October 8
Dear Friends,
The Hospitality Team has lived out Islington’s five core values — caring, stewardship, Christ-centred, discipleship and hospitality — from the home base of the Stewart East Hall kitchen built in 1962.
Although the kitchen served us well, by 2013 it was beginning to show its age. Broken drawer fronts, deteriorating asbestos tiles, clogged drains, cracked countertops . . . the list went on. It was clear that something needed to be done.
So we began a prayerful journey of discernment, learning and commitment. Just as Abram and Sari felt God telling them to go while being assured of God’s leading and support, we felt the same call. And it wasn’t long before our options were clearly revealed: bring the current kitchen in line with current building code requirements, or be forced to shut it down entirely.
Our journey of the past seven years has been challenging, meaningful and full of learning. And it has involved many, many members of our community including public health workers, the fire department, city planners, architects, engineers, chefs, other churches, faith groups, construction contractors and kitchen planners. We have been blessed by people who have shared generously of their time, their talent and their treasure.
Then we took all that we had learned and presented a plan, asking for the congregation’s approval to move ahead. Much like God had done, the congregation urged us to go and assured us of their love and support.
And so we did. We moved ahead and the construction is done. But, while the kitchen is physically complete, our work is not yet finished.
The final task is to meet our commitment of raising outstanding expenses of $65,000. We know we can’t rely on magic to address these costs. We need real dollars to support this ministry. So we are asking if you will share some of your treasure — any amount — to bring us to our goal.
Will you help us get there? After all, it’s not magic. It’s ministry!
Sincerely,
Isla Grady and Meredith Whipp, Co-leads
Elsa van Vliet
Catherine Locke
The Hospitality Ministry Team
October 15
Dear Friends,
In the touching song “Thankful,” the words repeat: “There’s so much to be thankful for.” This past Sunday we celebrated the joy of Thanksgiving as our Worship Service invited us into a time of gratitude.
Our scripture this week is the beautiful story of Abraham and Sarah found in Genesis 18: 1-15. In the scripture, Abraham, seeing three strangers at the door of their tent, runs to Sarah asking her to prepare food for the strangers, and the food she prepares sounds like a feast. Sarah, and everyone in the tent, willingly whips up an amazing, generous meal. When the strangers eat, they tell Abraham and Sarah that they will be blessed for their hospitality with a long awaited son.
It is one of the amazing stories of Hospitality in our biblical family album. When Abraham and Sarah generously share God’s bounty that they have received, they are blessed.
Our Hospitality Ministry at Islington United Church has experienced blessings over and over. When food is safely and lovingly prepared and shared we have been blessed. Blessed with so much support and generosity by our church partners and members of the community who have heard of our work and want to help us grow our Ministry.
From September 2019 until January 2020 your Hospitality Ministry offered food service over 51,332 times. Our ministry was growing with more and more opportunities to reach out using our kitchen. Our Hospitality Team was growing.
The story of offering hospitality is the story of food trust. Our guests must trust that the food we offer is safe, and they are safe. These are key elements of true Hospitality, and they informed our need for a complete renovation of our kitchen.
In the video presentation today, you will have a glimpse of our new kitchen. It meets all standards of health and safety. This was the vision of our inter-generational team and the product of the amazing, dedicated JOVA construction team making each dollar an investment in our growing ministry.
The lyrics of the song “Thankful” say: “It’s up to us, to be the change.”
So, here we are asking you to help us raise $65,000 to finish our financial commitment so we can continue our commitment to our Hospitality Ministry. “There’s so much to be thankful for.”
Sincerely,
Isla Grady and Meredith Whipp, Co-leads
Elsa van Vliet
Catherine Locke
The Hospitality Ministry Team
October 22
Experts tell us that, when you are looking at improving your home, the smartest place to put your hard-earned money is in the kitchen. It’s always an investment. The same thinking holds true in our church home.
What happens in the kitchen of our church home is a long-held practice in all cultures — the practice of hospitality . When we want to invite the family over to celebrate we make food and eat together; when we want to develop new relationships, we eat together. At the table we share our stories — it is a place of trust.
The scripture we heard in worship this week is Matthew 25: 30–41. Jesus uses the words: “I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was sick you and cared for me, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was in prison and you visited me,” and then this line: “Whatever you do for anyone you do for me.” Not just people who can pay, or whom you know, or who are of a certain age — anyone. This passage is a model of responsibility that has guided the Ministry of Hospitality and that we hold as a core value at Islington United Church.
It is this practice of inviting and eating together that has been a part of our past, and is a growing part of both our present and future. The amazing Resonance Project, rEcess Islington, and Thursday night dinners, all newly developed programs, follow this model. Food prepared safely in Islington’s kitchen and shared at table brings us together. Whether we eat on site, at our food bank program, or at Out of the Cold, safe food preparation starts in the kitchen.
Ken Sharpe was a hospitality hero, always looking for ways we could improve our church kitchen. Ken knew our rectangular tables had seen so much use they were no longer safe. He also knew round tables bring people together as everyone can see and speak with everyone else. Ken know that round tables foster community.
