Page 31 - Presbyterian Connection, Spring 2020
P. 31

presbyterian.ca
SPRING 2020
Connection
NEWS
Hope Lives at Clarkson Road
PRESBYTERIAN
31
    Thistle Club members Heather Saunders (right) and Lynne Allan put a bird on the tree on behalf of their fellow club members.
Improving Women’s Health in Newfoundland
By Karen Pérez,
Church Office Administrator, Clarkson Road Presbyterian Church in Mississauga, Ont.
It was after a team from Clarkson Road Presbyterian Church attended the Stewards by Design conference in November of 2017 that “hope” be- came a theme for our congregation. As we listened, reflected, talked and prayed we became more and more convinced that hope was not only what people needed, and what so many were lacking, but also that the hope we have in Jesus is something unique we have to offer. As we talked about what hope means to us, and how we experience and share hope, “Faith in Action” was born.
“Faith in Action” has become a foundation for much of our mission work at Clarkson Road Presbyterian Church. “Faith in Action” is a way for us to make hope evident in very tangible ways to people in our com- munity and in the wider world. In October of 2018, we held our first “Faith in Action” weekend. A dynam- ic coordinating team (Jean Hansuld, Megan McLean and Maureen Read) planned a variety of activities that gave people an opportunity to put their faith in action. People cleaned at the Compass Food Bank and Out- reach Centre, made sleeping mats from milk bags, and prepared care packages for ARISE Ministry. They visited residents of a local retirement home, made lunch for Evangel Hall clients, and prepared care bags for women undergoing chemotherapy. Our neighbours responded with over- whelming generosity, donating food and winter clothing for The Compass Food Bank and Outreach Centre. After a community dinner on Satur-
day night, a celebration service was held on the following Sunday morn- ing where we praised God and gave thanks for all that we were able to do. The weekend events served as a launch pad for monthly outreach ac- tivities that let us share the love and hope of Jesus in really tangible ways.
Building upon our first “Faith in Ac- tion” weekend, we had an expanded weekend in October of 2019. The planning team was intentional about expanding our weekend activities to bring in new activities that would en- gage people with different interests and abilities. They were also very intentional about drawing the cir- cle wider and including people who aren’t always able to be involved in mission activities. In the spirit of ex- panding our outreach, volunteers de- livered 1,000 bags to our neighbours containing information about the church and an invitation to donate to the food drive. In addition to expand- ing many of our activities, we were able to draw in neighbours who have become connected to us through our “Faith in Action” programs. For
Gathering the food drive donations.
example, one of our neighbours contacted us and asked if her son’s hockey team could make “Birthday Party in a Bag” bags for Compass families because she wanted them to have the experience of helping others, and to learn about what this church-sponsored Food Bank and Outreach Centre does.
The brainstorming, reaching out and trying new things has been a great experience for our commu- nity of faith. Not only have we rooted much of our mission work under the “Faith in Action” banner, but we’ve explored the scriptural grounding for what we are doing and this has been life-giving.
By Lynne Allan, Treasurer,
St. Matthew’s Presbyterian Church in Grand Falls–Windsor, N.L.
On Oct. 18, 2019, just hours be- fore fire destroyed the sanctuary of St. Matthew’s Presbyterian Church in Grand Falls–Windsor, N.L., the church women’s group, the Thistle Club, made a donation to a joint pro- ject of the local hospital’s South and Central Health Foundation and Shop- pers Drug Mart. The donation is an example of the causes supported by the St. Matthew’s Community Out- reach Program.
Called the “Love You Campaign,” the joint project has been raising funds to improve women’s health for 18 years. These funds will help sup- ply post-surgical compression bras to mastectomy and lumpectomy pa- tients. The bras potentially decrease risk of lymphedema and seromas and improve comfort level through pain control. They are expensive and sometimes unavailable depending on where a patient lives. Donors to the campaign could put a leaf on the “Love You Campaign” tree for $1, a butterfly for $5, an apple for $10 and a bird for $50.
     The Rev. Gale Macdonald with food drive donations from the community.
The Clarkson Road Presbyterian Church “Hope Lives Here” front sign.
Gerry Binnie and Bev Philips making sandwiches.










































































   29   30   31   32   33