THE KINGSWAY NEWSLETTER Giving voice to the rich diversity of God’s family and reaching out to the community beyond

Volume 9, Number 2 ~ June 2015

THE WONDERFUL, UNLIMITED GOODNESS OF GOD By Julie McCoy

I waited and prayed that first year, trying to hear from God about what I should do. On a sunny morning in May

2007, Wayne Dickau took me for a coffee and asked me if I wanted to work part-time at the church. As he

described a job intentionally listening and looking for ways to come alongside the community at Kingsway - a job

that included paying attention and finding ways to connect and care - I could feel the gift God was giving me.

It was a job that wouldn’t feel like a job, but instead would offer me the wonderful, unlimited goodness of serving

amidst so many faithful followers of Jesus.

Through these past years, I have felt the extreme blessing of spending my days alongside the body at Kingsway. I

have often said that my part-time job at Kingsway gave me the full-time luxury of being available. I have loved

sharing the pursuit of God’s way in the ordinary times. Times of fellowship and fun have deepened relationships. I

have always understood the gift you are giving me when you share your deep desires, dreams, or concerns.

There has been much joy! This includes babies, baptisms and annual ferris wheel rides with Marsha. I have had the

joy of singing with Edith as she faithfully visited her friend Vi Flawn, who while suffering from Alzheimers still knew the

words to hymns and carols. I treasure the memory of sitting by Jim Walker’s bedside, as he shared his love story with

Joan, “the Clarke girl.” I loved spilling out on our side lawn to give away free ice cream every year at The Taste of

the Kingsway.

The inclusion in the last weeks and days of your loved ones was the most meaningful to me. I am so grateful to the

families and friends who let me into those holy times, journeying with you as the magnitude of love is completely

tangled in the deep grief of loss.

“A blessing is not about sneezing. To bless in a biblical sense means to ask

for or to impart supernatural favor. When we ask for God’s blessing we are

not asking for more of what we could get ourselves. We are crying out for

the wonderful, unlimited goodness that only God has the power to know

about or give us. This kind of richness is what the writer was referring to in

Proverbs: The Lord’s blessing is our greatest wealth; all our work adds

nothing to it.” (Bruce H. Wilkinson The Prayer of Jabez)

In 2006, my family immigrated to Canada. We came looking for

adventure and new experiences. We felt certain God was laying a path

before us as a family. I was a registered nurse and as we prepared for the

move, I discovered the process to get my license in Ontario would not be

as easy or quick as I had hoped. Once we arrived, we realized with Tim’s

busy schedule that included much travelling, I needed to be home with

our kids – then 11, 12 and 13. Pursuing my nursing career would not work at

this time in our lives.

. . . CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

Thomas Burnell and Jon Matthews are so excited to have begun to develop their roles together as Directors of Youth and Young Adult Ministries. Through a partnership grant with CBOQ, our church is able to have two staff members in this position, and it enables Camp Kwasind to have their camp leadership expertise on site this summer. They write: We are so thankful for the investment and support Kingsway's elders and members have made in pouring into youth and young adults this way. With two of us, we're able to give the youth the time and attention they need in their formative and transitional years.

We want to expand how the whole church mentors the youth and young adults, and want to have adults of all ages praying for what's going on in their lives and letting them know they're loved and cared for. We're supported by such a great volunteer youth leadership team and we can't wait to continue to grow and as we keep looking to reach out to our community. Carolyn (CJ) Carkner and Katie Rumney are our volunteers for the middle school group, while Meghan Matthews and Kristina Gummatova assist with the high school group, BASIC. Through partnering with other churches and Christian organizations we have already been able to be in the local schools, such as Etobicoke C.I, right where students spend most of their time. In the fall the plan is to take it further and be a support to the young adults who flock to Toronto for university and college every year and to make sure we're supporting Kingsway's young adults while they're away at university too. This summer is exciting! Both of us will be working at the CBOQ’s Camp Kwasind starting later this month. Jon is working as Program Director, while Thomas will be Leaders-in-Training Director. (In addition, both Meghan and Carolyn will be working there too, Meghan as Head of Waterfront and Carolyn as LIT Assistant Director.) There we will be building up young leaders from across Ontario and still will be present with the youth and children from Kingsway attending camp this summer. Thanks again for investing in the future of the Kingdom and the Kingsway family!

