ANNUAL REPORT June 2016
OUR VALUES 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 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 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. 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.
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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 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 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.
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INDEX Church Clerk
4
Lead Pastor
6
Pastor of Worship and Mission
10
Pastoral Care and Seniors
14
Discipleship Ministries
16
Church Office and Communications
20
The Deacon’s Board
24
Elders
28
Missions
30
Life Groups
34
ESL Café Ministry
36
Sunday Morning Bible Study Group
37
ESL Bible Study
38
Property Committee
40
IT/AV Committee
42
Resource Centre
44
Refresh Women’s Group
46
Syrian Refugee Action Group
48
Finance
50
Partnerships and Vocational Missionaries
52
SGC Nominating Committee Report 2016
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CHURCH CLERK Report from Joanne
Laing
Historical Events (from January 2015 to April 2016) BIRTHS 2015 January June November December
Cadence Laudra, to Beth and Greg Drummond Sarah, to Kate and Scott Moore Audrey Grace, to Erin and Colin Chapman Edmund Carey, to Joanna and Jesse James
2016 March
Ruby Alexandra, to Rachel and Mark Wilkinson
DEATHS March 2016
Bill Frost
DEDICATIONS 2015 Kate and Scott Moore dedicated Hailey Ann January Greg and Beth Drummond dedicated Cadence Laudra Naomi Orvis and Mark Groleau dedicated Zane Cole March Rodway and Lesley Daniels dedicated Joshua James
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November
Krysten Cameron and Neil Bickerton dedicated Jack Cameron
2016 February
Meghan Valentine and James Burns dedicated William
BAPTISMS 2015 Kevin Lai Yiming Gong Annie Yang Carter Martin
At the time of this report 134 active members
NEW MEMBERS 2015 George Spear Jin Lee Suzanna Lai Kevin Lai Yiming Gong Jeremy Ranasinghearachchigedon
2016 Julia Bracewell Adora Chui
MARRIAGES July 2015
Fiona Pequegnat and Jason Chow
MEMBERS TRANSFERRED Brian and Jean Rorke Keith Blair Greg and Beth Drummond
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LEAD PASTOR Report from Rev.
Gene Tempelmeyer
A few months ago I read for the first time an anecdotal history of Spring Garden Church written in about 1979 by Margaret Alexander, one of our charter members. The story unfolds the planting of an effective neighbourhood church in the new Toronto suburbs being developed after World War II. I couldn’t help but think what a different era, neighbourhood and church it was from what we find at the corner of Kenneth and Spring Garden Avenues today. Of special interest to me were the years when two Bills, the Rev. Bill Sturgess and the Rev. Bill Lewis, led Spring Garden from being a struggling young congregation into becoming one of the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec’s most successful suburban congregations. Two things stood out in this history: with all the good things the church was doing money was often tight. It was as if each opportunity came with its own financial crisis. (And here we are, still afloat, sitting on assets of several millions of dollars, and still worrying about money.) The second thing that stood out in this history is how the church body was largely built by members going door-to-door inviting neighbours to the church and to life in Christ. One of our earliest members, Ted Gill, was asked his opinion of how to build a new church. His answer was one word: “canvas.” As it happens, Ted Gill was an insurance salesman. He would ring doorbells during the day to sell insurance and give the names of people he thought would be good contacts to Baptist Brotherhood field worker helping the fledgling congregation. An evening or two later, it was 8
The (...) thing that stood out in this history is how the church body was largely built by members going door-to-door inviting neighbours to the church and to life in Christ.
the field worker ringing the doorbell. It was a different era, neighbourhood and church. As I write this my GTA suburb is discussing making door-to-door sales illegal.
There were setbacks and controversies. At one point we hired a music director and discovered a couple of months later that the reason the musical quality had deteriorated under his leadership was due to the fact he was deaf. In 1958 the “Couples Club” was briefly renamed “The Ball and Chain Club.” Some found this offensive. The name was switched back to the “Couples Club.” I don’t think even a “Couples Club” would fly well in 2016, do you? It was a different era, neighbourhood and church. Perhaps my favorite story comes from 1950, the first full year of our life together. “We purchased two communion trays with covers, each containing 36 glasses, also two plates and the cost was $41.75. … Volunteers were sought to build a box of plywood in which the Communion set might be carried.” This reminds me of a time much earlier in our story when Moses constructed something more ornate than a plywood box so the Children of Israel could carry the stone tablets of the law and the miraculous rod of Moses wherever their journey carried them. 9
God’s people are always on a journey. Without leaving the corner of Spring Garden and Kenneth we have traveled through time to a different neighbourhood in a different era which needs us to be a different church. But some things, like trays of communion glasses and plates for bread, remain constant. If I were asked today how to build a new church I would not answer, “Canvas!” Nor would I answer, “Be ‘relevant’! Move with the times and become what your community is.” My answer might be, “Be faithful to that which is always relevant.” Bread we break; a Cup we share. We are participating in a sacred story we do not own, but nevertheless we are part of and the story becomes part of us. We travel hopefully through massive cultural change knowing that, whatever turmoil is happening around us, we may open our Without leaving the plywood box, eat bread and drink the corner of Spring Garden cup reminding ourselves and our world and Kenneth we have of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
traveled through time to a different neighbourhood in a different era which needs us to be a different church.
You and I have shared this journey for over 13 years now. We seem to be in a time of peace and harmony these days. This is not to say we don’t have problems and challenges. But when we do our deacons, elders and pastors have become increasingly skilled at working in harmony to discern God’s will. Life and church being what it is, this peace and harmony is not likely to last forever. But isn’t it nice to have it while we can?! I am grateful for a very talented pastoral team, an effective, thoughtful Board of Deacons, and a prayerful, caring group of
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Elders. Equally I am grateful for a congregation of people that enjoy each other and are glad to move together as God leads us. In light of this time I am not using my annual report to announce a new strategy or program for moving forward. We are moving in a steady, thoughtful and harmonious way. Instead, I wanted to use this report to remind us that: •
It is in our DNA to journey, not remain still. Tomorrow will look different.
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While this is our journey, it does not belong to us. The journey belongs to God. Whatever tomorrow brings, it will still be God’s day. And we will still be His people. And though the scenery changes, the journey doesn’t.
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We have been given powerful tools that work as a compass for travelers who have no map: a Book in which people who traveled this journey before us teach us how to journey with God; baptismal water through which we begin to actually live the new kind of life Jesus offers; and Bread and a Cup that, reminding us of our own redemption, also reminds us that the sufferings of Christ leave footsteps for us to follow.
Simply put, my plan for the coming year is to keep carrying this plywood box for our communion set. Would someone mind grabbing the other side? It’s easier if we carry it together.
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PASTOR OF WORSHIP AND MISSION Report from Rev.
