Church News: August/September 2003

Our Church Services in August/September 2003:

August 03
7th Sunday after Trinity
English 9:45 Uhr
German 11:00 Uhr
Pastor Stefan Wolf

August 10
8th Sunday after Trinity
English 9:45 Uhr
German 11:00 Uhr
Pastor Alfred Boettcher, retired

August 17
9th Sunday after Trinity
English 9:45
German 11:00
Pastor Joachim Knaack, retired

August 24
10th Sunday after Trinity
English 9:45
German 11:00
Pastor  Herbert Harms, retired

August 31
11th Sunday after Trinity
English 9:45 Uhr
German 11:00 Uhr
Pastor Joachim Knaack, retired

September 07
12th Sunday after Trinity
English 9:45
German 11:00
Pastor Stefan Wolf

September 14
13th Sunday after Trinity
English 9:45
German 11:00
Pastor Stefan Wolf
With the Celebration of Holy Communion in both Services!

September 21
14th Sunday after Trinity
Family Service!
English 11:00 !!
Pastor Stefan Wolf
With Introduction of the new Team of Sunday School Teachers!

September 28
15th Sunday after Trinity
English 9:45
German 11:00
Pastor Stefan Wolf

We express our thanks for all donations and for the active attendance of our Church Services, and cordially invite you to stay for a while after the  Services for a cup of coffee!

Meditation on the verse for August 2003

Dear Congregation,
there is a round in German with exactly the same words. The melody first goes up “From the rising of the sun...”, to descend again, illustrating the sun going down in the melody. The song is quite simple. The sun rises, the sun goes down again, but then comes what remains the same: “The name of the Lord is to be praised!” – How often do you praise God? According to my experience, it is the most difficult thing to be so thankful to God that one sings praises from the bottom of the heart. What kinds of songs do we sing? Are these not often lamentations  and mourning songs? Do not misunderstand me, I know that life is not always easy. I experience this just as you do. Not every day is the same, not every day is a happy one, not every day brings success. Sometimes, we just want to put a big checkmark on what we have experienced and say: “Fortunately, the day is over!” But that’s just it: Because the days are not the same, and so much that is difficult and exhausting can happen between sunrise and sunset, it is all the more important to know: God is always near. I have read that Psalm 113 and 118 were combined into a great song of praises in Biblical times, and at certain occasions were sung one after the other. The New Testament reports one occasion where this happened: “And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” Right after Jesus' last supper with his disciples, right before going to the Mount of Olives and Jesus is taken prisoner, the great song of praises is sung. Even in a hopeless situation, even at the moment of parting, the song of praises is a part. Why, you may, perhaps, ask? Very simple: Because a song of praises turns the eye upwards. We urgently need something that pulls us out of our daily routine, that shows us a different direction. Recently, in a conversation, I have heard something very interesting about the “Group of Seven”, the Canadian artists, that some of these artists painted landscapes and others small details of the landscapes, perhaps a leaf. The woman who told me this and who is very well informed about this topic, said: “Some have seen in great things, in looking at the landscape, the  magnitude of nature and creation, others in small things.” To give praise is to discover anew the footprints of God in the great and in the small. To give praise is also to see the positive and beautiful in life. To give praise is to speak out, to begin the day with it, at least to remember at sunrise and sunset that God loves us and is all around us. From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the LORD is to be praised!
With the best wishes for August and September,
I remain, with kind regards, your Pastor

Special Collection

The Special Collection takes place as before. We want to ask you kindly, once again, to support the Congregation. For this reason we include in this bulletin an envelope, into which you can put your donation. Bring it to Church or send it so us. Many heartfelt thanks for your donations.

Dear Congregation,
I would like to take this opportunity to tell you about our Nursery. You probably know that it is in existence now for 32 years, a long time, during which well over a thousand children were cared for. These children have received much love and and attention here, and we could also assist many parents. Especially between the age of 1 ½ and five years, we have an important influence on the development of a child here in the nursery. The children are with us many hours a day, we are open from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. For this work, however, we need competent and enthusiastic educators. We are thankful that we actually have such a team!

