An
Intersection
Of
Faith
And Life
July/August 2016
Delve
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Features Musings:The End of Liberal Vs. Conservative Reflections: Anne Barron Update Letter: Faith Holwyn
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Musings: The End of Liberal Vs. Conservative
Departments Financial Update Resource Centre
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Information Contact Information 18 Community Corner 20 Calendar 23 Cover & Design: Clement Lee Contributors: Anne Barron Karen Cassel Beverly Holtzman Faith Holwyn Greg Kay Suzanna Lai Geoff Moore Gene Tempelmeyer Copy Editors: Greg Kay Suzanna Lai 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
Scopes Monkey Trial, 1925 One of my best friends is planting a church that is welcoming and affirming to members of the LGBT community. He also believes in a literal six day creation. It is not surprising to encounter an evangelical Christian who, believing the Bible, does not believe the Bible actually prohibits homosexuality any more than it advocates slavery. It is equally unsurprising to encounter an evangelical Christian whose belief in the Bible requires them to insist upon a literal six day creation. What is surprising is to encounter someone who simultaneously holds both convictions. Twenty or more years ago if I heard his theological acceptance of homosexuality I would have thought, “he must be a liberal Christian.” If I heard his views on creation, however, I would have concluded, “he must be a conservative Christian.” (I am using 3
the terms “liberal” and “conservative” here to describe purely theological stances. One might also use the term to describe a person’s political or social stance as well, but without the assumption that to lean left or right theologically implies that one would lean the same way on social or political issues.) By counting the number of liberal or conservative stances a person took we could determine to what extent a person was one or the other: “She is moderately conservative;” or, “he is very liberal.” With that information we could place them on a continuum of liberal and conservative theology and make fairly accurate predictions about how that person would most likely respond to a number of further issues. One who concludes that the Bible does not forbid homosexuality, for example, would be fairly likely to accept the theory of evolution. Or one who believes in a literal six day creation would likely consider same-sex relationships sinful.
Liberal
Conservative
By saying we are either “liberal” or “conservative” we indicated what others could expect from us and we could decide where we would best fit into a particular Christian community. If we were theologically and socially liberal we might fit in best in a United Church. Theological and social conservatives might find themselves more at home in a Fellowship Baptist Church. Meanwhile, Convention Baptist Churches were probably better suited for someone who might be theologically conservative while socially liberal and those who were socially conservative but theologically liberal might find themselves more at home in the Roman Catholic Church. Such definitions were surprisingly useful. They allowed us to place people, writers, publishers, churches, movements and ministries into 4
neat and tidy categories on which basis we knew where it made most sense to invest our own time, money and energy. But into what category would we place my friend? And an increasing number of friends who have convictions scattered all over the liberal/conservative continuum in patterns that feel completely random? To understand the Postmodern way people collect convictions into a package of belief I suggest we need to make the line representing liberal and conservative convictions the base of a triangle with postmodern thought at the top corner. The liberal/ conservative construct is largely a product of the “modern” age informed Liberal Conservative by Enlightenment thinkers of the past several centuries. The further one moves from modern thought, the further one moves from the tidiness of our earlier categories. The “modern person” is likely to agree with Aristotle that, “Man is a rational animal.” What we mean by this is that within the human person there is a core of reason which is objective and consistent from person to person. Consequently, if we have enough information and time to think about it we will eventually come to the one right conclusion. And so we try to reason (which in this context is usually a nicer word than “argue”) one another into our own way of thinking and believing. The “postmodern person”, however, is more likely to agree with 5
Bertrand Russell: “Man (sic) is a rational animal – so at least I have been told. Throughout a long life I have looked diligently for evidence in favour of this statement, but so far I have not had the good fortune to come across it.” Beyond the anecdotal evidence of the people we have encountered, there are numerous scientific and psychological grounds to reject the premise that reason is the core of human thought and belief. The postmodern person is more likely to consider history to be the core of what a person thinks and believes. This history is both collective and personal: a blend of culture and experience. The test of postmodern truth is whether it makes sense to us given our history. When confronted with a particular issue or belief such as the divinity of Jesus or the morality of sex outside of marriage the modern person asks, “What is true?” and applies their reason to that question. Confronted with the same question the