`Hope 2016 - The Journey` Begins with Lay Evangelists

Transcription

ONTARIO
HIGHLIGHTS
Spring 2016
‘Hope 2016 - The Journey’
Begins with Lay Evangelists
What’s Your Mission?
‘Available’ - Camp Meeting 2016
Ontario Highlights | Spring 2016 | Editorial
Wrestling with God
Sometimes I find myself arguing with God. It’s usually when
I’m feeling frustrated or angry. I don’t often get angry, but
when I hear of people simply going about their business, and
evil men shoot them or blow them to bits with a bomb, I am
appalled. Worse yet, when they kill and maim in the name of
God, I ask Him: “Why do you allow these evil people to do these
things? Surely, you have the power to prevent their bombs
from going off!” When I feel particularly angry, I say, “Why don’t
you cause the bomb to blow up and kill the bomb-maker while
he’s making it? If you do that frequently enough, they’ll be too
afraid to build another bomb!”
No doubt, someone will quickly remind me that “God allows
for the fruitage of sin; the universe must see the torrid results
of the devil’s handiwork.” While this sounds reasonable, and
a response I’ve often given as a pastor, it no longer answers
the questions I pose to God. History is replete with evidence of
the devil’s destruction. Beheading and genocide are not new.
In fact, the present brand of evil that is being perpetuated on
society today is minor when compared to what has taken place
in other time periods. So, I ask, ‘How much more evil does the
universe have to witness before the unfallen worlds see the
devil’s true character and acknowledge God’s righteousness
and justice in dealing with him?’
So, I argue with God until I get tired of arguing, and I finally
acknowledge I am just a human being, having no sense of what
God can see. I remind myself that He is God, and He knows
what I can never know. So, finally I say, “Okay, I’m going to trust
you with this because You are God. You know what You are
doing, even if it does not make any sense to me. Please help me
to keep on trusting You, and that you will make it all right, and
every tear will be wiped away, as You promised!”
In my exhaustion, when I am forced to submit and cease my
argument, I find peace. I sense that He’s not angry with me for
arguing at all. It’s almost as if He likes it because I approach Him
with all my heart. This is what Jacob did in Genesis 32:22-31.
Jacob, after fleeing from his uncle, Laban, was on his way
home to meet with his brother Esau. When alone at night, a
man appeared to him and wrestled with him until daybreak.
Jacob wrestled with all his might and refused to give in. Jacob
was so tenacious that the man could not overpower him. Jacob,
realising that he was struggling with divinity refused to let go
until he was blessed. The man gave him a new name, Israel, and
blessed him. Jacob had previously stolen the blessing of his
father, Isaac, but now he was blessed in his own right. He had
wrestled with God.
The significance of the night’s wrestling is not clearly seen
until Genesis 33:20 when Jacob purchased a plot of land at
Paddan Aram, ‘There he set up an altar there and called it “God,
the God of Israel”(NIV). Previously, when Jacob made reference
to God, he called Him the ‘God of Abraham and of Isaac.’ Now,
Ontario Highlights | Spring 2016 | for the first time, he refers to God as
the God, not only of Abraham and
Isaac, but also of Israel–of himself.
He had been living off the faith of
his father and of his grandfather.
Now, having wrestled with God, he
had discovered a living faith all of
his own!
While there are many
advantages to being born into a
Christian family, the likelihood is
for us to simply accept the faith of
our parents. We are born into and
grow in a church culture with its
beliefs and practices just as how our
social culture is often determined
by where we were born and raised.
Even some people who joined
the church later in their lives may
succumb to embracing a church
culture, its practice and beliefs without having a distinct faith
for themselves. Perhaps they adopted the faith of their mentor
or Bible teacher.
Jacob’s experience tells us that each person must wrestle
with God for him or herself. How you wrestle with Him may
take a different form from mine, but wrestle, you must. It’s only
as we wrestle with God that we come to know and embrace
Him for ourselves. It’s not enough that I know Him as the God
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I must know Him as the God of
Halsey.
So wrestle with God and, like Jacob, do not cease until you
possess a personal faith and know Him as your God.
Halsey Peat, Editor
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Follow us on
@adventistont
CONTENTS
Spring 2016
COVER
STORY
‘Hope 2016 - The Journey’
Begins with
Lay Evangelists
5 What’s Your Mission?
When a church has lost its focus on
mission, its entire existence is
questioned
22 Camp Meeting 2016
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REGULAR
2 Editorial
13
Health - Eight Steps to Help
Your Picky Child Eater
Just how do I feed my child who
does not want to eat?
Ontario Highlights is published quarterly by
the Ontario Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
1110 King Street East, Oshawa, ON L1H 1H8
Telephone: 905-571-1022; Fax: 905-571-5995
16-31 News
FEATURES
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.AdventistOntario.org
Editor: Halsey Peat
Layout: Sarah Gouda-Maka & Halsey Peat
Cover Photo: adobestock
The editor may alter, clarify, précis or expand articles sent to him if he sees it necessary.
8 Bad News and Good
10 What Will You Do
It’s not all doom and gloom in
the church. The future holds
good news for Ontario
Are you prepared to face
a disaster? Some basic
measures can help you
survive
News
When Crisis Strikes?
11 ‘Why Are So Many
Youth and Young Adults
Leaving Our Church?’
- The Answers
Young adults give their
reasons and make
suggestions to help
15 Re-Thinking
Divorce
Divorce holds many perils.
Think carefully before you
end your marriage.
Ontario Highlights | Spring 2016 | adobestock
‘Hope 2016 – The Journey’
Begins with Lay Evangelists
“I
’m a bit nervous, yet excited,” says Faithlyn Allen of
Shiloh Adventist Church in Scarborough. She will be
the evangelist for Toronto-based Liberty Company’s
three- week lay evangelistic series commencing on Sabbath,
May 14, 2016.
Faithlyn is one of nearly 50 lay preachers who will conduct
evangelistic meetings in 34 congregations across the Greater
Toronto Area from May 14 to June 4. These meetings, entitled
His Way of Hope, are part of the preparation process for four
major reaping series during the autumn. They also represent
part of the General Conference’s Mission to the Cities initiative.
Faithlyn is thrilled to be involved, and says that it’s an
excellent idea for pastors to take advantage of trained
lay preachers who can work in partnership with them to
accomplish the goal of leading souls into a saving relationship
with Christ. “Pastors are very busy people, and they could do
with the help,” she asserts.
Eastern Ontario
Her excitement is shared by 18 lay preachers from five
congregations in Eastern Ontario, where a similar series of lay
meetings will be taking place around the same time in Ottawa.
They will be following up on the momentum created by the
city-wide evangelistic meetings in Ottawa last year.
The fruition of this plan will mean several things to the
Ontario Conference:
• Moving one step closer towards helping church members
understand and fulfil their biblical role in the priesthood of
all believers – 1 Peter 2:9
• Helping church members understand, appreciate, and
utilize their spiritual gifts for witnessing and sharing the
Good News of salvation – Eph. 4:11
• Cultivating a greater spirit of alignment between pastors
and church members.
• Providing members, especially those who have been
equipped through the Ontario Conference School of
Evangelism and Discipleship (OCSED) and other training
programmes, with an opportunity to act on what they
learnt. Since September 2015, our partnership with
ShareHim has intensified evangelistic training in Ontario.
• Seeing a renewed spirit of enthusiasm among church
members who feel appreciated and believe they can make
Ontario Highlights | Spring 2016 | a contribution to the mission of the church.
“There is a spirit of enthusiasm and excitement among
them,” says Hopeton Blake, the lay evangelist for Philadelphia
Adventist Church. “This opportunity is breathing new life into
our church members.”
Since last year, preparations for the series are becoming
intense. Local pastors are getting better acquainted with the
respective lay preachers who will work with their churches.
They are providing them with opportunities to become more
comfortable with the pulpit and the congregations through
Sabbath speaking appointments. In many churches, advertising
materials are being distributed to the community. Additionally,
churches in the respective regions are using the Soul-Winning
Action Team (SWAT) materials for members to make personal
contacts in preparation for inviting them to the meetings.
The lay preachers are using every available moment to
ensure that they are ready, especially for the opening night. For
each of the five regions in the GTA, lay leaders are scheduling
regular meetings with their respective lay preachers to practice
preaching and developing the art of making effective appeals.
“This is one of the more challenging areas of preaching,” says
Cheryl Bailey, speaker for Kingsview Village Adventist Church,
“but the practice sessions are proving to be helpful.”
As the May start date gets closer, many of the preachers
are clear that they want to see souls led to the Lord. A number
have also expressed their desire to experience personal
spiritual growth and to be better preachers. Barbara Scott,
member and speaker of Carleton Place Church in Eastern
Ontario, summed up the feelings of her fellow evangelists
when she said, “I am praying that through these meetings our
church will grow, and I will learn to depend on God more fully.”
It’s the plan of the Ontario Conference to fulfil its
commitment to meet its REACH goal in community outreach
and evangelism. Training and engaging church members to be
more active in this and in all others forms of soul-winning plays
a key role towards reaching this goal.
Eustace Williams, Director
Personal Ministries
tock
bes
ado
I
’ve been asked the same question before: “What’s it like
being the president of the conference?” My response
is usually the same: “Not easy, I must daily seek God for
wisdom, strength and support!”
While being the president offers numerous challenges
daily, it also offers a far wider perspective of our relevance to
our province. I’m especially encouraged when members share
with me their love for God and their stories of faith. It gives me
confidence that God’s church has people who are committed to
Him and long to see Him come in His glory. However, I’m very
concerned when I meet a congregation that seems to have lost
its sense of purpose.
Churches that have lost their sense of purpose reflect some
of the following characteristics:
1.
2.
3.
4.
There is little or no sense of mission.
The congregation is more concerned about itself, its
reputation and its culture than it is for people.
Conflict is frequently evident.
Worship is usually lifeless or it has become
entertainment.
Little Sense of Mission
Perhaps the saddest state for a church to be in is to lose its
sense of mission, having no purpose than to continue doing
what it has always done without knowing why and without
enthusiasm. It simply goes through the weekly routine. It is still
very religious and demonstrates all the trappings of a religious
body, but mission no longer drives its programmes and
events. Disappointingly, its activities and services are ends in
themselves rather than being the means to an end. Worst of all,
the church is unaware of its state, often confusing its numerous
activities and occasional baptisms with spirituality and fulfilling
the Gospel Commission. Didn’t Jesus refer to a church with
these characteristics as Laodicean?
When a church has lost its sense of mission, it has lost its
reason for existing.
Concern Over Self, Reputation and Culture Above
People
A church that has lost its sense of the mission God gave
it often creates a mission for itself–self-preservation! Its
mission turns inward to maintaining its structures, traditions
and culture. Its leaders become concerned with guarding its
reputation, rules and regulations. Members are required to fit a
profile that had been established by a previous generation.
Concern for itself rarely translates into caring for its
members unless those members are among those who are
well-known through their involvement. The quiet, unassuming
member does not attract much attention. When he or she is
absent for any period of time, no one seems to notice. Lack of care for people leaves some groups, especially
young adults who by virtue of their youth are not conformist,
feeling less connected, unvalued and unappreciated. They are
likely to be ‘lost in the house’, which is the sentiment of the
parable of the lost coin. None should be treated as secondary,
unimportant or reduced to an observer status. George Barna,
of the Barna Group, suggests that among the things churches
need to do more of is “finding a willingness to show God’s heart
and not just His judgement.”