Greg Kay
“And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:17 There is much to celebrate and give thanks to God for from the past year as the Spring Garden community. As I pause to reflect back on the year, I am awed once again by God’s faithfulness, and thankful to be part of a faith community where so much in word and deed has been done in the name of the Lord Jesus. I am thankful for our times of gathered communal worship this year. On our website communal worship is defined as “when God’s people gather together as a particular community for engagement in rooted and communal worship, giving glory to God and witnessing to his Kingdom.” It is my sense that God has been glorified this year by the ways in which we have gathered together to engage in worship, and I am very thankful for the Creative team (Erin Bonney, Jennifer Moore, Colin Chapman and Joanna James) and others who have brought great creativity and theological insight into creating ways for the community to engage. Some of the examples that come to mind for me are the beautiful prayer wall in the entrance to the worship area and the multisensorial prayer stations and worship activities for some of our times 12
of intergenerational worship, not to mention all of the original artwork that has brought beauty and depth to our main screen, platform and lounge. As communal worship is also action of community, I give thanks to the Lord that most of our worship is led by people of our community engaging us in worship: Colin Chapman and Anne Barron leading the bands and through prayers and scripture; musicians leading us in music; artists and song writers giving words and beauty to our expression of worship; Mike Lee and Maria Ma preparing and cleaning the communion elements; Cheryl Chapman baking us gluten free bread for communion; prayers of the people leaders; ushers and greeters; scripture readers; those who bless the children and youth; projectionists
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and sound techs enabling us to participate together. It is truly beautiful to think of how God uses such a diverse group of people to help us lift our voices together to Him and to respond to His grace and love. I also give thanks for the ways we have been able to increasingly come together in our diversity of generations through our times of intergenerational worship, where we are able to even more fully enact the reality that all generations are equal parts of our church, the Church and the Kingdom of God. It is such a joy (and challenge!) to worship in a way that is beyond any of our own individual preferences, but, choosing unity in generational, ethnic, socio-economic, and even theological diversity of, to glorify God through our coming together as one body. For those of you who are interested in more of a backdrop to how we approach communal worship, please check out the worship section of the website at http://springgardenchurch.ca/worship In addition to communal worship, I also give thanks for the ways in which Spring Garden as a community has done so much in the name of our Lord Jesus in word and deed through missional engagement this past year. For a full list of ways we have served together in mission, please read the Mission Action Team’s report. It has been an honest joy to have served alongside of so many Spring Gardener’s serving Christ in the city. The diversity of our community is seen so strongly in the huge variety of ways that Spring Gardeners have been impassioned by God to serve Him through showing God’s love and sharing God’s story in everything from caring for creation, to loving our neighbourhood, to welcoming refugees, to walking with those living in poverty, to reading and studying scripture with those for whom English is a second language, to caring for the prisoner (and ex-prisoner), and on and on.
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I am deeply grateful especially for the way I have been able to work closely with those who have been a part of the SGBIT (Spring Garden Based Initiatives team—a branch of the Mission Action Team with the specific responsibility of discerning and helping to enact opportunities for shared missional engagement as a community). For the first part of the year I worked with Andrea Librado in figuring out how exactly we can intuit our shared values of a diverse community and then put them into action. For those of you who may be interested in seeing how we discern and enact our shared values in local and global missional engagement, you can find our manual at https://goo.gl/EzziDK. A huge thanks goes to Tiago Roffe who took our content and chicken-scratch diagrams and made them look amazing! For the past half year I have had the wonderful opportunity to serve alongside of Victoria Shipmaker and Rodway Daniels as the SGBIT began to implement these tools. It has been inspiring to work alongside their passions, perspectives and capabilities in pursing what it means to live out God’s Kingdom in Willowdale. I cannot say how excited I am to see how God continues to lead us as a church family and what ways of sharing His story and showing His care He will place before us in the months and years to come. I give thanks to God the Father through Jesus our Lord for His work in our church community, our neighbourhood, our city and our world, and I give thanks for my call to serve alongside of you, my family in Christ.
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PASTORAL CARE AND SENIORS Report from Rev.
Margaret Sutton
What is pastoral care/ministry and what does it involve? Pastoral care is a ministry of care with a focus on healing, guiding, supporting, reconciling, nurturing, empowering of people in whatever situation they find themselves. This is when we come alongside someone struggling with a difficulty, pain, and crisis. Although, in past, pastoral care was offered by clergy, as a Spring Garden community we work hard to follow the ministry of Jesus in supporting each other in caring being his hands and feet in the world Part of pastoral care here at Spring Garden includes all of the above ministry as well as visitation in the home, hospital and new moms, funerals and bereavement support, weddings and special celebrations [Les Alexander’s 99th birthday party]. Margaret Irwin sends about 100 or so cards each year for anniversary, birth, bereavement etc. on behalf of the Spring Garden Family. Also available is resource information about wills, disordered eating, grief and loss. If you have any questions about any pastoral care resources call extension 226. On Thursdays I facilitate a Bible Study group [10-15 participants]. From September to December we studied the significance of “trees” in scripture then January to May we studied “Hymns of the Church” from 1100 A.D. to present. Greg Kay, worship 16
pastor, spoke to the group about the worship songs he wrote and why. Corinne Sutton-Smith and Victoria Shipmaker also did some teaching. This group is great at celebrating their accomplishments [birthday cake] and prayer needs and have celebrated significant answers to prayer. Individually we pray for families with children in the church. Pastoral care is a broad category that encompasses a variety of pastoral practices undergirded by the work of the Holy Spirit. Conversations about this ministry are welcome.
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DISCIPLESHIP MINISTRIES Report from Rev.
Sam Lee
In reflecting back on this year, I can’t believe it’s already been two years since I’ve been at Spring Garden. I am thankful for the way in which we as a family have been welcomed to this community. Again I am so very thankful for the faithful service of our 55+ volunteers in our Discipleship Ministry. Your faithfulness with our young people makes a difference not only in the future of the church, but the church of today. This year, we had a restructuring of our Discipleship Ministries staff by making Jeremy Ranasinghe as our Discipleship Ministries Assistant and by adding two student interns Sam Steeles and Alyssa Oliver. We were very pleased with the make up of the team and felt that the team worked well together. I am also thankful for Koon Lee who is the Discipleship Ministries deacon. She has been very supportive of the team and have helped us do our jobs better. I am so thankful that our church is open to having children and youth part of the life of the church. This year, we had 4 intergenerational worship gatherings and they were the highlight 18
of the year for me. It’s because it encapsulates the vision of our ministry: partnering with families to nurture children and youth in life-long discipleship to Jesus Christ.
Children’s Ministry One of the highlights of this year was our Faith at the Table event back in September. The event would not have been possible without the planning of Debbie Tempelmeyer and Joanna James. Cheryle Chapman and her team did an amazing job of giving us an awesome meal. I felt that the event was a great success as it accomplished the hopes of encouraging families to engage their faith together. It was a good mix of food, games, spiritual formational stations and even some alone adult time of learning! Another highlight was our summer day camp. It was the first summer camp at Spring Garden in a long time and it went very well. I am thankful for the team and volunteers that helped pull that off. 19
The focus of our children’s ministry is more than just to teach a bible study lesson. It is a way to build intergenerational relationships and our focus is to help our children in their spiritual formation. We continue to tweak and are looking for ways to make this ministry better. We’ve implemented a new check in system which helps us track data such as attendance and allergies. In the past year, we’ve averaged 54 children not including the youth with the highest attendance of 73 children.
