October 2024_MCC New Hamburg Thrift Centre Volunteer Newsletter
Keeping our valued volunteers informed
GM’s Corner
Hello!
Fall is here and with it lots of activity in the shop! We hope that you were able to attend our volunteer evening, and that you had a great time. It’s always a special time for us as staff to get to be with all of you, and to do it in a relaxed ‘out-of-shop’ atmosphere. We hope you enjoyed the show! A big thank you to Emma and Christa for all the hard work they put into making it happen!
Christmas is coming! It may already be out by the time you read this! As always, a huge thank you to those staff and volunteers who have helped with the store changeover and setup. We are looking forward to another amazing season!
I also want to let you know about some staffing changes that have occurred. I am very happy to let you know that Melanie has accepted a new role that was created as the Assistant Manager at 41 Heritage. She has done an amazing job on the retail side, and we’re happy to have her overseeing all of
41 Heritage now!
What does this look like then for staffing? It means that as GM I oversee everything in both buildings, while Christa oversees everything at 65 (all production including housewares at 41) and Melanie will oversee everything at 41 (retail/furniture and receiving). To assist with this we have made some tweaks to other staff roles—David will be working halftime in furniture and halftime in retail, while Emma will be halftime volunteer coordinator and halftime in production.
Lots of changes, but we feel that it will set us up best for the future!
Thank you for your ongoing support and commitment to helping MCC and the shop. Each and every thing that you do, and every minute you volunteer, serves to directly help the lives of others!
Mark Patfield
General Manager
MCC New Hamburg Thrift Centre
Openings Welcome!
• Retail Floor Support: Volunteers needed to assist with tidying up the store Saturday morning from 9 am to 1 pm and afternoon from 1 to 5 pm
• Clothing Sorters: Do you enjoy fashion? Have an eye for labels and trends? We are looking for volunteers to do clothing sorting Thursday, and Friday mornings and afternoons.
• Receivers: Greet our valued donors at the backdoor to accept goods. Good customer service required. Shifts available Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday afternoon from 1 pm to 5 pm
We welcome our new volunteer who started with us recently!
Karen Elliot Clothing
Safety Corner
Cooler Weather Safety Tips
Never leave burning candles unattended.
While glowing candles make any environment feel cozier, remember to keep burning candles away from anything that could burn, such as curtains, bedding or books. Also, always extinguish a candle before going to bed or leaving the house. Never leave children or pets alone with a burning candle.
Watch for new roadway hazards.
Going back to school brings traffic changes. School buses, students on bicycles and teen drivers are out on the roads.
Slow down and take extra care to look for children in school zones, near playgrounds and in residential areas. Also, never pass a bus with flashing red lights on, or another vehicle stopped for a pedestrian.
Be alert for wildlife on roadways.
Wildlife is on the move in the fall, so watch carefully for deer, turkeys and other critters crossing the road in front of your vehicle. They are most active from dusk through dawn.
Remember that some animals—deer in particular— frequently travel in groups. If you see one crossing, more are bound to follow.
Share the road with harvesting equipment.
In rural areas, fall brings the harvest season with large farming equipment on the roads. Be alert for slow-moving vehicles, and give them plenty of space. This provides better visibility to you and the other driver. Remember that they may turn unexpectedly into fields or driveways. Just because you can see the equipment does not mean the other driver can see you.
Get the yard ready for winter.
You’ve enjoyed your beautiful lawn and garden all summer, but now is the time to prep it for a cold winter. Leaf blowers can be loud and blow more than just leaves, so wear eye and hearing protection to keep you safe from flying debris and preserve your hearing from the dangerous effects of repeated exposure to loud noises.
Use ladders safely.
Falling is one of the most common reasons for emergency department trips. If you plan to clean out your gutters, work as a team when using the ladder. Ladders can buckle or slip, so have someone else hold the ladder as you climb up and down.
Keep your body weight centred over the ladder, and don’t reach too far. It is better to move the ladder a few more times than fall.
