Fall 2009

The Free Methodist Church in Canada | Fall 2009 – Volume 6 Issue 4

Reflecting the diversity of ministry expression within the Free Methodist family.

Pastora Tessie looks at life like James and John

COVER Pastora Tessie looks at life like James and John

by Bishop Keith Elford

PAGE 2 Editor’s Desk This really works

by Jared Siebert General Conference Planning

PAGE 3 Loving our neighbours

by Kim Henderson

PAGES 4-5 A tale of two churches finding ways to engage their communities Answering the Cries of our Community

by Greg Elford Empty plates? . . . Great idea!

by Trisha Elliott

PAGE 6 Passages Justice in the burbs

by Joanne Bell

PAGE 7 Take note Leadership Scholarship Plan (LSP) Foundational Courses Giving Streams Projections

PASTORA TESSIE IN FRONT OF HOME BUILT BY CHRISTIANS

W

hen the troupe of bright eyed, smiling children came marching into the Opening Ceremonies of the Council of Bishops in Butuan City, The Philippines, dressed in bright red dance costumes everyone turned and simultaneously gasped and smiled broadly.

Over the next 10-15 minutes, we were moved by the precision of their movements as they whirled around the floor singing songs of praise to the Lord Jesus. I, like many of the international visitors, assumed that these were Sunday School children from the host church that was located in a nice neighbourhood. Were we ever in for a surprise!

International Child Care Ministries

by Paula Moriarity Springarama

PAGE 8 Karibu FMC Canada!

by Dan Sheffield

DID YOU KNOW?

The MOSAIC is produced using environmentally responsible processes. The paper is acid-free, contains 10% post-consumer waste material, and is treated with a non-chlorine whitening process.

Vegetable-based inks were used throughout the publication and it is 100% recyclable.

MOSAIC is a publication of The Free Methodist Church in Canada 4315 Village Centre Court Mississauga, Ontario L4Z 1S2 T. 905.848.2600 F. 905.848.2603 E. mosaic@fmc-canada.org www.fmc-canada.org For submissions: mosaic@fmc-canada.org Dan Sheffield, Editor-in-Chief Lisa Howden, Managing Editor and Production

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AHON CHILDREN DANCE AND DRUM TROOPE

Ministry has a home for boys and is working on developing a home for pastors who often retire in poverty. They also have a “Bless the Child Ministry” to tribal children living in the countryside outside the city. He explained that all the churches are encouraged to have some form of community focused social ministry based out of their buildings.

Pastora Tessie is a person whose love for the Lord Jesus and the impoverished radiates in her wide smile and bright eyes. She led the delegation to the dump riding on her motorcycle and as she moved among the dump workers, it was clear that they knew and loved her. Since the Free Methodists have been ministering there, fighting among the families working at the dump has been decreasing. A number of these families have become Christians and are involved in the ministry to the children. There is a growing sense of community among these believers and because of this other dump workers are coming to Christ. Pastora Tessie told us several stories. In one instance one of the houses occupied by a single parent mother caught on fire due to the build-up of methane gas from the garbage under the house. (These people shelter themselves

At the end of their several presentations, the emcee for the evening explained that these were children from the Ahon Ministry of the Social Ministry of The Free Methodist Church in The Philippines. (“Ahon” means “to lift up and to lift out”.) These young boys and girls live with their parents at the large city dump.

... true Christianity as practiced by Jesus and advocated by people like James and John placed a high priority on caring for the poor and those who are often exploited.

Compelled by the love of the Lord Jesus, Free Methodists have established a significant ministry to these families of the poorest of the poor. This ministry is led by Pastora Teresita (Tessie) Chua, the Director of Social Ministries for The Free Methodist Church in The Philippines. The parents of these children scavenge all day long in the dump to collect cardboard, plastic, cans, bottles, and even food to sell so that they can eke out an existence. With support from International Child Care Ministries, the Ambago Free Methodist Church that has been planted near the dump uses its facilities throughout the week to minister to these children. They receive wholesome meals and attend school, learn life skills, and through the influence of the staff, come to understand that they have the potential to break out of the life that their parents have accepted as their lot.

Bishop Jim Tuan told me that the Ahon Ministry has adopted a wholistic approach to “lift these children up and out of slavery, illiteracy, and sin.” In addition to the ministry at the dump, Ahon V I S I T

O U R

W E B S I T E

@

DONNA ELFORD VISITS WITH WOMEN AT BUTUAN CITY DUMP

in houses or makeshift cardboard shacks right on the garbage.)

Christians from the dump and from the church in the city banded together to find materials to replace her house.

As Pastora Tessie was showing us this house, she told me her story. Before she became a Christian, she was a leftist social activist involved in social development. She agonized over the impression that if she became a Christian, she would have to abandon advocating for the people that have nothing. As she began to read the scriptures, she saw that true Christianity as practiced by Jesus and advocated by people like James and John placed a high priority on caring for the poor and those who are often exploited. continued on page 3 “Like James and John”

< < W W W . F M C - C A N A D A . O R G > >

MOSAIC

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The same but different I have three sisters, and although we were all raised by the same parents, we are all quite different. Most of the differences arise primarily from the things that motivate us and capture our attention.

As we were growing up, these differences in our personalities were the things that we celebrated in each other – we were different and yet part of the same family.

Thankfully my parents, much to their credit, never compared us to one another and although we were always encouraged to do our very best our “uniqueness” was respected. There was about as much chance of my winning a drawing competition as there was of my sister coming in first in a sing-off!

I think there are some great parallels we can draw when we consider the different kinds of congregations that exist within our denomination.

