December
2018
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Features Musings: In Our Own Eyes Christmas Care for Survivors of Human Trafficking An Opportunity to Show God’s Care
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Departments SGC Community Corner Light of the World Sunday Morning Refreshment Time Monthly Financial Update SGC Discipleship Ministries Resource Centre
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Information Contact Information Calendar
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Cover & Design: Dale Forder Contributors: Gene Tempelmeyer Kaitlyn Ranasinghe Anne Barron Greg Kay Esther Penner Geoffrey Moore Karen Cassel Jeremy Ranasinghe
January's Delve submissions are due December 31, New Year's Eve. Delve submissions are due on the MONDAY before the LAST Sunday of each month. To submit for the next issue of Delve, please email: delve@springgardenchurch.ca
Copy Editors: Greg Kay Karen Cassel Jeremy Ranasinghe Gene Tempelmeyer
Musings: In Our Own Eyes by Gene Tempelmeyer
“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in their own eyes.”
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his sentence ends the Old Testament book of Judges and seems to summarize quite neatly the ethical standard found in the pages of that book. I have always heard this final verse of Judges as a critique of that chaotic period, as if sin and spiritual rebellion were the result of people having no one to tell them what to do.
Scholars inform us that the language of the first chapter and the last several chapters of Judges are from a later era than the bulk of the book which contains the stories of each judge. These additions likely appeared during the period of the monarchies in Judah (the southern tribes) and Israel (the northern tribes). The question is: does this verse act as a defense of the need for a monarchy or a critique of the monarchy? Is the writer suggesting that everyone doing what is fitting in their own eyes is a bad thing or a good thing? Perhaps I’m the only one who assumed all along this was a bad thing and the rest of you have always known it was not. In this case, I’ve finally caught up with you! I don’t know how I’ve always known that God did not actually want a monarchy in His nation, but somehow assumed it was still a good thing. As if God did not know as well as the Israelites what they really needed. Nor did I notice that the cycle of sin and redemption experienced during the time of the Judges was repeated, if not worsened, during the years of the monarchy. Kings that influenced the divided nation to do what is good in God’s sight were certainly outnumbered by kings that influenced the nation to do evil. It was to offset the negative impact of the monarchy that God raised the voices of prophets. Kings, 3
more often than not, responded to prophetic voices by silencing them through imprisonment and execution. It’s hard to see this as an improvement on the epoch of the Judges. In fact, my problem with sin and falling into cycles of sin very seldom has anything to do with “doing what is right in my own eyes.” My problem almost always turns out to be “doing what is wrong in my own eyes”. If I did what is right in my own eyes, I would live a much better life! In many instances, if I had followed my own moral compass rather than delegating that compass to people I trusted, I would be a much healthier human being today. If we were to ask John Smythe or Thomas Helwys, the two earliest leaders of what emerged as the Baptist movement, what they offered to the religious world, it might be an odd paraphrase of this verse from Judges: “Despite the fact that there is a king in England, everyone should do what is right in their own eyes.” Helwys personally wrote a message to King James on the flyleaf of a book Helwys had written: The King is a mortall man and not God, therefore hath no power over ye immortall soules of his subiects, to make lawes & ordinances for them, and to set spirituall Lords over them. If the King have authority to make spirituall Lords & lawes, then he is an immortall God and not a mortall man. O King be not seduced by deceivers to sine so against God whome thou oughtest to obey, nor against thy poore subiects who ought and will obey thee in all thinges with body life and goods or els let their lives be taken from ye earth. God save ye Kinge Tho. Helwys. I’m not trying to make a point about monarchy – although that might be a fun topic at another time. My question has to do with the nature of morality, or, more precisely, who gets to define it? Who gets to say what is right and what is wrong? For a Christian, the obvious answer to that question is simply, “God”. Which raises a whole new question: “Who gets to speak for God”? The Church? Which church? The Bible? Whose interpretation of the Bible? We could multiply answers, but when it comes down to it we are either left with a fallible human being speaking for God or doing 4
what is right in our own eyes. That is, with God’s guidance deciding for ourselves what is right and wrong. A society that is simultaneously democratic and diverse offers less capacity for a wide social agreement on morality than a society that is authoritarian and homogenous. Beyond protecting one citizen from harming another such a society will seek to maximise personal freedom. This feels dangerously permissive and relativistic to many Christians who would prefer an absolute definition of morality to a patchwork of moral opinions and viewpoints. But which fallible human would we trust to be our authority? If I’m honest, I trust me. At least more than I trust any other human to be my moral authority. And I notice that those who prescribe in moral absolutes to which we all should adhere, generally think they, themselves, are able to write that prescription. They know! I certainly wouldn’t trust someone that lacking in self-awareness to make my moral decisions for me. And this illustrates the problem with defining morality any way other than each one doing what is right in their own eyes. At the end of the day I have to take responsibility for my own actions and you for yours.
