December 2019 Delve

December 2019

Quick Calendar WEEKLY Sun

9am-10am Bible Study 10am-11:30am Sunday Worship 11:30 Refreshments

pg 21 pg 21

Tues 10am-12pm Pastoral Team Meeting Wed 10am-12:00am Refresh, Women's Group

pg 21

Thur 12pm-1pm Lunch Together

pg 21 pg 21

Dec. 1

Congregational Meeting

pg 22

Dec. 6 Dec. 14

Youth Life Group

pg 15

Christmas Party for the Youth

pg 15

Dec. 15

Light of the World 2019

pg 7

Dec. 24

Christmas Eve Worship Gathering

pg 11

7pm-8:30pm ESL Café

1pm - 2pm Bible Discussion

pg 21 pg 21

See more on page 21-22 or on our Events page at www.springgardenchurch.ca/events.

Delve submissions are due Dec. 16th. Delve submissions are due on the MONDAY before the LAST Sunday of each month. To submit for the next issue of Delve, please e-mail: delve@springgardenchurch.ca

Features

3-6

Advent Calendar 2019 3

Clinging Tenaciously 4 Malachi: Steadfast Waiting (Sunday Sermon Series) 6

Community Corner

7 - 12

Light of the World 2019 7 Christmas Care Packages 9 Halloween 2019 10 Morale Mail - Showing Care Over There 11 Help Needed 11 Financial Update 12 Greeters, Ushers and Help with Collection Needed 12

Discipleship Ministries

13 - 15

Spring Kids 13 | Spring Youth 14, 15

Resource Centre

17 - 18

Resource Recommendations 17

More Info

19 - 22, 16

Leadership Directory 19-20 Weekly Calendar 21 Upcoming Calendar 22 Design, Cover & Editor: Colouring Page 16

Our Values

Dale Forder

(back page)

Contributors: Greg Kay Jeremy & Kaitlyn Ranasinghe Victoria & Cliff Shipmaker Sam Chaise Karen Cassel Sam Lee Darlene Boyd Geoffrey Moore Copy Editors: Greg Kay Karen Cassel

Digging a little deeper into Spring Garden

Features 3

advent 2019 201

Gather around every day this month to read the story of h with the gift of His Son, Jesus. While you’re at it, spread so

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A young couple, Mary and Joseph, get engaged.

One day, God sends the angel Gabriel to Mary. He has some very special news!

Mary is greatly troubled when she hears the angel’s greeting.

Name something that starts with a J, O, then Y that brings you joy.

Bring JOY to a family in need by gathering your gently-used coats and gloves to drop off at a charity.

Have each person in your family share their definition of the word joy.

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Gabriel shares more details of God’s plan with Mary: “Jesus will be great and will be called God’s very own son!”

Mary doesn’t understand how she can have a baby without being married, but the angel Gabriel assures her of a great truth: Nothing is impossible with God.

“I serve God with my life and want all that you have said to happen,” Mary tells the angel, and he leaves.

Advent Calendar 2019

by Sam Lee

Create some family joy by turning on your favorite Christmas music and having a dance party.

Use your talents (whatever they are) to create something that represents the story of the birth of Jesus—like a Christmas ornament, a painting, a rap, a short play.

Too much technology can steal your joy. So turn it off for an undistracted evening together. Bake Christmas cookies, talk about your favorite Christmas memory, or plan a Christmas surprise for another family.

While Joseph and Mary are in Bethlehem, the time comes for the baby to be born.

Mary gives birth to Jesus, wraps Him in swaddling cloths, and lays Him in a manger because there is no room for them anywhere else.

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Gabriel responds to M God is very ha

Share your favorite jok videos with

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Mary visits her cou so overwhelmed w that she sings a

Snuggle up and watch movie t

It’s that time of the year1 2again. It’s Christmas!

Now, 11 13 you can react to “it’s Christmas!” with joy and expectancy or you can respond to it with a moan and an overwhelming sense of it being too much.

