Christian Life in London

Most Christians don’tdecide to take their firstmission trip at the age of84, but that’s exactly whatCatharine Scott did. Whenshe heard about a trip toMacedonia that focusedon teaching ESL, sheknew it was for her. “Ilove to read and I knowhow to speak the Englishlanguage. They allowedme to go despite my age. Ithought I could be helpful and useful.”

Organized through ABWE (Association ofBaptists for World Evangelism), Catharine wentto Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, to help

launch a new church andcommunity centre devel-oped by Beverly and An-drew Geldart. Catharine’smission group was there forthe first church servicesheld in the new centre.

Attending prayer meet-ings for ABWE since 1974and OMF (Overseas Mis-sion Fellowship) meetings

for over 50 years, Catharine is clearly interestedin God’s work overseas. While tagging alongwith young people might seem intimidating, itwas very rewarding. “In spite of the differencesbetween us, we all got along so well. We just ac-cepted each other.”

Catharine has also spent years working withchildren through Bible Clubs and Sunday Schoolprograms. One of the members of the team was aformer student of Catharine’s. During the trip,they set up a Vacation Bible School, attractingMacedonian children whowere excited to participate

CHRISTIAN LIFEIN LONDON

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Together, Sharing our

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Presented by the Christian Churches Network of London (CCNL)October 2010 - November 2010

Helping at Every AgeTwo of the hallmarks of the Ark Aid

mission on Dundas Street are compassionand community (www.arkaidmission.com).

Founded in 1984, and headed up byRev. Doug Whitelaw, “The Ark” is a placewhere people living on the margins of soci-ety can get a warm meal, learn life skills,and be part of a caring community.

A new addition to the Ark’s activities isa creative initiative headed up by artist Je-remy Jeresky (jereskytacc.wordpress.com).The Ark Creative Concept (TACC) was bornof Jeremy’s interest in contemporary art thatfacilitates dialogue and exchange in commu-nities. In partnership with Doug Whitelaw,the Ark is transformed each week by Je-remy’s love for art and the eager Ark com-munity. A walk through the Ark’s interiorshows a wonderful array of styles, tech-niques and artistic expression.

Says Jeremy: “I feel honoured to workwith Ark Aid. There are so many warmhearted and intelligent volunteers. DouglasWhitelaw, Robert Docherty and Wade Fossare tremendously generous and interestingpeople. I feel better off in life having metand become friends with them.”

Jeremy’s creative sharing inside the Arkhas branched into an outdoor project, as partof the Community Monument. “The Com-munity Monument is a celebration of people,”Continued on page 2

“A generous man will himself beblessed, for he shares his food with thepoor.” Proverbs 22:9

When I found out that the theme for thisissue of CLIL was about reaching out andhelping others I decided to do some re-search on the many hospitality mealsthroughout the city. I was amazed at howmany churches are reaching out and helpingthose in need by offering meals. I also real-ized that hospitality meals are not just tofeed the body, but to nurture the soul aswell with the socializing and fellowship thatcomes with sitting down to share a mealwith others.

I had the opportunity to talk to a fewpeople who are involved with the organiz-ing, preparation and serving of meals andwas delighted at what many churches aredoing to give back to the community.

The meals are not only served at dinner,some churches offer lunch, while others

offer breakfast. On the third

Tuesday of themonth East LondonAnglican Ministries(ELAM) offers acommunity break-fast. A hearty break-fast of bacon,sausages, scrambledeggs, home fries andtoast is served, aswell as hot cinna-mon oatmeal, coldcereal, granola bars,yogurt, fresh fruitand juice. The parishgenerously donates toward the breakfastsupplies. Ten to twelve parishioners volun-teer each month and occasionally studentshelp out to get their community hours. Menand women of all ages, and some children

and teenagers attend on a regular basis.Karen Robinson of ELAM says “we

started out slowly in March of 2007 withnumbers between 8 and 30. Word got outand we are now averaging

Community is a Growing Part of Ark Aid

Generous Servings

The Trinity volunteers are happy to be helping.

London artist, Jeremy Jeresky, and Ark Aid Director,Doug Whitelaw, help share the community spirit. Visi-tors to the Ark Aid event brought momentos to add toJeremy’s Community Monument art project.

Rob Hueniken is the Managing Editor of Christian Life in London.His blog can be found atMakingMoreOfToday.com.

By Nancy McSloy

Journeying Together

By Vanessa Brown

Aaron Groat, Josh & Teresa Stainton, PhillipWalker, Catharine Scott and Ruth Fesahaye

Continued on page 2

Continued on page 10

By Darryl Reckman of Youth for Christ

At Streetlight, we believe that what our friends living ator near street level really need is not money or a job or morestuff, but rather a sense of belonging – a meaningful placein a healthy, loving community. That is why everything wedo is based on relationship. Yes, we offer specific programswith food and we try to meet other basic needs, but all ofthese are simply tools towards building deeper relationshipswith the people we meet. Think about it, how would youlive your life differently if you had no significant relation-ships in your life with friends, family or a higher power?

We can continuethrowing money andfood, and more andmore stuff at themall we want, butwhat's the point ifthey have no reasonfor living?

Continued on page 3

through a translator and see a puppet show withPingy the Penguin.

There is something different about travelingduring your senior years. “I was slower walking,but everyone herded me along and made sure Ididn’t get lost,” she jokes. There were physicalchallenges too, but she says, “Somebody alwayshelped me.” In Toronto Airport, Associate PastorAaron Groat made sure that Catharine couldkeep up. “There was a wheelchair sitting there,”she relates. “Aaron was right behind me.‘Catharine, you get into that wheelchair!’” Shelaughs as she remembers. “And I did. I was em-barrassed, but kind of relieved too. And he justpushed me right along. He said, ‘Don’t think ofit as a wheelchair, it’s a transportation vehicle.’”

