place of meeting june 2014

Place of Meeting

Where our heartsare planted

Toronto United Mennonite Church June 2015

May was a season of contemplating the meaning of

reconciliation in the face of what we have learned of the

suffering of our First Nations brothers and sisters, and

contemplating how we can live more justly together as

children of the Creator. Above, together with Diem

LaFortune and Lori Unger, kids plant a heart garden at

the front of the church in memory of children who suffered

under the residential schools system. (Some of TUMCs

hearts went to a larger installation in Ottawa.)

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:June 30

Have you discovered the all-colour online version of Place of

Meeting, complete with liveweblinks? Check this months

issue out here: issuu.com/pomeditor/docs/

pom_june_2015l

NOTE: New address for submissions:

[email protected]

Editor: Doreen Martens

Scene around TUMC

Place of Meeting Page 2

The childrens choir sings on May 3; junior youth offer a lively re-

port on their retreat on May 31; the band, with some new mem-

bers, plays on May 31.

U of T campus chaplain Geoff Wicherts faith partner presentation for Alyson

Baergen on May 31 took a different twist, pointing out the importance of fully

welcoming young adults into the fold. As we look toward another fall season and a crop

of students and young newcomers to the city looking for a church home, we thought it

would be worth sharing his thoughts more broadly.

Like many of us, I inhabit multiple worlds in my case

multiple jobs at the University of Toronto, plus home,

church, etc. and occasionally there are those happy sit-

uations where those worlds overlap in significant ways.

For the past few years Ive been thrilled to see more connections

develop between TUMC and the CRC campus ministry at UofT,

mainly in the form of young adults moving freely between them,

and many being active both on campus and here in church. And I

have to say that much perhaps most of that is a credit to

Alysons presence and her efforts. Both here and on campus I

have seen her generous and hospitable spirit, her dedication and

faithfulness, her readiness to serve others without wanting to

draw any attention to herself.

I want to urge / encourage / challenge us as a congregation to de-

liberately recognize, celebrate and affirm the tremendous gift

that our young adults are to us. We dont always do this; in fact, we (and I include my-

self in this) often dont even know who the young adults in our congregation are, either

because were busy with our own friends and involvements, or because their time here is

often marked by transition, limited timelines (e.g. a degree, or a job/position), and multi-

ple commitments (theses, professional expectations, other communities of involvement).

Subconsciously (or consciously) we might ask whether it makes sense to invest a lot of

time and energy into getting to know people who will only be part of our congregation

for a relatively short time. In the same way, those who are passing through are always

wondering whether its worth putting down roots and forming deep commitments

like joining a church if they know theyre going to be leaving again in a few years.

Alyson is a member of First Mennonite in Edmonton, and she actually keeps in touch

with whats happening there, sends her vote by proxy, etc. So why is it important for

us as well as for her that she wants to become a member of TUMC now, after nearly

4 years here, and when shes likely to finish her degree in the foreseeable future? Be-

cause not only are we now Alysons home congregation, but we are the community from

which she will soon launch onto the next chapter of her personal and faith journey,

wherever that takes her. We are now the ones who must provide a spiritual anchor, a

psychological tether of support and safety that will help strengthen her for the next leg

of the journey.

Research into the relationships that youth and young adults have with faith communities

suggests that with each successive move or major life transition about half of them will

not develop strong connections with faith communities in their new location or situation.

Place of Meeting June 2015 page 3

A true welcome for young adults

A true welcome for young adults

Place of Meeting page 4

There are all kinds of reasons for this, from a

crisis of faith or disillusionment with previ-

ous communities to simply being too busy, or

geographically inaccessible (e.g. Cole Sadler

& his functional apostasy because he

couldn't get to church by TTC), or lacking

connections to suitable new communities.

Every time we welcome one of these trav-

ellers into our community, embrace them,

provide a home, encourage them to put down

roots, and help them stay connected here,

were helping to tip that balance the other

way. The First Mennonites and other con-

gregations from all over, and countless par-

ents, families and friends, are launching their

youth and young adults on their journey and

hoping and praying they find a safe (both

welcoming and challenging) place to land.

