Caring, Sharing, Loving All Through Christ

August 18, 2010    Category: Message   

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion. Thy God reigneth!

Isaiah  52:7

As we turn on our televisions, radios and computers daily we see and hear of so many tragedies in the world; oil spills, volcanoes erupting, too much rain – flooding or not enough- drought, it becomes almost depressing. Is there no good news? Well, yes there is! World Cup that takes place in Africa is good news for those whose teams are playing and the Stanley Cup after 40 years or so is certainly good news for Blackhawk fans.

Isaiah tells of very good news that brings peace in times of turmoil, that brings the news, to a world that may seem out of control with situations man cannot seem to fix. God is still on the throne and nothing gets by him. He sees it all, not just this moment in time, but God sees the end from the beginning and nothing surprises him. Most of all the Good News is our salvation through Christ Jesus. You cannot get any better than that.

This is the good news we bring to those who come to The Sharing Place. Those who come in hungry are in need of physical food but they leave with far more. They depart with peace in their hearts and hope for tomorrow. A lady who came one Thursday after just having a breast removed from cancer the Monday of that same week listened to the message given that morning. It brought peace to her heart and she was encouraged as were the two senior citizens from the Ukraine who came for the first time last week. They did not understand one word of the message and when asked if they wanted prayer they had no idea what I was talking about but nodded yes anyway. They left with tears in their eyes because someone cared enough to pray for them.

We are so privileged to be able to bring the Good News of Jesus to those around us. Praying for people is an awesome privilege as is seeing God answering those prayers; it is just too wonderful!

Thank you so much for partnering with us in this ministry.

“ Poverty often deprives a man of all spirit and virtue; it is hard for an empty bag to stand upright”

Benjamin Franklin

The summer brings  three  challenges to us at The Sharing Place, less food, financial  donations and volunteers as many are on vacation. We especially miss our Montessori School that comes each week to help bag food. There is such excitement when the students come, they bring so much energy with them and have blessed us by their helping hands.

Some of the students have written of their experiences I am sorry that there is not enough space for all of them.

Going to the Sharing Place means a lot to me, because I like helping people. Whenever I go there I feel a lot closer to the comuntity. Everybody there is so nice, generous, and welcoming. Also I like the thought of helping the less fortunate get  food and water. I love the Sharing  Place !    Alexia Healey

Going to the Sharing House is fun because i help people and have Fun at the same time thank you for this opertunity  Meritt

I think the Sharing House is a place where they give food to people who can’t afford to buy food. I believe it is good to help por people in the GTA. The staff at the Sharing House are nice and friendly.  Chris

At the Sharing Place we help package food for people in need.

It is an inspiring place where people get together to help each other.

I love going to the Sharing Place because I like helping people.     Nadia

What I realy enjoy about the Sharing Place is that we help the less fortunate people in the community. I think the Sharing Place is an amazing organization.         Keira

Family Day

March 24, 2010    Category: Message   

On February 15 we celebrated Family Day. This day was first held in Canada in the province of Alberta in 1990. This day is meant to reflect the values of family and home that were important to the pioneers who founded Alberta. It is also meant to give workers the opportunity to spend more time with their families. Family Day was introduced in Saskatchewan in 2007 and in Ontario in 2008. Various holidays celebrating families are also held in other places around the globe. In the Australian Capital Territory, the first Tuesday of November is known as Family and Community Day. In South Africa, the day after Easter Sunday is Family Day.

While for many people it is just an opportunity to have a day off, others view it as a time to celebrate family and spend time together. Family is important and those of us who have grown children will especially tell you to enjoy each passing moment as before you know it your children will be grown and soon gone. I remember this advice being handed down to me when my children were younger; I wish I would have listened more closely and followed this cherished advice. Each day that passes can never again be regained so enjoy the moment to its fullest.

Family is important to God. He established it in the garden. It was not good for Adam, the first man, to be alone and God intended for the two of them were to procreate and inhabit the earth.

Just recently we spent the day in Kingston with Kim and her family. Being so busy on the weekends when the children are off school we never seem to have much time with them. Watching my husband hitting a baseball (who knew he could!) in the backyard was as much for me as it was for the children.