Whatever16your reaction might be, Christmas is the 17 18 16 time in which we as a church celebrate the gift of God in the coming of Jesus. Yet because of the commercialization of Christmas, the reason for the season can 2 2 excitement and 2 1 get lost in the 23 busyness of it all. It is always a challenge for me as a parent to think about how we as a family can participate in this Christmas season without losing sight of Jesus.

So in reflecting on how we as a family can keep Jesus at the center of this season, I came across an advent calendar that could be a helpful way of being intentional as we wait for Christmas day. One thing I like about this particular advent calendar is that it gives you an activity that you can do as a family each day to think about the stories leading up to the birth of Jesus with a little bit of fun. This advent calendar can be something that you hang up on your refrigerator door and can be used around the dinner table. If you are interested, you can pick up a calendar at the checkin centre or if you would prefer a digital copy, you can download it via the this link: http://tiny.cc/sgcadvent.

Joseph takes Mary, who is pregnant, to his hometown of Bethlehem to be counted.

Google search Christmas traditions around the world and have your family vote on a new one to adopt.

When the shepherds see the angel, they’re afraid!

Take your smile everywhere you go today. Even a simple smile can bring joy to someone having a rough day.

Invite a few of your favorite people over for dessert or a game night.

Give the joy of reading by collecting gently-used books and dropping them off at your local Goodwill or public library.

The angel tries to calm the shepherds: “Don’t be afraid—I bring wonderful news that will bring joy to all of the world!”

“A Savior—the Rescuer you have been waiting for is born today!” the angel proclaims to the shepherds.

Bring joy to your neighbors by leaving a small, gift or goody on a few doorsteps with an encouraging note.

See how many compliments each of you can give to brighten someone else’s day today.

The shepherds leave their flocks and hurry to find Mary, Joseph, and the baby, who is lying in a manger.

After they see the baby, the shepherds excitedly go and tell everyone they run into the good news!

Have each person share the most joyful part of their day today.

Write a note or card thanking someone who has brought you joy recently.

The shepherds return to their flocks, praising God for all they had seen and heard.

Christmas decorations bring holiday joy! Take a drive or walk around your community and enjoy the bright, beautiful colors.

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At night in a nearb are watching

Complaining is the oppos time you complain, follow you’re th

1

The angel explains will find the baby w cloths and lyin

Discuss: “How when we fee

2

Mary names the the angel had

Pull out old family albu Christmas pictures. Te Christmases

©2019 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

May this Christmas season be a time in which you and your family can remember and celebrate Jesus who came to be with us. This is why He is called Immanuel, God with us.

Clinging Tenaciously

by Greg Kay

R

ecently, I’ve been thinking about the word ‘tenacious’ a lot.

I can actually remember the first time I heard that word, tenacious. It was a cartoon I enjoyed watching when I was a teen.

One of those cartoons that at the time seemed very risqué but would probably be considered tame by today’s standards. I won’t give you the exact quote as it might be considered ‘inappropriate’ by some, but the context was that a super hero had just saved the Pope and when the wind pressure threatened to blow the Pope off his back, the superhero told the him to cling tenaciously to the part of his body he could get the best purchase…his backside. And no, don’t worry, I’m not going to try to draw a parallel to the biblical story of Balaam’s donkey (see Numbers 22:21-33 if you’re interested in reading a biblical story that’s even more bizarre than that cartoon!).

As strange as it seems, this was one of those moments that grafted itself into my permanent memory. In that goofy moment the word tenacious became a picture word for me. Not just the absurd picture of a cartoon pope holding on for dear life to the backside of a superhero with powdered toast for a head (yes, it keeps getting stranger and stranger…), but a picture of holding onto something that’s invaluable to you. So much more encouraging and challenging than the proverbial “hang-in-there” kitten dangling from a clothesline, it’s picture of a fierce unwillingness to let go, digging as 4

deep as you can with all the strength you can muster to persevere, to not let go, to hope against hope, to stand firm with an unbending resolve and willingness to sacrifice, all because of the belief that whatever you’re holding onto tenaciously is worth it.

