October Delve

Delve An

Of

Intersection

Faith

And Life

October 2014

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Features New Office Manager Surprising Hope CD Discipleship Ministries Budget Update Trees for Teens Fairbanks Missionary Update NeighbourLink News

Departments

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Deacon’s Bench Resource Centre

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Information Contact Information Community Corner Calendar

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Contributors: Anne Barron Karen Cassel Ron and Dalia Fairbanks Myrna Frost Jesse James Greg Kay Sam Lee Geoffrey Moore Gene Tempelmeyer Copy Editors: Greg kay Gene Tempelmeyer

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New Office Manager

We are excited to welcome Suzanna Lai as our new Church Office and Communications Manager. Suzanna and her husband, Kevin, have been part of the Spring Garden Community for about three years, along with their sons, Zachary and Lukas. They have been involved in Life Groups and Children’s Ministry.

In her new role Suzanna will be offering support to the pastoral team and the church body as a whole.

“It is my hope that God can use the skills and qualifications that He’s given me to serve the church in this administrative capacity so that more people will come to know Him and experience His transformational love and power,” she says.

A native of Vancouver, Suzanna earned several degrees in the areas of science, health care and management. But what drew her to this job was the possibility of bringing her organizational ability to the important mission we pursue in the name of Jesus. Her passion for outreach is evident in ways she has served in the past. She has been involved in a number of advocacy groups for the homeless such as “Out of the Cold”, The Scott Mission; The Homelessness Action Group; and The Toronto Street Needs Assessment. Short term mission trips to India and China have raised her awareness of the global nature of mission.

Suzanna is enthused to be part of Spring Garden and to take a new role with us. “After attending Spring Garden Church for two and a half years and serving in the discipleship ministries for a year, I find the values and purposes embraced by this church to be challenging yet transformative,” Suzanna says. “I feel blessed to be in this body of Christ whose understanding of God’s love and how Jesus can change the world deepen my faith and inspire me to serve His people with courage and humility.”

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Surprising Hope CD Every fall as a part of our journey through the common curriculum, Greg Kay and others in the community collaborate to produce a CD of music to help deepen the experience and connection to the scripture and series.

The new cd is currently available in the lounge of Spring Garden Church or can be listened to or downloaded from springgardenchurch.ca Highlights of the CD are “May the God of Hope” featuring our own little “wee kids choir”, and “Psalm 30” written and performed by Sharon Kim.

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Surprising Hope 1.

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Psalm 30 In Your Kingdom New Day Why So Overwrought? (Faithful Love) Bread of Life (A Song for the Table) May the God of Hope We Believe

Mixed, mastered and produced by Brandon Quek, 2014 All tracks written by Greg Kay except “Psalm 30” by Sharon Kim Bass guitars by Mike Penner Electric guitars and programming by Brandon Quek Photography by Erinn Bonney, design by Scott Moore

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Discipleship Ministries Sam Lee - Pastor of Discipleship Be still and know that I am God. This has been the theme of my life for the past few weeks. On my last Sunday at Yorkminster Park, Peter Holmes (lead pastor) preached on the need for us to slow down and to listen to God. Peter encouraged me to go slow, to take the time listen and to lean on God. I took what he said to heart and have been meditating on these two particular passages.

Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Psalm 37:7 “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.”

Waiting isn’t easy. Being still isn’t easy. Not doing anything when I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders - that is the Discipleship Ministries at Spring - isn’t easy. But that is exactly what I am trying to do. To take time, to wait patiently upon the Lord.

To not react to the sense of urgency but to trust that He is in control and knows better than I, what needs to be done.

So why do I share this with you? Because God is a God

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of community. He seems to take delight in involving His people in communicating His message. Though we see Him speaking directly to people at times, He enjoys involving His children in the family business. This is why I share this with you because we are in it together. We are the body of Christ manifested in this corner of the city and it is up to us to take the time to listen and to discern together the will of God. So I ask for your help. To join with me in actively listening to God’s voice.

I am reminded of a passage that is my prayer for us as we journey together.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight

Proverbs 3:5-6 For those of you who want to join me in prayer, here are some specific areas to pray for.

Children’s ministry Please pray for this time of transition to a new curriculum. Pray that God will use the curriculum to help our children grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ.

Pray for the 60+ volunteers that are involved in this ministry.

That they may feel empowered by the Holy Spirit to not only teach but to live out their faith as they serve.