On our way to Kingston we passed a military parade bringing home a fallen soldier. Our hearts go out to that soldier?s for family as they will never forget that day for the rest of their lives.

Many people were on the overpasses waving Canadian flags and showing their respect and support. I pray that it gave strength to the family knowing that others, even strangers, cared.

I also reflected on those who come to The Sharing Place who have lost touch with family or have no
family left like Don and many others. Betty, another client at The Sharing Place, has family but they are embarrassed by her mental illness so they do not often contact her.

I pray that in some small way they will know how much we love them and that there are people they have never met who also care about them.

Family should be a place of refuge one where we feel safe. It should be a place where we can find forgiveness and love. Romans 3:23 stresses the importance of forgiveness by stating that “we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. When we sin, we not only sin against God, we sin against others. God always forgives us but often we do not forgive others and in many cases we do not forgive ourselves. Forgiveness is so wonderful and so freeing. When we have been forgiven, the guilt and shame is gone and then we can forgive others. This amazing reality should not be celebrated
only one Monday of the year but each and every day we should rejoice with our physical family and our spiritual family “I?m so glad I?m a part of the family of God I?ve been washed in the fountain cleansed by His blood”. Isn?t that wonderful to know that even if everyone else forsakes you God?s word says “I will never leave you”! That sure is an encouraging way to start every day and
to know that His love is unshakable. Have a blessed month!

The Sharing Place News
CARING, SHARING, LOVING ALL THROUGH CHRIST
Family Day
February

An Iconoclastic Christmas

December 4, 2009    Category: Message   

Right now, you are probably asking, “What is an
iconoclastic Christmas?” The writer of an article entitled, “An
Iconoclastic Christmas,” gives a better illustration than I can
so here is what he says, “God is an image-breaker who sees
things differently, shatters human traditions and makes
contributions that are creative and constructive. He’s a
true iconoclast.”

Do you get it — yet? Well, how about this, “Christmas turns
us into iconoclasts. Yes, iconoclasts. “Image-breakers.”
We celebrate an Iconoclastic Christmas according to Luke’s
gospel when we accept that God “has shown strength with his
arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and
lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty” (Luke 1 vv. 51-53).

To celebrate an Iconoclastic Christmas is to worship an
Iconoclastic God. But image-breakers aren’t devoted to
destruction, as violent as the word iconoclast might sound. In
fact, the work they do is usually quite creative and
constructive. According to the magazine Fast Company
(October 2008), iconoclasts do what tradition-minded people
say cannot be done, and they do it by seeing things
differently.”

Christmas is all about seeing things differently. The child that
Mary is carrying: He’ll be a mighty king but not a traditional
one. Instead, he will be the Messiah God uses to bring down
the powerful from their thrones and lift up the lowly (v. 52).
He will be a king for the people.

An iconoclastic Christmas shatters our expectations and
pushes us outside the box — including the beautifully
decorated holiday box. It blows away our understandings of
what usually happens when two women gather to support one
another. It helps us see things differently — to see a hug
between Mary and Elizabeth as a meeting between Jesus and
John, a kick in the belly as a fist-bump of recognition, a song
of praise as a celebration of God’s ability to turn the world
upside down.

There’s a new Christmas Song from Resound Worship
entitled “We Worship a Wonderful Saviour.’ Here are the
words from one of the verses,
We worship a wonderful Saviour
He’s the author of life, what was there at the first
The creator who entered creation
Is the miracle child of a virgin birth. (Joel Payne)

For all those Darwinian’s out there that’s iconoclastic!

So what could it mean for us to celebrate an iconoclastic
Christmas? Let’s get creative and constructive, seeing things
not for what they are but for what they might be. Mary invites
us to see things differently and to find true joy in a new place
— in the gift of God’s favour. God really loves you.

This Christmas season become iconoclasts — imagebreakers.
I pray that with the Holy Spirit’s help that you will
see things differently, by making contributions that are
creative and constructive. Let the meaning of Christmas “God
becoming man and moving into our neighbourhood for our
benefit” push you out of the comfort of your box so that we
may experience what Mary and Elizabeth did when they met.