Frequent Conflict
My old homiletics teacher used to tell us, “If your church
is not busy working, it will be busy fighting!” Sadly, I have
seen this to be true too often. A church that is not busy with
the mission of fulfilling the Gospel Commission is soon busy
fighting.
Anything can trigger a fight–the choice over a new carpet,
or colours for new seat cushions. Battle lines are often drawn
when one group attempts to impose its dietary practice on the
rest of the church. When one person wants to have his or her
way, it’s almost evitable that a conflict will ensue, and the Devil
will relish this. I have to ask, where is the love of Christ? How
Ontario Highlights | Spring 2016 | to please God. We are completely lost without His grace,
forgiveness and His Holy Spirit who draws us to Him. Daily, His
Spirit works to transform us to be like Him. It’s the Spirit who
moves us from pride, selfishness, covetousness, racism and
sexism and makes us loving. What a great church we would be
if our powerful 28 fundamental beliefs could be translated into
living faith! Then we would truly be the Body of Christ.
can we say we love God Whom we cannot see, but hate our
brother whom we can see? Too often I have to attend board
or business meetings to settle conflicts. Their agendas do not
have plans for evangelism. Have we forgotten that, “The Spirit
of Christ is grieved when any of His followers give evidence of a
harsh, unfair, or exacting spirit” (RH Feb. 18, 1909.)?
Lifeless Worship
A church without a mission rarely has a meaningful worship
experience. Instead, it will be cold and formal, leaders simply
go through a weekly ritual while congregants endure the
routine. The sense of God’s awe, His power and the victories
He gives are absent because there is no mission. Engaging in
mission reveals God’s power. When we take this experience into
worship, Sabbath services take on a different atmosphere–they
become worship, occasions when God Himself comes down
to His congregation and receives the adoration, praise and
thanksgiving of a people who have experienced His leading
and deliverance in their lives.
Unfortunately, some churches confuse lively singing
accompanied by good musicians, and colourful preaching with
true worship. Yes, their form may stimulate a happy occasion,
but without the conscious presence and power of God leading
His church in its mission, it’s only a lively religious service that,
at best, entertains us. True worship focusses on God Who
is faithfully present. Those on the platform are not there to
perform for the entertainment of the congregation, but to lead
it into an experience with God.
Ellen White expressed grave concern for meaningless
gatherings where, “We do not obtain a hundredth part of
the blessings we should obtain from assembling together to
worship God” (Lift Him Up p.303).
Longing for Mission-Focussed Churches
Perhaps, my greatest desire as president is to discover that
every church in our conference is on its way to becoming a
mission-focussed church.
What does a mission-focussed church look like?
1.
Its members are filled with the Spirit of God
The mission-focussed church has members who are acutely
aware that they are sinners who have been saved by grace. All
our goodness and our disciplines can never be good enough
Ontario Highlights | Spring 2016 | The church is organised for mission
The entire life of the church is about its mission–to go into
the world (its local community), preach the gospel (community
outreach as Jesus modelled it, introducing them to Jesus
through sharing our faith and our life, teaching them God’s
Word), baptising and making disciples of all. Our primary
concern is about people–seeing them being born again and
becoming disciples. People are all-important as God’s children.
They are loved, cared for and are immediately involved in the
life and mission of the church. Therefore, it is organised in a
way to best accomplish this. Its ministries are aligned so that
they do not compete but, by cooperating, can be effective in
helping the church go about its mission.
“If Christians were to act in concert, moving forward as one,
under the direction of one Power, for the accomplishment of
one purpose, they would move the world.” – Testimonies, vol. 9,
p. 221.
Being organised for mission also means that regular
meetings are held where all events and activities are prayerfully
designed to help the church fulfil its mission. If a programme
is not an outgrowth of mission, it is discarded. The same may
be said of how the church budget is allocated–unless a budget
item reflects the mission of the church, there is no allocation
for it. Usually, the budget is set after the mission is clearly
established.
3.
Active in mission and celebrates in meaningful worship
With mission as
the primary reason
for the church’s
existence, it actively
engages in doing
so. Its Spirit-filled
members have a
love for people–all
people! They
respond to God’s
command to go
and make disciples.
Each person plays
an active role in
the mission of the
church. If one does
not exist, they will
not rest until one
begins!
The missionfocussed church
then is constantly
involved in at least
one mission activity.
It periodically evaluates what it is doing and makes necessary
adjustments.
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2.
All its members and regular visitors know the purpose
of the church and are invited to share in it. Weekly worship
services are occasions of celebration, inspiration and
motivation for everyone to partake in the mission of the
church. They are planned so that God’s majesty is highlighted,
His power, love and grace celebrated, our commitment to serve
Him renewed and eternity with Him anticipated.
I often dream of a time when all our churches are missionfocussed. Perhaps, you also share this dream. You and I can
make this a reality in our local church. Let us individually give
ourselves to prayer, and ask God to intervene in our lives
so that it will become a reality. Also, let us begin to have
the conversation with others and with the leaders of your
congregation and of mine. It does not have to remain as a
dream. God is already at work in making this dream a reality.
Since April 4, and going until June 4, eighty-four lay evangelists
in Ontario, having sensed the need for our church to return to
its mission, will be leading their congregations in evangelistic
meetings.
How about your church? Your church and mine can truly be
mission-driven and mission-focussed congregations.
“Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will
succeed.” – Prov. 16:3, NIV
Correction:
Cornerstone Celebrates sixty-five Years in Sault Ste. Marie
Please note that the person after whom Crawford
Adventist Academy was named was Erwin Armstrong
Crawford, not Owen Crawford, as written on page 22. Also,
his sister, Ida Mackinnon, is 94 years of age, not 93. She will
be celebrating her 95th birthday in June.
We hope that this did not cause any offence, and we
apologise for the error.
Editor
Save the Date!
Surprised by
God’s Love
Women’s Ministries Retreat
September 2-4, 2016
Nottawasaga Inn, Alliston
Speaker, Elizabeth Talbot
Mansfield Edwards, President
Registration opening soon - www.AdventistOntario.org
adobestock
Holistic
Sabbath School
Sabbath School Training
Sabbath, June 4, 2016
9:00 a.m. - 5:15 p.m.
Crawford Adventist Academy - East
1765 Meadowview Ave., Pickering
3 ways to register:
1 Online: www.adventistontario.org
2 Mail your credit card information/cheque/
money order
with registration form
3 Call Rose at 905.571.1022 Ext 109
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Registration fee: $25.00 per person
includes lunch, snacks and all handouts
Registration Deadline: Tuesday, May 24 - 9am
Ontario Highlights | Spring 2016 | Bad News and Good News!
F
Tithe Income
Isn’t it time to praise God, to thank Him for how He is not
only protecting His church in Ontario but growing it? While
your local church may not reflect the good news mentioned
above, it can be reassuring and encouraging that somewhere
in Ontario, there are churches that are flourishing. If it is
happening elsewhere, then there is hope that it may also
happen at your local church. God has not forgotten your
congregation and the challenges it has faced. He has good
news for every congregation and for everyone—it’s His desire
for your church to grow (Jeremiah 3:19; Ezekiel 33:11; Matthew
28:19).
Ontario Highlights | Spring 2016 | Figure 1
The good news is that everyone can be part of the growth
of God’s church in Ontario. Each church member, regular visitor
and unbaptised teen or young adult can play a crucial role in
the growth of his or her local church. Yes, you can and should
get involved in learning how to share your faith with others
and how to give Bible studies and help people make decisions
for Jesus. Just imagine what would happen to God’s church if
each person helped to bring at least one other person to Jesus
every year or two! However, there is something that is really
necessary and very simple that you can do.
Practice Hospitality
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irst, the bad news: Since 2011, the gap
between new converts gained versus
members lost is narrowing1. While there
is a marked increase of new members added
yearly to the world-wide Seventh-day Adventist
Church, there is also a marked increase in those
who have left or have died (see figure 1).
More bad news: In North America, for every
two new members who join the church, only one
remains2.
Now, the good news: In Ontario, for every
four new members joining the church, three
remain. The goal is that every new member will
remain, along with all existing members.
More good news: For the first time in over
five years, over a thousand new members joined
our churches in Ontario. The total accessions
of 1,042 represents 923 baptisms and 119
professions of faith. The ambitious goal of 2,000
reported in Ontario Highlights, spring 2015, p.5,
still remains a goal to work towards.
And the good news continues. In 2015,
two new groups were planted, and five new
companies were organised. There are now 171 Adventist
congregations in Ontario—127 organised churches, 25
companies and 19 groups. Additionally, a new school was
opened.
There is even more good news: In a time of economic
hardship in Ontario, members looked to God and committed
themselves to be even more faithful in tithes. Through the
faithfulness of regular members like you, God continues to
bless this conference. At the same board meeting, the treasurer
reported a net gain in tithe over 2014 of 1.5% (5.1% over
budget). This is remarkable, considering the fact that only 53%
of members in Ontario returned tithes to God in 2015!
Begin by practicing hospitality today. Don’t wait for the
leaders of your church to start speaking about being a friendly
church. Commit yourself to being a friendly person--not just
to your friends, but to everyone, especially to the quiet people
in church who often appear to be by themselves. You may
be the person who will help this person, especially young
adults, remain in church. Your friendliness could be the most
significant tool that your church has in its effort to retain
members. Without your smile, warm greeting, and taking
time to show genuine interest in that member, he or she could
simply leave at the end of the service for the last time, never to
return.
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Expect visitors to attend your church every Sabbath and
extend your hospitality to them. Keep on the lookout for
them, especially those who attend alone. They will often sit by
themselves and will remain so because no one seems to care
about them. Leave your group of friends or your family and
be the person who will go across to him or her and introduce
yourself. Do spend some moments speaking together, sharing
helpful information about your church, showing an interest
in the visitor to the extent of even inviting him or her home
to share your meal with you. Don’t wait for someone else to
do it, thinking that he or she will do it. No, be the one to do
it. The first impression of the church and its message is often
determined by the personal contact a visitor makes in a church.
Let that contact be you and let him or her leave happy knowing
what it means to have met a genuine Christian.
When God gave the great commission of the gospel to His
church, He placed Good News in our hands. What we do with
the Good News will determine whether or not we hear the best
news of all—“Well done, good and faithful servant…Come and
share your master’s happiness. Matthew 25:21 (NIV).
References:
1. Trim, David. Retention and Reclamation: A priority for the World
Church. World: Gains and Losses, 1965-2014, Office of Archives,
Statistics and Research.
2. Executive secretary’s report to the board of directors of the
Ontario Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, January 31, 2016.
Bluewater Adventist
Camp Meeting
“Empowered by God”
Speaker: Pastor Jakov Bibliovic, Director of Church
Growth, Planting & Evangelism
August 27, 2016
9:45am - 4:00 p.m.
Location: Elmwood Community Center, 38 Queen
Street West, Elmwood, Ontario
Children’s program available until 11:00 a.m.
