Dennis Camplin

Co-operative to Corporate

2006-08-08T11:12:00.000-06:00

This would work for me...

2006-06-18T07:44:00.000-06:00

Coffee & Christ for pastors who gather informally
By ADRIANA JANOVICH
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic

A joke from another pastor draws a laugh from Frank Maycock of Westminster Presbyterian Church, Gordy Byrd of Shiloh Christian Center and Dan Keller of Calvary Church of Yakima. The pastors group gathers weekly at the Starbucks coffeeshop at Summitview and 56th avenues in Yakima. They've dubbed the group The Pastors Who Drink Coffee. The gathering "is mental health Thursday when we get sane again," said Joe Hite of Valley Fellowship.

The coffee shop is no place for vestments. No robes, sport coats or neckties here.

At the Starbucks at 56th and Summitview avenues each week, pastors wear khakis and jeans, shorts, sandals and tennis shoes. They let loose over lattés, laugh about jokes they wouldn't tell in church, and solve the world's problems.

Their cups runneth over.

The Pastors Who Drink Coffee — an officially unofficial social and support group for local church leaders of various denominations — gather every Thursday at 9 a.m. For coffee and Christian conversation, laughs and spiritual sustenance.

End of the Road...

2006-06-17T12:43:00.000-06:00

We live at the end of the road! At least the road goes into the lake right beside our home.

A few weeks back there was an incident where someone drove into the lake as if there was no end to the road. He made it about 75 feet and his vehicle was submerged except for about a foot below the roof. Needless to say, he did not pay attention to the checkderboard sign at the side of the road.

This week, the Municipality has planted another sign right in the centre of the road. I'll let you know when this sign fails to do the job!

Let me introduce you to...

2006-05-24T22:22:00.000-06:00

John Connor Camplin!

As I mentioned earlier John was born early on May 24th. John is our 8th grandson and 11th grandchild.

A New Grandson!

2006-05-24T09:17:00.000-06:00

Early this morning we had a new grandson join the family! This young lad is the third son for James and Maura. He weighed in at 8 lb 13 oz -- so he is off to a good start.

James and Maura have not announced a name -- but that will come soon.

There is nothing like a new grandson to get me blogging again!

This one's for Randy...

2006-05-12T20:48:00.000-06:00

Randy, You are the only loyal fan I have left -- so you deserve a new post. Enjoy your stay at the lake. Will you still be here next week when I get back?

May the blessings of Easter victory be yours...

2006-04-16T08:16:00.000-06:00

Lakefront in Winter !

2006-03-04T08:31:00.000-06:00

It is so seldom that we get to spend time at our home at Arlington that we never know what to expect when we get there.

Yesterday I had a dental appointment in Strasbourg so we decided to spend overnight at the lake. This picture shows the latest accumulation of snowdrift in our front yard. It is neat the way the snow blows in from the lake and deposits itself in the front yard. Very seldom do I need to clean the path from the front door to where we park the car. However you can see that the snowblower was in to make that path a little wider.

We do appreciate the good service that Ted or Reuben give us in keeping the roadway and parking area clear of snow.

Basketball Weekend

2006-02-20T19:05:00.000-06:00

It was great to have the weekend free from responsibilities at the church so that we could connect with family. On this weekend we connected with Jennie and Brett and their kids -- in Moose Jaw as Cole was playing basketball with the Birch Hills team. We stayed at Days Inn, ate way too much food, took in three games and hung out and visited together. It was great!

It wouldn't be winter in Saskatchewan withou a cold snap...

2006-02-17T09:06:00.000-06:00

... and that's why I have this picture as the background on my computer screen! I feel warmer just looking at it.

This is one of my favorite pictures because it brings up all kinds of memories of camping with with some very special relatives in a spot that has been a family tradition.

When I get back to the Lake on the weekend I will do the next best thing and get a wood fire going in the fireplace.

Jordon Cooper completes appointment at Spiritwood

2006-02-13T14:37:00.000-06:00

Jordon Cooper has served as pastor of Lakeland Free Methodist Church in Spiritwood for more than a decade. During that time he has travelled from Saskatoon to Spiritwood on weekends and other days to serve the needs of pastoral leadership in that congregation.