They may not know it (because they may not

know us), but really theyre hoping and pray-

ing we do our job well.

And our job isnt primarily about receiving

wonderful folks like Alyson (and Donny, and

others) into our membership. Thats just the

icing on the cake. Thats the celebration part.

Our job has been, for the past four years, to

show and convince Alyson that she really be-

longs here, that we care about her and her

journey the struggles and the joys. And

that we do this long before, and whether or

not, she agrees to be a youth leader, or com-

mittee member, or church member, or what-

ever other kind of explicit or implicit entry

criterion we might harbour in our minds.

Let me say that we havent always done that

so well, and I know many of you have your

own stories of struggling to feel fully inte-

grated / like you truly belong here at

TUMC. It would have been wonderful if

Alyson could have felt that sense of belong-

ing sooner than four years after coming here,

but transitions often take time, for everyone

involved. Right now what we need to do is

celebrate Alysons decision to become a

member here, and resolve again to be, by

Gods grace, as welcoming as Jesus would

have us to be.

Alyson Baergen,

top, tells her faith

story on May 31 as

she is welcomed

as a member by

transfer. Donny

Cheung, centre,

offers his faith

story prior to being

baptized on May

24.

Thanks to Tim

Schmucker for

photos.

Heritage Club: Mennonite Centre in Ukraine offers a light on a hill


By Faye Tiessen

It is with pride that we recall the Heritage

Clubs, (Toronto) participation in a project to

create a centre to serve humanitarian needs in a

country that was once home for Mennonites,a place

where some of our grandparents suffered imprison-

ment,famine and terror during the Stalin years.

It was in April 2000 when Dr. Harvey Dyck made

us aware that we could buy a building in

Moloschansk, Ukraine (formerly Halbstadt). That

building was the Mdschenschule, a former Men-

nonite girls school. A committee with Nicholas

Dick as chairperson, Rudy Huebert as

secretary/treasurer and Paul Siemens as vice chair,

with the participation of Heritage Club

members,met with 40 charter members from B.C.,

California, Niagara and Ottawa at a conference at

the University of Toronto in June of the same year.

MCC representatives were Paul Toews, Akron; Bill

Janzen, Canada, and Evan Heise, Ontario. The or-

ganization, with the title Friends of Mennonite Cen-

tre Ukraine (FOMC, suggested by Rudy Huebert)

was to provide humanitarian services which are

community-based, provided without discrimination,

foster local initiative, and are sustainable, while in-

terpreting and commemorating the Mennonite

past.

The mayor of Molotschansk challenged FOMCU to

become a light on a hill.

A brief update on FOMCU was given to us on May

20 by Walter Unger, one of the long serving and

dedicated directors. The Ukrainian staff of Men-

nonite Centre includes 11 persons, a manager, Olga

Bratschenko, and program coordinator, Olga Rubel,

Right from top: The Mennonite Centre, a former

Mennonite school, in December. Nina, a refugee

who fled Shirokino, with son Sasha, who risked

going back to get some of her possessions and

had his car attacked by rebels. The center is help-

ing to pay for his rehabilitation for two damaged

vertebrae. A refugee family living in a single room

in Zaporozhye. The center provided building ma-

terials to help give refugees living in a large open

building more privacy.


Mennonite Centre in Ukraine offers a light on a hill

who hope to be at Mennonite World Conference this

summer. Canadian directors usually spend two- to three-

month terms at the Centre, but because of the unrest in

Ukraine they stayed only a week this spring.

There are hardships for many people due to the faltering

economy. Last winter 2,700 people were fed in one

month; 60 seniors were given lunch each week; help

was given through telemedicine; people were helped

with medications for 28 surgeries; and therapy treat-

ments, cataract treatment and new hospital equipment

were provided.

Aid is given to students in universities and trade

schools. The great-grandson of Rita Pankratz, one of the

women commemorated by Ray Dirks in the recent

Along the Road to Freedom exhibit, is studying medi-

cine with aid from the Centre. In a joint program with a

Winnipeg charity and the Gates Foundation, together

with staff of Promitei Centre for children with special

needs and Zaporozhye school #66, children with autism

and cerebral palsy will be integrated into the regular

school system.

