January 2022
Quick Calendar WEEKLY Sun
10am Sunday Worship Online
pg 13
Tue Wed Thur Thur
10am-12pm Pastoral Team Meeting
pg 13
10am Refresh, Women's Group
pg 13
10am Bible Discussion
pg 13
8:30pm Evening Prayers - Online
pg 13
Youth Discipleship after the Children's Blessing and Children please stay and watch the Worship Gathering
UPCOMING Jan.17,21 & 28 Jan. 25 Jan./Feb.
Youth Drop-in (online)
pg 8
Missions Night - Syrian Refugees
pg 5
Tobagganing
pg 5
See more on the last pages or on our Events page at www.springgardenchurch.ca/events.
Delve submissions are due Jan. 24th. 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 Resentment or Gratitude 3
Community Corner Missions Night - Syrian Refugees 5 Tobagganing 5 New Year, New Website 5 Our New Series 10
Discipleship Ministries
SGC Kids: (Online) Worship Gathering 7 Spring Youth 7 | Youth Events 7,8
More Info How to Give 11 Life Groups 6 Leadership Directory 11 Weekly Calendar 12 Upcoming Calendar 14
Our Values
(back page)
Design, Cover & Editor: Dale Forder Contributors: Greg Kay Jeremy Ranasinghe Abby Davidson Copy Editors: Greg Kay Karen Cassel
Resentment or Gratitude by Sam Lee
Here we are, yet again, in another semi-lock down. We ended 2021 with another new variant and now enter into 2022 still living through the pandemic that seems like it will never end. With that comes all the things that have ended. Our normalcy, our rhythms of work and rest, our children’s in class schooling, our sense of peace. With so many endings and losses how are we to respond? When we are faced with such losses, there are two viable options. One is resentment, the other gratitude. Henri Nouwen writes that “Resentment is a real option. Many choose it.”1 When we choose resentment, it seeps into our hearts and hardens it. When we choose resentment, it can cause us to become bitter, cold, and angry people, to the point where it’s like “drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.”2 The second option is to choose gratitude. Nouwen writes that this can only happen as we first mourn our losses. This mourning is a healthy process of us embracing our losses and to grieve so that we can let go. This mourning is not done alone but with an awareness that we are turning our losses unto Jesus. We do not mourn on our own but we mourn with the one who is ever present with us. We trust and hold on to the words of Jesus that says “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:13). Once we have mourned and/or are in the process of mourning, we can seek to understand that all of life is a gift. 3
It is in recognition in our losses that what we have, what we have received, what we do not have point to the reality that all of life is a gift. Here Nouwen again argues for a Eucharistic life. The word “Eucharist” (what we refer to as Communion) means the “act of thanksgiving.” He believes that the actual act of the “Eucharist” and living what the Eucharist means in our daily lives, is the way of us choosing gratitude over resentment. What I love about his understanding is that as we celebrate Communion, we remember, enact, and participate in the life but also more importantly the death of Jesus. Moreover, it was at this dinner table, that Jesus himself was betrayed. The very table that was the beginning of Jesus’ end is within the table that we ourselves find our lives. As we celebrate communion, we participate in the death and resurrection of Jesus. We see that our God does not only act as God in the good things of life but even in our losses, our struggles, our failures, that in all the things that we find ulgy, broken, and unbearable, that our God is in those things and brings life out of death. I don’t know about you but I feel pretty fed up. I’m fed up of the lockdowns, the restrictions, the constant news and stories about COVID. I’m tired of hearing about it, living in it, ADJUSTING to it... and the worst part of it is that I do not have much of a choice in the matter. I can’t control it, I can’t make it better, I have to just endure… So what is my response? I can choose resentment or I can choose gratitude. Resentment seems like the easy choice, a natural choice. However, I know it’s a poison that I take while wishing COVID to end…or…I can choose gratitude. I can mourn and turn my mourning to Jesus knowing that he is Immanuel, God with me. I can choose to live a life of thanksgiving, as I remember that all of life is a gift. I can name and live in the goodness of God that he is with me not only in the highs of life but especially in the lows. I can choose to live a life of thanksgiving because in Christ, even death is just the beginning. What will you choose?There are many ways to 1 Henri J. M. Nouwen and Duccio, With Burning Hearts: A Meditation on the Eucharistic Life (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 2016), 32. 2 Ghezzi, Bert. The Angry Christian: A Bible-Based Strategy to Care for and Discipline a Valuable Emotion. (Brewster, Massachusetts: Paraclete Press, 1980), 99.
