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Board Games, Bites, & Beverages: Christmas Edition!

Join us for a night of crazy fun and fellowship! Bring your favourite board and card games to share, or discover new ones. Enjoy some great game action, snacks, and drinks and invite your friends. Crazy Christmas sweaters encouraged!

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Board Games, Bites & Beverages!

Come join us for a night of crazy fun and friendship from 7 until 9! Bring your favourite board and card games to share or drop in and discover new ones. Come enjoy some great game action, snacks, and drinks. Invite your friends!

Date: Friday, July 10 at 7:00pm

Location: (Winchester Room) Knox Presbyterian Church, 630 Spadina Avenue

Free Snacks and Drinks!

Hope to see you there! If you have any questions, email Colin McCordic: colin@knoxtoronto.org

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Open House: Women's World Cup + Building Tours

To kick off the long weekend, we’re inviting the neighbourhood to come in!

We’ll be offering tours of the building, and a chance to watch the Women’s World Cup games from the generous space of our sanctuary.

Doors open at 9am. We’ll close up when the last game we screen finishes up.

All are welcome!

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Board Games, Bites & Beverages!

Come join us for a night of crazy fun and friendship from 7 until 9! Bring your favourite board and card games to share or drop in and discover new ones. Come enjoy some great game action, snacks, and drinks. Invite your friends!

Date: Friday, February 8th

Location: (Winchester Room) Knox Presbyterian Church, 630 Spadina Avenue

Free Snacks and Drinks!

Hope to see you there! If you have any questions, email Colin McCordic: colin@knoxtoronto.org

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Knox Weekend: Why Evangelism?

Knox Weekend: Why Evangelism?

Saturday, February 2

Whether the word "evangelism" makes you uncomfortable or really excited, come explore the call of Jesus to all believers and get equipped to follow it!

From big questions to practical tips, the content will be rich, the food delicious, and the experience categorically better because of your presence among us. 

REGISTER HERE

Morning keynote: Good news about the Good News

Afternoon seminars (choose 1):

- Alpha: A Culture of Evangelism 

- The Role of the Holy Spirit in Evangelism

- What Does "Good News" Look Like for Your Neighbourhood?

Childcare for 0 - 12 years old available.

Pricing:

$30 for Adults, $20 for University Students & Seniors $15 for Kids/Teens $80 for the Family Package (2 adults + 2 or more kids/teens)

Want to attend for free? Email ashlee@knoxotornto.org to volunteer and attend half the conference for free!

REGISTER HERE

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Board Games, Bites & Beverages!

Come join us for a night of crazy fun and friendship from 7 until 9! Bring your favourite board and card games to share or drop in and discover new ones. Come enjoy some great game action, snacks, and drinks. Invite your friends!

Date: Friday, January 11th

Location: (Winchester Room) Knox Presbyterian Church, 630 Spadina Avenue

Free Snacks and Drinks!

Hope to see you there! If you have any questions, email Colin McCordic: colin@knoxtoronto.org

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Board Games, Bites & Beverages!

Come join us for a night of crazy fun and friendship from 7 until 9! Bring your favourite board and card games to share or drop in and discover new ones. Come enjoy some great game action, snacks, and drinks. Invite your friends! Christmas themed! Tacky Christmas sweaters encouraged!

Date: Friday, December 14th

Location: (Winchester Room) Knox Presbyterian Church, 630 Spadina Avenue

Free Snacks and Drinks!

Hope to see you there! If you have any questions, email Colin McCordic: colin@knoxtoronto.org

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Board Games, Bites & Beverages

Come join us for a night of crazy fun and friendship from 7 until 9! Bring your favourite board and card games to share or drop in and discover new ones. Come enjoy some great game action, snacks, and drinks. Invite your friends!

Date: Friday, November 9th

Location: (Reception Room) Knox Presbyterian Church, 630 Spadina Avenue

Free Snacks and Drinks!

Hope to see you there! If you have any questions, email Colin McCordic: colin@knoxtoronto.org

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Hear again

“When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed; but others said, ‘We will hear you again about this.’”

Acts 17:32

There are certain things that are so incredible that even those who desire to believe need to hear it again—perhaps need to hear it again and again. This “we will hear you again about this” attitude, this willingness to entertain even the most outlandish suggestions because they stir a certain hope of truth inside of us, is what the Christian practice of weekly gathering and weekly storytelling is all about.

Every week we hear an incredible truth: that Jesus did die and rise again, that life to the full and without end is freely given, that God's love for this world is better even than the love that the world desires for itself, or that we are a people of truth and justice.