Ken Crofoot, outgoing Worship Ministry Team Leader writes: “In early May Kingsway regretfully had to say goodbye to Melodie Zylla as our Worship Director. Melodie faithfully supervised and led our worship for over three years, commuting from Ancaster several times each week. She is blessed to have many talents - from her cheerful smiling personality, to her wonderful vocal and instrumental skills - and Kingsway was the beneficiary of all these talents. More than that, her dedication and obvious love of the Lord was an inspiration to us all. After working so hard for us, Melodie finally needed a rest and a chance to reconnect in her home church community. We are thankful to God for her service and will miss her. We do hope to talk her into coming back for special occasions! “ MJ Clarry, who worked on staff with Melodie, adds, “One of the things that I appreciated about Mel was her joy and steadfast spirit. She was calming on a bad day and no matter what her circumstances, she always brought our Sunday worship back to God and his greatness, mercy, and kindness.”

FROM OUR DIRECTORS OF YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULT MINISTRIES

FAREWELL MELODIE, & MAY GOD RICHLY BLESS YOU

JULIE McCOY—CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 . . .

“Prayer is the cultivation of a grace-filled relationship

with God. We begin experiencing ourselves and the

world not as a problem to be solved, but as a reality in

which God is acting.” (Eugene Peterson)

My role as the Prayer Partner coordinator brought me

great joy. As people turned their concerns and situations

over to be shared with the body for prayer, God knit us

together. There were often joys of answered prayers –

like Will Carkner’s one kidney being strong and working

like a champ! No matter what the shared prayer was,

there was an understanding that the whole body was

crying out to God, and this kept us desiring more and

more for Him to be in and with us, no matter our

circumstances.

As early as last fall, I began to think it was time for me to

move on. It became a continual prayer for me, asking

God how to know when to leave. As the immigration

officer told me that my work visa was not renewable

when I crossed the border from the U.S. into Canada in

April, I had to laugh. God does answer our prayers and I

have a grateful heart for such obvious clarity.

“Faith is not the power to get what we want, but the spirit

to accept what God gives to us.”(Gary L. Thomas, Sacred

Parenting)

I am full of gratefulness for the supernatural way God

connected me with you at Kingsway. It was a blessing to

serve on staff at Kingsway.

MJ - I will miss sharing an office and ministry with you. You

have taught me what obedience to God looks like, and I

pray for God to bless you with abundance as you

minister so faithfully to the children and families at

Kingsway. And to Paul Gregory: I want to give a special

thank you. Paul was the Pastoral Care Team leader

when I began to work here, and his life is an example of

caregiving. I am one of the many that he has cared for

with his wise counsel and big heart for God.

KIDS’ CORNER

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Did you know that you can read misspelled words, usually without any problem. In fact, if the first and last letters of words are the same, you can usually read the words, even if the rest of the letters are all scrambled up. For example, you can porbalby uderntsnad waht I'm syiang in tihs snetnece, eevn tohguh the wrods are srcmabled. The same is true of substituting numbers for letters. In this poem, I substituted numbers for the letters that they look similar to. I replaced S's with 5's, E's with 3's, and so on. Can you figure out what the poem is saying? It might be a little tricky, but once you get used to reading this way, it gets a little easier. Try it and see. You might also try writing your own poems or messages in this secret code. Then you can write letters that only you and your friends will understand.

Copyright © 2015 Kenn Nesbitt. All Rights Reserved.

