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Staffing Updates
I'm not sure if you're much of a sports fan - if not, please oblige me for a moment. Right now, there is a fascinating story unfolding in the NHL's playoffs. The Florida Panthers, who were the final team in the Eastern Conference to qualify for the playoffs (read: they barely made it in by the skin of their teeth) have now advanced to the Stanley Cup finals. And -to my absolute utter delight- destroyed and humiliated the Toronto Maple Leafs along the way. Florida's story is so great because in spite of all kinds of challenge and adversity, they are performing very well. A cast of all kinds of great characters have been stepping up to contribute in new ways, cover for each other in times of injury, and rise to the occasion in clutch moments. 
We have our own team story unfolding in CPC. 
First, as many know, Laura's mom's health situation has been critical and all the uncertainty has come with a tremendous emotional weight on our whole family, especially Laura. As I write, Laura is still out of town and with her family and we all await the next update on her mom's state. We want to thank our CPC family for the outpouring of prayer support, love and help. The news regarding the severity of Carina's situation came to Laura via text suddenly during the first service last Sunday. Laura excused herself to respond and left between services to go be with her family. CPC people stepped up and into action right away - from rides to people jumping in to lead worship and cover sound/tech for the second service, to help with our children, to meals, we felt immediate help. Thank you. These are signs of a great team, a great church family. 
A few weeks ago, we shared the news that Pastor Trevor would be taking a health-related leave. I know that so many people have responded with love, care, kindness and extra help. Thank you. I am in touch with Pastor Trevor every week, sometimes many times a week. I am so glad for him to have this much needed time. I'm proud of him. God is at work. For the first few weeks our staff have all taken on additional work to make sure that the week-to-week of Children's / Family Ministries continue. I am so grateful for their dedicated work and extra effort. Many teams and volunteers have also stepped up with additional help too. Wow. Signs of a great team, a great church family. 
During this time Laura and I have been working on finding a mix of people to carry temporary responsibility for aspects of Children's Ministry on a part-time staff basis.
Today I am happy to let you know that Heather & Lorne Willms are joining our team as temporary part-time staff in Children's Ministry! Heather & Lorne have been attending CPC for about a year and come to us with many years of experience in pastoral ministry and education. I'll let them introduce themselves more in the bio and photo below. I have been enjoying getting to know them over the past year. I love their heart for Jesus, His church and for people. Heather and Lorne will split some of the part-time responsibilities as they are both balancing their primary work worlds right now too. They will be busy behind the scenes coordinating and overseeing some aspects of Children's Ministry so that our awesome team of volunteers can continue to serve and influence children to passionately love Jesus! 
Please join Laura and I in warmly welcoming Heather & Lorne as they begin to serve in this new capacity. 
Heather & Lorne's Primary Areas of Involvement during this time:

  • Coordinating Children's Ministry Scheduling & Curriculum for Sundays 
  • Coordinating Thursday Afterschool Kids Club (until June 22) 
  • Being a Sunday point-person and presence for Children's Ministry and Parents 
  • Volunteer Support 
  • Available for Pastoral Care for Parents/Marriages 
  • Additionally, Lorne may assist in some other areas of church life as time permits 

Lorne and Heather Willms 

 
Lorne and Heather have been married for almost 40 years. They both grew up in BC, and then spent most of their married life in Saskatchewan and Alberta. Heather and Lorne have two adult children. Their son, wife, and grandson live in Calgary and their daughter lives in Courtenay. Heather and Lorne live in Comox with their dog Rosie. 

 
In 2020 Heather and Lorne moved to Comox. They were happy to return to beautiful British Columbia and are loving the Valley. Lorne has pastored for over 25 years and is currently serving as a part-time interim pastor in Qualicum Beach. Heather has taught for many years and is currently the District Reading Intervention Teacher for Comox Schools and an instructor at Vancouver Island University in the Education Department. She recently published a book and is also works as a reading coach, speaking, supporting, and mentoring teachers across Canada.  

 
Lorne and Heather began attending Comox Pentecostal when Lorne was in between pastoral assignments. They quickly felt at home, appreciating the warmth of the congregation, the intentional effort to be culturally relevant, and the engaging preaching and worship. They are happy to serve and trust they will be used to contribute to what God is doing in and through Comox Pentecostal. 


Thank you for being a wonderful church family! Let's continue to bring the message and ministry of Jesus into everyday life - through children, families, schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods, .. together, we get to all be part of a great team. 

Pastor Mike