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Minister's Message Dear Friends, Spring seems to be on fast forward. Everything has greened and blossomed early to our delight and wonder. We are well into the season with warmth, color, gentle breezes and beckoning waters. In the weeks ahead, some of us will have the joy of being on water. In all likelihood, we will witness the dance of dragonflies. Cecil B. DeMille, the one who first dramatically depicted biblical stories on the screen, was allegedly a person of devout faith. An active member of Christ’s Episcopal Church of Pompton, New Jersey, DeMille was so sensitive in his movie portrayals to Christians that he sent an advance script of The Ten Commandments to religious leaders for their review and critique. He displayed similar sensitivity in his other movies The King of Kings and The Sign of the Cross. Shortly before his death, he wrote the following: “One day as I was lying in a canoe, a big black beetle came out of the water and climbed up into the canoe. I watched it idly for some time. Under the heat of the sun, the beetle proceeded to die. Then a strange thing happened. His glistening black shell cracked all the way down his back. Out of it came a shapeless mass, (which) quickly transformed into beautiful, brilliantly coloured life. As I watched in fascination, there gradually unfolded iridescent wings from which the sunlight flashed a thousand colors. The wings spread wide, as if in worship of the sun. The blue-green body took shape. Before my eyes had occurred a metamorphosis—the transformation of a hideous beetle into a gorgeous dragonfly, which started dipping and soaring over the water. But the body it had left behind still clung to my canoe. I had witnessed what seemed to be a miracle. Out of the muck had come a beautiful new life. And the thought came to me, that if the Creator works such wonders with the lowliest of creatures, what may not be in store for the human spirit?” Transformation: That is how God is with us -- in life, and in death. As people of faith we know the transformative power of grace and forgiveness and compassion – when received and when extended to others. Because God transforms, we are those who can say, “Please be patient with me, God isn’t finished with me yet!” We can also belong to a community of faith which is being transformed and renewed by God’s Spirit. We are not statistic. God isn’t finished with us yet! Enjoy the summer! Pay attention to the dragonflies! May our clay be moist, and our hearts pliable – so that God may work wonders in us and through us. With you in transformation… -- Jim Cairney
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS $515,000 IS A LOT OF MONEY!
WHY HAVE WE CHOSEN A STEEL ROOF?
WHY DON’T WE JUST FIX THE ROOF – INSTEAD OF THE WHOLE PACKAGE?
WHAT IS THE PRIORITIZATION OF WORK?
WHERE IS THE OUTREACH COMPONENT OF THIS CAMPAIGN?
WHAT GRANT OPPORTUNITIES HAVE YOU EXPLORED?
SPRING THING 2010 From the first donation to the last box loaded onto the Salvation Army truck, a lot of people put a lot of hours into making Spring Thing 2010 happen. In fact, it is safe to say that approximately 250 people volunteered, including many young people, friends, relatives and neighbours, especially in the last three days. Our sincere thanks to those who stayed to clean up. It is always great to have fresh energy at the end of the sale. The article in the Mississauga Booster on April 21, stated that the proceeds go to charity. Strictly speaking, the proceeds go into the church general budget, which then helps us meet the needs of our community. Our ‘leftovers’ also help: For two years, now, all denim has gone to the Mennonite Relief Fund for quilt making. This year, all leftover backpacks, summer menswear, towels, crutches, walkers, and two sewing machines were delivered to be included in a container of supplies which leaves May 28th for Haiti. This year, near the end of the sale, a man showed up, paid us $1.00/pair and took ALL the leftover skates and roller blades to be taken to the Queensway Cathedral from where they would be shipped to Northern Ontario locales and other countries. As well, Our Place Peel, The Compass, Cerebral Palsy, and The Salvation Army received contributions from Spring Thing. Spring Thing also provides a valuable service to our community in not only emptying the basements, sheds, garages and storage closets of our members, but also those of numerous friends and neighbours, who have grown to know of the timing of this annual event! Many thanks to all who contributed in this manner. It has been said that “Spring Thing just happens”, but it takes a lot of work to organize and execute a garage sale on such a grand scale. Thank you to everyone who made this year’s Spring Thing so successful. It just proves that when we work together, great things happen.