It’s easy to think you should leave missionand service trips to young people. However, asthe body of Christ we each have our strengthsand gifts to offer. Older people should rememberthat they have unique talents as missionaries andevangelists. Catharine says, “If you are healthyand in your right mind, go!”

2 Christian Life in London - October 2010

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In This Issue...

By Mike Wilkins

It’s not a tough thing to get behind the idea of gratitude. Everyone knows that being thanked sincerely is a sweet experience and that being owedan outstanding debt of gratitude is at the very leastannoying. So an emphasis on giving thanks in thisissue of Christian Life shouldn’t be a problem concept for any of our readers, which is just as wellconsidering that this issue will be distributed a fewdays before Thanksgiving Weekend.

The particular point of our emphasis in this issue isthat gratitude is more than just appropriate. It is alsoenergizing. This principle is being well illustratedover and over again, all over London, as peoplefilled with thanks to God for the blessings and kindness he has shown turn their feelings of

gratitude into action – and involve themselves in interesting and exciting projects as a way of livingout their thanks. We encourage you to read on –and let your own heart catch the energy that gratitude produces. When gratitude grows wings, it is sometimes surprising how far it flies.

Dirt-poor son of a black Mississippi share-cropper, he would have starved to death in in-fancy after his mother’s death apart from theintervention of a kind neighbour. The unjustdeath of his brother at the hands of a white po-liceman at the height of segregation in the1950’s led to an intense hatred of whites, andescape from Mississippi poverty to California.Yet today, at the age of 80, Dr. John Perkins iswidely known as a pioneer in Christian Com-munity Development, a movement that seeksto demonstrate the love of God “across racial,cultural, social and economic barriers.” He at-tributes the miraculous transformation in hislife to a profound experience of God’s love thatled him to move back to Mississippi with hisfamily in 1960 to live and work among thepoor to help alleviate poverty and oppression.

In early September, 15 Londoners fromfive different churches traveled to Chicago toparticipate in the 20th annual conference of theChristian Community Development Associa-tion ( www.ccda.org ), which was formed in1989 “when Dr. Perkins called together agroup of Christian leaders from across Americawho were committed to expressing the love ofChrist in America’s poor communities, not atarm’s length, but at the grassroots level.”Throughout the conference there were manyopportunities to learn about, and visit, remark-ably effective ministries that modeled a“wholistic approach . . . that deals with thespiritual, social, economic, political, cultural,emotional, physical, moral, judicial, educa-tional and familial issues of each person” inways that empower people without creating de-pendency.

In his book, Beyond Charity: The Call toChristian Community Development, JohnPerkins offers a powerful challenge to go be-yond quick fixes and easy answers to a humblewillingness to learn and grow in our attemptsto help others. “Acts of charity can be danger-ous because givers can feel good about actionsthat actually accomplish very little, or evencreate dependency. The result is that theirsense of satisfaction takes away any motivation

to seek more creative long-range developmentstrategies. Overcoming an attitude of charityis a difficult task because it requires givers todemand more of themselves than good will . . .Christian charity should never be discouraged,and there will always be a place for acts ofsharing and kindness, but charity is only a be-ginning point, not the final strategy or solution. . . Sometimes our giving is motivated by guilt.When this is the case, we are giving for selfishreasons – to make ourselves feel okay. Thiscan be very dangerous for the poor.”

From anyone else, these challenging wordsmight seem offensive, but from a man who hasspent over 35 years living out the principles ofChristian Community development, and train-ing indigenous Christian leaders in three des-perately poor communities in Mississippi andCalifornia, they ring out as a prophetic chal-lenge for the church to wrestle with toughquestions in order to become more effective atloving God and loving our neighbour.

Beyond CharityBy Leslie Damude

Mike Wilkins is the pastor ofWest London Alliance Church on Wonderland Road North.www.wlachurch.org

Helping at Every AgeContinued from page 1

When gratitude grows wings

Vanessa Brown attends Connections CommunityChurch at Silvercity Theatreand is a local freelance writer.(connectionschurch.ca).

Ark Aid CommunityContinued from page 1

says Jeremy, a UWO Fine Arts graduate stu-dent. “It is a new ongoing monument which cele-brates and commemorates the diversity, growthand creativity of the community. By inviting thecommunity to coauthor a public artwork, a senseof individual and collective identity can unfold ina uniquely creative way.”

Said Doug: “Jeremy has brought a unique di-mension to the Ark. His creativity, talent and pas-sion to connect with people struck an immediateresponse from our clients and attracted wider at-tention. He is also a finalist for the Pillar Commu-nity Involvement award in November. Jeremy isrepresentative of the diversity of Ark volunteers.”

At a recent community open house at Ark Aid,people were invited to bring a small item to add to acollaborative outdoor art exhibit, which may one daycover the entire outdoor wall of the Ark. The eventalso had live musical performances by Chord Call-ing, Kyle Peterkin, Pilots of Dawn and Half-times.

Said Doug Whitelaw: “The Community Mon-ument events bring together people to collectivelyexpress their stories. It’s a way for our clients andthe wider community to collaborate and dialogueon issues of community, public space and to in-spire the future. Perhaps most significantly, weare demonstrating to the city that the Ark is morethan a soup kitchen – that we add value to both in-dividuals and the city.”

“The number of clients needing the help ofArk Aid seems to be rising. Maybe we are doingsome things better and so more people are re-sponding. Maybe the slow job recovery from therecession means more people are being left be-hind. We help provide the last line of defenseagainst despair. But we are having successes: see-ing friends getting back on their feet with somepart-time work. Several folks are working towardstheir high school diploma with help of our volun-teer tutors. It is great to see people striving towardsa better tomorrow. The trick is to see where Godis working, and get in on that, one person at a time.”