postmodern person asks, “What is good?” and applies their history to that question. The postmodern Christian is much more comfortable with ambiguity and even contradiction in their belief system. An idea does not need to be logically coherent to be good. Whereas modern thought is fairly binary (like a light switch truth is on or off, moral decisions are good or bad, viewpoints are right or wrong, etc.), the postmodern Christian assumes that truth is complex, sometimes unknowable, and quite often unreasonable. The more we try to compress truth into words the less helpful or accurate our words become. Reasoning with one another thus becomes frustrating and painful. Our frustration is not the absence of absolute truth but our inability to communicate it. But sharing our history with another and accepting the reality of their history leaves us satisfied and bound together by a shared experience. It doesn’t matter much to my friend, who is well toward the apex of the postmodern triangle, if people find his convictions illogical when taken together. That is the nature of truth as he experiences 6
it. His convictions seem to be good and produce good to him, and that is enough. If he is in a conversation with someone who opposes homosexuality or affirms creation as a gradual evolution, he is quite open to conversation. He will listen genuinely and be unfazed if, at the end, the other person is unpersuaded. The point wasn’t to persuade, but to share and communicate. When the modern Christian arrives at a new church they often want to know what that church believes. Most churches have some sort of Statement of Faith to answer this question. They provide a set of beliefs that indicate where on the scale between liberal or conservative the church rests. The postmodern Christian, by contrast, is more likely to want to know how the church behaves. Increasingly, churches provide an explanation of values that indicate how the church seeks to find and do what is good. “Orthodoxy” literally means to give God proper glory. Modern Christians measure orthodoxy by how well the content of that church’s doctrine matches an ideal set of beliefs. Postmodern Christians measure orthodoxy by how well the content of its belief produces attitudes and activities reflective of God’s character and beneficial to the church’s constituents and the wider world. Modern Christians are persuaded by reasonable presentation of data, especially the data found in Scripture. Postmodern Christians find this approach coercive in its lack of nuance and misleading in its detachment from the context of either the original writer or the contemporary reader. Postmodern Christians are persuaded by penetrating stories, especially the stories found in Scripture. Modern Christians find this approach overly subjective and inadequate in its lack of binary propositions (“This is true, that is false.”) Who is right? The modern Christian or the postmodern Christian? I suppose I identify myself somewhat as I reply, “Both. Neither. Who cares?” 500 years ago the question would have been about mediaeval Christians and enlightenment Christians. These are just different ways of being and thinking. A wise church – and a wise pastor – would do well in this transitional era to try to speak effectively to both. 7
In the meantime, it is also wise to resist categorizing people with such labels as “liberal”, “conservative”, “progressive” or “fundamentalist.” These categories provide only the illusion of safety. The reality is that one can be all at the same time, as my friend takes a “progressive” stance with the LGTB community while remaining firmly “fundamentalist” in his view of creation. Although he would more likely say, “That’s not accurate; I am in neither camp. I am just me.” In a world already fractured between left and right, God’s gift to the world is, once again, the counter-cultural relationship of the church in which we listen to one another without building boxes and then we leave persuasion to the Holy Spirit. Gene Tempelmeyer
Syrian Refugee Care Update Congratulations Spring Garden! We and our partners at Blythwood Road have met our fundraising goal! As a result we have been able to move forward with submitting our application and look forward to being matched with a family. Please continue to pray and keep your eyes open for further updates as once we’re matched with a family we’ll need lots of help to begin preparing for their arrival! http://springgardenchurch.ca/src/
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Spring Garden Baptist Church Monthly Financial Update For: May 31st, 2016
/Week 2016 Budget
$530,000
Year To Date
Actual
$10,192 Budget
For 5 Months - May 31st, 2016 Donations & Other Income $182,402 $224,224 Expenses (227,823) (224,224) Cash Shortfall to Budget (45,422) 0 Cash Position at May 31st, 2016 was $22,396. Note: • Roof repairs of approximately $9,000 were spent in May 2016. • Donations and Rental Income was $182,402 to May 31st, 2016 compared to $197,350 to May 31st, 2015. Cash Position is low! Need for “Catch-Up” donations as we approach the summer months. 9
Recomendations From The Resource Centre
Books Peter’s perfect prayer place, by Stephen Kendrick and Alex Kendrick Inspired by the movie, The War Room Peter is used to seeing his mom pray in her special prayer room, and now you can help him search for his own place to pray---Peter’s perfect prayer place. But where is it? Where can God hear him best? There’s lots of fun as Peter looks and looks, but in the end, he learns that although it’s great to have a special place to be alone with God and pray, God hears you no matter where you are!