Walter told us there is a new spirit of volunteerism in the

area. There is a sincere effort to help those in need, par-

ticularly refugees from the war zones.

The Centre is involved with partners in providing

refugee assistance in three areas that are near the front

lines,in the small villages, and also for refugees coming

into the city of Zaporozhye, providing food, bedding,

shelter, water, propane stoves, tents, etc.

The administration costs of the Centre are low, with

91% of donations going directly to aid Ukrainians.

Donors come from North America and from the

Aussiedler former residents of Ukraine now in Ger-

many. After 15 years, FOMCU continues to be a light

on a hill.

Walter Unger adds some comments about the expanding

role of Ukraine Mennonite Centre:

It would seem that humanitarian aid to Ukrainians, es-

pecially where Mennonites once lived, is the major

component of the Centre. Thats certainly how it started,

with returning Mennonites discovering the poverty in

our former towns and villages. But things have evolved.

Our return with aid was just the opener.

Our unique history opened doors to us and Ukrainians

have invited us to, in the words of the Mayor of

Moloschansk more than 15 years ago, assist them in

creating an ethical renaissance. That is increasingly

what we have been doing in concert with many others

who have been invited to help just now, very much as

Catherine II invited many, including Mennonites, to de-

velop New South Russia at the end of the 18th century.

This expanded role, in parallel with Ukrainians, is the

building of a new Ukraine, much different from Putins

Novorussiya. In short, we have been invited to assist in

renewing and often building from scratch the institu-

tions of a just and caring society across a wide range of

social developments. We are not involved in Ukrainian

politics. We are assisting Ukrainian aspirations to create

and fulfill their dreams of peace and prosperity. Believe

me, they dream a lot.

Things are changing.There is a new spirit of volun-

teerism emerging people helping each other across

ethnic and religious lines. There is a new push to deal

better with the marginalized, the disabled and the very

young and the very old, to eliminate corruption, to de-

velop a fair and open judicial system and rule of law, to

respect individual rights and property rights.

Increasingly, Mennonite agencies, notably including the

Mennonite Centre in Ukraine, which recently received

national recognition as the best charity in Zaporozhye

Oblast (province), are assisting these topics in close co-

operation with Ukrainian agencies and others from

around the world.

Check out many stories and photos on the Mennonite

Centre Ukraine Facebook page. If you would like to do-

nate , please mail cheques to: FOMCU c/o George

Dyck, 3675 N.Service Rd., Beamsville ON, L0R1B1

Dasha, a girl with

cerebral palsy

who has been

helped by the

Prometheus Cen-

tre, which gets

Mennonite Centre

support and

helps kids with

problems such as

autism, delayed

intellectual devel-

opment and

Down syndrome.

A Prayer for Reconciliation(A participatory sermon)


The May 31 service was a full one, among other

things, the culmination of a month of services re-

flecting on our response to the Truth and Reconcili-

ation Commission in Canada. Pastor Marilyn was

able to present only a truncated version of her ser-

mon, which includes a series of participatory mo-

ments and prayers. So POM asked if we could print

the whole thing, for the benefit of those present and

away who wondered what they missed.

Prayer of Illumination

All: As we hear and read the Scripture, O God,

open our hearts and minds to discover your Word

for us today, and help us interpret and translate that

word into action every day. Amen.

In light of the closing of the Truth and Reconcilia-

tion Commission in Ottawa this weekend today I

will talk about Reconciliation. In simple Merriam-

Webster terms, reconciliation is the act of causing

two people or groups to become friendly again after

an argument or disagreement. (Diagram 1 at right)

When I read that definition and applied it to the

process of reconciliation that we hope and pray for

between settler and indigenous people. I said to my-

self, no, not good enough,

because what happened between settlers and indige-

nous folks was so much more than an argument or a

disagreement. Those terms apply to parties with

equal power in a relationship,

Settlers and indigenous persons have been living in

and experiencing the world from different positions

of power and privilege for generations. (Diagram

2)

Fortunately we have more than the dictionary to

help us understand reconciliation. Our scriptures

lead us into a deeper appreciation for what reconcil-

iation can be if we have the eyes and ears and hearts

to see.