An iconoclastic Christmas is more than a season of
benevolence toward the hungry and poor. It’s a way of life,
with specific actions year-round that assist the marginalized
to embrace new opportunities and changes for themselves.
The call to action this Christmas is for the true iconoclasts of
the church to become doorkeepers who hold open the doors
for people who are traditionally shut out (the least, the lost
and the left out).

Thank you for your generous giving to TSP throughout the
year. May God truly bless you as you take on the challenge to
celebrate an iconoclastic Christmas.

We worship a wonderful Saviour
In the form of this child is the fullness of God.
His infinity hides in his weakness
His divinity beats in his human heart (Joel Payne)

May the Lord of all creation bless you as you worship a
wonderful Saviour this Christmas season.
(Full article found at Homiletics Online — Fall 2009 edited and added
material by Michael Zita)

SERVE ONE ANOTHER

June 18, 2009    Category: Message   

This year the Home Group that our family belongs to
is studying the spiritual disciplines discussed in
Richard Foster’s book ‘Celebration of Discipline’.
When it came to the discipline of service we looked
for an opportunity to put this discipline into practice,
together. On the evening of Thursday, March 19, we
all came out - parents, teens, and kids - to serve up
some music, a devotional message, and a meal at The
Sharing Place. We mixed in with the clients to eat and
get to know them over the meal. After dinner, the
younger kids brought around to each table fruit and
some cupcakes they had made and decorated for the
occasion. Everyone in the Home Group wanted to
make this an annual event.
For our devotional message we shared from
Matthew 20:20-28. In this passage the mother of the
apostles James and John comes to ask Jesus to grant
her sons the top positions in his coming kingdom. She
has no idea what she is really asking, but her
intensions are clear enough. She wants her sons to be
the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And her sons,
who come with her to make this request, are obviously
in on the power play. When the other ten apostles hear
that James and John are jockeying for the top places in
Jesus’ kingdom they are furious. Hey! What about us?
I bet they wish their Moms were busy promoting them.
At this point Jesus calls everyone together. For quite
some time now the question of “Who is the greatest in
the kingdom of heaven?” has been on everyone’s
minds. The disciples asked this question back at the
start of chapter 18. And Jesus has been hinting at the
answer in what he says and teaches throughout
chapters 18, 19, and the beginning of 20. Now toward
the end of chapter 20 he is going to make the answer
plain. First he says: “You know that the rulers of the
Gentiles it over them, and their high officials exercise
authority over them. Not so with you.”
In other words, the world has always been about
establishing a pecking order - who is on top and who is
not. But this is not going to be the way among the
followers of Jesus. Then he says:
“Instead, whoever wants to become great among you
must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first
must be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not
come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as
a ransom for many.”
Jesus teaches that his followers are not to seek
greatness and jockey for positions of honour and
authority. Rather we are to humble ourselves and
serve one another.
Marion Karasiuk

Local Families and Schools Support the Sharing Place Over Christmas

March 4, 2009    Category: Message   

This Christmas The Sharing Place was blessed by our faithful supporters from across the GTA. We received many Christmas hampers and food, toy, gift, and financial donations from Nazarene churches across the  TA, local churches of different denominations, and foundations like the Toronto District WCTU and the Chum charitable Foundation. But we were also blessed with new interest and support from families and schools in our community. Our new sign and word of mouth are helping neighbours of The Sharing Place learn about our 18-year old ministry. One family noticed we were having our Christmas Banquet and dropped by with a couple of bags of groceries. They told their neighbours about The Sharing Place. This resulted in another family inquiring how they could contribute to the less fortunate during the season of giving. We provided them with the list of items for our different sizes of Christmas hampers. As a family they went out shopping for the items for a family hamper. They brought the hamper in person to The sharing Place and the kids were excited to see our facilities and ask questions.

On the Thursday night before Christmas when we gave out the Christmas hampers, three students from a local High School joined us. They were collecting information, pictures, and video testimonies for a project they were doing in their Civics class. All grade 10 students at their school will present projects on various grassroots charities meeting needs in the community. One project will be selected to receive a grant from the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative sponsored by Toskan-Casale. Last year two other students did a project on The sharing Place and won $5,000 designated for our Shower / Laundry Project (see below). Early in the New Year another grade 10 student came to do some volunteer work for The Sharing Place as part of her Civics project. This young woman helped to cook and serve a chilli dinner with garlic bread and salad for 40 people on a Thursday evening at The Sharing Place.

