January 2021
Quick Calendar WEEKLY Sun
10am Sunday Worship Online
pg 19
Spring Kids discipleship after the Children's Blessing
11:30 Virtual Coffee Time - Online
Mon 10am-12pm Pastoral Team Meeting Wed 10am Refresh, Women's Group Thur 8:30pm Evening Prayers - Online
pg 19 pg 19 pg 19 pg 19
UPCOMING Jan 15
YOUTH: Avalanche 2021
pg 14
Jan 29
YOUTH: Roll Your Own Adventure
pg 14
Feb 5
YOUTH: Blizzard 2021
pg 14
See more on the last pages or on our Events page at www.springgardenchurch.ca/events.
Delve submissions are due Jan. 25th. Delve submissions are due on the MONDAY before the LAST Sunday of each month. To submit for the next issue of Delve, e-mail: delve@springgardenchurch.ca
Features Time in the (not so) Ordinary 3 The Consumer Citizen 7
Community Corner Financial Update 9 | About Our New Series 10
Discipleship Ministries
Spring Kids: Online Worship Gathering 11 Spring Kids 12 | Spring Youth 13 | Youth Events 13
Resource Centre
Resource Recommendations 15
More Info How to Give 17 Leadership Directory 17 Weekly Calendar 19 Upcoming Calendar 20
Our Values
(back page)
Design, Cover & Editor: Dale Forder Contributors: Greg Kay Sam Lee Jeremy Ranasinghe Karen Cassel Copy Editors: Greg Kay Karen Cassel
Time in the (not so) Ordinary by Greg Kay
Time is a funny thing. Keeps moving. Tick tock tick tock. Yet sometimes time seems to stand still in moments of breathtaking awe; or grinds on slowly in moments of suffocating awfulness. And sometimes it speeds along in ecstatic moments of blissfulness, or speeds past your static, momentously bluster-less, ordinary day to day. In the calendar of the Church Year (or often called ‘Liturgical Year’), the season after Christmas is called Ordinary Time. This is a season which takes us to Lent when we begin our journey with Jesus to the cross and Easter (there is also another, much longer season of Ordinary time after Pentecost going all the way to Advent). This Ordinary Time is a season which reminds us that, there in the midst of our ordinary day to day, God is present with us. While we tend to focus on the word ‘ordinary’ to be about our average everyday, the word itself finds its roots in the word “ordinal”, which is all about counting. As author Kimberlee Conway Ireton writes in her book Circle of Seasons, the days of Ordinary time “are not simply ordinary in the way we usually use that word—uneventful, unimportant, boring—but are actually “counted time,” that counts, that matters”. The ordinary days of life count. They matter. And so, we count down the days. Sometimes in excitement. Sometimes in dread! Sometimes just to pass the time. Literally. 3
And these days count and matter because they are sacred. They are gifts given to us by the Giver of all good things. They matter because God is in the midst, in our midst. Enfolding. Redeeming. Enduring. John Polkinghorne, an Anglican priest and quantum physicist (you know, like how I’m a Baptist pastor and domiciliary effluvia engineer…that just means I take out the garbage), speaking of the nature of time and space, says that “we live in a world of unfolding and becoming”. Unfolding and becoming. This is our day to day. Ordinary. The counted time of our everyday; sacred, unfolding, becoming, mattering. This is the gift we receive from the Giver. And it is the gift we give back in worship, in praise, in desperation and in thanksgiving. While I’ve been reflecting on this, I heard a song that says exactly what I want to say (well, that’s giving myself too much credit—it says what I wish I could have thought to say, and in a way I wish I could have said it had I been able to think of it!). I simply want to share the lyrics and a link to the song on YouTube. Perhaps in this season of (not so) Ordinary Time—another ‘ordinary’ Torontonian dark and cold winter in the midst of COVID-19—the words and prayer of John Lucas might offer you space to reflect, pray, and meet with God in the passage of Time. Time, by John Lucas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbFoHuFQDu8&ab_channel=JohnLucas-Topic
My heart has known the winters And my feet have known the snow But mine eyes have seen the glory Of a seed begin to grow There is a time to uproot, darling But most days just hold on tight For there’s a time for darkness, honey But dawn will always beat the night
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Sometimes death will come calling When you’ve been good and warned And other times its cold hands will cradle Dreams yet to be born There is a time to dance on sorrow And a time to kiss her cheek There is a time to mourn in silence But justice aches to hear you speak And I don’t know the end, or tomorrow’s story But I have found the one who gives me rest And I will make my bed in His promises For He holds true when nothing’s left...When nothing’s left There is a time when laughter will echo Through your halls of peace But war is known to change your locks And carry off the family keys There is a time for healing and pain A time for drought and a time for rain There is a time for everything Until we crown the risen King…Until we crown the risen King And I don’t know the end, or tomorrow’s story But I have found the one who gives me rest And I will make my bed in His promises For He holds true when nothing’s left...When nothing’s left 5
So crown Him in your mourning And crown Him in your laughter And crown Him when it all turns dark Crown Him when you bury And crown Him when you marry And crown Him when your faith finds a spark Crown Him for He’s faithful And crown Him for He’s worthy And crown Him for He is good Crown Him for His promises Cut through the blindness Of children that have barely understood The beauty that has come And the beauty yet to come And the beauty that is yours and that is mine And that death produces life And that we are made alive By the King who paints beauty with time By the King who paints beauty with time By the King who paints beauty with time And I don’t know the end, or tomorrow’s story But I have found the one who gives me rest And I will make my bed in His promises For He holds true when nothing’s left...When nothing’s left. 6