A Prayer for Reconciliation


As Christians we talk often about the reconciling

work of Christ and while this is true, essential and

important, this morning I would like us to examine

Isaiah 6 and see already there a model and founda-

tion for Gods powerful work of Salvation and Rec-

onciliation.

The model in Isaiahs vision (Diagram 3, left) that

Jeff read for us includes four parts. First, God re-

veals Gods magnificence to Isaiah and in that vi-

sion Isaiah has a powerful encounter with the Holy.

Second, The Seraphs respond with praise. and Isaiah

responds with confession. Third, God offers forgive-

ness symbolized by a burning coal that touches Isa-

iahs lips. And Fourth, when God asked, Whom

will I send and who will go for us? Isaiah volun-

teered with, Here am I, send me

And what was that message to that God had for the

people? The rest of chapter 6 tells us:

If the people would

look and see with their eyes

hear and listen with their ears

comprehend with their minds and hearts

they could turn and be healed.

The way it is phrased in this passage, God tells Isa-

iah that all of this is not likely to happen.

Isaiah asks,

How long? How long will it be before the people

will turn and be healed?

And God replies,

The land will be desolate,

houses will be empty,

the people will be sent away

and everything will be scorched and desolate

before anyone turns for healing.

Does this also need to be true for our time? I pray

not.

In this chapter in Isaiah, the holy seed of hope will

be found in the stump of the terebinth, or oak, that

survives even though it has been cut down. We have

come to understand that the holy seed of hope has

come to us in the reconciling work of Jesus.

But already Isaiahs vision offers a model of how to

look and actually see with our eyes, hear and actu-

A Childrens Prayer

(This can be done as a repeat after me prayer)

God, reconciliation is a big word,

Help me to always listen with my heart, as well as my

ears.

Help me to see with my heart, as well as my eyes.

Help me to speak the truth, and to listen for the truth

And then I will be on the path towards reconciliation.

Amen

(kairoscanada.org/events/time4reconciliation/attach-

ment/500x10-white-bar/)

Kids prepare to plant the hearts they created in activity

period in a heart garden at the front of the church, to re-

member First Nations children who suffered in residential

schools, during the May 31 service.



ally listen with our ears and comprehend with our

minds and our hearts that we need to turn and be

healed so that the reconciliation of all peoples can take

place.

In light of the Truth and Reconciliation process in

Canada, what is it that we are being asked to see and

hear and comprehend?

First, we have been asked to recognize the profound

difference in power and privilege between Settlers and

Indigenous. and recognize the wrongs that have been

committed.

In four previous Sundays we tried to acknowledge

those differences by naming who we are and where we

are.

Today I want to allow the words of Aaron Paquette (an

indigenous artist who lives in Edmonton) to describe

for us one more time what so many of our indigenous

sisters and brothers experienced. This following reflec-

tion comes from his public Facebook page:

The stated aim was to "kill the Indian in the child"...

For generations the children in my family have been

under attack, despised. More recently in the form of

being stolen from their home and either put in

outside/foster care or sent to Residential School.

The Schools were often many tens of miles away from

home, sometimes further. That way it was difficult for

parents to visit.

These Institutions were generally run by religious or-

ganizations (Anglican, Catholic, United, and Presbyte-

rians) on behalf of the Canadian Government,

officially starting in the 1840s. Approximately 150,000

children went to Residential School. They say that

50,000 of them died there or in trying to escape. Many

others were starved or exposed to disease or cut into

for "medical research".

At school, they were taught that their grandparents

were evil devil worshipers and that their language was

the Devil's Tongue. If they spoke anything other than

English, the children were punished.

The first thing that happened to them upon arrival was

the cutting off of their braids. Most of the children

were abused physically, all emotionally and many sex-

ually. This from the people who were indoctrinating

them in Christianity and the Word of God's Love.

