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| CCDP Outreach | Churches-on-the-Hill | Social Justice | Green: Faith & Ecology | Links | ||||||||||||||||||
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THE FAITHWORKS 2011 CAMPAIGN is in full swing. This diocesan appeal supports 14 community ministries. It also helps fund three partner agencies: the Anglican Appeal (for clergy and lay leader theological education in the North, as well as church partners in the Anglican Communion); LOFT Community Services (for housing, community support, and street outreach to needy and troubled people); and the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (for sustainable development, emergency relief, refugees, and global justice). With overhead of just 12 cents on the dollar, FaithWorks over the past 15 years has distributed more than $18 million to people in need. This year’s goal is $1,550,000 - to top the record $1.5 million raised in 2010. So the campaign seeks a 5% increase in donations from every parish in the diocese. Why should it matter to us in CCDP? Archbishop Colin Johnson sees donating to it as a tangible way that we, as Anglicans in the Diocese of Toronto, live out our Baptismal call. Faithworks says its ministries change hopelessness into hope, loneliness and isolation into community, despair into dignity. On the broader canvas of the diocese, it does what CCDP and the Churches on the Hill show in the neighbourhood that they care about. There’s a wide range of FaithWorks ministries. All Saints Church Community Centre serves marginalized people downtown, Flemingdon Park Ministry has a storefront mission for a multicultural community, and the Philip Aziz Centre on Moore Avenue offers home hospice service and chaplaincy care for people with HIV/AIDS. In North Durham region, North House provides transitional housing and support for homeless women and children. In Orillia, Couchiching Jubilee House offers transitional housing and support for homeless women and children. Barrie has the David Busby Street Centre and in Mississauga The Dam helps youth and young moms (13 to 24). Toronto Urban Native Ministry works with aboriginals who live on the street. Anglican United Refugee Alliance provides support services to churches helping refugees. An exciting new ministry added to FaithWorks this year is the Street to Trail Association (Toronto). It helps street people rediscover their own inner sense of worth using nature’s healing power by taking them on wilderness hikes, canoe trips, and other outdoor excursions out of the city. Stories of recovered hope and inner peace, addictions overcome, new meaningful relationships, and even jobs are emerging! CCDP has been a leader in FaithWorks in the past. The campaign donation envelopes are at the back of the church on the table. When you donate, be sure to give through CCDP - 15% of donations can be retained by CCDP for our own outreach work (as the donation card explains). Let’s make this another banner year! Phyllis Creighton CCDP FaithWorks coordinator phyllis.creighton@bell.net diocesan FW website » Thanks to all our volunteers and the generous charitable donations we’ve received to date from many members of our congregation as well as from outside CCDP. We particularily want to thank all our team leaders who have worked so tirelessly to bring the programs to fruition and move us forward. We can always use more volunteer support so we encourage you to select a program that best suits your interests and call the appropriate program leader. Phone contact available from the parish office 416-920-5211
Brainstorming Outreach
Summary of 13 Feb 07 meeting results here » Social Justice Concerns
"what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.”
(-Micah 6:8)
Outreach programs Supportive and (also: COTH archive)
Ontario Poverty Reduction Plan The Hon. Deborah Matthews, Minister for Ontario's Poverty Reduction Plan, has responded to our letter resulting from the annual Vestry meeting. The Minister will keep us up-to-date with any happenings in this area from now on
If you are able, and would like, to make a donation to any of our Outreach programs, please make it program specific so it is both channelled correctly and reflected in your charitable Tax Receipt forms. We are all looking forward to a successful year as together we try to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves.