The Consumer Citizen by Sam Lee
I recently came across on article called, “Americans don’t think like citizens. They think like shoppers.” I was intrigued by the title considering we were in the Christmas season where shopping is at the forefront of our minds. Even if we try to avoid the rush and madness, it is hard not to be aware of this reality. The article sits down with an author of the book, “The Consumer Citizen” who argues that “the conventional idea of citizenship is a fantasy, and the only language the vast majority of people understand is consumerism.” What does this look like? It’s when people care more about “things” than being a citizen. It’s when people spend more time thinking and consumed with what to buy and how one can afford something. It is when the consumer approaches the government the same way they approach shopping at Costco or Amazon. They ask questions such as “What’s in it for me? What do I get out of it?” The idea of citizenship is not just about the “rights and privileges” of being a citizen. The idea of being a citizen is that it puts demands and responsibility on people. It means that as a citizen you engage with public life and have responsibility to the country you are a citizen of. This got me thinking about whether or not we view church in the same way. Do we look at church from a world view as a consumer or as someone who belongs to a particular community? I ask this question because we (or at least I catch myself doing it) unknowingly behave and ask questions as a consumer rather than as a community member, we want “goods and services rendered” without realizing that what we demand from the church, is what we demand from a business. We ask questions such as “what I am getting out of the service?”, “What are children getting out of the kids program?” “How does the church make me feel?” The question I think we need to consider is whether or not the church should be seen in this way. Is this what it means to belong to
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a community or would it mean something more or different? I ask this question because I myself can fall into this line of thinking and worldview without even thinking about it. You can argue it’s our predominant way of looking at the world. What’s in it for me? What do I get out of it? One interesting barometer of this is how you would respond to this scenario below: Church A might have an awesome worship band, while Church B has a preacher you love to listen to. But then one of your buddies who attends Church C asks you to play on their softball team. Is this a problem? Of course not! You just do what any good consumer would do. You hop back and forth between the three churches When I read the above scenario, I didn’t necessarily disagree with doing all three. What’s wrong with me playing softball with one group and then attending another church for another thing? What’s wrong with sending my kid to summer Christian camp if my church isn’t offering anything? In some sense there is nothing wrong with it but when we look at it from the perspective of this article, it shows how much we are a consumer of not just goods and services of businesses and the government but also a consumer of the “goods and services” of the church. How do we respond to this reality? I think the first step is admitting to ourselves or to at least be open to the idea that our predominant way of perceiving and interacting with the world is through the lens of a consumer. The reality is that everything in this world is catered and pushing you to consume and to consume. We view our jobs this way, schools this way, our churches this way. The second step is to engage and to serve. To understand that your engagement and participation with a particular church community is not only for your benefit but for the benefit of the other. It isn’t about you but rather it is about what God is doing in a particular community and whether or not you are to engage and be part of that community. It doesn’t mean you can’t send your kids to another church’s day camp, but what it does mean is to think about how you can be part of a community and not treat or view church as another form of consumption. In light of this, I want to invite you to spend some time in prayer with the passage below. Take some with God and ask the question of how you view the world (including the church) as a consumer and how this passage may give you another way we can be with one another. You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. - Galatians 5:13 8
Life in and around Spring Garden
Community Corner 9 9
FINANCIAL UPDATE
Financial Update
Thank you for your faithful generosity in 2020! Because of it we were able to meet the financial obligations of ministry through the challenges of COVID-19. Sometime in January we will announce a date (likely mid February) for our yearly meeting to affirm and approve the ministry and associated budget for 2021.
ABOUT OUR NEW SERIES
In the Christian calendar, Epiphany (Jan 6) celebrates the revealing of Jesus, Light of the World, and Ordinary Time celebrates the presence of the Light in our everyday reality. Through this season, we will be joining many Church traditions in using the Lectionary, a collection of scripture readings, to frame our worship. Join us Sundays in this season as we reflect on the revealing of Jesus in the midst of our ordinary everyday.