Youth Ministry Our youth ministry this year has been a great year of community building. We continue to see our youth grow in their relationships with one another and have been encouraged by the fact that they are inviting their friends out to our youth events. This ministry could not have happened without the help our leaders Hannah Fairbanks, Clem Lee, Jesse James and Roshawn Newell. On Sunday mornings, we continue in worship downstairs with our youth. In the youth lounge we spend time talking about how our faith intersects our lives and how believing in Jesus is relevant to who they are. We want our youth to understand the importance
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of being in worship and therefore encourage them to be upstairs about once a month.
We continue to see our youth grow in their relationships with one another
One highlight would be our youth group retreat in the fall at New Life Camp. It was an amazing time filled with worship, good food, games and great conversations. We had several youth who are not part of our church family attend which was very encouraging.
Another highlight would be the start and formation of our girl’s life group. A few leaders and the girls have been meeting in the home of Jim and Anja. We are so encouraged by this group and hope to see some great sharing and support coming out of this group. We are in the process of starting a boys life group and hope that God will shape this group in to a group that shares their lives together. Again I am so very grateful to God for this church and the ministry that I can be a part of. It has been a great year and we look forward to more great things as we continue to serve Him and His people.
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CHURCH OFFICE & COMMUNICATIONS Report from Suzanna Lai
(Church Office and Communications Manager)
2015 has been a blessed and fulfilling year. The year started with examining and evaluating the initiatives implemented in 2014. Initiatives such as a comprehensive master serving schedule to manage all ministry volunteers, weekly reminder emails, a shared Google calendar to manage events and church facility use booking, Google document sharing, the use of parking passes to validate parking, and a Delve Google group to collaborate on our monthly magazine, have all proven to be successful and effective. They are therefore carried over into 2015. On the communication front, some In the last year, new initiatives were implemented to SGC continued to better welcome and integrate new support and partner visitors and increase the church’s with many mission exposure to our neighbors. A new organizations by sidewalk sign was purchased and regularly updated with upcoming offering our church events. Rev. Margaret Sutton and I facility for them to worked on having welcome packages host their events available to new visitors. The welcome and meetings. package includes a welcome booklet that introduces our church and ministries, our values, a copy of the current Delve, a small notebook, and a pen with imprinted SGC information. The lounge TV announcement was redesigned to include a weekly event calendar. 22
Providing Sunday refreshment with coffee and snacks after worship is a particular effective means for Spring Gardeners and new friends alike to mingle and fellowship. Therefore, preparing and providing beverages and food each and every Sunday is an utterly important yet often overlooked ministry. The Community Life deacon, Darren Moore, and I worked together to look for more volunteers to join and invigorate this ministry. We thank those who have and are continuing to serve faithfully in this capacity. We also thank the new life groups and individuals who answered the call to help maintain this ministry. A schedule of rotation was devised, posted, and added to the serving schedule to ensure the volunteers receive their weekly reminders. On the administrative front, I worked with our church clerk, Joanne Laing, to bring our membership list up to date. We sent out letters to contact inactive members, and stored the membership lists on a google doc platform, which encourages collaboration amongst stakeholders. An opportunity presented itself this year for the church to temporarily rent out a limited number of parking spots to two companies during weekday office hours. I drafted a parking spot lease agreement for the deacons to edit and approve. The fire protocol was reviewed and edited after the fire drill in 2015. The updated protocol will be sent to the local fire department for validation. I had the opportunity to coordinate many Spring Garden based initiatives. The ministry fair that took place on Feb 4 2016 was a particularly memorable one. Having all SGC ministries and 23
supported mission organizations come together to show case their work allowed our congregants to gain an in-depth understanding of how the SGC stewards its kingdom finances. The congregants also got to meet the missionaries they regularly support and pray for. The Syrian refugee family sponsorship initiative is another project that has been dear to my heart. I provided administrative assistance to the refugee action group on tasks such as printing posters and flyers, setting up an information table, updating the latest event and donation amount on our church website and Facebook page, and disseminate information to the Spring Garden community through Delve, weekly email updates and Sunday announcements. In fall 2015, I was asked to lead a Spring Garden Church team to participate in the 2015 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon to fundraise for Matthew House, a Christian refugee reception service in Toronto. Fifteen Spring Gardeners joined the walk/run and raised close to $4000 towards Matthew House’s $75,000 goal. Lastly, I assisted Derek Smith, a professional career counselor, in holding four career guidance workshops in the last year. Many Spring Gardeners and neighbors in our community benefited from those expert and highly informative workshops. In the last year, SGC continued to support and partner with many mission organizations by offering our church facility for them to host their events and meetings. Organizations such as Youth Unlimited, Pregnancy Care Centre, Willlowdale Collaboration Network, Mennonite Central Committee have all utilized such support. We also continued to make our facility available for use with a fee to both Christian organizations such as Pax Christi Chorale, Inter Varsity Christian Felllowship, Latin America Misson and community organizations such as the City of Toronto, CBC, Hollywood Public School, just to name a few. I am particularly thankful for the prayers and support I received from the Spring Garden family during my medical leave in October 2015 and for my ailing grandfather in March 2016. Your powerful prayers of intercession gave me much needed strength to have a speedy recovery and peaceful visit of my grandfather in Asia. I am truly blessed to be a part of this loving and faithful community. I pray for wisdom, guidance and perseverance from the Lord as I continue to serve this awesome family for another year..
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THE DEACON’S BOARD It has been an active, productive and enjoyable year to serve as a Deacon at Spring Garden. The manual for Spring Garden leaders describes the role of deacons this way: In broad terms, the Deacons provide and manage resources and policies for ministry. Resources managed by the Deacons include: money, the facility, limiting legal liability, and human resources. While the by-law stipulates that other pastors and staff are accountable to the Senior Pastor, the Senior Pastor exercises that authority under the direction of policies enacted by the deacons. Additionally, the Deacons are responsible for administrating Church Membership. In the past year we have completed a review of the membership list and have contacted a number of members inviting them to return to active participation in Church life. In some cases we have then moved people to the inactive list or, at their request, removed them from the list. Our responsibility for church finances insures that the state of our finances is a regular topic of discussion. Like the vast majority of North American churches, December is by a significant margin the month we rely on to meet expenses and budget. We ended 2015 with income about $15,000 under budget but also about $15,000 over expenses. We would like to encourage as many as possible to participate in our Automatic Withdrawal system. This helps us maintain a more even financial flow over the year. 26
We accepted the suggestion by our pastoral Team that the meeting to establish the 2016 Budget be accompanied by a Ministry Fair in which we would tell the story of Spring Garden through a variety of displays. We felt this was a successful and worthwhile event.
We find that our church leaders have become a tightly knit group of friends alongside whom we enjoy serving the Lord and the Church.
Early in 2016 our books were audited by the Canada Revenue Agency to insure that our financial practises meet the guidelines for an organization able to issue Charitable Donation receipts. With a few minor suggestions for us moving forward, we received a favorable report. One change is that all people receiving financial help from the Caring and Sharing Fund must now provide receipts for whatever goods or services were paid for by the fund.
