ECAC News

1. Senior Pastor Candidate: Thank God for bringing Arthur Wong and his family for visiting us.  As the candidacy events are completed, the pastoral search committee would like to receive feedback from our congregations. Please get a copy of the feedback form at the welcome desk or fill out the Google Form https://forms.gle/YqEN87Ne9mPBNLDV6 or scan the QR code on the poster by Thursday, March 30. All responses will remain anonymous. In the meantime, please pray for God’s guidance and leading so that Rev. Wong and our church can discern and follow His will.

2. Praise the Lord for leading the online Annual Membership Meeting. The 2023 church budget was approved. Also, Ken Lam and Sally Ho were elected as member representatives of 2023 Elder Nominee Committee. EB representatives: Elder Terry Gee, Elder Rocky To.

3. Pastor Away – P. Derik is on vacation until March 28.

1. Good Friday Service April 7, 7:30pm: Come as we observe the death of Jesus with a journey of biblical events from betrayal to death through readings, music and corporate prayer.

2. Baptism? Are you a new believer or simply have never made this public commitment to follow Jesus. Ask the office for an application or just come to class to hear more on April 16th 9:30am. Ask a pastor for more info. RSVP if you know you’re coming. Baptism date will be June 4th.

3. Membership? Want to explore membership and hear more of our beliefs and vision? Classes are in tandem with the Baptism class starting April 16th 9:30am for 4 Sundays in a row. Grab an application from the office to get started or ask a pastor for more info!

4. Practice His Presence: Do you desire a more vibrant spiritual life and to encounter God more intimately?

Join us every Sunday at 9:30 AM in Rm 139 as we explore the biblical foundation of sacred habits along with approachable ways to practice disciplines like: prayer, study, worship, rest, simplicity, generosity, and celebration. Instead of being just one more thing on your to-do list, you’ll find that these habits of faith can actually create more margin in your life—providing peace and rest as you walk closer with Jesus.

5. Prayer Meeting: Join us Wednesdays 7:30-8:30pm on Zoom. Meeting ID: 346 311 903 Passcode: 085464

JMC-Youth Ministry:

1. The Youth Worship for this month will be extended to Sunday, April 2 at 11:15 am in the Youth Room – mobile classroom #1.

JMC – Children’s Ministry:

1. The Discovery 9:30 am Needs Teachers in April/May: The Discovery will need teachers for the month of April due to vacation, exams, and baptismal classes. We need a leader on April 9 and 16 for Grade 5 and 6 class. We need 2-3 leaders from April 16- May 7. Plan to Protect and Police Check will be provided. If you are interested, contact Jannah at jannah.kwong@ecac.ca.

2. The Deep Divers will be on a pause on April 23. The Discovery at 9:30 am and The Plunge at 11:15 am will be put a pause to give our leaders a break for their final exam season. We will resume April 30.

3. Save the Date VBS 2023: VBS is on July 10-14, full day. It is open for Kindergarten to Grade 6. Registration is open now and closes on April 3rd 11:59 pm at our church website. The Committee will follow the selection criteria that will guide the process of registration selection. The selection criteria is posted on the Children’s Ministry Bulletin Board.  Also, Students from Grade 7 and up are eligible to apply to serve as a volunteer. For more information, email VBS@ecac.ca.

4. David Camp 2023: Thank you parents for your support towards David Camp! Camp registration is now full, if you’re still interested in joining the waitlist, please use the same link. For more information, email david.camp.ecac@gmail.com

 … Click here to read more

As first announced at the Annual Membership Meeting, the church plans to fully re-open on Sunday, May 15, and will follow this three-stage approach to reach the goal in 2 months:

1. Stage 1 – Monday, March 14:
· Limits of worship attendance at the sanctuary and gym will be raised to 200.
· Current practices of temperature check upon arrival, logging in and registration of in-person events will end.
· Masking inside the building, distancing, and hand sanitization are still recommended.
· Nursery rooms will be opened, and to protect unvaccinated children under 5, standard hygiene measures of temperature check, masking, distancing, and hand sanitization are recommended.
· The library will be opened.
· Contact the church office to book facility.

2. Stage 2 – Good Friday, Apr 15:
· Masking on stage will end while masking inside the building is still recommended.
· Distancing requirement within the church building will be lifted.
· Capacity restrictions of the sanctuary and gym will be lifted.
· Seating capacities of all the classrooms will become recommendations, and if the capacities are exceeded, participants will be advised to open door(s) and window(s) to improve air circulation.
· Sport activities are permitted in the gym only if the participants will move the chairs before and move them back after the event.
· Nursery rooms will be opened, and to protect unvaccinated children under 5, standard hygiene measures of temperature check, masking, distancing, and hand sanitization are recommended.
· Contact the church office to book facility.