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Christmas Care for Survivors of Human Trafficking by Kaitlyn Ranasinghe
Every year, there are hundreds of men and women in Toronto trafficked into the sex trade. These people (often under the age of 25), are forced to live under the control of another person or people. They are forced to work in strip clubs, massage parlours, brothels, and hotels as sex workers, and often are subject to emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. Fight4Freedom, and many other organizations are working to help these people leave their traffickers to find safety, peace, and healing. Christmas can be a tough time of year for survivors of sex trafficking. Many have broken relationships with their families, are working through their trauma, and feel lonely/lost through this season. This Christmas season, in partnership with Spring Garden, we are offering the opportunity to bless survivors and share our love with them. Starting December 3rd , we will be collecting Christmas care packages of needed items and fun treats to distribute to survivors across Ontario. As we approach winter and the Christmas season, survivors need many different items. From lotion to cosmetics, soap to mittens, and board games to socks. You can join us in blessing and loving survivors this Christmas! If you are interested, you can put together a gift bag (or box) filled with needed items and goodies for survivors to enjoy. You can pick up an info sheet with instructions and a list of potential items from Kaitlyn Ranasinghe on behalf of Fight4Freedom or Victoria Shipmaker on behalf of Spring Garden Initiative Team.
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“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 articipate in a redemptive work that he has already initiated; in humility, we will partner with others to work alongside and chase after Him.”
An Opportunity to Show God’s Care - Be Part of the Mission Action Team by Anne Barron
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ack in 2014 the Leadership at Spring Garden published a set of values which help guide and direct our path in ministry. At the same time, we also revamped our mission policy which included changing the committee structure. The above value calls us all to participate in the mission of the church and to partner with others. The “Missions Committee” is more than a small group of people in a meeting talking about missionaries and setting the budget. We now have two teams; the Spring Garden Based Initiatives Team (SGBIT) and the Vocational Missionary Care Team (VMC). Pastor Greg has been leading the SGBIT team and I have been leading the VMC team. The SGBIT team plans and facilitates local mission initiatives in which the entire congregation can participate as we “Show God’s Care and Share God’s Story” to the community and beyond. Activities such as the Lasagnas for Ex-Offenders, Halloween, Angel Tree, Good Seed Sunday, Light of the World all fall under this team’s umbrella. The VMC team does just that – cares for our Vocational Missionaries. Vocational Missionaries are people called by God to be “Missionaries” 7
as their job. We are very fortunate at Spring Garden to have a number of people that God has set apart to do this important work, but it is not an easy job. Vocational Missionaries need to raise their own financial support, often deal with vulnerable and marginalized people, struggle with daily issues and yet are rewarded with seeing God at work transforming the lives of the people with whom they come in contact with. This can not be done without prayer and support from their church family. Sending an email, offering prayer support for a specific event, going out for coffee, a short conversation during coffee time, reading and responding to a prayer letter email, facilitating communication with Spring Garden are just some of the ways that this team has shown care for our missionaries over the past few years. Serving on this team has impacted me beyond what I expected; the prayer support, encouragement and friendships that I have established have been and continue to be a blessing in my life. Would you consider being a part of the Vocational Missionary Care team? I will let our Vocational Missionaries speak as to why this team is important to them. • I loved that Anne took the time over this last year to check-in on me and offer support and prayer, I am not as strong as I would like to be in reaching out and asking for prayer, so this is a great encouragement for me to do so. (Kaitlyn Ranasinghe) • I always appreciate when someone checks in once in a while during coffee hour. Thanks for your continued support and for all you do to support SG missionaries! (Kathy Webb) • Spring Garden continues to impact us as a family. Your investment in us through prayer, financial support and ministry opportunities continues to encourage us. (Ron Fairbanks) • Thanks for your years of service to being our contact to Spring. You have been great. You give us all a great sense of confidence and care. (John Wilkinson)
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Life around Spring Garden
SGC Community Corner 9
Light of the World this year will be on Dec 16, 2018 at 6:30pm. Light of the World is a festive evening of funky Christmas fun. Join us @Spring Garden as we sing favourite Christmas songs with an upbeat band and eat lots of great desserts. If you are able to donate nut free desserts, please contact Cheryl Chapman at cheryl.chapman@live.ca. Out Dec 3 “12 Days of Xmas” single plus 4 more songs recorded by the LOTW Band. Dropbox
http://bit.ly/1j6rp0A
Google Drive
http://bit.ly/1NC6NWb
YouTube
https://bit.ly/2ytbDaV Christmas Eve Worship Gathering December 24th 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Sunday Morning Refreshment Time by Esther Penner
A big THANK YOU to all the people to have brought food and drinks, set up refreshments, and cleaned up after Sunday worship gatherings in 2018!! This is such an important part of Spring Garden Church fellowship, and we appreciate you! We're looking for more Sunday refreshment team members for 2019. If you would like to know more about it, please contact esther.penner@sgbc.ca.