Bluewater Camp Meeting is operated by Harriston,
Owen Sound and Hanover Congregations
Women’s Challenge
June 10 & 11, 2016
Sharon Platt-McDonald,
Women’s Ministries Director, British Union
Residence Inn and Conference Centre-Toronto
Seneca College, 1760 Finch Avenue East, Toronto
Halsey Peat
Limited space available Registration $25.00/person
(includes Sabbath light lunch)
Ontario Highlights | Spring 2016 | t’s minus twenty-five degrees Celsius outside at 9:00 p.m. in
early February in Ontario when all the lights in your house
go out. When you look through the window, it’s completely
dark outside. The entire neighbourhood is in darkness. It’s a
power outage. You do not know what is happening, but later you
will learn that ice has brought down powerlines all across the
region. Meanwhile, your house is getting colder and you cannot
heat it. How will you keep warm? Will you be able to cook?
Where will you go? It’s a crisis! What will you do?
Residents of the central and eastern portions of Canada
and the northeastern United States Ontario were faced with
these questions in 2013 when what is known as the 2013 North
American ice storm hit the region from December 20-23. In
some places it caused massive damage to trees, brought down
powerlines and led to days, weeks, and in some cases, months
of cold and darkness for over a million people. It resulted in the
deaths of 27 people and cost over $200 million in damages.
While Canadians often see ice storms as the most likely
disaster, crises are usually unexpected and occur in different
forms—floods, polluted water, epidemic or pandemic, fire, war
or other localised tragedies. While none of these may happen
tomorrow, most are surprise events that may occur at any time.
How prepared are you?
Seventh-day Adventists often speak about being prepared
for the Second Coming of Jesus. Bible students point to
increasing disasters around the world as clear signs of His
coming. Adventists should be the last group of people to be
caught unprepared for a crisis.
There are numerous agencies, such as the Fire Department
that provide valuable information about avoiding a house fire
or what do in case of one. The Internet is also a good source to
which the reader can turn. However, how many people consider
the suggestion to keep copies of all important documents such
as passports, birth and marriage certificates, immunization
records, insurance and bank account numbers, and other
documents at a different location than their home?
After a fire or flood has devastated a home, among the prized
possessions lost are beloved family photographs. In the age of
digital photography, copies of these may be uploaded to cloud
storage or other cyber storage.
For some years, civil authorities have been encouraging
households to assemble emergency kits. When disaster strikes,
you may have to evacuate at a moment’s notice without time to
search for supplies or purchase them. Those who are prepared
are not only in a position to survive on their own but are able to
assist others.
Being prepared means having your own food, water and
other supplies, in sufficient quantity, to last for at least 72
hours. It is also possible that basic services, such as water, gas,
electricity, and telephone may be cut off. This is when your kit
will help to keep you alive.
Disaster preparedness kits are available from the Canadian
Red Cross and other organisations. The Red Cross kit is
designed to help support you during the first 72 hours of an
emergency. Other kits are available from Costco, Amazon and a
number of other sources.
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I
What Will You Do
In addition to a first-aid kit, the typical contents include:
1 box of 45 waterproof matches 1 nylon backpack
1 flashlight / radio / alarm crank (no batteries required)
1 50-hour candle 1 multifunction knife
1 SOS sign 1 emergency blanket
1 20 liter water container
20 tablets water purification
2 Biohazard bags
1 whistle
1 pair of leather palm gloves
1 12 hour light stick
1 first aid kit 1 emergency sheeting
2 dust masks
1 duct tape
Additionally, it is important to have foods that are easy to
prepare and will not easily spoil, like canned soup, dry pasta
and powdered milk, ready to take with you. These should be
checked and replaced throughout the year.
In April 2014, the people in Flint, Michigan, did not have
any inclination that their water supply would suddenly become
contaminated. But it happened. On July 6, 2013, the town of
Lac-Mégantic in Quebec did not realise that a runway 74-car
freight train, loaded with crude oil, was running down a grade
towards them and in a huge explosion would destroy more
than 30 buildings in the town centre. Sadly, it happened.
Will your town, your region be next? If so, what will you do?
Will you be able to help yourself and your family, or others?
Perhaps a crisis may affect others; will you be able to help
them?
The Adventist Community Services Disaster Response
is providing training for volunteers who will not only be
able to help themselves, but who will also be certified
to help others. When disaster strikes, you will be able
to help if you are certified. Obtain your certification by
attending the training planned for May 3-15,
2016, at Crawford Adventist Academy-East,
1765 Meadowview Avenue, in Pickering.
Register today.
Theodore Sargeant, Director
Community Services
Ontario Highlights | Spring 2016 | 10
‘Why Are So Many Youth and
Young Adults Leaving Our
Church?’—The Answers
What Took Place?
The summit was part of a strategic move of the NAD to
respond to a recent Barna study which showed that about 70%
of Adventist Millennials (young adults) have left, or are leaving,
the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America.
In round table discussions, small groups of participants
tackled the following four questions regarding Millennials
(born 1981-1996), and a final report was crafted:
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L
ast May 28-31 (Ontario Highlights, Summer 2015),
Ontario Conference hosted a division-wide historic
young adult event: My Church Summit. As the
culminating feature of a longer campus ministries event,
known as Adventist Campus Fellowship (ACF) Institute, about
200 young adults from public universities across North America
eagerly gathered for the event. Prominent leaders from the
General Conference, North American Division (NAD), Unions
and Conferences of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North
America, were also present and actively participated in the
discussion.
The main purpose for this event was to wrestle with one
of the most difficult and relevant questions church leaders in
North America are faced with these days: Why are so many
youth and young adults leaving our church? Surprisingly, the
answers produced an unusually deep sense of unity among
participants. Indeed, a sense of revival, unity and commitment
to the church and its mission pervaded the ending of the
gathering.
c.
Disconnected from society (young adults report a
disconnect between the Church and the culture in a
variety of ways)
d. Disconnected from church leadership
e. Disconnected from Christ (young adults believe there is a
deeper spiritual problem: the gospel is not cherished and
lived out in the church. The focus is on behaviour).
Question 2: Why Are Millennials Staying in the
Church?
1. Why are Millennials leaving the church?
2. Why are Millennials staying?
3. What do Millennials need from the church?
4. What gifts and talents do Millennials want to share to
advance the mission of the church?
The Report
Question 1: Why Are Young Adults Leaving the
Church?
The primary reasons their peers are disengaging from the
Church is because they perceive a disconnect as follows:
a.
Disconnected from each other (absence of meaningful
intergenerational mentorship)
b. Disconnected from Identity (young adults have troubl
aligning themselves with the Church’s identity)
adobestock
The following is a brief summary of the final report of close
to 200 Adventist young adults who attend public campuses
from across North America.
For those who remain, young adults report the most
prominent reasons are:
a. Internalization of faith (when Millennials internalize their
faith, they develop a desire to grow and seek biblical
truth);
b. Relationships and community support (Millennials
who stayed in the Church recognized the value of
relationships and the support system of its community);
c. Pressure and social influence (for individuals who were
raised in an Adventist household, some felt that their
friends, family, and mentors influenced them not to
leave);
d.
e.
Resources and means for meaningful programmes
(many valued programmes such as retreats, Pathfinders,
Christian camps, seminars, integrated worship, mission
trips, or community service.)
Significant involvement (when given responsibility in
ministry, Millennials stated that they found meaning,
encouragement, and obligation to fulfill God’s work).
Millennials are paradoxical. At once fiercely independent,
yet more interconnected than any other generation in
history. In an age where many are leaving and a shrinking
few are staying, Millennials need the church like never before.
Millennials indicate they need a church that:
a. Involves them and trusts them with responsibilities
b. Fosters welcoming, genuine and inclusive community
c. Gives them structural support (invest in them, particularly
at public university campuses)
d. Provides programmes and networks (to empower them
for mission)
e. Is relatable and relevant (a church that is unafraid to
tackle big, controversial questions by engaging in open,
honest dialogue)
Question 4: What Gifts and Talents Do Millennials
Want to Share to Advance the Mission of the
Church?
Millennials in the church feel that they can offer not only
their spiritual gifts and talents, but their innovation to connect
the tasks of the church with the mission of Christ in a relevant
and culturally sensitive way, in areas such as:
a. Leadership
b. Professional skills
c. Socially connected (Millennials feel they have a
particularly far reaching social network)
d. Artistic talent (Millennials feel that the arts are
underappreciated in the church)
adobestock
Question 3: What Do Millennials Need from the
Church?
“Artistic talent are underappreciated in the church”
e.
Technology and media (Millennials are tech-savvy and
up-to-date with the 21st century and want to see their
church also being current).
Young adults DO have answers; the church simply needs to
listen to them! It is my sincere prayer that, first, many readers
will join the growing group of concerned leaders who are
united in seriously addressing the question that caused the
“My Church” Young Adult Summit last year. Secondly, it is
my honest desire that, based on the answers provided in this
article, more time will be spent on trying new initiatives, and
less time spent on discussing ideas and statistics without
any action. If not, the church will continue on as usual until
it finally realises that all our children and
grandchildren have left.
Gerardo Oudri, Director
Youth and Young Adults
FOR THE CHILDREN
Prepared for you by Maria McClean
1.
3.
5.
7.
9.
11.
13.
15.
17.
19.
21.
23.
25.
27.
MCCBUURE ORARTC
AGNOM
CROILCOB
ABSNE
RISRHEEC
ALUCFIOLEWR
PGAARSSAU
LNANPATI
PRGEA NISLTLE
NMADOL
GELNGPAT
RRWAESTBRY
2. ICSAHPN
4. LTEERWNMAO
6. PELPA
8. NCRO
10. INASSIR
12. KMUNPPI
14. AABNAN
16. AOTMTO
18. ETCLEUT
20. VOAAODC
22. SEAWHC
24. REEYLC
26. EBSTE
Answers:
Cucumber, Spinach, Carrot, Watermelon, Mango,
Apple, Broccoli, Corn, Beans, Raisins, Cherries, Pumpkin,
Cauliflower, Banana, Asparagus, Tomato, Plantain, Lettuce,
Grape, Avocado, Lentils, Cashew, Almond, Celery, Eggplant,
Beets, Strawberry
Children, unscramble the following words to discover the
names of fruits and vegetables you can choose to eat in order
to be healthy.:
P
arents of ‘picky’ eaters, are you concerned that your
young children are not eating enough? Do you fear
that their growth and development are being affected
by poor eating habits?
Firstly, be assured that this is a common concern shared
by parents of toddlers, adolescents and teenagers. According
to Health Canada, a child’s appetite may vary for a number
of reasons that could include growth and activity, tiredness,
illness, and environmental or social factors. Children may even
be using mealtimes as a method of asserting independence as
they enter each new phase of development.
Most experts* agree on a number of approaches to the
solution of ‘picky’ eating. Following is an eight-step summary
of suggestions for parents and caregivers from two of these
sources - EatRight Ontario and the Mayo Clinic that can be used
with children of any age until they are able to become more
discerning in their food preferences.
o
adobest
ck
1. Maintain a regular eating schedule for your family.
Eat meals together and avoid giving children food while
they are distracted by play, television or electronic
gadgets.
2. Offer water alone between meals and snacks Offer water alone between meals and snacks to keep your
children hydrated. In this way, they will not crave liquids
such as fizzy drinks or fruit juice with their meals. Filling
up on liquids may decrease their appetite for nourishing
solid foods.