United Church Women Three Units continue to meet regularly at Christ Church. Some Christ Church UCW members attended the Halton Presbyterial UCW Annual Gathering at St. Paul’s in Oakville in April while Phyllis Walker also attended the Hamilton Conference UCW Annual Meeting. Marg Shaver and Noreen Paxton serve on the Halton Presbyterial UCW Executive, meeting every other month with this committee. Christ Church women are reminded that in the fall UCW will hold our third annual UCW Talent Auction and Dinner. So it is not too early to be planning YOUR donation to be auctioned … whether it be crafted, sewn, knitted, compiled, painted, grown, photographed, stitched, promised, baked, crocheted, quilted, written, sculpted … or … or … Summer is the perfect time to plan and complete your item(s) for donation to the auction! Watch for further details of this fun and fundraising evening.
Spring Thing - A Volunteer’s Story What is it about that garage sale at Christ Church on Mazo Crescent that draws so many people every year? I had no idea what I got myself into when I signed up for the garden section a few weeks earlier. My meager visualization of the event was to dig up a few plants, drop them off on Friday afternoon and sell them on Saturday while sipping on a free coffee. The scrounging for pots to put the plants in went into full swing on Thursday afternoon that week. My limited supply of 3 and 4 inch plastic pots was soon exhausted. That left me little choice but to put three to four blackberry shoots in one plastic bag. Two of these bags in a M&M carton box did not look too bad when I put them in the car. But when I put several of these boxes by the neatly arranged tree and shrub section it turned that corner into an amateur section. Oh no! Nobody will recognize these blackberry plants. Nor will the prospective buyers learn about the powerful antioxidants of the fruits and the calming effect of the tea made from the leaves on the digestive system. Where to put them in case nobody took them? The periphery on the west side of the property looked ideal to me. Why not enhance the property with cottage country favorite blackberries. Any of the available shovels for sale would come in handy if necessary. My fear of not selling these plants subsided when one bag with a “Sold” sticker was set aside by the drainspout at the west corner before 9:00. The stampede of shoppers overtaking the used garden tool area took me by surprise. One spade and one edger were the first things to go. Next I had to apply my selling attention to the lawn mowers. Sometimes things happen for a reason. Was I ever happy to engage Don and Steve in trying out these mowers on the Friday afternoon. The first few tries failed to start the best looking machine. When the dead bolt or stalling lever was pulled up the machine sputtered one or twice but then settled into a purring mode. The second somewhat older machine with handbook, oil and gasoline bottles gave us a much harder time. Some fiddling with the choke and several pulls produced only some smelly fumes. Sizing up the mower and each other, Steve and Dirk placed one foot on top of the machine to prevent it from moving. Then Don blessed with longest arms was encouraged to yank the cord. And pulling Don did. The mower shook and belched into action. Our enthusiasm had its price. The cord snapped. There was no time for a fix. So it was marked “sell as is.” It became one memorable moment when past 9 o’clock Saturday morning that mower was sold. The two dollar discount for a new cord proved a deal for buyer and seller. “What do you think this shovel was used for?” was my approach. Balancing the weathered wood and rusty blade, he responded. “It probably has been used for heaving coals in the steam generating furnaces.” “Could it also having been employed as a grain shovel for the coal marks are not obvious?” was my input. “Grain shovels are a bit wider and the edges are turned up a bit higher for scooping the smaller particles. This shovel probably has been used for mixing some cement and sand by a ‘do it yourself’ guy.” “Yes indeed. I have a small display. This one is a welcome addition to my collection.” While letting the two dollars slide into my money belt, the thought flashed through my mind: “What is it about this sale that makes worn out hand tools from yesterday treasured collecting items of today? Normally discarded tomato cages could not possibly be a start for another interesting chat. These cages under normal circumstances give anybody a yawn. At this sale the impossible seems to become possible. The young man was more than pleased to hear that five cages would go for a