Delve An
Of
Intersection
Faith
And Life
April 2016
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Features Keeping the Flame Ablaze Without Burning Down the House 3 Syrian Refugee Care Initiative 6 Musings: The Demise of Christendom, Part 2, Take 2 8 Between the Testaments: The Death of Herod the Great to Pontius Pilate 20 Victorious Jesus 24
Equipping the Church to Care for Creation
Keeping the Flame Ablaze Without Burning Down the House
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Departments Resource Centre 14 Discipleship Ministries 18 Financial Update 33
Information Contact Information 34 Community Corner 36 Calendar 39 Cover: Spring Garden Church Design: Clement Lee Contributors: Karen Cassel Faith Holwyn Zane Jansen Greg Kay Monica Kay Suzanna Lai Geoff Moore Jeremy Ranasinghearachchigedon Ben Reynolds Gene Tempelmeyer
Delve submissions are due on the LAST MONDAY of each month. To submit for the next issue of Delve, please email: delve@springgardenchurch.ca 2
Copy Editors: Greg Kay Suzanna Lai Gene Tempelmeyer
I was surprised to read a recent article reporting a significant decrease in the actual experience of “speaking in tongues” in Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches. I have a number of friends from such churches who gave mixed reactions to the article, but generally agreed that, at least in public worship, the more dramatic gifts of the Holy Spirit do not receive the emphasis they once did. This caused me to think about my own journey in what, for lack of better words, I would call “charismatic experiences” and the evolution of my understanding of them. The reality and presence of God in some of my own experiences cannot be denied. The stimulation and human manipulation of emotion, adrenaline, and desire in some of my own experiences equally cannot be denied. How can we walk the line between wanting to be open to the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives and wanting to insure that what we do and experience is genuine and real? As a number of us walk in the tension between desire to keep ablaze the gift of the Holy Spirit within us and disillusionment with human foolishness and manipulation, I felt nudged this spring to 3
address this tension much as the Apostle Paul wrote to a church long ago: “What I want to talk about now is the various ways God’s Spirit gets worked into our lives. This is complex and often misunderstood, but I want you to be informed and knowledgeable.” (1 Corinthians 12:1, the Message) Gene Tempelmeyer April 3 Temples of God and the Temple of God, 1 Peter 2:3-10 The Holy Spirit fills and infuses everything with God’s energy, especially followers of Jesus. We need to understand experientially how this energy works in and through us and for what purpose. We become, by the Holy Spirit, the incarnation of God in the world. April 10 God’s Guarantee, Ephesians 1:7-14 The Holy Spirit at work in us is the guarantee of the complete fulfillment of God’s plan to bring everything in heaven and earth together in the Messiah. He makes the future real to us in the present. As we proclaim Good News in the power of the Holy Spirit the work of reconciliation has truly begun. April 17 Earth and Heaven, Natural and Supernatural, 1 Corinthians 12:7-11; Galatians 5:22-26 The Holy Spirit joins heaven and earth together. There is a common misconception of heaven as vastly different and vastly distant from earth. Some of the ways the Holy Spirit moves in us are supernatural and some are natural, both of which are equal in value. April 24 The Gifts and the Body, 1 Corinthians 12:12-21 The Holy Spirit gives each of us abilities to be used for the common good. There is great variety. No one has all of these abilities. Everyone has something we all need. 4
May 1 Understanding Speaking in Tongues, 1 Corinthians 14:2, 13-19 People seem to have more questions about this ability than other gifts. Some confusion arises because in the New Testament there are several different ways people experienced speaking in a language they had not been taught. It happens in some people and can be a useful spiritual practise allowing us expression words can’t reach. We are explicitly told not to forbid it. May 8 Serving the Body, 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; 23-25 The gifts are given to build us up personally and as the church. When gathered as the church there is an expectation that we will use our gifts to build up and encourage one another. A gift that builds me personally should be used personally and not disrupt the gathered community. The gifts help everyone experience the reality that “God is among us.” May 15 – Pentecost Sunday A Multi-generation celebration of the Holy Spirit among us! May 22 Decently and in Order, 1 Corinthians 14:26-33a, 39-40 The way that Paul describes the ideal gathering is much more fluid than the way most churches and Christians would define “decently and in order”. Spiritual freedom in worship cannot exist where the fruit of the Spirit is not strong. People get their feelings hurt or offended and the community is broken. Spiritual fluidity in our gathering especially requires humility on everyone’s part. May 29 A Better Way, 1 Corinthians 13 The most fundamental sign of the Holy Spirit and the presence of God is real love expressed in practical terms and coming from pure motivations.
