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Dates & UpdatesRosedale Presbyterian Church, May 2014

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In the 1980’s, astronomer Carl Sagan produced a PBS series entitled “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage.”

This hugely popular TV show considered the origins of life and presented a realistic perspective on our place in the universe. This year the series has been re-launched by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, and re-titled, “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey.” From understanding how the uni-verse was created to addressing questions about the begin-ning of life, the series takes a fascinating look at our world and beyond.

In the new series, Tyson gives us an overview of cosmology

Apparently, the universe, though almost fourteen bil-lion years old, is still just a baby. We are in the first stage of the life of the universe - the Stelliferous Era. This is a time period wherein the universe is filled with stars. This era will last for another hundred trillion years.

However, eventually all the stars will die. The light

By Wes Denyer of the universe will burn out. All matter will be sucked into Neutron stars and Black Holes - even matter itself, protons and neutrons will decay. The material universe will begin to decay on a sub-atomic level. As we approach unimagi-nable timeframes, something like a trillion, trillion, trillion years … the universe will finally go cold.

This prognosis on the life and death of our universe - scares me, excites me, fills me with awe and won-der and astonishment. It lifts me out of my tiny life into something so immeasurably greater, that I cannot possibly comprehend or imagine it.

We are nothing ... we are less than nothing on the cos-mic scale of the universe. We are reminded of the words of Psalm 8, “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mor-tals that you care for them?”

It’s a powerfully, humbling perspective on our lives.

Christians in the CosmosFinally spring has arrived. Flowers on the steps of the church. .

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Baptisms

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There have been three baptism services thus far this year, including four babies. Top left: On January 26, Braydon George Lamothe was baptized. He is the son of Cory and Kathryn Lamothe, and grandson of Peter and Sharon Fullerton. The picture of Kathryn cutting the cake shows Mrs. Lamothe, Peter Fullerton, Sharon and Cory, with Sharon Fullerton holding Braydon. Centre left: On April 6, Ariana Reingard Didomizio, grand-daughter of Sheila Tait and Kurt Palka, was baptized. Her parents are Melanie Palka and Robert Didomizio. Ariana is shown here with her mother Melanie. Bottom left: last but not least! Calum Spence Cutsey and Magnus Peter Cutsey were baptized on May 11. They are sons of Jessica and Bradley Cutsey, and grandsons of Chris and Cooper Spence. Here, Jessica and Bradley with their boys.

Thank you ...During the coffee hour on April 27, we said goodbye to Brittany Rae, our soprano soloist for the past two years. She has complet-ed her undergraduate studies in music in Toronto and is returning to her home in Calgary while she prepares for further study. Our music director thanked Brittany for her many contributions to us, and the choir and congregation extended their best wishes for her future career. Below: Brittany and Allen Bevan, our music director

Dates & Updates 3

Noteworthy

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During the coffee hour on April 27, we said goodbye to Brittany Rae, our soprano soloist for the past two years. She has complet-ed her undergraduate studies in music in Toronto and is returning to her home in Calgary while she prepares for further study. Our music director thanked Brittany for her many contributions to us, and the choir and congregation extended their best wishes for her future career. Above: Brittany and Allen Bevan, our music director

In Memoriam

Gerry Boone-Reid

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Early in March longtime member of RPC Gerry Boone-Reid passed away quietly in Parry Sound. She had moved there in the summer of 2011 to be nearer her two daughters, Martha Ross and Carmen Wilson, her grand-daughter Christina Emmerson and great grandson, Dustin. The funeral was held in St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Parry Sound, on March 7. Our sincere sympathy is extend-ed to her family.

In the October 2011 Dates and Updates we included a page of thanks to Gerry for her contribution to the life of our congregation since 1952. From teaching in the church school, to being one of the first women ordained as an elder in our congregation, to faithful participation in the Pastoral Care Team, Gerry was always ready to help. She was one of the first to decorate the church with flowers at Easter, she served on at least one search committee, and was always ready to give practical assistance. Gerry was a generous but quiet supporter of fund-raising appeals. During her years at RPC she had seven ministers (Smart, MacKay, Klempa, Corbett, Syme, Walters, and MacLellan) and was

a loyal supporter of them all.

In her later years with us she was an enthusiastic participant in the Movie Night and (along with Pat and Tony Keith) initi-ated the Bridge and Scrabble group. She thought it was im-portant for members of the congregation (and their friends) to get to know each other.

We concluded our 2011 piece by saying that “Gerry has been a faithful, positive and caring member of our Rosedale family for almost sixty years. As she enters her well- earned rest, she goes with our gratitude for her many contributions.” Our prayers are with her family and many friends.