Pray for our parents, that they would have the wisdom and discernment to slow down and to make faith formation a priority in their homes.

Youth ministry Please pray for guidance and discernment as we take time to form a leadership team. Pray for patience as we wait upon the LORD and His leading in this important area of ministry. Please pray for a sense of community, to find a place to belong.

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Collecting Food Bank items this October

On Thanksgiving Sunday Oct 12 and for the month of October we will be collecting non-perishable food bank items for the Dufferin Oasis Food bank.

As we give thanks for all of life’s blessings, let’s choose to be a blessing to others. Donations can be left in bins by the church office or at the front of the worship area.

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Spring Garden Baptist Church Financial Update - 37 weeks January 1st, 2014 to August 31, 2014

2014 Budget ……… $519,500 – ($9,990/week)

approved March 2, 2014

Budget from 1/1/14 to 8/31/14 Offering & Rental Income received Shortfall

Total $355,986 290,697 ($65,289)

/Wk $9,673 7,856 ($1,817)

Comments: We have committed to this 2014 Budget for the Lord’s Work at Spring Garden! How should we respond?!

“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver”. (2 Cor.9:7) We are currently $65,289 behind the pro-rated Budget.

(2013 - $77,000 behind the Budget). Our cash position is low at $32,352. We have had to spend $8,500 in October on unplanned roof repairs.

Let’s all be aware of our obligations and plan accordingly for donations….!

Thanks Geoffrey Moore Treasurer

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The Deacon’s Bench

Spring Garden Mission Policy: Showing God’s Care and Sharing God’s story to a broken world

Anne Barron – Deacon for Missions

For the past year a small committee has worked hard to revise the mission policy of Spring Garden Church.

After many hours, that process has been completed and the policy has been approved by the Deacon’s Board. The following is the text to the introduction of the policy. If you would like to read the complete 31 page document please speak with Gene or Greg or go to the SGC website http:// bit.ly/1mDU0M5. We are confident that this document will be a useful tool as we seek to be a community that continually tries to show God’s care and share God’s story in an incarnational way with a changing and broken world.

Introduction

For over 65 years Spring Garden Church has been a light in the Willowdale community, at the corner of Spring Garden Avenue and Kenneth Avenue. Spring Garden Church also has a rich tradition of sending and supporting 10

vocational missionaries throughout its long history. As of 2014, we support over 15 vocational missionaries and organizations both locally and globally through our annual budget. We are also involved in community projects that seek to involve the congregation in showing God’s care and sharing God’s story beyond the walls of the Spring Garden Church building.

With the passing of years, the context in which Spring Garden has sought to participate in the mission of God, in both local and global realities, has changed dramatically since its inception. We as a community are committed to continually seeking God’s guidance as to how to live out our faith in an incarnational way that gives witness to God’s Kingdom in our midst, and we know that in order to do so, remaining “as we were” is not an option. At the time of writing this policy, as we have been seeking to interpret together God’s work in the world, our local and global context, who we are as a community of disciples, and the Scriptures, we have come to realize that there is a need to revise and update our policies regarding our communal missional activity. While we affirm that the previous mission policy gave positive structure and expression to where God was calling Spring Garden during the time it was written, we also acknowledge that it was outdated and in need of revision.

There are many reasons for this, some subtle nuances and some drastic changes. One of the most dramatic changes is that, when the previous policy was written, the North American church understood “missions” as one compartmentalized program of the church. In Christendom society where the church had power and influence in our culture and where everyone we met knew about Jesus and the Scripture, missionaries, “sent ones”, were people who were sent “over there”, while the rest of us who stayed home were called not to do mission but to support those who did. It was a time when the dualistic values of the 11

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Enlightenment had twisted our understanding of God and salvation to believe that reason, intellect and propositional truth was what God was interested in, and the rest of our physical reality was not part of His plan of redemption.

Mission and evangelism in this context was understood to be our work of convincing people towards an intellectual ascent that will save them from hell into a disembodied heaven. It also was a time where the Western Church reflected the consumerism and individualism of the culture, understanding the gathering of God’s people to worship as a collection of autonomous individuals coming for the primary purpose of having personal experiences in worship.

This is the context into which our previous policy was written.

However, we now find ourselves in a post-Christendom culture where we are safer to assume that people know nothing about Jesus or the Scriptures than to assume that they do. We are in a post-modern context where what is real is not found in propositions and intellect but in relationships and holistic experience. We are in a time where the embodied resurrection of Jesus and the presentbut-not-yet reality of the Kingdom of God have reframed our understanding of the holistic nature of redemption and spirituality and God’s call on all of his people to participate in His mission in the world. The more we understand this, the more we realize that “mission” is not one compartmentalized program of the church and that all of us are “sent ones”.

