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Church of the Evangelists

Newsletter

To be living instruments of God’s love, truth and healing

Spring/2017

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FROM THE DESK OF REVEREND NAOMI

Best of warm wishes to you in this happy season between Mother's Day and Father's Day.

As my own girls teeter on the edge of adolescence I find that the kind of parenting required of us has changed

significantly in the (almost 6!) years that we've been here. Once upon a time, my role was to say a lot of "No!!". And

the choices were simple: eat this, don't touch that, put on your shoes. The older they get, the more complicated their

problems become, and the more complicated (some of) my answers need to be. They know how to look both ways

when they cross the street. But I still have a role to play in guiding the decisions they make. My job is less and less to

say "no" and more and more to ask "are you keeping all the important things in mind as you make this decision for

yourself".

This is a great deal of fun for me, in part because this is how I have come to imagine the parenting we receive from our

Heavenly Father. We come with complicated problems. And I have trouble imagining God as a finger-wagging nag of

a parent, always just saying "No! No! No!" The gift of Free Will is a vitally important one - and God invites us to use it

well.

In scripture, in the tradition of the Church, and in the Experience of our lives, and a healthy dose of common sense, we

find God always there, asking "are you keeping all the important things in mind as you make this decision for

yourself".

One way to view our baptismal covenant is as this kind of checklist to guide the decisions of everyday life. They can

guide the choices we make about how to spend our time, our money, and our skill. They can guide us in deciding what

risks to avoid, and what risks are worth taking. They can guide us the way we want to guide our growing children: in

keeping all the important things in mind as we use the God-given gift of our free will.

Some questions we spiritual adolescents might want to often ask ourselves are:

1. What does the "apostle's teaching" say about this? Is there an opportunity to demonstrate the fruits of the Spirit?

(love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control)

2. Everything has a cost - who will benefit from this, and who will pay the price? If the benefit is all to me, and the cost

is all borne by someone else, am I being tempted to do evil?

3. Is there an opportunity to demonstrate (by word or example) the Love of God?

4. Are *all* the people involved being treated as beloved children of God?

5. Is this justice? Is it a step (however small) towards peace?

6. Is there a way to use less of the resources of the planet, and be a better steward of God's creation?

Often we are presented with choices that seem black and white, yes and no. But we are created in the image of the

infinitely imaginative God. How often do we stop to wonder "Is there another way? A better way? A more loving

way? Is it as often as we wish our teenagers would?

May you be richly blessed - some of us in our parenting, and all of us in our constant growing in the loving (and ever-

patient) parenting of the one who made us with love, and for love.

The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to

equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith

and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be

children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in

deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is

working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love. - Ephesians 4:11-16

-Naomi

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JOYFUL EASTER SERVICE

To begin with we had our Easter Garden created from beautiful flowers and plants donated in

memory of family and friends which created a lovely atmosphere for our Easter worship

service.

And then an Alleuia dance to celebrate the Risen

Lord!

ALLEUIA!

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FRONT GARDEN

Thank you so much to Monique, Olivia and Nicolas Chirrey for making our front garden look so clean and

fresh for our Easter Service.

Plans are in the works by the Property Committee to revamp the area at the back of the church between the

hall wall and the church wall. It will be transformed to be more people friendly. The idea of a Memorial or

Peace Garden has been suggested. We look forward to enjoying this previously unused space on our property.

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PYSANKY EGG CLASS

On Sunday, April 9, 2017, a Pysanky egg decorating class was held in Harmony Hall. Lynda Bender and Ron

Courtney demonstrated the process of decorating the eggs and the actual dipping of eggs into the many

beautiful coloured dyes. Thirty people enjoyed the experience with their imaginations.

The egg decorating was followed by yummy goodies.

Thank-you for the donations for the goodies and Sheila and Cheryl for helping to making the afternoon a

success.

Thank-you to Lynda and Ron for hosting and their valuable input.

Thank-you to the participants who enjoyed the experience

Submitted by Debbie Smith

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NEWS FROM ST. JOHNS CHAPEL & CEMETERY

Holy Gate Crasher, Batman!!

Well, March went out more or less like a lamb. Then at the end of April’s first week we had a messy snow

storm with high winds – winters last gasp. But snow and high winds make for a dangerous, drifting

combination on the hill around St. Johns. And someone during this storm left the road and crashed straight

into our front gate and, from the tracks, stopped only a foot or so from the front door. Our fence was the only

casualty fortunately but the driver did not stick around or leave a note. The fence is repairable so add one

more chore to the job jar.