3. Make meal times happy occasions, not war zones Avoid pressuring children to finish what is on their plates.
Trust that they know when they are hungry and full.
adobestock
Eight Steps
to Help Your
Picky Eater
Child
Bribery, force, tricks, punishment, and pressure do not
belong at the table. Mealtimes should not be associated
with anxiety, frustration or power struggles.
4. Avoid alternatives to the main meal
As far as possible, avoid preparing different dishes for
your picky eaters if they do not want to eat the main meal.
They may consistently refuse to eat what the rest of the
family is eating because they have grown to expect other
choices.
5. Offer new foods repeatedly
Offer new foods repeatedly but use different recipes.
Serve these with the child’s favourite foods.
6. Attractive presentations
Serve food for children in creative, attractive ways and
offer it in small, manageable portions. Experts agree that
it may take as many as ten times for a child to try a food
and like it.
7. Do not offer dessert as a reward
‘Withholding dessert sends the message that dessert
is the best food, which might only increase your child’s
desire for sweets. You might select one or two nights a
week as dessert nights, and skip dessert the rest of the
week — or redefine dessert as …. healthy choices’ (Mayo
Clinic).
8. Be a role model
Parents, caregivers, and older siblings should become
role models in healthy eating. Children are influenced by the
positive, healthy choices and habits of these individuals in their
lives.
Michael Dickinson, chief of paediatrics at Miramichi
Regional Hospital, counsels parents to resist the tendency to
be hard on themselves for not being successful in getting their
children to eat as expected at all times. If your children are
behaving normally and are developing as expected in all areas,
there is little cause for undue anxiety. However, if you are still
concerned about your children’s eating habits after trying the
methods suggested above, it is best to consult a paediatrician.
Whatever the circumstance, remember to celebrate small
victories in your children’s eating habits that
reflect balanced nutrition.
*EatRight Ontario, Health Canada, Mayo Clinic and The Hospital
for Sick Children.
Maria McClean, Director
Health and Children’s Ministries
“I
just wish we could talk her out of it!” Jane exclaimed.
“She’s convinced that divorce is the only real
remedy to the numerous misgivings and highly
unsolvable problems they have,” added Lorraine. “I wish she
would just hear us out…but she does not want to hear from us,
divorced ones.”
“I wish we had this understanding 10 years ago when we
were in her position, and we thought divorce was our only
solution!” said Jane.
I had just entered a hairdressing salon and stumbled across
the conversation of four patrons, all divorced. While enjoying
the hair treatment, I took mental notes of their viewpoints on
the intriguing subject they were discussing.
It seemed that the women had been serious about their
wedding vows, but, because of anger, guilt, and hurt, they
had chosen divorce as their option. Ten years later, they were
agonizing with seemingly unending problems caused by their
decisions. What appeared so attractive resulted in pain, and
the complications of a failed marriage continued to intensify
and haunt them, and the ones they loved.
k
sto
c
ad
ob
e
Re-Thinking
Divorce
concluded that
people who
divorced were not
happier than those
who remained
married. Five years after the study began, of those who
remained married and worked out their difficulties, two thirds
reported that it resulted in happier marriages. This clearly
provides hope for troubled marriages!
Yes, there are exceptions of unresolvable marriages, where
a spouse is continually unrepentantly unfaithful or abusive and
there are threats to one’s safety. Persons in these relationships
are not being encouraged to risk their physical or emotional
wellbeing by remaining in imminent danger. However, for
many other marital problems, a divorce option should be
removed and Christian counselling entertained. Most people
going into marriage have little or no skills in dealing with
relationship problems. A good counsellor can help you
develop these crucial skills. Divorce is not necessarily a road to
happiness.
Are your marital problems tempting you to end your
marriage? Consider the following I gleamed from these
divorced ladies:
Feelings may be deceiving
Lorraine married very early. As work kept her husband often
away from home, loneliness took hold, and she questioned why
she had married. She confided in a male friend and got carried
away by how understood she felt by him. As her feelings of
excitement towards him grew, she convinced herself she was
no longer in love with her husband. Now, ten single years later,
she knows her feelings had deceived her, and that love is far
more than a feeling, it’s a principle. “Rather than praying, giving
my concerns to God and seeking professional help,” she said, “I
took the situation in my own hands and moved out, convincing
myself that marriage was a mistake.”
adobestock
Life may not be total freedom
Sadly, their experience is not unique. Today, many younger
couples have entered marriage viewing it as disposable.
Divorce is their “go to” at the slightest hint of a problem. Older
couples with escalating marital problems are also considering
divorce as their only option. Marriage is viewed as a trap, and
divorce as the fix for all woes. However, divorce creates other
problems.
The question, “Does divorce make people happy?” was the
centre of a study by University of Chicago sociologist Linda
Waite and others for the Institute for American Values. It
Ann was a career woman with no children who thought
she was living in a dying marriage. She refused to put up with
a husband boring her with house chores and thoughts of
children. “I did not want a dull life,” she said; “I wanted to be
able to do what I wanted, when I wanted. But after the divorce,
it was my career and my home that began to hold me hostage.
I was imprisoned by all the things I thought of as successful and
desirable.” Divorce never brought the freedom lifestyle Ann
had expected. Each anniversary date brings depression, and a
week of mourning the loss of childhood hopes and shattered
dreams.
Blended families
While married, Jane felt bombarded by her needy spouse
and children. She often fantasised about a life without them.
Finally, she decided on divorce. Ten years later, having never
remarried, she says, “I would give anything for a day with my
family. I am surprised how much I miss the togetherness we
shared, eating together and cuddling together on the couch.”
How could she miss the things she had complained about
most?
In remarriage, stepchildren can pose numerous challenges,
but a greater challenge is the blending of children from
previous marriages. Feelings of loss, displacement, resentment
and jealousy are just a few of the problems the family faces.
“My life is more complicated than ever,” said John. “I’ve put
my efforts into this new marriage, but we are struggling. My
new stepson ignores me. His attitude is ‘I’m here to be with my
mom, and that’s it.’ I feel like a second-class citizen in my own
home.”
The easy availability of divorce makes it a tempting
option to satisfy our immediate desire to solve our marriage
difficulties. In a paper called Divorce: Facts, Causes and
Consequences, Dr. Ann-Marie Ambert of York University and
Vanier Institute of Family chronicled that in 2004 the average
rate of divorce for Canada was approximately 37.9% and in
Ontario specifically, 35.5%. This number would have been
greater if it was not for society’s acceptance of cohabitation in
conjugal relationships instead of marriage.
Rather than doing the hard work it takes to daily invest in
our marriage, over one third of married Canadians look for a
way out, failing to consider the consequence of divorce. It’s so
tempting, when we are experiencing seemingly overwhelming
problems, to think that our marriage cannot be saved. Under
the weight of our problems, it’s difficult to clearly think through
the issues. All we can think of is how to get away so that we
can live our own lives.
The study led by Linda Waite, mentioned above, confirms
the possibility of a positive outcome after five years for two
thirds who were faced with marital problems--if they work
with Christ as their centre. With the help of a good Christian
counsellor, if you are both willing and able to carefully work
through the issues and to develop and use the skills to grow a
strong relationship, you can experience God’s plan for marriage.
Your current pain or discontentment can be transformed into
long-term joy and abundant blessings.
adobestock
Life may be lonely and perplexing
After the divorce, as the children got older and sought
independence, the loneliness was more intense. She is drained
by constant scheduling conflicts and contentious issues of the
divorce. She often feels distressed as she watches the children
carry the burden of juggling their loyalties between parents.
Life may be stressful
Crystal, on the other hand, was married to a man whose
finances could not satisfy her wants. Divorce was her solution.
During the past ten years, she remarried twice, and the children
endured many difficulties as a result. Family gatherings for
birthdays, weddings, or funerals are quite dramatic and
stressful. With their father also remarried, they suffer with the
problem of torn allegiances. Sometimes, Jane feels that they all
have lost out.
Marriage has problems, divorce often complicates them
Couples, thinking it amiable and of minimal consequence,
apply divorce as a solution to their marital difficulties. This is
a myth that Satan promulgates. All divorces hurt and have
greater and deeper consequences than what appears on the
surface. The grief inflicted by divorce is very similar to that
caused by death with the exception that, with divorce, closure
is elusive.
Loss of socio-economic status
When we consider divorce, we rarely take the time to
anticipate how others will treat us. Most divorcees register a
difference in how they are treated. They often bear the stigma
of ‘relationship failure’. Good friends are lost because they are
often forced to choose sides while others keep their distance,
uncomfortable with not knowing what to say. Too often, divorce
also becomes a divorce from loving in-laws.
Then there is the fight over collateral, money, house and
other possessions. The division of wealth is not usually equitable.
One or both parties often find it impossible to maintain the
same living standard as before. It may mean the children’s extracurricular activities, relocation or trading private school for public
school. Divorce often leaves both persons poor.
Thinking divorce? Think again!
References
Ambert, Ann-Marie, Paper on Divorce: Facts, Causes and Consequences,
Colopy, Elsa K., The Single Mom’s Guide to finding Joy in the Chaos. Revell:
Grand Rapids, Michigan 2006.
Kent, Carol., Becoming a Woman of Influence. NavPress: Colorado Springs,
Colorado 1999.
Georgia Shaffer, author of A Gift of Mourning
Glories: Restoring Your Life After Loss. Vine Brooks:
Pennsylvania.
Fish, Roberta., Ministering Hope to the Hurting Heart
Joan Rogers, Director
Family MInistries
Ontario Ministries Convention 2017
As directors plan to equip local leaders with tools to carry
out the church’s mission, they are happy to announce that
they have planned a ministries convention for leaders in
February 2017. Like the first ministries convention, ‘Relevant’,
held at Sheraton Parkway in Richmond Hill, January 2015,
leaders can expect leading experts from across Canada and
the United States as trainers.
Regional Leadership Training
a Hit with New Leaders
Four regional leadership training events held for new
church officers in Toronto, Hamilton, London and Ottawa, since
January, have proved so popular that conference directors have
been happily surprised by the positive response of attendees.
“The training was great!” said Charlyn Apostol from
Hamilton Filipino Church. “It’s my first time to attend this
training. It’s a blessing for all of us who attended this training.”
“The workshops were most beneficial to us, and we praise
God for blessing you with wisdom and knowledge,” said Marie
St.Vil. “Thank you very much for taking the time to come to
Ottawa and impart your knowledge and wisdom to us.”
The demand for some ministries, especially in Toronto,
was so great that some directors found themselves having to
schedule a second shift to accommodate everyone.
“I was so impressed by how many leaders wanted to
learn how to mobilise their churches through personal
ministries,” said Pastor Eustace Williams, Personal Ministries
and Prayer Ministries director. “I even had to repeat my session
to accommodate an additional 40 people. I was greatly
encouraged by the leaders’ desire to finish the work.”
The Toronto event was held over the weekend of January
29-31, 2016 and was held at Willowdale Seventh-day Adventist
School and Crawford Adventist Academy.
Southern and Southwestern Ontario
The following weekend, training was provided for new
leaders in Southern and Southwestern Ontario. They were
equally keen, as those in Toronto, to apply their ministries to
community outreach and evangelism. Their pastors, not only
promoted it in their churches, but also attended the events
held at Bishop Ryan Catholic School, Hamilton, on Sabbath,
February 6, and at Glen Cairn Public School, in London, on
Sunday, February 7, respectively. On Sunday, some leaders
travelled for two hours from Windsor to arrive in London by the
10:00 a.m. start.
