Stronger Together: A Morning with Our Pastors
The sun was barely up when pastors started arriving at 7:45 a.m., chatting easily as they found their seats. What began as a quiet gym warmed into a lively room filled with familiar faces, new connections, and the kind of conversations that happen when people who care about the same mission gather in one place. By the time we officially got things underway, thirty-three pastors from twenty-five churches had joined us, with a handful more who had hoped to come but couldn’t make it. The variety of backgrounds and traditions made the room feel rich and representative of the wider Church in our city.
Kyle, ESCE Executive Director, opened the morning with a welcome that felt both personal and grounding. As he shared about growing up as a pastor’s kid, people nodded along. Some knew that world well, others simply recognized the heart behind it: ministry is beautiful, but it is also costly, and often unseen. His reminder from Ephesians about putting on the full armour of God hit home as we head into the Advent season, when distraction and spiritual pressure often seem to intensify. It set the tone for a morning not just of updates, but of encouragement. 
Mr. Wolmarans, ECS Principal, followed by painting a picture of life inside Edmonton Christian Schools. He shared the stories that shape our community: students preparing meals for construction workers, high schoolers filling cribs for the Pregnancy Care Centre, and teachers creating classrooms where faith and learning sit side by side. His message was simple. We are forming children not only to understand God’s story, but to practice living in it. And we can only do that well when families, schools, and churches partner together.
That theme carried into the next part of the morning as Kyle described the image we return to often: the three-legged stool. One leg is the church, one is the family, one is the school. When all three carry their weight, a child’s faith grows steady. When one weakens, the stool wobbles. It is a picture drawn from centuries of Christian tradition, yet it felt fresh as people looked around the room and saw the partnership in real time. We were not sitting in separate corners of the village. We were sitting at the same table.
As the program continued, one of our alumnae, shared a testimony that gave the room a quiet hush. Her story reminded everyone that seeds planted years ago continue to bear fruit. God is always at work, even in the details we forget or never see.
The tone of the morning shifted again when Mrs. K’s Grade 6 students stepped forward to sing and play the xylophones and guitar, with Mrs. K joining them on piano. They were confident and joyful, and their music added something beautiful to the room. Several pastors said afterward that seeing the kids worship and perform was the moment that caught them most off guard in the best way.
We closed the formal program with prayer. Pastors had shared requests when they registered, and lifting those requests together felt like a small but meaningful act of unity. Churches asked for wisdom, for direction, for strength, for volunteers, for space to grow, for newly arriving pastors to find community. We prayed for God’s covering over every congregation. 
We had planned to send each pastor home with a small wooden 3-legged stool, a symbol of the image at the heart of the morning. The job action delayed their completion, so Kyle will deliver them personally once Mr. Epp and his construction class students finish building them. Many people stayed long after the program wrapped up, gathering in little circles all over the gym. Conversations kept going, connections deepened, and you could feel the shared sense of purpose.
It was encouraging to celebrate what God is doing across ECS and ESCE and to strengthen our relationships with churches throughout Edmonton. We’re grateful for every pastor who joined us and for the unity that made the morning feel special.