Spring Garden Church Monthly Financial Update 2018 Budget Donations & other income received up to 11/07/18 Balance to come within the next 7 weeks
$569,096 $456,882
/Week $10,944 $10,153
$112,214
or $16,030
Please let's all make sure that we meet the BUDGET of $569,096! Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you, Geoffrey Moore - Treasurer SAVE THE DATE: On Sunday January 13th 2019 join us on the lower level after the worship gathering for a church lunch. More details to follow. 10
Partnering with Families
SGC Discipleship Ministries 11
Spring Kids Nursery (0-18 months) - Purple Room Toddler/Pre-K (19 Months-3 Year Olds) - Orange Room JK/SK Yellow Room Grades 1 & 2 - Blue Room for drop off and pick up Grade 3 - Blue Room for drop off, Green Room for pick up Grade 4 & 5 - Blue Room for drop off, and Red Room for pick up Grade 6-12 - Youth Lounge Here is an overview of what we will be talking about on Sundays for Spring Kids.
Toddlers/Pre-K – JK/SK: Promises This month, children will hear all about the amazing events surrounding Jesus’ birth and get a chance to celebrate Jesus’ birthday! They will learn that Jesus is God’s son who came to earth to show us how much God loves us. “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son.” - John 3:16
Grades 1-5
• God is With Us • God is Worthy • Remember and Celebrate
Spring Youth November Recap! Last month we were able to participate in the morale mail for soldiers. We gathered together as a group and split off into three teams. Each team was able to find items to fill the box, as well as had time to decorate and write messages to those who would receive the package.
Here is what's happening this December!
Sunday Morning Worship Gatherings:
December 2nd, 9th, 16th - We will be having regular worship gatherings for youth in grades 6-12. Following the children’s blessing, youth will move to the youth lounge to continue in worship. December 23rd: Serve Sunday (Youth are either upstairs in the large worship gathering, or serving in other areas)
Youth Life Groups:
Life Groups will happen on December 7th. For more information email Sam or Jeremy.
Youth Events: December 15th: Annual Christmas Party - We will be having our annual Christmas party on the 15th. It is a potluck, so youth are expected to bring food from home. Also we will be having a gift exchange. We are encouraging youth to bring a gift no more than $10.
Time: 5:00pm-9:00pm Bring: $10 gift for gift exchange, food to share in potluck 2019 Winter Retreats:
Something we wanted to put on your radar are the winter retreats (Avalanche and Blizzard) coming up in the new year. Avalanche and Blizzard are often a life changing experience for many students. It is a chance for junior and senior high students to join with 500 other people their age and see that they are not alone in their life journey towards Jesus. Through small group experiences, musical worship and engaging teaching, the retreats aim to inspire students, whether Christians or not, to begin taking steps in their young faith journeys. Beyond that there are so many great games, activities and a lifetime of memories made on these weekends.
Staying Updated: To stay up to date on what is happening for your youth, please visit our google calendar which has all our planned events. http://tinyurl.com/SGCYouth 12
Recommendations
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)
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The Advent storybook: 25 Bible stories showing why Jesus came by Laura Richie Add The Advent Storybook to your family holiday traditions and enjoy the rich images and thoughtful retellings of ancient stories that feature God’s recurring, faithful promise to rescue us. A simple question at the end of each story helps readers engage in understanding the bigger story God wants us all to know―the good news of Jesus coming to save us. Parents and children alike will delight in the biblical messages of joy, hope, and peace every day as they look forward to celebrating Jesus’ birth.
Once we were strangers: what friendship with a Syrian refugee taught me about loving my neighbour by Shawn Smucker In 2012, Mohammad fled his Syrian village along with his wife and four sons, escaping to Jordan through the wilderness. Four years later he sat across from Shawn Smucker in a small conference room in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Though neither of them knew it, Mohammad had arrived in Shawn's life just in time. This is the story of a friendship. It is the story of a middle-aged writer struggling to make a living and a Syrian refugee struggling to create a life for his family in a strange and sometimes hostile land. It's the story of two fathers hoping for the best, two hearts seeking compassion, two lives changed forever. It's the story of our moment in history and the opportunities it gives us
to show love and hospitality to the sojourner in our midst.