Ark Aid can use the help of individuals,churches and agencies. It is a vibrant point ofhope in London, and I encourage you to connectwith Doug, to see how you might help.

www.arkaidmission.com 519-667-0322

Leslie Damude is a

family doctor who

attends Gateway church.

She is involved in the

GPS (Global Possibility

Service) Team, and

enjoys creative writing.

Want to learn more about Christian Community Development in London?

Please send an email to [email protected]

3November 2010 - Christian Life in London

Christian ChurchesNetwork of London

Building relationships withinthe Christian Community

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Generous ServingsContinued from page 1

101 each month this year. Our guests reallyenjoy and appreciate it.”

At Trinity United Church a hospitality din-ner is held on the first Sunday of the month.Reverend Mike Shaw and Jeannette Shaw holda contemplative service prior to dinner. In addi-tion to the hospitality dinner, Reverend Mikeand Jeannette hold a “care and share” serviceevery Sunday evening, followed by soup andsandwiches.

“The meals help those in need certainly, butI think for many people the social interaction,the feeling of welcome and belonging is just asimportant” says Rev. Paul Browning, who leadsthe congregation at Trinity United. “Not every-one is in need financially; some of those whocome are able to put meals on their own tables,but a table for one can be incredibly lonely. Forothers, they absolutely rely on our meals to helpstretch their grocery budgets a little further.Whatever the need, everyone is welcome atTrinity.”

For one family it is a great outing. Theyhave children in wheel chairs and with Trinitybeing wheel chair accessible it is an opportunityfor them to go out for dinner and to borrowmovies from the church library.

Trinity feeds an average of 70 people, how-ever the numbers are rising. In September thenumbers surpassed 85. Depending on what isbeing served, 15 to 20 members of the congre-gation volunteer their time to prepare and servethe meals.

With the help of the Trinity Green Team,they have been able to share even more with thecommunity. The children planted a garden inthe spring and on Sunday, September 12 theycommitted “random acts of vegetables”. Theyharvested the vegetables and not only prepared

veggie trays to share after the service, they alsoleft a tomato or cucumber along with a note oneach car at the church. After that they went toan apartment building close by and shared therest of their vegetables with the residents of thebuilding.

When Reverend Delta McNeish of BethEmmanuel Church saw how many people werecoming to her for donations of food, she real-ized the importance of providing a meal for theneedy. Beth Emmanuel is a small church with abig heart!

For the past several months, on the thirdSunday evening, barbecues have been held atthe church. On average 100 people are fed. Ifthe weather is favourable everyone sits outside,

otherwise they congregate in the basement ofthe church for food and fellowship and prayer.With winter approaching, the meals will con-tinue, but a hot meal will be served inside thechurch.

The third Sunday was chosen since the lastweek of the month is sometimes the most diffi-cult in making ends meet and putting food on atable.

It warms my heart to see the many churcheswho have stepped up to the “plate” (no pun in-tended?) to provide meals and fellowship forthe less fortunate. The donations by the mem-bers and the volunteer hours are a beautiful ex-ample of giving back to the community. Let usall be thankful for what we have during thisseason of harvest and Thanksgiving, and letus reach out and help those in need.

Nancy McSloy is a freelance writer and achurch warden at St Mark’s Anglican. She can be reached at [email protected]

Reverend Delta McNeish and

Rick, one of the volunteers.

Jeannette Shaw and

Reverend Mike Shaw

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There’s Something about MaryBy Herman Goodden

In the fall of 1996 our family was travelling up to Midland,Ontario to visit the reconstructed Jesuit mission of Sainte-MarieAmong the Hurons. Midway along our trek, I let my wife and kidscheck out the local bakery in one of the small towns while I duckedinto a not terribly promising looking Christian bookshop. It wasone of those tacky emporiums where you instantly regret your im-pulsivity the moment you've stepped inside. Sappy panpipe musicwas noodling away on the shop's ghetto blaster sound system. 'In-spirational' posters liberally decorated the walls - pictures of pup-pies, ponies, kittens and sunsets - overlaid with kitschy quotes fromsuch towering spiritual thinkers as Scott M. Peck and Leo F.Buscaglia. The book selection was not extensive and, except forthe obligatory C.S. Lewis rack, was of the very lowest grade.

I could and perhaps should have spun around on my heels andleft, but not wanting to appear rude or suspicious to the middle-aged woman behind the counter, I put in three or four minutes ofpretend-browsing and then headed for the door.

"Not from around here, are you?" asked the proprietress as myhand reached out for the doorknob.

"That's right. Just passing through on our way up to Midland.""Midland? You got relatives up there?"She was feeling chatty, was she? Well, why not spare her a few

minutes of simple cordiality? I was probably the first person to setfoot in her little shop all day. I knew if I'd been in her shoes, I'd begoing loopy with that twittering music and the sickly aroma ema-nating from that dusty shelf of scented candles. "No, we're goingup to see Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons and the Martyrs'sShrine."

"Oh, you're Catholic then," she said, with an unmistakable sug-gestion of contempt in her voice.

"That's right," I said and I turned again to get out the door."Well, then, there won't be anything here that will interest you,"

she said. "I can see that now. We don't have a line of saints' cardsor little plastic statues. But if you don't mind my asking, could youjust tell me what is it about you people and Mary?"

"I beg your pardon?" I asked, feeling a little light-headed at thesheer bare-facedness of her bigotry.

She pointed to a small display of ornamental crucifixes, mostof them unoccupied. "That's not Mary up there on that cross, youknow. So why do you all pray to her as if she's the one who savedyou?"