“It’s clear that members value this kind of training,” Said
Pastor Theodore Sargeant, Sabbath School and Community
Services director. “What really impressed me was their obvious
desire to be active in reaching their communities with a
message of hope.”
Eastern Ontario
The fourth session was held in Ottawa on February 28, at
Ottawa Technical School, for new officers in Eastern Ontario.
Again, the enthusiasm of church leaders was clearly evident.
Some made the journey from Kingston and even Belleville, a
distance of two and a half hours, to attend.
Training in both Ottawa and in Toronto was preceded by
a rally for all church officers on Sabbath afternoon. Held at
Toronto’s Downsview Adventist Church on January 28 and at
Ottawa Adventist Church on February 27, the rallies provided
leaders with an afternoon of training in spiritual leadership,
worship, inspiration, motivation and consecration. In Toronto,
Dr. Allan Chichester, lead pastor at Toronto Central Adventist
Church, joined Conference president Dr. Mansfield Edwards
in giving thought-provoking presentations on leadership. In
Ottawa, it was Dr. Gerardo Oudri, Young Adults’ Ministries
director, who joined with Edwards. Both rallies, in addition to
the worship at Southern Ontario’s training, featured prayer as a
significant component.
The regional training is one strategy of the Ontario
Conference’s plan to attain its goal to reach the community
with the message of hope and wholeness. Conference
directors aligned themselves to train new leaders to apply their
ministries to the mission of the church.
“This year, our main emphasis is on community outreach
and evangelism,” says Dr. Mansfield Edwards, Ontario
Conference president, “and we want to see every member
mobilised to go into the community. We believe that, by
providing this type of training from directors, each church
can be better equipped and motivated to be effective in its
intentional ministry to the community. Sadly, we were unable
to include churches in northern Ontario in this round of
training because of the size of the territory. However, I’m glad
to say that plans are being made for them. No one must be left
out.”
$44,000 Pledged for Christian
Education in 1-1-1 Plan
Sabbath, February 13, 2016, will long be remembered in the
history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Ottawa because
44 Adventists each pledged at least $1,000 for Adventist
education in Ottawa.
They responded to an appeal by Donald McIntyre, Ontario
Conference superintendent of Education, at an education rally
held at Bronson Convention Centre in Ottawa, ON.
Over 500 church members, teachers, and area pastors
attended the day-long rally to determine the future of
Adventist education in Ottawa.
While the 2015/2016 school year has been an extraordinary
one with increased enrolment in nearly all Ontario’s Adventist
schools, the trend of the previous years reflected either
stagnation or gradual decline. Until recently, Ottawa Adventist
School has been at risk of either reducing staff or even closing
its doors. Supporters of Christian education in the nation’s
capital were motivated to permanently change the precarious
existence of the school to help it become an indispensable
factor of the church’s mission in the city. The rally was designed
to cast a vision for the future.
A Vision for Adventist Education in Ottawa
The vision is to make the school one that offers a broader
scope than the curriculum presently offered, and to increase
enrolment and staff. A key element of the vision is to transform
the school into the first bi-lingual K-12 Adventist academy in
Ontario. This will meet the needs of both English-speaking
and French-speaking communities in Ottawa. To realise this
vision, the present facility will need to be drastically expanded,
or a new one acquired. Either way, at least four to five
million dollars will have to be raised from Ottawa’s Adventist
community and from the people of the city.
Almost 500 Adventist members, along with most of the
pastors from the Eastern Ministerial district, turned out for
the rally. The importance of the rally was underscored by the
presence of Dr. Dennis Marshall, vice-president and Education
director for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada, Dr.
Mansfield Edwards, Ontario Conference president, and Mr.
Donald McIntyre. Marshall spoke on the need of collaboration
and working towards meeting goals. Edwards delivered a
forceful message entitled “Passing the Legacy” that sought to
inspire attendees to work toward creating a legacy of Adventist
education for the following generations of children in the
nation’s capital.
In the afternoon, McIntyre gave a brief history of the Ottawa
School dating back to its 1917 origin before Marlon Sargeant,
a teacher from a sister school in Toronto, Crawford Adventist
Academy, delivered a well-crafted description of a proposed
strategic plan for the realisation of the vision.
The 1-1-1 Plan
However, it was Donald McIntyre who addressed the
question of funding the project. He told attendees that if they
want to see the vision come to fruition, they would have to
“own” the plan by financially committing themselves to it. “We
need $1,000,000.00 to begin the process of negotiating for
a facility,” he told them. He then introduced the “1-1-1 plan”
-- One thousand people giving $1,000.00 in one year—which
evoked enthusiasm from attendees.
Seeing the response, McIntyre asked for five individuals
willing to make an immediate commitment by signing a
pledge card and sharing their reasons for doing so. He then
asked the congregation to bow in prayer and prayed that the
response would be a sign of His Spirit’s leading. Following the
prayer, he repeated the invitation for five individuals. Instead
of five individuals, forty-four people responded! “It was
overwhelming to see the response,” said McIntyre. “And they
were anxious to express the reasons for their commitment.” An
additional 300 commitment cards were distributed. Pastors,
elders and education leaders also committed themselves to
distribute cards to their churches.
Since the rally, people have already started to make their
contributions. Some have involved family and friends in the
project. On his card, one donor wrote, “$1,000.00 x 2” and said
that he had just called his son and told him about it, and his
son had also pledged $1,000.00.
A team of enthusiastic, energetic people, knowledgeable in
the art of fundraising drawn from different churches, has been
created. The team will work to identify the individuals who
will make up the total of one thousand people to each give a
thousand dollars. Through the leading of the Holy Spirit, they
will be found.
The Ontario Conference Office of Education is grateful to
all who contributed to the success of the rally. We encourage
everyone to join us, not only in this venture, but in all our
programmes designed to help in improving our schools for the
honour and glory of our Lord, who is keenly interested in our
children and in what we provide for them.
Donald McIntyre, Superintendent of Schools
“I Didn’t Know That
We Can Actually Reach
Muslims”
Adventist Muslim Relations
Summit, March 24-27, 2016
“I’ve been an Adventist all
of my life and I’ve never heard
a message like this before!
I didn’t know that we can
actually reach Muslims,” said
Eman B’Dacy from Immanuel
Seventh-day Adventist Church. “I thought we were at opposite
ends of the spectrum. I’ve never spoken to any of my Muslim
co-workers about Christ because I thought it was impossible,
but now I realise that it’s so easy.”
B’Dacy’s response was just one of many enthusiastic
responses of the approximately 60 people who attended the
Adventist Muslim Relations Summit held at Toronto Perth
Avenue Adventist Church, March 24—27, 2016.
“My mechanic is Muslim, and he is always talking with me
about the Qur’an, but I never knew how to respond to him so
I just kept my mouth shut,” said Edwin Samuels from Smyrna
Adventist Church. “Now, I will be able to confidently speak with
him.”
The first-of-its-kind summit held in Ontario was organised
by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada (SDACC)
and held in conjunction with the Ontario Conference’s SEEDs
Conference. The summit featured six international speakers
with significant and valuable experience working with Muslims.
To provide attendees with a door through which they
could reach their Muslim neighbours with the gospel of Jesus,
Petras Bahadur, Adventist Muslim Relations (AMR) director
for the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, was
joined by Stephen Dickie, USA based evangelist; Iain Dixion,
UK Bible worker and evangelist; Norwegian evangelist, Asof
Goskaslan; Rudy Harnisch, AMR liaison for the SDACC from
British Columbia; and Gaby Philips, AMR director for the North
American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
An ice storm during the night could not prevent
evangelistic-minded members from attending the start of the
summit on Thursday afternoon. In his welcome, Pastor Mark
Johnson, president of the SDACC, spoke of his admiration for
the attendees’ commitment by braving the elements. As the
summit commenced, it was soon clear that it was a well-placed
commitment. Speaker after speaker quickly demonstrated
why they had been selected: their expertise, experience and
presentation skills quickly captured the attendees’ attention by
showing them their potential for reaching Muslims.
“Don’t visit Muslims with an agenda,” said Iain Dixion. “Take
an interest in them as people. Eat their food. Offer to pray for
them. Make a connection! Ask, ‘May I pray for you?’
“In my experience, I learned that I am the first Bible a
Muslim will ever read!
“Muslims love God. They love Allah with all their hearts.
Don’t think that we have it all right.”
L-R: Iain Dixion, Gaby Philips, Stephen Dickie, Petras Bahadur,
Rudy Harnisch
“Christians are afraid of Muslims,” said Petras Bahadur on
Sabbath morning. “So we do not try to understand them.
Therefore, we do not know
how to reach them.”
Bahadur startled
everyone when he
declared, “Christians are
not Christians, but Muslims
are Muslims.” He explained
that while Christians still
outnumber Muslims, they
are only Christians by
name, whereas a Muslim is
genuinely a Muslim.
He argued that Muslims
are eager to meet the
‘People of the Book’ that are
mentioned in the Qur’an,
and that Adventists may be
identified as those people.
However, while Adventists
might feel good about this
identity, “We are the last
people to be involved with
Muslims,” he said.
Bahadur warned
that Adventists should
not simply identify
themselves as Christians to
Muslims because Muslims
understand the term
‘Christian’ differently. To
them, it means someone
who eats pork, drinks
Continued on page 20
Ontario SEEDs 2016
The excitement of first-time attendees to Ontario SEEDs
is always evident. It’s an excitement resulting from the
motivation gained from hearing how God is able to work
through ordinary people like themselves.
A SEEDs Conference is designed to inspire a passion in
members and pastors to motivate them to plant new groups
that will grow into churches. In its third year, Ontario SEEDs,
held at Toronto Perth Seventh-day Adventist Church, March 2526, 2016, did just that.
“This is the first time coming to SEEDs,” said Rosa Lopez,
“even though I am a Bible instructor, it has inspired me to do far
more for God.”
It was also the first time for Casey Robillard, a young adult,
and Brenda Bhanks from Living Faith Group, a new church plant
in Windsor.
“This has been such an inspiration,” said Robillard, “It has
really helped me to see what can be achieved. I will definitely
attend the next one!”
“SEEDs affirmed that we have been doing the right things
in our new church plant,” said Bhanks, but it has also given us
many new ideas to help us grow.”
Church planting is the lifeblood of the Adventist movement.
Without new churches, the Adventist Church ceases to be a
movement and becomes a stagnant institution. The Ontario
Conference is intent on being a movement, and church
members from all regions of the Conference are keen to see
their church grow. Church members from as far as Ottawa and
Windsor turned out to SEEDs 2016.
SEEDs 2016 featured Tom L. Evans, associate director for the
North American Division Evangelism Institute; Petras Bahadur,
director for the Global Center for Adventist Muslim Relations for
the General Conference; Raquel Gillham, former church planter
for the Roman Catholic Church in South America who was
brought into the Adventist Church through a church plant; Jiri
Moskala, dean and professor of Old Testament at the Seventhday Adventist Theological Seminary; and Benjamin Rea, a
pastor from Australia who served in three church plants.
SEEDs 2016 followed its formula of a blend of worship,
presentations, testimonials and workshops throughout the
weekend.