Another significant shift that has occurred in Western theological understanding over recent decades is in to whom mission belongs. Depicted in the term Missio Dei, Latin for “mission of God”, our framework for understanding mission has shifted from seeing it as our work – something that is accomplished by us – to understanding that mission is not actually ours but Gods. God’s mission, the Missio Dei, is the reconciliation of the whole of creation—reconciling 13

it, and us, to Himself, to each other and to all of creation— through the redemptive work of Jesus. And God invites us to join Him by participating in and giving witness to His marvelous work in the world. In this paradigm shift, the only way by which we can understand the sent nature of the church is to understand the sending nature of God—as the Father sends the Son, and the Father and Son sends the Spirit, so the Trinity sends us to participate in His mission of reconciliation, redemption, restoration and healing.

What does all of this mean for us as a community in how it effects our collective participation in God’s activity in the world through local and global engagement? How does this affect how we organize ourselves as a community of “sent ones” who also send and partner with those of us who are called into vocational mission? How do we discern where God is calling us to work alongside Him as the particular community He has been and is forming us to be?

These are the types of questions that have led us to see the need to revise and update our policy as a tool that supports us as community seeking to continually show God’s care and share God’s story in an incarnational way with a changing and broken world.

In seeking to revise and update the existing missions policy we have used three documents to guide our discussions. First, “Pursuing God’s Will Together – A Discernment Practice for Leadership Groups” by Ruth Haley Barton, secondly, “Discover: A guide to discerning your church’s mission heart” produced by Canadian Baptist Ministries (CBM), and thirdly, “Going Global: A Congregation’s Introduction to Mission Beyond Our Borders”

by Gary Nelson, Gordon W. King and Terry G. Smith. We also interviewed 15 “stakeholders”, vocational missionaries and others whose opinion we felt would be valuable. We wish to thank the leadership of Spring Garden Church and others who have provided guidance, support and encouragement throughout this process.

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TREES FOR TEENS

“Buy a Christmas Tree, Change a Kid’s Life” BUY A QUALITY CHRISTMAS TREE, like you traditionally do! Only this time you will help two local youth outreach organizations continue serving youth and families in the North York communities of Agincourt and Willowdale.

Stay Golden! a youth-led hip-hop, spoken word, slam poetry and arts program that provides a space for youth in Agincourt to express themselves in an encouraging and peer-rich environment (in partnership with Agincourt Baptist Church).

Revolution(s) a program of Youth Unlimited Toronto (Toronto YFC), it fosters a community of young leaders in Willowdale through bike mechanic skills training, team development, mentoring and healthy outdoor recreation with cycling (in partnership with Spring Garden Church).

“Trees for Teens” OPTIONS: Only CASH or Cheque accepted. Make all Cheques payable to: “Youth Unlimited (Toronto YFC)” A. Classic “The tree everyone knows and loves!”

Aa. $50: 6-7’ Balsam Fir

Bb. $60: 7-8’ Balsam Fir B. Premier “Try something a little more upscale!”

$80: 6-7’ Fraser Fir “Trees for Teens” offer is only valid through Jesse (647-8358062) or Matt (647-896-9279)

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Fairbanks Ministry Overview

Ron and Idàlia (Dalia) Fairbanks are missionaries with Greater Europe Mission (GEM) since 1993.

GEM has three main focuses: Evangelism, Church Planting and Training and Equipping. The Fairbanks’s served in Portugal for 17 years and have been specifically involved in each of these areas. First teaching at the Portuguese Bible Institute (PBI) then Church Planting. As Canadian Director of Mobilization and the Portugal Field Director we seek to enable a new generation to find their God given identity, embrace the call of God to missions and motivate others to join them in this adventure to advance His Kingdom.

The Fairbanks’s believe that they are called to Multiply, Model and Mentor.

Multiply: Our vision is to see people converted, discipled and trained so that the Lords’ work might advance, locally, regionally and around the world. Ron and Dalia are actively involved in discipling young people, adults and couples through their involvement in small groups and couples ministry. They also coordinate Marriage Encounters with Christ, which has been a very effective evangelistic tool in Portugal and now in the Portuguese and English communities here in Canada. These Encounters have provided unique opportunities to share Christ with Pre-Christian’s as well as 16

strengthening relationships of Christian and pre-Christian couples. We have also seen many come to know Christ as their Lord and Saviour through this ministry.