It had been 12 years since I'd joined the Catholic Church andI was feeling caught out and embarrassed because I didn't have suf-ficient understanding of Mary and her place in the Church to refutethis outrageous woman. Like a lot of Catholic converts, I didn't re-ally 'get' the whole Mary thing but assumed that all that would be-come clearer as time went on. The greatest obstacle that a lot ofconverts bump up against is how to reconcile the veneration (no,not worship) Mary receives, in various Catholic prayers and hymnsand art, with what so often seemed like Christ's casual and evendismissive attitude toward his Mother, as related in the Gospel ac-counts. One film, one book and a lot of reflection have helped mecome to terms with this apparent discrepancy.

I know he's not getting very good press lately as his life hasgone careening off the rails but I found Mel Gibson's presentationof Mary in his film, Passion of the Christ, very instructive. For themost part relegated to the boundary of the main action as Christ isscourged and crucified, there is one scene where Mary protectivelyruns to her Son after he takes His third fall while carrying His crossand He simultaneously consoles her and makes her step back fromany motherly interference by saying His words from the Book ofRevelation: "Behold, I make all things new." On Gibson's part thisis an interpolation or transplanting of text but, I think, an inspiredone. This is precisely what Christ came to Earth to do and as ago-nizing as it is for her to stand by as this blasphemy is enactedagainst her Son, Mary knows that it is her essential duty to do justthat.

The name 'Emmanuel' literally means, 'God with us'. AndMary is the great 'with' in that divine equation. Without her consent,He doesn't come to us at all and our desperately needful redemp-tion will not be won.

In her 1945 book, The Reed of God, Catholic apologist, CaryllHouselander, sees an echo of that distance we may seem to detectin the relations between Christ and Mary, at a ceremony where anewly ordained priest has just celebrated his first Mass and, in thereception that follows, his family is pushed out of the way by acrowd of well-wishers.

"The faithful were flocking around their new shepherd, and hismother and his brothers had become part of the crowd, waitingtheir turn until the end. For one moment the young priest lookedover the bowed heads into his mother's eyes, and his face shone.'My mother and my brethren are they who hear the word of Godand do it.' Because the priesthood had made him the Christ of thepeople, he belonged to them. He was their kith and kin, their sonand brother, their Christ, the priest at the altar. People often seemto think of Our Lady as aggrieved, slighted, when this happened toher! I think she and her Son looked across the heads of the crowdsto one another with just that understanding and gratitude that shoneon the faces of the young priest and his mother, and Christ's wordson that occasion were spoken to Mary and in thanksgiving."

Herman Goodden is a columnist for the LondonFree Press, ChristianLife in London, TheCanada Post andCatholic Insight.He is a member of Saint Peter’s Basilica here in London.

You can read more great articles at

ChristianLifeInLondon.com

40 Days of Love and Community

This fall, Byron UnitedChurch is embarking on another40 day journey. The two previouscampaigns were Purpose DrivenLife – 40 Days of Purpose and themost recent, Better Together – 40Days of Community. This newcampaign is titled 40 Days ofLove – once again, the congrega-tion have been asked to commit toreading a short devotional eachday for 40 days as well as joininga small group for discussion eachweek of the campaign. Many ofthe small groups continued tomeet following the last campaignand as well carried on with theirlocal outreach projects, howeverthere are a number of new groupsforming and once again – eachgroup will be asked to reach outin love to individuals and thecommunity around them.

One way that Byron UnitedChurch is doing this currently isthrough the development of anafter school youth drop-in time onThursday afternoons from 3-5pm. It is a great place and a safeplace to shoot hoops, listen tomusic, do homework or just hangout. Refreshments are offered

and on occasion even pizza.Jesus commands us firstly inMark 12:30 to “love the Lordyour God with all your heart andwith all your soul and with allyour heart and with all yourstrength” and secondly in verse31 to “love your neighbor asyourself”. Through offering thisnew program we hope to showour love for the youth in our com-munity.

Our “theme song” for this lat-est 40 day campaign is titled“Give It Away” – simply put, itstates that “love isn’t love untilyou give it away” – we look for-ward to any and all opportunitiesto show Jesus’ love to the com-munity around us as we put intopractice His commandment to“love our neighbors as ourselves”.

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6 Christian Life - October 2010

The youth group at Calvary United church heardthat there was a drinking water storage problem in thevillage in India, of the family that the youth group hadsponsored for four years. The family did so well withthe help that the Save a Family organization declaredthem to be an independent family who were makingenough money to support themselves. The youth grouphad purchased a small farm and supplied equipment andlivestock to get the family started.

The village, Hathight, is at the top of a mountainand the females have to walk three hours down themountain to get fresh water. Then of course, walk thethree hours back with jugs of water for the familyneeds.

It was suggested that water containers (barrels) bepurchased so each family could have a ready supply ofwater. The youth group has managed to send enoughmoney to purchase half of the water barrels needed. Thecost is fifty dollars per barrel. There are seventy fami-lies in the village.

In June of this year the village had a meeting withexpert water technicians and were thrilled to learn thatthere is a practical solution to their drinking water prob-lem. The experts suggested that the village dig an openwell across a monsoon stream and construct a smallcheck-dam in the far corner of the village. "Save theChildren India" has offered to finance the cost of con-struction of the open well and check-dam. (Estimatedcost is $350 U.S.) The villagers themselves will supplythe labour.

Although they have now completed the planning,the actual digging of the well and the construction ofthe check-dam could not be taken up until after themonsoon season, hopefully by late October.

After the rains come and the construction is com-pleted, the village will have accessible drinking waterfor the first time in their existence. The members ofCalvary youth group enjoy helping individual familiesbut it is even more rewarding to be able to help an entire village.