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Syrian Refugee Care Initiative
(this link is available on www.springgardenchurch.ca/src). Please spread the word by emailing this link out to your family and friends or posting it on your social network pages. To SUBSCRIBE to our Action Group mailing list and receive updates on what is happening and when we need your help, please send an email to refugee-action.groups+subscribe@sgbc.ca from the email address you want to receive updates.
Spring Garden Church is partnering with Blythwood Road Baptist Church to sponsor a Syrian refugee family. The members of the RAG are Carrie Wright, Ruth Reimer, Kevin Lai and Jeff McGee from SGC and Margaret Paul, Moira Ferguson and Elizabeth Ferguson from BRBC. We jointly need to raise at least $40,000 to sponsor a family of 4 or 5. To date we have $12,000. Cheque and cash contributions can be made out to Spring Garden Church with the designation “Syrian Refugee Care” on the memo line of your cheque and on the envelope enclosing it. Any donation more than $10 will receive a tax receipt.
In addition to financial support, we also require your immediate prayer support and are looking for volunteers. If you wish to be actively involved, please contact rag@sgbc.ca. We will eventually require some storage space to place the donated furniture and household items we receive. If you have a storage space that can be made available for this, please contact Jeff McGee via the above email address. Updates and fundraising progress will be provided regularly to the congregation and posted on www.springgardenchurch.ca/src. Be on the look out for more fundraising initiatives coming up in May. If you have questions or fundraising ideas that you’d like to participate in, feel free to approach or email the RAG committee. Thanks for your support!
You can also make a donation online via Canada Helps: https:// www.canadahelps.org/en/pages/spring-garden-church-andblythwood-road-baptist-ch/ 6
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Musings: The Demise of Christendom, Part 2, Take 2 (If this article feels familiar it is because last month I accidentally sent the wrong file to be published. The version in last month’s Delve was an early draft of the first half. I decided to reprint the article in its entirety. If you already read Take 1, just skip on down where it stops feeling familiar!) I found myself in a coffee shop talking with a woman I had met the previous Sunday morning during our coffee hour. A recent immigrant from mainland China, she hoped I would be able to help her understand what happens in church. I began with what I thought was the beginning. “We are people who believe in and follow Jesus.” “Who is Jesus?” I offered a brief biographical sketch followed by the main idea: “We believe Jesus is a human being, but that he is also God.” “What is God?” “Pardon me?” She explained that growing up she had sometimes heard people talk about God, but she never really knew what they meant and her
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parents had told her that she shouldn’t ask. “So please, explain to me what God is.” Whew. That was harder than I thought! I believe in God. I often talk about God. There are things I believe about God, but they describe how God acts rather than what He is. I did my best to describe God as a spiritual being who made us, is greater than us and who loves us. That yielded a whole new set of questions, mostly around the notion of a “spiritual being.” As an even harder question followed each answer I gave I finally said, “Perhaps the best way for you to understand this is to pray. I believe God is right here (in Tim Horton’s!) and let’s simply talk to Him and ask Him to help you understand.” Needless to say, that took a little more explanation, but finally we began to talk directly to God. As my new friend spoke with a Being she did not understand well enough to know whether or not she could believe, she began to haltingly ask God for help in English and quickly moved to a more fluent Chinese. Finally she looked at me, eyes brimming with tears, and said, “I think I’m beginning to understand.” Last month I wrote about the demise of Christendom: the reality that our society is less and less influenced, let alone directed, by Christianity. I suggested that this actually is good for the spread of
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the Gospel. But as people from mainland Canada grow up learning less and less about God it changes the way we share and proclaim the Good News of Jesus. Let’s go back a couple of millennia to a tiny town in Samaria. A woman with a questionable reputation had met Jesus at the town well. “Come see…” she excitedly invited her neighbours. “Could this be the Messiah?” And they stopped what they were doing and went out to the well to see if it could be so. Consider the assumptions in this invitation. (It will help to remember that the Samaritans traced themselves back to the Jews who were not displaced when first the Assyrians and then the Babylonians invaded Israel and resettled much of the citizenry.) The Samaritan woman accurately assumed her neighbours: • Had a basic understanding of the idea of a Messiah; • Actively expected a Messiah to come; • Could see the relevance of the Messiah to their own lives and needs; • Had an adequate amount of information to assess whether or not the person the woman told them about was or was not, indeed, the Messiah. And, had an adequate amount of existing interest to leave what they were doing and take time to “come see.” Without already possessing a certain amount of interest and information the people of her town would have had no reason whatever to respond to her announcement of a possible Messiah at their town well. “Come see…” was an effective way of inviting people into the Gospel in a Christendom culture. “Come see the evangelist who is coming to the city!” “Come see our Easter cantata!...” or “Come see our new worship band! It’s so inspiring!” “Come see this great new Bible Study we’re doing!” “Come see our pastor speak! It’s amazing!” All of these invitations assume a level of information and interest. The average Torontonian who is largely untouched by the Christian community will have responses to these invitations ranging from boredom to puzzlement to nervousness. The only reason – the ONLY 10