During most of that time Jordon has been employed bi-vocationally in a number of other jobs in Saskatoon.

I express personal thanks to Jordon for his good work. I remember well the condition of the church at the time that Jordon began his work there. There have been lots of changes for the better, and no doubt, a few challenges as well.

I wish Jordon the very best in the ways that God leads him and Wendy in the future!

World Relief Sunday

2006-02-11T14:38:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow, we celebrate World Relief Sunday at the Weyburn Free Methodist Church. I am also using the opportunity to introduce the denomination's missions theme, "Expanding Kingdom Influence Together -- Developing an Ethos of Generosity."

This church is generous already -- but it is a great theme and we need to be reminded often.

The solution to being 'addicted to oil'...

2006-02-02T10:04:00.000-06:00

China is the world’s biggest producer of bicycles, 79 million units in 2004, of which 51 million were exported. Imports of Chinese bicycles into the EU attract dumping duties. The average unit price was only US$34.5. By contrast, the average unit price of Taiwan-made and Japanese-made bicycles last year was US$164.41 and US$150, respectively. (Source: China Bicycle Association, May 2005).

The People’s Republic of China produces 55-60percent of the world’s bicycles. India produces 11 percent. 86 percent of the bicycles sold in the US are imports from China.

The Chinese domestic market for bicycles is about 22-25 million per year, down from a peak of 40 million just a few years ago. Thanks to government policies of promoting cars, and discouraging cycling, cycle use in China is plummeting, down to 20 percernt of all trips, compared to 33 percent in 1995. The Chinese bicycle industry employs 150 000 people and geneates $1bn a year in foreign exchange earnings. Most of the domestic Chinese bikes are produced by state-owned companies, who wouldn’t dare criticise the official policy to discourage urban cycle use. The Chinese Bicycle Association (CBA) is a branch of China Light Industrial, a government minstry, and its leaders toe the party line, viewing the removal of bikes lanes as a necessary measure for accommodating increasing car use. However, there’s one glimmer of hope: the Olympic village being built for the 2008 Beijing Games is to be criss-crossed by cyclepaths (Source: BikeEurope, February 2003)

If I was at the Lake today...

2006-02-01T15:04:00.000-06:00

... I would get my chainsaw out and cut a little wood for the fireplace.

Finally, here in Weyburn, the sun is shining and the temperature continues to stay mild. As I look out of my office window, the thought of cutting wood at Arlington is appealing. Of course, at Arlington there is much more snow, likely more wind, and maybe if I was there the thought of cutting wood would not even enter my mind!

Icebiking...

2006-01-31T13:01:00.000-06:00

Whenever I get a chance I like to ride my bike in winter. So far this has been a good year for that -- when I'm at the lake. This picture was taken a year ago one day when I was trying to entertain one of the grandsons.

However, icebiking is a sport that is growing in interest and participation.

A Fascinating Book...

2006-01-26T11:35:00.000-06:00

I am reading a fascinating story of Goerge Meegan who completed an epic walk from Tierra Del Fuego, South America to Barrow, Alaska; 19,019 miles in 2,425 days from 1977 to 1983.

He now lives in both England and Japan with his wife, Yoshiko, and their two children. He has served as a seaman in the British Merchant Marine and is a
Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society. Currently, Meegan is a lecturer at
the Japanese National Maritime University, Kobe, Japan.

The story of this epic transverse of the Americas on foot is chronicled in his book, The Longest Walk.* This is George Meegan's very personal account of the challenges, the hardships, and the vast sweep of peoples he encountered as he walked across the Americas.

My Home Town...

2006-01-25T14:56:00.000-06:00

CLARKSBURG - The first inhabitants of Clarksburg were the Marsh family of Grape Grange on the south east side of the village. William Marsh built his first home there in the 1850s. He was a farmer, merchant, and the founder of Clarksburg. The main street carries his name. The village was named after the second resident, William Clark, who operated a woolen mill on the river. Sometime around 1890, a bicycle rim factory operated in Clarksburg, shipping products across Canada and to several European countries. A bicycle club in Thornbury and Clarksburg grew to several hundred members around that time. Clarksburg also had a grain mill, woolen mill, armory, curling rink and hotel. Fires claimed most of the outstanding buildings in the early 1900s.