The Katy Lambright Series, vol. 1-4, by Kim Vogel Sawyer Katy’s new World, book 1. Katy has always enjoyed life in her small Mennonite community, but she longs to learn more than her school can offer. After getting approval from her elders, Katy starts her sophomore 10
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
year at the public high school in town, where she meets new friends and encounters perspectives much different than her own. But as Katy begins to find her way in the outside world, her relationships at home become restrained. Can she find a balance between her two worlds?
Behold the Man, by Bodie and Brock Thoene (Jerusalem Chronicles, Book 3) How could Jesus-who preached righteousness before God, and love and mercy toward neighbors-be so hated and pursued? To the Temple officials, he was a threat to the livelihood and authority of the priesthood. To Herod Antipas, he was a threat to his ambition to be the King of the Jews. And to the Roman overlords, he was seen as a dangerous threat; a man who commanded an army of the common people. He could heal wounds, offer miraculous provisions, and even raise from the dead. If Jesus had accepted popular acclaim and become an earthly king, he would have been unstoppable. Jesus’s last days are explored through three people who interacted with him: Governor Pilate, for whom Judea will 11
Reflections I have spent much of the last month “reflecting” as I prepare to transition from my teaching career to retirement. As well, I first attended Spring Garden 30 years ago in June of 1986. Gene’s sermon series on the Holy Spirit has also prompted me to reflect on how the Holy Spirit speaks to me and how God works in my life. either make or break his career; Pilate’s wife, Claudia, desperately seeking aid for her much loved, crippled son; and Centurion Marcus Longinus, caught in the middle between loyalty to the Empire, love for Claudia, and an ever-increasing belief in Jesus as the Son of God. After encountering Jesus, none of them will ever be the same.
Captive Based on a true story that drew national attention! On the run as the subject of a citywide manhunt, convict escapee Brian Nichols takes recovering addict Ashley Smith hostage in her own apartment. Will they both find hope when she begins reading aloud from Rick Warren’s The Purpose-Driven Life?
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On my first Sunday at Spring Garden I knew I had found a home. I had been looking for a church, but at one point during a time of singing and special music that Sunday, I felt an overwhelming feeling that God loved me and I began to weep. For me, usually when God has something profound to say to me I get overwhelmed with tears. Not tears of sadness, but of His overwhelming love for me and His desire to do good things for me. I had a real sense that this was a safe place for me to experience God and worship Him. I came to Spring Garden as a new Christian, although I had gone to church all my life, I had not really given my life to Christ until I entered University. Spring Garden became my family. I joined the choir and soon found many friendships and amazing prayer support as I went to Teacher’s College, supply taught for a year, went to over 50 job interviews and finally got hired as a music teacher. Throughout the last 30 years, I have grown in my faith and God has spoken to me in a variety of ways. I have never spoken in tongues, never had physical manifestations, but God through the Holy Spirit has made His presence known. A sense, a thought, a prompting, a nudge; nothing big, but a voice none the less. “Pray out loud, write a worship song, be an Elder, be a Deacon, lead worship, meet with a difficult parent who just wants the best for their child, support a young adult dealing with depression, support an autistic student with suicidal thoughts, tell a group of students that a teacher has passed away or a teacher has been diagnosed with Cancer, be the Acting Vice-Principal, move to a new school…” All of these events and many more have often been met with, “God, I can’t do that!” Then the Holy Spirit saying, “Yes you can and I will give you the words to say.” 13
It truly is amazing when you are open to the leading of the Holy Spirit, how you can deal with whatever God brings your way. I just ‘know’ what is right. It’s that gut feeling; that you are on the right path and God is leading you. The last 30 years have been great, my career has been very rewarding. I look forward to where God will lead and how the Holy Spirit will speak in the next chapter of my life. Thanks Spring Garden for being part of the journey. Anne Barron
Unveiling of Pastor Gene Tempelmeyer’s painting: Here Comes the Sun (It’s alright) at the Family Life Centre on Tyndale campus. May 31st, 2016.
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Focus Group 55+ Enrichment Age 55+? We Want to Hear from You! Wednesday 20 July, 2016 9:30—11:30 a.m. You are invited to take part in a small discussion group on campus to talk about: •
What do you think are the mental, physical, spiritual and relaonal interests and needs of people ages 55+, in your spheres of influence?
•
How do you plan to stay acve, engaged and meaningfully connected in this vital me of your life?