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Life in and around Spring Garden
Community Corner
Missions Night - Syrian Refugees Tuesday, January 25th at 7:30pm.
In 2016, Spring Garden sponsored a refugee family from Syria. The Risous have settled in Scarborough and are doing well. Join us virturally to get an update from the Risou family and to meet their extended family (also the Risous) who are currently living in Lebanon while they await approval to come to Canada with Spring Garden's sponsorship. We will hear from both families and have a time of prayer for them. Email AbbyDavidson@springgardenchurch. ca to sign up and get the Zoom link.
Tobogganing
The date is still to be announced. We had a ton of fun in the past and as long as there is snow, we are planning to tobaggan again together. We plan to hold this event when we are allowed bigger groups outside. Keep checking our events page for updates. 5 5
New Year, New Website
We have designed a new website and it is now live.Check our new website at www.springgardenchurch.ca! Did you also notice the Weekly Email has also had an update? New things are happening at Spring Garden Church.
Life Groups
Life Groups are a place where we do life together in a community centered around the gospel. They are designed for you to pursue spiritual growth, community and mission together. We offer Life Groups so everyone can have a place to belong. Life Groups are Kevin & Suzanna small gatherings Sunday afternoons, of people who Every other week ONLINE form a community. Group members Scott & Kate share life together Sunday evenings Every other week through friendship, ONLINE learn from the Bible and other Anne & Garth Monday evenings resources, pray for Weekly and give support ONLINE to one another, Jeff & Phyllis and participate Wednesday evenings in God’s mission Weekly together. They are ONLINE safe places where David Webb you can meet new Thursday evenings people, discover Weekly your gifts for ONLINE service, grow as a follower of Jesus, and have a lot of fun together. Groups gather in homes or online throughout the week. Each group is as unique as the people in it. No matter where you are in life, there is a Life Group for you. Please email Abby at abbydavison@springgardenchurch.ca to join or for more information.
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Partnering with Families
Discipleship Ministries 7 7
SGC Kids: Family Registration Forms: In order for us to provide our ministry to the children of our church, we require new registration forms to be completed by their families every year as part of our policy to protect them. Please fill out our form through this link: http://tiny.cc/SGCFamilyRegistration
Kids (Online) Worship Gathering Due to the rising covid cases, our church has decided to move back to online-only worship gatherings. As such, our children's in-person worship has been paused until it is safer to do so. The pandemic has brought a lot for us to deal with and adjust to. We value and believe that our kids share a huge part of our worship as a church. So instead of returning to our online kids' ministry structure, we would like to try something different and create space for our kids to worship along with us through the Livestream gathering on Sunday mornings. Until we return in person, starting January 9th, our kids (grade 5 and younger) will be joining the main Livestream worship. We hope this time can be an opportunity for our kids to learn more about God with us as we engage in conversation about the parables that Jesus shares. During our worship, the children's blessing will include a short reflection about the passage for kids to hear before they are blessed. During the rest of our worship, we encourage families with kids to use the following worship engagement sheet http://tiny. cc/SGCKidsWorshipEngagement (available beginning January 9th, 2022) to help kids participate in what is being shared. Following the Livestream, we encourage you to also use the lunchtime discussion questions to engage with kids about what was said.
Wheeere's Jesus??
Part of the worship engagement we are including for kids is a weekly Jesus scavenger hunt. We will hide a Jesus figurine somewhere on the platform for kids to search for during the broadcast. The location of Jesus will be revealed at the end of the Livestream.
