Month: February 2018

The Opening – Guest Speaker El-Farouk Khaki

February 27, 2018
Rev. Warren McDougall & El-Farouk Khaki – Sunday February 25, 2018

We were deeply enriched by our time with Guest Speaker El-Farouk Khaki last Sunday.

VIDEO: El-Farouk Khaki reciting Al-Fatiha – The Opening of the Quran:

AUDIO: If you were absent, or would like to hear the message again, you can listen to it here:

February 25, 2018 – Guest Speaker – El-Farouk Khaki

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El-Farouk Khaki joined us on Sunday, February 25th, 2018.  El-Farouk is a spirituality activist, human rights &  justice advocate, and refugee lawyer, a public and media speaker on issues including Islam, LGBTIQ/human rights, refugees, politics and HIV.  El-Farouk is founder of Salaam: Queer Muslim Community (1991); and co-founder & imam of el-Tawhid Juma Circle (2009).  El-Farouk  is co-owner of the Glad Day Bookshop, and recipient of numerous Awards including: 2006 “Excellence in Spirituality” Award – Pride Toronto; 2007 Hero Award, Canadian Bar Association; and 2016 CCVT Trevor Batram Award.  He is currently working on his first book exploring issues of sexuality, social justice and spirituality.

 

Missional Leadership Task Team Update

March 19, 2018

On June 10, 2017 the congregations of Leaside United Church and Presteign-Woodbine United Church amalgamated into a single pastoral charge. At that time, all Presteign-Woodbine United Church property and assets, including the Jean Bruce Bequest, were transferred to the new Leaside United Church Board of Trustees. On December 21, 2017 the Presteign-Woodbine United Church real estate was sold. The amount of money that the new Leaside United Church will receive from the sale is at the discretion of Presbytery and is dependent on our submission outlining our future missions and use of capital funds.

Understanding, the importance of preparing for this challenge, on May 17, 2017 a motion was proposed by Graham Lute and Brenda French, co-chairs of the Missional Leadership Task Team, that funding be approved for a Congregational Development Project, lead by M&M International, focusing on the future needs of our congregation, our building and property and the communities of Leaside and Ward 31, the former Presteign-Woodbine United Church catchment area.

A number of interested members have given generously of their time and many meetings, workshops and interviews have taken place to assess exciting possibilities. We have made good progress and now look forward in sharing the gathered information and proposed ideas.

To bring you up-to-date, two Information Town Hall meetings are scheduled for Sundays, March 4th and March 11th. These sessions will take place following the church service. Each Town Hall will provide the same information, so you need only attend on one of those dates. If neither date is suitable, the Power Point presentation will be available online or a hardcopy will be available on request. Instructions to access the electronic file will be provided in an upcoming E-News. Following the Information Sessions, it is important to receive your comments, feedback and direction. A Town Hall Feedback Session is scheduled for Sunday, March 18th, again following the church service. If you are unavailable, an electronic or a hardcopy Feedback Form will be provided.

The Team expects the Congregation Development Project will take some months to really understand and commit to our future plans as is it is going to take time to prioritize mission plans, establish budgets, allocate volunteers and staffing and hire an architect to help plan changes to both our building and green space.

It is an amazing opportunity for the new Leaside United Church and we invite you all to participate. There is a lot of information to review, so please set aside time on March 4th or March 11th to listen to the Team’s presentations, and then, on March 18th the Team will listen as you express your ideas and suggestions.

Thank you!

Supporting documents to this project are located on a Google Drive.  Directions to access this link are available in hard copy or can be emailed individually upon request.  Contact Alison Jane in the office for more information.

Rev. Evan Smith – Guest Speaker

March 5, 2018

 

On Sunday, March 4th 10:30am, the Rev. Evan Smith will be our speaker.  Evan is ordained in the United Church of Canada and is the minister at Toronto Urban Native Ministry in Regent Park.  Rev. Evan is Two-Spirit, Anishinaabe, and turtle clan. Evan works on the front lines doing pastoral care and harm reduction with sex workers, Indigenous LGBTQ2A youth, families, people who are incarcerated and street-involved folks.  Passionate about encouraging peoples spiritual health, Evan serves Indigenous people living on the margins through the practice of both Traditional Spirituality and Christianity as part of her ministerial work at Toronto Urban Native Ministry.

El-Farouk Khaki – Guest Speaker

February 26, 2018

 

 

On Sunday, February 25th 10:30am, our guest speaker will be El-Farouk Khaki.  El-Farouk is a spirituality activist, human rights &  justice advocate, and refugee lawyer, a public and media speaker on issues including Islam, LGBTIQ/human rights, refugees, politics and HIV.  El-Farouk is founder of Salaam: Queer Muslim Community (1991); and co-founder & imam of el-Tawhid Juma Circle (2009).  El-Farouk  is co-owner of the Glad Day Bookshop, and recipient of numerous Awards including: 2006 “Excellence in Spirituality” Award – Pride Toronto; 2007 Hero Award, Canadian Bar Association; and 2016 CCVT Trevor Batram Award.  He is currently working on his first book exploring issues of sexuality, social justice and spirituality.