Also before Christmas The Sharing Place was chosen as the recipient of a charity donation by a neighbourhood Montessori school. The school was looking for a charity in the community that would not ‘use up the money on administration.  One of our volunteers whose daughter attends the school recommended The Sharing Place. Board member and volunteer Marion Karasiuk went to speak to the students at the school. About 80 students from grade 1 to 6 gathered in the gym to hear about the work of The Sharing Place, see some pictures, and get their questions answered. The students had fundraised $500 and presented us with a cheque again designated for the Shower / Laundry
Project. A teacher at the school has also approached us about small groups of the school’s grade 5 and 6
students doing some volunteer work at The Sharing Place.

A Hong Kong Christmas Story

December 6, 2008    Category: Message   

It was December 1963. I had just turned 14. My parents and I were living on the third floor of the
Vanda Hotel near Boundary Street in Hong Kong. Our two room suite was to be home for five
months while my dad set up an electronics factory in Kowloon. With a little begging from
me, my parents let me stay out of school that year. I think my mom really wanted me around
so we could explore Hong Kong together. We walked, rode the ferry to Hong Kong island, took
the cable car up Victoria Peak, visited Buddhist temples, taught conversational English at
a girls high school, made stuffed animals for little children, attended an English speaking church
at Hong Kong Baptist College, took Chinese painting classes, ate at interesting places, had
clothes and shoes made, and met many of the warmest most generous people we had ever met.
Hong Kong was a city of contrasts…wealth and poverty…dinner parties and hungry
beggars…high-rise flats and cardboard shanty towns. I was touched by the dignity and
graciousness that I saw every day in the lives of even the poorest Chinese people. It was humbling
to be in their presence…suddenly I realized having a bad hair day was not a world crisis!
I had a lot more to be thankful for than I had ever imagined…and maybe blessings weren’t
meant to be kept to myself.

The week before Christmas arrived. We were away from our family and old friends…it was
just the three of us in our tiny temporary home with our little artificial “Charlie Brown” Christmas tree in
the corner of my bedroom. We needed a family to share Christmas with but how would we find one?
Then we thought of Mr. Kwan! Mr. Kwan was a smiling young man in his twenties who worked with my dad in the electronics factory. Daddy really liked Mr. Kwan…he had a winning personality and loved his
job. They quickly became friends. Mr. Kwan loved showing us the sights of Hong Kong that most
Americans never saw. We all enjoyed his company. As we spent more time together, we
learned that Mr. Kwan lived in a one room flat with his father and seven brothers and sisters. He
was supporting his entire family with his earning from the factory. One day Daddy explained
to Mr. Kwan that we always gave presents to our family at Christmas. Since we were away that
year, would he mind if we gave presents to his family instead? He agreed and gave us the
names and ages of his entire family. We were so excited…it would be a real Christmas after all!
We spent several nights shopping for toys, candy and Christmas goodies. Mama and I wrapped and
tagged the gifts and placed them under our little tree. A couple of nights before Christmas,
Daddy and I climbed up the four flights of stairs to Mr. Kwan’s flat carrying gifts from Santa. About
half way up we saw several curious little boys peeping at us around the staircase. They flashed
quick smiles in our direction and ran back up the stairs to announce the arrival of the strange
American visitors! Mr. Kwan welcomed us into his home and introduced us to each member of his family. His mother had died and Mr. Kwan’s oldest sister helped their dad with the cooking and childcare duties for the family. The room was neatly lined with bunk beds. A little Christmas tree glowed merrily in a corner. A tiny makeshift kitchen filled another corner. The home may have been
small… but the love there …it felt big…very big! We all smiled and nodded at one another. It’s
amazing how much you can say with a smile and a nod…and somehow in the midst of all our cultural
and economic differences…Christmas came to all of us. It was the real kind of Christmas…not a middle
class American family giving to a poor Chinese family…simply two families sharing friendship…and
caring…and exchanging the best gifts any of us can give at Christmas time…our welcoming
hearts. (Dec. 15, 2007)

http://goodthoughts.typepad.com

No one has ever become poor by giving.
-Anne Frank

Thanks

June 13, 2008    Category: Message   

Those who are willing to take time to come and volunteer in so many ways from sorting clothes,cleaning, leading in worship, preparing meals to listening and encouraging.