Online Resources For Home
To help serve your family better, we have uploaded all of our SGC Kids' curriculum online. If you would like additional resources at home with kids, please use the following link. We will also use this curriculum once we return to in-person worship. SGC Kids Curriculum Link: http://tiny.cc/OnlineCurriculum
Spring Youth Sunday Morning Worship Gatherings:
January 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th - We will be returning to our online worship gatherings for youth in grades 6-12. Following the children's blessing, youth can join us online using the following link. http://tiny.cc/SGCYouth
Youth Events Until we return to in-person gatherings, starting January 14th, we will have online drop-in hangouts every Friday. These online sessions are intended to be no-pressure environments where we can virtually enjoy each other's presence. We may play games, watch a movie or even just talk while eating desserts, but the point is to be with each other. Our meetings will begin at 7:00pm and end no later than 9:00pm. **Complimentary Desserts Included**
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(Online) Small-Group, Get-Togethers - During the restrictions while youth are at home for school, we will be arranging smaller online get-togethers with youth to intentionally check in and talk about what's going on. We hope these smaller groups will provide an inviting setting for youth to feel comfortable. For youth in Jr High, we will arrange meeting times through parents. For youth in Sr High, our leaders will be contacting youth directly to arrange times to meet but will then notify parents of Sr High youth to confirm those meeting times. For any questions, please feel free to contact Jeremy (Jeremy@springgardenchurch. ca). Jr & Sr High Youth Retreat: **Postponed** We have unfortunately decided to postpone the retreats for both Jr and Sr High Youth until the springtime. While the idea of running the retreat in an online setting came to mind, it was felt by both Immanuel Baptist Church and us that postponing until the Springtime was better holistically for our youth. The goal is to prepare a retreat with an online backup during the March break week (March 14th-18th, 2022). For more information, please contact Jeremy (Jeremy@springgardenchurch.ca). 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://tiny.cc/YouthCal
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Our New Series is called, 'Ears to Hear: The Parables of Jesus' Jesus’ parables were not so much “earthly stories with heavenly meaning” as they were stories that stir up a response in the hearers and gave a picture of what the ways of heaven look like as they are on earth in the Kingdom of God. They stir subversive Kingdom imagination and wonder in those who have ears to hear. But for those who do not have ears to hear, they are shocking, defamatory and infuriating. Let us have Ears to Hear, cultivating the soil of our lives so that the seeds of Jesus’ words can bloom to life in us. This is a eight week series that starts on January 9th and runs untill Feburary 27th, 2022.
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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. 226
Abby Davidson Pastor of Missional Discipleship
abbydavidson@ 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 Tel 416.223.4593 office@springgardenchurch.ca Fax 416.223.6126 Prayer Line 416.223.4038
Giving is one of the ways in which we can
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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/give.. https://www.springgardenchurch.ca/give
DEACONS Krysten Cameron Chair
416.399.0493 krystencameron@hotmail.com
Ben Reynolds
Children\Youth Discipleship & Property
Martin Dewar
Community Life & Missions
Debbie Tempelmeyer
Adult Discipleship & Pastoral Care
Scott Moore
Vice Chair & Secretary
Jeff McGee Finance
bereynolds@gmail.com 416.229.2695 martin.dewar@sgbc.ca 905-301-2323 tempelmeyerdeb@gmail.com 647-227-5465 scottgmoore@mac.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 12
What’s Happening Life in Spring Garden
Weekly
LIFE GROUPS - Connect for Community
ALL WEEK LONG
Together through bible study, prayer and sharing. Meet online and possible in-person. Please email abbydavidson@ springardenchurch.ca for more information or to join one.
SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP
y
Sunda
ay Tuesd
PASTORAL TEAM MEETING
10am - 12pm
We are meeting on Tuesday. Please pray for us for wisdom and inspiration.
y
REFRESH 10am - 11:30am
y
Bible Discussion
sda e n d
We
10am
Join us Sunday mornings as we go through a series called 'Ears to Hear: The Parables of Jesus'(see page 10). Join us at: www.springgardenchurch.ca/live
a d s r Thu
Friendship, care & spiritual growth for women. Contact Jen Chrystman or Faith Holwyn for more info.
10am - 11:30am
Join us as we learn and discuss different stories about God and His people. Contact Vic for more information.
EVENING PRAYER
You are invited to a virtual time of liturgical prayer. Please see here.
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8:30pm
What’s Happening Life in Spring Garden
Upcoming Jan
Jan
Jan
14
21
28
Jan
25 Jan/Feb
?
Youth Online Drop-in See more on page 8.
Missions Night - Syrian Refugees See more on page 5.
Tobogganing
See more on page 5.
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. 14
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.