Acts 28:31
“You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” — Psalm 73:24-26 ESV Hello all, thank you for your prayers and support. I really appreciate it. January I gave you all an update about my first week, as well as, my first month. That post was very much so an overview of the month, but I tried to focus intentionally on the first few weeks. I didn’t get the chance to update you all about February, it was such a fast-paced month with school, and building relationships. I’m blessed to say the opportunities I’ve had to connect with a lot of people up here on the hill, and I will get to more on that later. Also, in January, I shared about my financial needs to which they’ve been met for that month, praise the Lord, and thank you to those who’ve supported me. As I’m settling in and getting into a rhythm here, I’m looking for a job, also more on that later. Before I get serious with the rest of this post, I need to get this off my chest. The term “cold” has been redefined for me. Thank you Canada. I no longer think 20°F is cold. No. I will wear a light jacket in that weather and say “it’s warm.” The middle of February brought a type of cold that I’ve never experienced. During that week it was literally -30°F on average. Now, I dressed accordingly layered, wore a heavier coat (thank you, Dad), and such. The Seminary was plenty warm to shield me from the cold, but that walk gave me a deeper appreciation for 30°F weather haha. In March, so far, its been around 50°F or so. I’m wearing light jackets and enjoying the sunlight. But let me tell you, that week was insanium in the cranium. Back to your regularly schedule blog post. Up on the HillWith the first half of the semester under my belt, I can effectively say that there is a great academic challenge being here, and a deal of homesickness. I’m building some solid relationships on the hill. We’re a tiny community, but tight knit. One way I bond is through ping pong, and I’ve been pretty solid at maintaining an above .500 record just saying. It doesn’t distract me from the academic challenges though. My studies have stretched what I’ve previously learned at Piedmont (now Carolina University), some minor differences, but nothing extraneous or doctrinally different; they’re more so cultural differences. So far, the class that peeks my interest the most is my Christian Theology class. To sum up Christian Theology, we’re learning about the importance of theology (theology is the study of God), the purpose of theology (the glory of God), and the different attributes about God that He has revealed about Himself in scripture all the way to modern day. The reading for this class is “What Christians Ought to Believe” by Michael Bird. This book breaks down the Apostle’s Creed line by line and focuses on how God has revealed himself and how this particular creed affirms what scripture teaches. I remember growing up, the church my family attended in Winston-Salem, at the end of every service we would recite this creed. At that time I didn’t understand the depths of this creed, it was just something I said. Now, in this walk with Christ, as I study in this class and just personally looking through church history (I have a particular interest in the early Church) this creed becomes so much more beautiful and meaningful to me. If you do not know the Apostle’s Creed I will put it below this paragraph. If you do know the Apostle’s Creed, I encourage you to take some time to read through it, let the words encourage you. “I believe in God, the Father almighty, Hope ChurchTil now, we’ve had 5 in-person worship services. Every first and third Sunday we host in-person worship gatherings, and live stream via Zoom every worship service. Restrictions here are widely different from the states. My best description of it is similar to phase 2 in North Carolina, and it’s been like this since before I got up here. Needless to say, this makes ministry opportunities pretty tough, but it doesn’t mean their non-existent. In the two short months I’ve been here, I’ve helped one person move into a new apartment, and helped gather some toys for a family’s young children. Later this month, I will help lead the children in one of the programs to celebrate the Resurrection Sunday. It’s similar to some of the things I’ve done with VBS in years past. I’ll try to share the video later. My responsibilities with Hope Church are growing little by little. It’s very educational for me I’m learning a good framework on how to pastor. Officially my title is Pastoral Intern. My focus right now is to learn how to pastor people, love them well, and serve in humility. I think I mentioned previously about playing cajon in the in-person worship services. I’ve played on worship service which, received a lot of positive feedback. I hope to link that service to this post. As I am serving in these capacities, it’s affording me opportunities to connect more with the Hope Church. I’d like to think that I’m assimilating well into the life and culture of Hope Church. Prayer Requests
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AuthorMy name is Nokomis Gregory. I'm a native of Winston-Salem, NC. After graduating from Piedmont International University I moved Calgary, Alberta as a church planting team member, with the hopes of planting a church in Calgary. Archives
September 2023
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