A celebration of Julie and her time on staff is

being planned for September. Watch the bulletin

and your e-mail inbox for more information.

HAVE YOU HEARD? Compiled by Ramona Matthews

The Brew Crew - Gord and his wife Laura, and their children Alison and Nathaniel, have been worshipping at our church since last fall. You’ve seen Gord on guitar helping to lead worship. You might know that Gord and Nathaniel went on a mission trip to Bolivia in March, Gord in his role as Communications manager for Canadian Baptist Ministries (CBM). Nathaniel, a Gr. 8 student, says a memorable part of the trip was coming across a traditional medicine market—ask him for details. Read an interesting article by Gord in the current issue of CBM’s Mosaic magazine. Not a subscriber? You can start receiving it at no cost at http://www.cbmin.org/resources/publications/mosaic/ or call 905-821-3533.

We’d love to include your news in the next edition of the newsletter, to be produced in the fall of 2015.

Manjulika Robertson delivered some of the comfort dolls made by seniors in our congregation to students at a Gr. 1 to 3 school in the Dominican Republic when she visited there over the March break.

Can you reference the Bible story that Tushar Robertson has portrayed here?

John and Shannon Woolfrey are the proud grand-parents of not one but two new grandchildren in the past several months! Mekena Rose Lahey was born on September15, 2014 to Tara and Jonathan; big brothers, Dominic, Alexander and Daniel were all thrilled. Proud first-time parents are Robert and Tanya Woolfrey, with Johannes Paul Woolfrey having been born March 6, 2015. Everyone is doing well and great aunt Elizabeth Angus can be found beaming when asked about these new additions. The Saigeon-Woolfrey family is growing quickly and expecting another new arrival soon when Sean and Heather Saigeon welcome their first child.

On April 18, Azaiah was born to Chantelle and Avide Graham. Azaiah is a baby brother to Alaysia and Camille. Azaiah seems to have felt very comfortable at church when he was at the service on June 7th!

Elijah Gabe Karl Sirait was born to Jenni-Mai and Ontang Sirait on April 11th. We hear that Naek is enjoying his big brother status!

Jonathan and Meghan Matthews are very appreciative of the support and love shown towards them by their KBC family leading up to their wedding on May 23rd at Camp Muskoka. The ceremony was officiated by Tim McCoy, and the day was sunny and warm with enough of a breeze to keep away the bugs — perfect for their outdoor venue. Did you know that the selection of Meghan’s wedding dress will be featured on the W network show Say Yes to the Dress Canada on July 8th at 10:00 p.m.?

Kingsway loves to celebrate the new babies in our midst. We were delighted Manjula & Saira Welegedera presented their baby daughter Layla, on January 18, at our church and in so doing dedicated themselves to raising Layla in the faith. We as a congregation stood with them indicating our support and help to raise this precious little girl. The Welegedera family is moving into the area when the construction of their new home is complete. Layla is the granddaughter of Lakshman(Lucky) and Kamini Welegedera.

“Well done, thou good and faithful servant . . . “ (Matthew 25:21)

Remembering Patricia Gould—After a short illness, Patricia Gould died on December 2, 2014. Patricia and her husband, Murray, became members of our church a few years ago, joining their daughter, Lisa, in worship here. A devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, and close to her extended family, she was celebrated at her memorial service as a great woman of God, and someone who loved music.

Remembering Barbara Newton—Long-time KBC member Barb Newton died on January 24, 2015 after suffering a stroke several days prior. She sang in the church choir for many years, and was known for her gentle enthusiasm. Barb truly was a faithful member of our congregation, rarely missing an service or event, even though she had to depend in her later years on Wheel-Trans for her transportation.

From the outset of the search process, the Pastoral Search Team has engaged in a group discernment process. Every meeting opens with a time of reflective prayer and we move seamlessly into the agenda for the evening as we did for the town hall meeting earlier in the spring. At that meeting, as there has been in all our meetings, there was a strong sense of God’s presence evidenced by the questions being asked and in the spirit they were asked. The team appreciates the feed-back we received and the affirmation of what we presented. The town hall meeting was everything the team was hoping it would be.