Otherwise, the cemetery is starting to shed its winter whites and our lawn care crew are prepping for summer

work. Our first two interments for this year have been completed by the time you read this and we have some

more improvements to tombstones and gardens planned for the summer. Hopefully, you will have an

opportunity to wander the grounds some warm afternoon and enjoy the peace and beauty of the setting.

Our post-Christmas season celebration service – Heartwarming – held at St. Johns was a popular success. The

musical talents of our choir, Naomi, Lorne and many invited performers made for a wonderful winter

afternoon even to the point of including a little tropical music, mon. DVD’s of the performance are available

if you were unable to attend. Many thanx to Lorne and Naomi for taking the initiative to gather all this talent

together and create a memorable afternoon.

St. Johns once again hosted the Good Friday service as part of our Easter season while the Cemetery’s

Memorial Service is scheduled for June 4 in the afternoon. Summer services at St. Johns start on Saturday

June 10 and will continue on the 17th

and 24th

as well as in July and August. This is a great opportunity to

worship with our church family in a different setting from Tottenham. As they say, “It’s worth the drive to

Tecumseth”.

Larry and Trisha

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TOOT’N HOLLER

O.K., so, it wasn’t snowing; it wasn’t raining; the sun came out and we made $1700 + so it was all good!!

Thanks to many volunteers and those who donated items for the sale and a special thanks to Chuck Jowett

for taking on the job of organizing the event. The BBQ was, as usual, very popular and even the Mayor

came out to enjoy the food and listen to some great music. A good time was had by all.

Ahh! And the day is done!

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ROAST BEEF DINNER

Roast Beef Dinner was held on May 6, 2017. There were many

hands for the many duties to make the dinner successful. There

were 68 adults and 3 children who attended the dinner and

enjoyed the smiling faces of the Sunday School children and

helpers.

Since there were leftovers, a second Roast Beef Dinner was held

on Tuesday, May 9, 2017 for members of the congregation.

Michael Andrews commented with a big smile: “This dinner is

delicious; I think it is better than the first one”

In addition, 42 shepherd’s pies were made for sale and the

remaining roast beef will be used for making soup for the Soup

and Sandwich Lunch.

A very special and big thank-you to everyone who donated and

participated and helped in the dinner. It cannot happen without the

many hands.

The Roast Beef Dinner Committee.

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AFTERNOON TEA WITH NISRIN

Our ‘Tea with Nisrin’ on Saturday afternoon was very

successful. We hosted 50+ people and enjoyed a great time of

fellowship. Nisrin is the Mother of a Syrian refugee family

which was sponsored by a group of local churches in South

Simcoe to come and settle in Canada. The family lives in

Alliston and have been here for about a year. They have made

great progress in settling into Canadian life. They are learning

English and the children are attending school and have many

friends. Nisrin aspires to start a catering business and if the

samples we tasted of her baking are any indication, she should

be a great success.

Nisrin was accompanied by her daughters Majita and Julie and

Sharon Smith who commentated as Nisrin demonstrated her

recipe for Basbousa. Lorne Derraugh, who has been involved

with the South Simcoe Refugee Committee, officiated as

Master of Ceremonies during the other activities of the

afternoon; such as, a question and answer time, a door prize

draw, performances by the Sugartones acapella group which

included Lorne’s wife Annette and a solo clarinet performance

by Lorne’s son Sean. (A family affair for sure!)

It was a wonderful afternoon and samples of Nisrin’s baking were available for purchase to be enjoyed at

home.

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AND THE WINNERS ARE:

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AND THEN THERE WAS THE ENTERTAINMENT---

DEFINITELY AN AFTERNOON TO REMEMBER!!

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Nisrin’s Basbousa

1 ½ cups white semolina

¾ cup white sugar

½ cup unsweetened finely shredded coconut

2 tsp. baking powder

1 ½ cups melted butter

32 oz. plain yogurt

2 tbsp. milk

Blend dry ingredients together. Stir in yogurt and melted butter and milk. Mix well.

Prepare large rimmed cookie baking sheet by brushing with melted butter (combined and 1 tbsp.

tahini sauce – optional)

Refrigerate 5 minutes. Spread mixture evenly onto cold baking sheet. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Remove from refrigerator and score into serving size pieces with a knife. Decorate each piece

with an almond or coconut.

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes in 350* oven until lightly browned.

Prepare a sugar syrup by boiling together 1 cup water with ½ cup sugar. (You can add half a

lemon to this mixture for flavor. Remove the lemon after boiling.) Pour the syrup over the baked

Basbousa once it is removed from the oven. Cool and serve.