Same family Quite simply, we have the same “family DNA” in common. Whether you are a small church plant in BC or a larger church in Quebec – we are all part of The Free Methodist Church in Canada and share the same core values.

Same purpose There are other things that anchor us and bind us together as a movement as well. Our vision to see healthy churches within the reach of all people in Canada and beyond.

Our mission also defines us: • To find, befriend and introduce seeking people to Jesus Christ and the fellowship of his people.

• Mature those who desire to grow in Christlikeness.

• Commission prepared people to purposeful service.

• Interpret life theologically.

• Invest resources strategically.

• Celebrate that God’s presence and power makes all things possible.

Different Dynamics So, we know who we are and what are goal is but how do we accomplish it? This is where a congregations “personality” come into play. It is a creative combination of individual gifts surrendered and offered up in service with others that add to the outward expression of God’s heart working within a community context. How that expression manifests within the community will be different in every church.

An idea that one body is passionate about, may not work in another. The important thing is that we are all working together, using our different skills and talents, moving forward towards the same objective.

Perhaps some of the stories that you will read in this issue would never work in your environment – that’s fine, our desire is not that you replicate an experience. Communities and people are searching for authenticity, both inside and outside the church.

Our different expressions and gifts need to be celebrated within the larger Free Methodist family – possibly, hearing these stories will spark an idea that will inspire your congregation to think of creative ways that they can use their gifts within their own community settings.

Lisa Howden Managing Editor QUOTE

Recently, Dan Sheffield posted a quote on his blog from Elton Trueblood’s novel, The Incendiary Fellowship:

“It is possible for the Church to exist, with a show of success, and still fail in its essential function. It is always failing when it becomes an institution which is bent on saving itself.”

This actually works

“W

e are not human beings trying to become spiritual. That task has already been done for us by our initial creation as ‘images of God’ (Genesis 1:26). We are already spiritual beings. That is God’s gift.

Our desperate and needed task, the one we have not succeeded at very well after all these centuries, is how to become human! Jesus literally turns religion on its head. He is always moving down, descending into the fully human, identifying with our tragic and finite situation. We miss him entirely when we are always running up the down staircase. Our task is to follow and imitate him, not offer him incense, titles, and shrines that he never once asked for. Again, all we need to do is to take his lead. Most of the world is so tired of ‘spiritual people.’ We would be happy just to meet some real human beings. They always thrill the heart, just as he did. . .”

Soul Brothers: Men in the Bible Speak to Men Today by Richard Rohr

When Jesus told us simply to love our neighbour the Pharisees attempted to complicate it and turn that command into a spiritual concept “who is my neighbour?” When Jesus was on trial and he claimed that anyone on the side of truth would listen to him Pilate again looked for a way out with a question “what is truth?” The Bible outlines countless stories describing our powerful need to find a way out of the practical implications of our faith. As Tom Smith said, “we create new language, new systems, new programs, so that we can talk longer and more intelligently about what we have no intention of actually doing.” [1] The task of true religion is to wade through the wreckage of the fall and recover the image of God from inside the rumble. This work is quite specific. It is tied to a time; the time is now. It is tied to a place; the place is here. Here in the rumble: in your life, in your family, in your neighbour’s lives (you know the people on either side of you), on your street, in your town or city in your school, in your office, with your co-workers. Wade into the rumble and ask God “what is the good news?”

“Can you make a sandwich?” is Kim Reid’s famous answer to the question of what weapons the church has against the overwhelming needs of the world around us.

I am grateful to work for a church that, on a national scale, finds itself with some pretty specific local tasks to do. “Can you make a sandwich?” is Kim Reid’s famous answer to the question of what weapons the church has against the overwhelming needs of the world around us. That is literally where he starts. Kids in his neighbourhood go to school hungry everyday. So he and a few others at church make food for them and deliver it to schools. This actually works. This is good news.

“When all is said and done more will be said than done” is Al Doseger’s lament about church committee meetings. He has a fully functional “trading post” in the basement of his church, now entirely run by ladies in the neighbourhood. This actually works. This is good news.

Bike Rides are the Garst family’s way into the lives of the broken home lives of their neighbours. Every week they invite the neighbourhood kids on a family bike ride. Parents love it and have started opening up to the Garst family. This actually works. This is good news.

“Street Church”, food banks, clothing exchange, jam nights and 100 other things make up New Heights’ weapon against suffering in Mission, BC. It didn’t happen overnight either. Years of wading through the local rumble have led them to make powerful and deep connections in the community. This actually works. This is good news.

The church in Kemptville has been systematically wading into the rumble and have asked “what is the good news?” Promising leads. Hope for the future.

Big things depend on these kinds of small acts. This actually works. This is good news.

[1] Tom Smith at http://kleipotgemeente.typepad.com/soulgardeners/

Rev. Jared Siebert is the Director of Growth Ministries for The Free Methodist Church in Canada

General Conference 2011 [May 20-23, 2011] Have you started budgeting?

Help avoid a financial surprise in 2011 by planning now for the 2011 Conference. If your church puts aside $50/month per pastor and lay delegate who will be attending conference this should provide your church with the necessary funds by May 2011.

This calculation includes travel equalization, a three night hotel stay and food costs. Of course, these are only estimates and may be subject to change.

Regardless it is a very good idea to begin saving now if you haven’t already started.

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MOSAIC

Loving our

neighbours

As

one who grew up in the church, I loved learning Bible stories. I memorized passages. I could be counted on to give the Sunday School answer. As time went on it became apparent to me that being able to recite Scripture was a good first step in my spiritual growth, not an end in itself. I needed to understand the verses and apply them to my own life.