But then we return to the world of dead-meaning-dead, of conditional love where nothing (not even lunch) is free, and the doubts creep in - the questions about who we are and who God is manifest themselves once more. This is natural. This is not to be ashamed of—and it is in courage that we say repeatedly “we will hear again about this.” Despite the scoffers in our midst and the world that is so sure we’re fools for considering anything but its ways to be true or right: we choose to hear stories of truth again, to consider them in fresh ways each week. We choose to come, even with doubts and questions, because there's something beautiful that draws us to this incredible truth.

These Athenians who said “we will hear you again about this” were not uniquely incredulous or critical. They were a model for us of simple faith lived out, models of a genuine response to the unfathomable nature of God’s good truth—the truths of stories we never dared believe before. Stories that give us reason for hope and longing for the future.

This week, you are invited to come and hear again. Hear again about the kingdom of God that is being made real here, wherever you’re reading this, and everywhere where God’s people are. Hear again about how our church is following Jesus (even when you feel like you lost Jesus a long time ago), how we are loving the city (even though you are dismayed at the violence in our streets), and how we are serving the world (even if you feel overwhelmed at the thought of it.) Hear again these good truths for your soul.

Whether it’ll be for the first time in a long time, or one of countless times remembering together. Come and hear. Come and see. Come and believe.

I can’t wait to hear about God’s goodness again with you tomorrow.

This post was first sent to our mailing list.

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Postponed: Site Renewal Info Session

The Building and Property Committee is very sorry to share that the Site Renewal Information Session that was scheduled for this Sunday, September 30th, has had to be postponed. We are waiting on some important information that directly affects the site renewal, and the Motion that we will be putting forward to the congregation to vote on. The Building and Property Committee is committed to putting forth a viable plan to renew Knox Church site and facilities, and we are unable to do so until we have the pending information. Please note, as a result of this, the Q & A Session on the Site and Facilities Renewal scheduled for October 18th is also being postponed.  Both of these events will be rescheduled. The Committee thanks the Congregation for its patience and understanding, and continues to ask for prayer as we work through this complex and important site renewal process.

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Has your September been busy?

Dear Church,

September always seems to come upon me with a rush, landing in my world with a “hit-the-ground-running” sort of urgency. Just as I feel I’ve really hit my easy summer stride, September shows up—out-pacing me at every step, challenging me to keep up. Usually, at this point in September—if I’m being honest—I’m not sure I can.

Perhaps you can relate.

Perhaps your first week of September was jammed with frantic morning lunch-packing, frenzied back-to-school shopping and adjusting to a new rotation of pick-ups, drop-offs and after-school childcare. Perhaps your September began with renewed volunteer commitments, a ramp-up at work, and all the sports teams you thought you could handle starting up at the same time. Perhaps you moved to a new city, started school and found your first apartment. Or, perhaps your September has been a leisurely stroll towards autumn (in which case, enjoy the pace!)

September—for many of us—is a season of new beginnings, full of excitement and possibility. At Knox we call this season “September Launch” because we get to throw ourselves into all that God has for us this year with energy and hope, certain that He will move among us. What an amazing season! It’s also true that with beginnings come transitions, which challenge us, disrupt us and invite us into deeper dependence upon God.

For me, this has been a September of multiple beginnings. I’m preparing to get married in a couple of weeks, while my fiancée, Fran, and I have moved across the country, leaving community and ministry roles to start a new job, and a new program of study, in a new city. It’s full of excitement and possibility, and I feel certain that God is leading us into something extraordinary … and I have learned that we can’t do this alone!

As we began our vision sermon series this month with the call to be followers of Jesus’ way, I found myself so grateful to be serving a God who leads us. That, in the midst of our Septembers, we are not left to flounder in the chaos of “launch” season, but we can lift our eyes to the One who sets our course. The good news, church, is that we don’t just learn about, sing about, talk about, pray about Jesus, we follow Him. Through new beginnings, through transition, into the future He has prepared for us, we look for the footsteps of Jesus and follow His trail. He is going somewhere we can’t see yet, inviting us to trust that His way is good and true, and to fall into step with Him. Instead of promising to remove the challenges that come with new beginnings, Jesus calls us into and through them, promising to be with us - leading us and calling us forward for the sake of His kingdom and for our flourishing. Isn’t this good, church?