On Friday night, as each presenter was introduced and
briefly shared aspects of their experience, Ben Rea spoke of
when he served as a pastor in New Zealand and how each time
he moved house, he prayed, “Move us to a street where we can
influence people to Jesus.” And God did. He told of how, shortly
after moving into a street of poor reputation, he opened his
house to his neighbours for a bar-be-que and 100 people
turned up! His simple tool for making contact and laying the
foundation for a new group: “Just open your home for Jesus!”
Frankie Lazarus and Owen Thomas, the pastor and leader,
respectively, of the two-year old church plant in Bolton,
northeast of the Greater Toronto Area, happily testified of how
God is blessing the 25-strong group who left the ease of larger
churches to be missionaries in a new area. “We have been
embraced by the community,” said Lazarus. “People attend our
events and a local community organisation even advertises our
outreach activities.”
Raquel Gillham
Petras Bahadur
SDACC President Mark Johnson (centre) with Pastors Nerval Myrie (L) and
Jakov Bibulovic (R)
Raquel Gillham was especially inspirational. She spoke of
how she and her two brothers, all devout Roman Catholics,
were gradually drawn into fellowship and then membership of
the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Over time, beginning with
her, as each became acquainted with the church plant, they
were immediately given opportunities to become involved in
the life of the group. She said that the group, now a church,
intentionally involves visitors to their church in ‘entry level’
ministries—before baptism! “Involve them” is her mantra.
“Every church member should attend at least one SEEDs
Conference,” says Pastor Jakov Bibulovic, Evangelism and
Church Growth director, and organiser of Ontario SEEDs. “It will
change your life for the better! One of the reasons that we are
seeing a sharp increase in new congregations in our conference
is because members who experience a SEEDs Conference are
motivated to see God’s kingdom grow as new souls are being
saved.”
It is likely that someone who attended SEEDs 2016 has
already committed himself or herself to become part of a
church plant in the near future.
SEEDs 2017 will be held in southern Ontario.
Brittany Hudson Wins NAD 2016
Women’s Scholarship
Congratulations
to Brittany Hudson of
Toronto West Church,
the only Canadian
recipient of one of
the North American
Division’s 2016 Women’s
Ministries scholarships.
The scholarship awards
were based on academic
achievement, financial
needs, and community
outreach.
On hearing the
news, Brittany, a fulltime theology student
at Burman University
in Alberta, said, “I
was thrilled. I felt so
honoured! Whenever I’m
blessed in ways like this, I
truly see the hand of God.”
Brittany explains that she chose theology because she
believes God has called her to share the love of Jesus in
a practical way. “I believe God is calling me into military
chaplaincy,” she said. The scholarship will help her in her
preparation to respond to God’s call.
She further discloses that it was her mother, Jackie Hudson,
whose influence has helped in her life choice. “She was active
in Women of Mission when I was a child, and all the women
whom I met through the many programmes and outreach
events really shaped my life. The Women of Mission team were
my mothers, mentors, friends, and aunts. They encouraged me
even before I knew what God had planned for me. I actually
did my first sermonette at one of their workshops. I think I was
ten years old at the time.”
Life has not always been an upward path for Brittany. As a
teenager, she faced abuse, bullying, and trying to overcome the
emotional pain and confusion caused by a terrifying childhood
experience. Struggling with self-worth, she lost her vision and
faltered. However, at age 16, she responded to God who not
only reclaimed her but directed her life in a positive direction.
This is when “everything changed,” she says. “I didn’t have all the
answers to my problems, but I knew someone who did. I met
the only love that mattered. The love that I encountered didn’t
just make me feel good, but it caused me to desire to share it.”
Brittany’s university life has not been without its financial
struggles. To augment her fees, she works as an assistant
worship leader at Burman. She says that she is so grateful to
God for providing the NAD scholarship that she has not been
able to stop praising Him.
God can also do this for you. If you are a female church
member in the Ontario Conference in post-secondary
education, you may apply for scholarship consideration
from the North American Division. Please visit the Ontario
Conference website, www.adventistontario.org, for an
application form and required documentation. Send your
completed application to the attention of Joan Rogers, director
of Women’s Ministries, before September 10, 2014.
Joan Rogers, Women’s Ministries Director
Continued from page 18
“I Didn’t Know That We Can Actually Reach Muslims”
alcohol, has no religious duty other than to attend church on
Sunday, dress immodestly and live an immoral life of partying.
“We can truly identify ourselves as People of the Book,”
he said. “As Adventists, we are a last-day movement to reach
everyone—Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and Christian. Our
last-day message to ‘Fear God and give Him glory’ is one that
Muslims can relate to, he said.
Gaby Phillips, spoke of how Adventists in Canada can
welcome and help Muslim refugee families, and in doing so
build friendship with them.
As the summit closed, attendees were given the
opportunity to commit themselves to becoming part of teams
in Ontario that will give an hour each week for three months for
working with a Muslim refugee family.
The website http://www.refugeeministries.org/ and
www.salahallah.com are both valuable resources for anyone
wanting to either work with Muslim refugees or to work with
Muslim neighbours and co-workers.Salahallah.com provides
numerous resources.
“I’ve been waiting for a summit like this this for a long
time,” said Willy Lumbanraja from Mississauga Filipino Church,
“because I’m from the Muslim county of Indonesia, and I didn’t
have any clue how to approach them, so this summit has really
burned my heart because now I know I must do something to
reach them.”
Halsey Peat
Cornerstone Baptism
Kathleen Eshkibok was baptized on November 28, 2015 at
Cornerstone Seventh-day Adventist Church in Sault Ste. Marie,
Ontario. She completed the Native New Day studies conducted by
Edna Morningstar before making her decision to be baptized into
the family of God. She is currently a member of Wikwemikong First
Nations (Unceded) on Manitoulin Island but resides in Sault Ste.
Marie.
Pastor Ed Dunn, director of Native Ministries in Canada, travelled
all the way from Alberta to perform the baptism.
“We are so happy for Katie’s decision,” said church pastor, Rui
Oliveira, “and we hope that it will encourage us to reach out more to
our native communities.”
The church in Sault Ste. Marie welcomes “Katie” as the most
recent addition to its Cornerstone family.
Photograph on the left shows, Kathleen Eshkibok, centre, with Edna
Morningstar and Pastor Ed Dunn.
Camp Meeting, June 25, 2016
After a hiatus in 2015, Ontario Camp Meeting is back for
2016! It will be held on Sabbath, June 25, at the International
Centre, 6900 Airport Road, Mississauga.
With ‘Available’ as its theme, Camp Meeting 2016 will be
different. Yes, it will still feature inspirational worship, a vibrant
children’s programme, an ordination service and fellowship,
but it will see the official launch of the Ontario Conference’s
Compassion Ministry.
Compassion has long been the foundation of the work
done by the Community Services Department. It has
motivated members to feed the homeless, run community
services centres and engage in disaster response preparedness.
The annual Love and Care Day now stretches to an entire
week. However, in line with the strategic plans of the Ontario
Conference and that of the North American Division of
Seventh-day Adventists (NAD), organisers are emphasising
compassion as a way of life for the church.
With Community Outreach and Evangelism as its primary
strategic goal for 2016, the Ontario Conference’s camp meeting
theme ‘Available’ is a call for everyone to be available for
service.
The Youth and Young Adults Ministry, in association with
Community Services Ministry, plan to:
1. Mobilize at least 500 youth and young adults in a food
drive on Sabbath afternoon
2. Inspire and motivate youth and young adults to make
service an ongoing part of their lifestyle
3. Officially launch the NAD’s Compassion Movement in
Ontario
4. Bless the community surrounding the International
Centre through specific and tangible acts of service,
including blood donation.
‘Fill the Trailer’ Food Drive
Camp meeting will see the culmination of a food drive
that will commence on Sabbath May 14, 2016. Members and
friends are asked to begin collecting non-perishable items at
their churches. From May 21, the disaster response trailer will
arrive at different churches in the Toronto area to collect food
items (please see the box). Food items may also be taken to the
International Centre on June 25. The goal is to fill the trailer
Additionally, a week prior to camp meeting, Pathfinders
and other volunteers will go into the neighbourhood closest to
the International Centre to deliver paper sacks to homes. They
will inform residents about the food drive and invite them to
donate food. On the afternoon of camp meeting, young adults
and other volunteers, all wearing tee-shirts with a compassion
logo, will return to the homes to collect the sacks of food.
All items will be turned over to local food banks during the
evening session at camp meeting.
Aiming for a Guinness Book Record
As part of the food drive, there is a strong possibility that
an attempt will be made to set a new record for the Guinness
Book. Additional information about this event to be held at
4:00 p.m. in the Centre’s parking lot will be shared on the
Conference website, www.AdventistOntario.org.
Blood Drive—the Power to Give Life
You have the power to give life through donating blood.
With the constant need for blood, the Canadian Blood Services
(www.blood.ca/en) will be present at the International Centre
throughout the day. You will be able to sign up to give blood
at a location close to your home in your own time. Presently,
there is a great need for O Negative blood because many
recipients need it. You may determine your blood type at camp
meeting at the location listed in the bulletin.
All compassion events will be connected with the
Hope2016 evangelistic effort in the Greater Toronto Area.
Food Drive Pick-up Locations (GTA)
Metro West: Ruth Church
Sabbath, May 21, 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Metro West Central: Toronto Perth
Sabbath, May 28, 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Metro North Central: Willowdale
Sunday, June 5, 12:00 noon – 5:00 p.m.
Metro East: Philadelphia Church
Sabbath, June 4, 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Metro South Central: Toronto Central
Sabbath, June 18, 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Camp Meeting Speakers
Camp Meeting 2016 will feature Ivan Williams, James
Black, Jose Cortes, Armando Miranda and Mansfield
Edwards as speakers.
Ivan Williams is the Ministerial secretary for the NAD. His
pastoral ministry spans over 20 years in three conferences –
South Atlantic Conference, Southeastern California Conference,
Ivan Williams
James Black
Jose Cortes
Armando Miranda
Mansfield Edwards
and Northern California Conference. Williams also serves as a
chaplain for the California State Assembly, and as a chaplain
(major) for the 129th California Air National Guard Rescue Wing.
He is president of Brighter Hope Ministries, Inc., and can be
heard on many radio stations around the country.
Williams will be the speaker for the adults in Hall 5.
Pastor James (JB) Black, Sr. is the NAD director of youth
ministries.
He is dedicated to producing resources to assist unions,
conferences and local churches in training leaders to meet the
challenges of today’s youth and young adults.
He has given leadership in major initiatives, including the
NAD YPAC Leadership SUMMIT and the Just Claim It (JCI) World
Youth Prayer Congresses.
He is the author of six books and has several others that are
soon to be released.
Black will be with speaking in Hall 4 to youth and young
adults.
Jose Cortes returns to Ontario after his attendance at
Relevant Ministry Convention in 2015.
As Youth Ministries director in the Atlantic Union from
2003, he developed a dynamic compassion ministry in which
youth and young adults became very involved in community
outreach.
Currently, Cortes is an associate director in the Ministerial
Department of the NAD, where he has a key role in its
Compassion Ministry. He will help launch the Compassion
Ministry for young adults at camp meeting in Hall 4.