Helping One Village at a Time

By Phil Downes

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Phil Downes is the Youth

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calvaryunitedchurch.on.ca

Trish West - Drama Team member at FCCC

One of the 70

families in India,

being helped by

the Calvary

Youth Group.

I've been part of the drama team at ForestCity Community Church for over 5 years,acting and writing for their main stage. I lovehow it's given me an opportunity to be seenas someone other than a 'Wife' or 'Mom'.Don't get me wrong, I love being both roles inreal life, but there are times I wonder what it'dbe like to walk in someone else's shoes. Eachnew role I get to play on stage, gives me achance to see things from someone else's per-spective, such as a co-worker, neighbor or acharacter that's like no-one I've ever met. Itputs me into a position where I will laugh, cryor yell at the top of my lungs...then I get tostep back, catch my breath and simply walkaway. Though sometimes it's not that easy.

The dramas that are used in our churchservice often help make the sermon relatableand real. It can take words from the past andgive them relevance to our lives today. Youmight see something portrayed on stagewhere you'll catch a glimpse of your sister,your friends or even the individual panhan-dling on the street corner. I love it when youhear someone in the congregation say "Inever thought if it that way" or "I never real-

ized." I'm always sur-prised how everyonewill be watching thesame drama, but noteveryone will see itthe same way.

I believe that Godworks in such mo-ments so He can beseen in our lives and

of those portrayed in the drama – that He usesthis as a way to whisper into our hearts, guideus when we can't see and give an opportunityto experience His love in a new way. Thereare times I will write from personal experi-ence, being that is what I know best as amother, daughter, wife and friend. Once in awhile there are moments I know it's not “justme” as the words just flow onto the screen.I'll look back and am amazed to see what Hehas shown me through these words – seeingthe hurt, the angry and the lost. I am thankfulfor each opportunity that takes words I writeand shares them on stage. I hope that in allthat I do, that God's love is seen in every at-tempt I make while writing or acting – to re-spect the individuals who may be watchingand see themselves up on that stage.

Writing and acting can be very personaland, at times, intimidating as you put yourselfout there for others to see. I appreciate beingon a great team that plays a part of what getsseen on stage every Sunday. There are nosolo acts, no reviewers or competition forrecognition. You won't see credits listed inthe bulletin or waiting for the applause at theend. We all work together in hopes that wecan bring a story to life: someone's story thatneeds to be shared; to create moments for youas an audience to react, using music anddrama on stage in a way that moves a personto laugh, cry or simple reflect – opening ourhearts to accept God's word.

Trish West www.fccc.ca


By Heather Rall, Director of Development

and Communications at Mission Services

Mission Services of London is pleased to an-nounce the appointment of Peter Rozeluk as theirnew Executive Director. Peter is a lawyer, char-tered accountant and tax specialist. For the last sev-enteen years, Peter has been a Partner at Rozeluk &Company in London, Ontario.

When asked how he came to this point in hislife, Peter replied, “this job is simply a progressionin my personal, professional and spiritual develop-ment; everything I have done and everywhere Ihave been has been a preparation for where I amtoday.”

Since 1951, Mission Services of London hasbeen, and continues today to be a Christian socialservice agency with a focus on serving those whostruggle with poverty and homelessness; men,women and children. It provides food, shelter,clothing, crisis intervention and rehabilitation –meeting the need at the point of need. Peter under-stands this and his enthusiasm for Mission Servicesof London is apparent even so early in his tenure.

We then posed the question, “why MissionServices of London is important?”

Peter answered, “I could provide political com-mentary and discuss government cutbacks in healthcare, particularly mental health care. I could pro-vide sociological commentary and talk about shift-ing moral standards and endemic drug use. I couldprovide philosophical commentary and talk about... (well perhaps I can’t provide philosophical com-mentary). I could provide religious commentaryand talk about sin. Instead, I’ll say Mission Serv-ices of London is important because God, our God,said that “the poor you will always have with you.”Our God, tells us to love your neighbour as your-self. Our God, yours and mine, tells us who ourneighbour is. Mission Services of London will al-ways have an open door. Open for those who want

to come in, and open for servants who want to goout.”

In support of this mission and vision, one ofPeter’s many goals for the organization is to spreadthe word, to engage people and their community.He believes if you tell people how they can help,you will have a partner for a day; teach them howto help and you will have a partner for a lifetime. “Iwant lifetime partners for Mission Services of Lon-don. I want people to own their participation,”states Peter.

So with that he encourages you, the reader, tocheck out their Mission Services of London web-site (www.missionservices.ca) for information onits five branches, call the store and ask what needsdonated, call the administration office to speakwith the Volunteer Coordinator, and generously re-spond to donation appeals. Donating to an organi-zation that ministers to people without a homeand/or to people struggling with addiction, is nei-ther glamorous nor chic – but it does make a differ-ence, one life at a time. www.missionservices.ca

Mission Services has a new Director

For Information or tovolunteer or donate online

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“Beat you to your house,” Fred said to hisbest bud Jim before taking off in a sprint.

“No way. I’m faster,” Jim said, beaming abig smile at his friend. As they arrived at hishome, Jim saw his mother in the window andjumped up. “Gotta go. See ya tomorrow.” As hereached his front door, Jim turned around andwatched his buddy disappear down the street.Sadness washed over him as he wondered howhis friend would feel when he found out abouthis family’s recent conversion to Christianity.

This is a fictional, but fact-based story. Ithappens in many countries today. Boys and girlsplay together happily at one moment, but worrythe next about sharing their faith. In some of ourworld, Christians worship in secret.

What would it be like to have to hide ourtrue beliefs, and to only praise God behindclosed doors? The concept is hard to imaginehere in Canada. We live in a country where weare free to express our faith by going to churchand raising our hands in worship without thefear of being sent to prison, or worse.