Whether your September so far feels like chaos or calm, I invite you to practice lifting your eyes towards the One you follow this week. In the 5PM service this week, we sang a simple chorus that a friend taught me for when I feel overwhelmed by the rush and swirl of life:

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus

Look full on His wonderful face

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim

In the light of His glory and grace.”

Jesus is leading you through this season. He is ahead of you, and behind you, on your right and your left. He knows where you’re going, and knows exactly how to get there. Let us rest, and walk, and trust, and hope, in that good promise, my friends. And let us live our Septembers in the light of His glory and grace.

Much peace,

Pastor Kristen

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Knox Pastoral Staff Team

“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4)

Session approved reorganizing our pastoral staffing team with the goal for staff to equip and engage God’s people for ministry. The pastors and ministry directors will be leaders who build and lead ministry teams of volunteers who carry out the ministry. Each pastoral staff leader will focus the bulk of their efforts to equip, develop and disciple leaders, teams, and volunteers under their direction and supervision.

Here’s an overview of the current pastoral staff team along with areas of ministry. Please contact any of these staff with your ideas, thoughts, and questions about ministry at Knox. We are eager to partner together!

Ministry Directors

Staff members directing specific ministry programming:

Children’s Ministry Interim Director - Betty Reinders: is responsible for children’s ministries from 0 - gr. 8, including nursery, Tiny Tots, 252’s and Junior High Ministry.

International Ministries Interim Director: Colin McCordic: provides leadership for English as Second Language ministries and International Bible studies.

Young Adult Ministry Interim Director - Fiona Jack: is responsible for providing leadership and discipleship for our University ministry, engaging students in the life of Jesus.

Pastoral Lead Team

The pastors providing primary ministry leadership for our church:

Senior Minister - Rev. Dr. Phil Reinders: has primary preaching and teaching responsibilities, and provides key leadership for the overall Knox ministry vision and strategy, working closely with staff and Session.

Assistant Minister - (soon to be Rev.) Nick Renaud: shares preaching responsibilities, provides pastoral care and prayer ministry leadership, as well as ministry supervision to senior ministry staff (other than Sr. Minister).

Worship Pastor - Kristen Westwood: oversees all elements in the design and development of dynamic, biblical worship across all worship services, connecting worshippers to the story and presence of God, while developing leaders and a culture of participation within the worship ministry.

Discipleship Pastor - Ashlee Campbell: provides ministry leadership to Discipleship Ministries at Knox, including Home Church and Adult Discipleship programming, along with Youth Ministry oversight and direction.

Connections Pastor - Peter de Koning: this newly developed staff position is responsible for creating a culture of welcome and hospitality for all guests and church members, ensuring people are incorporated into the Knox Church family and shepherded into engagement in the body life of the church. Until December 2018, Peter will continue in a half-time role as Communications Coordinator. In January 2019, Peter will add the role of volunteer development, providing leadership for equipping, training and developing ministry volunteers.

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Fall Faith + Practice Conference

Fall 2018: Worshipping All Together

REGISTER HERE

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

- Revelation 7:9,10

Join us for a day of learning and being sent out to worship in the fullness of our incredible diversity as God's creation.

Keynote speaker, David Bailey, will be teaching about worship, justice and reconciliation in the morning. In the afternoon we'll have three seminars to choose from:

The Intergenerational Church with Tim Day, Executive Director of City Movement

We Are Family: Worshipping Outside Your Tradition But Still Within Your Family with Michelle & Peter de Koning, Worship Leader and Connections Pastor at Knox Church

Reconciliation and Worship with David Bailey, Founder and Executive Director of Arrabon

Kids Conference - What is worship?

For ages 3 - 13

Bring the kids along for a fun-filled day of music, games and Bible study to learn about what worship is!

Kids will join us for worship in the morning and lunch.

Teens

Join us for the plenary and seminars, then debrief over ice cream with your youth leaders!

Tickets: $30 - Adult  $20 - Students & Seniors  $15 - Child (Under 18) $80 Family Package (2 adults and 2 or more kids/teens)

Contact ashlee@knoxtoronto.org if you would like to volunteer and receive a free ticket!

REGISTER HERE

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Saying goodbye

Last week, our church and a wide-ranging camp community said goodbye to Overnight Camp. A decades-long ministry that bore sweet and plentiful fruit in the lives of many. 

Church, I cried during our last morning worship watching kids aged baby to teens singing and dancing about God’s goodness and faithfulness. We were all smudged with dirt or still wet from polar bear dip swims. We were all terribly sleepy from the long days of activity and sunshine. We were all moved by God’s Spirit to worship him and give him the glory for an incredible week, for an incredible legacy, of overnight camp. 