Luke 10:27 is one of those passages: … ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and, Love your neighbour as yourself ’. Luke 6: 31 is another: ‘Do to others as you would have them do to you’ (I usually really think about this one when someone isn’t doing unto me like I think he or she should).

What does it mean to love your neighbour? What does that look like? James gives us some insight here (2:15-16): Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?

Aside from two or three small pieces, the work was completed a day before the mother came home from the hospital. The stay at home was brief. The treatment had not been successful and the daughter passed away in hospital within a short time.

The family continued to be loved. The funeral was conducted from the church building and another member of the congregation was able to minister at the elementary school where two of the children attended.

Loving people as people, not as projects

Love is practical and we don’t need to look far to find our neighbours.

Diakonia. Serving without expectations. Loving people as people, not as projects. It is challenging – the expectations creep in before you realize it sometimes. The story could have ended there. Many times that’s what happens, and that’s OK. We’re called to love practically. The rest is very much up to God.

Diakonia is the Greek word that is translated as ‘service’. It conveys a sense of reconciliation, of giving without expectations. This challenges us but as it’s the kind of love and service Jesus modeled for us, it’s what we’re called to live out.

What role do we play as leaders in helping others experience diakonia? Here are a couple of thoughts:

Diakonia. Serving without expectations.

Let me share a story with you. A developing leader in a congregation was praying that the Holy Spirit would show her how she could practically love her neighbour.

This was answered. There was a family in the neighbourhood of the church building that was in crisis. The parents were separated, there were four children and the second oldest had received a second cancer diagnosis and the prognosis was not good. This meant that the mom and daughter would essentially be living at the hospital out of town during treatment. The grandmother was lending all the support that she could on the home front, as was the father, while holding down jobs. You can imagine the stress involved on all levels: physical, emotional, spiritual and financial.

The leader knew she needed and wanted to do something. She talked with her mentor and her small group and they got excited about the idea. That led to a meeting with the grandmother, to offer assistance in the home (cleaning, etc.) as well as the offer to do some decorating in the bedrooms upstairs for the kids.

The work began – sleeves were rolled up and people dug out old paint clothes. More help was secured for some of the repair work that was required. Many consultations happened over paint chips and fabric as the kids had input to the project and helped with the work.

The planning and work needed support. The leader addressed the congregation and shared the need for both prayer support and financial assistance. The congregation responded and met those needs.

• • • • • •

Preach it and teach it. Encourage people to be open to the leading of the Spirit for opportunities to apply God’s love and word. Create a climate of possibility and expectation.

Model it ourselves. Otherwise it’s just all talk.

Identify and support emerging leaders. That’s an investment of many things, including time.

Work to create an environment where it’s okay to try different things, even when those things don’t unfold according to our expectations.

Establish functional systems for discipleship, prayer support and finances.

Stop and celebrate the good things along the way.

Now onto the rest of the story! Connection with the family remains – including the kids. The mother and grandmother surrendered to Christ and have been baptized.

They are regular participants at worship services and active in small groups. The grandmother is training to be a small group leader and is absolutely excited and thrilled about it! The story isn’t finished yet; God has many more pages to fill.

Practical love does make a difference. As we love people in this way, I pray that we will learn to be less fixated on the results we want to see, less fixated on the behaviours we expect from those we’re serving and more focused on our own hearts and attitudes.

After all, God hasn’t finished writing our stories either. We need to be people that God entrusts with new believers so that we can make disciples (sounds like another Bible verse, doesn’t it?). I hope we embrace this with an enthusiasm that matches the grandmother from the story: a huge smile, dancing eyes, and an ‘I can’t wait to get started’ attitude.

Rev. Kim Henderson is the Director of Personnel for The Free Methodist Church in Canada

Like James and John - continued from cover Another initiative that she has in motion is the petitioning of the Justice Department to make provision for terminating the parental rights of those who were forcing their young teens to become prostitutes. In the meantime, teams of Free Methodists are befriending young prostitutes who gather on the bridge that leads into the dump as well as in the centre of the city. Once there is a relationship of trust, they try to persuade the young person to come to a transition house and then, if they are making progress to move on to their healing centre for prostitutes.

Pastora Tessie is a wonderful passionate, fully abandoned follower of Jesus who is living out what the Apostle James meant when he wrote in chapter two: What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say,

“You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

And what Apostle John meant when he wrote in the third chapter of his first letter: This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

These Filipino Christians are representing the Lord Jesus well in their country. It is true that actions speak louder than words and it is all the more powerful when actions are naturally accompanied by the good news of the gospel.

Rev. Keith Elford is Bishop of The Free Methodist Church in Canada

MOSAIC

4

Tale

A OF TWO CHURCHES FINDING WAYS TO ENGAGE THEIR COMMUNITIES ANSWERING THE CRIES OF OUR COMMUNITY Every morning that I park my truck in front of our church office space I’m reminded of at least two things: First, we rent on a street where folks in desperate situations like to hang out. This is a reality that you can see, smell, hear, touch and if you really wanted to...you could taste it in our parking lot (this is not recommended). From the lot to the door, looking through the office windows generates the second realization; for as many as 90 people, our space (due to the work of several) has turned into a place where these folks choose to begin their day and on several different levels call their home base.

You can imagine the host of questions and doubts that come with work among a population where obvious change is hard-earned over long periods of time. On the flip side imagine the thrill of seeing transformation that begins at such an extreme low and the inherent potential of this diverse community. How does a person whose belief has turned into a dedicated following of Jesus play out when presented with this kind of opportunity?