Armando Miranda Jr. serves as the Youth director for Club
Ministries of the NAD. A native of Mexico, he has served in the
United States since 2003, first as a pastor then as associate
Youth director for the Texas Conference. He loves working with
youth and enjoys a good soccer game. Recently, he has picked
up mountain biking. His vision is to see many young people in
the kingdom of heaven.
Miranda will be the speaker for the teens in Hall 3.
Hall 3 may only be accessed through entrances at Halls 4
and 5.
Mansfield Edwards is president of the Ontario Conference of
Seventh-day Adventists.
to a certain number of children so it is best to arrive early or on
time for the start of Sabbath School. It is unlikely that there will
be room for children arriving after 11:15 a.m.
The Cradle Roll and Kindergarten programmes will only
run until 12:30 p.m. During the evening, there will only be
programmes for Primary and Junior.
Parents, please be aware that due to the risk of food
allergies, no snacks will be provided for the children. Parents
are responsible for providing refreshments for their own
children.
Access to the Aviation Ballroom is through Entrance 5, the
same entrance used to access Hall 5. Children’s Programme
Live Broadcast
There will be a programme for children ages 3-12, in the
Aviation Ballroom (A, B and C).
Programmes for Cradle Roll, Kindergarten and Primary
children will be offered in rooms A, B, and C, respectively.
Parents and guardians are reminded that each room is limited
Early Morning Prayer and Praise
Many people look forward to the 8:00 a.m. prayer and praise
service in Hall 5. Everyone is welcome!
Meals
Members attending camp meeting have found it useful to
carry their own meals for lunch and supper. No meals will be
provided at the International Centre.
Please note that the Centre does not allow any food in any
of the halls. All members are asked to picnic by their cars or
at one of the local public parks (Wildwood Park, 3430 Derry
Road East at the corner of Derry Road and Goreway Drive;
Humberwood Park at Rexdale Boulevard and Humberwood
Boulevard).
Exiting the Centre by Car
To reduce traffic congestion when exiting the International
Centre by car at lunch time, members are asked to use both
exitsCthe one on Airport Road and the other on Derry Road
to the north of the parking lot. It is likely that cars will only
be able to turn right on Airport Road. Turning left has greatly
contributed to long wait times. Cooperation with the parking
attendants and the police will reflect the transforming power of
the Holy Spirit in the lives of those attending camp meeting.
Camp meeting will again be broadcast live via the
Internet at www.adventistontario.org in both high and
standard definitions. Both adults and young adults’ services
will be available for viewing.
It Takes a Community!
I recently heard someone use the quote, “It takes a
community to make difference”. He went on to say, “What you
and I cannot do alone, a community can do if it puts its energy
and vision towards a greater goal.” That’s what we did as a
conference. As a community, we did more than any one of us
could have done. We made a difference, a big difference for the
Kingdom of God.
In 2011, Ontario’s Seventh-day Adventists returned a little
over $29,000,000 in tithe to God. Most recently, in 2015, to the
glory of God, we returned almost $31,000,000--an increase of
$2,000,000 in five years. Hallelujah!
such as ADRA Canada, It Is Written Canada, and Union schools
such as Burman University and Kingsway College.
On top of that we gave offerings of over $791,000 to
the Ontario Conference. These funds were used to support
the ministries of the Conference, such as family life, youth,
community services, health and evangelism, personal
ministries, Sabbath School, etc. It also supported our camp
meeting costs as well as education endowment.
Here is even more wonderful news! In 2015, the members
across Ontario also gave over twenty million dollars towards
their local church budgets and the ministries they represent.
What a blessing!
According to a recent survey taken by the North American
Division (NAD), 53% of the members of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church in North America are supportive in their
return of tithe. In fact, the majority of active members (62 %)
in the NAD gave an additional five percent or more of their
income to offerings above and beyond the tithe. (Stewardship
Motivations: Attitudes & Behavior Among Adventists in North
America, 2013).
Thank you for your faithfulness
How was the tithe, returned by our Ontario Conference
community of believers, distributed?
Approximately 74 cents of every dollar stayed here in
Ontario for ministry purposes. This included: ensuring that
churches could be served by pastors and Bible instructors;
funding evangelism and many of the conference-wide
ministries that further the Kingdom of God in Ontario.
Sixteen cents out of that same dollar went to the General
Conference and the North American Division to support
gospel work throughout North America and around the
world. Another nine cents was shared with the Seventh-day
Adventist Church in Canada to be used specifically for kingdom
advancement here in Canada. The remaining 1 cent from
the dollar was used to support the special assistance fund for
projects in Ontario.
Now, here’s more amazing news. In addition to what was
returned as tithe in 2015, our Ontario Conference community
of believers gave offerings of over $779,000 to the General
Conference and North American Division. Those funds were
used for Sabbath School expenses, some of our universities,
church-sponsored radio and television programing and
organizations like ADRA International, NAD evangelism and
religious liberty, to name a few.
Our community also gave offerings of over $382,000 to the
Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada to fund ministries,
We thank God for all that has been done thus far! Thank
you for your faithfulness! I thank the Lord for pastors and
Stewardship leaders who continue to encourage and promote
the principles of faithful financial stewardship here in Ontario.
It is no secret that there is still much to be done and the cost is
high. The rate of population growth and the needs in our local
communities continue to increase at rates much faster than
the percentages of increase in giving. The bottom line: a great
vision that supports a great need requires a great sacrifice.
Ellen White says it well, “It should be our highest aim in life
to get ready for heaven.” 5MR 255. It will take a community
who partners with God through giving their time, talents and
treasure to fund the work to fulfill the mission so we can go
home.
“1000 Strong” at Camp Meeting 2016
This year, at camp meeting, we will conduct our first annual
fundraising initiative called, “1000 Strong”. We are praying for
1000 partners to commit to a minimum of $1000 towards the
Kingdom Builders projects. We believe that so much more can
be done in these six areas:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Evangelism
Education
Church & School Buildings
Ontario Conference Property Development
Community Service
Camp Frenda
That’s only $83 per month for one year. Please start praying
now that you will be impressed to partner with God to become
part of the 1000 Strong! This small sacrifice can go far with
the Lord’s blessing! Thank you in advance for taking this step
of faith. I’m looking forward to seeing our Ontario Conference
community, partner with God to see this miracle unfold before
our very eyes. It takes a community!
Dave Schwinghammer, Director
Stewardship and Worship Departments
Taking Place at Camp Meeting 2016:
Ontario’s Got Talent!
The first ‘Ontario’s Got Talent’ has been launched for the
purpose of highlighting the gifts of musical talent God has
given His church.
Musicians and vocalist from the Seventh-day Adventist
Church in Ontario can submit a sample of music performed
by themselves. These will be evaluated by a panel, and the
top ten will get to share their talents during a concert at
camp meeting on June 25. There is no limit to age or genre
of music. We hope this will be an annual event so as many as
possible will be able to share their talents for the Lord.
Southern Ontario
Regional Camp Meeting
June 3-4, 2016
Norfolk Fair Grounds in Simcoe
172 South Dr, Simcoe, ON N3Y 1G6
Church vocalists and musicians are
invited to send their best recording on
CD or mp3 files. A music and worship
panel will select the top 10 performances
for participation in a worship concert at
the 2016 Camp Meeting.
Please send your submission and contact
information to:
OGT Worship Department,
Ontario Conference
1110 King Street East, Oshawa, L1H 1H8
or email: [email protected]
Top Community Awards for
Cornerstone’s Donna Veedler
and Allan Frappier
Donna Veedler
and Allan Frappier
of Cornerstone
Seventh-day Adventist
Church were among
the recipients of top
community awards in
Sault Ste. Marie in 2015.
Donna is the winner
of Sault Ste. Marie’s
YMCA 2015 PEACE
medallion. Allan was
awarded the Civilian Medal of Valour.
Donna had not expected the award. “It was a surprise,” she
said. “When I received the phone call from the committee, I
thought they were telling me I was one of the runners up.”
On Monday, November 23, 2015, Cindy Ougler, chair of the
Board of Directors for the YMCA, presented the medallion to
Donna.
PEACE is an acronym for Participation, Empathy, Advocacy,
Community, and Empowerment. The medallion is presented
to individuals or groups, who, without special resources,
demonstrate a commitment to the values of PEACE through
contributions made within either local, national or global
community.
Donna’s service to her community has long been
recognised by those who know her and exemplifies qualities of
service promoted by the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Tammy Watts was among those who supported her
nomination. She tells how Donna assisted her during her
mother’s illness:
“There came a point in my mother’s illness,” she says
“when Donna reached out to me and offered to take care
of my mother in her home. During my mother’s stay, Donna
reintroduced Christ to my mother and for this, we believe (that)
on her death bed she left this earth in Christ’s arms. During
her stay, Donna nourished my mother mentally, physically and
spiritually seven days a week for four months, and asked for
nothing in return.”
On November 15, 2015, The Sault Star, Sault Ste. Marie’s
largest circulation daily newspaper reported, “When an
international student was assaulted, Donna Veedler went to
work to extend a welcoming hand to newcomers to Sault Ste.
Marie. She started a Christmas day brunch for immigrants
still trying to make connections in the city. ‘I found it to be a
sad representation of who we are here in Sault Ste. Marie’ said
Veedler of the 2012 incident: ‘A passenger in a vehicle rolled
down a window, dumped water on the student and told her to
“go back to your own country”. “It is efforts like this that have
earned Veedler a YMCA Peace Medallion.”
On December 7,
2015, Allan Frappier was
among four people--two civilians and two
police officers--who
were honoured at city
hall during the meeting
of the Sault Ste. Marie
City Commission.
Sault Police Chief
John Riley presented
Allan with the Civilian
Medal of Valour for his
action on July 23, 2015 that prevented the possible drowning
of a man. According to the citation, when a man attempted to
swim across the canal that feeds the Soo Locks hydro-electric
plant, that Allan, who was wearing a life vest, jumped into the
water and took the man to the shore.
“If not for the actions of Mr. Frappier,” said Riley, “there was
a strong possibility that the subject may have succumbed to
hypothermia while in the water and possibly drown.”
Allan, who is the head elder at Cornerstone Church, is a
humble man who does not like to speak of his valour. He is
simply happy that he could have been of some help.
Pastor Rui Oliviera, minister at Cornerstone says, “It’s always
a blessing to His body when God uses members of His church
to do something good for their fellow humans. Cornerstone
Church congratulates both Allan and Donna for their work on
behalf of the community.”
Ontario Conference community services director, Pastor
Theodore Sargeant, added, “I congratulate both Donna and
Allan for the recognition they received for their humanitarian
acts of kindness. This is what Community Services is--serving
the community in Christ’s name.”
COSTA RICA 2016
MISSION TRIP
Choose One or Two Weeks
November 20-27
November 27 - December 4
November 20 - December 4
Approximate Cost:
$1,100 - $1,200/person - airfare and hotel (double occupancy) weekly
Three Deposits of $400 are Due - June 1, Aug 1, Oct 1
Additional cost for food
For further information, Contact Joan Rogers, Director, at [email protected]
905-571-1022, ext. 203
First Adventist French Church
Organised in Toronto
On Sabbath, January 23, 2016, members of Eglise
Adventiste Francophone de Toronto celebrated the beginning
of a new and exciting era. The sixty-member congregation was
organised into the first French-speaking Seventh-day Adventist
Church in Toronto.