* You can see the current events at: https://www.springgardenchurch.ca/upcoming-events 10
Partnering with Families
Discipleship Ministries
Spring Kids: Online Worship Gathering January 10th, 17th, 24th 31st: Our kids worship gathering will meet on zoom these Sundays following the children’s blessing. Here is the overall flow: Children’s Blessing Ends • Kids Log in to Zoom (Contact Jeremy if you don’t have this information) • Big Group Teaching (Lead by one of our big group leaders) • Split into small groups (Our Zoom Moderator will sort people into their groups) • Small-Group Time (Small Group Leaders talk with kids about what was said during Big Group time) • Finished - Kids and leaders sign off and enjoy the rest of their Sunday We emailed the information needed to join our online meetings. If you have received the email, please do not share it with other families. If you know of anyone who should have received the email please direct them to contact Jeremy (jeremy@ springgardenchurch.ca).
Spring Kids (Online) Here is an overview of what we will be talking about on Sundays for Spring Kids. 11 11
Lesson
Ponder Point
Bible Passage
Jan 10
God Is the One and Only (King Ahab and Elijah) Jesus Is God’s Gift (Zechariah and the Angel) God Awakens (King Josiah) God Rescues (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego)
Feast: First Fruits
Jan 17
Jan 24 Jan 31
Remember Verse
1 Kings 16—18
Luke 4:8
2 Kings 22—23
Luke 4:8
Dan. 3
Luke 4:8
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Spring Youth Sunday Morning Worship Gatherings: January, 10th, 17th, 24th, 31st - We will have worship gatherings for youth in grades 6-12 following the Children’s Blessing during our Sunday Morning Gathering/Livestream. Youth will be able to connect online and we will have our own time of worship and teaching similar to how we did before the pandemic. Youth who want to join us for worship on Sunday's can do so through this link http://tiny.cc/SGCYouth **Please be aware that our gatherings will not begin until after the children’s blessing during the Sunday Morning Livestream**
Life Groups:
Life Groups this month will happen on January 6th for Jr High Girls (Gr 6-8) and January 8th, for the Sr High Girls (Gr 9-12). The Guy’s Life Group (gr 6-12) will also be meeting on January 8th, online.
Youth Events
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January 15-17th: Avalanche 2021 - This year’s Jr High Retreat will be happening online and from home. Please sign up using the following link before January 12th, 2021 http://tiny.cc/ SGCAvalanche Details and overview of the weekend will be sent out to registered youth the week of. Time: TBD Cost: Free January 29th: Roll Your Own Adventure - We will be meeting online to play a new game we learned about at our Christmas party. Time: 6:00pm-9:00pm
February 5th-7th: Blizzard 2021 - Similar to Avalanche, this year’s Sr High Retreat will be online. Please sign up using the following link before January 20th, 2021 http://tiny.cc/ SGCBlizzard Details and overview of the weekend will be sent out to registered youth the week of. Time: TBD Cost: Free Staying Updated: To stay up to date on what is happening for your youth, please visit our google calendar which has all of our planned events. http://tiny.cc/YouthCal
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Recommendations
The Resource Centre 15
The Challenge of Jesus: discovering who Jesus was and is, by N.T. Wright. This book is available at the Toronto Public Library, or alternatively, you can download the audiobook for free from audible.com (by establishing a free 30 day trial) https://www.audible.com/pd/Challenge-ofJesus-Audiobook/B002VA9A8K?ipRedirectOver ride=true&overrideBaseCountry=true&pf_rd_ p=674134a4-0bfb-4426-9a2e-645d74053edf&pf_ rd_r=YPQ00ZMQ8GA11KD51H7N Today a renewed and vigorous scholarly quest for the historical Jesus is underway. In the midst of well-publicized and controversial books on Jesus, N. T. Wright's lectures and writings have been widely recognized for providing a fresh, provocative and historically credible portrait. Out of his own commitment to both historical scholarship and Christian ministry, Wright challenges us to roll up our sleeves and
take seriously the study of the historical Jesus. He writes, "Many Christians have been, frankly, sloppy in their thinking and talking about Jesus, and hence, sadly, in their praying and in their practice of discipleship. We cannot assume that by saying the word Jesus, still less the word Christ, we are automatically in touch with the real Jesus who walked and talked in first-century Palestine. Only by hard, historical work can we move toward a fuller comprehension of what the Gospels themselves were trying to say." The Challenge of Jesus poses a double-edged challenge: to grow in our understanding of the historical Jesus within the Palestinian world of the first century, and to follow Jesus more faithfully into the postmodern world of the twenty-first century.
