2013 Spring Newsletter - Roncesvalles United Church

EMMANUEL-HOWARD
PARK UNITED CHURCH
214 Wright Avenue
Toronto ON M6R 1L3
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:
What’s been
2
happening
Say Cheese!
2
Pancake
4
Supper
Blackboard
4
Project
UCW Unit 3
4
An Invitation
5
God
5
Everywhere
Youth & Kids
6
Programs
Wacky
7
Olympics
Pet Blessing
8
Fiddling Day
8
Buy A Brick
9
Reduce,
9
Recycle, Reuse
Request from
10
Property
MVP
11
Leaving EHP
11
June Events
12
Roncey Flea
12
Spring Newsletter
E M M AN U EL - H O WA RD
U NI T E D C H U R CH
PA RK
MA Y
28,
201 3
Minister’s Message
“Nothing here is profane for
those who know how to see.”
-Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
One of the great joys of
working at EmmanuelHoward Park UC (and there
are many) is that there is
always something going on.
On weekdays, children,
parents and caregivers come
and go to music and play
programs, folks trot through
the hallways toting yoga
mats or heading to an
appointment in the healing
centre, and a steady stream
of visitors show up at our
office door asking to rent
space, enquiring about
upcoming programs or
simply wanting to talk. The
days when it’s only Megan
(and Joan!) and I in the
office are few and far
between. Monday evenings
our Radical Love group
learns to love the world, the
first Tuesday evening of
each month our lobby is
transformed into an Open
Mic lounge. Friday nights
our youth group and then a
roller derby team fill the
gym with energy and fun.
On Saturday our Outreach
volunteers are on hand to
receive food shipments, the
thrift shop does brisk
business in the afternoon,
the basement echoes with a
sports program, and the
middle room hosts a
meditation group. Then
comes Sunday. From the
moment the first choir
member arrives at 9 am
until the dinner program
winds down around 7 pm…
even after, since Parkdale
Peace (an addiction support
group) meets later, this
place hums with activity.
While other churches in
our city have their doors
locked most of the time,
our doors are open and the
building bustles with life,
learning, and love.
It’s all God. Not only our
two church services each
week, but every one of the
classes, all of the music, the
meals, flashlight tag with the
youth group in the
sanctuary, Wacky Olympics
with our younger kids in the
gym, the healing
practitioners, everyone who
comes to this place is
participating in God-work,
which is what
being in
community is
all about.
Even Christians can lose
sight of the truth that God
is in all things. We can start
to think that some things,
some people, some
activities are holier than
others. But I believe that
“God is Everywhere” is a
message that EHP UC
proclaims loudly and well.
Whether we’re dancing to
the Harlem Shake (if you
haven’t seen our YouTube
video… you really want to!)
or welcoming others into
our space, we do it with
care, consideration, and joy.
And, with the deep belief
that “wherever two or
more” are gathered
together, the Holy Spirit is
there.
So, good for you EHP! In a
world where so many feel
God is absent or very far
away, EHP UC makes it
clear every day that “God is
Everywhere” by seeing God
in all we do, right here.
Reverend Anne Hines
PAGE
2
At the Easter Sunday
Sunrise Service. From
left to right: Syd Scull,
Cathy Borg, Rev. Anne
Hines, Barbara Japp,
Joan Awrey, Barb
McLean, guest, and
Nancy Kleer
A big thanks to
our fearless leader
Cathy Borg for
organizing and
inspiring us!
Photography by
Billie Jane McAulay
What’s been happening…
-Our first Winter
Solstice observance.
About 30 people (most
not regular church-goers)
walked a labyrinth in the
gym and sang and
celebrated together in the
sanctuary.
-700 people at our
annual Christmas Eve
service.
-New “Open Mic”
evening, the first Tuesday
evening of every month
featuring a variety of
musical performers.
-Monday night study
group: the Radical Love
group, meets weekly at 7
pm for spiritual discussion
and support.
-Youth group met
monthly for games,
bowling and other fun,
plus we launched our new
Kid’s Group for children
age 7 to 10.
-“God Everywhere”
provided a multi-faith
experience for our Sunday
school participants.
-Scouting Sunday,
February 24 featured over
thirty Scouts, Guides,
Beavers and others.