In our home we have seen Hannah, Tamara, Jason and Joel grow in their own relationship with the God. They too are actively involved in sharing Jesus Christ with friends, family, neighbours and to the ends of the earth. Hannah is in 3rd year of Youth Ministry studies and English major at Tyndale and works part-time. Jason is currently in New Zealand for a Discipleship Training School by Youth With a Mission. Tamara is back at Briercrest in her 3rd year of the TESOL program and looks forward to going to a sensitive country in Asia to teach English. Joel has just entered High School and is adapting to a predominately Jewish student body. Together as a family we seek to bring others to Christ through evangelism, school contacts, work, neighbourhood friends and ministering in the community.

Model: We believe that in all that we say and do, we are to be models for Christ. This means in our marriage, our family, our home and the community. Our Christian walk should be evident to all those with whom we come into contact, be they students, amongst our neighbours, the community at large or fellow believers in Church.

Mentor / Teacher: As a couple we have worked with individuals and couples encouraging them in their faith, teaching them the Scriptures and assisting them to mature in their walk with Christ. We are also involved in local Churches where Ron preaches or teaches and Dalia leads Sunday school. There is a constant need to train up new leadership for mobilization, discipleship, small groups, youth work, Marriage Encounters and missions.

Prayer requests: Join us in praying for more workers both to mobilize across Canada as well as to go to the mission field of Europe. Pray for those who respond to this call and for the prayer and 17

financial partners necessary for them to go soon. Pray for an awakening amongst Canadian Churches to return to the basics of evangelizing, discipleship, and multiplication.

Thanksgiving: We are so grateful to the Spring Garden community for your partnership in the Lord’s work through your prayers and financial support over so many years of service with GEM. May we continue to be found faithful to the calling that Christ as placed upon our lives and in our service with you in extending His Kingdom to the ends of the earth.

With grateful hearts, the Fairbanks family

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NeighbourLink News

NeighbourLink is a ministry with which Spring Garden Church partners that reaches out to help those in the community who are disadvantaged because of age, disability and low income.

We provide such services as rides to doctors’ appointments and to the Food Bank for people who cannot afford to pay for transportation.

We are in great need of drivers to help these friends.

We are starting some new exciting initiatives and we need the support of new volunteers and Board members. If you are interested in spending a few hours each month in this essential work please contact us.

In November Spring Garden will be collecting items for NeighbourLink’s Personal Care Centre. Watch for the blue box in the area beside the parking lot door.

Mark December 6th on your calendars. NeighbourLink will be holding a Fundraising Christmas Concert here at Spring Garden with amazing musicians including The Bernard Pears Chorale and bass David Graham. Tickets will be $15.00 and there will be a Silent Auction with wonderful ideas for Christmas giving. Watch for details.

For information contact Myrna Frost 416-225-4986 or mfrost2254986@rogers.com.

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Recomendations From The Resource Centre

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Books Behind the Veils of Yemen: how an American woman risked her life, family and faith to bring Jesus to Muslim women,

by Audra Shelby With only prayer and a faith that always seemed too small, Audra Grace Shelby departed with her husband and children on a one-way flight to Yemen...deep into the heart of conservative Islam.

With honesty and passion, she shares her harrowing journey as a Christian woman thrust into a culture dangerously different from her own. From the friendships she forged, to her gnawing doubt and fear, to her offers of hope when her new friends’ religion failed them, she gives us glimpses of a world most have never seen: behind the veils of real Muslim women--and how the grace of God touches lives in the midst of an Islamic stronghold.

The Resolution for Men, by Stephen Kendrick The resolution contains 12 clear resolutions.

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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

The first is a personal reminder about one’s commitment to God to take full responsibility for self, wife, and children.

The other eleven resolutions put this commitment to practice. Beginning with the responsibility and commitment to the home and family, the resolutions gradually include commitments to be honourable and exemplary outside of the home. Commitments include: to honour authority, to stand up for justice, to bless others, to forgive others, to be faithful to Church, and to serve society at large, and several more.

The Auschwitz Escape, by Joel Rosenberg (Fiction) With unspeakable violence escalating against his fellow Jews, Jacob Weisz joins rebel forces working to undermine the Nazi regime. But after a raid goes horribly wrong, he’s shipped to a death camp. With the fate of millions in the balance, can Jacob manage an against-all-odds escape--and alert the world to Hitler’s actions?