New Heights uses their meeting space with the he lp of dedicated volunteers to meet needs, both physical and personal six mornings a week.

For as m any as has turne d into choose to begin several dif ferent home bas e.

90 people, our space a place w here folk s their day and on levels call their

your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret.

Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” So, maybe our hands can ignore each other, but the relationship between our brains and hands is one of a different kind. Is it fair to substitute ‘impact’ for ‘debit’ and ‘enabling’ for ‘liability’ and see whether or not our budget sheet lands in the red or the black?

“

An emerging principle to chew on: when our believing community endeavors to partner or model things in our wider community we must be prepared to weigh questions where our answers leave us less than completely satisfied.

”

Ann and Shelagh represent what I am discerning as the answer to that query.

Their commitment is to staff our space six mornings per week, delivering on a promise to provide a space where the anxiety of personal needs is replaced with a different taste of community, coffee and toast depending on who is making up each. Coupled with their morning efforts, teams from New Heights host meals on Saturday and Sunday evening with an agenda of filling stomachs, engaging in conversation and fielding prayer requests. After several years of this kind of action, with a few huge success stories, and countless disappointments, questions in my mind clash with the rhythm of our heartbeat for this community. Welcome to the inner regions of my mind... no doubt a scary place!!!

On the other hand (which a hand can ignore but a mind cannot) it is clear that the impact of a work that is observed by the community at large accomplishes more than just what happens in the food line. Weigh the risk of occasional enabling and usury with the WIN-COMBO that touches the servants, the served, the community at large, the partnerships with other ministries and municipal efforts, and the incredible feeling of seeing a client turn servant. The balance tips toward the combo.

With a friend at the last General Conference, a tough criteria surfaced. “Is a ministry that doesn’t effectively move many people toward interacting with the gospel in their own right still viable”? Or, “when does serving folks morph into enabling folks?” These are good questions to ask when a commitment to be in the lives of very complicated people goes long term. On one hand, we hear Jesus’ words “But when you give to the needy, do not let

As I mature and learn leadership lessons I am discovering a principle that fits into our belief that God is at work in the world and is inviting us to join him. The ministries that He seems to sustain and bless often accomplish much “more than what meets the eye” (to borrow from Hollywood’s transformers). As agents of change and transformation we have to allow for the undercurrent transformations that happen just because we are faithfully and consistently walking in simple acts of obedience and trust that as much as being a group that is active in the community comes with complication and cost, the combination of wins are worth the endeavor. Be encouraged church, that our communities haven’t closed the door on us yet; they might not be knocking, asking for our advice, but when we extend ourselves in partnership...our efforts have great rewards. Who is waiting for the opportunity to partner with you in your community?

Add to that the experiment of using “partnership in service” as a venue for evangelism for the servant herself. Not only does this work touch the lives of those who are clients but what about those who come eager to be involved. Our invitation is, “Come and experience our motivation for a common passion of philanthropy; be warned that you might be moved by what has turned our philanthropy into a mission of worshipping God with hands and hearts”.

I hope this article isn’t printed in black and white because I certainly see the content coming out in color or grayscale at the very least. An emerging principle to chew on: When our believing community endeavors to partner or model things in our wider community we must be prepared to weigh questions where our answers leave us less than completely satisfied. But, what we are experiencing is what I’ve come to expect when our efforts move outside of the walls of our church; a tension caused by the differences we have with those we encounter rather than our similarities. Maybe in praxis we can adopt what every intro-apologetics class seems to teach in terms of debating faith. Begin by gaining a hearing through the celebration of similarities and earn the ear of those who want to agree with you, but naturally don’t jive with your Lord’s supernatural instincts. At the end of the day, rubbing shoulders in service with the community and for the community accomplishes more in fostering relationship than anything else that I’ve ever been part of.

Rev. Greg Elford is the Pastor of New Heights Community Church in Mission, BC

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MOSAIC

“Without a sense of caring, there can be no sense of community.”

Anthony D’Angelo

EMPTY PLATES? . . . GREAT IDEA!

T

HE OTTAWA MISSION, A HOMELESS SHELTER LOCATED IN THE HEART OF THE NATION’S CAPITAL SERVED 2679 THANKSGIVING

MEALS THIS YEAR AND 1100 MEALS A DAY OVER THE THANKSGIVING SEASON. ARLINGTON WOODS FREE METHODIST CHURCH RAISED $930 TOWARD THE COST OF PROVIDING THEM. WE ARE NOT ONLY GRATEFUL FOR THEIR SUPPORT, BUT ALSO AMAZED BY THEIR CREATIVITY! I decided to contribute a newsletter submission for three reasons : to say thank-you to Arlington Woods for their extraordinary support, to tell you about the unique event they coordinated for the homeless in our community, and to offer your church some ways that they can get more involved with a charity like ours.

A Loaves And Fishes Story – Without The Loaves and Fishes

On Sunday October 4, after hearing an inspiring sermon about gratitude, the whole Arlington Woods congregation was invited to retreat to the church hall. A look of puzzlement crossed many faces as they exited the sanctuary. No one realized that this service was going to be different.

As the congregation filed into the hall, they were invited to a meal. Round tables were covered with tablecloths and decked out for Thanksgiving. There were plates, cutlery and cups. People were invited to sit down for dinner.

Then Cheryl Burford, the director of children’s ministries and administrator of “Church In Motion,” an outreach initiative, explained the “dinner.” She told the congregation that there wasn’t going to be any food at this dinner and reminded them that many people in our community didn’t have the resources to put food on their plates. “This Thanksgiving,” she said “many people will face empty plates like the ones you have in front of you.”

