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Best
Practices |
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Nell DeBoer
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Kid's Club |
Renew Your Worship
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Youth Leadership
Retreat |
New Mother's Program |
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If you have a Best Practice to add
to our stories please Email webmaster@classistoronto.org
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This page is a celebration of
the gifts God has given to us and the wonderful
things God is doing through us. They
are not our ministries but God's and we give God the
glory and praise for the lives which are touched
through the ministries mentioned here.
"There
are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.
There are different kinds of service, but the same
Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the
same God works all of them in all men.
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is
given for the common good. To one there is given
through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another
the message of knowledge by means of the same
Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to
another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to
another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to
another distinguishing between spirits, to another
speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still
another the interpretation of tongues. All these are
the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives
them to each one, just as he determines.
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many
parts; and though all its parts are many, they form
one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all
baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews
or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the
one Spirit to drink....If one part suffers, every
part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every
part rejoices with it."
-1 Corinthians 12:4-13, 26 (NIV) |
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| Nell
DeBoer - Chaplain |
| Our Toronto Hospital Chaplain,
Nell DeBoer, was one of several women to be
featured in the book: "Trials and
Triumphs of Women in Ministry" by Harry
St. Clair Hilchey.
This is what was said about the book in a
news release from Wycliff College:
"Every life is a story and every story
deserves to be told. Nobody believes this more
firmly or practises it more diligently, than
Archdeacon Harry Hilchey. In recent years he
has profiled graduates of Wycliffe College in
two volumes of Tales Worth Telling, followed
by sketches of individuals in two parishes
with which he has been associated.
Now we have a fresh collection of the stories
of two dozen women graduates of Wycliffe,
“Trials and Triumphs of Women in
Ministry”. From early Christian pioneers of
the early 19th century to recently-graduated
Doctors of Philosophy, this volume powerfully
describes the faith, courage and persistence
of women following their sense of God’s
call, often in the face of physical danger and
hardship, as well as the oppression of a
church resistant to change and sometimes blind
to that divine call.
Perhaps most remarkable about these women is
their gracious charity and patience, despite
the marginalization and discrimination they
frequently endured. While women continue to
struggle as equals in the parishes and
dioceses of our church, the subjects of Harry
Hilchey’s latest volume, have blazed the
trail so that succeeding generations may make
their own journeys more smoothly and
productively.
This is a book about women, but it should be
required reading for the men of our churches
who will gain fresh respect and appreciation
for their sisters in ministry. Thank you,
Harry, for being their champion."
Trials
and Triumphs is available from Wycliffe
College for $20. To order a copy, please
contact Tracy at tel: 416-946-3535 or email: wycliffe.college@utoronto.ca.
Harry Hilchey and the women from
"Trials and Triumphs" (Nell DeBoer
is third from the right)
taken
from: http://www.wycliffecollege.ca/
news_details.php?nid=28 |
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| Kid's
Club - Richmond
Hill Community CRC |
Richmond Hill Community Church
runs the Genesis Place Apartment building next
door. Genesis Place has three levels of rent:
one is that the tenants pay full rent, the
second level is partially subsidized rent and
the third level is fully subsidized rent. This
place offers many a home that would otherwise
not be able to afford it.
The youth pastor at Richmond Hill, Jack
Klooster, began a Kid’s Club with the
children who lived at Genesis Place with the
help of Nora, who works at Genesis Place. He
got the idea when a student at Redeemer. He
had been involved there with a program that
went into Hamilton churches and got kids in
the community to come to the church for the
group - a safe place to hang out after school.
The group got started shortly after Jack
started his position as Youth Pastor. At first
they ran the program once a week for all ages
of school children. But the numbers got too
big and so now they meet twice a week - once
with grades 4-8 and another afternoon with
grades 9 and up. These kids come to the
program after they get off the school bus
until around 4:30 and all live in Genesis
Place. The kids are from a variety of national
and religious backgrounds and usually do not
attend the church.
The program consists of a snack and then a
activity: games, crafts, stories, and
sometimes they do an outreach time with the
older kids (going and cleaning somewhere for
example). Other times they put on talent shows
and other special programs at times of the
year like Christmas. The program provides good
opportunity to meet with the kids, get to know
them and influence their lives. Jack also
makes sure they know about programs at the
church for their age group so that they can
get involved that way.
The program aims to give kids the opportunity
to have a safe place to come after school once
a week, where they are acceptance and there is
no bullying, as well as it being a break for
the parents.
At the beginning there was difficulty in
getting the kids to work together and play
together. Often the kids did not get along.
