this city to love Jesus, love people, and help people love Jesus.

As we’ve said before, this kind of work often feels slow from the outside (and it’s something we have to remind ourselves often). But that’s not actually a flaw. That’s a part of how God forms people.

Grace Edmonton’s First Wedding

It’s always encouraging when a church reaches some firsts. And this August, we’ll be celebrating our first wedding as a church, as one of our wonderful young couples is getting married.

Like with so many things, these major life milestones are a gift not only to those who experience them, but to the church who gets to then come alongside and support, build up, and encourage a shared life of trust in Jesus. 

This will also mark the first time that Jared will be leading a wedding ceremony, too! It worked out better that way, so that I could simply participate as the father of the groom, since this is also a first for our family, too, as our eldest, Markus, is leaving the nest to start his own family.

What’s coming up

Looking forward to the rest of the summer, we’re going to be soon starting a small series going through the book of Jonah, followed by the book of Proverbs heading into Autumn. If you want to keep up with what we’re teaching, it’s available on our website as well as YouTube.

How you can pray

We’d love it if you could be praying for our hearts as we shepherd the flock of God that is among us, while we also figure out how to reach more people in this city for Jesus. We’d also love to see continued growth, both spiritually and numerically. I know in the last newsletter, we asked that you would pray that God would provide a few more seasoned couples with enduring marriages to join us and help demonstrate what a long-lived steadfast endurance in the direction of Jesus looks like, and this is something we’d love for you to continue in.

And if you’ve been supporting us financially, we again want to say thank you. It truly does make a difference. Doing what we do with work and ministry takes effort, time, and endurance. And we’re hoping that God continues to provide the ability for us to serve well. Your generosity helps make that possible.

Thank you again for praying for us. Thank you for supporting us. We’re encouraged and we’re tired, but we’re hopeful. Jesus is building his church, and we’re grateful to be able to be a small part in what he’s doing.

If you want to continue to play a part or you know of others who would like to be a part of this mission to Edmonton, head over to https://graceyeg.com.

On behalf of our families, 

Clay & Jared