Dear BPCWA worshipper, Members in good standing will be voting for the Session of BPCWA in our Triennial Elections after the worship service today. It has been my prayer, and I hope yours too, that the vote of members will reflect those whom God intends to be serving in our Session.  To prepare the Session members to serve BPCWA together for the next 3 years, I have planned for a Session retreat next week, on the King’s Birthday public holiday. The Session retreat will be held in church and is a full-day working session for the new Session. I thought it would be good to have worshippers understand why we are planning for this, and what we will cover during the session. The aim is to help worshippers understand what to pray earnestly for so that the meeting will help the Session function effectively to serve God and His people in BPCWA.

Why have a Session retreat? While we have Session meetings to discuss the regular matters of the church, a retreat serves a different purpose and hence is not conducted annually but only on a “need to” basis. This would typically be to discuss something of importance that the regular session meetings do not cover, and which may take a bit more time to discuss and think about. I felt it is important to have one this year as we may potentially have new members who were not serving in the Session previously. A working meeting soon after the elections would help them to get started, a bit like the orientation program that one would have when joining a new company. More importantly, it is to help plan for transferring and transitioning portfolios. I am thankful that despite this being a public holiday, the candidates readily agreed to set aside this day as a full “workday” in church instead for the Lord’s church.

What will be discussed at the retreat? 1) Roles. Clarity between the roles and responsibilities of the BOE and deacons is always important. This will help deacons understand how to operate as they execute the decisions made by the BOE. The BOE will have its own meeting, outside of the Session meetings, on anything that requires decisions. This may be new to some and there needs to be clarity on how discussions and approvals are conducted. It also helps both the BOE and the deacons in the Session to interact and function seamlessly. 2) Portfolios.  If there is a local ruling elder in BPCWA, some duties previously borne by deacons will need to be reassigned. In addition to this change, everybody in the Session will be taking on new portfolios due to the change in personnel through this election. While I have been praying and thinking about this for the past few months and have taken an inventory of the existing duties of each Session member, everybody in the session needs to be put on the same page and be clear about who is doing what so that we know how to support each other in their respective duties. At the same time, there will still need to be a thorough discussion together to make sure that everything handled by the Session is assumed by somebody and that nothing falls through the gaps. 3) Transitioning. Since there are incoming and outgoing deacons, there are inevitably necessary changes in portfolios held by the deacons.  It is crucial that this meeting discusses the handover and transition process. We will need to review timelines and prioritize pressing official matters that must be attended to urgently, like updating the bank’s signatories and contact points with the new members.

I do seek your understanding as we go through the transition over the short term. Please do remember to pray earnestly. No matter how much we may try to plan, there may likely be some things that the new Session members will be unable to know or have access to until they assume that role. And ultimately, we must remember that human planning and efforts avail nothing unless God blesses. We thank God that we serve the God of all wisdom and power. So, as we fulfil our responsibility in praying and doing the best that we can by His grace, we can trust that our Lord will help us to go through this stronger as a church. Thank God for the men who are willing to step forward and take on more responsibilities and duties for the sake of God’s kingdom, power, and glory. In closing, it has been my prayer, before and after I became the pastor of BPCWA, that we would always have a Session that is united in spirit to serve our living God and Saviour in accordance with His holy Word. This is extremely important for God’s work in order to receive His blessings to use BPCWA to forward His kingdom’s work to save souls and sanctify His saints for His glory. Let us pray with all earnestness and perseverance that the elected Session and BPCWA will always

“. . . stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Phi 1:27).

Yours in our Lord’s service,
Pastor