Let me introduce them to you: Marilyn, Aleksandra, Rajni and Teresa, have ECE (Early Childhood Educator) Diplomas and specialty courses, John, an Early Childhood Assistant and Amparo, a part-time Assistant. Marilyn has been with us for 4 years now, three years ago she took over the Supervisor position. The Kindergarten children are in her care in the mornings, beyond that, she is responsible for the daily programs and schedules, for team leadership, contacts with parents and Children’s Services, reports and forms, meetings and many big and small concerns that crop up daily. Something that is not in her job description, yet is of great importance, is to advise and counsel parents when they need help – beginning with applying for subsidy, referrals to other social agencies, and sometimes just listening and caring.

The toddler group is in the loving care of Aleksandra and Teresa, both were Teachers in their home-country and completed their ECE courses very successfully while already working for us. Alexandra has been with us almost four years, Teresa almost one year. Our fourth ECE is Rajni, also a former teacher, who brought with her considerable experience as an ECE. She has the group of the pre-school children. It is good to also have a male team member, John, who has been with us for three years. His task is to help wherever he is needed, for instance, he does break relieve, he takes the food into the rooms, puts up the cots, washes the dishes and toys etc. At the moment, John is working part-time in the Day Camp program. Our second Assistant is Amparo. Her main duties are to replace Marilyn during her office hours and helping Rajni.

You may ask – and rightfully so – why so many staff members? We are bound by the regulations of the Ministry: One Educator for five Toddlers, one for eight Pre-schoolers or Kindergarten children.

I invite you to come and visit the nursery. You will, no doubt, find a delightful atmosphere: smiling children, there are hugs, they show you things, tell you news, or they sit in a circle and listen intently to stories, they sing, play or they have fun in the playgrounds. And it is so nice when they sleep on their cots, and soft music can be heard. The children are happy, they like to be with us and are very attached to their caregivers.

Not all children come to us happy and carefree. Some come from difficult situations, single, sometimes abused mothers, we have immigrant children and poor families who sometimes don’t know where to turn. We never give up and do whatever we can for children and parents.

We have started a Day Camp Program for school children. I always find it very sad when I see so many young school children roam the streets in the vicinity of our Church. At the moment, we have five children in this program – we could, at least have fifteen – if the parents were able to afford the weekly fee of $130.00 per week.

The Ministry continuously raises its demands, yet, the subsidy and grant money is not enough to cover the costs. We have done what we could, have reduced expenses and shortened the staff hours. Though our first priority is not the money, but the children, we now must think about how we can continue. It is clear to the Board of Directors, which consists of mainly members of the Church Council, that we must continue to help these parents and children!

But how shall we continue? The solution lies in extending the programs and in support through donations.

In our Pre-school Group there is a large demand for spaces. We hope to be able to take in more children with little increase of staff hours.

In the Before-and-after School Program, the Board has still not received a favourable answer, in spite of many submissions and conversations with the responsible Ministry for “Subsidized Spaces” and clear evidence for the urgent necessity for this program in the area of the Church. We were merely advised not to close down this program. In the long term, we can expect government support. Therefore, hold on and carry on! The weekly costs amount to $85.00 per child. In conclusion, it may be interesting to hear  what others say about our nursery: We hear only good things, particularly from the parents of our children. Our reputation is very good even at Children’s Services. We are regarded as an exemplary institution. It is the Christian spirit in dealing with people and problems, that distinguishes our institution. This became evident once again in connection with the death of the father of one child, Mr. Skraban. Here, too, the helpfulness of the congregation was talked about everywhere. We can be truly proud of our nursery. Remarkable things are achieved here, and in a very practical way people in need are being helped. The nursery is a part of our congregation – a part vital for many people around us.
Käthe Kleinau

Marilyn extends an invitation to the Nursery’s Annual BBQ on August 22^nd, at 4:00 p.m. This is not only an opportunity to see children and staff in action, but also to meet many parents!