It became a word-picture to me of faith. Of verses like, “let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23 New International Version), and “be alert.

Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13). The picture of the faithful disciple of Jesus standing firm in the faith in the face of hardship, doubt, abandonment, and suffering. Even in the midst of those times where God is silent and what feels like the absence of God, stubbornly holding onto the promise that God will never forsake us.

Faith, just like our physical muscles, cannot be strengthened in the absence of resistance. In the absence of resistance our muscles atrophy, our faith decays. And so like athletes preparing for a competition pushing their muscles to grow stronger, the muscles of our faith grow stronger through times of challenge, through the practice of holding on perseveringly to what we hope for, what we long for.

Tenacious.

But then it struck me, what happens when my legs give out? When the muscles of my faith are pushed beyond my human limit and I collapse on the floor in despair, doubt and hopelessness? When I have nothing left in my reserves and the fatigue from tenaciously running the race sets in? When my fingers that have been clawing their way up the side of a cliff can no longer hold on and I feel like I’m about to fall back into the abyss?

That’s when we find that God is infinitely more tenacious than we are. That for every question, every doubt, every angry fit of rage directed towards him, Jesus is compassionate, patient, faithful, embracing. That for every moment of striving, labouring, groaning and pressing on, God has been holding, sustaining, carrying, refreshing and uplifting. That no matter how much darkness, suffering, brokenness, and shame we see, Jesus is birthed into the world as light, joy, healing, and unconditional love.

That because of deep unending love for us and the whole creation, 5

God has a fierce unwillingness to let go, standing firm with an unbending resolve and willingness to sacrifice even his only Son, all because of the belief that we, the object of divine love, are worth it.

This is the hope to which I tenaciously hold this Advent season.

Malachi: Steadfast Waiting

F

or December and the Advent Season, the series for our Worship Gathering is 'Malachi: Steadfast Waiting'.

After some of the Jews returned after the Babylonian exile, under Persian rule they were given permission to rebuild the temple.

However, the former glory of the Lord’s presence in the temple never returned. Waiting is hard, and remaining faithful while waiting is even harder. The strains and temptations while waiting can be overwhelming. Some time after returning from exile and the rebuilding of the temple, the people and priests lost their zeal for the Lord, and Malachi (which means “my messenger”) was sent to call God’s people back to covenantal faithfulness. The message of Malachi to remain faithful to God’s covenantal relationship through the wait is the last message of God to his people before sending Jesus over 400 years later.

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Life in and around Spring Garden

Community Corner 7

Join us at Spring Garden as we sing favorite Christmas songs with an upbeat band and eat lots of great desserts.

Sunday Dec 15th at 6:30pm At Spring Garden Church Admission is free. There will be a

donation box in aid of “The Drop-Inn�, a local weekly drop-in for the marginalized and underhoused providing meals, showers, haircuts, etc.

For more info contact gregkay@springgardenchurch.ca

FREE download five songs by our Light of the World band at: Dropbox: http://bit.ly/1j6rp0A Google Drive: http://bit.ly/1NC6NWb Youtube: https://bit.ly/2ytbDaV

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Christmas Care Packages

November 24th - December 22nd CONTACT KAITLYN RANASINGHE KAITLYN@FIGHT4FREEDOM.CA

Christmas Care for Survivors of Human Trafficking Christmas can be a tough time of year for survivors of sex trafficking. Survivors often have broken relationships with their friends and families. Many of the individuals we support are working through trauma and feel lonely/lost during this season.

This Christmas season, in partnership with Spring Garden, Fight4Freedom is delighted to offer once again the opportunity to bless survivors and share our love with them.

We are partnering to collect Christmas care packages of needed items, and fun treats to distribute to survivors across Ontario.

As we approach winter and the Christmas season, survivors need many different things. From lotion to cosmetics, soap to mittens, and board games to socks. This Christmas, join us in loving survivors!

