Download - Pom june 2013 col
Place of Meeting
A hairy moment
Toronto United Mennonite Church June 2013
Quintin Fast has a moment of doubt as Ginny Lepp does the razoring honours at the annual Youth
Coffeehouse on May 11. The audience had to come up with a minimum amount of cash before three
brave young TUMC guys agreed to have their lovely locks shorn. All for a good cause: sending four
TUMC youth to the Mennonite Church Canada Youth Assembly in Winnipeg this summer.
More photos inside.
Place of Meetingis 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, throughthe mail folder in the lobby or at
Next month’s deadline:July 2, 2013
Have you discovered the all-colour online version of Place of
Meeting, complete with liveweblinks? Check this month’s
issue out here: issuu.com/pomeditor/docs/
pom_june_2013l
You can also request an emailsubscription to the colour versionin PDF form or a monthly link tothe current online issue. Please
send a request [email protected]
Editor: Doreen Martens
Remembering Dad
Place of Meeting page 2
Recently, Ginny Lepp and her brothers had a profound time of
reflecting together on their memories of their Dad in healthier
times, remembering “the walking years” before dementia
robbed him of his ability to get around without a wheelchair. As
brother Randy recalled: “My mighty and powerful father. My men-
tor –– my Dad. The unbeatable strong guy that little Randy looked up
to. Yep –– you get it ... my view is of me at 5 or 7 years old and
well –– now you see it. Tears dropping into my beard hairs are quite a
reasonable response. Very human response. You see –– my image of
me is a little boy standing right there beside my father's legs.”
As we anticipate Father’s Day, Ginny shares these two poems she
wrote about her father.
I
Dad’s long hairy legs
Crossed at broad knees gently sway
Relaxed comforting
II
The lean muscles that walked beside me can no longer support his
frame
The strong jaw that enjoyed thousands of meals no longer chews for
pleasure
The voice that responded sagely no longer recalls the words
The soft eyes that knew our faces no longer recognize
Yet his generous, gentle heart cannot forget the love it has known
A recent picture of Ginny’s Dad with two of his youngest grandchildren.
Peace Advocacy Team Meets
Senior Government Officials
Malacanang Palace, Manila. 02 April 2013
Our team of peace advocates had a very productive
meeting with Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad
(Department of Budget and Management) and a
brief exchange of notes with Secretary Corazon
“Dinky” Soliman (Department of Social Welfare and
Development) about their respective roles in achiev-
ing just-peace in our beautiful land.
We were led by Bishop Efraim Tendero (Philippine
Council of Evangelical Churches) and Gus Miclat
(Initiatives for International Dialogue-Mindanao
PeaceWeavers). The other team members were
Karen Tanada (GZO Peace Institute), Regina Lyn
Getuiza Mondez (Sulong CARHRIHL-Generation
Peace), Jun Aparece (Mindanao Peoples Caucus),
and Malou Tabios Nuera (IID-MPW). The next day,
I had a one-on-one meeting with a key official at the
Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace
Process.
My general perspective about the peace process in
Mindanao can be summarized in two words: Critical
optimism! In Shaa Allah, a comprehensive agree-
ment may be completed within the mutually agreed
time-frame. –– Dann Pantoja
Place of Meeting May 2013 page 3
News from the Pantojas
PBCI Intensifies
Arabica Coffee
Training
Philippines is one of the 70 countries that can grow
the four varieties of coffee, but we are not on the cof-
fee map. We have a largely volcanic soil that is best
for theArabic coffee, but the small supply of coffee
that we have is largely Robusta.
In the context of peace theology, specifically in the
economic-ecological transformation, Peacebuilders
Community (PBCI) is intensifying its Arabica cofee
training through fair trade principles. This month,
three trainings and one orientation were held with 290
farmer participants.
In the interior of the mountains of Bukidnon, where
banditry is supposed to be rampant, around 180 farm-
ers
gathered for coffee training on 10 April 2013. A
Higaonon tribal member went to the PBCI office in
Davao City, six hours away, to invite us to their place.
When we went there, we proved once again that be-
hind the stereotypes are people who are dreaming of a
life of dignity for themselves and their families. This
photo shows one of the possible sites for the planta-
tion. The mountain in the background is a sacred
place for them that cannot be touched. Dominorog is
1050 meters above sea level.
