2023 Year in Review
I considered not writing this post this year. The reason is that this has been one of the most difficult years for the Bedard family. But I have decided to share some of what happened.
January began with me still having back pain that I developed in early December of 2022. It was bad enough that I was not able to travel to the military units where I am a chaplain. They were very gracious with me and I was slowly able to regain mobility to return after a few weeks.
Also because of that back pain, I had to rely on Amanda at Brookfield Baptist Church. We did not realize when we became co-pastors about how much we would have to support each other in injuries.
There were some other difficult circumstances that I hinted at in some of Good News posts. I will not add anything to that other than they were very difficult times that are still affecting us.
I can say that in the Spring, Amanda suffered a concussion. That has been very difficult as she had some previous concussions and they tend to build on each other. To make matters worse, she also developed Lyme disease from a tick bite. One of the symptoms was Bell’s palsy, which was very hard.
All of this led to a hard decision. Amanda took a leave of absence from Brookfield Baptist Church to focus on her health. I felt this as a great loss because she has gifts that I do not and we make a great team. I will say that today, Amanda stepped in for me as I was sick and preached for the first time since Good Friday.
This past year was a productive time for some of my academic work. I had four journal articles published in the following journals: The Canadian Journal of Theology, Mental Health and Disability, Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture, An Unexpected Journal, and The McMaster Journal of Theology and Ministry. I also had a chapter published in Life Together: Disability and Belonging in the Church.
I also had the opportunity to do a lecture for the course Disability, Theology, and The Church: Everybody Belongs put on by Emmanuel Bible College and Tyndale University. As well, I gave a lecture on autism and the church for OCALICONLINE conference.
You will notice a focus on autism in my activity. To add to this, I joined the editorial board for the Canadian Journal of Autism Equity.
I was also very active in my military work. I did some full-time chaplaincy at Camp Aldershot in May. Soon after that, I filled in as acting Brigade Chaplain as our Brigade Chaplain was away. This was a great experience and I learned a lot.
I also finished one of my last two courses for my chaplain training at CFB Borden. This was Counselling Skills and it was an amazing course with some fantastic colleagues.
I have been active with my regular units, 3 Intelligence Coy and 3 Military Police. I have very much enjoyed my work with them.
I have continued my ministry at Brookfield Baptist Church. I have missed working with Amanda over the past number of months as she recovers and I look forward to the opportunity of working with her again. I will say that BBC has been very supportive of our family and I am thankful for this congregation.
On a personal note, I have had my own struggles. This has included both my physical and mental health. But I have been working on both of them and have seen improvement. I have set some goals for myself for 2024 that will be beneficial for all areas of my life.
