notebook Home Had Lasting Impact
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T
he United Church, Mission & Service, took such good care of me when I was growing up. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be where I am today.” – Laura Wong It was 1923. My grandfather was alone and did not have the means to take care of his two young daughters. He thought his only choice was to give them away to other families. A United Church minister suggested to him that he should keep the girls together and consider moving them to the “Oriental Home,” an orphanage for Japanese and Chinese children in Victoria, British Columbia, run by the United Church. They were schooled up to Grade 5, and then attended a public school. The children’s lives were full, and they were busy cleaning, cooking, doing laundry, playing sports, and keeping their own garden plots. Every morning the children gathered for prayers and Bible readings. They were taught to play the piano and provided the accompaniment to nightly hymn sings. On Sunday mornings the children attended the Chinese United Church and in the evenings, Metropolitan United Church. The home closed in 1941 when the Japanese children were evacuated to another Woman’s Missionary Society Home in Saskatchewan. The Chinese children, including my mom, Laura Wong, were moved into private homes to work. At 19, my mom volunteered to join the Canadian Army and served in the Royal Canadian Signal Corps as a teletypist. My mother spoke very highly of her life in the home. She lived there until she was 17 years old and said, “I never did
Laura Wong grew up in a Woman’s Missionary Society home.
without, never felt neglected or unloved.” I know she was forever grateful for the care and love she received there. On March 22, 2016, my mom passed away at the age of 92. In the eulogies at her funeral, the common thread was her love and care for others, the beautiful clothes she made, and the delicious baking and wonderful jams, pickles, and fruit she preserved. My mother learned all of these in her formative years growing up in the “Oriental Home.” She continued her membership with the United Church until she passed away. Donations in memory of my mom were given to the Mission & Service of The United Church of Canada. It was the choice to make, as the Woman’s Missionary Society was her family and her home. —Teresa Bradford (Laura Wong’s daughter)
UCW GENEROSITY “To honour God the creator and love others through generous giving and
joyful living”— this is part of the vision statement of United Church Women. In keeping with this, we have given generously to Mission & Service. We recognize that each person, each of our units, may only be able to offer a little, but together we can contribute much support. We lift up the efforts of Mission & Service in a variety of ways, including legacy giving and bequests. In our local units, we have created dramas, opened the sanctuary to a lively night of amateur dramatics, and held silent auctions. We read the Minute for Mission before the offering, and Mission & Service is included in annual budgets. Stewardship/Christian Nurture divisions set up displays at presbyterial and Conference annual meetings, showcasing the Canadian and global partners we support. We have embraced Gifts with Vision, celebrating birthdays and anniversaries by buying bicycles for ministers and school supplies in honour of retiring teachers. This year, many units have donated over and above their budgets in support of Syrian refugees. This is part of our generous giving and generous living. —Phyllis Buchner, National President, United Church Women 4
MANDATE | AUGUST 2016
NOTEBOOK
Training for Japanese Lay Leaders
R
ob and Keiko Witmer’s retire-
ment in 2015 ended 60 years of United Church mission personnel appointments to the Nayoro District of the United Church of Christ in Japan (UCCJ) and signalled a change in the way the United Church relates to the Dohoku Training Centre, a ministry of the UCCJ. Kuriko Fujiyoshi is a minister of Mission & Service partner UCCJ working at the centre. One of the new ways of relationship was the joint sponsorship of a one-year sabbatical for Fujiyoshi in Canada. During her time here Fujiyoshi was able to travel from coast to coast. One of the areas Fujiyoshi was most interested in learning about was United Church training for designated lay ministers. Many Japanese churches, particularly those in rural and northern areas, don’t have full-time ordained ministry personnel, and lay leadership is essential. Fujiyoshi held a two-day event for lay people in the Hokkai District based on the learning models and materials
The learning circle approach for training lay leaders in Japan.
from the designated lay ministry learning circles she experienced while in Canada. “It was the first learning circle in my district,” Fujiyoshi reports. Twenty four attended the two days, and 50 more attended a lecture on the first day. “We were learning how to read and understand the Bible in our context and to use it for telling the gospel story,” she noted. Another circle is planned for the fall.
MINUTES FOR MISSION ARE FOR INDIVIDUALS TOO
Another key focus for the Dohoku Centre is working with the Ainu, Indigenous people in northern Japan. Rob Witmer’s retirement plans include preparing to host a group of Canadian Indigenous students from the Sandy Salteaux Spiritual Centre in Hokkaido next year. “The people of Hokkai District look forward to finding new ways of relationship with The United Church of Canada,” says Fujiyoshi.
IMAGINE THAT YOU ARE PACKING FOR A TRIP. What
are the items that you must have in your bag? What about adding a devotional; something to ground you in story and hope? Consider taking the Minutes for Mission book along! Minutes for Mission are hope-filled good news stories. Each one gives you a glimpse into the ways the people of The United Church of Canada are making a huge difference in the world through Mission & Service. St. Andrew’s United Church in downtown Toronto handed out Minutes for Mission to everyone attending worship. Those who received the book used it in a variety of ways. Some read a selection of stories that interested them. Some read it cover to cover, taking in all the ministries that are supported through Mission & Service. One congregational member used it for devotional reading. The stories give the reader a tangible example of how lives are changed through Mission & Service. You can further enhance your devotional time by downloading the Flickr images for each story onto your computer or tablet, watching the accompanying videos, and using the Advent and Lenten prayers. Minutes for Mission can enrich your devotional practice and ground you in hope. Take it with you on your next journey! Find the booklet for download at UCRDstore.ca, photos at flickr.com/photos/unitedchurchcda/albums, and videos at youtube.com/user/unitedchurchofcanada/playlists. MANDATE | AUGUST 2016
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NOTEBOOK
Anniversary a Time for Giving
Grace Glastonbury
Susie and Harrison Noseworthy received a certificate of appreciation for their donation.