Source: mayoclinichealthsystem.org
Training Active Bystanders Workshop
If you are a bystander witnessing a harmful situation, you have a choice to make. Learn how to interrupt harmdoing, generate positive actions by others and be more than a spectator through this important workshop. It is not an expectation of MCC Ontario for volunteers to step into unsafe or risky situations while volunteering. Please always seek out staff should these types of situations arise. The TAB training is to give tools for and reflections about everyday life situations you may come across to feel more equipped to know what to do.
Workshop options:
ONLINE - Wednesday, November 6th – 10:00am - 12:30pm
To register either click HERE or contact Holly McClement – hollymcclement@mcco.ca for support.
IN- PERSON - Thursday, November 7th – 1:30pm - 4:00pm (Only for those in the KW area—there is an inperson TAB training happening at 50 Kent on the 2nd floor)
To register either click HERE or contact Holly McClement – hollymcclement@mcco.ca for support.
When you register, please use MCCVOLUNTEER in the payment section. This training is $25 for those who are not MCC staff or MCC volunteers. If you accidentally pay $25 for the training, please let me know and MCC will reimburse you.
A Journey of Covenant and Reconciliation
The following is a special story that is transforming one of the most foundational relationships in Canada—that between Indigenous Peoples and the Christian Church. Your work in MCC’s thrift shops is not only about the good work you do within the shops—you are also supporting important, “big-picture” work through MCC’s local programs, like Indigenous Neighbours.
Adrian Jacobs, a Christian and a member of the Turtle Clan, Cayuga Nation of the Haudenosaunee Six Nations Confederacy, has been a friend of MCC’s since 2007. He had started a job with MCC educating the Mennonite churches on the history of the Haldimand Tract—six miles on either side of the Grand River that was granted to Six Nations back in 1784 by the British Crown as a thank you to Six Nations for supporting the British during the American Revolution. Over the decades and centuries, however, Canada broke their promise and sold that land that was no longer theirs to the point where now only 5% of the original Haldimand Tract is Six Nations’.
Adrian was having lunch with Rick Hill, an Elder and traditional Knowledge Keeper at Six Nations, when Rick asked a curious question: “Do the churches pay property taxes?”
To this, Adrian responded, “No, they don’t.” “That’s great,” said Rick. “Wouldn’t it be great if we had a spiritual covenant with the churches where they could acknowledge Six Nations jurisdiction over their church lands, they could pay a token lease payment—which was the original idea of leasing the land when we first got it in 1784—and they could continue their spiritual work and if they ever decommissioned, the land could revert back to Six Nations.”
The churches Adrian spoke with resonated with
Rick’s terminology of “spiritual covenant,” which resonated with both traditional Haudenosaunee and Christian spirituality—a living testament to respect, responsibility and harmonious coexistence.
Pam Albrecht, a member of Stirling Avenue
Mennonite Church where Adrian first presented the idea of spiritual covenant back in 2007, reflected on the growing desire for reconciliation within the church over the years: “A commitment to, and a desire to move forward with reconciliation was something that felt universal for those who participated in the process.”
They also grappled with the legacy of colonization, recognizing that their faith had been used to justify colonialism and the ongoing harm of colonial systems.
“My encouragement all the time to the churches [is], ‘you claim to be the conscience of the government,’” says Adrian. “Here’s your chance to lead the way! Here’s your chance to move forward with doing the right thing, and maybe the government will catch a drift that that’s possible, and maybe they should be doing that as well.”
In 2024, after years of dialogue, Stirling Avenue
Mennonite Church committed to ongoing token lease payments to Six Nations, a monumental step toward acknowledging historical injustices. Three Mennonite Churches in Manitoba, where Adrian had also worked for years in spreading the message of spiritual covenant, also recently committed to token lease payments to local Indigenous organizations.
In June 2024, Adrian, alongside MCC staff Scott Morton Ninomiya and Laurie Warkentin, organized a Strawberry Thanksgiving and Communion event— combining both Haudenosaunee thanksgiving ceremony and Christian communion. Over 150 people from various denominations and the Six Nations community gathered, reaffirming their commitment to justice and collaboration. “It’s what Rick talked about,” reflected Adrian. “Six Nations and the churches meeting together in a place of unity, a place of pursuit of justice, tangible action being taken and celebration.”
Listen to the full story on Undercurrents by clicking here