The last Residential School closed in 1996. Not 1896

...1996. The stated aim was to "kill the Indian in the

child. So imagine, if you will, what kind of damaged

person emerged from a place like that. They have lost

their culture, their language, their sense of self-worth

and their grip on proper behaviour.

Now imagine them trying to piece a life back together

in a world that despises them for their skin, their fam-

ily, their culture, their very existence.

Now imagine their feelings when their own children

are taken away, and they know what is happening to

them, but they can't do anything about it. Many tried

and were arrested.

A shadow of shame and violence descended, and for

generations no one talked about their experiences.

They hid their pain in alcohol. They perpetuated their

own abuses.

Some didn't. Some found healing again in their cul-

ture. A culture that the government was actively at-

tempting to stamp out, that had to be kept secret.

I am the first generation of my family that wasn't

taken from my home.

Imagine that.

The story is harsh, but the TRC has been one of our

opportunities to hear the story. So where are we as a

community in the model as proposed in chapter 6 of

Isaiah?

Each Sunday we come here to worship, and if God

grants it to be so we may encounter the Holy.

We build into our services responses of praise for

Gods holiness and sometimes we have opportunities

to confess the wrongs that we have committed. As part

of the model of reconciliation found in Isaiah, let us

take the next step and pray this prayer of confession

together.

May it be for us part of our journey along the path of

reconciliation in these matters.



Prayer of Confession

Leader: God, how often have we listened but have

not heard, looked but have not seen the pain our

indigenous sisters and brothers have experienced.

How often have we felt paralyzed not knowing

how to respond?

All: We confess that we do not always see or hear

with our hearts. We confess that we do not always

act with your justice.

Leader: We sometimes feel that we were not there

when the children were taken from their parents

and sent away to school. For most, our parents

were not there nor were our grandparents.

All: We confess that sometimes we dont see why

we are being held to account for the actions of

people that we did not know and, so long ago.

Leader: But, we are the bearers of many blessings

of our ancestors of blood or faith. Therefore, we

must also bear their burdens and responsibilities.

The last Residential School closed in 1996, that

was in our time and we did not know the truth.

All: We apologize for the actions of our country

and our churches in running Indian Residential

Schools. We seek your forgiveness for what has

been done to your children. We seek acceptance of

our commitment to justice and our desire to walk

towards reconciliation.

We ask for your grace to heal all of us.

Amen.

Hear these words of Assurance

Leader: Holy, Merciful and Righteous God

Holy One, your love is higher than the starry

heavens.

Merciful One, your purifying kindness is deeper

than the ocean.

Righteous One, heal and transform us by your

love and kindness into energy for speaking the

truth and reconciling with one another.

Amen.

While in this sermon I want to illustrate a power-

ful model towards that salvation and reconcilia-

tion that God intends for us, it is not for me to say

what that model must look like for our indigenous

sisters and brothers. (Diagram 4, top of page)

! !

!

For many it includes encounters with the Holy as well

and the strength that comes with walking with Christ who is

always present with the hungry and thirsty, the naked and the

imprisoned with the vulnerable and powerless ones.

But Aaron Paquette as an indigenous person is free to say

what that might look like for himself and his people and

he says it this way:

All people have suffered and come from a long line of suf-

fering. For some of us it is sickness, in any of its forms, for

others it's secrets or loss. We are born into suffering and grow

in it. It shapes us. If we only go with the flow, we become

lost in it. But it doesn't have to be that way. We can navigate

these waters, these tears.

Suffering makes us strong if we let it. Even as the body

weakens, the spirit can become unstoppable. If your body is

whole, pushing it can build muscle and endurance. The same

truth is reflected in spirit. But we need to see a path. A way.

When we are lost in darkness it feels as if there is no choice

that could lead to something better. We get stuck in the tan-

gles of the woods, the forest of our mind.

That's when we need to stop struggling, stop recounting the

horrors of our journey and simply rise above it. To "get away

from it all" we often watch TV or have a drink or play video

games...check Facebook, lol.

But that activity only makes us sleep. Our soul shuts down

and we become numb. Zombies.

I have found that a creative state, a prayerful state, a medita-

tive state ... these have the same effect of allowing us to shed

our stress. But instead of going numb, we do the opposite.

