place of meeting july 2014

Place of Meeting

Oh, the joys of summer

Toronto United Mennonite Church July 2014

The TUMC retreat, with the Saturday night campfire, marked the start of

the summer season for many members of our congregation, with a mix of

quiet prayer and song, Taize-style, rest and relaxation, fun in the water,

conversation, good food and all the traditional camp stuff – like silly skits

and songs around the campfire. More 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

[email protected]

Next deadline Sept. 2, 2014

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_july_2014l

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

Seen around TUMC

Place of Meeting page 2

Junior High kids lead the service on June 1; young string players accom-

pany provide rich accompaniment on June 8; children’s time on July 6.

By Jan Kraus

Did you know? Space Task Force 3 (SPF3)

members Chair Bob Thiessen, recording sec-

retary Jan Kraus, Carolyn Loewen and Richard

Ratzlaff continue to consult and work even

through the challenges of summer schedules.

Other people have been regular supporters and

contributors to STF3 meetings including architect

Melana Janzen, Christy Langschmidt and Doug

Pritchard. STF3 meetings regularly included

“guests” who spoke to specific questions and con-

cerns of the committee.

Starting with the September 2008 Living out our

Values and Identity statement, many different

people have contributed their time and talents to

making our values visible.

This has included self-reflection and conversa-

tions focused on our congregational life including

worship, education, hospitality and networking.

We also listened for God’s voice calling us to

share our resources, time, energy and talent with

our community and the wider world.

Many different mission options were explored

and the congregation has now chosen to focus on

assisting victims of human trafficking. As we

have explored new horizons we have continued to

work closely with our current partners and neigh-

bours.

Many TUMC people have been involved through

committee meetings, Soup & Sophia gatherings,

Place of Meeting July 2014 page 3

Decision made, now it’s time for work!

Board meetings, AGM, fundraising campaigns, written re-

ports, architectural blueprints, telephone interviews and one

on one conversations.

Currently much work is going on “behind the scenes” as

people continue to work on alterations of the drawings to

meet the budget and space modifications, prepare designs

for 6 Lark renovations, prepare paperwork for city permits,

meet with city counselors, meet with mission partners, com-

municate with current partners and inform neighbours.

We encourage you to read the reports, study the architectural

drawings and offer your comments and questions to any

member of STF3.

In addition we invite you to prayerfully listen for God’s

leading as together we respond to God’s call to share our

time, energy and talents.

Options for naming 6 Lark Out of the loop?

After reviewing many submitted suggestions for a name for the

shelter to be located at 6 Lark, the working group has narrowed

down the choices to four: Lark Centre, Vida Centre, Aurora

House and Esther Centre. Background for each of these

choices is posted at church. Attendees on July 6 and 13 have

been given the opportunity to cast their votes (three votes per

person, to be placed any way you like). Those unable to attend

either Sunday are invited to contact Mary Klein with their sub-

mission.

Draft minutes from the June 8 con-

gregational meeting are posted at

tumc.ca for your review and com-

ments to the TUMC Board. You need

to log- ‐on with your user ID and pass-word to get to the Congregational

Meetings page.


Prayer Letter:Bock Ki Kim and Sook-Kyoung Park


Prayer Letter


Milestones

The past month has been one of many

welcomes. On June 3, we celebrated the

safe arrival of three new babies in our

congregation with a shower: Eli Natha-

nial, with parents David and Damaris;

Isaac Joel, with parents Joel and

Heather and (not pictured) Brynn Car-

olyn with parents Kendell and Clark.

On the same day, we welcomed Ethan

Vanderleek as our summer intern, left.

On June 8, we had the joy of receiving

Peter Haresnape into membership, with

Doug Pritchard serving as his faith part-

ner (below).

A slice of Taize at Silver Lake


This year’s retreat wascentred on learningabout and experiencingreflective prayer andsong in the style of theTaize ecumenical com-munity in France, led bysummer intern EthanVanderleek and associ-ate pastor Michele Ri-zoli. A beautiful settingand equally beautifulmusic captured thequiet attention even oflittle ones.



Retreats are always a de-lightful time of relaxation,playing games together,swapping around babies,and good conversation thathelps us grow closer as afamily of faith. Right, Florence Heise whips upsome hot chocolate for arriving campers on Fridaynight; Saturday morning,Michele Rizoli offers somereflections on her visit toTaize.



Taste and See, like the signsays: Good food is always afavourite part of the SilverLake retreat, and this yearwas no exception. Fromtacos to ice cream cones toyummy breakfastcasseroles, we ate heartily.



It was a cooler weekend thansome adults might havehoped, but the kids took fulladvantage of the sunshine andthe warm pond to enjoy somecrazy fun – especially inkayaks – in the water andsand.

Thanks to Michele Rizoli forphotos top left.



Whether it was working together,playing games, learning some newskills or just teaming up to pull thedinner bell, we found lots of ways toenjoy being together.



Hilarity ensued around the campfireSaturday night, with fun songs andskits, ending in “Unity.”



Some parting shots from Silver

Lake 2014.


Ending the year with a splash

The GERMS (junior youth) ended the school year with a

great pool party and barbecue (and at least one feat of

gymnastics) at the home of Harold and Tobi Thiessen.

Photos by Michele Rizoli.

place of meeting july 2014

Documents