It was my hard job to help our campers and staff say goodbye to overnight camp, a job for which I am nonetheless deeply grateful and will always feel was a high privilege. I am filled with gratitude because God met us in profound ways as we ended this ministry, and I think some lessons and truths can only be learned when we participate in something ending. The timeless wisdom of Ecclesiastes 3, "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: ... a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance", echoed through camp. I discovered in our collective sorrow a gentle whisper from God saying “trust me in what comes next.” 

On Tuesday we taught a Bible study about faith, inviting campers to explore what faith means, to apply in their everyday lives the definition Paul gives us in Hebrews 11: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

On the last day of camp, Saturday, all the leaders and campers had an opportunity to practice faith, to ask God for a greater gift of faith, as we have to trust his promises and hope for good things even as this good thing—overnight camp—is over. 

I remembered that God does not shortchange anyone, his promises for our thriving and our belovedness are not dependent on earthly programs (although God delights in and works through them all the time!) His promises are eternal and enduring, his Spirit is with us even when our friends or family are not. 

There is also hope in “fallow fields.” There is no dry ground in ending Overnight, just rich soil resting while we discern what God asks us to plant next. We are listening for his “still small voice” as I was reminded when our new worship pastor, Kristen Westwood, came up to camp for a few days and taught us a new song with those words. 

"Not a shout, or loud and banging timpanis But a still small voice You can run or even just ignore the plea Of the still small voice The Spirit calls He wants to change your heart So listen to the still small voice"

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Field notes for seed sown

by Fiona Jack

“A farmer went out to sow . . .” —Mark 4:3

1

They put a sign out. It says, “Closed.” It has said “Closed” since they put it out— last week, seven months ago, a decade before you showed up. Do not mistake smooth for soft; there is no sinking in, no burrowing under. The sign says, “Closed,” as in, “Leave us alone,” as in, “Don’t come around again,” as in, “You are not welcome here anymore.” They put a sign out.

2

They’ll sigh and shake their heads and say, “You always do this— this always happens. You always do this.”

And they’re not wrong. This is what happens: You burst on the scene, you tower to the skies. It’s 0 to 100, wonderful whiplash. Parade-worthy palms and hosannas, the whole nine yards. You really are quite the show.

And for those moments, sequin-showered, diamond-drenched, for those moments, oh, you dazzle. You explode. It’s almost as if the coming storm is not. It’s almost as if you’re going to live forever. Hallelujah.

We forget, don’t we? So easily. The invisible terror, the howl and groan, the grip and tug, unearthed. We’d have thought about roots, if wishing made it so. We wish we’d thought about roots. And irrigation. And pH levels.

See, but you always do this. This always happens. You always do this. They sigh and shrug and shake their heads. The rootless tree has fallen again.

3

Oh, hi . . . You’re new. I’m sure they’ve cleared a spot just for you. There’s a lot going on, or they’d be here themselves to show you around. They’ll check in next week, I’m sure. Just make yourself at home. Sorry, to the left a bit? Thanks, it’s just—no, no, not so far down please.

Right, here’s good. Let me know if there’s anything you need. Just, remember, there’s a lot going on around here— exciting stuff, so many opportunities, just, a lot. You’ll see. You learn to lay low, stay in your lane, wait your turn, you know? And you just got here, so . . .

4

After a long day in the sun, after a good day working, after a good, long day working in the sun, I am shadowing her left cheekbone, her right nostril, caking both his kneecaps as they sit on the porch and watch the sun turn in. I’m what they’re cleaning out from under fingernails. After a long day, I stay with them still.

They are preparing me always, aren’t they? In the glow of the early morning they hurry barefoot to the garden to wiggle their toes in this dew-kissed plot, soaking up, sinking in, the awe and ache of what might grow, the joy and wonder of all the becoming you will do.

They are preparing me always, aren’t they? Even before they leave their beds they’ve been dreaming every colour, every scent, every sound. They wake humming campfire hallelujahs danced upon holy ground.

She knows the difference between yes and maybe, between fear and love, and free and bound. His tired eyes have seen enough to trust what’s working underground.

They hold me in their hands, they hope, they pray over this mud and dust. “Stay close,” I whisper. “Stay close, breathe deep. It’s taking root in us.”

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Reflections on Alpha

by Tatiana

Why did you decide to try Alpha?