reason – they might say, “Sure, I’ll come” is the relationship they have with the person inviting them. But if the event does not fill the information and interest vacuum quickly they will be more reluctant to accept the next invitation. The further the invited person is from the Christian world the less likely it is that what interests and inspires Christians will interest and inspire them. A church that truly wants to share God’s story needs to make adjustments to this new context. Perhaps the largest adjustment simply is to be aware of what belongs to Canadian Christian culture and what is intrinsic to the Good News. Culture can be jettisoned or adapted when necessary, but the Good News cannot. The beauty of seventeenth century English is cultural. The cross of Jesus is Gospel. Nineteenth century individualism and personalism is cultural. The Body of Christ caring for one another is Gospel. Musical style is culture. Scripture is Gospel. Our language must adjust to be meaningful to people who have not learned to speak Churchese. In one church that might mean replacing “thou” with “you.” In another it might mean using the words “would just” much less frequently (“Lord, we would just ask you that you would just bless us and we would just be able to…”). Things that seem routine and simple to church people are meaningless to postChristendom dwellers. We have to be careful to explain things which becomes aggravating to those who have already known that we use gluten free bread for years. At Spring Garden we have recently created a folder for Newcomers that offers a lot of such explanation so we don’t have to keep saying the same things from the platform. If you see someone new, be sure to ask if they have received the Newcomers folder. If you are leading on the platform, remember that we have already explained the offering, etc. in this welcome folder. Because people outside the church have less and less information and motivation to accept an invitation to “come and see” we have to learn how to “tell as we are going about the world.” The church is not a magnet to which we attract people to the Good News so much as a wifi signal being broadcast to connect people to the Good News wherever they happen to be. 11
It is essential that the Canadian church, including Spring Garden, develop skills to equip people to share God’s story as they go, not as a formula to recite nor as a relationship to manipulate, but as sensitivity to how and where God is standing close by a person and the issues and needs in their life that form an opening to become aware of His care and presence. “What would it look like if you were able to invite God into your troubled marriage?” “You’re such a good neighbor, it makes me feel like God is at work through you.” Where could conversation go from there? The people of Toronto need the Good News and the Church now, possibly, more than ever before. But the lack of existing knowledge and the consequent lack of interest requires a shift from inviting people to Church to going into the world as authentic followers of Jesus to make connections that draw attention to the work and presence of God in Jesus Christ. As that process begins to welcome our friends into the life and mission of church we who are already in the church and know it well need to be sensitive to the lack of information and understanding they have about what they are experiencing. I did some of my earliest speaking in a traveling tent revival in Tennessee. I love those memories and the work God in that time and place. I know a few long time Christians who would love “A Good Old-Fashioned Gospel Tent Revival” in the church parking lot. But how many incorrect assumptions about our neighbours would be required to actually attempt such a thing expecting them to come, let alone to come to Jesus Christ in a life-changing way?
Are you in Grade 10-12? Know someone who is? If yes, this may be relevant to you! REGISTER NOW FOR THE ACCREDITED LAUNCH LEADERSHIP COURSE: Registration for the third year of the LAUNCH Leadership Course is now open! This online and inperson course runs from Sept. 2016 - June 2017 for GTA students in grades 10-12. This course helps students grow in their leadership, impact their community for good, and earn an Ontario Ministry of Education credit (GPP3O - Leadership and Peer Support). The course includes on-line assignments, monthly one to one coaching with a trained coach, and in-class learning days hosted at our partner school on six Saturdays spread throughout the school year: Sept. 24/16, Nov. 19/16, Jan. 7/17, Feb. 25/17, April 8/17 and June 3/17. Come and join us and bring a friend!
Gene Tempelmeyer For more details, visit: www.321LAUNCH.ca/leadership-course To register, or if you have any questions, please email Lead Instructor - Diana Skinner: dskinner@yugta.ca . To learn more about LAUNCH, check out this video: https://vimeo. com/150875792
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Peace, Monica Kay
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Recomendations From The Resource Centre
Spring Garden’s online library catalog can be accessed at springgardenchurch.ca/library
If you know of books or DVDs that you’d like to recommend to the resource centre, please contact Karen Cassel karen.cassel@bell.net
Books Our heritage becomes our challenge: a scrapbook history of the Baptist women’s movement in Ontario and Quebec, by Esther Barnes
365 Children’s Prayers : Prayers old and new for today and every day, by Carol Watson This book contains a varied selection of traditional and contemporary material, including many new prayers written to appeal to young contemporary readers. There are a number of prayers written by children themselves, thus reflecting their 14
own concerns and interests. These include praise, thanks, and intercessions, as well as occasional hymn verses. Prayers are arranged thematically in spreads, and cover both everyday subjects and more abstract ideas.