Grace in the valley: awakening to God’s presence when He feels far away by Heath Adamson
Perhaps no psalm is more widely known than Psalm 23. Spoken by David during a time of great stress and difficulty, it summons us to lie down in green pastures and walk thru the valley of the shadow of death. Yet so often it seems we do just the reverse, lying down in the valley and fixating on the danger, fear, and uncertainty. We wonder where God has gone and why he doesn't make things right, never considering that perhaps what we perceive as a spiritual trial is actually an invitation from God. In this inspirational examination of Psalm 23, Heath Adamson asks the provocative question: What if the green pasture and valley of the shadow of death is the same place? Uncovering the rich historical and spiritual context of the shepherd's psalm, he explores how God has provided a place of rest for each of us, even in the times of unrest, uncertainty, moral ambiguity, and fear.
It’s okay not to be okay: moving forward one day at a time by Sheila Walsh
We've all experienced that moment where we wish we could start all over again. Failed marriages, lost friends, addictions, lost jobs. This is not the life we imagined. Yesterday can sometimes leave us stuck, sad, shamed, scared, and searching. Sheila Walsh encourages readers to face the pain head on and then start again, from right where they are. She shares that when she discovered "I'm not good enough and I'm good with that," everything started to change. In It's Okay Not to Be Okay, Walsh helps women overcome the same old rut of struggles and pain by changing the way they think about God, themselves, and their everyday lives. She shares practical, doable, daily strategies that will help women move forward one step at a time knowing God will never let them down.
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Leadership at Spring Garden Pastoral Team Gene Tempelmeyer, Pastor 416-223-4593 genetemp@springgardenchurch.ca Greg Kay, Worship and Mission Pastor gregkay@springgardenchurch.ca Sam Lee, Pastor of Discipleship, samlee@springgardenchurch.ca Jeremy Ranasinghe, Discipleship Ministries Assistant jeremy@springgardenchurch.ca Dale Forder, Office & Communications Administrator daleforder@springgardenchurch.ca
Ext. 222 Ext. 224 Ext. 227 Ext. 223 Ext. 221
Deacons Sam Chaise sam_chaise@yahoo.com Adora Chui adora.chui@sgbc.ca Lesley Daniels dr.ldaniels@gmail.com Joanne Laing ​joannelaing@gmail.com MartinDewar martin.dewar@sgbc.ca Shannon Loewen shannon.loewen1@gmail.com Peggy Moore peggylouisemoore@gmail.com Esther Penner esther.penner@sgbc.ca Doug Willson doug.willson191@gmail.com
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647-968-5065 905.962.3897 416.806.5373 416-617-6582 416.229.2695 647-202-0701 416.225.2406 416.227.1840 416.221.0450
Elders Garth Barron garthbarron@sympatico.ca Darlene Boyd darlene.boyd@gmail.com Cindie Chaise cchaise@yahoo.ca Cheryl Chapman cheryl.chapman@live.ca Joanna James jo.april.james@gmail.com Brad Sider bradsider@yahoo.ca
416-724-9329 416.385.2483
416.738.0530 416.222.6963 647.928.0862 647.200.6853
Spring Garden Church T 416.223.4593 112 Spring Garden Ave. F 416.223.6126 Toronto ON M2N3G3 www.springgardenchurch.ca office@springgardenchurch.ca Prayer Line 416.223.4038
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What’s Happening Life in Spring Garden
Weekly Tuesdays 1:00 pm - Pastoral Team Meeting (in Meeting Room) Wednesdays 10:00 am -11:30 am - Refresh Women's Group - in West Lounge 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm - ESL cafe - Wednesday Thursdays 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm - The Thursday Bunch Contact Gene Tempelmeyer 416-223-4593 ext. 222 for more info. Sundays 9:00 am -10:00 am - Sunday Morning Bible Study (in Meeting Room) 10:00 am - 11:30 am - Sunday Morning Worship (communion on the first Sunday of the month)
Upcoming All Month Dec 15 - 5pm - 9pm Dec 16 - 6:30pm Dec 24 - 7pm - 8pm Dec 31 Jan 13 (after Worship Gathering)
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Christmas Care Project Youth Christmas Party Light of the World Christmas Eve Worship January's Delve submissions are due Community Life Church Lunch for all after Worship Gathering
pg 6 pg 12 Pg 9 pg 9 pg 2 pg 10
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 address on our home page to subscribe to our weekly email.
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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.