WHAT’S HAPPENING!
St. Paul’s Bloor Street... Explore and Uncover
May 26th, 2013
Book Sale June 1st & 2nd
Please bring in
your gently used
books for the Book
Sale to be held
from 10 a.m. to
4 p.m. on Saturday,
June 1st and after the morning services
on Sunday, June 2nd. All proceeds go to
the Rector’s Discretionary Fund, helping
families and individuals in need.
North York Women’s Shelter:
Where Hope Blooms
In 2012 the North York Women’s Shelter housed
144 survivors of domestic abuse.
Shangalia! Tanzania
Concert & Fundraiser
We’ve raised over $1,000 of the
$15,000 needed to purchase
keyboards, amplifiers and speakers
for three youth choirs in the
Diocese of Tarime in Tanzania. The
rural Diocese of Tarime is comprised mainly of youth,
whose unemployment leaves them vulnerable to drugs,
crime and prostitution. Music is key to evangelisation in
Tanzania, and Bishop Mwita Akiri hopes the choirs will
bring more youth to church.
Next Sunday June 2nd at 1 p.m.
our Youth Group will host Shangalia!
Tanzania, a concert featuring
musical acts and Tanzanian food.
The concert is free to attend and all
are welcome.
For more information visit stpaulsbloor.org/tanzania
The 30 bed shelter is at capacity almost every
day of the year.
“It can be dangerous for women to leave their
abusers,” said Abby Wong, Volunteer and
Fundraising Coordinator at the Shelter. “At times
we have women who show up at our doors with
nothing more than the clothes on their back.”
Many women and their children arrive at the
shelter in a moment of crisis and counsellors are
on site 24 hours a day to offer much needed
emotional support.
Upon arrival women
are provided with
a care package,
containing essential
toiletries such as
soap and shampoo.
“It can be a very emotional time and we want
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to make sure she and
the counsellor have the
opportunity to work on
those issues,” explained
Abby. “We don’t want her
worrying about trying to
find a toothbrush. That
first night is about letting her know she made a great
choice. It’s a huge step.”
go on to start careers or go back to school. But it’s
all a result of the work they have done. We’re a part
of it, but the real strength comes from each of the
women.”
Though the North York Women’s Shelter has served
over 11,000 women since its inception in 1984, there
are still many women in need. As the only women’s
shelter in North York, it was forced to turn away 334
women in 2012.
The shelter depends entirely on donations for the
contents of their care packages, and St. Paul’s is
hoping to make a difference. Until the end of June we
will be collecting unopened personal care items for
the North York Women’s Shelter.
Lack of affordable housing in the city has increased
the average length of stay at the shelter, with many
women staying over eight months. Last year, the
shelter launched a campaign aimed at creating
transitional housing for women.
According to David Kirk McCleary, Outreach Pastor,
we have a responsibility to help those in need.
“Women were never meant to experience life like
that,” he explained. “We can help rebuild lives. It’s
a matter of their safety and it’s a matter of helping
these women understand who they are and who they
are meant to be.”
“Lack of space means we’re not able to serve women
in need,” said Abby. “We do our best to refer them to
other shelters, but it worries us.”
It’s hard to provide appropriate shelter without these
essential items, said Abby, and constant use often
means great expense. Without donations, the shelter
would be forced to divert funding intended for
programs and services.
“Those programs and
services are what we
believe are really life
changing,” said Abby.
“We are able to teach
skills and build resources
among our residents so
they feel empowered and able to move on.”
The shelter offers a wide variety of programming for
women and children, which is often tailored to meet
an individual’s unique needs.
Women have one on one counselling sessions each
week, as well as women’s groups. Children are offered
activities such as counselling, play therapy and art
therapy.
“We’re working to support women in becoming more
independent and empowered,” said Abby. “A lot of
that happens through their own self determination.
We’ve seen women at their weakest moments who
According to David Kirk, one small act of kindness
is often enough to change someone’s life. “Maybe
they won’t become Christians or visit St. Paul’s, but
when they look at themselves in the mirror they will
see somebody precious,” he said. “Somebody who is
valuable and worthy of love and respect.”
North York Women's Shelter 2012 Stats
843 crisis calls
9,747 hours of counselling
71 women and 73 children served
If you are a victim
of domestic abuse
there are resources
available to you.
The 24 hour North York Women’s Shelter emergency
hotline can be reached at 416-635-9630.
The ministers at St. Paul's are available if
you need support.
Small Group Questions
Below are discussion questions that will help you dig a little deeper into the sermon. Watch for them every
week in the What’s Happening! If you want to hear the sermon again, go to stpaulsbloor.org/sermons
“In the National Gallery of Art in London there's a picture of the Crucifixion that is so dark that when
you first look at it, you can't see anything. But if you stand and ponder it, and if you do not permit
your gaze to falter, eventually you will see in the darkness a very dim figure of the crucified Christ. If
you look longer and do not allow your attention to be diverted, you then begin to discern behind the
figure of Christ the presence of God the Father, whose hands are holding up his Son, and on his face
is a look of unimaginable grief.
There, in those five hours, no matter what the depths to which he went, Jesus knew his Father was
with him. The Trinity--Father, Son and Holy Spirit--suffering together. That's a mystery. I cannot
explain it. But it is true.” (Bruce W. Thielemann, The Cry of Mystery)
1. We are a ‘Trinitarian’ people, meaning that we see one God as
revealed in three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Why does that
matter?