Forgotten God : Reversing our tragic neglect of the Holy Spirit, by Francis Chan As Jesus ascended into heaven, He promised to send the Holy Spirit ‘the Helper’ so that we could be true and living witnesses for Christ. Unfortunately, today’s church has admired the gift but neglected to open it. Author Francis Chan rips away paper and bows to get at the true source of the church’s power - the Holy Spirit. Chan contends that we’ve ignored the Spirit for far too long, and we are reaping the disastrous results. Thorough scriptural support and compelling narrative form Chan’s invitation to stop and remember the One we’ve forgotten, the Spirit of the living God.
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DVD War room From the award-winning creators of Fireproof and Courageous comes WAR ROOM, a compelling drama with humor and heart that became the #1 movie in US theaters and received raving reviews from audiences of all ages. Tony and Elizabeth Jordan have it all—great jobs, a beautiful daughter, and their dream house. But appearances can be deceiving. Their world is actually crumbling under the strain of a failing marriage. While Tony basks in his professional success and flirts with temptation, Elizabeth resigns herself to increasing bitterness. But their lives take an unexpected turn when Elizabeth meets her newest client, Miss Clara, and is challenged to establish a “war room” and a battle plan of prayer for her family. As Elizabeth tries to fight for her family, Tony’s hidden struggles come to light. Tony must decide if he will make amends with his family and prove Miss Clara’s wisdom that victories don’t come by accident.
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Discipleship Ministries - Partnering with Families Spring Kids Spring Garden Lego City Day Camp July 18th-22nd, 9am-12pm Cost: $50 for the first child and $40 for each additional child in the family (Subsidies are available) Location: Spring Garden Church For: Children going into JK - Grade 6 Registration: Go to http://springgardenchurch.ca for more information.
Reel Family Time In 3 theatres across Ontario and Quebec, CBOQ Children & Family, in partnership with CBOQ Youth and Camp Kwasind have reserved a special, private screening of a new release movie for an event you won’t want to miss. This year the date set for this event is Saturday June 25th, and we will be watching Finding Dory, which is highly anticipated. To sign up for this event please visit CBOQ kids here, to receive more details. This event will be promoted to all families, so we invite and encourage you to sign up and join us June 25th.
Youth Events: April 8th - Chill Night: We will be meeting at the church to hang out, eat some food and relax. We will be meeting at 6:00pm to make dinner together, after which we will watch a movie and play some video games. Cost: $5 Time: 6:00pm - 10:00pm April 29th - Rock Climbing: We will be heading to an indoor rock climbing venue nearby. More details will be sent out as the date approaches Cost: TBA Time:6:00pm-9:30pm (Tentatively)
Girl’s Life Group We are pleased to announce that starting April 1st 2016, we are launching our Girl’s Life Group, which will be lead by both Alyssa Oliver and Hannah Fairbanks. At the moment the group is planning to meet every other Friday, and will be held at the Turner residence. For more information such as address and times, please contact either Hannah (hannah.forgetmenot@gmail.com) or Alyssa (alyssa. oliver@springgardenchurch.ca). Please be aware this group will be for girls from grades 6-12, and will be dealing with issues relevant to their lives and faith. We ask that join us in praying for them as they meet.