We are very grateful for the work Marion Cameron, George Vanderwerf and Geoff Moore do to keep our books and finances in order. This year we want to especially thank George Vanderwerf for his many years of service in this area. While we were in the process of considering using our parking lot to generate some rental income we were approached by a nearby business about the possibility of renting spaces to them. We set 27
up a three month trial period that is still ongoing, but to date the system is working well. A second nearby business approached us with the same request on a temporary basis (until the end of 2016). We are now renting about 20 spaces through the week. Our Lead Pastor negotiated and manages these arrangements with the able assistance of our Office Manager. We completed a number of necessary projects to keep our facility in working order. This included replacing a sewage line to the street due to deterioration of the old piping, a new stove in the main kitchen, replacement of the worship projector, additional tables in the lounge, and a fresh coat of paint in several places coming soon. We continue to be aware that our sound board has not been working properly and may need replacement. We are grateful to Colin Chapman for the help he gives in maintaining this equipment and keeping our costs as low as possible. We are also grateful to Wes Chapman and Don Hopkins for their many hours on the Property Committee keeping the building in shape. As news reports demonstrated the great need experienced by refugees from war in Syria, we approved the formation of a special fund to provide refugee care under the management of a Refugee Action Group. Managing our legal liabilities has led us to review and modify our Child Safety Policy and our Fire Plan. Both create a level of inconvenience, but keeping our children (and our adults!) safe is well worth the effort.
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Gladly, we have not spent any money for farewell gifts or search committee expenses for any of our Pastoral Team this year! The team is stable and working together well for which we are quite grateful. In the coming year Sam Lee will start studies toward a Doctorate of Ministry through Acadia Divinity College’s Distance Learning Program. We also receive regular reports about our vocational missionaries and what they are doing. Deacons are part of a wider Leadership Team that includes Elders and Pastors. Once a quarter we meet together to discuss important issues of our congregational ministry and identity. Not only does this help our various leadership groups to all be pulling in the same direction, we find that our church leaders have become a tightly knit group of friends alongside whom we enjoy serving the Lord and the Church. We are grateful to deacons whose service has come to an end this year: Anne Barron, Koon Wah Leung, Darren Moore, Mike Penner, Derek Prinsloo, Judy Tranter and Jim Turner. With such a significant transition of people this year the incoming Board sincerely requests your prayers that we come together and serve together effectively and in harmony.
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ELDERS
Report from Garth Barron (on behalf of the elders)
“The Church Elders shall be responsible to shepherd the church by living as examples of Christian maturity, by prayerfully discerning the spiritual health of the church, and by offering spiritual advice, support and accountability to the Senior Pastor and to others in the church body. The Elders shall also serve with the Board of Deacons at the Ordinance of the Lord’s Supper, shall respect the spiritual authority of the Pastor over the church and shall serve the pastoral needs of the church.” As the above statement indicates, the elders of Spring Garden Church have the privilege of serving the church body in various ways. These avenues of service are responsibilities that we take very seriously. Understandably, prayer is a key part of our task. Over the past year we have enjoyed We continue to have having a full complement of six a strong sense of elders (although two have recently unity as we work had to resign due to moving away together to support from the GTA.) We continue to have a strong sense of unity as we work and encourage together to support and encourage others in our faith others in our faith community. We community. regularly pray for our Spring Garden Church body and ask God for discernment regarding various aspects of leadership. Elders, augmented by others in the congregation, are available in the prayer room after each Sunday morning service, to pray with anyone who desires prayer. We are also at times requested 30
to visit, anoint and pray with those who have approached us regarding a particular need in their lives, and we are more than happy to do so. Each elder has the privilege of being paired with a member of pastoral team, with whom they are connected, to encourage and uplift in prayer their area of ministry and personal struggles. The Elders have continued to work with the Deacons and the Pastoral Team in seeking discernment of God’s will on key issues, using the process outlined in the book Pursuing God’s Will Together, by Ruth Haley Barton. This we have used this process to discern God’s will regarding updating our Statement of Faith and integrating it with our Statement of Core Values. We are grateful, as elders, for the confidence placed in us by the congregation, and are conscious of our need for God’s guidance. We would deeply value your prayers that God would give us great wisdom and discernment for the tasks ahead.
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MISSIONS Report from Anne
Barron (Mission Deacon)
At Spring Garden we value missions as a core activity that weaves its way through the fabric of our church family (SG Mission Policy – 2014). It has been exciting to see all the ways we have engaged in showing God’s care and sharing God’s story throughout this past year. We have supported and cared It has been exciting for 16 Vocational Missionaries in to see all the ways various areas of ministry. I thank we have engaged in Jane McClean and Marion Goertz for their work with me on this team. We showing God’s care have had many highlights and some and sharing God’s transitions throughout the year. Many story throughout in our family supported Matthew this past year. House by raising funds and running/ walking in the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in October. We collected used clothing and were able to support Jen Chrystman in her work with the Urban Poor in the Philippines. Thanks to the McGees for taking the clothes and distributing them. We helped Faith Holwyn transition from her fulltime work with Groups of Hope and we continue to support this organization financially. We also added financial support to The Dale – a ministry to the poor in Parkdale. We expanded our partnership with YU through The Bridge Music Program facilitated by James Lee. We have recently welcomed Brad Sider as a supported Vocational Missionary as he takes on the role of Director of Lightpatrol – a YU ministry to homeless in Toronto.
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Two of our Vocational Missionaries transitioned out of their ministry and formal support with Spring Garden. Emily Flett has decided to remain at home to raise their two children and has left her position with Athletes in Action. Tim and Colleen Stevens also left their position with International Student Ministries. As a faith community we are grateful to these families for the opportunity to partner with them and wish them well in the next chapter of their lives. We have also participated in many Spring Garden Based Initiatives. Thank you to Greg Kay who leads this team and to Victoria Shipmaker and Rodway Daniels who joined the team this year. Again this year we connected with the community handing out candy and hot chocolate at Halloween. We partnered with YU to assemble bags for street youth through Eva’s Satellite. This year many of you went shopping to buy Christmas gifts in
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support of Angel Tree – a ministry which provides gifts to children whose parents are in prison. Also during the holiday season we collected more food for the Dufferin Oasis Food Bank than ever before. We continued to provide pies at Thanksgiving and lasagna, brownies and soup mix at Easter to ex-offenders in partnership with Brad Sider and Mennonite Central Committee. On Good Seed Sunday in April we gathered in the park to collect garbage and care for our earth. Thank you to everyone who participated in these events as we seek to share God’s story and show His care in our community and beyond. In October as the Syrian Refugee Crisis grew in intensity we entered a partnership with Blythwood Road Baptist Church to raise money to try to bring a Syrian family to Canada. The Refugee Action Group’s report details this exciting initiative.
The Syrian Refugee Crisis grew in intensity we entered a partnership with Blythwood Road Baptist Church to raise money to try to bring a Syrian family to Canada.
Our ministry partners has been asked to include a brief description of their ministry and contact information as part of our Annual Report this year. I encourage you to read these reports, pray for these ministries, get involved personally or offer financial support beyond your givings to the SG budget. Being the mission deacon for the past three years has been both challenging and rewarding and it has been a privilege to serve Spring Garden in this role.