T
wo hundred years merits a year
of celebration, and celebrate we did. Last year was the 200th anniversary of Gower Street United Church congregation in St. John’s. We knew that 200 years deserved the opportunity to give financially in an innovative way, as the repair and renovation needs of our sacred space
and well-used building were numerous. A major item was the water leaks visible by the pails filled with water on rainy days. (We have many of those in St. John’s!) With Edsel Bonnell chairing an energetic planning committee, we came up with an idea. Let’s invite a minimum of 200 Gower members and friends to give a loonie for each year of Gower’s historic life. In addition to the congregation, we sent letters to former members and friends of Gower who now lived in other parts of Canada and the U.S.A. We called it the Gower 200 Fund. The result would be $40,000. To recognize the special occasion we had two special Sundays in which Gower 200 Fund participants were named in the Sunday bulletin (names, not amounts) and certificates of appreciation were distributed. Certificates were mailed to those out of town.
From its beginning, Gower was involved in outreach—giving to the community, to the wider church, and to Mission & Service. In our planning for the anniversary, the idea of a 10-percent tithe popped to the fore. In recognition of Gower’s commitment to outreach and in celebration of the 90th anniversary of The United Church of Canada, the board agreed that 10 percent of what was received would be directed to Mission & Service. The end result? We reached our goal of $40,000 and with joy and gratitude mailed a $4,000 cheque for Mission & Service. In addition, in May 2016, Gower held a memorial/celebration hymn sing, where 10 percent of what was received also was directed to Mission & Service. —Marion Pardy, chairperson, Gower 200 Fund Committee
WHY I GIVE! I love the song “Go Make a Diff’rence” in More Voices. My life experiences have taught me that I am the hands and feet of God in this world, and so are you. As a citizen of Newfoundland and Labrador, I am always pleased when our famous hospitality to visitors is mentioned. We do welcome strangers, we care for those in need, and we have a strong sense of community. While travelling, my husband, Eric, and I have encountered these same qualities in fellow Canadians. I also find that when we, as members of this unique United Church of Canada, join together as part of God’s great family, we make a tremendous difference to the well-being of all. Eric and I contribute regularly to charities that need public financial support. However, our main focus is to support Mission & Service generously. Through Mission & Service, our United Church of Canada is out there in this world Gloria Myles assisting when and where needs arise. I trust Mission & Service to help bring justice and kindness as well as financial aid. All we need to do is read our annual reports, Minutes for Mission, and Gifts with Vision to see the positive difference we are making through Mission & Service. All that we have is made possible because of the blessings of our life situation. From those who have much, much is expected. I give because I want to make a difference, and Mission & Service can make that happen. —Gloria Myles, chair of the Mission & Service Advisory Committee 6
MANDATE | AUGUST 2016
NOTEBOOK
INCLUDING CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES
H
ow good is this for an incarna-
tional picture of inclusion? There is an annual Advent tradition in the Church of North India of making an evangelical journey to visit the Dalit villages along the India–Pakistan border. Dalit people are the untouchables of India and make up 70 percent of India’s 25 million Christians. My family had travelled from Canada to India to visit schools, churches, and other organizations to speak of and live out ideas of inclusion of children with disabilities. Two days after arriving in India, we were invited by the Rev. Pradeep Samantaroy, Moderator of North India and Bishop of Amritsar, to join the large convoy of cars, motor bikes, and a truck band as they made their way from village to village for the journey. Over the five-hour trip we visited 10 villages. We were welcomed everywhere with flower garlands and warm smiles. One of the members of the church leaders spoke greetings from the church, shared the message of the gospel through the Christmas story, and then prayed a blessing for the village. After visiting for a short while we got back into the cars to head on to the next village. At one stop, a new church had just been built in the middle of the village. Many villagers had gathered in antici-
Tiana Kirkegaard cuts a ribbon to bless the opening of a new church in an Indian village.
pation of the ribbon-cutting ceremony and blessing of their new church. The Rev. Samantaroy asked if we would honour the village by joining him in cutting the ribbon. My daughter Tiana, a 14-year-old girl who lives with Down Syndrome, with her dad’s help and mom, Sandra, looking on, cut the ribbon to bless the opening of a new church building for the Dalit people. It was there in the middle of a Dalit village, in a different culture, that a girl with Down Syndrome, by the invitation of church leaders, was able to
embody inclusion for all to experience. As the minister of Tsawwassen United Church in Delta, British Columbia, I couldn’t have hoped for a better example of the moments that give new life and joy to a minister on sabbatical. It is such a great gift to be able to meet, encourage, and be encouraged by Mission & Service partners like the Church of North India. —Daniel Kirkegaard, Tsawwassen United Church, Delta, British Columbia
Mandate Wins Awards Mandate magazine is celebrating 10 awards received at the 2016 Canadian Church Press convention. Mandate won five first place awards, three second place, and two third place in both writing and design categories. From left, Designer Lisa Rebnord with Editor Rebekah Chevalier and Managing Editor Noelle Boughton MANDATE | AUGUST 2016
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