Spring Youth Sunday Morning Worship Gatherings: April 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th - As usual we have our regular worship gathering at 10am in the main sanctuary, followed by our Sunday program for the grades 5/6 group and a gathering for youth in grades 7-12 in the youth room. Youth will move downstairs after the children’s blessing. 18
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Between the Testaments: The Death of Herod the Great to Pontius Pilate
The significance of Herod the Great cannot be overestimated. His importance as King of the Jews from 37 to 4 BC established the manner in which the Jewish people interacted with their Roman overlords throughout the first century until the Jewish revolts of AD 66-70 and AD 132-135. For example, under his rule the naming of the high priest changed. Under pressure from his wife Mariame and his mother-in-law Alexandra, he named his brother-in-law Aristobulus III to the high priesthood. Yet, because Aristobulus was of Hasmonean blood, Herod saw him as a threat to his kingship. So not long after naming Aristobulus III as high priest, Herod had him drowned in a pool in 35BCE (Josephus, Antiquities 15.50-56). After he murdered the last Hasmonean high priest, Herod began appointing the high priest himself. The high priesthood was thus no longer a hereditary position nor was it a life-time appointment. This practice of the ruling figure appointing the high priest continued until the destruction of the temple in AD 70. A total of twenty-eight high priests were appointed during this almost one hundred year stretch (35 BC-AD 70). During this period, nineteen of the twentyeight high priests came from just five families. The family of Ananus (or Ananias) was the source for eight of these high priests (e.g., Caiaphas) (See VanderKam, Early Judaism, 179-180). These priestlyfamily ties are likely why Jesus was led first to Annas the father-in20
law of the high priest Caiaphas, “who was high priest that year” (John 18:12-14, 19-24). As he neared his death, Herod worked to establish his legacy regarding who would reign after him. In 7 BC, he had his two Hasmonean sons Alexander and Aristobulus strangled because he thought they were conspiring against him (Josephus, Ant. 16.361-94). Antipater, a son by another wife, was put to death five days before Herod’s own death in 4 BC (Josephus, Ant. 17:191). Herod arranged for three of his sons to rule in his place – Archelaus, Herod Antipas, and Philip. Archelaus ruled over Jerusalem and Judea, Herod Antipas over Galilee and Perea, and Philip over the region northeast of the Sea of Galilee. Herod also arranged for a number of prestigious Jewish leaders to be put to death when he died. The reason for this decision was that Herod desired there to be mourning at his death even if the mourning was not for him. If nobody would mourn for him, they nation would at least mourn (Josephus, Ant. 17.174-181). Mercifully, this order was not carried out (Ant. 17.193-194). Herod was buried at the Herodium, the man-made mountain Herod had had built between Jerusalem and Bethlehem (Josephus, Ant. 17.199). Only recently has there been some archaeological evidence to support the existence of Herod’s tomb in the Herodium. Herod’s sons Archelaus, Antipas, and Philip began to rule after Herod’s will had been verified by Rome. The New Testament refers to each of these figures. In Matthew 2:19-20, Joseph is told in a dream that Herod had died. He, Mary, and the young Jesus then returned to Israel from Egypt, but “when [Joseph] heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee” (Matt. 2:22). So Joseph, Mary, and Jesus traveled to Nazareth and settled there. As a result, Jesus grew up in Nazareth and became known as a Nazarene, which Matthew declares was the fulfillment of prophecy (Matt. 2:23). What Matthew does not tell us is that Herod’s son Herod Antipas had authority over Galilee. The real concern was not “Herod’s son” but Archelaus more specifically. Archelaus was more brutal than his father, or at least less politically savvy. He only ruled as ethnarch (“ruler of a nation/people”) from 21
4 BC to AD 6. Rome deposed him because of his brutality (!) (Ant. 17:342-344). Herod Antipas who ruled Galilee and Perea from 4 BC to AD 39 is the Herod that we know most from the Gospel narratives. He is the one who John the Baptist opposed because he had taken his brother Philip’s wife Herodias (She also happened to be a niece to both of them. The Herodian family tree does not exactly look like a tree.) Herod Antipas had John the Baptist arrested, and then at the request of his wife’s daughter and his step-daughter, he had John beheaded (Matt. 14:1-12; Mark 6:14-29). Herod Antipas is also the “Herod” that the Pharisees warn Jesus about, and in response Jesus refers to him as a fox (Luke 13:31-32). Herod Antipas wanted to meet Jesus, since he heard the stories about him and thought he might be Elijah or John the Baptist come back to life (Luke 9:7-9). Herod Antipas eventually did meet Jesus. As told by Luke, Pilate sent Jesus to Herod Antipas when he discovered that Jesus was from Galilee, which was Herod’s jurisdiction and not Pilate’s (Luke 23:6-12). In contact to Antipas, Herod Philip is mentioned in only few places (e.g., Luke 3:1). Following the end of Archelaus’ rule in Judea, Rome established direct rule of Jerusalem and Judea. The direct rule was first through prefects (AD 6-41) and eventually procurators (44-66). In the interlude (41-44), Herod the Great’s grandson Agrippa I ruled Judea. The most well-known to us of these Roman officials, because of his role in the crucifixion of Jesus, is Pontius Pilate who was prefect from AD 26-36. Most prefects and procurators typically ruled two to three years. The rule of Pilate and his predecessor Gratus (15-26) were atypical in length and both took place during Tiberius Caesar’s reign. From Josephus’ accounts of Pilate, we see a figure who matches the Gospel accounts. On one occasion, Pilate installed military standards and shields around Jerusalem violating the second commandment to have no graven images, and on another occasion, Pilate took funds from the temple treasury to build an aqueduct (Antiquities 18.60-62). Josephus quotes King Agrippa I saying Pilate was “harsh, greedy, and cruel” (Legatio 38.302). We can see from these accounts (and others) that Pilate was one for expediency, brutality, and often at the expense of the Jewish people. His interaction with 22