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LIFE GROUPS
Report from Garth Barron
The mission of Life Group Ministry at Spring Garden Church is to create, support, and develop small missional communities of people devoted to Christ, to one another, and to lifelong learning, service & growth as followers of Jesus. Currently the number of Life Groups is around 10 (with a total of about 100 participants), down somewhat from last year. About 15 dedicated people serve as facilitators for these groups. We are especially grateful to these individuals and couples for their commitment to small group ministry. The Life Group Ministry Team currently consists of Matt Silver, Garth Barron, and Gene Tempelmeyer. Over the past year the team has worked to promote the growth of life groups and the extension of the Life Group ministry to more Spring Gardeners. In the fall we again focused on involving more people in small groups, both by starting new groups and adding members to existing groups, with a six-week DVD-based study curriculum based on N. T. Wright’s book Surprised by Hope, on the subject of heaven, the resurrection, and the mission of the church. During this period Gene’s Sunday sermons on the book of Revelation complemented the small group studies. Nearly all life groups used the Surprised by Hope material, and most found that it generated some lively discussion. Our annual Kickoff Dinner on Sept. 14th was an enjoyable time of fellowship, sharing, and food. This year’s dinner was a potluck format, open to all Life Group members, not just facilitators, The 36
event included an introduction to the N. T. Wright Surprised by Hope curriculum. Gene spoke briefly about the purpose and role of Life Groups at Spring Garden, and Matt Silver talked about the challenge of making connections in the Spring Garden community. Other activities during the year included a Saturday breakfast meeting on Jan. 10th for fellowship among group facilitators as well as to provide information on available resources for small group study. As well, we discussed the challenges the parents of young children face in being part of a Life Group. This last topic has become an increasingly significant challenge over the past several years, as young couples with small children have become the predominant demographic at Spring Garden. The Life Group Ministry Team would appreciate prayer as we continue to look for practical ways to make Life Group participation easier for those in this situation. As always, we would also appreciate your prayers for this ministry in general, as we seek to move ahead in faith. Pray particularly for the dedicated group facilitators who have been willing to make room in their frequently busy schedules for this ministry.
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ESL CAFÉ MINISTRY
Report from Garth Barron (Facilitator)
Sadly, after seven years of ministry, a decision was made to close down the ESL Café at the end of 2015, due primarily to a lack of volunteers to help facilitate the program. As well, the number of students coming out had decreased, although those who were participating continued to appreciate the opportunity it provided for them to practice and improve their English, and to make new friends. I have thoroughly enjoyed my involvement as a facilitator, and am still hopeful that at a future time, others will volunteer to help facilitate, so that the ESL Café can be restarted.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my involvement as a facilitator, and am still hopeful that at a future time, others will volunteer to help facilitate, so that the ESL Café can be restarted.
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SUNDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY GROUP Report from Garth Barron
Your word is a light to my feet and a lamp on my path Psalm 119:105
The group is now in its eighth year and continues to thrive. There are typically 5-10 participants on most Sundays. Over the past year, we have studied Paul’s letter to the Galatians, as well as 1 Peter, and we are The group now engaged in the book of Acts. is now in its
eighth year and continues to thrive.
We seek to understand what scripture would have meant in its original context, and then consider how it applies to us today. To this end we do a verse by verse study of a New Testament or Old Testament book. We encourage participants to feel very free to share different views, thoughts and opinions and all discussions take place in a climate of mutuality and respect. The discussions are animated and lively! Our aim is not just to know the scriptures, but to help each other to live by them. When we are close to finishing a particular book, we decide as a group which book(s) will be our next project. We don’t meet during July and August, but would be happy to have others join us for a new start in September 2016!
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ESL BIBLE STUDY Report from Ben
The ESL Bible study is in its 5th year now, and is one way that we reach out to the multicultural community in the North York area. The study continues to fluctuate in size with around 4-8 people coming each week. The majority of our participants are from China and Korea but some from India and Iran have also attended. We all study from the same Bible, and Spring Garden has generously provided copies of a Reader’s ESL Bible for each participant. We began this year finishing up the series on Romans, covering until chapter 8. We have also focused on the message of the gospel, the humility of Christ as witnessed to in Phil 2:5-11. Coming to know the character of God and Jesus better has been a theme by focusing on the names of God in Scripture. Some of the names we have looked at include Mediator, Advocate, Friend, Guide, Shepherd, Servant, Creator, Immanuel, Saviour, Redeemer, Deliverer, Lord, Beloved/Chosen, YHWH, Elohim, and others. Near the beginning of this school year, a study would often include an overall theme or message, a story exemplifying that theme in Scripture, a characteristic of God, a prophecy about Jesus Christ in the OT, and the corresponding fulfillment of that prophecy in the NT. Sometimes, a participant will suggest something that they would like to learn about from Scripture, and so I’ll plan a study around that. The latest time that occurred came when one participant asked about knowing more about what it means to have friendship with God. This is the topic we are currently covering. 40
I trust that the study has been helping our participants to grow closer to God and gain an appreciation for His Word. MJ and Zane Janzen, fellow Spring Gardeners have been inviting students from their respective schools and there have been quite a few new ESL students attending Spring. The Janzens are involved in the ESL Ministry and are active in learning and attending to the various needs of international students, including meeting before the service and preparing a summary of sermon notes to assist these students in understanding the sermon. I’m thankful for their welcoming hearts and look forward to see what God will do this coming year. To support the ESL ministry in prayer, please ask that God would give us love and wisdom in knowing how to minister best to newcomers to both Canada and Spring. Also, pray that we as a church body would learn to connect with the various different demographics in our community and be a welcoming presence. Pray that God’s word would shape the perspective of those who participate in the ESL Bible study, and that they would grow in friendship with Jesus Christ the Living Word as they grow in their faith and obedience. 41
PROPERTY COMMITTEE Report from Wes
Chapman and the Property Committee
The Property Committee mandate is to maintain our church property; that is, to keep it in good condition and to provide an environment that everyone entering the church may feel comfortable and accepted. This includes the church building itself, the house next door at 106 Spring Garden and the surrounding grounds. On behalf of the committee, many thanks must be extended to Fazil Yussuff of Moe’s Cleaning Services. Fazil does a wonderful job keeping the building clean each week. Cam Welsman has done a great job dealing with the lawns, sidewalk snow shoveling and security. As well, there are a number of dedicated volunteers who deal with the myriad of small jobs that arise throughout the year. Their work in keeping things looking good is very much appreciated.
