SUMMER EVENT 2009
KEMPTVILLE CAMPUS, UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH
JULY 24, 25 26, 2009
The members of Parkdale United Church are invited to attend Summer Event 2009, a three day weekend of praise, worship, fellowship and spiritual renewal sponsored by the Montreal & Ottawa Conference and co-ordinated by the UCW network. The theme this year is Fools for God and will be led by Anne Martin of the United Church of Canada. The music leader is Joan McEwan of Seaway Valley Presbytery. A variety of workshops will be offered. Consider coming for the whole weekend or for a day. All are welcome. Last year there were three delegates from Parkdale and everyone enjoyed the fellowship of meeting people from across the Montreal & Ottawa Conference.
For more information, contact Beth Gutsell or Jennifer Reid in the Church Office (613-728-8656). The registration forms are available from the Church Office or from Beth Gutsell and the deadline is July6, 2009.
From Day Camps to
Decisions
Recently, I came across a magazine article about the vast array of children’s summer camps. I could not believe the selection ― something for every interest. My mind filled immediately with memories of our sons’ summers at the nearby Fisher Park Day Camp.
I smiled as I recalled one memorable day when I picked up our youngest son. He was all of five years old at the time. When I arrived, I saw him gently caressing a girl’s hair. As we walked home, he announced to me that the little girl was his girlfriend and that they planned to be married and move to Toronto. I asked whether he thought he was a bit young to have a girlfriend. “Mom, you’re never too young for a girlfriend,” he replied emphatically.
Another summer, he came home from camp wearing a colourful bracelet that read “WWJD” (What would Jesus do?). I remember thinking to myself how much simpler and better life would be if we all asked ourselves that question more often.
Two children witness some friends stealing candy from a store. WWJD? Ayoung couple negotiates the boundaries of their relationship. WWJD? Aparent struggles with a ‘tough love’ decision. WWJD? An executive must decide whether to cut employees. WWJD? A terminally ill person debates whether to reconcile with an estranged sibling. WWJD?
In the example above, the children decide not to steal because they remember learning at Sunday school that “Thou shalt not steal” is one the Ten Commandments. It is a simple but important faith-based decision.
Having attended a summer Bible camp as a preteen, I too remember making significant faith-based decisions about my life at the age of 10 and I stand firm by those decisions today. I am not, however, as proud of all my decisions. The poorest decisions that I ever made were at a time when I did not involve God very much in my life. I suppose that is the difference between God-involved decisions and self-involved decisions.
It is easy for our pride to get in the way of good decisions. We feel that we can handle the decisions and that we can take care of ourselves. We rationalize our decisions, resisting God’s truth and His plan for our life.
If jealousy, anger or revenge enters our decision-making process, we do not make wise, godly decisions. Fear also distorts our ability to make wise, courageous decisions. Under those circumstances, we need the implications of our decisions pointed out to us because our choices today will affect our choices and circumstances of the future.
Sometimes we regret the choices that we made. It is good to reflect soberly on our rebellious, destructive decisions and to repent wholeheartedly. Have our decisions hurt loved ones? Have we neglected what is best for our families and the organization where we work? As global citizens, have we taken into consideration the needs of the wider community and the world beyond?
Of course, that was then and this is now. We must not let our past impede our future. The good news is that each day brings God’s new mercies and a chance to start afresh. That being said, one of the best decisions that I made in recent years was to become involved in Parkdale’s ministries. That decision made a huge difference in my journey of faith.
It has been said that wise stewards open their minds to affirming, live-giving choices that support truth and promote emotional/spiritual wholeness. They open their hearts to biblically-based decisions that follow the ways of Jesus and the principles of the Word of God.
Decisions…decisions…decisions…what would Jesus do?
Respectfully submitted,
Barbara Hennessy, Chair
Stewardship Group
Ministry Celebration
On Sunday June 14 the whole congregation will have an opportunity to celebrate our ministry in Faith Formation. Not only is it the chance to acknowledge the loving care our teachers and leaders have provided over the year, it is also our annual Sunday School picnic.
Regular classes have been held at Parkdale since September for the preschoolers (ages 3-5), primaries (grades 1-3), juniors (grades 4-6) and youth (grades 7-12). The children have also had the opportunity to participate in the Christmas Pageant, intergenerational services and multi-age events. The youth shone this year with their bi-weekly Second Blessing Coffee Shop.
There are many who deserve our praise for their efforts. In particular, a big thank you to Caroline Cox who managed to complete her university degree while working with the Parkdale youth and for Jenni Troup who held our programs together by expertly managing all the behind the scenes details as well as teaching many weeks.
