Place of Meeting November 2015

Place of Meeting

Looking beyond the wall October was a month that challenged us again to look past our personal concerns to those who face oppression and suffering even in the midst of plenty. On Oct. 18, Aaron Neufeld, above, shared from his experiences on a “Yella” learning tour of Palestine sponsored by MCC and MCEC. Street chaplain Aylish Chantler spoke about Lazarus Rising’s work with homeless people on our own city streets on Oct. 25. Meanwhile, construction was completed at 6 Lark and work began to furnish Aurora House in preparation for its first residents, victims of human trafficking.

Toronto United Mennonite Church

November 2015

Place of Meeting

Scene around TUMC

is the meaning of the Huron word “toronton,” from which our city gets its name. Fittingly, it can also mean “plenty” or “abundance.”

Place of Meeting is also the monthly newsletter of Toronto United Mennonite Church. May you find plenty here to enjoy and ponder. Opinions expressed are those of the writers and not necessarily of the congregation as a whole.

Contributions of all kinds are enthusiastically received, through the mail folder in the lobby or at dmartens@pathcom.com Next deadline: Dec. 1 Have you discovered the all-colour online version of Place of Meeting, complete with live weblinks? Check this month’s issue out here: issuu.com/pomeditor/docs/ pom_nov_2015l NOTE: New address for submissions: dmartens4@cogeco.ca Editor: Doreen Martens

Place of Meeting Page 2

Many hands make light work as TUMC prepares on Oct. 18 to serve as a polling station for the following day’s election. Bonus: the cleared space makes a perfect environment for testing paper aerodynamics.

Building project sees major progress 6 Lark close to completion; contract signed for church

By Bob Tiessen

W

Coming Events Nov. 1 - guest speaker Susan Schultz Huxman, president of Conrad Grebel University College Nov. 1 - Taize service at 7 p.m.

Nov. 3 - TUMC book club, 7 p.m.

Nov. 7 - Intergenerational Harvest Festival at 22800 Miles Road, Georgina. (RSVP to Dora) Nov. 8 - Peace Sunday Nov. 14: MCC fall conference, Bethany Community Church, St. Catharines Nov. 22 - Eternity Sunday Nov. 29 - Advent I - communion Dec. 6 - Advent II and annual church photo Dec. 13 - Advent III Dec. 20 - Advent IV Dec. 24 - Christmas Eve service at 7 p.m.

Dec. 25 - Christmas Day - no service at TUMC NOTE: TUMC Women's Christmas Tea will NOT take place this year due to the uncertainty of available space during the church renovation. If anyone has ideas about doing this elsewhere and is willing to help coordinate it, please contact Anita Tiessen.

e have made significant progress on the building project since our report in the September POM. Often progress has been slower than expected due to various issues with city permits and the difficulty determining what kind of foundation we need for the addition to the 1774 Queen building. The Building Committee has now completed several phases of the combined project and therefore wants to take this opportunity to update the congregation.

6 Lark Street house The work on 6 Lark Street has reached the stage where the Building Committee is turning the project over to the TUMC Property Committee. While there are still some finishing and cleaning work to be completed, the construction work at 6 Lark is finished. The Aurora House team that will be leasing the house from TUMC is now working to furnish the house for their needs. The Property Committee met on Oct 26 with representatives of the Building Committee and Aurora House and agreed on a range of details. Landscaping of the backyard will need to wait until spring. We have also reached agreement on how we can share the backyard at 6 Lark for church functions.

1774 Queen Street building A contract with our contractor, Lewitt Construction Incorporated (LCI), was signed at the end of October. The Building Committee made a number of choices about features to include and which to leave out as we struggled to fit the project into the agreed budget. As previously announced we are building a second floor but not adding to the basement.

The new second floor will have a large classroom at the north end with a servery included. We expect this room to be a very attractive space both for our use and for outside use. The existing classroom will be converted to offices displaced by part of the new classroom.

On the ground floor the added space on the driveway will be used for pastors’ offices; the current storage room will be the space for the TUMC administrator. The existing offices will be converted to a meeting room, two New Life Centre offices and a ground floor accessible washroom. The new meeting room will contain a children’s and adult library, a servery, and seating areas. We also plan to move the Mennonite timeline from the basement to this space.

With more space, including a back door to the cloak room, and fewer walls, circulation in the lobby will be much improved. The basement will have no changes now that we are not adding to the space there.

Place of Meeting November 2015 page 3

Building project sees major progress

Transition Currently we are expecting work to start around the beginning of November. Work is expected to take six months. Exact transition details will be worked out after initial discussions with the contractor about building stages and timing.

Finances Our total project is now about $1.5 million. This is covered by our pledges, a mortgage, and 6 Lark rent as presented at the June congregational meeting. Details are below.

The Building Committee appreciates all of the various support you have offered that has helped bring us to this stage of the project.

1774 Queen Expenses Construction costs Soft Costs 6 Lark Mortgage Donation (2%) HST and other refunds Total Cost Both projects Income Donations Mortgage paid by Spending Plan Mortgage paid by 6 Lark rent

Place of Meeting page 4

1,076,293 127,490 55,000 20,142 (103,778) 1,076,292

6 Lark 442,214 47,653 (37,423) 432,444

$1,508,736 $1,052,569 262,000 197,000 $1,511,569

Payments of 18,000 for 20 years Payments of 23,100 for 10 years

This wall must fall

The 20s/30s group took charge of a lively service on Oct. 18 on the theme of breaking down walls of separation and working toward reconciliation. The kids took lessons from the Butter Battle Book.

Aaron Neufeld’s message, illustrated with photos from his learning tour last spring, reflected on the “apartheid wall” that separates Jews from Palestinians in the Holy Land, drawing comparisons with Canada’s treatment of First Nations. The service also featured TUMC’s young string players.

Place of Meeting November 2015 page 5

Supporting ministry on Toronto’s streets On Oct. 25, we focused on Lazarus Rising’s ministry to homeless people in our midst.

Left, Jane Pritchard uses a model house to talk to the kids about what it means to be homeless, and street pastor Aylish Chantler speaks. The service was followed by a soup-and-tamales fundraising lunch served by the Lazarus Rising board with help from the Toronto Mennonite New Life congregation. At TUMC, you know it’s a successful fundraiser when the late-comers are relegated to the little chairs!

Place of Meeting page 6

Scene around TUMC Pastor Michele Rizoli acknowledges another side to thanks-giving in her Thanksgiving sermon on Oct. 11, about how we often tie ourselves in knots seeking control over the struggles and worries in our lives, and the value of learning to release these things to God, the “untier of knots.”

The children’s choir sings and plays drums on Oct. 18.

Ginny Lepp has a rapt young audience on Oct. 11 as she shows photos and talks about the lives of children in Chad, the focus of a loose-change offering project this fall. Ginny served with Mennonite Central Committee for five years as a country rep for the region that includes Chad.

Place of Meeting November 2015 page 7