Upcoming Parish Events
Walk 'n Roll for Refugees 2022 - Fundraising event for AURA
Hello St. Barnabas community
It is time for our annual fundraiser for AURA (where Nora volunteers on the board). As many of you know, our congregation has been involved in handling funds for refugee sponsorships that AURA supports. Welcoming refugees to Canada through private sponsorship allows us to help a small number of people out of the many millions around the world who desperately need a safe place to live, study, and work. It is a way of living out our Christian calling to love our neighbour.
Our fundraising event this year will be riding bikes from High Park to Tommy Thompson Park - about 20 km each way - on Saturday September 24. We are determined to go, rain or shine (this may be news to Konrad ;) and we will take as many lunch and/or coffee breaks as needed to achieve our goal.
Please consider donating to our fundraiser at one of the links below:
Thank you for your support! If you prefer to give cash or cheque to one of us after church service between now and September 25, that is also appreciated.
Blessings,
Nora & Konrad
It is time for our annual fundraiser for AURA (where Nora volunteers on the board). As many of you know, our congregation has been involved in handling funds for refugee sponsorships that AURA supports. Welcoming refugees to Canada through private sponsorship allows us to help a small number of people out of the many millions around the world who desperately need a safe place to live, study, and work. It is a way of living out our Christian calling to love our neighbour.
Our fundraising event this year will be riding bikes from High Park to Tommy Thompson Park - about 20 km each way - on Saturday September 24. We are determined to go, rain or shine (this may be news to Konrad ;) and we will take as many lunch and/or coffee breaks as needed to achieve our goal.
Please consider donating to our fundraiser at one of the links below:
Thank you for your support! If you prefer to give cash or cheque to one of us after church service between now and September 25, that is also appreciated.
Blessings,
Nora & Konrad
Honouring Orange Shirt Day 2022
On behalf of the Bishop’s Collaborative for Right Relations, you, your communities, and parishes are invited to attend two upcoming events honouring the voices and experiences of Survivors of the Indian Residential School system.
On Tuesday September 27th at 7pm, Jillian Harris, a knowledge holder, Elder, and former Chief of the Penelakut Tribe will offer teachings on the hidden histories of colonization. Jillian Harris is a Survivor of the notorious Kuper Island Residential School. In the year 1895 it was documented that out of 264 students 107 had died. In protest of the horrific abusive conditions, students burnt the school down that year but it was rebuilt and continued operation until 1975. Jillian Harris, as an Elder and former Chief of her Nation, has been a spiritual support to her community throughout their search of the former Kuper Island Residential School grounds and recovery of unmarked graves. Jillian Harris is currently an Elder-In-Residence at Vancouver Schools of Theology. Jillian Harris will join us to share about the traditions of her homelands and the impact of colonization on her Nation.
On Tuesday October 11th at 7pm, Deborah Tagornak, Inuk author, renowned public speaker, long-time Indigenous rights activist and knowledge keeper, will offer teachings on “Inuit Principles and Societal Values: Empowering Capable Human Beings.” Deborah Tagornak coordinates the family wellbeing program at Ottawa-based Inuit organization Inuuqatigiit, and is the Inuit advisor to the Anglican Bishop of Ottawa. Deborah Tagornak is an organizer in Inuit health, wellbeing, and innovation. She utilizes traditional knowledge and language to build healthy families and communities. She is a leader, trailblazer, and inspiration to many. We are blessed to welcome and learn from her virtually.
As the trees turn from green to shades of orange, children return to school and many parents are wrapped with anxiety over what the fall will bring. The health and wellbeing of the little ones in our communities are ever at the centre of our hearts and prayers. For many Indigenous families, September can be a very painful time, recalling memories of family separation, abduction, and legally enforced attendance at Indian Residential School or Indian Day School. As we know well, this history is not of the distant past, but between 1995 and 1998 seven of the last Indian Residential Schools closed down. Since the 1600s, millions of Indigenous children were forced to attend Indian Residential School, Day School, and other shadow church-run institutions, including Indian Hospitals and group homes. The outcomes of these institutions were devastating, and many children did not survive.
In response to Call to Action #59 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission:
“We call upon church parties to the Settlement Agreement to develop ongoing education strategies to ensure that their respective congregations learn about their church’s role in colonization, the history and legacy of residential schools, and why apologies to former residential school students, their families, and communities were necessary.”