Those who share their food by thinking of TSP when they go to the grocery store, sharing what they have with others.

Those who give financially and keep on giving because they know the need is ongoing.

Jesus does not tell us much about the man who was beaten, we do not know his age, his name, his financial circumstance or even his nationality. The majority of people who are helping in various ways at TSP do not know anything about our clients - you see it doesn’t really matter because they are helping a neighbor. I am so thankful to God for every church and individual that are helping to change lives through the ministry of TSP.

So Long but not Goodbye

June 11, 2008    Category: Message   

The time for me to step aside as director of TSP ministries has arrived. Hence I say to you all “So Long but not good bye.” I will be back periodically but in the capacity of a volunteer. Having said all that, I want to thank all of you for supporting the ministry to the least, the lost and the left out during my years here (2003-2008). I also pray that you will continue to support TSP compassionate ministry to the marginalized of Junction/High Park area of West Toronto and that you will pray for the grace@thesharingplace congregation as they seek to reach out to those in the community. I also pray that you will pray for Pastor Gena Torres as she takes over leadership of this ministry. In doing so you will be fulfilling the call of our Lord Jesus Christ to love others. Here are some words from Scott McKnight on loving others taken from his book “The Story of Jesus.” He writes:

Love of others is visibly demonstrated in concern for the marginalized and the poor. A ‘kingdom’ society shaped by the “Jesus creed’ [Love God — Love others] is a society in which love shapes all relations, and abject poverty or marginalization drives voices from the table and out of the room, creating injustice. The ’poor’ are for Jesus then not just the ’objects’ of mercy and benevolence, but the visible indicator of how much shalom or ’justice’ Is inherent to a given society. But, because Jesus knows that the new ‘ kingdom society’ must not only be talked about but also embodied, he invites the poor to his table and centres them as agents of power in his kingdom. P. 40

So my final words to you is to remember the call to love God and others unconditionally. It was our Lord Jesus himself who said that, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Before he said these words he washed his disciples feet and prepared them by his actions for true ministry; the ministry of “serving others with unconditional love.” He also washed the feet of the disciple who betrayed him (Judas) and the one that would deny him (Peter). It is amazing how people react when I quote Dallas Willard’s challenging words, “The most natural thing for a disciple of Jesus to do is to love his enemy.” WOW! OUCH! If we fight Willard’s challenge then we must re-examine our relationship in Christ. For it is one thing to sing “I could sing of your love forever” and another thing to truly love your enemy as Christ did.

It was twenty years ago while studying in Europe that one of our teachers lent us a mini-series called AD. (We have used it for studies on Acts every since) The mini-series was about the time following Christ’s death and resurrection and the beginning of the early church weaved into the stories of the decline of the Roman Empire and the uprising of the Zealots. There has been one line from that mini-series that I have been meditating on every since and it is, “When the night comes we will be questioned about our love.” (I even wrote a song about this) The scene is based on the night the Risen Jesus supped with the two men from Emmaus.” When Jesus departed the question they asked was about love not growth. Well, I am aware that you can not find that line in Luke’s gospel but it is a good question to ask nonetheless. For when the night (end of life as we know it) comes to an end we will not be questioned on how many members joined our fellowship or on how much we gave or how many people we fed though we do need to enlarge the tents of the community and we do need generous people to give and feed the poor. The haunting question is “Have we loved?” All else according to Paul is a bunch of noise. At my final board meeting with the directors of the Sharing Place I prepared a mini-service of committal to TSP’s ministry for the year 2008 and in my search for sayings I came across this quote from St. John of the Cross. “At the eve of our lives we will be judged by our loving.” There it is again. Remember Jesus’ words, “All men will know you are my disciples for the love you have one for another.” For love is not merely our duty but our destiny (N.T. Wright — Surprised By Hope)

So long and keep on loving; yes even your enemies. I pray that at the eve of my life they can say, “ Mike loved.” Once again — Shalom2U and love unconditionally.