-Our annual Wine and
Cheese event raised an
amazing $18,000… and gave
200 folks a wonderful evening!
-Our first Easter sunrise
service was held March 31 at
7 am at a beautiful local
rooftop garden.
-Sunday evening dinners
(our free community meals)
hosted several special
evenings for our dinner
guests, complete with live
music: Christmas, Easter, St.
Patricks Day and Italian Night.
And that’s only a very few of
the highlights! Sign up for our
weekly e-newsletter to keep up
on everything that’s going on.
SAY CHEESE! ($18,000 worth)
Wine & Cheese that is. EHP
presented its 12th Annual 2013
Wine & Cheese Gala on
Friday, April 5, again breaking
attendance records and raising
over $18,000, another
record!!!
An important social event on
Roncesvalles, the Gala attracts
congregants, neighbours,
friends, merchants, and
dignitaries who enjoy EHP’s
hospitality and the wonderful
music provided by the Paul
Goudy Quintet with amazing
singer Cheryl White. Comfy
couches, area rugs, candle
light, floral bouquets, and
hanging fabric transformed
our gymnasium into a
sophisticated cozy cabaret.
The live auction was a great
success. Heather Baird was
our engaging MC and
auctioneer Sara Robinson’s
contagious enthusiasm really
got the crowd bidding in the
SPRING NEWSLETTER
live auction. New offerings this
year included 2 Boxes of
Cohiba Behike The World’s
Finest Cigars, a wardrobe
makeover and dress from Fresh
Collective, Collage artwork
called Selene and Endymion, by
artist Robert Labossiere, and
Dinner for four with Rev. Anne
and Liz. The perennial
favourites included: an
afternoon of sailing for four
with the Mills; lunch or dinner
for four at the Boulevard Club
with Heather Baird; a family
cottage weekend in the
Muskokas; Gourmet EastCoast Lobster Dinner for 4
hosted by Mona Webb; a condo
weekend at Blue Mountain
donated by High Park Real
Estate; from Eddie’s Painting
and Decorating and High Park
Wallpaper and Paint Centre, a
professionally-painted room
(paint and labour included); and,
a deluxe bohemian dinner for
eight with entertainment,
donated by Sara Robinson.
Also, this year the silent auction
had over 100 fantastic items!
However, it’s behind the scenes
where the real action is. The Gala
is months in preparation. With
the help and support of church
council and the office, the New
UCW Group organizes the event,
which means finding fabulous
volunteers (and there were many),
arranging publicity, selling tickets,
getting donations, decorating and
staging, ordering and prepping
food - the list goes on. As last
year, the outreach folks and EHP
Youth did the heavy lifting – pulling
down couches from the second
floor – stripping the Wellness
centre of their carpets and lamps,
and festooning the stage and
stairwell with fairy lights. And then
of course at night’s end we
distributed the auction items,
collected the money, and then
tore it all down. We do have the
hardest working volunteers in
Christendom. Many thanks to
everyone. Job well done.
Cathy Borg, Co-ordinator
PAGE
3
Wine and Cheese Gala 2013
Photography by Billie Jane McAulay
PAGE
4
Pancake Supper
Emmanuel-Howard Park's
annual Pancake Supper
was held on Tuesday,
February 12, 2013, in the
gym. It was a great
evening, with good food,
and good company. The
kitchen was staffed by Julia
Molloy, who was ably
assisted by Paul Cook,
Lynn Stevens, and Cathy
Borg and her brother,
Brad. Besides the delicious
pancakes and sausages,
the 55 people who
attended also enjoyed a
wonderful fresh fruit
dessert. Barb McLean
provided the sliced
strawberries, and Joan
Awrey contributed diced
peaches and fresh
blueberries. The Pancake
Supper raised $210, after
expenses. This was Rev.
Hines’s first Pancake
Supper at EHP, and we
hope that she enjoyed it.
Let's do it again next year!
Lynn Stevens
Blackboard Project
"Before I Die
I Want To..."
During Lent, we decided
to encourage the
community outside our
church to "think
spiritually." A large
blackboard was placed on
the Roncesvalles side of
the church. On it was
written, "Before I Die I
Want To..." and we left
chalk. Within two days,
the board was covered
with messages ranging
from humorous to
touching. A sample is...
