Central Abbotsford

In my year and a half as the Central Abbotsford pastor, something that I have greatly appreciated is how the structure of our weekend services has allowed me to have frequent opportunities to have conversations with many of you, and to get to know many of you more and more each week. From our (relatively) small size, to the weekly meal and dessert, to the relatively narrow foyer that everyone walks down at the same time, this ability to connect is something that I love!

I know that I am far from the only beneficiary of our setup, though. I see it in the many conversations shared around the table at dinner time. I hear it when I have to be a little louder than usual at 5:30 when I welcome people to the service, knowing that I am breaking up a lot of talking! (Don’t feel bad about that – it’s a good thing.) I certainly notice it when the last group chatting in the gym at the end of the night reluctantly winds their discourse down to join in the cleanup effort (thank you very much!).

Even with all these opportunities to talk, though, not everyone can get to know everyone else – we just have too many people! Still, it makes me wonder about who shares the same niche interests with one another, but it just hasn’t ever come up? Who grew up on the same street as another person in the congregation but doesn’t realize it? (Bonus points if you know which member of our worship team lived on the street I grew up on.) Who are seventh cousins with one another? (For those of you with more Mennonite heritage than your pastor, you might be able to answer that question at the Mennonite Games page.)

So, in order to (maybe) answer these questions, but more to serve the greater purpose of getting to know one another more, I am hoping to introduce a regular feature in this newsletter called “Know Your CA Family”. Basically, every now and then I would love to interview someone who calls this church home with a handful of pretty simple questions that will allow us to know you a little more! Nothing controversial, I promise – just some basic facts and maybe a thing or two that might surprise us, and potentially open up a conversation or connection among you that wouldn’t have happened otherwise.

If you are interested in being one of my test subjects on this, send me an email at eheath@northview.org or let me know on the weekend! And don’t be surprised if I tap a few of you on the shoulder to see if you’ll take part (you are not obligated if you don’t want to – I can guarantee that).

Until Saturday evening,

Eric

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

– 1 Corinthians 13:12