It was a long cold winter. A few days before Christmas, a storm covered the city with ice, leaving many without power for days. The church’s much-loved linden tree looked lovely in its ice coating, and, unlike many of Toronto’s trees, escaped without damage

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Advent and Christmas

Clockwise from top left: Michelle and Alex in the Christmas pageant based on the 12 nights of Christmas; Mark Daprato and Deane during the Christmas Eve service; Catherine and Isabella light the second Advent Candle; the handbells which were played by Brendan Bevan several times throughout the winter season; the Morden family with their lit candles and Rev. Wes Denyer, Brooke Alyea and Sarah Roberts on Christmas Eve.

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Dates & Updates 5

Activities St. James Town Homework Club

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Cairn CampsOn March 30, staff from Cairn Presbyterian Church camp pro-vided leadership in the service. Shown here are: (left to right: Rebecca, camp director, Laura Roberts, Vanessa, (camp team), Michelle Roberts, Sarah Roberts)

First the good news….Our congregation continues its strong support of the

St. James Town Homework Club which operates five days a week in the basement of St. Simon’s Anglican Church. Twenty five children, all from immigrant families, take part in a program of assistance with school work, a nutritious snack, a brief exercise period and supervised play. Support for program and staff salaries comes from RPC ($4,500 annually) and three other churches. David Tweedie has re-cently joined Marjorie Ross as volunteer with the program.

Early in the year we were very pleased to learn that our director, Archana Piya, and her family had gained Ca-nadian citizenship.

On Palm Sunday, April 13, we had a brief report on the Homework Club from Brooke Alyea who filled in last spring as its director. During the coffee hour, a video was shown and a mural made by the children under the direc-tion of a community non-profit group called Art in the City was displayed. The Church School sold baking in support of the Club and raised over $400. Then the sad news…

Early this month we heard that our director, Archana Piya, who has provided excellent leadership, and has become a good friend of those who have worked with her, will be leaving us this summer. Her husband has accepted an excellent job offer which means that they will be leav-ing Toronto. Plans for a farewell to Archana are under way, and a search has begun for her successor.

Congratulations to Saroj and Archana Piya, direc-tor of the St. James Town Homework Club and their son, Aviv, on the occasion of their becoming Canadi-an citizens. They are seen here with the Citizenship Court judge.

Alexandra Page, a former volunteer at the Homework Club, now studying in Edinburgh, assists Irene King to choose her purchase.

Girls at the Homework club play Cat’s Cradle.

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6 Rosedale Presbyterian Church

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Clockwise from top left: Brooke Alyea led the Church School parade on Palm Sunday; members of RPC participating in the annual Stations of the Cross walk through St. James Town on Good Friday;Allen Bevan plays the postlude on Easter Sunday and the Easter flowers arranged in the chncel.

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Activities

It challenges us to let go of the comfortable and the obvious, the expected and the small. We are invited to view life as a journey of constant exploration and dis-covery, of newness and change.

Perhaps, the only thing - the only one - who makes it safe, is God. And God has placed within us hearts desiring to know God, and minds craving and seeking to understand the nature of God and of this universe.

Living in a universe like this takes courage. For Christians, is it possible we can find that courage in the life and message of Jesus - the one who assures us of God’s infinite care and nurture for each one of us?

Perhaps being overwhelmed by the size of the uni-verse is an ancient feeling. Jesus assured his first century disciples with these words, “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. Even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

In that promise, in the confidence and protection of those words, Jesus lives out his own life as an adventure of the human spirit - sometimes through blood, sweat and

tears … sometimes through friendship, hope and faith ... but eventually through a cross, and ultimately to an empty tomb and the promise of resurrection and eternal life.

Could it be when we enter eternity, instead of build-ing sand castles on the beach and running from the little wave lapping at the shore of the vast ocean of knowledge, we may go and swim in the deep waters of God’s vast and mysterious creation? And maybe, just maybe, if we’re courageous enough, and with one hand holding tightly to the hand of God - maybe even here and now, God is inviting us and encouraging us to start dipping our toes into the ocean of understanding, knowledge and wisdom which fills this incredible universe.

As you travel outside the city this summer, experienc-ing the dark skies of Muskoka, Haliburton or some other place remote from city lights, you may find yourself look-ing up at the stars. When you do, I invite you to consider the words of the book, “Care of the Soul: A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life” by Thomas Moore. In this book he writes, “Care of the soul is not solving the puzzle of life; quite the opposite, it is an appreciation of the mysteries that blend light and darkness into the grandeur of what human life can be.”

Continued from pg. 1

The only one who makes it safe is God

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New members

On December 22 RPC welcomed three new members, seen here during the Christmas Luncheon following the service. Left to right: Catherine Lummack, Mark Bernard, and Peter McGil-licuddy.

Our 106th Annual Meeting took place on March 2 following the service. The highlight was the report on the church finances which showed that regular givings for the support of the congregation had decreased only slightly in 2013 despite the excellent response to the appeal “Warming Up to the 21st Century” for the furnace fund. Also of note was what the Board described as “a shift away from reli-ance on “Black Side” givings.” (These givings – offerings for the support of RPC – now represent approximately 54% of total revenues, with revenues from capital funds repre-senting 24% and use of premises 14%.)Update on Furnace project:

To quote from the report from Brock Winterton, the convenor of the Board of Managers to the Annual Meeting:

“…between September and November we handily surpassed our $250,000 fundraising target, posting a total of $375,000. I am truly in awe of this congregation and its willingness to pull together when called upon to do so. Given the success of this campaign, we believe we will be in a position to virtually fund the furnace project with mini-mal support from our Facilities Fund.”