Before I Die I Want To...
by the water," "Be loved,"
"Find my other favorite
sock." We erased the
messages and started
again. Once more, in a day
or two the board was
covered again! We're
thinking of doing a new
Blackboard Project this
summer. But, we think we
achieved our goal of giving
folks in our
neighbourhood a chance
to "think spiritually"
during Lent.
Rev. Anne Hines
"Dance a Tango," "Tell my
grandma I love her," "Live
UCW Unit 3
Our UCW (United
Church Women) group
meets on the second
Tuesday of each month to
share friendship,
fellowship and cake
(there's always cake!). At
each meeting, we have an
SPRING NEWSLETTER
informative presentation
with a lively discussion to
follow. At Christmas, the
UCW provided financial
support to the Christmas
Outreach dinner
and made treat bags for
Meals on Wheels.
This spring, we donated
funds to buy musical
instruments for the
Sunday school. New
members are always
welcome.
Rev. Anne Hines
An Invitation
The Radical Love Study Group
meets every Monday night at
the crossroads outside the
Church office, beginning at
7:00 sharp and ending at 8:30.
We started out reading
“Return to Love” by Marianne
Williamson. Since then we
have wandered off in various
directions but we return week
after week to share our
insights and experiences and
to practice looking at our
lives, relationships, and the
world through eyes of love.
We have talked of heaven and
hell. We have shared our
PAGE
dreams and fears. We have
considered the discipline of
prayer and the possibility of
miracles. And as our
fellowship has grown, we have
begun to see glimpses of a
new heaven and a new earth.
We invite you to join our
journey. No seatbelts
required.
5
“Dear God, I surrender this situation to you.
May it be used for your purposes. I ask only
that my heart be open to give love and to
receive love. May all the results unfold
according to your will. Amen.’ Whatever you
do, do it for God.”
“So now faith, hope, and love
abide, these three; but the
greatest of these is love.” (1
Corinthians 13:13)
-from A Return to Love
by Marianne Williamson
Rob Rose
God Everywhere
the United Church Observer
magazine. But, we were even
more pleased to provide our
young people with an
opportunity to meet with and
learn from people from other
faiths.
For six Sundays this winter,
our Sunday school (or, as we
like to call our program,
Definitely Not Your Parents’
Sunday school) hosted guests
from different faith groups.
We were honoured to have a
member of the Muslim,
Jewish, Native Canadian,
Baha’i and Buddhist faith
communities with us, first
sharing a prayer with our
congregation and then
spending time with our young
people. We were thrilled to
have this program featured in
The program ended with a
special event called “Noah’s
Pudding.” Members of the
Muslim community met with
EHP folks on a Friday evening
in our downstairs kitchen to
cook up an ancient Middle
Eastern treat of grains,
raisons, apricots, and pine
nuts. The “Pudding” is made in
many Muslim countries,
traditionally to be shared with
neighbours as a gesture of
kindness and peace. The
evening we spent with our
Muslim friends was a
wonderful opportunity to
get to know each other
better and to share
information about our faith
and beliefs. The pudding we
made was served to our
congregation at our Palm
Sunday service.
The United Church of
Canada has a commitment
to forging relationships
with those of other
faith groups. God
Everywhere was an
important way to
share this
commitment, this basic
value of community
and peace, with our
young people.
Rev. Anne Hines
Photography by
Billie Jane McAulay
PAGE
6
Youth and Kids Programs
This has been a great
spring!
Easter egg hunt in the
sanctuary.
“The Daily Bread
Food Bank spring
sort was a
triumph—we
sorted over 2000
lbs. of food and
had fun doing it!”
Youth group at Daily
Bread Food Bank.
Photography by Billie
Jane McAulay
Since the God
Everywhere program on
Sunday mornings, we’ve
decorated 150 cupcakes
for the Easter Outreach
dinner (sugar rush city!),
learned new songs, and
we’ve gotten deep into
the Good Samaritan story.
We’ve been studying and
experiencing the parable
of the Good Samaritan
from many angles, thanks
to the help of many
enthusiastic and dedicated
volunteer helpers from
within the congregation.