Huge thanks to our other fun and faithful leaders as well: Judy Hamley, Paul Crabtree, Daunett Tucker, Nicole Greaves, Tom Grozinger, Emily Menzies, Jocelyn Barden-Underhill, Ellen Andrews, Kathryn Meerburg, Jennifer Reid, Crystal Syrnyk and Cathy Lees. The pageant team was organized by Alison Trant, Wendy Bailey and Liz Smith. Please join us for a BBQ lunch after church on June 14 to celebrate with our teachers and learners of all ages. Games will follow at Fisher Park and everyone is very welcome to join us.
The picnic does not mean the end of children’s programming. We are pleased to be able to offer our ever popular summer video program from June 21 until September (A Veggie Tales Summer!). Volunteers are still needed to set-up and supervise (many of our regular teachers look forward to participating in worship over the summer months).
We are also thrilled that the children will be able to continue to worship, learn and play together as Parkdale hosts Camp Awesome again this summer. Camp Awesome is open to children from junior kindergarten to grade 6 and will run from July 27-31. Children are most welcome to invite a friend or two along and financial support is available to any interested campers. Before and after camp care is also available to help working families.
We take this opportunity to thank the children for their energy and wonder, the leaders for their faithful services and the congregation for its prayerful support. Please consider letting “your little light shine” with the children and youth soon.
Ellen Andrews
Christian Enrichment Committee
Anniversary
I remember, away back in 1950, attending the then new Fisher Park High School (on Holland Avenue), which had opened one year earlier. As a result, a number of my friends lived in this area, and many attended Parkdale United Church.
I remember the young people’s union, or YPU, meeting here every Monday evening with 60 or 70 older teens and young 20s in attendance. This is how I became involved with Parkdale. I remember meeting a beautiful young lady at a YPU convention at Westboro United Church. Muriel Crawford later became my wife, and today our closest friends – some still at Parkdale, but most having moved on to other places – are former YPU’ers, and we continue to share many of life’s experiences with these friends.
I remember attending marriage preparation courses here, the baptisms of our three children in this sanctuary, and their progress through Sunday School. So, I have a lot to thank Parkdale for.
I remember Khan Chao and his family arriving from Cambodia via Vietnam. Our congregation’s investment of love, time and resources in their lives still pays us big dividends more than 25 years later.
I remember when Parkdale purchased the former Forward House next door and then sold it to the Abbeyfield Houses Society which continues to offer accommodation to seniors at modest rates. A number of Parkdale members served on the Board of Abbeyfield for many years.
I remember the 15th Ottawa Scout troop – one of the largest in the city – and the Parkdale bus which provided transportation to morning worship.
I remember Parkdale becoming a community centre providing facilities for Head Start, Alcoholics Anonymous, and more recently the ‘In from the Cold’ program. There are many, many service organizations and social groups which would have no place to meet if Parkdale wasn’t here.
I remember the leadership of our Senior Ministers, Norman Coll, Gordon Smyth, Jim Lawson, Gervis Black, Ruggles Constant, Andrew Stirling and now Anthony Bailey. All were ably assisted over many years by dedicated professionals like Barbara Faught.
I remember Parkdale’s impact on the residents of this city. If you are like me, you meet people all the time who personally or through their families have been touched over the years by this church – through the obvious things like baptisms, weddings, funerals and church services, but also the not so obvious but equally important personal counselling and individual support provided by a professional staff motivated by their faith and strong Christian principles.
I also remember when three teenagers from this congregation let loose a number of live chickens into a corridor at the Civic Hospital – they were arrested and duly appeared in court, but lucky for them their lawyer, the crown attorney and the judge were all members of Parkdale United Church.
Looking around today I realize that the Parkdale building has changed very, very little in half a century. The Sanctuary, the Memorial Hall and the Tape Hall look much as they did 50 years ago and the facade of the church is unchanged as well. What has changed, however, is us. New faces in the pews to be sure, but our attitudes, concerns lifestyles and priorities are much different. I think I am much more open to change and new ideas than I was some years ago – because of my association with this church.
While our anniversary is a time to reflect on our history, it should also be a time to look ahead. Henry Ford said “History is more or less bunk. It’s tradition. We don’t want tradition; we want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinkers damn is the history we make today”
What a wonderful cosmopolitan congregation we have here now, today. It is a reflection of the world in which we actually live and a place where we can be Christian witnesses in a pluralistic and constantly changing society, so today is a good day for Parkdale United Church to continue making history.
Ted Bellman