In an email on May 27, he said “Finally, the Furnace

retrofit is about to get underway. There will be some obvi-ous signs that a major project is underway and we hope they do not cause too much disruption. Through early July we will be in the tear down and removal phase. Thereafter we will begin the installation and construction phase. By early September we should be approaching completion. As with any large renovation to an historic property, we could face some challenges and uncertainties. We are nonetheless confident we will deliver an excellent project.”

Annual Meeting

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From RPC knitters ...

The RPC Knitting Guild is happy to say they have had another very successful year. There are 15 Knitters, (3 of whom are from other denominations outside of our RPC family), who made close to 800 items. A pretty noble feat.

Recipients of our work stretches across Canada and even to India. Much of the work across Canada goes to our mission work among our native people in BC; Sask.; and Manitoba. In the Toronto area a lot of the work goes to Out of the Cold; Boarding House Ministries; Young Street Mission; Portland Place; St. James Town; and Our Lady of Lourdes Church. The latter has special ministry to teenage moms and new immigrant families.

The need is great and the letters of appreciation we received confirms the importance of what is made by our Knitting Guild.

We thank all of you who support this outreach by your donations of wool; time; and funds along with the purchas-es at the sale each year. It keeps us self-sustaining.

May the Lord continue to bless all of you for your interest , support and of course all the wonderful volunteer Knitters.

Dorothy Roberts

Mission

Above left, Dorothy Roberts selling the products of the Knitting Guild to raise money for supplies and, above, some of the more than 800 items produced by the Guild. The thank you note from Winnipeg commented on the “lovely colours.”

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Attention all knitters

If you are interested in knitting, please contact Dorothy Roberts.

Yarn, patterns and needles will be supplied.

Dates & Updates 9

Mission

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A chance meeting with some of the recipients…

Over the May long weekend, I was fortunate to meet three of the women from one of the Canadian missions that have received a package from RPC each Christmas for the past four or five years. I am one of those who wrap up boxes of knitting and mail the ones going a distance or de-liver them locally, and so I have a personal curiosity about what happens when the boxes arrive.

I was at the National Women’s Gathering, in which 500 Presbyterian women from across Canada came togeth-er at a conference in Richmond Hill. I met Rev. Margaret Mullin, the director of the Winnipeg Inner City Missions (a long-established Presbyterian mission reaching out to mar-ginalized native families in down town Winnipeg). As we were talking I said, “I’m one of those at Rosedale Church who wrap up those parcels of kids’ hats and mitts and mail them to you each year before Christmas.” She grabbed my

hand, and said, “I did write to your ladies but I can’t really say in a

letter what that little box that comes each year means to us. The things are so nice, and I tell my women – you know a lot of them have had bad experiences with white people – that these are for their kids and their grandkids, and the Toronto ladies knitted them with hearts of love.”

She repeated that phrase, “hearts of love” several times, and introduced me to the women with her. When she explained my connection with the knitted gifts, there were big smiles all round. I asked someone to take my picture with them. I’m sorry I didn’t get their names.

I am guessing that perhaps one reason why our knitted items seem so special is because they are personal. They are good quality, brand new, and they were made for their kids. It’s perhaps inevitable that so much social assistance is large scale, and perhaps faceless. And when those single mothers do put a face on assistance – in their encounters with social workers – it often seems more about the rules and restrictions than about “hearts of love”. But this is dif-ferent.

I’m glad that I had the chance to meet those women. It would have been even better if the knitters had had that opportunity, instead of just the one who gets their handi-work in the mail. But I was more than ever convinced that this is a truly wonderful mission of our church, with a symbolic importance well beyond the usefulness of knitted tuques and mitts.

Marjorie Ross

... To inner city Winnipeg with “hearts of love”

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Left, Anne Donaldson Page looks over the knitted items and above Marjorie Ross with three First Nations women at the National Women’s Gathering. Their children and grandchildren have received hats and mitts from Rosedale knitters.

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Clockwise from left: the banner made by the Homework Club; one of the Bake Sale treats; Easter flowers loaded carefully into the unconventional delivery van; Pa-tricia and Lily during the Christ-mas pageant.

dates & uPdates: ijeoMa ross: ijeoMa@roGers.CoM, 416-778-8876; Marjorie ross: Mj.ross@roGers.CoM, 416-920-3778

Calendar June

May 30 Movie NightJune 5 Bridge and ScrabbleJune 8 Church School Recognition and BBQ

Around RPC

June 11 Pastoral Care Team luncheon.

July Church services will be held at Rosedale United

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