We began with the Font’s
Children’s Bible
recollection of the tale,
reading the story and
listening to a song by
Townes Van Zandt called
“If I Needed You”. That
Sunday, we played a game
to get into thinking about
helpfulness and that we all
need help sometimes, too.
We took a short walking
tour of the
neighbourhood around
the church and
brainstormed ideas for the
canvas we’d be drawing up
with Polly O’Keefe, later
on.
Dawna Pym helped us the
next week by reexamining the story with
an emphasis on “who is
your neighbour”, giving,
SPRING NEWSLETTER
and we re-enacted a firstaid scenario in teams, a bit
of a race, to help a person
in need. Cathy Borg
helped to extend the
concept of “neighbour” to
the larger community in
addressing Earth Day
(April 22), and so we
became “Eco-Samaritans”
and planted many seeds –
a variety of flowers and
vegetables – to be planted
in the EHP gardens near
the end of May. Our
Animal Blessing
intergenerational service
was another great way to
show how we can extend
our notion of community,
embracing all the animals
in our lives.
Sunday, May 19th.
On May 12, Polly joined
us with a huge round
canvas she’d prepared.
Emmanuel Howard Park
United Church is drawn in
the middle and we’ve got
the streets of Roncy
drawn in around, as well
as High Park and Lake
Ontario, and then it gets
very abstract with the
shapes of the continents,
drawings of bees and pets,
and words like ‘love’,
‘neighbour’, ‘first-aid’, to
illustrate different ways
we think of relating to
people. Polly will be
returning for a second
round of canvas painting
and collage making
Coming up, we’ve got a
paddle down the Humber
River for the older youth
group on Friday, May 31st,
and a bonfire at my house
for the younger youth
group on Friday, June
14th. Summer’s on its
way!
The youth group has been
busy with several great
events. The Daily Bread
Food Bank spring sort was
a triumph—we sorted
over 2000 lbs. of food and
had fun doing it! Thanks
to Billie, Dawna, and Anne
for helping out with your
time and driving. The
Wacky Olympics were
both hilarious and wildly
successful, thanks to
Joanna and Allan Mills.
The younger youth group
also had fun with their
own version of the Wacky
Olympics. Thanks to all
the youth for coming out
with your great attitudes
and tons of energy!
Any questions about
anything mentioned here
or otherwise could be
sent to me at
[email protected].
Yours truly,
Kim Sedore
Child and Youth
Co-ordinator
Decorating Easter Cupcakes for Outreach
At our Easter Sunday service,
about 35 children participated
in decorating cupcakes, which
were served at our evening
Outreach dinner. There
were cupcakes with "mile
high" three colours of icing,
cupcakes featuring jelly beans
arranged to look like a bunny,
sparkles and sprinkles
and marshmallow rabbits in
icing nests... you couldn't look
at these cupcakes and not
smile. Our evening guests
loved them! It was such fun to
see some of our big, burly
men carefully choosing which
cupcake they wanted.
It reminded me that not only
does it make people happy to
receive something made with
love but, also, that many of
our guests usually have to
take whatever's given to them.
They don't get the luxury of
choosing. Thanks to all our
children for making these
folks' Easter supper so extra
special!
Rev. Anne Hines
PAGE
“Thanks to all
our children for
making these
folks' Easter
supper so extra
special!”
Photography by
Billie Jane McAulay
Youth Group Competes in Wacky Olympics!
On Friday, April 12th, 10
members of the EHP Youth
Club competed in our first
ever "Wacky
Olympics". Divided into two
teams, these young athletes
participated in a wide variety
of events, including:

the Blindfolded Pudding
Feeding Relay

the Suitcase Relay

the Hula-hoop
Obstacle Course

the Marshmallow
Flipping

the Popcorn Feet Relay

the Dog Bone Relay

the Spaghetti Hair
Competition and many
other wacky contests
The competition was fierce,
and it came down to the very
last event, but team
Goldenpuff edged out team
Slitherclaw by just one point
to become Wacky Olympic
Champions! The athletes
enjoyed pizza and juice
between events, and we think
a few of those marshmallows
got eaten too. A great time
was had by all-- special thanks
to Kim Sedore, Dawna Pym,
and Cathy Borg for helping
out!