Most of them come from troubled backgrounds,
80% come don’t come from traditional 2
parent homes. Now the program is much more
integrated and they have less difficulties
with groups of kids picking on other groups of
kids. They have about 20 kids in each grade
group and have seen a number of kids join the
GEMS and Cadet programs at the church. |
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| Youth
Leadership Retreat - Bethel
Newmarket |
Youth Pastor George Lubbers
organized and lead a youth leadership retreat
last fall. It was designed for about 8 youth
who are being fostered for leadership roles in
the church’s youth group. They spent the
weekend at a cottage in the Muskoka’s that
was owned by one of the youth’s parents.
George used a guide from “Youth
Specialties” which has a curriculum of
twelve lessons on leadership. The curriculum
included time of listening, discussing,
activities (for a different way of learning)
and then analyzing what happened in those
times of activity. It was a good balance of
mental study and physical input.
The lessons included defining what leadership
is and what leadership qualities look like;
determining leadership qualities in themselves
and in each other; and doing a Bible study of
biblical characters who were in leadership
roles and discussing what it is that God looks
for in a leader.
They also had some fun at a corn maze with
others in their youth group and in the
churches from North of Highway 9. This fun
time was also focused around leadership –
The program at the maze was designed to create
events that allowed for each individual to
take leadership roles that were not normally
theirs. For example, in one game the organizer
from the maze asked who was a leader and who
were the followers and then blindfolded the
leaders and asked the followers to lead them
through an obstacle course. They also had a
praise time with the youth groups and George
spoke on integrity when competing.
The youth had a good time learning about
leadership and in their church have had the
opportunity to put their leadership skills
into practice. It was a great success.
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| Renew
Your Worship - Immanuel,
Second,
& Georgetown |
Worship Leader, Ruth Ann
Schuringa saw advertisements for Worship
Renewal Grant Program out of the Calvin
Institute of Christian Worship. She decided to
see what it was all about. The grant program
was set up to “encourage grass roots worship
renewal in worship communities so that they
are able to reflect on the purpose of worship
and develop practices that will impact the
worship life of their community for years to
come.” (Quote from Cindy Holtrop, Director
of the program)
This got Ruth Ann thinking about worship
renewal in her church and so contacted the
foundation and applied for a grant to do
something intentional about leading her church
in learning about worship. She got two other
churches involved to participate in these
workshops.
The projects is providing a series of free
workshops to guide and train the lay worship
leadership including, planners, readers,
dramatists, musicians, worship teams and
congregations. The goals for this training are
to: learn more about worship principles;
encourage worship leaders and musicians,
become more effective worship planners, and to
enrich gifts of Scripture-reading.
They are now about half way through the six
workshops they set up and things are going
really well. The first workshop about 75
people attended, the second one 45 attended
and last weekend they had their third workshop
and had 56 people come to learn. The project
has been a wonderful way for churches to work
together, get to know one another, support our
worship ministries together and many have
expressed appreciation for that.
The feedback they are getting from the
participants are excellent. I want to read to
you some comments that are coming from the
participants:
“I was challenged and encouraged to not
think of worship as just what I can get out of
the worship but to make the effort to bring my
worship to God - sometimes worship takes work
and effort.”
“I learned that the liturgy is set up as a
dialogue with God. (How is it that I’ve been
to church my whole life and never knew or
realized this...?) I learned that all of us
are involved in worship - work of the people -
that we have a role to play. I learned that we
should come to church EXPECTING to meet God -
the worship is an encounter. I have to
actively participate by listening, by not
being concerned with ‘did I like that’ but
did it bring glory to God.”
“Worship is multifaceted. It is a time to
come and participate. Worship is something we
do, not something that is done for us. New
avenues for praise and for hearing God's will
for our lives are the result. The Saturday
morning workshops have created a new
relationship with our neighbouring churches.
Ideas and concerns are brought to the group
and excellent dialogue occurs. I have
personally left after both mornings with new
ideas and thoughts that I ponder in my heart.
The difference has been evident in how we
approach worship as a worship planning team
and how I worship every week.” |
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| New
Mother's Program - Holland
Marsh |
A member of Holland Marsh CRC
made the church aware of a need in the
community. Hospitals had begun to release new
mothers a day or two after their baby had been
born, these new mothers needed to rely on
their family and community connections to get
the support they needed in the first weeks
after their child came home. Those new mothers
without family or community connections or
support were suffering emotionally and
physically. A member of Holland Marsh and a
new mother let the church know of this need
and the church responded by forming a Care
Committee who put together a packet to give
new mothers. Any member of the congregation
can let the committee know of a new mother and
the committee with deliver a package that
provides essentials needed in the first days
for a new baby: diapers, coupons for various
products, a congratulations card, Church info
with a contact number for more information and
an invitation to request further help if
needed and desired. The further help includes:
cooked meals brought in for a few days by the
care committee of the church; an offer of
assistance for a few times from a seasoned
mother to help answer many of the questions
that arise.
This program has been a great service to the
community and have introduced many families to
the church. Some have come to coffee break and
story hour later with their children. |
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