Held in Barriere, September 25th to 26th

The Church of St Paul hosted the Fall Convention of the Southern Interior Conference of the BC Synod.  The Convention opened with worship Friday evening with Rev. Rick Schulz, the Dean of the Southern Interior Conference, presiding and Rev. Patricia Giannelia preaching.

Following worship, there was a lively discussion about shared ministry.  There are two ecumenical shared ministries in the Southern Interior Conference.  The newly (just the evening before) created North Thompson Ecumenical Shared Ministry has two points:  the Church of St Paul in Barriere and Trinity Shared Ministry in Clearwater.  It relates to three denominations:  the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, the Anglican Church of Canada, and the United Church of Canada.  In Kelowna, Faith Lutheran and St. Aiden’s Anglican have formed a single parish.  Rev. Brian Krushel, Leslie Stirling, and Leslie Ross gave information about ecumenical shared ministries from their experiences in the the North Thompson.  Rev. Rick Schulz, the pastor of the ecumenical shared ministry in Kelowna, described what is occurring there.  It was difficult to get the discussion to wrap up so that the reception and socializing in the Activity Room could begin!

Saturday alternated between business and presentation sessions.  Business included elections for executive positions; Synod committee appointments; reports from the Bishop, Dean, chaplains, and Faith & Society; and congregational reports.  In the presentation time, discussion took place based on the federal election kits that denominations and ecumenical groups have produced to assist faith communities in examining issues that should be considered prior to voting.

The Convention concluded with the installation of the elected officers.  Rev. Brian Krushel was chosen to be the Dean.  Rev. Curtis Aguirre of Our Redeemer Lutheran in Penticton was elected vice-chair to complete Pastor Brian’s term.  Sue Palmer from Christ Lutheran in Kelowna was elected secretary.  The next Convention will be held in Kelowna at Faith Lutheran with the date tentatively set for September 23-24, 2016.

Pastor Brian represented the North Thompson ESM and Petrine Edwards represented the Church of St Paul.  Rev. Keith Peterson also attended.

Bishop Greg Mohr had a busy long weekend.  On Thursday, he participated in the celebration of the creation of the North Thompson Ecumenical Shared Ministry.  He attended the Fall Convention.  Then, on Sunday, he preached at both Trinity Shared Ministry and the Church of St Paul.