3. Stage 3 – Sunday, May 15
· All restrictions will end.
· Eating in the building will be allowed, and the kitchen, café and water fountains opened.
· Nursery rooms’ hygiene measures will be reviewed if they will continue.
The following tasks are ongoing will undergo review:
· Church-wide Plan to Protect certification for criminal record checks and training will start on March 14.
· Feasibility of traditional group baptism – multiple baptisms conducted in one water tank during a service – will be considered at Stage 3.… Click here to read more

After living under the pandemic for two years, we are seeing glimmers of hope that may be the beginning of its end. The situation in Alberta is improving as both the number of new cases per day and hospitalization rate are trending down. As a result, we should be grateful and hopeful.

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).

You may wonder how the church will respond after the province announced a three-step plan on Tuesday, February 8 to lift the pandemic restrictions. While the worst of the Omicron wave is likely behind us, COVID-19 is still lingering and affecting people. Therefore, as a community, we need to remain vigilant in following proven health and safety measures to protect you and your families. At the same time, we encourage everyone to join in-person activities at church when you comfortable to do so, and worship God together.

Our Re-opening Team has been diligent in monitoring the situation and providing guidance. To maintain the delicate balance, we have adopted a gradual and prudent approach. Here are the details of our commitment to return safely and protect the health of you and your family:

• Maintain basic hygiene inside the church including masking, physical distancing, and handwashing
• Raise the attendance limit at the Worship Centre and Dynamic Centre from 100 to 150
• Continue to require in-person registration to facilitate follow-up notifications

As the situation is fluid, we will continue to monitor and gradually relax restrictions as conditions improve. Please check our website regularly for updates.

We all long for the day when we will again praise our God together in unison and greet each other in person.

“As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more” (Psalm 71:14).… Click here to read more

Our Re-opening Team has been actively meeting and discussing the COVID-19 developments with health professionals.

Over the course of the last month, we have successfully hosted in-person Sunday worship services in all three languages. We would like to acknowledge and thank all of those who have worked to make in-person and online worship services possible. We also thank all of you for your patience and support as we navigate technical challenges.

There is concern regarding the spread of the COVID-19 delta variant, which is why we continue to take a cautious approach and operate with the goal of protecting the health of you and our community.

In light of the variant situation, here are some updates to our church ministries as we approach the fall:

• The church will continue to monitor and assess the situation and make necessary adjustments after the province updates its direction in late September
• Sunday worship services for Cantonese, Mandarin, English will still be available both in-person and online
• Families are welcome to attend worship services together
• Parking lot and classroom bookings are available subject to certain limitations
• Other in-person ministries in the church building will continue to be postponed

We understand that some of you may feel disappointment in the continuation of restrictions. However, we must place our faith in the Lord and trust Him to see us through to safe pastures.

If any of you need help or need to talk to someone during this time, please contact your church leaders or email us at hello@ecac.ca.

“But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish” (Psalm 9:18).… Click here to read more

Pastor Derik Chan will be taking time for personal reflection and spiritual renewal in the upcoming months, including a spiritual retreat in September and October. To allow time for his spiritual renewal, his responsibilities in CMC will shift in the next several months.… Click here to read more

We have gone through ups and downs in this pandemic journey over the last 16 months, and are finally seeing progress. Both COVID-19 case and hospitalization rates have been dropping while vaccination rates are steadily rising. God has answered our prayers and we should be thankful.

As conditions are improving, the province has entered Stage 3 of its re-opening plan on July 1, 2021 involving the lifting of nearly all COVID-19 public health orders, with some exceptions. The City of Edmonton also announced the lifting of the mandatory mask bylaw effective July 1.

Following medical advice and being mindful of COVID-19 variants, the church is adopting a cautious and gradual approach in re-opening our facilities in order to protect you & your family, our community, and our staff. As a community, we will stay the course to look after the vulnerable individuals, people in high-risk groups, and children who are not yet vaccinated. Therefore, basic hygiene practices like face masking, hand washing and physical distancing will be highly recommended when entering church facilities.

At the same time, we continue to worship the Lord our God upon whom our true hope lies, and meet as a community for fellowship. The re-opening plan is outlined below:

• In-person Sunday Services:  Because of the continuous improvement of the Covid-19 situation, starting from August 15, 2021, the limit for the in-person attendance for the Sunday service in Cantonese, Mandarin and English will be increased to 75.
• Board and Council Meetings: Such meetings have been safely held at the church since June 2021, and all bookings can be made through the church office.
• Small Groups and Fellowships: Starting on July 3, 2021 parking lot use can be booked through the church office. From July 16, classrooms will be available to book through the church office.
• Dynamic Centre: At present, the Dynamic Centre is set up for the Cantonese in-person gathering. Due to logistics and cleaning requirements, re-opening the Dynamic Centre will be revisited in September.

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

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