Yorkminster Park Meals on Wheels invites volunteer drivers to deliver Meals on Wheels in our community during the months of July and August. Meals are delivered between 10:30 am and 12:30 pm daily, Monday to Friday. Please call (416) 482-0549 if you can spare two hours weekly or on an occasional basis to help on any of the delivery days. website »
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THERE’S COMPASSION HERE!  A thank you letter to Christ Church Deer Park from the Synod and Bishop of the Diocese of Northern Malawi (July 2011) - here »
WE ARE VERY MUCH MISSING the inspiration and leadership of Brian Buckingham, who died this past January. His widow, Yvonne, has requested that memorial gifts given in his name be designated for CCDP Outreach and used in his memory. About $5,000.00 has been donated to date, for which we are very grateful. The Outreach Committee met May 3rd and June 7th, to discuss and plan for the future. Our budget from Corporation is $5,000.00. In these times of financial restraint our plan is to live within it through careful management. In doing so, we have to consider several ongoing committments: COTH Foodbank Our monetary responsibility to the COTH Foodbank is $2,500 each year. We also provide volunteers and food collected through your generous donations. We continue to welcome your gifts of food and money to help with this much needed project. Saturday Morning Breakfast This program has proven very successful, thanks to Ross Morrow, Anne Larkin and a wonderful group of volunteers. It is also much appreciated by our clients. Outreach funds this program from our budget (about $2,300 a year). These do not leave much room, for other direct donations. We are grateful to the ACW, who sent representatives to our meeting and shared their Outreach budget endeavours with us. They are very generous supporters of many causes and we feel, between us, that we are able to fund our In- House projects within our means. We are thankful to a number of generous persons who have made donations to these projects and others, such as the Malawi Fund. Malawi The Rt. Rev. Fanuel Magangani, the new Bishop of Northern Malawi (who visited us recently), is doing a great job and our lines of communication have been reopened. In 2007-8 we were able to send just under $10,000 to support the Dietary Improvement Plan, and the Prenatal Clinic on Likoma Island. From the balance of about $6,000 held in that fund, we were happy to be able to send $5000 in June. We need to work on raising an additional $9,000 in order to sustain the project for the next while. Any ideas, or offers, would be welcome. If interested in donating money or time to the Malawi Committee, please speak to Samantha Caravan or J.R.Thornton. While here, Bishop Fanuel extended an invitation to visit Likoma... an opportunity to see, befriend, learn and work in situ. We are presently working on setting up an Airmiles Pooling Bank (for Aeroplan miles) to cover the traveling costs of sending a group of our Youth (chaperoned) to Malawi. There will be more news about this soon. School Lunch Program We investigated the possibility of setting up a lunch program for hungry children in a downtown school. We discovered that this would be a complicated and expensive undertaking for us at this time, so have decided to place the idea aside for future consideration. We are also looking into partnering with the Blessing of the Backpack organization, that aids students with educational materials. Drew Buckingham, Brian’s son, is a teacher in the Jane/Finch area. We have learned that, from his own pocket, he regularly purchases bread, cheese, peanut butter etc. to provide food for the many children who arrive at school without having had breakfast. Hungry children cannot learn. We agreed to send a small amount from Brian’s Memorial Fund to assist him in this good work. We will revisit helping further with this project in September. Cooking Class Tailored for those among us who find themselves on their own, recently widowed or have become the caregiver in the family and find themselves at a loss in the kitchen...we’ll help de-mystify the art of shopping for and preparing basic, healthy, comfort foods...and we guarantee that you’ll have fun too. Courses will run 6 weeks, Thursdays, 3:30 - 5:30, beginning in late September, in the lower. kitchen. If interested, leave a message with Jean King in the office: 416-920-5211 ext 22 Our ability to continue these valuable programs depends, as always, upon the availability of sufficient financial and volunteer support. We need more of both - more money and more volunteers! If you can help with either, we would be delighted to hear from you. Contact J.R.Thornton at 416-489-6740 or jrthornton@sympatico.ca
Let’s Reach Out Together!
Parishioners at Christ Church Deer Park have a long and proud heritage in reaching out to those in need through an active and caring Outreach ministry.
