DANFORTH MENNONITE CHURCH
416-422-2406

We welcome all guests who have joined us.

 

Danforth Mennonite Church
January 19, 2025   11:00 a.m.
Order of Service

Welcome

Introduction and video

Opening Hymn:  VT#778 Will You Let Me Be Your Servant

Announcements

Offering Prayer

Special Music:   ‘Anointing, Fall on Me’  — Don B. and Kathy W.

Congregational prayer time

Scripture reading:  Mark 1:14-20

Hymn: VT #283  Lord, You Have Come To The Lakeshore

Introduction of this morning’s speaker

Message:  Ordinary People

Closing hymn:  VT #839  Go my friends, in peace

Benediction

 

Leading Us in Worship
Message                             Stephen R., MCC Ontario
Worship Leader             Sue S.
Song Leader                     Sue S.
Musician                            Jessica M. (piano), Ray W. (tuba)
Greeters                             Wilda S., Tessa R.
Zoom Host                        Bonnie W.
A/V Technician               Fazal S.

 

Hymn of the month:  VT #839  Go Ye Now in Peace

 

Adult Discussion Class

This week we continue to explore the early church. Please read along with us Acts 4:32-5:11. All are invited to join.

If you would like to receive emails regarding what’s happening in our class, please contact Bonnie.

 

Scripture Reading

Mark 1:14-20
Jesus Announces the Good News
¹⁴ After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ¹⁵ “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

Jesus Calls His First Disciples
¹⁶ As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.
¹⁷ “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”
¹⁸ At once they left their nets and followed him.
¹⁹ When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets.
²⁰ Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

 

SHARING IN THE PATH TO
RECONCILIATION

A message from the Outreach and Service Committee

An eye-opener for me was in Thompson Highway’s chapter titled “Why Cree is the Funniest of All Languages”. He writes “Here for the purpose of comparison, is a creation myth that should knock the socks right off your English-speaking feet and, in the process, make you laugh until you’re bent over double.” Leslie S., O&S Committee

“Humour is the WD-40 of healing”
the words of a Blood Reserve elder

Summary from The Toronto Public Library…
Humor has always been an essential part of North American aboriginal culture. This fact remained unnoticed by most settlers, however, since non-aboriginals just didn’t get the joke. For most of written history, a stern, unyielding profile of “the Indian” dominated the popular mainstream imagination. Indians, it was believed, never laughed. But Indians themselves always knew better.  As an award-winning playwright, columnist, and comedy-sketch creator, Drew Hayden Taylor has spent 15 years writing and researching aboriginal humor. For Me Funny, he asked a noted cast of writers from a variety of fields — including such celebrated wordsmiths as Thomas King, Allan J. Ryan, Mirjam Hirch, and Tomson Highway — to take a look at what makes aboriginal humor tick. Their hilarious, enlightening contributions playfully examine the use of humor in areas as diverse as stand-up comedy, fiction, visual art, drama, performance, poetry, traditional storytelling, and education.

 

DANFORTH ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

Danforth Mennonite Church
Annual General meeting
February 2, 2025

Dates to note:

• AGM booklet will be emailed out January 22
• printed copies upon request – will be available January 26 (Sunday before the meeting)

DMC Policy on Attending and Voting at
DMC Business and Congregation meetings

Everyone is welcome to attend the business and/or congregation meeting and participate in the discussion.  You are welcome to vote if you have been participating at DMC, and plan to continue doing so in the future.

Church directory and
birthday list

I am updating the church directory and the birthday/anniversary list.

When you are at church, please review and initial the documents on the table outside the sanctuary that: 

• Information is correct AND
• You give permission to publish.

I will contact via email those persons that don’t come in person to church.

The directory will only be distributed for those persons listed in it.

The birthday and anniversary information is used for notices in the bulletin.  I don’t put in the year unless it is requested.  We highlight (with your permission) birthdays ending in zero and five (e.g.  5. 50, 75, 80) in the church newsletter.

I am now focused on the birthday and anniversary list.