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The following projects were completed this past year: •
A major drain blockage was repaired
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Fire alarm inspection and service agreement
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2 sump pump floats replaced
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Planning for patching and repainting walls throughout church
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Discipleship area room signage (thanks to Joanna James, Nazli Bashiri, Kelly Lee and Erin Bonney
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Planning Directional signage throughout church
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Shingle replacement on east roof of the sanctuary
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Cleanout and review of kitchenware in all kitchens (thanks to Cheryl Chapman, Joanne Laing and Peggy Moore)
Your Property Committee: Neil Bickerton, Wes Chapman (Chair), Don Hopkins, Art Laing, Darren Moore, Wil Tranter, Jim Turner (Deacon), Doug Willson
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IT/AV COMMITTEE Report from Kevin Lai Collaborators: Colin Chapman, Wes Chapman, Sam Lee
We continued with the revamp of the IT Department this past year. Our goal was to improve functionality for staff and keep costs down. We kept a budget for hiring outside professional third-party technical support on a pay per use option, but fortunately, we did not run into any major difficulties that required us to hire one. The Nortel telephone system was replaced with a custom VoIP system that is a hybrid of cloud based service and a local Asterisk server. We eliminated 4 out of 5 landlines and switched over to unlimited VoIP lines on a pay-as-you-go plan. This resulted in significant savings for ongoing telecommunication expenses. Although all the office phones are VoIP phones, any Nortel phones in the rest of the church still work with the Nortel PBX although the links are VoIP. The prayer line was also ported to a VoIP system which makes it easier to manage. An interactive voice receptionist (IVR) menu was also added to the the main church line to reduce administrative work. Some Wifi routers were moved around to improve Wifi coverage in the church. Unfortunately, when there are many people who automatically connect to the guest network (such as on Sundays), the Wifi can slow to a crawl. We did some tweaking to improve the speed of the Discipleship Ministry Check-In system. However, some of the slowness may not be due to internal reasons, but may be from the online Check-In servers which are run by another company. 44
The colour photocopier was replaced with a newer model. Faxes received by the photocopier were forwarded to the office email instead of printing, thus saving paper and toner. New projectors were installed in the Youth Lounge and the Children’s Theatre. The old sound system in the Youth Lounge was salvaged and put back to use for the time being. However, as the Discipleship Ministry needs increase, we may need to revamp the whole system. The main projector in the sanctuary broke, so we are in the process of replacing it with a newer HD projector. We also finally isolated the problem of audio cutting out during Sunday Morning Gathering, even though a repair shop could not identify it on the mixer. Once the signal gain was adjusted on the main system, we could see from the meter bridge that something strange was occurring on the main outputs. One theory was that the main mixer could be sending a clipped signal to the amps and causing the amps to clip and shutoff. Brandon suggested a method of testing out the theory that the Main L/R outputs on the mixer were the culprit. We used that method which confirmed that indeed it was the mixer that was causing the problem. We currently are using a pair of submix outputs, in order to bypass the faulty Main L/R channels. Unfortunately, this may mean a replacement audio mixer is the horizon. 45
RESOURCE CENTRE Report from Karen Cassel
The Resource Centre is online and you can look up and request books from the church website. Go to: http://springgardenchurch.ca Click on Resource Centre This will take you directly to a search screen where you can input your search terms (title, author, subject, etc.) to discover what is available in the library. You can submit a request for a book, and it will be emailed to me. The Resource Centre provides books, videos, and DVDs for general Christian growth, study, and leisure. The library resources are provided to speak to the needs and events that are taking place in the wider church life. Reading materials are an invaluable resource for personal and spiritual growth. We are able to offer important resources that cannot be found in the public library system.
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The Resource Centre provides books, videos, and DVDs for general Christian growth, study, and leisure.
Two new handouts were made available this year. Parents can pick up their copy of the list of parenting books and resources at the children’s ministries check in desk. There is also a one page instructional sheet of how to access the library catalog from the church website. This is available at the library desk. We are so fortunate to have a book budget and have the ability to purchase books to meet our objectives, and to support the teachings we enjoy each Sunday. We continue to benefit from donations of wonderful books, and teaching materials, from Debbie Tempelmeyer (via David C. Cook), as well as other donations from time to time. There is a monthly feature in Delve that gives a synopsis of books and DVD’s recently added, and/or supports the messages of that month. Adults! The children are doing a much better job at using the library and checking out books than you are. I challenge you to come and see the wide span of reading materials and other resources purchased with you in mind!
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REFRESH WOMEN’S GROUP Report from Tanya Salituro
God is so good. What else can we say. The Wednesday Refresh women have had another year of surprise comings and goings. We have lived through a lot and learned even more. We welcomed several new faces to the group and one young man, baby Edmund! What a blessing to us and to the world. Beth Drummond and family moved on to pastoring in Halifax. We miss her leadership and sweet, frank friendship and especially the kids!
The Wednesday Refresh women have had another year of surprise comings and goings. We have lived through a lot and learned even more.
We regrettably lost a dear sister in Christ, Jenny Jung to lung cancer, but joyfully celebrated her life and especially her unshakable faith in her Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. What a testimony of courage and love and sweet smiles in the face of many months of suffering. She was told she would live 3 months but instead lived nearly a year. It was a privilege to pray with her and witness the complete Peace of Christ throughout her trials.
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We have been able to reach out as in the past, supporting women in the face of lost homes and new found homes, lost jobs and then new found jobs and in mentoring new christians and those interested in the faith, with the Word and with actions of love. Refresh kids are also mentored with Bible stories and lots of love. Our seminars on suicide prevention brought new faces to Spring and saved a life. The Love Day clean up and birthday bags for Oasis Food Bank blessed us as well as them. Many thanks to Pastor Gene for leading us on a fascinating journey though Hebrews and to the others who regularly help lead, Faith, Victoria, Colleen and Joanna.
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SYRIAN REFUGEE ACTION GROUP Report from Jeff McGee
In January 2016, in response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria, Spring Garden Church partnered with Blythwood Road Baptist Church, with the goal of sponsoring a refugee family from Syria. The Refugee Action Group (RAG) has 4 members from SGC and 3 members from BRBC. The RAG is co-chaired by Jeff McGee of SGC and Margaret Paul of BRBC. Within SGC, the RAG is accountable to Anne Barron (Deacon of Worship & Missions) and Greg Kay (Pastor of Worship and Missions). By mid-February, the RAG had an agreed “Statement of Understanding” that covered the objective, scope, timing, partnership, decision-making, finances, volunteers and behaviours. We initiated communications to both congregations and began appealing for funds and volunteers. The goal is to raise $40,000 and broadly engage both congregations. As of May 7, SGC had raised about $12,400 and BRBC about $9,200 for a total of $21,600. On Thursday May 26, the RAG organized a fund-raising event “Making Ends Meet”. The event had an auction, plus middle-eastern food and music and presentations. The auction contained items and services donated by members of the congregations and solicited from local businesses. 50
Once sufficient funds are raised, RAG will submit a formal sponsorship application form to “Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec”, who will act as our “Sponsorship Agreement Holder”. CBOQ will interact with the Canadian Government on our behalf. It is hoped that by the summer of 2016, we will be in a position to submit our sponsorship application. The subsequent step is to be matched to a specific family, which could take several months. Following the “match” it will be several more months before the Syrian family will arrive in Canada. We are expecting our family to arrive sometime in 2017. When they arrive in Canada, we are committed to a minimum of 1 year to support the family and assist their integration into Canadian society. This will entail facilitating housing, clothing, transportation, government documents, medical practitioners, schools for the children, ESL, employment and much more. This will be an intense but rewarding time and will require the support of both congregations. Thanks for your support of the Refugee Action Group. Carrie Wright (Legal), Elizabeth Ferguson (Fund-Raising), Jeff McGee (Co-Chair), Kevin Lai (Communications), Margaret Paul (Co-Chair), Moira Ferguson (Housing), Ruth Reimer (Finance)
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FINANCE
Report from Geoffrey Moore (Treasurer)
The following are some of the financial details relative to our Church Body that have occurred over the past twelve months:
2015 Financial Result Operations & Missions The 2015 Budget was set at $525,000 compared to $519,500 in 2014. The Actual receipts for 2015 were $508,377 compared to $522,532 in 2014. This does not include contributions to the Caring & Sharing Fund or the Capital Campaign. The 2016 Budget was set at $530,000 at the February 17th, 2016 Congregational Business Meeting.
