Page 9 - Presbyterian Connection Newspaper

presbyterian.ca
SPRING 2019
Connection
PRESBYTERIAN
9
Your Future is GREEN
NO MINIMUM ORDER • FREE SHIPPING
FREE SALES SUPPLIES • NO UP-FRONT COST
ALL PRODUCTS GUARANTEED • EXPERT HELP EVERY STEP OF THE WAY
For the last 40 seasons, schools and organizations across Canada have raised millions & millions of dollars through our fundraising program. One of the main reasons for this great success is the fact that there is no risk and no up-front costs to the participating organizations...what could be better?
Click or call today to receive your FREE Information Kit & Supplies
www.Veseys.com/fundraising• 1-800-363-7333
DIACONAL MINISTRIES
A Profile
in Diaconal Ministries
The Presbyterian Church in Canada has been educating and designat- ing people to do diaconal ministry for over 100 years. The Order of Diaconal Ministries encompasses those designated for service in a broad range of ministry, including Christian education, pastoral care and social ministries. The women and men who have served over the years as diaconal workers have had varied and intrepid adventures. Many of them were tested in areas and cir- cumstances that were difficult and ground-breaking. Their ministry has a lasting and important legacy in the PCC and the world. Below is just one reflection from one of the members of the Diaconal Order.
Margaret (Christine Ross) Williams: 1908–2013
Margaret was designated to the Order of Deaconesses on April 7, 1935, by the Presbytery of Pictou, N.S. For the remainder of her long and extraor- dinary life, she joyfully served in a Christian leadership role in several Ca- nadian provinces as a school teacher, youth worker, Women’s Missionary Society organizer, worship leader, organist, soloist and choir director; minister’s wife (the Rev. J.W. Wil- liams), library assistant at Knox Col- lege, women’s shelter worker, hospital visitor, church elder and parish librar- ian. On her 103rd birthday, she was honoured by the Ottawa Presbytery for completing her 75th full year of
Margaret Ross (far left) in 1935.
service in the Order of Deaconesses. Margaret wrote an article in 1987 of her time travelling as Deaconess- at-large in Nova Scotia: “Once, as I was travelling in late autumn, I got off the train at the wrong stop. It was evening, very dark and no street lights. When I found the boarding house that the Station Agent had di- rected me to, the lady in charge said, ‘We have 23 men here building a new road. Our rooms are all taken, but since there is no place else, you can stay overnight. I will put a cot for you in my sewing room.’ I was very grateful, though a bit uneasy when I noticed the sewing room door was a curtain. However, I went to sleep pondering the Deaconess Psalm and didn’t waken until I heard the men at breakfast in the next room discuss- ing me. Was she a travelling teacher? Was she selling magazines? No one guessed a Deaconess. From my ex- perience at that time, I think it quite possible that none of them had ever
heard of a Deaconess.”
Statement of Diaconal Ministries
Adopted by the 124th General Assembly, 1998
Diaconal Ministers are called to be servants of Jesus Christ.
We believe in a ministry that is spiritual, dynamic, creative and a practical enactment of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We work collegially in leadership, open to the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, to equip and enrich others for Christian life and service.
We envision a ministry rooted in the life and worship of the whole people of God, which emphasizes Christian Education, Pastoral Care and Social Services.
Memorial Windows Restoration Protective Storm Glazing Custom Woodworking
97 Wharncliffe Rd. S. London, Ontario N6J 2K2 519-432-9624
Toll Free 1-877-575-2321
www.sunrisestainedglass.com
EARN
50% ON EVERY
SALE!