I heard about Alpha through TTC ads, a sign on the lawn of St. George the Martyr, and, most importantly, after being invited by close friends who are members of Knox and were hosting a table.

I wanted to try Alpha for a variety of reasons. I had, a few years prior, committed my life to Jesus, but despite this commitment and much “shopping around” I hadn’t been able to enter a church community. Also, a couple months before the start of Alpha I had been diagnosed with chronic trauma, and not only the symptoms but the shock of the diagnosis meant life was overwhelming and almost unmanageable.

In former years as an atheist, I held and demonstrated a disrespectful attitude towards both Christ and Christians. And more recently, as a believer, I sat there quietly and unspeaking as others did the same. It became clear to me that my former attitude, words, and passivity were something that I need to make amends for as part of my recovery from my traumatic past.

So I wanted to try Alpha because I had a sense that Jesus’s name could heal me, and that Alpha would be a way to bridge the gap I felt between us, to make amends for the past harm stemming from my speech and attitudes, and to find a way into church.

What did you think of the Alpha experience?

I liked Alpha because it is an open place for people to talk about important things about faith without being told what is right to believe and what is wrong to believe. I'm very sensitive about how being told what to believe can go wrong.

Alpha at Knox approaches faith discussions with the perspective that it is more important to be unconditionally loving, and to respect where a person is at in their individual faith journey, than it is to attempt to “correct” or “teach” an Alpha guest’s belief systems. This perspective is a subtle, humble, and considerably more helpful approach, as it relies on the Holy Spirit rather than on individual judgement of what the guest needs to believe. The atmosphere is based on an attitude of “Thy will Lord, not mine, be done.”

Another great aspect of the Alpha experience is the videos, which were full of thought-provoking and informative testimonials from many different walks life within and outside of Christianity, featuring missionaries, Hillsong United, and the preacher to the Pope.

Most of all I loved and appreciated the warm reception, hospitality and atmosphere that we received every week. It spoke to a type of caring community that was painfully absent from my life. At Alpha I found an environment where God's love is demonstrated through action ahead of words, and where listening and loving is more important than being right. It was truly the most incredible gift.

In what ways did you benefit from being part of Alpha as a guest?

Collectively, the respectful atmosphere, the presence of the Holy Spirit, the loving hospitality, and the spiritual information provided a setting where I could get the repair and reconnection in my relationship with Christ that I so badly needed. I found a way to ask for and to receive his forgiveness, and found that sharing my faith for the benefit of others is the way he wills me to make amends for the atheistic attitudes of the past.

Alpha taught me that it is safe to come to church. It was a gentle entry into faith community.

I come from a troubled family, and though I have wanted to come to church for a long time, I also thought that church would be like my family and that I had better avoid it.

I benefited and continue to benefit from the welcoming reception that I have been receiving at Knox. Prayer support has helped me through treatment for chronic trauma, two deaths in the family, and to take on a challenging employment opportunity, all within the last four months. And that is not even the best part­—being in fellowship in Christ’s family—which for me is truly a miracle.

How has Alpha impacted your faith walk?

Alpha has really strengthened my faith walk because even though I believed in and was following Jesus, I hadn't been able to walk in faith in a group. I learned what folly it was to go it alone and how wonderful and safe it is here at Knox.

Further, Alpha provided very important spiritual information. Prior to Alpha, when I first returned to God, in November 2011, I felt so incredibly free. It was as if every problem that ever existed was solved, and no sorrow would ever have validity again. But I had been living with an undiagnosed mental illness my entire life, and it caught up with me. The down times that I experienced were very dark and deep, considerably more difficult than the malaise of atheism, and these episodes kept returning. While I had been led to many helpful treatments, systems, and tools, even my relationship with God, I did not know how to properly defend my spiritual self. Alpha provided very effective information on how to do that.

Another very important impact was learning the distinction between conviction and condemnation. With chronic trauma comes chronic shame and guilt. Awareness of the subtle distinction between thoughts that are beating me up versus thoughts that are urging me to step up is a life-changing awareness.

How has Alpha impacted your involvement with the Knox community?

In and of myself, I didn’t have the inspiration to maintain my faith, nor to enter a church. So Alpha has had a huge impact by bringing me into faith community at Knox.

Alpha has inspired me to share what I have experienced about how Jesus's forgiveness has changed my life. It has shown me how important it is to share how Jesus has liberated me with others. I have been attending service regularly since the fall. I have also started out with a Home Church and I am looking forward to helping out with our next Alpha.

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He is risen!