Capital Campaign At December 31, 2015 there was $12,460 in the Capital Fund. These funds will be used to provide some furniture, painting and other upgrades to the Church in 2016. A committee is currently working a Work Program to ensure we do not build-up a deferred maintenance problem.
Caring & Sharing Fund The C & S Fund helps those people related to the Spring Garden family who are in a time of need.
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Donations to the C & S in 2015 were $10,242 and expenditures were $8,647. The Cash Balance at December 31, 2015 in the C & S Fund was $4,460. Audited Financial Statements – will be completed for 2015 and will be released in June 2016.
A Note from George Vanderwerf: In 2015, Marion Cameron took over the Vice Treasurer’s duties that I looked after for 15 years. Updated computer programs have been installed. Marion is doing an outstanding job as my replacement. I have continued with my other position as Envelope Secretary and issue the annual tax receipts for donations received.
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PARTNERSHIPS AND VOCATIONAL MISSIONARIES Vocational Missionaries
Report from Anne Woolger Thanks to the generous support of Spring Gardeners, Matthew House has continued to provide a warm welcome and safe shelter and support to newly arrived refugee claimants who would otherwise be homeless in the city. To Thankfully our Spring date we have welcomed over 1,400 refugees from 94 Garden Volunteers are different nations including usually able to help not unaccompanied refugee only with driving but also teens. Highlights of the year with shopping, visiting, included another fantastic doing home repairs and summer camp in Muskoka and celebrations in our newly helping with moves. created “healing garden”. We so appreciated the support of “Team Spring Garden” who walked or ran for us in the Scotiabank Charity run in October and also those who volunteer regularly at our home. New volunteers are always welcome. Details can be found on our website www.matthewhouse.ca 54
Report from John Wilkinson My work at Youth Unlimited is split between YU in Toronto and YU nationally. In Toronto, I serve as a mentor to Scott Moore, team shepherd to the staff of central servicies, and as a resource to any one who needs the kind of assistance that I might provide. At national, I work primarily with the EDs and their Boards as their Executive Coach and Strategist. I feel so blessed to serve in these capacities.
Report from Jen Chrystman Bible translators, weary missionaries, excited construction team members, musical groups and leadership trainers all find retreat, rest and renewal in our OMF Calapan Center. My 2 national staff and I work hard to keep people safe, well fed and affirmed in their ministries. “Welcome home” is more than a greeting at the door. We long that our Saviour’s future “Welcome Home” will ring in the ears of 22 million Filipino people still without a Bible church in their communities.
Report from Ron and Dalia Fairbanks We have been involved in the following main ministries: GEM Candidate Orientation: we help with the vetting process of potential missionaries. Our lengthy and varied field experience 55
has been an asset in asking probing questions as well as providing relevant answers to these candidates. Mobilization: We travel to churches, schools and mission conferences to mobilize another generation of missionaries. We now follow up with all GEM Canada appointees from the time they are appointed until they reach the field as well as debriefing upon their return to Canada. Impact is an intensive pre-field missionary training for the whole family. Dalia has prepared children and youth for their crosscultural experience while Ron has been training the adults. Marriage Encounter with Christ. After 16 years of coordinating this ministry in Portuguese we are now doing the same in English here in Canada. Next one is June 18-19, 2016 Key website: www.gemission.org
-----------------------------------------------------Greater Europe Mission (GEM) Ministry Report from Kevin and Joyce Richardson
(SIM not GEM)
Kevin and Joyce Richardson were commissioned by Spring Garden Church in 1984 to work with SIM in Nigeria in theological education until 2010. Over the years their roles expanded into leadership, chaplaincy, HIV ministries, etc. In 2011 they transferred to Kenya. Kevin continues in teaching theology and church history at both undergraduate and graduate levels. His students come from a variety of countries in Africa. Joyce is currently practising as a Registered Psychotherapist with a team of mental health professionals. Tumaini Counselling Centre has an excellent track record over many years and serves missionaries serving mainly in East African countries, but also the far reaches of the continent. With psychiatrists serving long term we reach both individuals, couples and children. It is our privilege to be partnering with the Lord in educating and providing services to help keep families on this side of the ocean thriving and growing for Christ and His Kingdom. To Him be the glory.
Report from Jesse James Over the past year the community of young leaders involved in Revolution(s), a program of Youth Unlimited (Toronto YFC), has 56
undergone a lot of change. In the midst of connecting with and serving hundreds of Willowdale’s young people, several youth have had significant transformation experiences! Lots of mentored young people entered post-secondary school and have returned with knowledge and wisdom and a deepened sense of self-awareness. One young youth has learned much more about controlling her temper, even in nasty situations. Some youth who have never served their neighbourhood joined other more experienced young servants to lovingly sponsor, assemble, and deliver 125 gift bags to their homeless peers. On a personal level, Joanna and I are blessed to experience a deep community of Spring Gardeners. We celebrate the birth of our son, Edmund Carey, and we continue to find new ways to thank God for our faith community. We celebrate the dozens of conversations about the intersection of faith and friendships, Jesus and justice, community and church. Psalm 25:1 - “In you, Lord our God, we put our trust.”
Report from Clement Lee For the past four years I’ve been involved with Youth Unlimited’s Revolution(s) ministry in Willowdale as a Community Outreach worker. This year, I have transitioned to the new role of Frontiers Associate. My new role has me coaching, shepherding and supervising other staff and volunteer leaders within Youth Unlimited GTA. My goal is to make sure that they are well supported in their respective ministries. Thank you for your continual support and prayers.
Report from Becki Lee Thank you Spring Garden for standing with me as I minister to university athletes with a view toward transforming the nation and the world with the love of God. This is my tenth year on staff with Athletes in Action, a division of Power to Change. Our mission to to develop movements of evangelism and discipleship, through spiritual multipliers (disciples who make disciples) in the athletic world. We dream of a day when every team and 57
sporting community in Canada has someone who authentically follows Jesus, and is making disciples who make disciples. I am currently serving on campus at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, SK. I also give leadership to Student Link, our national strategy that supports student-led Athletes in Action ministries on Canadian university campuses. www.goaia.com and www.athletesinaction.com
Report from Monica Kay Thank you for your wonderful and generous partnership in my work with LAUNCH, a leadership development program within Youth Unlimited. LAUNCH pours into young leaders between the ages of 14-25. Our heart is to come alongside these young leaders, helping them to discover their unique God-given potential, and helping them to grow spiritually, in character and in leadership. In short - we help young leaders impact the world for good and for God! We do so through 1:1 Coaching partnerships, Group Workshops and our Gr.11 Leadership course. Please let me know if you would like to hear more about Coaching with LAUNCH, or if you are interested in participating in our program. Also, if you know any Gr. 10-12s who would like to take our course, please send them our way! For more information go to: 321launch.ca Thank you again for your prayers, care, support and encouragement. With a thankful heart.
Report from John Vanderwerf Hello Spring Garden family and greetings from Scotland. As part of the base leadership team at YWAM Stanely House, in Paisley Scotland I am involved in re-pioneering the base. Currently that involves building a staff team and setting a culture of intimacy with God which propels us into mission. We run Discipleship Training Schools, directing young (and sometimes not so young) people into a lifestyle of mission whilst engaging our community with the gospel.