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SUNDAY SCHOOL

“BRING BACK THE BEES” SUNDAY IS COMING UP

Bees are responsible for at least 1/3 of the food we eat and commercial

agriculture depend on them. A world without honeybees would look very

different – we would not have food like apples, watermelon, almonds, berries,

onions, coffee and, of course, honey! Bees also pollinate oilseeds like cotton.

Since the late 1990’s, beekeepers around the world have observed the

mysterious and sudden disappearance of bees and reported unusually high

rates of decline in honeybee colonies.

Perhaps you’ve seen the commercial on TV or online - Honey Nut Cheerios

“Bring Back the Bees” campaign? Honey Nut Cheerios and Veseys Seeds

have partnered together to give away 100 Million wildflower seeds to

Canadians. To date, they have given away over 400 Million seeds! Check

out this amazing website WWW.bringbackthebees.ca to learn more and get your free wildflower seeds.

Larry Moore, a parishioner at the Church contacted the Sunday School Team with a great suggestion – why

don’t the Sunday School children take on this initiative as a spring project? The Sunday School contacted

the “Bring Back the Bees” campaign for free wildflower seeds and promotional material. But they also saw

a greater need to share this awareness and decided to take it one step further.

On Sunday May 28th

at 10:00 A.M., the Sunday School Team will be hosting a “Bring Back the Bees”

Sunday Service. The children will do a special presentation during the service followed by the planting of

wildflower seeds in the church’s backyard. Afterwards, the children will participate in crafts and activities

relating to bees. They will also be serving refreshments after the service made with local honey and

everyone will go home with a special gift of wildflowers to plant at home.

The Beeton Honey Festival is on Saturday, May 27th

which makes this “Bring Back the Bees” Sunday all

that more special. It’s about bringing awareness to the community and coming together to support a great

cause. Share the buzz!!

We encourage everyone to join us on Sunday, May 28th

at the Church of the Evangelists.

We can all learn from the Honeybee. Individual efforts can make a BIG difference and it is our turn to help

“Bring Back the Bees”!!

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KITCHEN CREW

The Kitchen Crew have cooked their last meal together for this season. We enjoyed some delicious food

and enjoyable fellowship together. On Wednesday, May 3rd

, we enjoyed a night out of the kitchen and met

for our meal at Swiss Chalet. During our time together we celebrated milestone birthdays for Pauline and

Vi. (75 & 80 respectively). Come out and join us one Wednesday evening when we resume our get

togethers in the Fall.

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NEW ROOF

The new church Roof

The Property Committee has recognized for at least ten years that the church roof required

replacement. The cost scared us off, so a number of small repairs on leaky patches were made by

the usual suspects over the years. With the successful launch of the Foundations for Tomorrow

campaign, together with a careful look at our various funds held by the Diocese, the property

committee was finally able to consider options during 2016. Taking a small leap of faith, that the

underlying roof timbers were generally in good condition, we opted for a heavy-gauge steel roof to

be installed over the existing shingles. We sent out for quotes and settled on a preferred

contractor. They only had to replace a few pieces of timber (for attaching the guttering) and

recommended we have the guttering on the north side replaced (which we did with a separate

specialist contractor). The work was completed in good time despite them having to abandon the

original idea of getting materials and workers up to the roof via a scissor-lift in favour of a (much

more expensive) off-road bucket truck. As a bonus, the company did some much-needed touch-up

around the vents on our hall roof where rust was showing through. The colour of the new roof was

chosen to match that of the tower woodwork and seems to have met with general approval. Many

thanks to all who are participating in the Foundations for Tomorrow campaign who have made this

work possible.

Phil Apperly, Property Chair

New Church roof and retouched hall roof

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NEW ROOF

View from the North Side

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THE FAMILY MARKET

The Family Market is a very busy place these days. Now that the weather is changing, our customers are

thinking Spring and that means Spring clothes. The ladies at the Market are also thinking Spring and are in

the process of changing over our clothes to match the season. Spring and Summer clothing is available now

and we look forward to serving our community for another season with good clean previously loved

clothing at a great price. Come in on Saturday mornings from 9:30 A.M. to 12:30 P.M. for the best prices in

town.

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CHOIR

There have been some additions to the choir. The Sunday School have joined in for the first part of the

service up to their time with Naomi for the Children’s Story. It is wonderful to have them participate and

add their voices to our time of worship in song. Unfortunately, we have to say goodbye to Lorne for the

Summer. We will miss him but wish him a restful and enjoyable respite and look forward to welcoming

him back in the Fall.

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TIME FOR SOME R & R

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER EVERYONE !!