Do we as Canadians take this freedom forgranted? Very likely we do. Many of us getwrapped up in things like what type of music isbest, what clothes to wear, or who’s right onday-to-day issues. We can forget to be thankfulfor being able to worship freely.

Meanwhile, Christians in other countries arebeing persecuted for their faith, just like inChrist’s time. All we need to do is turn on thetelevision, surf the Internet, or open a newspaperto see it’s still going on today. Foreign Christianaid workers have been killed abroad, believersare wrongly accused of crimes they didn’t com-mit, Christians are denied access to their town’swater supply, and girls are being abducted justbecause of their family’s faith.

The amazing and powerful thing is thatthese believers still stand true to their faith, evenamidst the persecution.

A recent convert to Christianity, we’ll callhim Bob, told me his story of faith and freedom.‘Jesus revealed Himself to me in a dream”, Bobsaid. “That night Jesus brought a fresh wind ofthe Spirit to me from heaven. He gave me a newlease on life. He passed the good news to me ina country where to be in pos-session of the Gospels is acrime.” Despite the dangers, hechose to praise God anyway.

The next time we feel likegrumbling about something inour church, let’s remember ourfreedom, and be thankful thatwe can worship freely.

Free to Show our FaithBy Darlene Turner

Darlene Turner is a London writer with WomenWriting for Christ, and is a member of the WordGuild. She attends Stoney Creek Baptist Churchwith her husband, Jeff.


Ear to the SoundDELIRIOUS: feverish, restless, confused,

elated, ecstatic, transported, on cloud nine, in sev-enth heaven, beside yourself.

DELIRIOUS? : a band made up of 5 guysfrom an easily forgotten town in England calledLittlehampton.

The members of this band are Martin Smith,Stu Garrard, Jon Thatcher, Tim Jupp and PaulEvans. But if you are an avid Delirious? fan, andthere are many, you already know that.

The band was formed in the early 1990s whenthree of these guys decided to write some songsand play some instruments together and see ifanyone liked their sound. At this time they wereknown as the Cutting Edge band. Their musictook off.

“When we played together, at the very firstCutting Edge event, we knew something was dif-ferent. From 1992, once a month, we’d take overthe local school hall on a Sunday night, gatheringthe kids from the town to sing, pray and find outmore about God. There was nothing particularlyspecial about us or the music we tried our best toplay, but even then there was always an electricitygenerated when we cried out to God to meet us.There was always something in the air.” – Deliri-

ous? (from the Farewell Show CD)Since the early days, Delirious? has had great

success: 40 top UK singles, 20 top UK albums, 20top US albums, they have become mainstream inGermany, and more!

Why the question mark after the band name?Delirious? The band decided it fit because peoplewere always asking if they were Christian, if theywere rockers or if they were any good. The an-swer to all of these questions, by the way, is YES.

Recently, Delirious? has released their lastalbum. “Farewell Show…Live in London”

The band has decided their time has come topack it in and say goodbye. They filled an audito-rium in London and gave the Delirious? fans (punintended) a thrill. The band played all the fa-vorites, mixing it up with some loud, rocky songsand some chillingly beautiful ballads. The albumis full to the brim of audience participation andthe cheers of recognition and appreciation is in-fectious. It is also full to the brim with the overallfeeling of thankfulness. Thankfulness to God, totheir fans and to each other.

“In some ways, 17 years later, nothing haschanged. None of us knew how we would feelstanding on the stage in London for the very lasttime. None of us could have predicted it wouldget this far. None of us knew that what started as abunch of mates singing songs about God wouldgrow to become more than a band, more than themusic and more than the songs.” – Delirious?(from the Farewell Show CD).

Delirious?...we just wanted to say thank you.Well done.

www.delirious.co.uk

Sheryl Scott is a

Christian drama

writer and vocalist

here in London,

at Forest City

Community Church.

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The Harp of David Israel Tour is a unique and inspirational tour hosted by harpist Michael Moon andhis wife and vocalist, Zsiporah. The tour dates areApril 7th to 16th, 2011.

Come with us and discover the history of Ancient Israeland experience the Arts and Culture of ContemporaryIsrael.

This trip will be like nothing you have ever experienced.It is designed for those who enjoy a slower travel pace,staying in only two hotels, while seeing amazing sights.

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Coffee and church, they just go together, like peanut butter and jelly. But, if weʼre honest, churchcoffee is not always worth the caffeine – watered down, flavorless, and often served in styrofoam cups.

Letʼs add one more – unfair. In a world where 12,000 cups of coffee are con-sumed every second, coffee beans are a hot commodity. It might be logical to as-sume that coffee farmers are among the wealthy in this world. This is not thecase. Meet Rodolfo Juracan, one of 25 million coffee farmers world wide. Manycoffee farmers like Rodolfo work long, hard days yet they make less than $2 aday. Two dollars: that’s less than most of us pay for the average grande cup ofjoe. Marcelo Sabuc, a representative for coffee farmers (campesinos) inGuatemala says, "The way that the coffee system functions is unjust because itleaves the producer with very little, not taking into account the value of wakingup very early, cutting coffee cherries all day, and carrying 100 pound sacks largedistances."

Unfair? Yes. Unnoticed? No.Connections Community Church (www.connectionschurch.ca) and other churches in the London

area noticed. They realized that you canʼt drink your typical cup of church coffee at the same time youread Micah 6:8 “What does the Lord require of you? To do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humblywith your God.” When Connections Church was planted in January 2008 they set a mission to connectwith God, connect with people and connect with the world. Second to that mission was the commitmentto serve great tasting coffee that was fairly traded. So where do you turn to get a fair cup of coffee?