Joanna and
Allan Mills
7
PAGE
8
Pet Blessing Service
Our annual pet blessing
provided a wonderful
opportunity to reflect on
and rejoice in the love our
animals give us. And, by
sharing this opportunity
with our pet owners, it
was a way for EHP to love
the world.
Everything I Need to
Know I Learned from My
Dog
When loved ones come
home, always run to greet
them.
Run, romp and play daily.
Avoid biting, when a
simple growl will do.
When you’re happy,
dance around and wag
your whole body.
Be loyal.
If you’re scolded, don’t
buy into the guilt thing
and pout… run right back
and make friends.
When someone is having
a bad day, be silent, sit
close by and nuzzle them
gently.
Everything I need to know
I learned from My Cat
(revised by David
Gordon)
Avoid company you do
not like. But if you do
like, ignore any rejection.
Life is hard. Then you
nap. Or if it’s easy,
napping is still mandatory.
Never sleep alone when
you can sleep on
someone’s face. Though
other body parts are
more accommodating.
If you’re not receiving
enough attention, try
knocking over several
World Fiddling Day
“Our annual pet
blessing provided a
wonderful opportunity
to reflect on and
rejoice in the love our
animals give us.”
A celebration of World
Fiddling Day was held on
Saturday, May 18 on our
south lawn. We enjoyed
music from about 30
fiddlers. We raised $330
for the church and $330
for the El Sistema
Children’s Foundation!
We look forward to
hosting this event again
next year!
SPRING NEWSLETTER
expensive lamps.
Chinning is also effective
and usually more
productive.
Know all the sunny places.
And when inside, face the
light.
Variety is the spice of life.
One day ignore people.
The next day, demand to
play when they’re busy.
And under no
circumstances should you
ever accept medication.
Remember the words of
the great sage, Hippolyte
Traine, “I have known
many philosophers and
many cats. The wisdom
of cats is infinitely
superior.” And just as
mutely vacuous.
Buy a Brick Restoration
This summer, brick-mortar
and eavestrough work will be
done to stop intrusion of
water into the south wall of
the chancel above the choir
pews. If you stand on the
sidewalk outside the Wright
Ave. door, you will see the
problem. The cost is $40,000.
Our church building is a
welcoming home for
worshippers and valued by the
Roncesvalles community as a
place where body, mind, and
soul are fed.
We have been fairly quiet
about the Buy a Brick Fund
lately, and as the work is
about to begin, we ask for
your support. The 2013 goal
PAGE
is $10,000. To date, we have
$1,306.00.
will be acknowledged on our
donor wall.
To donate: 1) use line #3 on
your weekly envelope; 2) add
to your monthly PAR
deduction; or 3) use any
envelope and identify your
donation to receive a tax
receipt. Donations can also be
submitted to the office during
the week if you wish.
This appeal for the
Restoration Fund will enable
us to repair the south chancel
wall and, with a generous
response, proceed with other
projects—painting the
sanctuary, replacing the
Wright Ave. and parking lot
doors, renovating the second
basement washroom, and
updating the main floor
kitchen. The restoration will
make our building more
attractive, more secure, more
energy-efficient, and it will be
a more welcoming place for
all those who gather here.
Plans for a “donor wall” are
underway. Levels of giving
over $300.00 will be
recognized. The amount may
be a single donation or an
accumulation of your weekly/
monthly gifts.
If you wish to remember
someone with your gift, that
Joan Awrey
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
In 2012 City Council
approved billing NonResidential Customers,
including places of worship,
for solid waste, i.e. garbage. A
2012 phasing in process meant
that we paid $200 for
biweekly collection of garbage
from 2 large bins. The Social
Planning Council succeeded in
persuading City Council to
waive the fee in 2013 to give
nonprofit groups time to
adjust to this new user fee.
In 2014 we will be required to
pay 75% of the yearly fee, i.e.
$302.25 per large bin and, in
2015, the full fee of $403 per
bin. Our goal is to replace one
of our garbage bins with
another blue bin. We
currently use 2 blue bins and
2 green bins and do not have
to pay a user fee for them.
We hope you will be very
diligent about Reduce-Reuse Recycle. We will display new
posters and decals to help you
properly dispose of waste.