Prior to the dinner, Cheryl had asked Michael, a graduate of The Ottawa Mission’s LifeHouse program to tell his story at the event. LifeHouse is a five-month, residential addiction treatment program run by The Ottawa Mission. Mike told the group how The Ottawa Mission had changed his life. “Hi, I’m Mike,” he began. “And I’m an alcoholic.” As if on cue, the congregation responded “Hi, Mike.” Mike continued to tell the congregation how alcoholism cost him his wife and children and that he had relied on The Ottawa Mission’s food services while he was in treatment. It was obvious that his honesty and openness really affected those listening to him.

Ottawa Mission for last Thanksgiving’s dinner when she was considering who to partner with for Thanksgiving, she thought about The Ottawa Mission.

The idea of empty plates sprung to mind immediately. “I just thought, without this Thanksgiving meal, people would have an empty plate,” children’s ector of ir d e h t urch In rford, says Burford. “The idea took or of “Ch t Cheryl Bu ra t is in m d ed her and a off from there, but I think iative, ask it in ministries ch a someone’s n outre filling up that the visual is important Motion,” a r e id ns co n to . congregatio and decided to invite hanksgiving e this T t a pl y pt m e someone The Ottawa Mission had helped so that I could put a personal face on The Mission.

One of our members is on the Board at The Mission and he helped me contact Michael.”

The Ottawa Mission isn’t alone in benefitting from the Church In Motion initiative.

Partnering with various organizations in the community, Church In Motion takes on four service projects a year. They have partnered with a local grocery store to do a food

“

She told the congregation that there wasn’t going to be any food at this dinner and reminded them that many people in our community didn’t have the resources to put food on their plates.

”

drive, volunteered at a special Olympics basketball tournament, did yard work for seniors in the community and opened their doors to 1st Place Pregnancy Centre. “I try to find ways that the whole church can get involved, no matter their ages” says Burford.

How Your Church Can Partner With A Non-Profit In Your Community

After hearing Michael’s story and learning more about The Ottawa Mission in general, Cheryl asked her congregation to consider filling up someone’s empty plate this Thanksgiving by filling out the Thanksgiving Dinner donation cards that The Ottawa Mission had provided. “Consider what you are able to give…any amount will be appreciated,” she said.

Non-profit ministries like The Ottawa Mission rely on church support. The Ottawa Mission couldn’t serve 1100 meals a day, offer over 230 people shelter each night and operate an addiction treatment centre, hospice, housing programs or learning centre without strong church partnerships.

Amazingly, $930 was donated, the equivalent of 409 meals! What a blessing to us and to the homeless men, women and children we serve!

Here are some ways that your church can get involved with ministries like ours:

A Free Methodist “Church In Motion”

Arlington Woods Free Methodist Church is truly a church in motion. In fact, one third of Cheryl Burford’s full-time portfolio is devoted to administering “Church In Motion,” a congregational outreach initiative. “Our church believes that the community is important.

Church In Motion is about finding organizations in the community and partnering with them in order to serve the world around us,” says Burford. Burford volunteered at The

Volunteer On And Off-Site

Ottawa Mission volunteers more than double our capacity to serve clients. At The Ottawa Mission, volunteer groups do everything from serving and preparing meals to folding clothes, sorting donations, painting, and planting; there is no shortage of ways to help. One of our volunteer groups brings in baked goods that they make off-site Article continued on page 7 “Community involvement”

MOSAIC

6 Stewardship Ministries

PASSAGES

Justice

APPOINTMENTS Alan Adams, Interim Lead Pastor at Asbury FMC, Perth, ON, effective October 9, 2009.

in the

Elizabeth Down, Associate Pastor, Sault Ste Marie FMC, effective August 14, 2009.

BURBS

Ken Dryden, Pastor, Lakeside Community Church, Salmon Arm, BC, effective December 4, 2009.

Thomas Eng, Pastor at Pineview FMC, Cloyne, ON, effective November 9, 2009.

Phil Hamilton, Assistant Pastor, Asbury FMC, Perth, ON, effective August 21, 2009.

Christine Li, Assistant Pastor, Richmond Hill FMC, Richmond Hill, ON, effective September 15, 2009.

Jae-Sun Song, Pastor of New Canadians, Wesley Chapel, Toronto, ON, effective September 25, 2009.

Joan Stonehouse, Interim Co-Pastor, Whitby FMC, Whitby, ON, effective September 28, 2009.

Victor Stonehouse, Interim Co-Pastor, Whitby FMC, Whitby, ON, effective September 1, 2009.

Ryan Young, Associate Pastor at New Horizons, Sarnia, ON, effective October 14, 2009.

APPROVED AS MINISTERIAL CANDIDATES Iris Cardy (Whitby FMC, Whitby, ON) Elizabeth Down (Sault Ste Marie FMC) Ryan Young (New Horizons, Sarnia, ON) APPROVED AS COMMISSIONED MINISTER AND COMMISSIONING SERVICE Rick Venne November 22, 2009 at New Horizons, Sarnia, ON

W

hen I found out the focus of this edition of the Mosaic, my mind immediately went to a book I read awhile back called “Justice In The Burbs” by Will and Lisa Samson.

This book caught my interest since I have always lived in the “suburbs” and much of what I read about living missionally was focused on moving into inner city and poverty-stricken neighbourhoods.

In their book the Samsons focus on encouraging Christians, living in the suburbs, toward a lifestyle of justice – living a life for others in radical ways. Differing from many other books on the subject, the Samsons employ three writing styles in which they effectively get their point across. The first element is narrative. In each chapter, Lisa Samson, tells us the story of a fictional family as they seek to understand how God would have them live. The storytelling is engaging and I was able to identify with both the joys and the challenges of this family.