If you are interested, we will provide you with a (pseudonym) name and general information about the individual that you will be buying for, including some of their interests and gift ideas. You can then put together a Christmas gift for them, which we will distribute around Christmas time. If you are interested or have any questions, you can contact Kaitlyn Ranasinghe at kaitlyn@fight4freedom.ca.

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Halloween 2019

by Cliff and Victoria Shipmaker

This Halloween we had some frightful weather in North York. It was cold and windy with bouts of heavy rain. In amongst this there were a number of children with their parents who braved the weather to partake in the tradition of trick or treating.

We had a team of Spring Gardeners who decided to welcome the children and their parents to come and have a treat with us. The children got some candy and the parents got a hot chocolate to warm them up.

We welcomed about 70 children and got to see the excitement they had to collect treats and dress up in their favourite costumes.

Some were quite extravagant. At the end of the night two young boys came in with their Dad. The boys were dressed up in simple decorated boxes. One boy was a VIA train and the other was a TTC subway train. The costumes were simple but very creative.

This event is an excellent opportunity for the church to meet the community around the church and to show our care at the same time.

We would like to send a heartfelt thank you to all the people who helped with pumpkin carving, shelling out candy and making the hot chocolate. Another successful Halloween at Spring Garden. Also a big thank you everyone who donated pumpkins, candy and treats to hand out.

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Morale Mail - Showing Care Over There Wow! The response was really great to our Morale Mail project with 45 boxes donated to soldiers serving overseas. The representative from the Toronto Military Family Resource Centre was surprised by the number and this generosity on our part encourages the Centre in what they do as well as the soldiers that receive the gifts. Thank-you to all who participated whether by handing out boxes, donating, wrapping or blessing our efforts.

A special shout out to the youth who provided some well thought out items and personalized notes and pictures.

Cliff and Victoria Shipmaker

Help Needed Are you good with numbers? Do you like to count?

The counting team is in need of a couple more people to count the Sunday offering. The team consists of 2 people that count each week. There are four teams so the commitment is for one Sunday each month. You would count the same Sunday every month either the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th week. If this is a way you could serve please contact Darlene Boyd or Marion Cameron.

Christmas Eve Worship Gathering December 24th 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm 11

Greeters, Ushers and Help with Collection Needed We are currently recruiting people to help with greeting, ushering and collection. Whether you are outgoing or reserved there is room on our team. This is also a great opportunity for people new to the church to get to know other volunteers and church goers. Training is provided and you are assisted until you are comfortable.

Greeters 9:40 am to 10:10 am at the parking lot door.

This role includes saying "hello" as people come into the church and offering them a bulletin. Some visitors will require help with the elevator. This is a great opportunity for youth or adults. You may volunteer once a month or less often.

Head Ushers 9:40 am to 10:10 at the Spring Garden Avenue entrance This role includes that of a greeter but also ensuring that four people are asked to help with collection. Getting volunteers to help with collection is easily done the morning of service. You will be trained and assisted until you feel comfortable. Children are welcome to serve with their parents!

You may choose to serve once a month or less frequently.

Collection This role takes place during service as part of worship. For every service we need four ushers to help with the collection. The head usher looks for these helpers on the morning of service. If you would welcome a chance to serve in this way please let us know.

Please let Victoria know if you are interested in any of these 3 roles. She will contact you with more details and answer any questions. Victoria text/call 647.444.9320 or email victoriashipmaker@gmail.

With only five weeks to go, as of November 24th we still need $91,222 to reach our budget of $568,332.

-Geoffrey Moore, Sam Chaise and Marion Cameron

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Partnering with Families and Singles

Discipleship Ministries

Spring Kids ROOMS IN OUR BASEMENT DROP OFF

Nursery (0 - 18 months) Purple Toddler/Pre-K (19 months - 3 years) Orange JK / SK Yellow Grade 1 Blue Green Grade 2 & 3 Blue Grade 4 & 5 Blue Red Grade 6-12 Youth Lounge Here is an overview of what we will be talking about on Sundays for Spring Kids.

