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from the government regarding the current guidelines.


By Easter, we are hoping we will be back to, or at least closer to, normal in person services. In whatever fashion the guidelines allow, we will have our usual Good Friday service along with our Resurrection Sunday service. As soon as we are able to serve food and have larger groups of people gather, we are hoping to start up regular pot- lucks to help get fellowship happen- ing on a more regular basis. We also hope to hold a church barbeque to help celebrate our return to “normal” again. However, there are no concrete plans at this point as we have to wait to see how the government moves forward.


Brenda Quirt, Church Correspondent


Cornerstone Bible Church Mountain Lake, Minnesota Jim Bartsch, Interim Pastor www.cornerstoneml.com


Our new interim pastor, Jim Bartsch, has been associated with Interim Pastor Ministries (IPM). He met his wife-to-be, Esther Schultz, at Grace Bible Institute in the mid-1960s. She was the daughter of Abraham H. Schultz, a previous pastor of the Gospel Mennonite Church (now Lakeview Gospel) here in Mountain Lake. Jim received his Master of Theolo- gy degree from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1974. Since then, he has pastored a variety of churches. The Bartsches have four chil- dren and 14 grandchildren. Their permanent home is in Omaha, Ne- braska. Jim has served five church- es as an Interim prior to beginning his ministry here at Cornerstone on November 15, 2020.


As Cornerstone begins the New Year, our Interim Pastor will be collating the results of his inter- views with our church members. He will present his findings to the church council. Together, and with God’s guidance, he and the council will chart a course into the future for our church. At some point this spring, a search committee will convene, and we will pray for and anticipate the arrival of a new pastor.


We continue to gather, following mandated guidelines. However, we closed for two Sundays to give the Bartsches time to quaratine. Consequently, the planned Junior Department Christmas program was canceled.


We congratulate Mrs. Sophie (Lou- is) Klassen on her 98th birthday on January 4. She often drives herself to attend Sunday services. She con- tributes in Sunday School and stays active quilting and puzzling where she lives.


Marjorie Friesen, Church Correspondent


Salem Church Waldheim, Saskatchewan James VanderVeen, Lead Pastor www.salemchurch.ca


Although COVID-19 restrictions caused us to adapt our plans, we thank the Lord for the ability to continue many ministries within our church. We continue to worship together in person each week. We now hold three services on Sunday mornings of 30 people each, with our middle service live-streamed for those who wish to view at home. To help cultivate congregation con- nections, the live-stream chatline is open a half-hour before the worship


service begins. This provides oppor- tunity for conversation and ques- tions. Each Sunday we also have an “online greeter” in place welcoming members and intentionally turning “comments into conversation.”


Ministry team leaders have learned how to graciously change their plans each week to comply with flu- id government restrictions. As 2021 begins, we anticipate the continua- tion of our weekly youth programs (adapted to meet current restric- tions), as well as weekly in-person prayer meetings. Sunday School and mid-week club programs have been paused with leaders staying connected through social media. Virtual Sunday School lessons are emailed out weekly to our families with preschoolers.


Shawna Mwakikuti, Church Correspondent


Christian Fellowship Chapel Winnipeg, Manitoba www.cfc-wpg.org


We are pushing ahead into 2021 with energy and optimism. Our Zoom church services are well attended. These services have a special flavor, as Zoom allows for breakout rooms where we divide into groups of 5 or 6 and pray for each other and our church. It is wonderful to take advantage of the current technology and have a mis- sionary report right from the field where they are serving.


We are pressing on with our neigh- bourhood outreach, launching Awana via Zoom.


Please pray for us as we search for our next pastor.


Linda Edwards, Church Correspondent


FELLOWSHIP FOCUS, FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 20


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