Jesus, particularly his attempt to set Jesus free, suggests that Pilate preferred to antagonize the Jewish leaders by not agreeing to their request to crucify Jesus. He eventually did agree merely to avoid a riot at Passover and not with regard to innocence or guilt. Those who ruled the Jewish people at this time and that are mentioned in the pages of the New Testament were not the kindest of men. Like many before and after them, they sought power and fame, and they did so at the expense of those under their power. Jesus came from a place of power and glory, yet he gave it up and subjected himself to this authority in order to make possible salvation for all. Herod the Great attempted to kill Jesus when he was a baby. Herod Antipas and Pilate mocked him when he was a prisoner, and Pilate authorized his torture and death. Yet Jesus’ authority was God’s and it was over death itself. Ben Reynolds
Photo by Zane Jansen
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The Victorious Jesus On Palm Sunday we engaged in prayer stations, journeying with Jesus through the last days and hours before his death on the cross, through the darkness and silence of tomb on Saturday, and then into the wonder and mystery of His resurrection. At one of the stations we were all invited to colour in a page that would become part of a larger mosaic; a mosaic of the victorious resurrected Jesus. When the creative team was preparing for this we were having trouble picturing what “victorious Jesus” might look like. And then someone wondered aloud about the resurrected Jesus cooking fish with his friends around a fire, and we all thought, YES! that’s it! It’s true that the victorious Jesus may look like a king on his throne, or a pure burning light, or a warrior of light defeating the enemy of death and darkness, for he is all of these things and more. But in some way, the victory of Jesus over death and darkness is no better pictured than his physical resurrected self enjoying a meal in a restored community of friends (friends who, don’t forget, completely abandoned and denied him a few short days ago). As we seek to live in light of the resurrection of Jesus, may we like this mosaic be a picture of a diverse yet restored, forgiven and forgiving, community of friends sharing life together with Jesus in our midst.
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CAREER GUIDANCE WORKSHOP: Successful Job Search Strategies and Techniques
Good Seed Sunday April 24th
Date: Sat April 30, 10-11:30 am – Child Care Provided
Sunday April 24 is “Good Seed Sunday”; the Sunday following Earth Day when churches are invited in their worship of the God of creation to encourage, equip and engage one another in caring for creation.
Location: SGC lounge Presenter: Derek Smith - Derek is a Senior Career Coach with 2BDetermined Inc. He has been in the career consulting and coaching field for more than 12 years and has worked in the corporate, not-for-profit and post secondary industries. Is there only one way to look for a job? What ways seem to have the most success when connecting with an employer? This seminar will explore the various forms of job search and look at what ways seem to have the most success and why. Please RSVP to events@springgardenchurch.ca with the subject title “Job Search” and indicate if you require child care by Saturday April 23.
The Earth is the Lord’s and everything in it! Psalm 24:1.
Community Cleanup @noon: Following our 10am worship we will be heading out across our parking lot into the ravine, park, and adjacent pathway to collect garbage littering our neighbourhoods green-space. Not only is it a way to care for creation, but also a chance to be a good neighbour to the community where God has called us! We will provide work gloves for all ages and garbage bags. Please be sure to wear appropriate clothing for the weather. Bring a peanut free and (preferably) garbage free bag lunch so you’ve got energy to work! We will eat before heading out. We will be making more resources available from Good Seed Sunday leading up to and on April 24. For more information or to help organize Spring Gardens involvement please contact Greg Kay (gregkay@springgardenchurch.ca)
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For more information about Good Seed Sunday and the conversation work of A Rocha Canada go to goodseedsunday.arocha.ca 27
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Hello on this mid-March morning! I saw my first pair of robins when visiting my daughter in Hamilton last weekend and when St. Patrick’s Day rolls around each year I always feel like spring is right there - just around the corner! I have much to be thankful for! As Easter comes closer there is the awe of the Love of God for each of us…I am enjoying this Lenten preparation time as I contemplate what it took Jesus to walk that road to Calvary. Last week the Ukrainian and Russian translations of the Groups of Hope Handbook were published. That means that the program is available in: French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Ukrainian, Kiswahili, Telugu, Oriya as well as a shorter version in Quechua and Aymara in Bolivia. This week a request came to translate the program into Kinyarwanda, one of the languages of Rwanda, where women have learned about the program in workshops and now want to share with widows who are caring for orphans whose parents had AIDS. In January, Brenda Halk and I travelled to the Women’s Convention for the Baptist women of Bolivia that was held in Santa Cruz. I was so happy to meet old friends and find that the program is being used in their places of ministry. I had an opportunity to introduce the new series of eight sessions “Hearing God’s call to a closer relationship”, in two workshops, with a dear friend Graciela Ellen translating for me. My Spanish is adequate for one on one conversations but doing a workshop is too important to have the meanings lost by my accent and my limited vocabulary.