I am blessed to be the chairperson of this wonderful team of individuals who have an openness and willingness to share in this process of discerning God’s leading. No one is driving his/her own agenda as often happens. The goal for each of us on the team is the same – to present to the congregation a pastor with the leadership characteristics and personal attributes to help the church realize its desires for the future as we have discerned them.

We have posted the position on Baptist Convention websites in both Canada and the US and will soon be reviewing resumes to compile a short list of candidates. As we have in the past, we will continue to update the congregation on our progress regularly.

PASSAGES

MEET ONE OF THE NEW ELDERS—SUE ELLFELDT

Have you met Sue Ellfeldt? Sue moved to Canada from California in 2002 and has attended Kingsway since

2010. She truly enjoys the open welcome at Kingsway, and the level of spirituality she finds here. She has more

recently begun a process of slow retirement, and that has opened some time for more participation at

Kingsway. She lives in community with two other Christian women in Etobicoke, loves to ride her horse on the

weekends, and is an avid reader of fantasy, science fiction and a variety of choices from best-seller lists. She

has 4 adult children, 7 grandchildren and one great grandchild and enjoys spending time with them as much

as possible. One daughter lives here in Toronto, a son and a daughter and their families live in Los Angeles,

and another son and his family are in Las Vegas.

Sue is an Assistant Professor of Counselling at Tyndale Seminary in Toronto and has taught in the counselling

program at Tyndale since 2003. She has a MSci in Psychology and a Doctor of Ministry in Marriage and Family.

In addition to teaching, she is a marriage and family therapist with over 30 years of counselling experience

working in Christian counselling centres and private practice. An experienced supervisor, workshop leader

and seminar instructor, Sue has worked with a number of churches and Christian organizations over the years

providing staff training and development. In addition to her work at Tyndale, she works part-time with

Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship as a staff development specialist.

REFLECTIONS ON THE PASTORAL SEARCH By Doug Schmidt

Q: We had 2 pianists, 2 tappers, 1 violinist and a handmade violin, 2 musical theatre numbers, 4 singers (one mandolin accompaniment), 2 circus acts and one poetry reading. Can you comment on the variety and caliber of talent this year? A: I really enjoy watching others share what brings them joy, and to which they have given their focus and energy and time to. This evening is not one of measuring calibre but of expressing self and interest, and taking the time to appreciate the participants. The variety was incredible. Each person gave their best and that is what makes it such an enjoyable event. Certainly I cannot hula hoop, or hand walk, or sing like that, or craft a violin from scratch. But I was inspired to continue to do my best in the things in which I have talent. And to not be afraid to try to do something new. It was an excellent evening. Loved it all!

Q: You and your daughter Nia performed in 4 numbers. It was certainly a treat for KBC to see you and Nia perform so well! How did you feel being involved in such a revered annual event? A: It was lots of fun to take part! [My sister] Helen and I have been dancing together since we were kids with Helen planning dance recitals in the basement. It is still just all play. I was the proud mum watching Nia, who choreographed and rehearsed her acrobatic number all by herself. I was thrilled to see her take the initiative, and be disciplined to prepare herself, and create a costume, and then get on stage!