RSVP:
Tyndale Family Life Centre 3377 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON M2M 3S4 | tyndale.ca/family-life
Please email Amy Francis at afrancis@tyndale.ca Indicate whether you can aend in person or provide your responses by email. Light refreshments will be served. More details will be sent to those aending the focus group.
submitted by Beverly Holtzman 16
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Leadership at Spring Garden
Elders
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
Deacons Marion Cameron marion.cameron@sympatico.ca Adora Chui adora.chui@sgbc.ca Lesley Daniels dr.ldaniels@gmail.com Mary Ellen Hopkins (Interim Chair) mehopkins@sympatico.ca Gonzalo Librado - Adult Ministries gonzalo.librado@sgbc.ca Peggy Moore peggylouisemoore@gmail.com Esther Penner esther.penner@sgbc.ca Doug Wilson doug.willson191@gmail.com 18
416.491.8542 905.962.3897
Darlene Boyd darlene.boyd@gmail.com Cindie Chaise cindie.chaise@sgbc.ca Cheryl Chapman cheryl.chapman@live.ca Joanna James jo.april.james@gmail.com Barrie Porter barriep91@gmail.com Corinne Sutton-Smith blestfoods@aol.com
416.385.2483
647.345.2476 416.222.6963 647.928.0862 416.829.4210 647.704.7710
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
416.806.5373 905.731.0492 416.229.2695 416.225.2406 416.227.1840 416.221.0450 19
Community Corner
Life around Spring Garden
Communal Worship Serving Needs Every Sunday when we gather together our communal worship is lead and facilitated by people in the community--that’s YOU! We have two major needs right now that we’d like you to prayerfully consider. 1) Sound Techs and Projectionists: in order for everyone to be able to engage together in worship we need people with technical and listening skills to run sound and control what goes on the screen. Training will be provided for anyone interested. 2) Greeters: We as Spring Garden greatly value being a welcoming people, and those who serve by greeting people at the doors, helping where help is needed, are our primary means of welcome, particularly for those who are visitors. If you have a heart for making people feel welcomed, this is a great and simple way to serve the visitor and the church body as a whole. If you are interested or have any questions, please contact Greg Kay gregkay@springgardenchurch.ca (416)223-4593 ext 224
Urgent Sunday Refreshment Help Needed We continue to need help of volunteers to prepare and serve Sunday Refreshments for the rest of the year and into 2017. This important ministry allows us to have meaningful fellowship after worship and get to know new friends. The church will reimburse the cost of food you prepare or 20
purchase. We can use the help of a team of people or individuals to join existing refreshment teams to assist with set up and cleanup. Rotation can be once a month, once every two months or only in months with a 5th Sunday. If you think you can lend us a hand and serve with other lovely Spring Gardeners, please contact Suzanna Lai (suzanna@springgardenchurch.ca, 416-223-4593 x 221). She will be happy to give you more details, provide a training, and work with you to find a suitable team or rotation. Thank you.
Looking for a Sitter? My name is Hannah Turner. I am 12 years old and have completed my babysitting course last year. I am very responsible and work well with kids. If you are interested, my email is hannahturner2323@gmail.com. My phone number is 416-512-1360. I have references available. Thank you.
2016 Fall Ministries Launch We will be having our fall ministries launch on Sunday September 11. We will also be commissioning and blessing all pastoral staff, ministry leaders, elders, deacons, volunteers, and teachers in discipleship ministries. On Sunday September 18, we will commission all Spring Gardners into their vocational work fields. Please be sure to join us!
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What’s Happening
SGC Community Fair
Life in Spring Garden
We will be having a Community Fair on Sunday August 14 after the worship gathering. We will have food, games, and fun activities for the whole family! Mark the date, invite families, friends, neighbours, and be sure to join us!
Weekly
To download the digital invitation, please visit our website www.springgardenchurch.ca
Wednesdays 10:00 am - Refresh is NOT meeting but will resume in Sept. 7:00 pm - Groove Dance Group
Tuesdays 2:00 pm - Pastoral Team meeting
Sundays 9:00 am - Morning Bible Study: NOT meeting in summer - ESL Bible study: NOT meeting in summer. Resuming in Sept. 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 Summer July 18 - 22: Lego City + Learn to Ride Summer Camp August 14: SGC Community Fair September 11 - Fall Ministries Launch + Commissioning of church leaders and volunteers September 18 - Commissioning of congregants September 24 - Pastoral Team, Deacons and Elders meeting
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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. 24