A Big Change For the Bedards
Something has happened, something that I did not see coming. It is good news and it is sad news.
Six years ago, our family moved back to St Catharines because I was hired as the pastor of Queen Street Baptist Church. St Catharines was where Amanda and I were born, as well as three of our five children. It really felt like coming home.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at QSBC. It really is an amazing church. I have bragged about it and will continue to. It has a diversity unlike any other congregation I have been a part of. I really have no complaints.
During our time in St Catharines, I also became the chaplain (padre) of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment. Before this, I had thought my military career was over. I was blown away by how welcomed I was into the LWR. My time there has reignited my passion for military chaplaincy.
Everything looked like we were in the right place. My plan was to eventually retire at QSBC and the LWR. Our long term plans were to eventually move to the maritimes after I was retired.
A couple of things happened that began to divert our trajectory. Both had to do with seminary. I did a Doctor of Ministry degree at Acadia Divinity College and fell in love with Nova Scotia. Amanda felt a call to pastoral ministry and is just completing her Masters of Theological Studies at McMaster Divinity College. We were trying to discern what it looks like for both of us to be called into pastoral ministry.
Then something happened this past summer. I am on some medication for something called sarcoidosis. I had to go off that medication for three weeks in order to get the COVID-19 vaccine. I was fine for the first couple of weeks but by the third week, I was feeling pretty rough.
So on that third Sunday, I told Amanda that I did not have the strength to lead the entire service. I was fine to preach but leading the service was going to be too much. With very little notice, Amanda stepped in and we co-lead the service.
On the drive home, we both confessed a realization that this was what we were supposed to do. We were supposed to pastor together. Not with me as the senior pastor and her as an assistant but that we would be both co-pastors.
While some churches have such an arrangement, it is definitely not common (outside the Salvation Army). Our thought was that we would put it out there and that if it was meant to be, it would happen.
But where would we apply? We used to live in a small town and it had been great for our family. I was still feeling the attraction to Nova Scotia and that was something that we had considered for retirement. I talked to someone I know with the Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada and took a chance.
We eventually connected with a congregation called Brookfield Baptist Church in rural Nova Scotia. They were intrigued by the idea of co-pastors. We had a Zoom interview to test the waters. We felt no pressure as I still was at a church and we were not desperate to move. However, we were amazed at the connection we had with the search committee. It didn’t feel like an interview, it felt like a visit with friends.
From there things moved very quickly. Last week, Brookfield Baptist Church voted to call Amanda and I as co-pastors. We will be moving to Nova Scotia in about six weeks.
The hardest part for me has been letting people know at QSBC and LWR. They have become a part of my family. I loved my ministries in both of those contexts and I will miss the people that I have gotten to know.
We are excited about this new chapter of our life and ministry. Yes, there are still some details to be worked out. But we are convinced that this is what God is calling us to.
My plan had been to have QSBC as my last pastorate but God had other plans. I am eagerly awaiting what life will be like in the years to come. I’m especially looking forward to ministering together with Amanda at BBC.