Report from Scott Moore At Youth Unlimited, we express our vision simply as transformed youth transforming our city. In the past year, we had 45 initiatives reaching vulnerable young people across the city led by a staff 58
team of 66 and more than 600 volunteers. Core to our vision, though, is our belief that transformation occurs through young people’s experience of God’s love and life-changing power. We are grateful for Spring Garden Church’s partnership, which so tangibly expresses this love and power. Last year, six of our staff were sent as missionaries from SGC, two of our programs consider SGC ‘home base’ and many of our YU staff use space at SGC regularly for ministry and meetings. We are truly blessed by you. Thank you!
Supported Missional Organizations NeighbourLink North York Report from Myrna Frost Spring Garden Church has a rich history with NeighbourLink since it began in 1995. We are one of seven churches of various Christian denominations who are actively involved in meeting the needs of disadvantaged and lonely people in the Willowdale area. We are grateful to the people of Spring Garden who have helped to meet these needs by driving people to doctors’ appointments, to food banks, and by shopping and visiting. In order to continue meeting needs and to embark on some new initiatives that will bring NeighbourLink into a thriving future of ministry , it is imperative that financial support be maintained. The funding that Spring Garden Church provides both through the Missions Budget and the Caring and Sharing Offering is deeply appreciated. We share because we care. NeighbourLink Office Hours are Tuesday and Friday 9:00 am - noon Phone 416-221-8283. Website www.neighbourlink.org . e-mai: neighbourlink1@295.ca.
The Dale Report from Greg Kay You can find The Dale Ministries in Toronto’s west-end neighbourhood of Parkdale. We are a church without our own walls, meeting outside and in a variety of locations with partnering churches and organizations. The Dale creates a safe welcoming space in which all people, particularly the vulnerable 59
and broken, are encouraged to participate fully, to the best of their abilities and journey together toward a deeper experience of the life God has given us. This invitation to full participation is an attempt to have people grow in their understanding of what it means to both give and receive, a value that is too often lost when one is consistently a recipient of charity. We host weekly drop-ins which include meals, offer advocacy and housing support, engage in street outreach and regular pastoral care, and worship together on Sunday afternoons. The Dale is grateful to be partnered with Spring Garden Baptist Church! TheDale.org
Partnerships The Bridge Program Report from James Lee The Bridge, a program of Youth Unlimited, reaches out to the youth of Willowdale through music, one-on-one mentoring, and The Word. Our goal is to empower individuals, establish lasting relationships and to form a band to further foster connection to the SGC community. For more info contact James Lee - jlee@ yugta.ca
Pregnancy Care Centre Report from Linda Baartse The Pregnancy Care Centre gives help and hope to women and men who feel alone in making life-changing pregnancy decisions. We don’t want anyone in Toronto to feel that abortion is their only option. For over 31 years, working in partnership with churches like Spring Garden, the Pregnancy Care Centre gives accessible and timely emotional, material and spiritual ------support. More about our services: www.IAmNotAlong.ca For Alone.ca our supporters: www.PCCfriends.ca
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A Rocha and Good Seed Sunday Report from Greg Kay As disciples of Jesus we are called to be loving stewards of God’s creation as well as loving neighbours. One of our partners, A Rocha, is an international Christian organization which, inspired by God’s love, engages in scientific research, environmental education, community-based conservation projects and sustainable agriculture. Mainly, our partnership with them has been through the amazing resources they provide for understanding, encouraging and equipping creation care, as well as “Good Seed Sunday” where we as a community clean our adjacent neighbourhood park. A Rocha GTA also provides many volunteer opportunities to restore sensitive wildlife habitat, tend community gardens, maintain trails, and more. For more information, resources or to get involved, go to https://www. arocha.ca/.
Angel Tree Christmas and Prison Fellowship Report from Greg Kay The Angel Tree Christmas project, run by Prison Fellowship Canada, is a way we were able to care for prisoners and their families by purchasing and delivering gifts for children on behalf of their incarcerated parents. It is a way we were able to show love and care for those who are marginalized and who have very difficult family and home situations. For those Spring Gardeners who participated, adults and children alike, it was also a learning and humbling experience of participating in the Kingdom of God by giving without receiving, of how much courage it takes to both give and receive gifts from strangers, experiencing joy, disappointment in missed expectations, the sacrifice of time, and experiencing new parts of the city. For more information on Angel Tree Christmas or Prison Fellowship, please go to http://prisonfellowship.ca/angel-tree-christmas/
Oasis Dufferin Food Bank Report from Greg Kay The Oasis Dufferin Community Centre, a ministry which is part of Spring Garden’s family of churches, runs a variety of community 61
services to the Dovercourt area in Toronto. One of their ministries is a food bank that helps provide food for those living below the poverty line, over 40% of whom are children. Spring Garden has partnered with Oasis Dufferin food bank by collecting and delivering food, often twice a year. For more information on the services of Oasis Dufferin Community Centre, go to http://www. oasisdufferin.org/index.php/community_services
Willowdale Collboration Network Report from Jesse James The Willowdale Collaboration Network regularly gathers together in Spring Garden’s beautiful lounge. What a gift this is to us! Thank you for your generous hospitality. The most effective way we can impact youth is by resourcing, supporting, and sharpening their leaders. As leaders become stronger and work collaboratively with other leaders, the students they influence will benefit from transformative servant leadership and new opportunities. Because students take on leadership characteristics of those who lead them, it is strategic to resource their leaders. Together we coordinate the Eva’s Community Celebrate & Skate each year, the Boom Basketball League, advocate to Willowdale’s political leaders on behalf of Willowdale’s young people, and coordinate various community outreach initiatives here in Willowdale. We are also thrilled to continue working with new partners to develop some more innovative programs and initiatives that will creatively meet the many diverse needs of Willowdale’s 40,000+ young people. In the way of the Eastern Orthodox Churches here in Willowdale, here is a blessing: May God richly bless his many churches here in Willowdale as we, together and diversely, live in the reality of Jesus’ incarnate peace.
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SGC NOMINATING COMMITTEE REPORT 2016 Deacons Current Deacons
Finishing Year
Nominee
Judy Tranter
2016
Adora Chui
2019
Anne Barron
2016
Lesley Daniels
2019
Jim Turner
2016
Peggy Moore
2019
Koon Wah Leung
2016
Esther Penner
2019
Marion Cameron
2017
Doug Willson
2019
Mary Ellen Hopkins
2017
Gonzalo Librado
2018
Elders Current Elders
Finishing Year
Nominee
Garth Barron
2016
Cheryl Chapman
2019
Darlene Boyd
2017
Joanna James
2019
Cindie Chaise
2017
Barrie Porter
2018
Corinne Sutton-Smith
2018
Nominated Officers Position
Nominees
Moderator
Krysten Cameron
Treasurer
Geoff Moore
Vice-Treasurer
Marion Cameron
Vice-Moderator
Jane McClean
Clerk
Karen Cassel
Nominating Committee Members Current Members
Finishing Year
Nominee
Darlene Boyd
2016
Koon Wah --------Leung Laing
2018
Mary Ellen Hopkins
2016
Barrie Porter
2018
Art Laing
2017
Peggy Moore
2017
We extend our thanks to those who have served and those who continue to serve our church 63
Report Editors Suzanna Lai and Greg Kay
Graphic Designer Tiago Roffe