Category Archives: WMS Archive
Faith Formation Matters-a new, free course for Christian Education Coordinators
Dear friends,
Many of our local congregations have hired a gifted lay person, usually on a part-time basis, to coordinate and lead their Christian education, youth and/or family ministries programmes. While these people are hired with a great deal of commitment to the task, they often have little formal education in their ministry area and wish they had more.
The synod has heard this concern. This fall the synod is inviting anyone serving as a paid Christian education coordinator to sign up and participate in an exciting and interactive basic course on Christian education and faith formation that is designed to assist them in understanding and doing their ministry better. This course, ‘Faith Formation Matters’, will cover the basics of the theology, theory and practice of educational ministry as well as provide an opportunity for participants to get to know others in their field.
‘Faith Formation Matters’ will be taught by Dr. Tori Smit, the synod’s Regional Minister for Faith Formation. Tori holds a Doctor of Educational Ministry Degree from Columbia Theological Seminary, has been a professional Christian educator for over 36 years, has authored numerous curriculum resources for the PCC, PCUSA, Kerygma Bible Studies and Montreat Conference Center, has taught Christian Education courses at Columbia Theological Seminary and Emmanuel College and keynotes regularly across Canada and the US. She is both knowledgable and very practical in her field.
And here is the best news of all – ‘Faith Formation Matters’ is free.
This course will be held between 7 and 9 pm the third Wednesday of each month at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Toronto. Trinity is easily reached from all directions as it is just off of the 401 at Bayview Ave. and has a parking lot available. If your church has a person serving as the CE coordinator, or you are that person, please register by calling Tori at 647-348-0879 or emailing torismit@gmail.com.
See you at Trinity, Tori Smit
The WMS Synodical Annual Meeting, April 26, 27, 2019 at St. Paul’s PC, Port Hope
The WMS Synodical Annual meeting is being held at St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church in Port Hope, Ontario. With guest speakers Rev. Dr. Glynis Williams and WMS leaders Ms. Janet Brewer, Ms. Cathy Reid and Ms. Karen Baron, this is a gathering you won’t want to miss.
Please find all the information you’ll need to get registered attached, along with a poster to share.
See you this spring in Port Hope!
click here to download the event brochure and registration form
Light, Glorious Light!
The season of Advent starts on December 2. It is the beginning of a new church year and invites us to move out of darkness and in to God’s marvellous light as we anticipate and prepare for the coming of Christ. As we decorate our homes, plan family meals and rush around to gather gifts and visit friends and family during this season it is important to stop, rest and reflect on the stories from scripture that lead us to Jesus, the light of the world.
I invite you to take time, to read and to pray each day of the Advent season. To help you on your way please feel free to download and print the Advent devotional booklet, Light, Glorious Light! attached to this blog posting. Please feel free to duplicate it and gift it to family, friends, and church members.
This devotional booklet is based on Year 1 of the Narrative Lectionary, a new collection of scripture readings that highlight the stories of our faith over a four year cycle. This year you will encounter the stories of Habakkuk and Esther along with the Gospel texts from Matthew and Luke.
When you open the attached pdf. file it will appear to be out of order. It isn’t. The pages appear to be out of order because the file is intended to be printed as a booklet. Print the file as a two-sided document with the short-edges binding, then take the printed pages as they come off your printer and fold them in half as a booklet with the colour picture of the candles on the cover of your booklet. Staple the middle seam to hold all of the pages together.
If you are wanting to print multiple copies, print the document on six, one-sided pages and then photocopy them as a double-sided document, fold as a booklet and staple in the middle. You will want to run one copy off as a trial document before committing your photocopier to large numbers.
I wish you hope, peace, joy and love this Advent as you experience God’s love anew each day. Tori
click here for the 2018 Advent Devotional Booklet, Light, Glorious Light
Advent Faith Practices – 2018 Calendar
Traci Smith is a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), and a faith-filled parent with her spouse to a young family. Traci cares deeply about how families can talk about and ‘do’ faith at home through nurture and simple practices. She has a great book out for families, Faithful Families: Creating Sacred Moments at Home, filled with engaging and easy ideas for conversations, rituals, prayers, and family activities for families to do together at home. Traci also sends out a weekly email to families called Treasure Box Tuesday. You can sign up for this great email of ideas and recommended resources at her website, www.traci-smith.com.
Get to know Traci through her 2018 Advent Faith Practices calendar that is linked to this posting. Please feel free to circulate it among your congregation members and to others. Please just ensure that it is circulated free of charge, and with the acknowledgement included in the bottom box of the calendar.
Click here for Traci Smith’s Advent Faith Practices Calendar
Christmas Gift Boxes
Is your congregation considering participating in a Christmas gift box project this year? Such boxes are often filled with toys and toiletries by caring individuals and groups, returned to the sponsoring agency, and sent to children living in vulnerable communities in countries around the globe. Yet, this hands-on means of gracious giving may not be as helpful as you think.
Before signing on to participate in a gift box program please read the following article from Presbyterian World Service and Development written to help you consider this way of assisting children and communities who are at risk, including some great alternative options for caring for vulnerable children during the Christmas season and throughout the year.
Following the article is a link to an more extensive article about the Showbox programme from the baptist news.
Click here for a link to a more extensive article posted in the Baptist News