Jr Curriculum: Kings of Kings

In this series, children will learn about King Solomon, King Josiah, and the greatest king of all, King Jesus!

Children will learn that Jesus is the king of kings.

He is the greatest king of all. Children will get to experience the excitement leading up to Jesus’ birthday, and learn the true message of Christmas.

“Jesus is the greatest king of all.”

Revelation 17:14

Elementary Curriculum: 13

PICK UP

• God is Warrior • God is Victorious • Remember and Celebrate

Spring Youth

November Recap: Last year we had the opportunity to participate in morale mail with the whole church. We really enjoyed it as a group, and so we decided to take part in it again this year. Before we went shopping together we met at the church and ate dinner. Afterward, we were getting ready to walk over to Empress Walk, when I asked the youth if we could be a little bit more intentional than we were last year.

Something I suggested to the youth was that they write a letter to the person who will receive it such as a message that would explain why they chose what they bought for them (Please read image above. Ultimately the hope was, whoever received and opened the package, would feel incredibly cared for and loved by the youth of Spring Garden.

Here is what's happening this December!

Sunday Morning Worship Gatherings: December 8th, 15th - We will have our worship gathering for youth in grades 6-12. Following the children’s blessing, youth will move to

the youth lounge to continue in worship.

December 1st, 22nd, 29th Sunday Upstairs - Youth are either in the large worship gathering, or serving in other areas in the discipleship ministry. To serve in the discipleship ministry area, please contact Jeremy (jeremy@springgardenchurch.ca)

Youth Life Groups: Life Groups will be held December 6th.

Info for: “Boys Life Group” jeremy@springgardenchurch.ca

“Girls Life Group” Kaitlynrenaa@gmail.com

Youth Events: December 14th: Christmas Party - At Spring Garden as a potluck, so youth are expected to bring food from home. We will also be hosting a gift exchange. We are encouraging youth to bring a gift valued at no more than $10.

Time: 5:00pm-9:00pm Bring: $10-gift for gift exchange, food to share at the potluck

Winter Retreats:

Avalanche and Blizzard are often a life changing experience for many students. It is a chance for junior and senior high students to join with 500 other people their age and see that they are not alone in their life journey towards Jesus. Through small group experiences, musical worship and engaging teaching, the retreats aim to inspire students, whether Christians or not, to begin taking steps in their young faith journeys. Beyond that there are so many great games, activities and a lifetime of memories made on these weekends.

Avalanche 2019 (Gr 6-8) - January 17th-19th Blizzard 2019 (Gr 9-12) - February 7th-9th Cost: $140 (subsidies available) Staying Updated: To stay up to date on what is happening for your youth, please visit our google calendar which has all our planned events http://tinyurl.com/SGCYouth 15

Merry Christmas

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Recommendations

The Resource Centre 17

Spring Garden’s online library catalog can be accessed at springgardenchurch.ca/library. If you know of books or DVDs that you’d like to recommend to the Resource Centre, please contact Karen Cassel (karen.cassel@bell.net)

New Biblical Fiction, The Silent Years Series: Judah’s Wife

by Angela Hunt

Seeking peace and safety after a hard childhood, Leah marries Judah, a strong and gentle man, and for the first time in her life Leah believes she can rest easily.

But the land is ruled by Antiochus IV, descended from one of Alexander the Great's generals, and when he issues a decree that all Jews are to conform to Syrian laws upon pain of death, devout Jews risk everything to follow the law of Moses.

Judah's father resists the decree, igniting a war that will cost him his life. But before dying, he commands his son to pick up his sword and continue the fight--or bear responsibility for the obliteration of the land of Judah. Leah, who wants nothing but peace, struggles with her husband's decision--what kind of God would destroy the peace she has sought for so long? The miraculous story of the courageous Maccabees is told through the eyes of Judah's wife, who learns that love requires courage . . . and sacrifice.

