Church School & Nursery Update for Summer 2022
Please note that Church School is now on break until September. Activity bags will be available in the Narthex for children attending worship services. Elizabeth Macabasco will be available for those parents who require the nursery during Sunday worship. The nursery is located in Room 207.
For Parents or Caregivers:
If you have any comments or questions about these in person programs or other programs for children and youth, please contact Shara Benavidez, the Faith Formation Coordinator for Children and Youth at churchschool@standrewstoronto.org
Volunteering Opportunities (18 up) – Updates for Fall 2022 Coming Soon
We are looking for volunteers interested in becoming part of our team for 2021-22 (Sept-June), here some of our positions:
- Nursery Assistants: Assistant to Nursery coordinator on Sunday mornings for ages 0 to 3
- Church School Leaders:Leading Children’s gatherings via zoom and/or support weekly lessons for ages 4 to 12
- Youth Leaders:Leading youth group (ages 11 to 17) via zoom/virtual gatherings or in-person, small group activities and/or events
- Intergenerational Annual Event Volunteer-Advent&Christmas Season- members interested in helping with the preparations for the Christmas Pageant and/or during the Christmas Play (November-December 2021).
For all volunteers interested in working with children and youth ministries, we require a minimum of one time a month commitment and you must successfully pass the application process to work with vulnerable populations. Volunteers interested in the annual event must submit an application to work with vulnerable populations. Please contact Judy Neal at jneal@standrewstoronto.org or Rev. Bob Faris at b.faris@standrewstoronto.org
Parents Resources
The Synod of Central, Northeastern Ontario and Bermuda is committed to supporting and resourcing congregations and presbyteries so that all of our churches might thrive. Tori Smit serves as the Regional Minister for Faith Formation. Visit Tori’s blog for the latest resources and ideas www.cnob.org
Sunday Forums – We hope to resume in Fall 2022 – Please check back here for updates as they become available.
Sunday Forums are held at noon following worship and continue throughout the year. We offer speakers who bring us information, insight and their expertise on a variety of topics that, we hope, you will find both interesting and useful.
2020 Forums offered the following:
Mental Health in the Time of COVID
Thank you to all who joined us for an on-line Sunday Forum on November 29 at 11:30am with Kate McGee, the Executive Director and Chaplain of Boarding Homes Ministry. In these extraordinary times, we all face stresses and challenges which we have not had to confront before. Kate spoke about taking care of our own mental health and recognizing challenges that others face as well.
If you did not have the chance to join us on the 29th you may watch Kate’s forum at: https://youtu.be/
Theology and Ecology
Thank you to all who joined us for an on-line Sunday Forum on October 25,2020 at 11:30 when Hannah Scanlon spoke about the intersection of “Theology and Ecology” – the focus of her doctoral research at the Toronto School of Theology.
You can find out more about Hannah by listening to her “Faces of Faith” interview on the YouTube recording of the service for October 4. https://youtu.be/8zafFyFqOcs
2019 Forums offered the following:
- The Rev. Dr. Kristine O’Brien joined us on our 189th anniversary Sunday and brought us up to date on what is happening at Crieff Hills Retreat Centre.
- The Presbyterian World Service and Development (PWS&D) was represented by both Susan Viegas and Kristen Winters, who spoke about the life-enhancing work of PWS&D and specifically about their recent Monitoring and Evaluation mission to Ghana.
2018 Forums covered such topics as:
- “Evolution in the Works” whereby Toshio Ushiroguchi-Pigott presented a tour of the Don Valley Brick Works as an eco-tourist destination
- A presentation by the members of the group who participated in the congregational exchange visit to Trinidad and the celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the Presbyterian Church of Trinidad and Tobago.
- Kate McGee, Executive Director and Chaplain of Boarding Homes Ministry, spoke about the legacy of the late Rev. Rodger Hunter and all the new things happening under her leadership.
- Maria Hadzis, the National Volunteer Coordinator of Prison Fellowship Canada (PFC) spoke about PFC’s vision and mission in light of Jesus’ words in Matthew 25. She also discussed the church’s role in restorative justice and challenged us to examine how we are fulfilling Jesus’ mandate to love “the least of these”.
- Vivian Kwok from the “Our Doors are Open” project at the Ontario College of Art and Design University spoke about what it means to be part of a sacred space that is accessible to all.
Sunday Bible Study
Please join us on Sunday mornings at 9 am, either by videoconference or in person, for a study on the Psalms using the resource book entitled Discovering the Psalms: Passion, Promise & Praise. Study books are available. If the cost is a problem, we can cover this. Please contact Rev. Faris at b.faris@standrewstoronto.org for more information or to register.
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2021 St. Andrew’s Church Study Award
Congratulations to our latest two recipients, Frances Booth and Claire Lemiski.
Frances may not be well known to many of you but she has been instrumental in St. Andrew’s being able to post Online Worship videos each week, along with her work on many of the other online offerings that have been available during the pandemic. Appropriately, she is currently working on her BA in media studies at Ryerson University.
Claire, along with her full-time job as an airline pilot, volunteers with the Gen/X group and The Choristers here at St. Andrew’s, and is also active in leading Bible study, Claire is doing a Masters of Theology part-time at Knox College.
Congratulations to both of these very busy women.
