BUY BREAD WITHOUT MONEY

I believe that churches everywhere can make a serious impact on poverty in their community. All you need is Jesus, some fish and bread and a table.

Consider this article from the Windsor Star. I would love to chat with you about how your church can start to change the face of poverty in your city.

Shining a light on Windsor homelessness

TEDIOUS BOREDOM & SHEER TERROR

I spoke with a man whose job was to drive locomotive through Northern Ontario. When asked what his job was like he said, “It is days of tedious boredom combined with moments of sheer terror.”  

So why had he devoted his adult life to the rails? 

Why do truckers endure the long haul and why do daycare workers put up with demanding parents and low pay?

Some work because it is a means to an end. They endure their job in order to pay the bills and put their kids through college. Still, others are engaged in their work (paid and unpaid) because they are compelled to. They have an inner sense of being in the right place. They see higher value than the task at hand.

Pastors, chaplains and community builders often have that inner sense. We name it ‘the call of God’. It may involve a ‘job’ that we do to pay the bills, but something deeper calls us to live each moment purposefully.

The call of God is a bit like the call of the sea. It may not be very specific. It may not be a call to this ocean or that ocean, or to this particular port or that one; it is more like a restless, yearning, which can only be satisfied by going to sea.[i]

A look at the men and women God called in Scripture reveals seasons of restless yearning and times of faith to take great risk. You find yourself somewhere in that continuum. Can you look at your current community and say that you are there by God’s choosing? It might be good to know that.

The qualifier that separates picking a career from responding to God’s Call is the sense that you must do this. It is your love response to the God who beckoned you to Himself.

‘It is God Who saved us and called us with a holy calling. Not according to our works, but to further His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before the world began’ (2 Timothy 1:9).

When we struggle with contentment, challenge and uncertainty in our place of service we need to recall the First Call. The calling to be a disciple of Jesus is the highest calling that sustains you when your position becomes redundant, someone else is elected or you are unemployed.

God chooses to further His own purpose and grace through your life, in season and out.

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[i] A sermon preached by John Hull on February 4^th 2007 in the Chapel of the Queen’s Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education, Birmingham, to mark the end of a residential course on the Mission of the Church in Britain. www.johnmhull.biz/SermonTheCallOfGod.doc

DIALOGUE WITH YOUR MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT

The Ontario Election has passed, but not the issues that we need to dialogue with politicians about. Here's a good video that reminds us to keep our most vulnerable citizens on the radar.



Poverty Free Ontario from MetaMedia on Vimeo.

Ontario Election 2011- Education on Poverty Issues

Ask your politicians how their party will address key poverty issues.

Ontario Voters - Think On These Things

As the Ontario elections draw close, it is important for people of faith to vote for those who can address poverty issues.

Check out the website at www.faithtoendpoverty.ca

Also, to hear what various politicians have to say on related matters, check this link:

http://povertyfreeontario.blogspot.com/2011/09/ontario-political-party-leaders-in.html

FORGOTTEN HARVEST

New Song Church is a depot for Forgotten Harvest. It is a food rescue charity that delivers fresh produce weekly for distribution to the community. This week was several hundred pounds of tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. We invite you to come on Thursday afternoons from 3-5 p.m. and days following until Sunday 1 p.m.

Comments from recipients of fresh produce:

"Wow! Fresh tomatoes... I can't remember the last time I had any. I just cannot afford them."

"I took enough to share and distributed to 14 households. Thanks for letting me help others."

"I went home and made stuffed peppers for my family's supper. I had enough peppers that I was able to freeze the rest."

I personally have seen people eating peppers and cucumbers raw the way we eat apples. Thank you to the farmers and Forgotten Harvest for reducing poverty and increasing nutrition.

ISARC Faith to End Poverty - Video 1: Employment

How will residents of Ontario vote this fall? Participate with faith communities in a sign blitz to let politicians know that faith responds to poverty.

More at www.faithtoendpoverty.ca

HELP ME PROMOTE MY CHRISTMAS ALBUM

I have a 15 year musical relationship with 2fish, a band that features the music of Kevin Saunders and myself. We are in the final mix stage and getting ready to release our Christmas CD this fall. It is entitled 'Mystic Ramblers'. We'll be launching a new website in tandem with the album release.

This project involved several quiet miracles and provisions for the journey.

Danny Brooks is a Canadian phenom who came with guest vocals on 2 tracks. See www.dannybrooksmusic.com

Dan Cutrona provided keyboards and creative support. Dan began touring with and performing/recording with artists such as Joe Cocker, The Bee Gee’s, Billy Preston, Donna Summer, Al Green, Deniece Williams, Dion, Petula Clark, Cliff Richard and others. Dan also focused his work in the Contemporary Christian music field, working with artists such as The Archers, Amy Grant, Sandi Patti, Bryan Duncan, Larry Norman, Randy Stonehill, Phil Keaggy, Andrae Crouch, Kelly Willard, Keith Green, and Shelia Walsh. In the mid-‘90’s Dan, through his record label, worked within the worship community, and was blessed to do recordings and play live with Bob Fitts, Kevin Prosch, David Ruis, Delirious, Brian Doerksen, Don Potter, and Graham Kendrick.