Jerusalem’s Queen Born in the small village of Modein, a town made famous by the warrior Maccabees, Salome Alexandra knows better than to harbor grand dreams for her future. She pales in comparison to her beautiful older sister, and though she learns to read at an early age, girls are not valued for their intellectual ability. But when her father and sister are killed, John Hyrcanus, a distant relative, invites Salome and her mother to live with his family in Jerusalem, where her thirst for knowledge is noticed and indulged. When her guardian betroths her to a pagan prince, she questions HaShem's

plan. When Hyrcanus finally marries her to a boy half her age, she questions her guardian's sanity. But though Salome spends much of her life as a pawn ordered about by powerful men, she learns that a woman committed to HaShem can change the world.

King’s Shadow Two women occupy a place in Herod's court. The first, Salome, is the king's only sister, a resentful woman who has been told she is from an inferior race, a people God will never accept or approve. Zara, the second woman, is a lowly handmaid who serves Salome, but where Salome spies conspiracies and treachery, Zara sees hurting people in need of understanding and compassion.

Powerful and powerless, Idumean and Jew, selfish and selfless--both women struggle to reach their goals and survive in Herod the Great's tumultuous court, where no one is trustworthy and no one is safe.

Further Readings on Malachi

Loving God and disturbing men: preaching from the prophets

by Donald Leggett; 251 LEG

Readers will appreciate the detailed scholarly treatment of the prophetic literature the author provides. But equally important, the author demonstrates that what the prophets said about God, evil, repentance, history, social justice and eschatology has the ring of immediacy for us. Moreover, the study is helpful in treating the lives of the prophets as models of spirituality in prayer, suffering and preaching.

While the book is primarily for those who preach from the prophets, it is suitable for a much wider audience.

Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi

by Joyce Baldwin; 224.97 BAL

Three neglected but important prophets receive a fresh and penetrating analysis in this introduction and commentary.

For each prophet's work, Joyce Baldwin first considers the general issues of author, text and message, then offers a passage-by-passage commentary.

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Directories and What's Happening

More Info

Leadership Directory PASTORAL TEAM

416.223.4593

Greg Kay Co-Lead Pastor

Ext. 224 gregkay@ springgardenchurch.ca

Sam Lee Co-Lead Pastor

Ext. 227 samlee@ springgardenchurch.ca

Jeremy Ranasinghe Children and Youth Pastor

Ext. 223 jeremy@ springgardenchurch.ca

Dale Forder Office & Communications Administrator

Ext. 221 daleforder@ springgardenchurch.ca

Spring Garden Church

112 Spring Garden Avenue, Toronto ON M2N 3G3 www.springgardenchurch.ca office@springgardenchurch.ca Telephone Fax Prayer Line 19

416.223.4593 416.223.6126 416.223.4038

Krysten Cameron Vice Chair, Worship

Sam Chaise Finance

Martin Dewar

DEACONS

Community Life, Refreshment

Monica Kim Pastoral Care, Membership

Joanne Laing Missions

Shannon Loewen Chair, Children & Youth

Jeff McGee Adult Discipleship

Peggy Moore Property

Anne Barron

ELDERS

Garth Barron Darlene Boyd

416.399.0493 krystencameron@hotmail.com 437.925.2813 sam_chaise@yahoo.com 416.229.2695 martin.dewar@sgbc.ca 604.710.3224 monicakim2000@gmail.com 416.617.6582 joannelaing@gmail.com 647.202.0701 shannon.loewen1@gmail.com 416.493.2102 jeff.mcgee@sympatico.ca 416.225.2406 peggylouisemoore@gmail.com 416.724.9329 anne.barron020@sympatico.ca 416.724.9329 garthbarron@sympatico.ca 416.385.2483 darlene.boyd@gmail.com

Koon Wah Leung Clem Lee

416.225.7092 koonwleung@gmail.com 416.508.7355 crazymonkeyfamily@gmail.com

Brad Sider

647.200.6853 ​ radsider@yahoo.ca 20 b

What’s Happening Weekly SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP

Sundays 10am - 11:30am For December, we are talking about Malachi: Steadfast Waiting.

