Helping Deacons Thrive
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Helping Deacons Thrive

When diaconal coaches Helen VanBeilen and Alicia Hamming Navarrete reached out to the deacons of Jubilee CRC (St. Catharines, Ont.), they were delighted to be invited to one of their upcoming meetings. The deacons there were struggling with their benevolence ministry and hoped the coaches could help. Essentially, they were asking “is the help we’re…

Hamilton church opens homes to refugees
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Hamilton church opens homes to refugees

With most shelters at capacity, exorbitant housing prices and an increase in negative perceptions of refugees, the lack of proper housing for refugee claimants has become a crisis. Started in 2018, Open Homes Hamilton (OHH) is a multi-church network supporting refugee claimants by offering home-based hospitality. Local Christians with extra space in their houses (called…

Supporting Young Changemakers
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Supporting Young Changemakers

The students at Unity Christian School in Chilliwack, B.C. are committed to being good stewards of God’s creation. Four years ago, the Grade 7 class began an educational journey considering ways in which they could actively participate in providing solutions to the problem of waste. Many considerations were given to problems they saw, both globally…

Community Engagement in a Covid World
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Community Engagement in a Covid World

When deacons are installed into office, the charge given to them reads as follows: “teach us to love God, our neighbours, and the creation with acts of generous sharing, joyful hospitality, thoughtful care, and wise stewardship of all of God’s gifts.” In other words, deacons help the church show and share the love of Christ…

Doing Ministry With
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Doing Ministry With

A few years back, with a desire for spiritual renewal, Maple Ridge Christian Reformed Church (Maple Ridge, B.C.) realized that in order to move forward they would need to listen – to the Holy Spirit, to their congregation, and to their community. The church’s pastor, Tim Sheridan, had first-hand experience with Diaconal Ministries Canada’s Community Opportunity Scan (COS) and he knew how valuable the process could be.