If you're like me, I have a limited appetite for Christmas music. It's nice to listen to for a couple weeks and then it sits idle until next year. When we decided to do a Christmas CD, we set the bar high.

First, it needed to avoid the tin pan alley sound and feature songs of Christmas that do not usually get covered frequently (or at least not interpreted our way). We settled on We Three Kings, Go Tell It On The Mountain, Do You Hear What I Hear, Good King Wenceslas and Joy To The World.

Secondly, we wrote Christmas songs that contain the themes but could be played year round. I think you'll agree when you hear them.

Third, we wanted a true variety album. We wanted to tip the hat to musical styles that have influenced us without sounding like karaoke. There is a Baskins-Robbins display that dips into blue-eyed soul, rock, blues, gospel, bluegrass, reggae and middle-Eastern influences.

This one is hitting Canadian Christian bookstores this fall. Watch for it in the catalogue and in-store play.

If you write a blog, do music reviews, promote concerts or are looking for Canadian Content for radio and satellite, please contact me at revkevinrogers@hotmail.com . I would love to send you a promotional copy and talk about the project.

THE STRONG LEADERSHIP TEMPTATION

It seems that we Evangelicals are enamoured with principles of leadership. We place high value on strong, natural leaders with Type A personalities.

But is this God's intention?

Read John H. Armstrong's article here:

http://johnharmstrong.typepad.com/john_h_armstrong_/2011/08/effective-leadership-looks-very-little-like-what-we-often-think.html

FAITH TO END POVERTY

I was recently commissioned by PAOC to be an Ontario representative on the steering committee of Inter-faith Social Assistance Reform Coalition. Their website is found at http://www.faithtoendpoverty.ca/


The Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition was born out of the hope that together a coalition of faith groups could contribute to new public policies based upon greater justice and dignity for citizens of Ontario  marginalized by poverty.

The central message shared by religious communities throughout the world, inspires people of faith to respond to our neighbours in need.

ISARC values

• Human Dignity. The right of all people and their communities to be treated with justice, love, compassion, and respect, and their responsibility to treat others likewise.

• Mutual Responsibility. The obligation of communities to care and share with their people, ensuring that basic needs are met.

• Social Equity. The right of all people to adequate access to basic resources, to full participation in the life and decision-making of their communities.

• Economic Equity. The right of all people and communities to adequate access to the resources necessary for full lives, including access to worthwhile work, fair employment considerations, and our communal responsibilities to use such resources responsibly.

• Fiscal Fairness. The right of all people, communities, and institutions to fair fiscal treatment and the responsibility of all to contribute fairly for the well-being of all.

• Ecological Sustainability. The obligation of communities to practise responsible stewardship of the earth and its environment, so that creation might be preserved for generations to come.

The Quick Fix with Gwen and Maxi

Makes me want to cry.

KEN STUPAK HONOURED

Winnipeg Police Chief Keith McCaskill is shown giving 'Volunteer of the Year' award to Ken Stupak. The banquet for volunteers was held on April 18th.

Ken is the PAOC chaplain at University of Manitoba where he has served for a couple decades.

The award was given for outstanding service and dedication. Over the past 12 years Ken volunteered 2600 hours with Victim Services.

GLIMPSES OF GRACE

Glimpses of Grace:


Reflections of a Prison Chaplain


By Donald Stoesz


Book can be ordered at www.donaldstoesz.com


Donald Stoesz is a Mennonite Pastor and a prison chaplain in service at the Bowden Institution (Annex).

His intention, in writing this book, was to share insights drawn from his experience, with other people working in the prison system. He has, in fact, written a book of interest to anyone who would like to know more about the nature of prisons and prisoners. Most of us have a flawed understanding of jails, drawn from movies not always noted for accuracy.

When the general public knows that a crime has been committed, it is glued to newspapers and radio until someone is arrested for the crime, and brought to court. Once the prisoner is behind bars, the populace will go on to the next hot story.

There is more to know about the losses and heartache caused by broken families and bad choices, drug use and alcohol, and this author has brought them to our attention. He does not excuse the offences of the detainees, his job is to listen, share the personal journey of the prisoner and offer whatever spiritual guidance and grace will be accepted.

The book consists of 120 vignettes, each one-page long, and covering a wide range of interactions and situations. These are well written, and interesting with names and personalities changed for privacy sake. A pertinent Bible quotation ends each page.