According to a press article, the German School Toronto will not have to use our rooms, but has found accommodations in a congregation in the city centre. This makes it possible for the school to have more children. We wish the school continued success. I want to thank the Congregation for the willingness to help.

. Congregational Outing

We are planning a congregational outing to take place on Saturday September 27th. You will receive further information. In any case, we will rent a bus so that everyone can come along and we all travel together.

Married were ...

Pierre Barbier and Karen Zimmer
Dieter Lades and Nicole Albrecht
Mark Centrone and Rachel Winter

God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
1. John 4: 16

 Baptized were...

Caroline Huter
Christina Mary Fredrick

A man's plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.
Proverbs 16:9

You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honour. You are invited to participate in a community-building workshop, in the Fall at Camp Edgewood . Sessions  begin Friday afternoon, and run through to Sunday afternoon. It is imperative to be present for the entire workshop. Only those actively involved in the workshop will be at the Camp. A minimum of eight and a maximum of 16 participants are required. Cultivating community will take Honesty, Humility, Courtesy, Confidentiality, Frequency and Commitment. To cultivate real fellowship, and a loving community in this small group, you will have to make some tough choices, and take some risks.
Contact Hans Vetter         Phone: (416) 367-0378

On June 24, we met for the first time as a group of the Sunday School Teachers’ Team. Monika Schmidt is, as of September, the new Co-ordinator. She has experience as a Sunday School Teacher and will be introduced to the congregation with the others of the team – Nicole Koo Tze Mew, Jan-Lukas Wolf, Peggy Seifert and Iris Schweiger – during the Family Service on September 21. With this Sunday Service, the Sunday School will begin officially. Until then, the children are heartily welcomed in the Church Services. As of September, there will always be someone to take care of the children during the Service. After September 21, we want to start a new concept which obliges, at the same time, the families who come to the English Service and also those who are in the German Service. Time wise, it looks like this:

9:45 o’clock                Begin of the English Service with the conversation with children at the beginning of the Service; after that, there will be activities, games, songs etc. for the children in the basement.

10:30-11:00 o’clock Sunday School for all children. Parents attending German Service are asked to come ½ hour earlier.

11:00 o’clock              German Service, again with the conversation with children; afterwards again time for activities for children who have come at 10:30 , the actual Sunday School time.

At first glance, this seems a little complicated, but it has the advantage that all the children are together for Bible Story and get to know each other better. Furthermore, children are looked continuously from 9:45 to 12:00 o’clock .

The program will still be based on the “Firelight” series. We have tried it out for a year now. It offers many good, creative ideas and includes also the parents.

In conclusion we express our heartfelt thanks to Mrs. Inge Koo Tze Mew and also Andrea and Christina Wienecke, who will officially retire from Sunday School on September 21. They have, for many years, maintained and actively influenced the work. As this is such important work in the congregation, special thanks are due to them.

. Thanksgiving on October 5th

Please mark down the 5^th of October already. For that is Thanksgiving, which we will celebrate again with a Joint Sunday Service followed by  lunch. The detailed program will be in the next Bulletin!

Fundraiser

On August 10, from 12:30, Noella and Cheryl Karthaus will organize a Fundraiser for the Nursery and the Mission Circle. Quality kitchen utensils will be presented. Bring along friends and family, so that the Fundraiser will be successful. Contact:1-519-942-6244.

Supply Pastors During the Vacation of Pastor Wolf

During my absence in August, please contact Pastor Katharina Moeller in urgent cases, Telephone: (905) 277-2631.

Furthermore, the Church Office is open in the mornings during the week – except Wednesdays. Mrs. Kleinau can help you any time.

Hurtful words should be written in sand, praising words carved in stone.
(From Arabia)