The second key point that captured my attention was the idea of joining in rather than creating something new. It seems that often when Christians decide to do something it ends up being something new. We feel the need to start a new ministry, charity, parachurch organization to accomplish the new thing.

If you go to the Canada Revenue Agency’s website and do a search for charities you will find there are 113,392 charities listed, 40,795 of which are categorized as religious.

I don’t want to get into a conversation about the merit of all these organizations, but the numbers do lead me to believe that perhaps there is already an organization doing what I am called to be doing.

“

Perhaps, before we create the new thing, we need to look at where God is already working and join in. And it might not be with an organization whose building has a cross on the roof.

The second element is discourse. Building on elements from the narrative, Will Samson digs deeper into a discussion ORDAINED MINISTER RECEIVED BY TRANSFER of related topics and helps the reader identify specific Jae-Sun Song Korean Methodist Church (Panissues that may need further reflection and consideration American Conference) in choosing to live a lifestyle of justice. The final element CHANGE OF STATUS is meditation. The Samsons believe strongly that living a missional life is tied directly to immersing ourselves in Réal Gagné, Released for Service beyond the Denomination - Divisional Human Resources scripture, meditating on it and responding to its call on our What affected me when I read Samson’s point about Coordinator, Salvation Army” be granted, effective lives. To this end they have included meditations by various “joining in” is this: that God is already at work in the acts August 4, 2009. authors including Brian McLaren, Christine Pohl, Leonard of justice of churches, parachurch organizations and other Jessie Oldford, Retired, effective October 1, 2009.

Sweet and Luci Shaw among others. charities. Perhaps, before we create the new thing, we need to look at where God is already working and join in. And it CHURCHES IN TRANSITION For many of us living in middle class suburbia we might not be with an organization whose building has a cross Asbury FMC, Perth, ON Avonlea FMC, Avonlea, SK experience an ongoing tension caused by having more than on the roof.

Bramalea FMC, Brampton, ON we need to live and the desire to live justly. The Samsons do Charlemont FMC, Wallaceburg, ON not shy away from addressing this conflict. In fact, the first I began to put this into practice this year. I contacted Eastern Koinonia, Toronto, ON sentence of the book is a confession that they themselves the local social service agency in my area to find out how Ecclesiax, Ottawa, ON St Joseph Island FMC, Hilton Beach, ON have failed. And yet their failure in and of itself, gives them I could volunteer. They have a financial aid program that Surrey FMC, Surrey, BC a unique vantage point to help us navigate our own journey. provides some emergency funds for people who are unable Timmins FMC, Timmins, ON They recognize that being part of middle class suburbia to pay their rent, oil bill, etc. Each recipient is asked if Vennachar FMC, Cloyne, ON provides them with a position of privilege. “As we think they would consider participating in financial counseling Wawota FMC, Wawota, SK about issues of justice, a key concept is privilege. Many, if not but unfortunately the agency has not had anyone able to Westdale Park FMC, Napanee, ON Whitby FMC, Whitby, ON most, of the people reading this book can choose whether we provide this service. That’s where I’ve stepped in. God has join with justice. This is itself a statement of our privilege.” provided me with an opportunity to serve my community through workshops, seminars and one-on-one counseling The Samsons take us on a journey through the reasons why many suburbanites do not engage in living justly — all on financial management. I believe God will also provide me those usual reasons like not enough time, family first, church commitments – and then they switch gears to remind us with opportunities to bring Him into the conversation as I develop relationships. why we should. Why should we care? Because it matters to our world… it matters to God. In encouraging a lifestyle of justice, the Samsons remind us that it will not be easy and it requires long-term commitment. It’s not about doing an act of justice here or there. It is about transforming our lives, including what food we purchase, how it is grown, who grows it, the clothes we buy, the home we live in, the cars we drive, the work we do, our relationships with our family, our church family, our neighbours, how we spend our leisure time and of course, the ways we serve God and serve others.

Digging deeper into the issue of serving others, there were two key points that spoke to me in this book. The first is what Will Samson calls theology of place. Samson says. “The theology of place states that God has placed us where we are for a reason. We believe there are not wasted resources in God’s economy…. God is a being of great economy.

He works before you even realize it and before you sign on, and he’s placed you where you are today for a reason. If you find yourself in the suburbs, welcome to your mission field.”

”

The Samsons devote a chapter of the book to very practical ways we each can join in living a lifestyle of justice.

The book concludes with a couple chapters on how this kind of life will benefit both the world in which we live and each of us as individuals. “But the greatest reward for doing this work is to join with Jesus. Jesus never wrote a book. He never painted a great work of art. He did not leave us a symphony or the plans to a beautiful building. What Jesus left us was a series of relationships. By joining with justice, we are claiming to be a part of two thousand years of interconnection with God incarnate, the people he ministered to, and the people they in turn ministered to, down through the generations.

Our lineage of faith relationships literally goes back to the Lord himself.”

This concept of theology of place resonates with me. Rather than looking at other neighbourhoods as the place to “bring God” and act justly (which as I write it sounds quite arrogant to this suburbanite) I should see my own neighbourhood as the best place for me to live missionally. The family across the street from me is going through I encourage you to live out the theology of place, viewing separation and divorce; a neighbour two houses down recently lost her husband; the son of another neighbour was diagnosed with schizophrenia; and another neighbour lost his job and is struggling to pay the bills for his family. And your community as your mission field and joining in with justice where God is already at work. these are just some of the things I know about.