Meet Patrick Dunham and David Cook, roasters at Fire Roasted Coffee, located in the farmers mar-ket area of the Western Fairgrounds. Fire Roasted Coffee is committed not only to a good cup of coffee,but also to a fair cup of coffee. A cup of Fire Roasted Coffee is locally roasted and fairly traded - mean-ing that the farmer who grew the coffee gets a guaranteed minimum price on the coffee he sells. ThisFebruary they took their commitment to fair trade one step further. They hopped a plane to Guatemalaand met Rodolfo and other Mayan campesinos from the Campesino Committee of Highlands. They tookanother step, no longer just Fair Trade, now they have Direct Trade. They know the farmer who grew thebeans - now that is coffee worthy of the name Cafe Justicia.

A cup of Cafe Justicia does come at a cost, as do the bio-degradable cups it is served in. A churchserving Fair Trade or Direct Trade coffee may have to pay a little more for their coffee. “But,” saysPatrick, “Itʼs an easy sell to churches. Their values are already inline with ours.” And, for churches want-ing to show a commitment to justice, mercy and a fair cup of coffee, working with a local company likeFire Roasted couldnʼt be easier. They just need to drive downtown to the Western Fairgrounds, to meetthe man who knows the man, who grew the coffee, that they roast.

Coffee and church. They go together. Like justice and mercy.For more information on Fair Trade check out www.transfair.ca

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PatrickDunham


Ma and Pa

Who sees with equal eye, as God of all,a hero perish,or a sparrow fall (Alexander Pope)

Tillsonburg may be a small town in OxfordCounty, Ontario but it has been home to many no-table natives and residents – Colin Campbell, for-mer NHL player and Vice President of the NationalHockey League, Gary Green, the youngest HeadCoach in NHL history and Jay Triano, NBA coachof the Toronto Raptors, just to name a few. But forthe will of God there might be one more name toadd to the list….James Hosner.

Golf legend, Lee Travino said, “There are twothings you can do with your head down – play golfand pray.” For over 120 souls, August 28/2010 wasthe picture perfect day to do just that as each wouldchallenge Tillsonview Fairways at the 7th AnnualJames Hosner Memorial Golf Tournament.

James Hosner’s dream was to become a golfpro. Still a teenager, but well on his way, the young,avid golfer had been offered scholarships and wassought after by college scouts. Tragically, his dreamwould be cut short. “We found out James had a darkside” said Barry Hosner, James father “He wasusing crack cocaine.”

Feeling it was time for tough love his parentsoffered James a choice. “We told him he could ei-ther get treatment through Teen Challenge (a oneyear, faith-based, drug and alcohol treatment cen-ter), or he would have to leave their home. Jamesagreed to an intake interview at Teen Challenge andwas given an entry date of September 10/2003.

On September 3rd, 2003, just six days beforehis entry date, James Hosner died of an overdose.Barry and Cheryl’s only son was gone. They weredevastated.

“A month later the Lord gave us peace andcomfort” said Cheryl “ and laid on our hearts thatwe needed to do something… so that’s what we’vedone. He’s taken our love and given it to hundredsof young men across Canada through Teen Chal-lenge and we love them all dearly.”

Each August, for the past seven years, Barryand Cheryl, together with many family friends, hosta golf tournament in memory of James which todate has raised over $25,000 in support of the TeenChallenge Farm in London, ON. As ambassadors ofTeen Challenge, Barry and Cheryl organize foodand clothing drives and travel with the Teen Chal-

lenge National Choirpromoting the lifechanging program of-fered at TC whereverthey go.

Known affectionately as Ma and Pa to TC stu-dents, nation wide, Cheryl and Barry have foundpeace. “ Although we lost our son, we gained manymore. We adopted all those boys and they’ve be-come a real part of our family.”

“The Lord never wastes your tears” said Cheryl“He turns tears of sorrow into tears of joy – we havea lot of those now” she says with a little smile asshe looks up at her husband sitting beside her andwipes away her tears.

For many TC students this event is the highlightof their year. Ernie, a Teen Challenge graduate said,“To us, Ma and Pa embody God’s expression oflove.” And God’s love was playing through the75% of golfers at this event who are non-Christian,but hooked on helping young men struggling withaddiction in whatever way they can.

Cheryl, whose faith has been since childhood,believes God always has a purpose. “We may notlike that he took our son, but we know He had a rea-son and now our son is in His care.”

Barry and Cheryl are passionate about bringinghope to families whose lives have been turned up-side down by addiction and substance abuse. Em-phasizing that through Jesus Christ men’s lives canbe changed, Barry said “We do not want other fam-ilies to go through a loss as we have… lives can bechanged, the past is the past. These are new men.”

Tillsonburg might be a small town… but it’shome to people with big hearts… like Ma and Pa’s.

I sing because I’m happyI sing because I’m freeHis eye is on the SparrowAnd I know He watches me.

By Dean Crawford

Teen Challenge students and graduates, with Cheryl and Barry Hosner (Barry is in the centre, wearinga white shirt and a ball cap). Photos by Dean Crawford.

Dean Crawford is a Marketing Associate at the TeenChallenge Farm.

[email protected]

www.tcfarm.org

(A Gospel hymnby Civilla DurfeeMartin).

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Journeying TogetherContinued from page 1

What we all need are people who care for us and love us, peo-ple whom we can begin to care for and love in return.