We invite you and your communities to two free and open to the public educational events this fall, In the Shadow of Colonization on September 27th with Jillian Harris, and Inuit Principles and Societal Values Deborah Tagornak on October 11th. These two events over zoom with Jillian Harris and Deborah Tagornak will open us to a deeper observation of this year's Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
In 2013 Phyllis Webstad, Northern Secwpemc (Shuswap) grandmother, community leader, and Residential School Survivor, started the Orange Shirt Day movement to honour Survivors and their stories. To raise awareness and in honour of Phyllis, Survivors, intergenerational Survivors, and those who died and did not return home, we wear orange on September 30th. For more about Phyllis Webstad’s story and to listen to her recordings on September 30th, please visit:
https://www.orangeshirtday.org/
For a solemn observation of Orange Shirt Day and the ongoing impacts of intergenerational trauma in the wake of the devastating loss of life at James Smith Cree Nation, you may join us by praying “Prayer for those Who Did not Return Home from Residential School and for all Missing and Murdered Indigenous People.” English, Mandarin, Japanese, Cantonese, and Tamil translations of this prayer can be found here:
Prayer for those Who Did not Return Home from Residential School and for all Missing and Murdered Indigenous People . These translations were generously created by the Bishop’s Collaborative for Right Relations Translation for Decolonization working group.
If you would like to purchase an orange shirt in honour of Orange Shirt Day, we encourage you to shop from an Indigenous owned and operated business, such as Native Arts Society. Native Arts Society gallery and studio is run by intergenerational Survivors of Residential School, and in addition to hand printing t-shirts and running educational events on the impacts of colonization, they offer free studio space and art supplies to Indigenous artists, especially those who are houseless or incarcerated. Consider taking up a special collection on a Sunday close to Orange Shirt Day and donate it to an Indigenous organization such as Native Arts Society, Toronto Urban Native Ministry, or the Woodland Cultural Centre.
In response to Call to Action #59 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission:
“We call upon church parties to the Settlement Agreement to develop ongoing education strategies to ensure that their respective congregations learn about their church’s role in colonization, the history and legacy of residential schools, and why apologies to former residential school students, their families, and communities were necessary.”
We invite you and your communities to two free and open to the public educational events this fall, In the Shadow of Colonization on September 27th with Jillian Harris, and Inuit Principles and Societal Values Deborah Tagornak on October 11th. These two events over zoom with Jillian Harris and Deborah Tagornak will open us to a deeper observation of this year's Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
In 2013 Phyllis Webstad, Northern Secwpemc (Shuswap) grandmother, community leader, and Residential School Survivor, started the Orange Shirt Day movement to honour Survivors and their stories. To raise awareness and in honour of Phyllis, Survivors, intergenerational Survivors, and those who died and did not return home, we wear orange on September 30th. For more about Phyllis Webstad’s story and to listen to her recordings on September 30th, please visit:
https://www.orangeshirtday.org/
For a solemn observation of Orange Shirt Day and the ongoing impacts of intergenerational trauma in the wake of the devastating loss of life at James Smith Cree Nation, you may join us by praying “Prayer for those Who Did not Return Home from Residential School and for all Missing and Murdered Indigenous People.” English, Mandarin, Japanese, Cantonese, and Tamil translations of this prayer can be found here:
Prayer for those Who Did not Return Home from Residential School and for all Missing and Murdered Indigenous People . These translations were generously created by the Bishop’s Collaborative for Right Relations Translation for Decolonization working group.
If you would like to purchase an orange shirt in honour of Orange Shirt Day, we encourage you to shop from an Indigenous owned and operated business, such as Native Arts Society. Native Arts Society gallery and studio is run by intergenerational Survivors of Residential School, and in addition to hand printing t-shirts and running educational events on the impacts of colonization, they offer free studio space and art supplies to Indigenous artists, especially those who are houseless or incarcerated. Consider taking up a special collection on a Sunday close to Orange Shirt Day and donate it to an Indigenous organization such as Native Arts Society, Toronto Urban Native Ministry, or the Woodland Cultural Centre.
St. Barnabas Christmas Market 2022
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We are happy to announce the return of the annual Christmas Market, scheduled for Saturday, November 5, 2022. We will have a variety of vendors and artisans, plus a St. Barnabas jams and jellies table, a refreshment table and a choir raffle table.
There are still a few tables available to rent for $50 or $60, depending on the size, plus one big one for $75. Talk to Janet Booker (jbooker@sympatico.ca) or Jenny Reid (jenny.reid@sympatico.ca) about these. Also, we would love some help if you can spare a couple of hours on or before November 5. It will be a fun day, and a good fundraiser for St. Barnabas. |