Pastoral letter from the Minister ‘s desk

June 24, 2020

Dear church members and friends,

Summer Greetings!!

 All things Bright and Beautiful,

 all creatures great small, all things wise and wonder-ful; in love, God made them all. 

It is a hymn that we usually sing on Sunday mornings in the season of summer.

This is my first summer in Toronto.  It is beautiful, bright, warm, and hot.  The birds and trees are just awesome!  Thank you, God, for providing all the things we need in this season.

Thank you all for your ongoing participation in the on line services.  I encourage you to continue with these home services throughout the summer. We will see what happens in the fall. 

Thank you all who continue to serve this ministry in the background: with our community garden, making donations and extra offerings to keep this ministry going.

Thank you, folks, who continue to care for our church members, especially for folks who are vulnerable. Thank you, all who continue to pray for the world, our nation and our community.   

Tomorrow, June 25, 2020 marks 70 years since the start of the Korean War in 1950.

There are many things happening in our churches and our communities which promote this remarkable peace movement Globally.  The United Church of Canada is also making a voice to support the global Light of Peace Prayer Campaign for Peace and Reunification on the Korean Peninsula.

On June 25 an online prayer vigil will take place led by UCC Moderator Richard Bott, with HyeRan Kim-Cragg (Timothy Eaton Memorial Church Associate Professor of Preaching at Emmanuel College).  A Light of Peace will be live streamed on The United Church of Canada's YouTube channel at 8:00 p.m. Eastern/5:00 p.m. Pacific time, Thursday, June 25.

Here is the link to view the June 25th online prayer vigil: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaM1jdeQioQ&mc_cid=543d8a3fd8&mc_eid=eaf0d99e57

This is another special video link  https://youtu.be/Rk0VgnqqIYk  called Crossing the Line: The story of Moon IkHwan, which describes our call to be and prayers for peace and reunification in both North and South Korea and the world.

We still cannot meet in worship and regular ministry in the church, yet we are moving slowly to change, adopting and accepting a new normal life style as we move forward.   And summer outdoor activities have helped our souls, minds and bodies stay healthy and well.

Thanks to be God!