Q: What are some other areas of the church that you and your family have been involved in since you came back to live? A: I would love to be more involved. There are things that are no longer part of the worship here at Kingsway that I miss. Perhaps we will see them resurface before we return to Alberta. The kids are really enjoying Sunday school, and I am helping to teach the gr. 1-2 class. So much fun, and what an awesome pleasure to share Christ and the written word, and prayer with such terrific children! We loved family big-game night, and the princess tea too. Q: How have your children fared living in Toronto this past year? Do you have plans for the summer? A: The prime reason to move here for a year was to have as much time as possible with my parents - to bring the grand- children to the grandparents. It is so wonderful being just a few blocks away. God really made a way for us to get such excellent rental housing so near. So many prayers answered. And so many people who helped us furnish the house too. Thanks Kingsway! Oh, and I have so enjoyed reconnecting with old friends -- some who I haven't seen in 20 years. Our plans for the summer include Kwasind for Nia, Kids Camp for Coen and Gabriel, and helping to host a family reunion end of July. To spend as much time outdoors exploring southern Ontario and all the variety of cultural events that make the most colourful and flavourful quilt that is Toronto and GTA.

Q: Since you and your family won’t be here next year, what would you miss the most? A: I will miss the family activities that Kingsway hosts - those opportunities to connect and build new relationships. There are so many people to know and love here! Take a look around one Sunday and see each person's face. They are a story waiting to be heard and shared. We will miss the resource centre. And, I will miss the land. I love the rolling topography of southern Ontario. I will miss cold clear lakes, the Bruce Trail, and conservation areas, apple orchard and High Park.. I will NOT miss milk in a bag.

TALENT SHOW: INTERVIEW WITH SUZANNE CHERDARCHUK By Karen Rankine

TALENT SHOW PARTICIPANTS

Thanks to Steve Rankine for capturing the many performers and variety of talent offered at

this year’s pot luck supper and talent show!

THE KINGSWAY NEWSLETTER

Your news is welcome any time at all!

Contact one of the committee members,

or send an e-mail to the church office.

Watch for our next deadline in the bulletin.

Committee:

Bernard Simon

Karen Rankine

Ramona Matthews,

interim editor / layout

Kingsway Baptist Church

41 Birchview Boulevard

Toronto, ON M8X 1H7

416-231-2381

www.kingswaybaptist.ca office@kingswaybaptist.ca

We’re on Facebook, too!

On February 22nd, seven gracious hosts welcomed guests with culinary expertise into their homes. Here are some reports.

Doug Schmidt writes: Ruth and I had a very enjoyable evening getting to know people we didn’t know within the church. Helena Syptak hosted and Rosemary Borja was also a guest. A delicious meal was served and we had lots of wonderful conversation. It was wonderful to participate in this event.

Ruth and David Gregory had a very rich evening talking about their past history in work and play with Fred and Shirley Allin and Anne Smith. Conversation went from Denmark to Germany to Montreal as well as some discussion of past church experiences. We relaxed and enjoyed each other’s company sitting around the table together sharing a meal that was delicious -- from the meat and potatoes, a very tasty salad and a hazelnut cake made by Fred that was quite unique.

Sumitra and Brian Robertson were expecting 5 guests, but due to various circumstances, 2 guests ended up attending, Barb Rovetti and Francesca Galati. Sumitra was ‘nervous’ serving her lasagna to 2 Italian ladies but the reviews were great all around! Barb brought asparagus crepes, Sumitra also made a salad and Francesca brought a lemon meringue pie. It sounds like a fun time was had by all!

At Pat and Bernard Simon’s home, we started with Helen Deterville’s wonderful Mexican layered dip and our hosts then provided a delectable pork tenderloin with apple sauce, baked cauliflower/cheese and mini purple potatoes. Michele Burtoo and her son provided some tasty green beans and I provided a tossed green salad. Marsha Watson brought a yummy lemon loaf for dessert and Joan Walker made a wonderful apple crisp. We had a great time with delicious food, good conversation and fellowship.

Linda Deterville writes: Dick and June Roberts hosted Sylvin and me as well as Caleb Upton. Dinner was delicious, and the conversation never lagged. Of course, among other things, it touched on travel that included Spain and Scotland. My contribution to the meal was a spinach salad with goat cheese and beets, an inspired choice apparently since June said that spinach and beets were two of Dick’s favourites.

GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER—25 HUNGRY CHEFS By Karen Rankine