Here are some tidbits from the latest prayer letter
from Daniel and Joji Pantoja, who work with
Peacebuilders in the Philippines and are sup-
ported in part by TUMC through Mennonite
Church Canada Witness.
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Place of Meeting page 4
News from the Pantojas
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Upon the invitation of an evangelical pastor who graduated
from the Peace and Reconciliation training, the team held a
coffee training for 60 Higaonon farmers in Manalog, Bukid-
non on 11 April 2013. The team crossed twelve creeks to
reach the place, which is also the last village that is reachable
by road. Manalog has vast mountains full of natural re-
sources waiting to be tapped. May the Higaonon people con-
tinue in strengthening their being so that the resources given
them by the Creator will be used with stewardship. The
mountains in the background of this photo are part of Mana-
log.
If we crossed a dozen rivers in our last coffee training, in this
trip, we passed through a road that seems to be once was a
river! Despite that, it was a trip that's worth all the bumps.
On 16-18 April, the team visited a possible coffee plantation
in Upi, Maguindanao through the invitation of Bai Jehan
Baraguir, owner of Datu's Brew in Cotabato City. The farm-
ers were family of one of the baristas in the coffee shop. The
site had a lot of money lying on the ground. Coffee seedlings
were robustly growing. The hills had gentle slopes. Truly,
Mindanao is blessed! After the field visit, an orientation was
given to the farmers at the Datu's Brew coffee shop.
It is not the season for coffee but the farmers of Mt. Apo have
lots of berries waiting to be picked. On 19-20 April, the team
went to Purok Pluto, Sitio Balutakay, Barangay Managa in
Bansalan Davao del Sur, to train 50 coffee farmers. It is in
the Mt. Apo range, a “potentially active” volcano and the
Philippines’ highest peak. At noontime, the place is shrouded
in fog. The soil is very rich with vegetables and flowers and
coffee growing in profusion. The sad thing is that the moun-
tain is laid bare, with the forest cover gone. The farmers are
practicing non-organic farming. Because they have existing
coffee trees, the team emphasized proper plantation manage-
ment, improvement in quality and increase in biodiversity.
Peace and Reconciliation and financial management trainings
will be held in the next months. All the trainings are in part-
nership with CatholicRelief Services and Kapwa Upliftment.
The farmers are a mixture of migrants and the Bagobo-
Tagabawa tribe.
The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it
the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it
on the sea and established it on the waters
Psalm 24:1-2
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Place of Meeting May 2013 page 5
An evening of song and shearing
The annual youth coffeehouse, held
May 11, offered lots of hilarity, plenty of
musical talent –– for example singing
“Amazing Grace” in various genres
(left) and performing as a classical bal-
loon orchestra (below left) –– and a few
gasps as three young men sacrificed
their locks. All for a good cause: raising
money to attend the Mennonite Church
Canada Youth Assembly in Winnipeg
this summer.
Photos by T im Schmucker
Place of Meeting page 6
An evening of song and shearing
Buh-bye hair! Quintin, Derek and Isaac
show off their flowing locks before sub-
mitting to the clippers in the ultimate
“Fun-Razor”.
Place of Meeting May 2013 page 7
An evening of song and shearing
At a youth coffeehouse, you can always
expect lots of visual gags –– imaginary
benches, forehead-to-mouth Oreo con-
tests and the like. ...
Place of Meeting page 8
An evening of song and shearing
Diem LaFortune and Alan Armstrong jam to-
gether; Michele Rizoli, Carmen Wiebe and Sarita
Lepp sing; behind the curtain, puppeteers in the
pit; John Teshima and friends perform (thanks!).
Place of Meeting May 2013 page 9
An invitation to musical artists
The TUMC Worship Committee invites you
to consider creating an original composition
or arrangement for worship
We invite you to create music for Sunday July 21st linked to our summer theme:
"When in your experience has the church been Salt and Light?"
or more generally to the theme of salt and light found in Matthew 5:13-16
You may also want to consider how it may fit into a worship service:
Gathering or Call to Worship
Praising God
Call to Confession
Meditation and Prayer
Affirmation and Faith
Benediction
Please let Marie Penner know by May 31 if you wish to participate.
We look forward to hearing from you.