Over two hundred people turned out for the church
service and to celebrate as Ontario Conference president,
Pastor Mansfield Edwards, and executive secretary, Pastor Gary
Hodder, led out in the organisational ceremony. Also present
was Pastor Jakov Bibulovic, Evangelism and Church Growth
director for the Ontario Conference. In his keynote address,
Edwards reminded the congregation that church status is not
sufficient. “Not only must one bear the title,” he said, “but one
must live it!”
The origins of Eglise Adventiste Francophone de Toronto
stretch back to a Sabbath in September 2002, from a chance
meeting between fifteen people in front of the Toronto East
Adventist Church. They had all gathered there to worship
from different churches, and didn’t have more than a passing
acquaintance with each other. As they were speaking, they
realised that they were all using French, and the idea of a joint
worship in French was born.
They met the following Sabbath at the home of one of
group member to worship and to discuss the feasibility of
the endeavour. When a regular place of worship could not be
found, the project failed to materialize, but it had not died.
Unbeknownst to them, a second group of French-speaking
Torontonians had a similar vision and had sent out invitations
to all the Francophones and Francophiles living in the Greater
Toronto Area to form a French-speaking church. Both groups
joined together, and the seeds were sown.
Nearly 200 people attended the first Sabbath service held
on October 20, 2007 at All Nations Seventh-day Adventist
Church. Three months later, on January 26, 2008, another
service was held, this time in the gymnasium of Berea Seventhday Adventist Church. Momentum grew, and by the following
month, weekly worship services were being held.
By end of 2008, as an increasing number of Frenchspeaking immigrants flowed into Canada from the United
States, membership grew. Since January 2009, the church has
worshipped at its present location, 37 Marchington Circle in
Scarborough.
The church, with a diverse membership from across the
French-speaking world, while having French in common, is
unified by the gospel of Jesus. The congregation is dedicated to
communicate, in the language of Molière, the good news and
the gospel of salvation.
Eglise Adventiste Francophone de Toronto welcomes
everyone. English-speaking guests are able to participate in
worship through its translation services.
For more information about regular and special events, visit
the church website: www.eaft.ca or send an email to eaft@live.
ca to receive a prompt response.
Bienvenue à tous!
Willy Sainté, Personal Ministries Leader
Former Apple Creek Pastor,
Appointed to General Conference
Ministerial Association
Jeffrey Brown, Ph.D., professor of Religion and director of
the Bradford Cleveland Brooks Leadership Center at Oakwood
University, Huntsville, Alabama, USA, has been elected
associate secretary of the General Conference of Seventh-day
Adventists Ministerial Association, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
In the late 1990s, Dr. Brown served as pastor of Apple Creek
Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Ontario Conference for
over five years.
A graduate of Newbold College, England, and Andrews
University, Michigan, he also served as president and Family
Ministries director of the Bermuda Conference of Seventh-day
Adventists.
He is the author of Single and Gifted, and with his wife,
Pattijean, he also authored The Total Marriage, A Guide to
Parenting, and The Four Love Seasons.
Dr. Brown will focus on theological education, clergy
leadership development, and clergy families. He will also serve
as associate editor of Ministry magazine.
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
Sponsored by Women’s Ministries, Ontario Conference
Director, Joan Rogers, 905-571-1022 ext. 203/204
mai rogersdenstOntario.org
New Pastors and Transfers
The Ontario Conference is happy to welcome Pastors Raul
Gonzalez, Charles Mahadeosingh, Laurentiu Prelipcian and
their families. The new pastors have recently been employed
and will be serving churches in South Western Ontario and in
the Greater Toronto Area.
Raul Gonzalez is an
ordained and experienced
pastor who has developed
his ministry in the huge
metropolis of Mexico with
a dedicated heart to the
Lord´s church. His passion
is to prepare a church for
the second coming of
Christ, winning souls for His
kingdom.
He is originally from the
north of Mexico but spent
teen years in Wisconsin,
United States. He holds a
Bachelor Theology degree and a Master in Family Relationship
from Montemorelos University.
Gonzalez is happily married to Eddy Jimenez, a Biology
and Chemistry teacher. He describes her as a committed wife,
mother and a servant of Jesus. They have three children,
Richard, 15; Melanie, 9; and four-year old Johnny.
Pastor Gonzalez is the new pastor for North London and
London Spanish Adventist congregations.
Laurentiu Prelipcian was
born in Suceava, Romania. In
his junior year at a Seventhday Adventist high school in
Bucharest, he gave his life to
the Lord and was baptised.
As he grew in his faith and
experience as a young
Christian, he experienced
a strong call to become a
pastor. After high school, he
went on to the seminary and
completed an undergraduate
degree in Theology and
graduated in 2008. Two years
later, he graduated with an
M.A. in Religion.
Prelipcian arrived in Canada in 2010 to work as a Literature
Evangelist with Canada Youth Challenge. The following year,
he became the leader of Northern Light Mission programme in
Canada.
He will celebrate the first anniversary of marriage to
Eufrosina-Alina Gabor on August 02, 2016.
He is the new pastor at Chatham and Leamington Churches.
Charles Mahadeosingh,
his wife, Natalie, and their three
children, Kariann, 10; Gabriel, 8;
and Abigail, 7, have been helping
Pastor Frankie Lazarus and Owen
Hamilton in an active church plant
project in the Bolton community
for the past two and a half years.
Before moving to Canada,
Mahadeosingh, an ordained
pastor, served for over eleven
years as a pastor and evangelist
in his native Trinidad. He loves
evangelism, but he is not satisfied
with simply seeing people accept
Jesus. He firmly believes in discipleship and sees prayer
ministry and strong family relationships as crucial to helping
people grow in their faith.
Mahadeosingh will serve for a limited time as associate
pastor at Ruth Adventist Church before taking responsibility for
taking up his role as lead pastor elsewhere.
Transfers and Other Changes
Dr. Wayne Martin is now the new pastor for the It is Written
and Latter Rain churches in the Greater Toronto Area. He was
formerly lead pastor at Apple Creek. He is yet to be replaced at
Apple Creek.
Rodrigo Alvarez, formerly
part-time Bible Instructor, has been
given wider responsibilities. He is
now full-time at Toronto Spanish,
Brampton Spanish, Spanish Bet-el
and Esperanza Group.
What Will You Do with
God’s Blessings?
What Will YOU Do
Director, Avin Ram, and Vernon Langdon with Toronto Japanese Church members
The Bible tells us in 2 Kings 20:1 to “set your house in order.”
An effective estate plan will allow you to pass on your assets
to your loved ones and the finishing of the Lord’s work. By
preparing your Will, not only can you remember your family,
but also the many ministries of the Ontario Conference. When
you plan ahead, you can ensure that God’s blessings will be
Disaster Response
Certification Training
distributed according to your wishes rather than left to the
government’s determination.
We can help you get started in planning your legacy.
Contact the Ontario Conference Planned Giving & Trust
Services department at 905-571-1022
ext. 206 to learn how.
&
May 13, 14 15, 2016
What Will YOU Do
Disaster Response
Certification Training
Objectives:
To have a team of trained and certified individuals in each
church on whom we can call in the event of a disaster to
lead and coordinate our response.
To have certified individuals who can coordinate donation
operations at local and regional levels.
Joe and Sherry Watts
ĂƌůǇŝƌĚZĞŐŝƐƚƌĂƟŽŶΨϴϵ͘ϬϬƉƉƵŶƟůƉƌŝůϮϱ͕ϮϬϭϲ
ŌĞƌƉƌŝůϮϱ͕ΨϭϬϵ͘ϬϬƉƉ
ZĞŐŝƐƚƌĂƚŝŽŶŝŶĐůƵĚĞƐ͗ϮůƵŶĐŚĞƐ͕ƐŶĂĐŬƐ͕ŚĂŶĚŽƵƚƐΘ
ĐĞƌƚŝĨŝĐĂƚŝŽŶ
May 13, 14 & 15, 2016
Objectives:
Ontario Highlights | Spring
To have a team of trained and certified individuals in each
church on whom we can call in the event of a disaster to
lead and|coordinate
our response.
2016
30
To have certified individuals who can coordinate donation
operations at local and regional levels.
Improve participants’ leadership abilities to serve the
community in the event of a disaster.
ZĞŐŝƐƚĞƌŽŶůŝŶĞΛǁǁǁ͘ĂĚǀĞŶƟƐƚŽŶƚĂƌŝŽ͘ŽƌŐ
ŽƌƌĚƵŶŶΛĂĚǀĞŶƟƐƚŽŶƚĂƌŝŽ͘ŽƌŐ
ZĞŐŝƐƚƌĂƟŽŶĚĞĂĚůŝŶĞŝƐDĂǇϰ͕ϮϬϭϲ
Alain Normand
Presented by
ACS and the
Ontario Conference
Six Nations Church Celebrates
Renovation with “Heritage Vegetarian
Cookbook” Gift
Six Nations Seventh-day Adventist Church’s renovation has
taken a huge leap forward as area churches and friends moved
to help.
At 118 years, Six Nations Church is the oldest Seventh-day
Adventist Church in Ontario. However, its building, located on
the native reserve at Haggersville, has been in need of major
renovation.
A number of people lovingly gave their labour and skills
on a numerous occasions in its renovation. Others, including
area churches either gave money or helped to raise funds. One
couple donated $15,000. However, a cookbook played a role
few envisaged.
The Heritage Vegetarian Cookbook, published by Heritage
Green Seventh-day Adventist Church, was compiled for the
purpose of supporting the church renovation. Early in the New
Year, Heritage Green Church presented a cheque of $5275.00
to Tom Brownlee, Six Nations
treasurer.
“We were so grateful for
this and all the other gifts,”
said Herb Sormin, pastor of
Six Nations. “We could not
have done so much without
the help of our brothers and
sisters in our region and
elsewhere.”
At $20 for the book,
Sormin is confident that when
others hear of the needs of
the oldest Adventist Church
that they will also want to
obtain a copy.
The book is really a labour of many people. International
recipes were contributed by the wonderful cooks from area
churches.
Additional sales of the book will help the church complete
its renovation.
To obtain your copy, contact Phyllis Reid, Treasurer of the
Heritage Green Church or Tom Brownlee of the Six Nations
Church. Contact information is available from Pastor Herb
Sormin at [email protected]
On June 11, visitors should take Highway 6 towards
Haggersville. At Fourth Line, turn right and continue to
Ohsweken. The Parks and Recreation Hall is on the left after the
Veterans Park.
• Professional webcasting
• Live sound and video
production
• Church installations
PROFESSIONAL AUDIO VISUAL SOLUTIONS
Native Spiritual Gathering
Six Nations Church will celebrate its annul ‘Native Spiritual
Gathering” on Sabbath, June 11, 2016, at Six Nations Park and
Recreation Hall, Six Nations.
With Pastor Monte Church, author of Native New Day
lessons, as guest speaker, the church is expecting fellow native
Adventists from elsewhere to join them. Church members will
be happy to welcome everyone.
Monte Church will speak on Friday, June 10, at 6:30 p.m. at
the church, located at 818 Cayuga Road, Haggersville, Ontario
(Corner of Second Line and Cayuga Road).
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`Hope 2016 - The Journey` Begins with Lay Evangelists

Transcription

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