We become alive.



!" !"

"

!

Learn to dream while awake and aware not in the

sense of a plan or accelerated thoughts, but in a peaceful

state that allows you to see. The shadows are banished.

It takes practice. It takes time. It takes a willingness to be

calm, slow down, become still.

In Cree culture, we have many methods to attain this

state. It's embedded in the culture itself. The strongest ele-

ments of Cree spirituality and well being demand that you

put the world aside and become present.

The same thing is found in Indigenous cultures across the

Americas and the world. It's how we survived the centuries

of attempted genocide. How we laugh when things are

darkest. It's what heals the people and gives them strength.

It's how we continue to offer peace, to talk and find solu-

tions, to love those who would destroy us. It's a gift left to

us from our ancestors, preserved through the generations.

The fundamental teachings are what will save the world.

Aaron Paquette, facebook.com/AaronPaquetteArt

What would it mean for us as Christians to claim our own

fundamental teachings knowledge of the Holiness of

God that leads to a response of praise and confession, and

the opportunity to receive purifying forgiveness from this

Holy and merciful God so that we are empowered to

volunteer with a Here am I when God asks again and

again, who will go?

And maybe most difficult of all, we can learn from Christ

the ultimate lesson of relinquishing power and privilege,

so that like Christ we will live in solidarity with those who

have little or none.

(Diagram 5, below) When we claim and live these teach-

ings, Christs reconciling power can heal and transform us

so that our ears and eyes and hearts can hear and see and

comprehend our kinship with all others in our beautiful

and God-given diversity as children of God.

Let us now pray this prayer that you will notice in

the note at the bottom was prayed at the beginning

of the TRC, let us pray it again at the end of the for-

mal process of the TRC so we acknowledge that our

Holy Gods work of healing, transforming and rec-

onciling is not done and that we are and will be part

of what is yet to be.

Remembering the Children

God of our Ancestors,

who holds the spirits of our grandmothers and

grandfathers and the spirits of our grandchildren,

Remembering the Children,

we now pledge ourselves to speak the Truth,

and with our hearts and our souls

to act upon the Truth we have heard

of the injustices lived,

of the sufferings inflicted,

of the tears cried,

of the misguided intentions imposed,

and of the power of prejudice and racism

which were allowed to smother the sounds and

laughter of the forgotten children.

Hear our cries of lament

for what was allowed to happen,

and for what will never be.

In speaking and hearing and acting upon the Truth

may we as individuals and as a nation meet the hope

of a new beginning.

Great Creator God

who desires that all creation live in harmony and

peace,

Remembering the Children

we dare to dream of a Path of Reconciliation

where apology from the heart leads to healing of the

heart

and the chance of restoring the circle,

where justice walks with all,

where respect leads to true partnership, and

where the power to change comes from each heart.

Hear our prayer of hope,

and guide us and this country of Canada

on a new and different path.

(By Rev. Lillian Roberts, for the launch of the

Church Leaders Tour which marked the original

launch of the TRC)

Friendship in the big city


The GERMS (junior youth) had a great time

hosting Wanner Mennonite Church youth April

25-26. The exchange included a scavenger

hunt, sleepover, Sunday worship and a

potluck.

Left, goofing around on the front porch; Gould

spirits at the CBC building; a pause near the

Legislature building.

Below: Dave Brul guiding the hunt at the Dis-

tillery District.

Thanks to Michele Rizoli and Sheri Klassen for

the photos.

Milestones


Top, a very special celebration on May 24 for Luis Alberto

Mata, who finally received his permanent residency pa-

pers after a 12-year wait and an intensive campaign in-

cluding a launch event, an online petition, newspaper

articles and letters and speeches of support. Above, the

same day we said a sad farewell and offered our blessings

to Aaron Penner and Courtney Cauthon, moving back to

Colorado with their boys Grant and Everett. Left, kids

watch intently as Pastor Marilyn Zehr prepares for the

baptism of Donny Cheung.

Thanks to Tim Schmucker for these photos.

place of meeting june 2014

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