2. When we are baptized, we are baptized into the Christian community
in the name of the Trinity – God the Father, God the Son and God the
Holy Spirit. Why does that matter?
3. The Creeds we say every week and the prayers we constantly pray as
a Christian community are always Trinitarian in form and function. Why does that matter?
4. Re-read the Story above. When you stare into the Trinity, ponder God the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit – what do you see? Why does that matter?
Pioneer Camp Sponsorships
Ontario Pioneer Camp offers
young people an opportunity
to be blessed. The camp offers
outdoor fun, lively and energetic
worship, and Bible study. Every
summer young lives are changed
as Christian faith is shared.
We invite our community to
contribute to the sponsorship
of our young people to
spend a week at Ontario
Pioneer Camp. A week
at camp costs $750 and
contributions in any amount are welcome. Mark your
cheques or envelopes ‘Pioneer Camp Sponsorship’.
For more information contact Janet Earle at ext 241 or
children@stpaulsbloor.org.
Best Wishes To Dave Stone
Marriage and more mission
are around the corner for
Dave Stone as he leaves
St. Paul’s today and moves
to Vancouver. Next month
our Urban Missionary will be
marrying Kim Nguyen, who
also works with Inter-Varsity
Christian Fellowship in Vancouver, where they’ll be
making their home. His experiences in China each
year have shaped his heart towards international
students, and now he will be working with a
growing community of them at the University of
British Columbia. Dave is thankful for the prayers
and support that St. Paul’s has offered the past four
years, and he looks forward to sharing the same
love and hospitality he experienced here. Feel free
to chat with him after the service, or email him at
dstone@ivcf.ca, to find out how to pray for him as
he continues to minister to university students.
This Week At St. Paul’s
Sunday, May 26th
Worship Services
8:15 a.m. |Chapel Of The Good Shepherd
9:30 a.m. the bridge | Great Hall
11:00 a.m. | Main Church
7:00 p.m. reconnect | Atrium
Nursery - beginning at 9:15 a.m. | 2nd Floor
Children’s Ministry - 9:30 a.m. & 11:00 a.m. | 2nd Floor
Youth Group - 9:30 a.m. & 11:00 a.m. | Youth Room
Prayer Group - 10:20 a.m. | Room 7
Following Jesus - 10:45 a.m. | St. Paul’s Chapel
Prayer Group - 10:50 a.m. | Room 7
Community Lunch - 12:15 p.m. | Great Hall
Drop-In Small Group - 12:30 p.m. | St. Paul’s Chapel
Monday, May 27th
ESL Cafe - 7:00 p.m. | Great Hall
Tuesday, May 28th
Winchester Group - 10:00 a.m. | Library
Holy Communion - 12:10 p.m. | St. Paul’s Chapel
DivorceCare - 7:00 p.m. | Library
Wednesday, May 29th
Wednesdays With God - 12:00 p.m. | Dalton Room
Wednesday Youth Group - 7:00 p.m. | Youth Room
ESL Café - 7:00 p.m. | Great Hall
Thursday, May 30th
Snack Program - 5:15 p.m. | Atrium
Chancel Guild Spring Dinner - 6:00 p.m. | Great Hall
Choir Practice - 6:30 p.m. | Music Room
Friday, May 31st
Service of Healing & Anointing - 12:30 p.m. | St. Paul’s Chapel
Christian Meditation - 1:00 p.m. | Room 204
Saturday, June 1st
Book Sale - 10:00 a.m. | Front Steps
Community
Lunch
Lasanga - $5
This Week at St. Paul’s Cont’d
Sunday, June 2nd
Worship Services
8:15 a.m. |Chapel Of The Good Shepherd
9:30 a.m. the bridge | Great Hall
11:00 a.m. | Main Church
7:00 p.m. reconnect | Atrium
Book Sale - 9:00 a.m. | Outside of Cody Hall
Nursery - beginning at 9:15 a.m. | 2nd Floor
Children’s Ministry - 9:30 a.m. & 11:00 a.m. | 2nd Floor
Youth Group - 9:30 a.m. & 11:00 a.m. | Youth Room
Prayer Group - 10:20 a.m. | Room 7
Following Jesus - 10:45 a.m. | St. Paul’s Chapel
Prayer Group - 10:50 a.m. | Room 7
Community Lunch - 12:15 p.m. | Great Hall
Drop-In Small Group - 12:30 p.m. | St. Paul’s Chapel
Shangalia! Tanzania Concert - 1:00 p.m. | Cody Hall
Praying For John
and Naomi
Naomi and John Sundara
work with Power to
Change, a Christian
student ministry. This
summer they will be
leading a group of students to South Asia on a
mission project. South Asia is desperately in need
of the Gospel. There are over 2,200 unique ethnolinguistic groups with no indigenous church in
South Asia. The city Noami and John will be based
in has over 200,000 women and children trapped in
the sex-trade. Their work includes befriending local
students and sharing the Gospel with them. They
will also be volunteering with a local Christian NGO
that helps rescue women out of the sex-trade and
provide healing and development opportunities for
them and their children. We wish John and Naomi
God’s blessings and ask you to support their work
through prayer.
Next Week’s Scripture Passage
Please join us in the
Great Hall after the
11 a.m. service.
Ephesians 3:14-21
227 Bloor Street East, Toronto, ON, M4W 1C8
416-961-8116 | www.stpaulsbloor.org | mail@stpaulsbloor.org
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