Sharing an inclusive partnership with neighbours near and far, Bloor Street listens to the voices of concern, advocates for those having struggles and welcomes the opportunity to support faithful and courageous action to bring ease to difficult circumstances.
The Latest
Easter Appeal
How to donate:
1. Through Bloor Street Church Office with an e transfer to [email protected] or cheque. All funds will then be transferred to the UCC Turkiye and Syria fund. Using this method allows for the church to know the total donated by our congregation and, as always, to express our deep gratitude for your generosity. Please be sure to note “Emergency Response—Türkiye” on the memo line or face of your cheque.
2. Online via UCC’s secure donation page.
3. Phone 416-231-5931 or toll-free 1-800-268-3781 ext. 2738 and use your Visa or MasterCard.
4. Send a cheque or money order to: The United Church of Canada Philanthropy Unit – Emergency Response, 3250 Bloor Street West, Suite 200 Toronto, ON M8X 2Y4. Please be sure to note “Emergency Response—Türkiye” on the face of your cheque.
Thank you.Stamps for Oxfam
We are collecting stamps for Oxfam! Your stamps will go with many others to support the project we are currently helping to sponsor, dealing with the impact of COVID in low income countries. Here is a brief description of what Oxfam is doing.
Update: December 2022
Dear Bloor Street United Church,
Thank you for your donation to the Oxfam Stamp Program. With the proceeds from the stamps sold in 2021 we raised over $29,000, our second best year (despite COVID). We have now passed the half million mark in total donations since the program began almost 40 years ago. With our 2021 funds we continued to sponsor the project in Asia dealing with violence against women and girls. In 2022 we have started supporting a new project dealing with the impact of COVID.
Here is a brief progress report on the project as well as our latest summary of all
projects to date.
Your donations and your support for helping to “stamp out” poverty and hunger are deeply
appreciated by everyone at Oxfam Canada.
Sincerely,
Bill Woodley
Stamp Program Volunteer Co-ordinator
Holy Land Service follow-up
The full recording of Sunday’s Holy Land service is available on Trinity St. Paul’s YouTube channel. The Q and A session afterwards was not recorded.
Follow-up to the Service
If you have some time check out one of these suggestions to learn more about the situation in Palestine / Israel.
1. Join the United Church campaign in working for peace and justice in Palestine and Israel. The United Church of Canada encourages United Church members and others to become involved in the search for a just peace between Palestinians and Israelis by contributing to the end of the occupation of the Palestinian Territories. Click this link to learn about some of the issues involved in the situation.
2. Visit our Shining Waters site for a list of resources on Palestine / Israel.
3. Amnesty International released its report on the current state of Palestine / Israel relations. In the report, Amnesty International named Israel as an apartheid state in regard to its treatment of people and property in the West Bank, Gaza and inside Israel itself. This report follows a similar report released by Human Rights Watch. To see the full report click here. Alternatively, if you would like to see a summary of the report, you can click here.
4. Apeirogon by Colum McCann – a beautifully observed masterpiece based on the true-life friendship of two men whose daughters were killed in the Middle East.
5. As mentioned by the Holy Land Service guest speaker check out one or more of the articles by Marc H. Ellis (born 1952). Professor Ellis is an American author, liberation theologian, and a retired University Professor of Jewish Studies, Professor of History and Director of the Center for Jewish Studies at Baylor University. He is currently visiting professor of several international universities, including the University of Innsbruck, Austria and the United Nations University for Peace, Costa Rica.
The Heart Garden
The Heart Garden on the corner of Bloor and Robert Street began as “a response to the TRC’s call for permanent reminders of the residential school history. Its goal is to create a welcoming public space for reflection on a very well trafficked corner of Toronto as well as an outdoor space for ceremony. The garden expresses our sorrow for the loss and abuse of so many Indigenous children in residential schools and our hope to build public awareness towards reconciliation with Indigenous people. In the garden, against the backdrop of a church built during the same era that the residential school policy began, we honour Indigenous spirituality.” (TSP)
The children of our church school have participated in learning more about Indigenous culture through a number of visits to the Heart Garden. As you watch the video enjoy the voices of the children as they talk about the meaning behind the Heart Garden. Listen to an Indigenous Elder who talks about the impact of the residential school system. Click here to see the video, or watch below.
Afterwards take a few minutes to say the prayer that the children said when they sent hearts to the closing ceremony of the TRC in 2015.
“Help us to open our hearts to others, pay attention to our thoughts, words and actions, notice when we have hurt others and change our behaviour in the future. With this Heart Garden we honour children who were lost or survived the Indian residential System.”
Education
The Social Justice Committee, with input from the congregation and others, arranges educational events and the circulation of educational material on topics that the Committee believes are important to society and of interest to the congregation.
Reflections on a Trip to Palestine/Israel
Over the next months a number of people are going to reflect on their trips to Palestine–Israel. The most recent travellers in 2019 were Nora McKay, Nena Cervantes and Ron & Maure Kentner. In 2018 Randi Helmers and Martha ter Kuile travelled to the holy land. Over a number of years others from our congregation have joined George Bartlett and Marianna Harris on these trips.
Each month, following the themes of Kumi Now, there will be one or more personal reflections and specific information on the current topic. We listen to scripture in our services about the holy land in the time of Jesus. These reflections will look at the holy land as it exists at this time. It is beautiful in its geology, magnificent in its history but there are issues that need resolution.
The Kumi Now project is an attempt by many people and organizations to “stand firm in the face of oppression”, to seek justice and inclusion based on international law and to commit to non-violent resistance. Each week Kumi Now introduces a “different organization working to raise awareness about specific issues in Israel-Palestine”. The personal reflections will give you an account of what visitors saw and heard during their travels.
Fundraising
The Social Justice Committee and sub-Committees are active in many areas including the following:
- Togogos support grandmothers in Africa, who are raising grandchildren orphaned by AIDS, by raising money and awareness for the Stephen Lewis Foundation.
- The Refugee Outreach Program raises money each year to send refugee mothers and children to summer camp. They also collect toys for an annual Refugee Christmas Party.
- The Social Justice Committee collects funds and gifts each Advent Season for designated organizations and also raises funds in response to Relief Appeals through the United Church of Canada.
Advocacy
The Social Justice Committee, as part of its educational role, advises the congregation when there is a call to action on particular issues. This can include information about petitions, letter writing campaigns, demonstrations and lobbying of community or political leaders. If the Social Justice Committee or others within the congregation believe that Bloor Street United Church as a whole should advocate on a particular issue a proposal can be made to the Church Council for their consideration.