When Ken passed away, we were devastated. To honour his passion for hospitality his family and friends donated money to 20 round tables. What an worthwhile investment! Since 2006, those round tables have served as a gathering place for thousands of people.
Ken understood that just this one change would provide safety, enhance opportunity, and lend inspiration. Our new kitchen is a safe and inspiring investment in our future. We invite you to be a part of this amazing new venture.
Sincerely,
Isla Grady and Meredith Whipp, Co-leads
Elsa van Vliet
Catherine Locke
The Hospitality Ministry Team
October 29
Dear Friends,
Each Sunday, whether we are present physically or virtually in our sanctuary, we see the beautiful stained glass window depicting the Emmaus Road story. It is the story of Jesus meeting two travellers on the road following the resurrection. The travellers do not recognise Jesus until they sit and eat with him. The scripture at the base of the window reads, “He was made known to them in the breaking of bread.” When we are invited to share communion, these words are spoken: “This is the table of Jesus Christ and all are welcome.”
This week, our focus in Brian McLaren’s book We Make the Road by Walking was titled “Freedom,” and the scriptures we read painted a picture of the oppression that existed in the ancient world. We know that many in our world and community still suffer.
In the Galatians’ scripture we read: “Serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.'”
In our world and in our local community we know of so many who struggle just to have food and shelter. At Islington, we want to make a difference by following Jesus’ call and showing love to our neighbours in need.
The renovation of our church kitchen will allow us to not only continue our loving response to the community, but also to offer safe, new and innovative ways to invite and serve existing and new communities.
Our kitchen before construction and pre-pandemic was typically busy seven days a week. It supported table fellowship for our many ministries. We prepared food for on-site breakfasts, lunches, dinners, receptions and coffee hours and off site hearty food bank meals, support of youth shelters, and many additional opportunities our Hospitality Ministry embraced.
The needs of our community neighbours have not stopped. If anything, they have increased. Your Hospitality team is excited to use our renovated kitchen to reach out and show our ever-growing love to our neighbours.
Sincerely,
Isla Grady and Meredith Whipp, Co-leads
Elsa van Vliet
Catherine Locke
The Hospitality Ministry Team
November 5
- Bronwen Gates and the family of Joyce Hutchinson in memory of Joyce Hutchinson
- Paula Pettitt Townsend in Memory of Mary Pettitt
- the United Church Women, in memory of all the Saints that had served so long and hard to show God’s love to this community and beyond.
Sincerely,
Isla Grady and Meredith Whipp, Co-leads
Elsa van Vliet
Catherine Locke
The Hospitality Ministry Team
November 12
Dear Friends,
Last Sunday, in our Worship Service, we celebrated Remembrance Sunday. It called us to a heightened awareness, to remember those people in our lives who have stepped up in times of need to serve. The memory of their sacrifice, love, and service is inspiring. Maya’s message called us to look into the eyes of the “Other,” the people on the margins, like the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15 at verse 21 seeking healing for her child. We are called to look around us to the pain and needs of the “Other” even though they may seem invisible or inconvenient, and remember to keep watch with the eyes of love.
It is in these precious places where need and faith meet that Faith Communities have the opportunity to respond. I was remembering back to many times when we as a church have felt called to use the gifts God has given us to serve God’s people. In the reading from Matthew 15 at verse 29 we hear another of the “feeding stories” of the Gospels. We read of Jesus wanting to feed a huge crowd numbering over 4000. We see him take the resources he had (7 loaves and a few fish) and in giving thanks to God the meal is multiplied and all are fed with more than enough. The act of giving thanks to God and eating together creates new bonds of understanding of God’s presence, generosity, and compassion.
In 2005 many of us were becoming increasingly aware of our changing neighbourhood. Our local school was reporting children coming to school hungry, and we began the conversations that led to creating an emergency food pantry, a breakfast club, a home work club, and then the first stages of our Mabelle Food program, our current food bank.
It was a prayerful, discerning process finding resources of money and people to operate this program, but here we are over 15 years later with strong roots in our neighbourhood offering food, advocacy, clothing, income tax clinics, and more. We celebrate with our neighbours and we mourn with them. We know them and they know us: we are a community.
This road we walk with our community continues to open our hearts to new opportunities of service. It has led to the creation of many new programs such as the Thursday night dinner, rEcess, the Resonance Project, our expanding Social Justice and Interfaith networks that offer new understandings of ourselves and the world we share.
This week on our video we are blessed to hear from 3 generations of the Allen Family who share their experiences of table fellowship at Islington and its importance.
The kitchen at IUC and the Ministry of Hospitality are a pivotal part of all our programs. The Renovation of the Stewart East Hall Kitchen is a vital component in our food trust relationship. This week ends our formal fundraising campaign and we need your help to raise the final cost of the kitchen. Over $56,000.00 of our $65,000.00 goal has been received. Please help us reach our financial goal and work together for a future of love and service with our neighbours.
Sincerely,
Isla Grady and Meredith Whipp, Co-leads
Elsa van Vliet
Catherine Locke
The Hospitality Ministry Team