Faith unraveled: how a girl who knew all the answers learned to ask questions, by Rachel Held Evans This book is available in our church library, call number 277.3 EVA, and also via the Toronto Public Library In Faith Unraveled, Rachel recounts growing up in a culture obsessed with apologetics, struggling as her own faith unraveled one unexpected question at a time. In order for her faith to survive, Rachel realizes, it must adapt to change and evolve. Using as an illustration her own spiritual journey from certainty to doubt to faith, Evans challenges you to disentangle your faith from false fundamentals and to trust in a God who is big enough to handle your tough questions. In a changing cultural environment where new ideas seem to threaten the safety and security of the faith, Faith Unraveled is a profoundly moving, fearlessly honest, and relentlessly hopeful story of survival. 16
Directories and What's Happening
More Info
Leadership Directory PASTORAL TEAM
416.223.4593 Ext. 224
Greg Kay Co-Lead Pastor
gregkay@ springgardenchurch.ca Ext. 227
Sam Lee Co-Lead Pastor
samlee@ springgardenchurch.ca Ext. 223
Jeremy Ranasinghe Children and Youth Pastor
jeremy@ springgardenchurch.ca Ext. 221
Dale Forder Office & Communications Administrator
daleforder@ springgardenchurch.ca
Spring Garden Church
112 Spring Garden Avenue, Toronto ON M2N 3G3 www.springgardenchurch.ca office@springgardenchurch.ca Prayer Line
Tel 416.223.4593 Fax 416.223.6126 416.223.4038
Giving is one of the ways in which we can
respond to a generous God. We give because it is a part of our discipleship and an act of worship. Please give as you feel led. For more information please go to our website at: https://www.springgardenchurch.ca/giving.
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DEACONS Krysten Cameron Chair
416.399.0493 krystencameron@hotmail.com
Ben Reynolds
Children and Youth Discipleship
Martin Dewar
Missions and Membership
Monica Kim
Vice Chair& Adult Discipleship
Joanne Laing
Secretary & Property
Shannon Loewen
Community Life/Refreshments
Jeff McGee Finance
bereynolds@gmail.com 416.229.2695 martin.dewar@sgbc.ca 604.710.3224 monicakim2000@gmail.com 416.617.6582 joannelaing@gmail.com 647.202.0701 shannon.loewen1@gmail.com 416.493.2102 jeff.mcgee@sympatico.ca
Cheryl Chapman Worship
cheryl.chapman@live.ca
ELDERS Anne Barron Gonzalo Librado
416.724.9329 anne.barron020@sympatico.ca 416.435.9691 gonzlibrado@gmail.com
Margaret Sutton margaretsutton242@gmail.com Koon Wah Leung Clem Lee
416.225.7092 koonwleung@gmail.com 416.508.7355 crazymonkeyfamily@gmail.com
Myrna Frost
416.225.4986 ​mfrost2254986@rogers.com 18
What’s Happening Weekly
Life in Spring Garden
LIFE GROUPS - Connect for Community
ALL WEEK LONG
Together through bible study, prayer and sharing. Meet online and possible in-person, please email SamLee@ springardenchurch.ca for more information or to join one.
y
Sunda
SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP
10am
Join us Sunday mornings as we go through the Advent weeks and into Christmas. After the children's blessing, the children can login our Spring Kids Online (more: page 10) Streamed at: www.springgardenchurch.ca
VIRTUAL COFFEE TIME
11:30am
Join us for our virtual coffee time after our online Worship Gathering. Get some coffee and snacks and log on to our Zoom meeting where you can talk with other Spring Gardeners. We will be breaking into smaller groups. Prayer room is available. Email office@springgardenchurch.ca for the log in info.
y Monda
PASTORAL TEAM MEETING
10am - 12pm
We meet in-person every Monday. Please pray for us for wisdom and inspiration.
ay d s e n
REFRESH 10am - 11:30am
y a d s r
EVENING PRAYER
Wed
Thu
Friendship, care & spiritual growth for women. Will be starting up on January 20th. You are invited to a virtual time of liturgical prayer. Please see here.
SGC COMMUNITY - Facebook
8:30pm
A group to encourage each other, share resources, connect, etc. Find us through groups in Facebook.
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What’s Happening Upcoming Jan
15 Jan
29 Feb
5
Life in Spring Garden
YOUTH: Avalanche 2021 See more on page 14.
YOUTH: Roll Your Own Adventure See more on page 14.
YOUTH: Blizzard See more on page 14.
SEE OUR EVENTS PAGE FOR MORE INFO ON ANY OF THESE EVENTS. springgardenchurch.ca/events If you would like to receive a weekly e-mail 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 e-mail. Also keep your eye on our Events page at: www.springgardenchurch.ca/events.
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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 centre. 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.