Note that paper towels,
tissues and serviettes are
compostable. In the
washrooms you will find a
larger container for
compostable materials and a
small garbage can. Please don’t
leave garbage in the building.
Dispose of it at your house.
Donated items for the thrift
shop or book sale should be
clean and in good working
condition so that they are
saleable.
Please note that foam is
recyclable but hot drink cups,
lids and sleeves, i.e coffee
cups, are not recyclable. Drink
boxes are recyclable. The
straws, however, are garbage.
If there is liquid in a drink cup/
box you are discarding please
dump it out. Wet garbage isn’t
pleasant to handle!
We have a few months to
achieve our goal – one large
bin for solid waste. Please
Reduce-Reuse-Recycle.
Joan Awrey
“As the work
is about to
begin, we ask
for your
support.”
9
PAGE
10
“We are
undertaking...
repairs this
year and need
some help.”
See Barb McLean
(above) or Jenn
Patterson (below) if
you can help.
Photography by
Billie Jane McAulay
Request for Help from the Property &
Rentals Committee
Our church building is the
embodiment of our
Christianity that endures
and supports all things, as
well as a spiritual home
for the Roncesvalles
neighbourhood and
beyond. Our church
building generates revenue
that covers the general
operating expenses of the
building but also
contributes substantially
to the operating expenses
of the church, including
programs like Sunday
worship. The building and
the maintenance and repairs
of the building are therefore
critical to the sustainability
of EHP in the long
term. When you do
something to help
maintain this building you
leave a permanent mark,
you have access to the
spirit embodied here, and
you open up a connection
to everyone who walks
through these doors after
you.
We are undertaking
the following repairs
this year and need
some help. So we hope
you will approach us, Barb
McLean and / or Jenn
Paterson and ask how you
can help. The following
are our bigger projects
SPRING NEWSLETTER
but if you can only take on
a very small task, we will
make some suggestions
for you to choose from.
1. Basement kitchen
renovation. Outreach
runs this kitchen at
capacity every Sunday.
We are doing renovations
to bring it up to public
health standards and to
increase its functionality.
The completed renovation
will be a tremendous
boon for our dedicated
outreach volunteers. We
need people to join our
kitchen renovation team
to do the following:
·
Source end of line
high quality flooring, triple
sink and faucet, used
appliances, stainless steel
rolling cart, ceiling fan, etc.
·
Provide some
organization elements to
the drawers and
cupboards.
·
Plan a clean up day
in advance of the
renovation.
2. Sanctuary Main
Entrance. (Roncesvalles
Avenue) Someone to
plant some flowers in the
planters.
3. Side Door on Wright
Avenue. Someone to
order and oversee repairs
to this door including new
lock and latch, etc.
4. Fire Safety Rep to
check fire extinguishers
and emergency lighting on
a monthly basis and to
confirm that the fire
safety company
completes the annual
inspection and that the
required repairs are
done.
5. Small Pitched Roof
replacement . We need
someone to plan the
replacement of the
pitched roof over the
second floor healing
centre. I.e. get prices
from roofers or organize
a team to do it ourselves
depending on your
ambition.
6. Buy a Brick
fundraising campaign for
major repairs to the
building. We need a
committee of a few
people to spearhead this
campaign or to develop
some of the materials for
it, etc.
If you can help with any
of these projects, please
contact Barb McLean
at bmclean8@sympatico.
ca or 416 536-5716 .
Barb McLean
Chair, Property and Rentals
Committee
Most Valuable Player
The Stanley Cup playoffs are
underway but we have an
MVP in our midst. Paul
Goudy, dedicated church
caretaker, accomplished
musician and composer, and
really nice person plays
hockey. Paul’s team finished
first this past season. The
referee gave the game puck to
Paul because of his impressive
play and his team named him
MVP. Yea Paul! What does
Paul do in the summer? Now
he’s playing in a summer
hockey league and he’s on the
golf course with a handicap of
8.
PAGE
Bloor Street. Truly he is a
Most Valuable Player.