Spring Garden Baptist Church Monthly Financial Update February 2016
/Week 2016 Budget
$530,000
Year To Date
Actual
For 2 Months - February 29th, 2016 Donations & Other Income Expenses Cash Shortfall to Budget
$65,330 (77,124) (11,794)
$10,192 Budget
$88,334 (88,334) 0
Cash Position at February 29th, 2016 was $72,233. Syrian Refugee Project cash on hand of $6,978.59.
Our family are giving thanks for the soon-arrival of Laura and Joe’s first baby…a little boy around Easter-time. May you know the joy of the resurrection and walk into this new season with a sense of God’s presence and joy and peace! With love… Faith Holwyn
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Judy Tranter - Pastoral Care judytranterassociates@gmail.com Jim Turner - Property jim.turner@sgbc.ca
Leadership at Spring Garden Pastoral Team Gene Tempelmeyer, Pastor Ext. 222 genetemp@springgardenchurch.ca Greg Kay, Worship and Mission Pastor Ext. 224 gregkay@springgardenchurch.ca Margaret Sutton, Pastoral Care/Seniors Ext. 226 margaretsutton@springgardenchurch.ca Sam Lee, Pastor of Discipleship, Ext. 227 samlee@springgardenchurch.ca Suzanna Lai, Church Office and Communications Manager Ext. 221 suzanna@springgardenchurch.ca Jeremy Ranasinghe, Discpleship Ministries Assistant jeremy.ranasinghe@springgardenchurch.ca Samantha Steeles, Children’s intern samantha.steeles@springgardenchurch.ca Alyssa Oliver, youth intern alyssa.oliver@springgardenchurch.ca
Deacons Anne Barron - Missions and Worship anne.barron020@sympatico.ca Marion Cameron - Membership and Board Secretary marion.cameron@sympatico.ca Mary Ellen Hopkins - Finance mehopkins@sympatico.ca Koon Wah Leung - Discipleship Ministries koonwah@lycos.com Gonzalo Librado - Adult Ministries gonzalo.librado@sgbc.ca Darren Moore - Community Life darren.moore@utoronto.ca Derek Prinsloo - Chair derek.prinsloo@sgbc.ca
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416.724.9329
416.229.0494 416.512.1360
Elders Garth Barron garthbarron@sympatico.ca Darlene Boyd darlene.boyd@gmail.com Jennifer Moore jmofromto@gmail.com Barrie Porter barriep91@gmail.com Corinne Sutton-Smith blestfoods@aol.com
416.724.9329 416.385.2483 416.786.8727 416.829.4210 416.615.1763
Spring Garden Church 112 Spring Garden Ave. Toronto ON M2N3G3
T 416.223.4593 F 416.223.6126 www.springgardenchurch.ca office@springgardenchurch.ca
Prayer Line 416.223.4038
416.491.8542 905.731.0492 416.225.7092 416.229.2695 416.786.8727 647.349.4610 35
Community Corner
Life around Spring Garden
Dear Spring Garden Family, I’d like to thank you all for your prayers for my grandfather, me and my family while we were away visiting my grandfather and extended family. My grandfather’s recovery is a complete miracle and I know it’s because he had a powerful group of prayer warriors such as yourself interceding for him. We were surrounded by God’s power of protection and grace during our travel. It was a blessed trip having the chance to reconnect with my grandfather whom I have not seen for 16 years. Your prayers made it all possible. Thank you so much for your love for me and my family! With much love, Suzanna Lai My family and I would like to thank the Pastoral Staff and our Spring Garden friends for all the care and support we received throughout Bill’s illness and recent passing. Your prayers , phone calls and cards were deeply appreciated. Thank you as well for providing such a beautiful reception after the service. Your love and care meant a great deal to all of us. With thankfulness and love. Myrna Frost Tim and Colleen Stevens wish to thank Spring Garden Church for their support over the last 8 years ! Since 2007, we have been leading international student groups in various churches and homes as members of International Student Ministries Canada. We sincerely appreciate the opportunity to serve in this way as a family, with God and with Spring Garden. Sincerely,
Personal Care Item Donations Through the month of April we will be collecting personal items for Neighborlink North York. Personal care items are anything you might store in your bathroom. Collection boxes are available at the parking lot entrance. Neighborlink North York collaborates with churches in the Willowdale area to provide practical support such as transportation, shopping, visitation, household repairs, yard work, moving, information and referrals and much more to North York residents in need. For more info, please visit neighbourlink.org
The Women of Refresh
(Refresh is a women’s ministry that meets in our main lounge every Wednesday morning)
What fun we had. 5 of us went down to Oasis and house cleaned the community kitchen. It was hard work but connecting with Louise and working with her to clean the space they cook a meal each Tuesday for 70 people was a great way for Refresh to celebrate LOVE DAY! It was great to see the poster for the birthday bags that our group and the Adult Bible Study group made up and took down. Three of the ten have already been used.
