English Ministry
1. Father’s Day: Calling all children of Dads! Be a part of a Father appreciation video by sending in a short 3-10 second video or a picture answering this question: “What is one trait you love about or activity you love to do with your dad?” Please submit to ilse.li@ecac.ca by June 13.
2. Wednesday Prayer Meeting (7:30 PM): Contact P. Brandon for the prayer meeting link.
Church Wide Ministry
- Our re-opening team has been planning and coordinating with different ministry teams for the gradual re-opening of the building facility while ensuring that the pastors, staff, co-workers and congregations are kept safe. The team will communicate regular updates on service bulletins and the church’s web site (emc.ecac.ca/covid19/) as more information becomes available.
2. A New Way to Give: We have set up our own Donation-in-Kind process and now accepting “Donation-in-Kind” offerings with stocks, mutual funds, and ETFs. Please visit emc.ecac.ca/offering for more information.
3. Following Jesus with Integrity series concludes Friday June 25th 7:30pm with our final seminar with Carolyn Tam, “Issues in Sexuality & a God Who is Love.” The community Outreach Team invites everyone in ECAC to come engage the conversation, however it will be in English only. Zoom Meeting ID: 844 2990 8631 Passcode: 005212… Click here to read more
JMC – Youth Ministry
No News this week.… Click here to read more
JMC-Children Ministry
1. Awana Registration 2021-2022 has started and will end on June 26. The registration can be found https://emc.ecac.ca/awana2021. If you have further questions, email awana@ecac.ca.
2. The Discovery Sunday at 10 am is having their year-end party on June 13! We want to thank all the Discovery Leaders who continually met up with the children weekly every Sunday. Weekly Zoom Calls will start on June 21. More information will follow!
Other Church/Organization News
1. 2021 Joint Mission Convention Online Event – The theme is “A1:8 Our DNA” focusing on the C&MA DNA of “Deeper Life” and “Global Missions”, particularly in the making of “Christ-Centred, Spirit-Empowered and Mission-Focused” disciples everywhere. Instead of a JMC weekend, it will be a JMC month which consists of 2 days of online events and 4 Mission Sundays with pre-recorded messages from the keynote speakers for the entire July 2021. Details & registration: https://english.ccaca.org/jmc/jmc-2021/
2. 2021 Mongolia-Canada Youth Conference (ZOOM) – is organized by CCCOWE and sponsored by Canadian Chinese Alliance Churches Association. From the perspective of the gospel, the world of Mongolia is a spiritual desert in desperate need of nourishment! This virtual conference titled New Life, aimed at building friendships between Mongolian and Canadian youths through cultural exchange, and to bring them to the gospel at life’s starting line. We welcome young people (16-25) from Canadian Chinese churches to seize this opportunity for friendship and gospel-witness. Date: June 19 & 26, 2021 (SAT) 8:00-9:30 am (Edmonton time). Speakers: Kelsey Lau & Godwin Tsang. Free registration. Inquiry: office@cccowe.ca. Please see the following link for more information:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e83bfORLDc
https://www.facebook.com/groups/943802336377588
@mcyc.official the instagram pg… Click here to read more
Donation-in-Kind Offering
Over the past couple of years, the Finance Committee of the Elder Board has been looking into a “Donation-in-Kind” offering to allow donors to donate publicly-traded securities, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and ETFs. Donation-in-kind offerings are a tax-effective way to donate and provide you with another way to exercise stewardship in tithing to our church.
We are pleased to inform you that our church has now opened an account at the Royal Bank of Canada Direct Investing (RBCDI) effective immediately to directly accept Donation-in-Kind offerings. Our members can now choose to donate via cash, cheque, e-transfer, or donation-in-kind.
The Elder Board has appointed two trading officers, Ken Lam and Stewart Wong, both members from the Finance Committee, to be responsible for overseeing the RBCDI account.
The role of trading officers is to manage our trading account and the sale of donated securities. A Donation-in-Kind process and form has been created and is now available on our website.