One of the biggest challenges to this whole philosophy is,ironically, the people who we are trying to reach out to. Just yes-terday when I was doing one of my usual 'walk-abouts' downtown,I ran into a young man whom I recognized from our drop-ins sit-ting on the sidewalk on Dundas Street. He was flying a sign thatread: "Smiles and 'I'm Sorry' won't help me get drunk". I wantedto ask him about this sign, so I shook his hand and, just as I wasabout to sit down beside him, he immediately rebuked me, saying,"No, No, please don't sit! I don't have time to talk to you, I'm try-ing to make some money". Out of respect, I quickly stood back upand tried to dismiss myself as graciously as possible. I must saythat I was more than a little shaken up. Didn't he recognize me?Didn't he realize that I was simply trying to love on him? And,after much pondering I began to wonder, how much hurt does ittake to bring someone to this place where all they can think about

is getting their next "big hit"? (for some of us the next "big hit"could be a bottle of booze to help forget the pain, for others of usit could be our newest big purchase to help distract us from thepain... for me it's currently a new mountain bike that I'm after).

Unfortunately, many people have been so damaged by rela-tionships in the past, relationships with people who were supposedto love them the most, that they have given up on humanity and,consequently given up on God (recognizing that God works pri-marily through humanity). Therefore, people start to live solelyfor themselves, but where is the joy in that if you have no one toshare it with? The culture of poverty is constantly creeping at ourbacks. The young man that I tried to sit with on Dundas Street ac-tually believed that what he needed was not a relationship orsomeone to love and be loved by, but rather, more money in orderto by more stuff, maybe a bottle of tequila, maybe something tofill his hungry stomach for the day.

I mentioned earlier that everything we do is based on relation-ship. Everything we do is also based on invitation. We are con-stantly inviting others into deeper relationship and fellowship withourselves, with the community, and with Christ. But love is, andmust always remain, a choice, and the choice is whether we will

accept or reject that love, that invitation. We will not manipulateor coerce anyone into accepting our love, but we must constantlybe finding new ways of inviting them in. I must constantly be trying to find ways of loving this young man, no matter how muchit hurts.

You can read more of Darryl’s blog, at http://journeyingtogether.webs.com

You can read more about how YFC is helping in London atwww.londonyfc.org.

November 2010 Christian Life in London Page 11

Meeting the need...At the point of need…

1. Buy a Meal 3. Shop Online as a Donor 2. Attend a Fundraiser

G e t I n v o l v e d ! B e c o m e a S u p p o r t e r ! E a s y a s 1 ,2 ,3 !

Each time you shop at Giant Tiger,Valu Mart, Sunripe Marketplace orSobeys during the months ofNovember – December, buy a meal(or several meals) for someone whoneeds it by adding $3.11 (per meal)to your grocery bill.

HOME! What does homemean to you?Homemeans many differentthings to many differentpeople. Join us onOctober 28, 2010 for ourAnnual Fall BanquetFundraising Event! SilentAuction! InteractiveProgram! Seating is limited!Call us at 519.433.2807 tobuy your tickets today!

This holiday seasonMission Services ofLondon is hosting its’ innovative &exciting option for our donors.The online Christmas Gift Cataloguereturns! From a warm blanket to ahealthy school lunch, these are justsome of the gifts options you can givethis season. Launching on October 1,2010, you will be able to visit:http://missionservices.giving hope.org

and help us meet the need at the pointof need.

Mission Services of London opens doors of hope to those seeking emergency shelter and support, by offering safe shelter, food and clothing and by facilitating rehabilitation as needed, in an atmosphere of compassion.

For more information on these campaigns and/or other ways to become a supporter, visit www.missionservices.ca or call 519.433.2807

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The calling was clear: to train and to build upa small group of God’s people, specifically twosocial workers, working the front line on behalfof the marginalized and the abused with Interna-

tional Justice Mission (IJM) in Bolivia. IJM’s Bolivian team of lawyers, investigators and socialworkers seek justice for impoverished victims of sexual violence. As a Social Worker in Private Prac-tice, I had volunteered my professional services to provide outside expertise and training for theteam. I did not look forward to being separated from my husband and young daughter for 12 days,but as always, God gave me peace and did so by teaching me about God’s name, El Roi (El raw-EE),The God Who Sees Me. Genesis 16 tells the story of Hagar, a woman mistreated and abused, first byforced impregnation by Abram, then by mistreatment from her mistress Sarai who had arranged theforced impregnation. Understandably, Hagar flees her situation. God comes to Hagar at the momentwhen she is totally vulnerable and alone, in the desert, bearing a child, and although God instructsher to do the most paradoxical thing – return to her mistress, Sarai – Hagar experiences God’s tenderness and compassion and says, “I have now seen the One who sees me (Genesis 16:13)”.

In my work I frequently encounter clients with experiences of trauma and abuse and I witnessedthis firsthand on a hospital visit with an IJM client in Bolivia.

The client is a timid 16-year old young woman, a survivor of multiple incidents of sexual assault,with a child who was just 13 days old at the time I met her. IJM attorneys are pursuing the prosecu-tion of her abuser, and the social workers with whom I am serving are providing her with support andcounselling. She lives with her mother who is rarely home as she works long hours to ensure theirsurvival, which leaves the young woman very literally alone with her child. Knowing this, my heartfelt heavy for this young woman on her journey of motherhood – alone and vulnerable. In my senseof helplessness to support her in any significant way, I was reminded that I was tobe God’s hands and feet in that moment, quietly walking with and accompanyingthis young woman just for a day, helping to care for her child and sharing a fewthings that may be helpful to her as a new mother.

I was also reminded of El Roi – The God Who Sees Me. Just as God saw andcame to Hagar when she was alone in the desert with her child, I pray that thisyoung woman will come to understand and know El Roi as the one who sees her,cares about her infinitely more than anyone else does or can, and is closer than abreath away.

For more information about my Private Practice, please visit: www.melissapagenichols.com

For more information about International Justice Mission, please visit: www.ijm.ca

The God Who Sees MeBy Melissa Page Nichols

100 Huntley StreetWeekdays 11am & 9pm

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