 

Treasurer’s Report: We received $7,102 in offerings in December. Your donations along with the absence of a paid Pastor have led to a $43,715 operating surplus to the end of 2024. Expenses were also low in 2024.  More details will follow in the Financial Report for the AGM. Thank you for your steady financial commitment to Danforth during this unusual year.

In December we received $1,400 in donations directed towards our Benevolence Fund. At year end there is $2,251 in the fund. Our policy has a target of keeping $2,000 in the fund for crisis situations.

In December there was an additional $560 donated to our Food Bank fund. This additional money allowed us to send $680 to the Neighbourhood Group for the 40 Teesdale Food Bank and $680 to the Nourish East End Food Bank by year end.

There was also a $172 donation to the John G. Memorial Fund. This fund now stands at $1200

Special Note: We recently received in January 2025, a planned gift from the Estate of Salome H. There will be more information about this bequest in the Financial Report for the AGM and a full report from Church Council at the AGM on Feb. 2, 2025.

Donations to Danforth Mennonite Church are always welcome through Sunday morning offerings, mailed cheques or email transfers at dmmc2174@gmail.com. Please contact Roger H. if you would like to join the monthly giving program which happens through bank transfers on the 15th of each month. Thank you to all for your generous support for the work of our church.

 

Ladies Walking group
will start up again on
January 28^th
at Taylor Creek Park.

See you in a week.

 

Worship Schedule reminder

January 26
Message                   Pieter N.
Worship leader    Linda D.
Song Leader           Don B.
Musicians                Kathy W. (piano), Ray W. (tuba)
Greeters                  Wilda S., Tessa R.
ZOOM host           Bonnie W.
A/V Tech                 Roger H.

Discussion Class     Acts – John E.

February 2
Message                    Pieter N.
Worship leader     Cindy R.
Song Leader            Dalton J.
Musicians                 Roger H. (piano), Ray W. (tuba)
Greeters                   Dalton & Carol J.
ZOOM host            Bonnie W.
A/V Tech                   Don B.

Hymn Sing             our favorites lead by Dalton

 

Church Council is pleased to announce that Pieter N.
 will begin the role of pastor of DMC on Sat. Feb. 1, 2025…

just in time for our Annual General Meeting on Sunday Feb. 2.

Just a note about the schedule for speaking on Sundays:

Before Pieter’s start date was finalized, Worship Committee had already scheduled Pieter to return as a guest speaker on Sun. Jan. 26.

As pastor, Pieter will speak several times a month; for example, on Feb. 2, 9, and 23. As we resume having a pastor, we will also resume our long-held practice of having a guest speaker at least once a month, on average. This gives the pastor more time, in that week, to focus on other aspects of ministry.

 

WIDER CHURCH ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

Hope Starts at Home:
An evening with Phyllis W.

March 24, 2025 at 6 pm
Bingemans Conference Centre,
425 Bingemans Centre Dr, Kitchener

Join us on March 24 along with author and speaker, Phyllis W., the founder and ambassador of the Orange Shirt Society. Phyllis will share her childhood of healing and reconciliation in Canada as we seek to restore justice, foster belonging and address poverty in Ontario. Funds raised at the event will supply MCC Ontario’s new meat cannery. To learn more and order your tickets, go to

mcc.org/evening-with-phyllis-webstad.

 

 

In This together presents a webinar series…Faithfully at Variance: Engaging with the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective. Webinar #2 takes place on Sunday February 2, 6pm CT. We will be discussing Queer Relationships to the Confession. Theologian and MCEC Pastor Eliot Chandler Burns will reflect on historical and current impacts of the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective on Queer Mennonites, followed by responses by Anita F. and Nessa S. For more details and to register,

visit inthistogethernetwork.ca/news-and-events.

 

In Summary, upcoming events:

At Danforth
January
22  AGM booklet will be emailed
26  AGM booklet printed copies available on request
28  Ladies Walking Group – Taylor Creek Park

February
1  Pastor Pieter joins us as our Pastor
2  DMC AGM
4  Ladies walking group
8  Men’s breakfast
8  Messy Church
11  Ladies walking group
18  Ladies walking group
25  Ladies walking group

Wider Church
February
2  In This Together webinar

March
24  Evening with Phyllis W.