Acting in the way of peace
Being transformed by Jesus and transforming the world we live in is no small task. Amidst all the needs, discerning which is His call to us, for here, for now, is challenging.
Nearly 40 years ago, the congregation sponsored and settled 72 Vietnamese refugees. A few years later, we partnered with Danforth Mennonite Church to envision and create the St. Clair O’Connor Community, of intergenerational living with a small nursing home, which is still thriving. Through the 1990s to the present, we have continued to be active in sponsoring refugees, from conflict zones as diverse as the former Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone, Eritrea and Iraq. We recently began a new ministry, in conjunction with the Mennonite New Life Centre, to victims of human trafficking. Our strong belief that Jesus is the way of peace (in this world as well as the next) undergirds our commitment to nonviolence, at home and abroad.
In Toronto, we were instrumental in developing outreach to homeless folk through the inter-Mennonite ministry known as Lazarus Rising, providing a street pastor to come alongside those who are destitute in our own city. We struggle with the injustices that cause some to have too much and others far too little, and to find together ways of healing.
We are currently turning our attentions to what we can do to foster true reconciliation with our Indigenous brothers and sisters in this land of Turtle Island, through study, acknowledgment of our own role in perpetrating or ignoring injustice, and taking concrete steps to bring about healing, justice and dignity among settler and aboriginal peoples.
We continue to look for ways to live more lightly on this good earth, in this era of climate change, so that we can preserve it for the generations that follow us.
We are inspired by the first Anabaptists, who gave up comfort and safety and defied the principalities and powers of their day to follow Jesus Christ. So we try to follow, in some small way, in their footsteps and in His.
And we also have a great deal of fun while we’re about it. We have the privilege of meeting and learning from fascinating, dedicated people of all faiths and none… so, if you feel the Spirit nudging you, join this committee.
Current coordinator: Tim S. (2021)