Thinking about Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” The word “go” could best be translated “as you are going.” It’s kind of that “bloom where you are planted” idea. Jesus called his disciples toward missional living wherever they were. Today we often want to leave the missions work to the professionals – the missionaries. But that wasn’t what Jesus had in mind. Samson states, “Of all the miracles Jesus performed, only one – the cursing of the fig tree – was not an act of restoration. As he was going, he was restoring. Therefore, if we are following the model of Christ, “going” means participating in God’s work of restoration. This implies a very personal involvement for what it means to make and to be disciples of Jesus.”

Samson, Will and Lisa, Justice In The Burbs – Being the Hands of Jesus Wherever You Live, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2007.

Joanne Bell is the Stewardship Development Director for The Free Methodist Church in Canada

7

MOSAIC

Take Note Leadership Scholarship Plan The deadline to submit application packages for the winter semester is February 15, 2010

Foundational Courses The following courses will be made available in Spring of 2010: Culture and the Missional Church, Heart of Canadian Free Methodism, Personal and Church Stewardship, and Wesleyan Theology. Please consult the website early in the new year for dates and locations.

Giving Streams Projections As you begin planning for your 2010 church budget, please keep in mind Giving Streams. Giving Streams participation helps to support a number of ministry areas that maximize our impact beyond our local churches. Please plan on discussing your involvement with your local board.

Visit our website: www.fmc-canada.org for up-to-date information.

International Child Care Ministries On a regular basis we have spoken to sponsors who are not only helping feed, clothe and educate children but are doing it in practical yet creative ways by involving their church and community. Here is an example In Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan the First Free Methodist Church puts together a monthly luncheon geared to serve individuals and families in their community. In return, this Community Lunch small group chooses to collect a small offering and donate these funds to purchase animals (goats and chickens) in support of ICCM children and their families. Though the cost of these animals is not much, it brings immediate improvement to the living conditions of families by providing not only food, but also additional income through the sales of eggs and milk.

Gail Stevens, of First Free Methodist church, shares how this story came about. “Our ministry group started this lunch about nine years ago to provide lunch for the poor and underprivileged. The group consists of between 60-80 persons who come once a month to receive a free lunch (hot or cold).

“One of the men who had been coming regularily became very ill and had to be hospitalized. When he was feeling better he returned to the group and shared that during his recovery he had been thinking how blessed he felt because he had so much (remember these people are poor, on minimum wage, many with health, mental and relational issues, etc.) and how much he appreciated the food that was always served. He approached me and wondered if we could take up a collection so that it could be given to a family who was in greater need than they themselves.

“I brought this request to our planning meeting and we decided that we could give it to an organization, I was glad to see the special funds that ICCM offered and knew it would work perfectly for our group. So we decided to buy some goats! We now have a map on the wall and paste a new goat up on the country where it has been purchased and donated. It brings great joy to know that together, as a group they can help those less fortunate than themselves. ” I hope you have been encouraged and inspired by this story. Let us know how we can help you make an impact in the world around you.

Paula Moriarity, International Child Care Ministries Director Contact us at iccm@fmc-canada.org or 905.848.2600

Arlington W oods raise d $930. is equivale The dona nt of 40 tion 9 to us and meals! Wh at a ble to the h ssing children omeless m we serve! en, women and

Community involvement continued from page 5 Host A Fundraiser

You can raise the kind of awareness and funding that will change lives forever by hosting an event to benefit a ministry in your community. You can host a dinner (spaghetti dinners are popular among youth groups), a bake sale, or auction your congregation member’s talents. Coordinating a winter boot and coat drive or a sock drive is an invaluable way to give to the homeless. Don’t forget to contact the charity prior to your event as they may be able to send along brochures or even a speaker so that your church understands more deeply how important its gifts are.

Provide Prayerful Support

Prayer is vitally important. Some organizations keep a regularly-updated, publicly accessible prayer request list. The chaplain at The Ottawa Mission, for example, regularly updates prayer requests on our website (www.ottawamission.com) so that church prayer groups can learn more about the needs of those we serve and include them in their prayer life. Directing prayer groups to prayer requests posted on-line or printing them in the church bulletin not only helps those in need but also helps the congregation understand and feel more connected to the ministry.

Distribute Newsletters

Non-profits want your congregation members to learn more about them. Most publish newsletters or annual reports and would be more than happy to provide you with them either in print or in an electronic format. Make their newsletters available on your bulletin boards and information tables or e-mail it to members.

Invite A Speaker

Stories are powerful! Contact a charity that you want to get involved with or have already partnered with and invite a spokesperson to a Sunday service or a special anniversary service to share stories about how their ministry changes lives. Most would be more than happy to come to your church, thank you for your support and tell your members how they have made a difference.

Take A Tour

One of the best ways to understand what an organization actually does and how your dollars are being put to work is to see it first-hand. Call an organization you are supporting and ask them if they offer tours to groups. Provided that privacy isn’t an issue, most will be delighted to show you around.

Inquire About Educational Initiatives

Some non-profits have a public education aspect of their ministry. At The Ottawa Mission, for example, we invite youth groups and social justice committees to The Mission for educational sessions where we discuss issues of social justice, poverty and faith. Our Bible studies are eye-opening and heart-enlarging experiences. If you are supporting a Christian charity, they may be able to offer groups within your church a Christian-education session.

Rev. Trisha Elliott is a freelance writer and communications officer at The Ottawa Mission.

Global Ministries

Karibu* FMC Canada! *welcome!

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25 pastors who were invited to the consultation. Canadian FM churches substantially underwrote the costs of organizing this three day training program.