Stories and circumstances show that people we may think of only as “convicts,” are real people. They are, of course, people with dreams and hopes. They don’t want to be forgotten by family, and they love having visitors. They are men who wish their situation was different than it is. The reality and their responsibility in that reality is sometimes forgotten, or ignored. Some people, most often Christians, find a ministry in visiting offenders in prison. They receive training, and then take part in the community with worship and conversation. Romance has bloomed in prison, but sometimes creates problems.

Many religious groups are represented in the prison population. There are Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Jews, Native Spirituality and Wiccan. There has to be understanding by staff of differing beliefs and practices.

We also read here about Disassociation and Segregation, better known as “the hole.” Some prisoners find a measure of safety in such a place, the irony of a prison within a prison.

Reverend Stoesz leads us quite gently to a better understanding, showing us that everyone he meets and counsels has his own story, his own excuses, and his own needs. Very often the circumstances of their life and upbringing have been appalling. Still their violence and bizarre behaviours demand incarceration. Very often the only thing the chaplain has to offer is sympathy, a listening ear and the love of God. Bowden Institution is “just down the road,” how little we know about these “neighbours.”



http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradvocate/lifestyles/columnists/Bowden_Institution_inspires_prison_chaplain_122667759.html
Peggy Freeman is a freelance writer living in Red Deer.

INCOME LEVELS ACCORDING TO RELIGION

Pew Research has released a new study that ranks income levels according to one's religion. It's interesting that Christians for the most part have lower incomes in North America than some of the other religious categories.

There is also a strong tie between education levels and income. Read the New York Times article here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/magazine/is-your-religion-your-financial-destiny.html

MINISTRY LESSONS FROM A MUSLIM

Eboo Patel has a message for evangelical leaders.

'While holding firmly to his belief in Islam, he also affirmed church leaders. "Even though it is not my tradition and my community," Patel wrote after the conference, "I believe deeply that this type of evangelical Christianity is one of the most positive forces on Earth." '


Intrigued? Read the Christianity Today article at:

http://www.ctlibrary.com/le/2009/spring/ministrylessonsfromamuslim.html

PROSELYTIZING IN MULTI-FAITH ENVIRONMENTS

Church consultant and trend-watcher Ed Stetzer wrote this insightful article in Christianity Today.

If you are wondering where you fit into today's religious realities, consider this quote from the article and then jump to the link to explore some good insights into multi-faith relationships.

If anything, "God is dead" has been replaced with "God is back." Economists John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, an atheist and a Roman Catholic, wrote a fascinating book in 2008 with that title. In it they noted that while statistics about religious observance are notoriously untrustworthy, most surveys seem to indicate that the global drift toward secularism has halted. Quite a few surveys show religious belief to be on the rise. They reference one source that says that "the proportion of people attached to the world's four largest religions—Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism—rose from 67 percent in 1900 to 73 percent in 2005, and may reach 80 percent by 2025."

Full article here at http://www.ctlibrary.com/ct/2011/april/proselytizingmultifaith.html

NON-NEGOTIABLES IN MINISTRY

“What are three non-negotiable principles upon which I base my pastoral ministry?”

1. Humility
2. Listening
3. Grace

The scripture says Jesus knew who he was, where he came from and where he was going.  This is the foundation of humility.  We cannot serve humbly if we feel the need to constantly defend and explain ourselves.  Knowing that we are children of the Father and having a sense of our own history and destiny gives us the freedom to be who we truly are.  Humility keeps us from getting overly self-absorbed.

The ministry of listening must be rooted in humility.  If we are willing to listen to those above us and those below us, God will always have something to say through them.  We must meet the challenge of listening without rushing to our agenda for that moment.  If we feel that those in authority above us are unsuitable, we stop listening.  If we feel that someone is below us, we are tempted to stop listening or hear what we want to find fault.

Isaiah said the Messiah would not break a bruised reed or snuff out a smoldering wick.  That would be grace.  If I do not practice grace in my ministry to others, I lose sight of what it means to be a pastor.  Jesus takes a ‘bruised reed’ and binds it up.  He adds support to sustain the life in that person.  The one who has lost their fire is not snuffed out, but nurtured back to flame.

It is my prayer that New Song Church will embrace these qualities in greater measure.  This three-fold braid makes for a strong rope.  Humility, listening and grace – that ought to pull a big load.

BABY BOOMERS ARE TURNING 65

John Armstrong has some good thoughts about the Baby Boomer Generation turning 65 at the rate of 10,000 Americans per day.

http://johnharmstrong.typepad.com/john_h_armstrong_/2011/01/the-longevity-revolution-the-boomer-shift-is-coming.html

ISLAM AND CHRISTIAN CHARITY

John H. Armstrong raises some interesting questions about Christian hospitality to Muslims in our places of worship.  You can read his article at http://johnharmstrong.typepad.com/john_h_armstrong_/2011/01/islam-and-christian-charity-how-far-should-we-go.html