dollar. Just to say anything, the idea of a large garden surfaced as a conversation starter. “I am a chef,” the young man volunteered, “I have to think ahead with respect to the menu and the people I work with.” “One of my friends often speaks about what is going on in the kitchen, the mix up with menu and personality clashes,” was my response. “Menus small or big, I handle them with ease. I chop the vegetables and prep the meat and grill to perfection to the customer’s need. The hardest part is to be comfortable in the working environment. At my last place of work, I prepared great meals for weddings and conferences. Every thing went well until one day a new group of kitchen staff moved in. Why management mixed purposely ill tempered and poorly trained employees with a group of good performing guys I never will understand. After putting up with the soured atmosphere and too many returned plates I handed in my two week notice. That was it. I was not going to be consumed by management’s greed and the foul personality of co-workers. I know it is not smart to quit a job with so many people unemployed. But I am not afraid. I know what I can do. I will find a more rewarding place to work. By the way can I leave these cages here, while I do some more shopping?” The cages marked “sold” quivered with expectation when he placed them on the lawn. As if they were excited about their new owner and their task of holding up home grown tomatoes in a chef’s garden. Still pondering about this new garage sale experience, my eye spotted what looked like a familiar person. The sharp facial features reminded me of a friend raised in Dublin, Ireland. His walk was that of a person who knows what to look for. His shoulders, hands and clothes belonged to somebody comfortable in a garden. While that image was solidifying in my mind, my attention was called upon to demonstrate a homemade hoe. My customer, satisfied with the demonstration, handed me the two dollars assuring me that weeds would no longer have chance in her garden. Curious about that familiar person, my head turned again to the plant section. Without any hesitation, the man placed the four remaining plastic bags with the blackberries into a large carton box. The small sticker “Sold” looked to me ten times bigger than it really was. Once again the question surfaced: What is it about this Christ Church Garage Sale that makes visualization come true for all those volunteers, true even for my modest contribution? The answer did not come right away. Maybe it will come later. I knew one thing for certain. I was now ready for the free cup of coffee. Dirk Vandermale
SPRING THING Incidental interaction with people bringing ‘stuff’ to Christ Church on April 23rd for the Spring Thing event prompted some reflection about ‘how is Christ Church known?’. In our geographic community Spring Thing will rank very high. In the arts community we are known because Clarkson Music Theatre group practice here. We are known in the scouting community because of our long time sponsorship of a troop. The Clarkson Coop Nursery provide a connection among families with young children. Ted Lutz’s Bible Study is known well beyond our church community. How do the things we are known or recognized for relate to our mission and purpose? In generic terms, we could say our mission is: ‘To identify, attract, nurture, develop and retain people, particularly in our Christ Church catchment area, who are, or may become, believers in and disciples for Jesus Christ, and our purpose is ‘lives changed’. Strategically; to grow the church we should not diminish the things we do but instead add programs or events that broaden the base of how we are known, always keeping in mind our purpose and our mission. To a significant extent we focus on Spring Thing in financial terms and in organizing the effort required to carry it off. However, when we think about the Spring Thing event in connection with our mission and purpose some other images will surface, like ‘building community’. Department leaders and others can tell all sorts of stories that demonstrate just how important the event is from a human interest point of view. Human interest is closely associated with faith! Without elaboration, here are some stories of those few days:
And then there was Jessica, in from Waterloo to help mother-in-law Marg Shaver. Jessica’s smile and enthusiasm gave a lift to everyone she encountered. There are lots of other stories such as a vintage vacuum cleaner, some tires, a bed. However, those above provide some modest insight into the unquantifiable value of this event.
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