In September this year, myself and ICCM-Canada Director Paula Moriarity along with Rev. Kim Henderson (FMCiC Director of Personnel), Carolyn Deyo, and Wannett Reynolds, spent eight days in Kenya. Canadian missionary Rev. Debbie Hogeboom was our host and cultural guide for this visit along with Bishop Nixon.

A sub-plot to this visit developed when newly hired ICCM-Canada Director Paula Moriarity was eager to come and have her first on-site visit to meet ChildCare sponsored children and the FM schools they attend. And Paula wanted to bring along some Canadian sponsors as well – thus Carolyn Deyo (attends Harrowsmith FMC) and Wannett Reynolds (Wesley Acres staff )! And did I mention Kim Henderson sponsors a child in Kenya as well?

HIS SEEMS LIKE THE BEGINNING OF A NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR FM FAMILY IN CANADA,” Bishop Nixon Dingili of Kenya announced to our small team.

The original intention for this visit was twofold: for me to spend some time getting to understand Debbie’s ministry context and job description, and to conduct a three day consultation on urban ministry with a group of pastors in Nairobi.

At the beginning of 2009, Debbie moved from oversight by the US FMC missions office to our Canadian model of global ministry partnerships. This means her ministry job description in Kenya is worked about between the FMCiC, the Kenya Provisional General Conference, and Debbie herself. It also means her support salary and ministry expenses are directly overseen by the Global Ministries Committee of our national Board of Administration. And all of this is only possible because of the group of committed supporting churches, mostly in eastern Ontario, that have stood by Debbie’s ministry, in some cases, for decades.

The FMC in Kenya was birthed in the late 1980s and early 1990s when FM believers from countries like Rwanda and Burundi were living and working in Nairobi.

They did the natural thing, and gathered themselves together into a few churches.

When a whole group of missionaries had to leave Rwanda and Burundi in 1994, they ended up in Nairobi – they naturally connected with these fledgling congregations.

Then the Burundi General Conference took responsibility for developing a Mission District and then an Annual Conference in Kenya. Today there are 140 FM churches in Kenya, mostly in the central and western parts of the country.

Since she moved to Kenya in 1994, Debbie has been involved in leadership development and mentoring church planters. For eleven years she taught at Kenya Highlands Bible College, an interdenominational, Wesleyan-oriented college, in Kericho, a city of about 40,000. Today there is a thriving FM congregation and school in Kericho that Debbie was involved with since its inception.

During her years at Kenya Highlands, Debbie was also working with national leaders to develop a modular pastoral training program for many of the pastors who work bi-vocationally and who may not have the academic qualifications for a formal college program. Several years ago Debbie moved to the city of Eldoret (250,000) with the goal of helping plant a new church and developing a small campus for this modular training program. Canadian FM churches who support Debbie’s ministry have been instrumental in purchasing a three acre plot of land for the college campus and site of the new church in Eldoret. Our team had the pleasure of worshipping with the small

So the first part of our trip included a lot of driving on good – and bad – roads in central and western Kenya. We were continually stimulated by the beauty of Kenya’s physical environment – the Rift Valley, the Kenya Highlands, zebras, rhinos and flamingoes and tea plantations. We travelled to Kericho and Eldoret, where Debbie has lived and invested herself over the past fifteen years. We spent a morning with school children in Kericho and made a special ICCM presentation of soccer balls and skipping ropes.

We visited Superintendent Martin in the rainy, hill country at Shiru – and spent four hours driving 40 kms! We travelled through the ‘breadbasket’ of Kenya and wondered that we saw no signs of the drought that was all over the news. In Nairobi, Paula, Carolyn, Wannett and Kim visited FM schools and in the simple, pieced-together, homes of sponsored children in the slums of Kibera, Kawangare and Mathare.

Since she moved to Kenya in 1994, Debbie has been involved in leadership development and mentoring church planters.

On our last day it was a bit of a surprise when Bishop Nixon said “this seems like a beginning…” I recounted to him the ways in which Canadians have contributed to ministry in Kenya – for many years (look back at the highlighted spots in this article). Then Debbie reminded me, “this is the first time, in at least a decade, that a Canadian team has come to visit me in my place of ministry, just to spend time with me and find out about the ministry here in Kenya.”

[top left] New church in Eldoret, Kenya; [top right] Tea country in Kenya highlands; [bottom left] church meeting under the trees; [bottom middle] school kids in Kericho with ICCM gifts; [bottom right] Pastors training time in Nairobi, Kenya.

congregation that presently gathers on the side of a hill under some shade trees!

At the present time, the majority of the FM churches are located in rural areas, which is entirely appropriate because the majority of Kenyans (70% of 36 million people) live in rural areas. But the group of pastors and conference leaders who met for the Urban Ministry Consultation in Nairobi, know that is the not the future of their country – rural people are moving to the cities. The challenge is that many of the pastors who are appointed to serve the urban churches come from rural pastorates, and they struggle with how to conduct ministry and encourage the spiritual growth of their parishioners in the city. Kim Henderson and I, along with Debbie and Bishop Nixon, were able to initiate a whole new conversation on this subject with the group of

Then it hit me again, anew – the money and the projects-aided are ‘nice,’ but we don’t have partnership without relationship. Now we all, mutually, have faces, friendships, connections, trust, common ground. Now we have a partnership. And the Athens FMC [one of Debbie’s supporting churches and contributors to the property purchase in Eldoret], will be sending the first substantial Canadian workteam to Kenya next spring to help with that campus development in Eldoret. They will carry on the development of this ‘new’ partnership.

Dan Sheffield is the Director of Global and Intercultural Ministries for The Free Methodist Church in Canada