Affirming

Checking in with Rev. Emily and family

October 7, 2019

Hello everyone,

We are all doing well, spending time sleeping, growing, singing songs and working on puzzles. Every day is busy, but I think of Leaside often and hope you are enjoying the early fall – this season when we celebrate creation and are filled with thanksgiving.

Peace and blessings,
Emily

We had a great surprise yesterday during our All Ages Service … Rev. Emily Gordon and her family were in attendance! We had a wonderful catch up at coffee time with Emily and her partner Nikhil along with their newborn son and happy big brother!

Notes from Natalie

October 3, 2019

Children’s Program

What do you think: Who is more important, animals or plants?

We were thinking about that question during the Children’s Program last week. Plants and animals are part of God’s wonderful creation, and their beauty reminds us of God’s love and ongoing care for creation – and God’s care of us as well! As a craft we made snails out of paper plates. Aren’t they beautiful?

Church for the Littlest Ones

Families with children 0-4 years are warmly invited to participate in our Church for the Littlest Ones! This is a new casual program for infants and young kids to explore spirituality with parents and older siblings through age appropriate stories and activities. The topic is “In God’s Hands.” We will be meeting on Saturday, October 5, 9-10 am in the auditorium.

If you have any questions, please contact Natalie Jahn.

Hi everyone,

I hope you are doing well, and your week has been good by now!

I’m warmly inviting you to the All Ages Services at Leaside United Church on Oct 6th and 13th, both at 10:30am.

On Sunday, Oct 6th we will be celebrating Worldwide Communion Sunday with the Rev. James Lepard. There will be no separate Children’s Program as we will be worshiping together, sharing communion and remembering that all over the world Christians will be sharing communion on that day as well.

On Sunday, Oct 13th we will be celebrating Thanksgiving, again with the Rev. James Lepard. This will be an All Ages Service as well with no separate Children’s Program. In this service we will be giving thanks to God for the gifts that have been given to us in a joyful atmosphere.

Both services will be an opportunity for you to worship and explore spirituality together as a family. The services will be shaped and conducted in a way that they are relevant for all ages – for children, teens and adults – even though all parts of the liturgy will be the same as usual. Both services are planned to last for at maximum one hour.

I’m looking forward to seeing you there!

Have a great week, Natalie    

Mountain Sunday – September 22nd 10:30am

September 23, 2019
Photo by: Matt Thomason via Unsplash

This is Mountain Sunday in our Season of Creation series. It is almost impossible to look toward a mountain range on a clear day and not be moved by the beauty and grandeur of that view.

It is this vision of unmatched strength and grandeur that the prophet Isaiah invites us to consider as we imagine God’s holy mountain. The mountain is the New Jerusalem, where the former ways of violence, death, greed, threat and exile are done away with and a new possibility is presented – the possibility of a world where “the wolf and the lamb shall feed together”.

For us today, this suggests God’s capacity to reform, transform and “make new” that which is evil, harmful and destructive.

See you on Sunday!

Warren

Like to read the scripture ahead?
This week our scripture reading will be:
Isaiah 65:17-25

Youth Event – North Toronto Cluster of Churches

September 23, 2019

The North Toronto Cluster of Churches – 10 United Churches in our neighbourhood – will cooperate in youth work for the first time this year.

The youth events will be happening on 4 Friday nights and one weekend between September 2019 and April 2020, each time at a different church of the North Toronto Cluster. The events are supported by the GO-Project, a branch of the United Church of Canada that deals with youth ministry.

The first event is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 20th, 6-8pm at Rosedale United Church (159 Roxborough Dr, Toronto, ON M4W 1X7).

We will have food, play games and get to know each other.

It will be a great opportunity to get to know teens from other churches and to create the basis for fun joined events in the future.

We will be meeting at 5:10pm at Leaside United Church and go by TTC together. We will also go back to Leaside United Church by TTC.

Contact Natalie Jahn if you are interested in being involved.