Joan Awrey
On most Sunday afternoons
he volunteers his time and
talent to play for a worship
service at the Grenadier
Retirement Residence on
“This small
Leaving EHP
It is with mixed feelings that I
let all of you know that I will
soon be leaving my position as
Office Administrator at EHP
(July 12). I will be returning to
university full-time in
September to do a Masters
degree in Public Policy at the
University of Toronto. I am
excited to have been accepted
to this great program! Yet, I
am also sad to be leaving EHP.
I have really enjoyed my time
here over the past two years.
This small community church
has never ceased to amaze me
with everything that goes on
(fundraisers, Outreach
program, and rentals) and
how it all comes together.
We have incredible staff and
volunteers who pour their
hearts and souls into this
place, making it a wonderful
place to be. I can’t name
everyone but I would like to
name a few. Joan Awrey does
everything from locking up the
building every night; to
11
community
meeting people for all the
rentals; to moving furniture;
to saying Prayers of the
People in church every
Sunday. We don’t know what
we would do without her.
Paul Goudy is always taking
great care of this magnificent
building and even coming in
on weekends and holidays to
shovel snow or clean up after
the many activities. Then
there are all the amazing
volunteers (other than Joan!) I
see week to week who help
to hold this place together –
Lynn Stevens, Sarah Anhang,
Cathy Borg, Sara Robinson,
and Barb McLean, just to
name a few!
I have had the pleasure of
working with two ministers in
my time here and in seeing
this church transition from
having an interim minister
(Rev. Phil Rodgers), struggling
membership, and needing to
lease precious space to fund
roof repairs, to a church
whose membership has
rebounded under the
tremendous leadership of Rev.
Anne Hines (our attendance
has shot up and our mailing
list is steadily growing); which
has developed a great youth
and kids’ program (thanks to
Kim Sedore and all her
helpers); and, which is and
bustling with all the leases and
rentals, together with all the
church activities. Anne has
been an absolute pleasure to
work with. The radical
welcome she shows to
everyone who comes in here
is inspiring, and she always
goes above and beyond her
job description. I think she is a
perfect fit and I know that this
church will continue to thrive.
This is a small church with a
huge heart, and I feel blessed
to have had the opportunity
to work here in the presence
of all of you.
Megan Kallin
church has
never ceased
to amaze
me .”
Photography by
Billie Jane McAulay
June Events
Sunday, June 9: Gospel choir Sunday & Sunday
school recognition.
Friday, June 14: Kids' Group evening at "Camp
Kim." 6 pm. For kids aged 7 to 10.
EMMANUEL-HOWARD PARK UNITED CHURCH
214 Wright Avenue
Toronto ON M6R 1L3
Phone: 416-536-1755
E-mail: [email protected]
We’re on the web!
www.ehpunitedchurch.ca
Our Vision Statement
Love one another as I have loved you – Jesus
Build a radically welcoming church – EHP
EHP Staff
MINISTER
Rev. Anne Hines
MUSIC DIRECTOR
Suzanne Meyers Sawa
GOSPEL CHOIR
DIRECTOR
Joanna Mills
CHILD & YOUTH
PROGRAM
CO-ORDINATOR
Kim Sedore
OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR
Megan Kallin
Office hours: Mon—Fri,
9:30 am to 5 pm
CARETAKER
Paul Goudy
Don’t forget to bring in
books for the Annual
September Book Sale!
Saturday, June 15: "Roncy Rocks" street music
and art fair and Roncey Flea Market in the
parking lot. Tables for rent.
Sunday, June 16: Commemoration of the one
year anniversary of Toby's Law. We'll remember
Toby Dancer and celebrate this landmark bill
with a special service, featuring special guest Rev.
Ruth Wood.
Sunday, June 23: Outdoor service (10:30 am)
and church picnic.
Sunday, June 30: We begin our summer
schedule of shorter Sunday morning services.
To keep up on everything that’s going on, sign
up for our weekly E-newsletter on our
website.
Coming this June—EHP’s Roncey Flea!
EHP’s first ever parking
lot Flea Market is
Saturday, June 15th
during the Roncy Rocks
Arts Festival. Shop
between 10am – 4pm
from over 30 vendors featuring
collectibles, vintage, kitsch, and
handmade jewellery. If you or
somebody you know would like
to rent a table, contact
[email protected].
Organized by New United
Church Women (have fun and
do good).
SEE YOU THERE.
Cathy Borg