Election Day

2006-01-23T08:53:00.000-06:00

Today is the day that Canadians get to elect its government leaders. We are fortunate to have the opportunity of freedom in this matter.

As I see it -- today we get the chance to support local candidates, a political party, or a national leader. Of course all of these are connected and it is impossile to isolate any one from the other, but I do wonder which is the prime motivator for most voters. For me, I choose the leader that I believe will be the best Prime Minister and do the local thing accordingly.

I heard on the news this morning that January 23 is considered the most depressing day of the year. And that's the day we get to go and vote!

Anyway, each of us has a right and responsibility to vote.

I'll Use This One on Sunday...

2006-01-20T14:43:00.000-06:00

I received this image from a friend a few days ago. It will fit right into the PowerPoint for my sermon this Sunday. The caption that came with the picture is..."The Proper Way to Weigh Yourself."

I think I will leave it for you to figure out how it fits ... but I am talking about the freedom of repentance. The main question of the sermon is -- "What would you do if you learned that what you have been doing continues to get you into trouble or does not deliver the outcomes that you desire?"

A New Buzzword … Organic

2006-01-15T16:44:00.000-06:00

I love being in church meetings with younger leaders. (At my age, that happens most of the time!)

One of the advantages of getting older is that you become more and more aware of all that there is yet to learn. And I think that’s why I enjoy being among younger leaders – because I can learn so much from them.

At the meetings I attended this past week – Network Leaders from across this country – a buzzword that I noticed was the word ‘organic.”

Of course, the challenge is not just to understand terms. The challenge is to change patterns either of thinking or of behaviours in order to accommodate a new way to do things.

Take organic for instance.

I’m used to fairly structured planning and organizing. From that paradigm certain outcomes can be expected from proper corresponding intentions. It is a fairly linear way of thinking – but it usually kept things neat and tidy. It was a useful way to deal with problems one could take the chaos of problems and try to bring some order and sense out of them.

Now I’m living in a world where chaos is valued more than order. (Though I did notice in one of the presentations a recognition of a natural flow from risk to safety, from chaos to order, etc.)

I think the bottom line is that any development of ideas needs to move from creative ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking to some kind of harnessing of the idea to a productive stage. And or course, this implies we need people who can move the idea all along the process.

I like the organic buzzword! Now, if I could only understand it…

Network Leaders' Meeting

2006-01-09T16:11:00.000-06:00

I'm heading off tomorrow for Niagara Falls to attend a meeting of Network Leaders in our denomination. The main agenda is to evaluate the effectiveness of the networks that have been established for about ten years now.

It is relatively easy to identify the weaknesses in the system, but more difficult to re-design or "fix" the flaws. One of the challenges that we will have to wrestle with is the fact of Canadian geography and that we have churches of various sizes in very different contexts. Regional groupings do not necessarily bring together churches with similar challenges and opportunities.

And, of course, there are always those who feel isolated for whatever reason.

We have solid leadership in Bishop Keith and members of the National Leadership Team, and we have excellent Network Leaders and together, we will be able to do good evaluation and head in the right direction.

And Now, It's Your Turn, Emma! Happy Birthday!

2006-01-07T09:44:00.000-06:00

Here is Emma Enns who is nine today.

Emma is constantly making crafts -- and here she is peeking through some knitting that she has been doing since Christmas.

Emma, have a great Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Jayne...

2006-01-06T09:14:00.000-06:00

January is a popular birthday month for several members of our family.

Today is Jayne's day! Happy 12th Birthday, Jayne!

Jayne is our oldest granddaughter.

Happy Birthday, Lisa...

2006-01-05T16:03:00.000-06:00

Today is Lisa's birthday. Lisa was born in 1970 so you can do the arithmetic. Here she is with her youngest son Jonathon. Her older children are Anna, Daniel and Mark.

Have a great birthday, Lisa!

Sunshine again...

2006-01-04T16:41:00.000-06:00

It seems like forever since we have been able to enjoy a bright day with sunshine -- but today it happened. For the past two days it has been trying hard.

What a difference sunshine makes to one's outlook!