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DVD’s Expecting a miracle Hoping to rekindle the fading flame of their marriage, Pete and Donna set off on a romantic getaway at his boss’s Mexican condo. But when car trouble strands them in a dusty, out-of-the-way village, they meet some extraordinary people preparing for a festival. Can a small-town priest and a little boy save their marriage---and their faith?

Finding normal Master multi-tasker, Dr. Lisa Leland (Candice Cameron Bure) is a successful surgeon on her way across country to launch a new practice with her equally brilliant doctor boyfriend. Along the way, her trip goes off course when she has a run-in with a small town cop and is subsequently sentenced to community service in Normal, NC. Stuck in the middle of nowhere with no cell reception, wifi or even credit card access, Leland does her time by filling in for the town’s ailing doctor, and begins to discover that a normal life may just be what she is looking for.

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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.

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Leadership at Spring Garden Pastoral Team Gene Tempelmeyer, Pastor

genetemp@springgardenchurch.ca Ext. 222 Greg Kay, Worship Pastor

gregkay@springgardenchurch.ca Ext. 224 Margaret Sutton, Pastoral Care/Seniors

margaretsutton@springgardenchurch.ca Ext. 226 Sam Lee, Pastor of Discipleship, Ext. 227

samlee@springgardenchurch.ca Suzanna Lai, Church Office and Communications Manager Ext. 221

suzanna@springgardenchurch.ca

Deacons Anne Barron - Missions Marion Cameron - Worship Mary Ellen Hopkins - Finance Koon Wah Leung - Discpleship Ministries Mike Penner - Community Life/Board Secretary Derek Prinsloo - Chair Matt Silver - Adult Ministries/Membership Judy Tranter - Pastoral Care Jim Turner - Property

416.724.9329 416.491.8542 905.731.0492 416.225.7092 416.227.1840 647.349.4610 416.391.5479 416.229.0494 416.512.1360

Elders Garth Barron Darlene Boyd Cindie Chaise Jennifer Moore

416.724.9329 416.385.2483 647.345.2476 416.786.8727

Spring Garden Church T 416.223.4593 112 Spring Garden Ave. F 416.223.6126 Toronto ON M2N3G3 www.springgardenchurch.ca

office@springgardenchurch.ca

Prayer Line 416.223.4038 ext1

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Community Corner

Life around Spring Garden

Know Someone Interested in Christian daycare in North York?

Who? Lead by experienced Youth Pastor, Alireza Amani, formerly a fabulous caregiver to Spring Garden Church Refresh Kids.

What? A tender daycare called Active Learning Day Care Centre, ages 1 - 5 When? Now. Before spaces fill up!

Where? Willowdale Evangelical Church on Finch Ave. East Why? There is a need for emphasis on active experience learning, music and creative activities based on Christian Principles.

Please feel free to contact Tanya Salituro, 416-222-4662 for referral or speak to Alireza directly at 647-772-9757 , childcare@wechurch.ca

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What’s Happening Life in Spring Garden

Weekly Tuesdays

2:00 pm - Pastoral Team meeting

7:00 pm - ESL Café Wednesdays

9:45 am - Refresh Women’s Bible Study Thursdays

12:00 pm - Adult Bible Class; 12 noon lunch, 1 pm

study Sundays

9:00 am - Morning Bible Study: meeting room

- ESL Bible Study: basement

10:00 am - Sunday Morning Worship

(communion on the first Sunday of the

month)

This Month During the month of October we will be collecting foodbank items October 13th - Thanksgiving Day October 25th - Deacons, Pastors and Elders combined

meeting; main lounge, 8:30am - 11:30am

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Refresh for Women Wednesdays 9:45 am. to 11:15 a.m. in the lounge at Spring Garden Church Friendly, open, fun...these are just a few of the words that describe the Refresh experience. Refresh is a time of gathering where the Bible is read, life’s stories are shared and new friends are made. Prayer for each other as we journey and learn about each other is also an important part of our time together. Though a Christian group we are open to anyone who is interested in hearing about Jesus and how to apply His teachings to our lives. We will be meeting on Wednesdays starting around 9:45 am until about 11:15 am. At the moment the group is comprised of young new mothers to grandmothers and every age in between!

BABIES WELCOME AND CHILDCARE PROVIDED. Please contact Tanya Salituro for more information: tanya@canprev.ca

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