Once securities arrive in the account, trading officers will sell the shares within the current or next trading day. Once the sale is complete, the net proceeds will be deposited into the investment account. The trading officers will then transfer the cash into ECAC’s RBC savings account.
Donors will not be charged a fee for contributing a Donation-in-Kind offering. RBCDI charges a standard flat-rate fee of $9.95 per transaction which will be covered by the church.
RBCDI will send the church monthly reports on all account activity, and the church will be responsible for issuing tax receipts to the donors based on actual value of donated securities received on valuation day.
With this arrangement in place, we will be providing another option for you to make donations to the church. There are financial implications and/or tax benefits for donors to make such in-kind donations. We advise you to consult with your accountant or financial advisor to discuss tax and financial considerations. Our trading officers and the treasurer, William Wong, are pleased to answer your questions regarding this service.… Click here to read more
Update to Health Measures & Church Services
By now, you may have heard about the province’s latest health restrictions to control the spread of COVID-19. It may feel like déjà vu all over again that we are back to a lockdown like last year. It can feel disappointing that after making so many sacrifices, we still do not have the end in sight.
Yet, in this uncertain time, we continue to worship the Lord our God upon whom our hope lies. At the same time, our church has adopted new measures to protect you & your family, our staff, our community, and the healthcare system while complying with all public health measures to further limit in-person attendance and move to online services, where possible.
Effective immediately, our enhanced safety measures include:
- Worship services will be exclusively online or streaming
- Scheduled baptismal services will be postponed indefinitely
- In-person church events will be cancelled or postponed indefinitely
These measures include postponing Pastor Stan’s in-person farewell event to a later date in October. You will be notified as soon as we have a finalized date.
As of now, the church building is closed to all but essential staff, and all programs and activities will remain online.
With COVID-19 hanging over us like a dark cloud, we may feel fatigued, anxious, or disappointed. Rest assured that our Lord is walking with and encouraging us every step of the way.
“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:29-31).… Click here to read more
Policy To Enter Church Building During COVID-19
During the closure of the church building, if you need to come in for ministry related activities, please pay attention to the followings:
- Use the North entrance door only and fill out the Covid-19 Assessment Form.
- Physical distancing is maintained at all time. Please wear mask if you are unable to maintain 2 meters from other people.
- Clean your hands on entry and exit.
To Give Tithes and Offering
To Give Tithes and Offering: please go to emc.ecac.ca/offering/ for more details.… Click here to read more
*** June 24, 2020 *** UPDATE ON COVID-19
Dear ECAC family,
How are you doing? Thank you for your effort in adapting to the COVID-19 situation and helping those in need. On June 12, the Alberta Government started Stage 2 of its relaunch strategy. You may wonder how this affects our church. Here is my update to you.
As of June 12, places of worship are permitted with no cap on attendance, as long as two metres is maintained between families and household cohorts. While we are eager to get back interacting with our community in-person, your health and safety are the most important priority. We will be cautious with our reopening approach to protect our people, especially the high-risk and elderly.
Our Relaunch Team, formed by the Elder Board in May, has been working tirelessly in developing a plan in alignment with the guidelines of Alberta Health Services. Phase 1 of our church reopening started on June 6 by hosting Elder Board and congregational council meetings in the building. The safety measures at these meetings include: an option to attend online, two metres distancing in-person, frequent sanitation of surfaces, hand hygiene, and contact tracing for participants.
These measures add a lot of resource considerations and complexity to even small meetings. But our goal is to develop regular practice from the leaders first. By ensuring proficiency in accommodating these measures, we can effectively apply them to larger gatherings.
You will be provided another update as our plan is finalized. As we take a step-by-step approach, I ask for your patience and forbearance to allow us to discern a calculated and deliberate plan that ensures everyone’s health and safety. The Elder Board and I thank you for your continual prayers for wisdom and guidance from God.
Lovingly, from your Senior Pastor,
Rev Stan Man… Click here to read more