Children and Youth go downstairs.

Life in Spring Garden

SUNDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY Sundays 9am - 10am

Held in the meeting room.

Everyone is welcome, bring your Bible if you have one.

REFRESH

Friendship, care & spiritual growth for women; child care provided. Please see more on our Events page.

Contact Beverly Holtzman @ holtzb@rogers.com

Tuesdays 10am - Noon

We meet in the meeting room every Tuesday. Please pray for us for wisdom and inspiration.

LUNCH TOGETHER Thursday 12pm - 1pm

Eat and Share some laughs and conversation with others and words of prayer. West Lounge.

Communion will be held on the 1st Sunday of the month.

Wednesdays 10am - 11:30am

PASTORAL TEAM MEETING

ESL CAFE

Wednesdays 7pm - 8:30pm We meet at Spring Garden Church in the East Lounge.

A place to practice your English and meet new friends.

Text or call Victoria @ 647 444 9320

BIBLE DISCUSSION Thursday 1pm - 2pm

Bible Study that is open to the church and our neighbours. victoriashipmaker@ gmail.com Text or call Victoria @

647 444 9320

You may find more info at springgardenchurch.ca, in the 21 welcome brochure or call us at 416-223-4593.

What’s Happening Upcoming DEC

1 DEC

6 DEC

14 DEC

15 DEC

24 JAN

12 6 JAN

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Life in Spring Garden

Congregational Meeting to consider the motion to appoint Greg Kay and Sam Lee to the positions of Co-Lead Pastors Youth Life Groups

Male and Female life groups. See page 15.

Christmas Party for the Youth See page 13.

Light of the World

Male and Female life groups. See page 7.

Christmas Eve Worship Gathering See page 11

Potluck Lunch

More information to come.

Avalanche 2020 (Youth) See page 15.

If you would like to receive a weekly e-mail update on what’s happening in Spring Garden, please visit the SGC website (www.springgardenchurch.ca) and add your email address on our home page to subscribe to our weekly e-mail.

Also keep you eye on our Events page at: www.springgardenchurch.ca/events.

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Our Values We believe in a humble God who came not to be served, but to serve. Therefore we engage in sacrificial and active service to those around us. We strive to be good stewards of God’s gifts and talents by serving one another in humility. We aspire to regard others as higher than ourselves, which liberates us to creatively take risks in serving others for God’s glory.

We believe in a God of grace who came to save the world, not to condemn it. Therefore, as we are continuously receiving the gift of God’s grace, we seek to grow in that grace and extend it to others.

We strive to define ourselves by what we are for, not what we are against.

We believe in a God who knows us, and who desires to be known.

Therefore we embrace a journey of faith that requires us to constantly strive for a personal, intimate and transformative knowledge of God. We strive to be led by God’s Spirit in supporting and encouraging one another in working out our faith.

We believe in a creative God. Therefore we are open to expressing our faith in new and creative ways that reflect the beauty and complexity of our creator. We are called to use our creative gifts in worship and service as we engage with our world. We take joy in the diversity of gifts that allow us to delight God and participate in His ongoing story.

We believe in a triune, relational God who calls us to come together as a diverse community of believers. Therefore, we want to walk together, supporting one another physically, emotionally and spiritually. We strive to be a welcoming, inclusive family that goes through the joys and the trials of life together, acknowledging that God uses this community to deepen and mature our faith.

We believe in a God who loves this broken world and wants to reconcile us to Himself. Therefore we are commissioned by Christ to go out into the world, meeting the holistic needs of the local and global community. God calls us to participate in a redemptive work that he has already initiated; in humility, we will partner with others to work alongside and chase after Him. We believe in a God who is our center. Therefore where we are on the journey is less important than that we are moving towards a deeper relationship with Christ. We believe and participate in God’s redemptive work in all people, which gives us the freedom to come as we are, and to accept others as they are. We each are on a

unique journey to become who God has created us to be.