Tim, Colleen, Christopher and Andrew Stevens
If you wish to follow the Stevens’ life and work in 2016 and beyond, please visit Colleen’s blog at https://stevens2016.wordpress.com 36
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What’s Happening
2016 CBOQ Assembly June 9-11, 2016 Hilton Meadowvale, Missassauga Ontario Early Bird Deadline: May 8 More info: Baptist.ca/assembly If you are interested in attending or being a SGC appointed voting delegate, please contact Gene: genetemp@springgardenchurch.ca
The Looney Challenge! I am excited about Spring Garden partnering with Blythwood Baptist to sponsor a Syrian Refugee family. We all hear about the plight of the millions of refugees who are living in inadequate camps waiting and hoping for the opportunity to either return home or find safety for their families elsewhere. For the past two months I have been putting one looney a day into a container with the intention of contributing that to our Refugee Care Fund. I thought I was maxed out in giving to the church and to other charities and missionaries, but just a looney a day seemed possible! To my surprise, taking one looney a day and putting it into that container, has been a concrete way to remind myself that I am incredibly blessed – to have a home and a safe country to live in – and that I can help to bring one family who have lost both of those things here to Canada! I want to challenge everyone at Spring Garden to think about saving ONE LOONEY a day towards bringing a Syrian family here! What a wonderful way to involve our children – to have a focus to talk about the things we take for granted each day and how we as a church family can bring joy to a family who are living in a tent in a refugee camp waiting and hoping that they will not be forgotten! I am looking forward to bringing my March-looney-a-daycheque in to the refugee care box in the lounge – I hope you join me in April! Faith Holwyn 38
Life in Spring Garden
Weekly Tuesdays 2:00 pm - Pastoral Team meeting Wednesdays 10:00 am - Refresh Women’s Bible Study 7:00 pm - Groove Dance Group Thursdays 12:00 pm - Adult Bible Class Sundays 9:00 am - Morning Bible Study: meeting room - ESL Bible study: basement at the southwest entrance 10:00 am - Sunday Morning Worship (communion on the first Sunday of the month) If you would like to receive a weekly email update on what’s happening in Spring Garden, please visit the SGC website (www.springgardenchurch.ca) and add your email at the bottom of our home page to subscribe to our weekly update
This Month April 8 - Youth Chill Night (pg.19) April 20 - Tyndale Holistic Parenting Workshop (pg. 17) April 22 - CBWOQ Women’s Conference (pg. 30) April 24 - Good Seed Sunday (pg. 27) April 29 - Youth Rock Climbing (pg. 19) April 30 - Career Guidance Workshop (pg. 26)
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Our Values We believe in a humble God who came not to be served, but to serve. Therefore we engage in sacrificial and active service to those around us. We strive to be good stewards of God’s gifts and talents by serving one another in humility. We aspire to regard others as higher than ourselves, which liberates us to creatively take risks in serving others for God’s glory. We believe in a God of grace who came to save the world, not to condemn it. Therefore, as we are continuously receiving the gift of God’s grace, we seek to grow in that grace and extend it to others. We strive to define ourselves by what we are for, not what we are against. We believe in a God who knows us, and who desires to be known. Therefore we embrace a journey of faith that requires us to constantly strive for a personal, intimate and transformative knowledge of God. We strive to be led by God’s Spirit in supporting and encouraging one another in working out our faith. We believe in a creative God. Therefore we are open to expressing our faith in new and creative ways that reflect the beauty and complexity of our creator. We are called to use our creative gifts in worship and service as we engage with our world. We take joy in the diversity of gifts that allow us to delight God and participate in His ongoing story. We believe in a triune, relational God who calls us to come together as a diverse community of believers. Therefore, we want to walk together, supporting one another physically, emotionally and spiritually. We strive to be a welcoming, inclusive family that goes through the joys and the trials of life together, acknowledging that God uses this community to deepen and mature our faith. We believe in a God who loves this broken world and wants to reconcile us to Himself. Therefore we are commissioned by Christ to go out into the world, meeting the holistic needs of the local and global community. God calls us to participate in a redemptive work that he has already initiated; in humility, we will partner with others to work alongside and chase after Him. We believe in a God who is our center. Therefore where we are on the journey is less important than that we are moving towards a deeper relationship with Christ. We believe and participate in God’s redemptive work in all people, which gives us the freedom to come as we are, and to accept others as they are. We each are on a unique journey to become who God has created us to be. 40