As Anglicans, and as members of the wider Christian family, we continue to be committed to the goal of helping others in our own community and beyond. As a result of two Strategic Planning Days in 2006 and 2007, Outreach emerged as a top priority. This is why we are now inviting you to identify and select an outreach activity in which you would like to participate, and where together, we can make a difference. We invite you to choose from one of the five key activity priorities that emerged from our Parish Outreach “brainstorming” session which followed the Strategic Planning Days. By indicating your interest now, we will be able to plan our strategies and resources as we move forward. This is an exciting time for our parish to be actively engaged together. Having defined Outreach as a number one priority, we now welcome you to participate, and to make a difference. From our seniors to our very youngest members, there's an opportunity for everyone to be involved. "Your support, your enthusiasm, and your concern for those in need can and will make a difference." - WE ARE COMING INTO a new season and with that comes new projects. Our support for agencies such as Citizens for Public Justice and so many others will of course continue, but, it would be great to expand on what we are already doing.I have spoken with our friends from some of the Churches-on-the-Hill about pooling our resources on issues or public concerns which may come up and throwing in our support and vice versa to give the issue a louder voice. This could be as simple as posting a petition in each church to be signed by the interested members of the congregation.To expand on this idea, I would more than welcome your involvement. Anyone who is interested in this or any other issues requiring community support, please contact Michael Watson, info available from the parish office 416-920-5211 or email
Community Breakfast
THE BREAKFAST PROGRAM began as a response to the priorities members of the congregation identified during the Strategic Planning Days held during 2006 and 2007. At CCDP we already had a proud record of local service through our “Out of the Cold” Program, and we also had an interested core of experienced volunteers at the ready. We now supplement Calvin Presbyterian’s long-running biweekly breakfast program by offering a similar meal on alternate Saturdays. Team leaders from both churches continue to communicate, and although both breakfast operations remain independent, we are proud of our ongoing ecumenical collaboration! The Community Breakfast program at CCDP is now well into its third successful year. Its two principal goals remain unchanged: to provide a biweekly hot breakfast for those in our community who need extra nutrition and to offer an opportunity for those at CCDP (and beyond) who would like to serve in a local ministry. The program benefits a vulnerable population, while allowing volunteers at CCDP to work out of their own church facility. It also addresses a less tangible, but still pressing need in the community - that of loneliness. It’s obvious on Saturday mornings that many of our “regulars” look forward to their time of fellowship in a friendly environment almost as much as they do to their generous portions of delicious scrambled eggs, sausages and toast. For this reason, providing a safe, family-like atmosphere in which to serve breakfast remains a priority. Guests are welcome to come just as they are: no payment is required, no personal questions are asked, nor any means test applied. Over time, this policy of inclusion has helped engender an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect between guests and team members alike, which we as volunteers work hard to sustain, and which the guests obviously appreciate. Facts and Figures
As always, very special thanks to our wonderful team of volunteers who make the Community Breakfast program happen: Ann Atkins, John Darby, Ebie Dunbar, Joan Filip, Michael Gendron, Joy Graham, Alastair Grant, Margaret Heather, Nicholas Jackson, Elizabeth Joy, Anne Larkin, Naomi Macdonald, Joyce McIntee, Bettie Martindale, Edna Quammie. An extra- special thank you to the Rev. Greg Carpenter for his help and support. Ross Morrow and Vickie Grant
We have been working with Rt. Rev. Christopher Boyle, Bishop of Northern Malawi, and his official representative to North America, Leah Creighton of Upperville, Virginia. Inspired by the work of St. Peter's, Coburg (where the Rector is former CCDP Assistant Curate, Canon Peter Walker) over many years on an orphan feeding program in Malawi, we have been researching how best Christ Church can play a meaningful role. After reviewing many options and a visit from Leah Creighton in the spring, we are excited to announce a final decision. CCDP will be starting a Dietary Improvement Program on the Islands of Likoma and Chizimulu. This program will be run by St. Peter's Hospital on Likoma, which is operated under the auspices of Bishop Boyle. We expect that it will provide weekly benefits to about 100 expectant mothers and babies, many of whom are HIV/AIDS positive and/or suffer from other diseases and conditions, most significantly malnutrition. The program will be offered by nurses from the hospital as a mobile clinic that will focus on education and providing healthy food, especially for pre- and post-natal mothers and babies. It will be connected directly with CCDP's Sunday school program PromiseLand, and the children will be linked with the program and people on Likoma Island. We have agreed to pilot this exciting project for 6 months and then assess its success and determine our longer-term commitment. In order to make this a reality, we are seeking to raise $25,000 over the next year. Already, we are off to a roaring start, with one parish couple generously donating $5,000 to pay for the first three months. We are a dedicated group of about 18 parishioners and others and we would welcome new members – both from CCDP and from the broader community. In particular, we are looking for those who can assist with some marketing efforts. Over the next month, there will be a series of announcements and promotions relating to this very initiative in both the parish and the local community. We are very excited about the project and the impact it will have both in Malawi and at Christ Church. Malawi Partnership Only four months into his episcopate the Bishop brought thanks and an update regarding the Dietary Program supported by Christ Church Deer Park. The program was originally developed to support pregnant HIV positive pregnant mothers and their children. Bishop Fanuel told us that initially they started with 35 women and children, however the success of the program has meant that it has been opened up to others who are HIV positive, and to date 80 women, children and men are participants of the Dietary Program. The Bishop reminded us that the anti-viral drugs without proper nutrition are very dangerous and can kill rather than heal. The Bishop reported "that this program is making a real difference in the lives of people. Not only are those taking the drug and in the program making good progress but, it has encouraged others to be tested for HIV and to seek help. This is the only way to break the stigma and the silence." Within the last year Malawi has become part of the internet system and "that has changed our world" said the Bishop. With available internet, communication and updates will be much easier. A plan to match our children and the children in the program as 'spiritual partners' is underway. This will foster relationship with each other as the children and families pray for each other and exchange photos and encouragement. The Bishop's visit has given us confidence to move forward with our continued support of this important work. We are our each other's keeper. Your continued financial support is appreciated. To give to this initiative please make your cheque payable to Christ Church Deer Park, and make the notation 'Malawi' . Letter of Thanks from a Moorelands Camper Dear Christ Church, My name is Danielle and I am Cabin Leader at Camp Moorelands. I would like to personally thank you for your donations to Moorelands. Without people like you, many Toronto children would not have this amazing experience. Camp provides a safe, fun positive atmosphere, where kids can be kids, and try many new things. I know this is the highlight of these children's summer! Thank you, sincerely, Danielle Connelly Moorelands website » 
Outreach in Action Today
Other activities we’re involved in:
This past year CCDP has supported a number of agencies concerned with food. One member of the committee is designated as the parish liaison with the Churches on the Hill (COTH) Food Bank. In addition to individual donations, approximately 30 parishioners regularly assist at the Food Bank in a variety of roles. A bin in the Atrium makes it easy for all of us to leave food that will be taken to the COTH Food Bank. A major 'feeding' project takes place between November and April when approximately 30 volunteers take part in a program to provide a weekly lunch of soup and sandwiches for 50 residents at two residences of LOFT. The lunch provides an opportunity for socialization as well as a tasty and nutritious meal. To visit the LOFT website, click here. The STOP Community Food Centre Christ Church Deer Park has had a long history of providing support to the STOP. The STOP Community Food Centre strives to increase access to healthy food in a manner that maintains dignity, builds community and challenges inequality. Their work is based on the belief that food is a basic human right. At The Stop they run a range of programs including community dining, kitchens and gardens, nutrition and support for pregnant women and a food bank. The Stop is located in Davenport West, a community that struggles with hunger, high unemployment and homelessness. To visit the STOP website click here.
THE DIOCESE OF TORONTO: FaithWorks In addition to personal and parish initiatives, Anglicans from across the Diocese of Toronto are also able to band together to make significant contributions. CCDP supports the outreach programs of the Diocese through the allocation of funds as determined by the Diocese. These programs include All Saints Church Community Centre and Flemington Park Ministry. To visit the FaithWorks website, click here.
We believe that we have a responsibility for sharing our resources in the wider community. This past year the committee provided support to a COTH evening to celebrate Africa with an inspiring talk by Stephen Lewis. We are exploring with the other member churches the most appropriate way of building continued community support for supportive programs in Africa. We also support the development and relief agency of the Anglican Church of Canada - the Primate's World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF). The Primate's Fund is the Canadian Anglican response for emergency relief, refugees, development, and justice. And it's making a difference in the world.
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Christ Church Deer Park
1570 Yonge Street - 2 blocks north of St. Clair Home | Location / Map | Links | Top of Page
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The Bishop of Northern Malawi, Fanuel Magangani was as charming as he was direct when he visited Christ Church on March 15, 2011. 
