Staff Notes: May 2022

May 6

Rev. Nick, Associate Minister

We’re grateful to God and so encouraged by the celebration of Holy Week, including a lively Easter Sunday service with 200 people in attendance in person and another 80 screens watching online. We are eager to continue to welcome people back to church in person that we might experience life in deep community as Christ’s body in ways that have been often unavailable through the last two years.
The pastoral staff are beginning to look toward September and making plans, pray for wisdom as we discern volunteer capacity and what a good launch to a new ministry year with fewer COVID considerations will look like.
On a personal note, I am looking forward to some vacation May 28-June 12th and ask that you pray that it would be both restful and rejuvenating!

Pr. Nestor, Local & Global Mission Pastor

Knox World Mission - In line with the implementation of the new Strategic Missions Framework (link), the KWM has identified two strategic mission partners: Luke Elliott and Rachel McCordic. Partnership means that the church will be directly involved and engaged in their mission work through either mission trips, equipping/training, and other ways of involvement.

With several Knox-supported missionaries coming back to Toronto on furlough, an in-person Missions Gathering will take place on September 27. The church family are invited to join in this time of missions fellowship.

International Ministry - The spring season for our ESL and Sunday Internationals Bible Study has begun. New volunteers have come on board to help with our teaching ministry (Helen Baker, Xiaoya Gao). Garry White, the ESL Program Coordinator will be stepping down from his ministry role as he heads off into the international mission field. James Meijers will be taking over his ministry responsibilities—thank you Garry and James!

Community Outreach - With the conclusion of the KYDFB, we continued to support vulnerable community members through an interim winter Community Outreach, providing grocery cards and essential items. This program concluded April 27 and will not continue moving forward. The Justice and Mercy Committee is in the process of finalizing a proposed community ministry, taking into consideration community-building and integration with our church family.

Pr. Temeka, Worship Pastor

Christ Is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed! We journeyed through the season of Lent as we continued through the book of Mark and ended the book with a rousing celebration on Easter Sunday! These events included:

Lent
Ash Wednesday Evening service
Easter Hymn Sing-A-Long
Maundy Thursday- An Intimate Foot Washing & Communion service
Good Friday Service
Easter Sunday service

We are grateful for the many volunteers who served beyond their usual commitments and we also praise God for the new faces who are joining the Worship ministry as volunteers.

We also got to see some of Knox’s instrumentalists as they participated in the recording of the Easter Song by Anne Herring now available for viewing on the Knox Youtube channel.

Please continue to pray for the Worship Ministry and all of our volunteers from AV/Sound, Musicians, Worship Leadership Team, Vocalists as we grow in relationship with each other and more in love with Jesus. May we always see Him as worthy of our service.

In His service,

Pr. Temeka Williams

Pr. Natasha, Congregational Life Pastor

It's an exciting time in the Knox congregation with so many opportunities to learn, serve, connect, and grow. The Heavy Burdens book study, and the Summer Fellowship series are two upcoming plans that we'd love to invite you to. If you're looking for more ways to get involved, talk to me about what is available!

More information about the Heavy Burdens book study is here.
Information about Summer Fellowship is forthcoming.

I’m also glad to share that I’ve been working with our Pastoral staff team to establish a new onboarding process and training tools for volunteers. We’re excited to see this implemented as we anticipate increasing serving opportunities in the months ahead.

Pr. Frances, Kids, Youth & Camp Ministries Director

We have so many kids and families joining us on Sunday mornings! It is a delight to be able to spend time together, learn more about God’s love for us, and create or play! We are currently one large group but as we continue to grow I hope we’ll be able to offer groups for two different age groups (under 5 and 6-10). If you’d like to volunteer with Knox Kids, please let me know!
Knox Teens continue to meet on the first and third Saturdays of the month from 6:30-8pm. This has been a great chance to connect with teens and get to know them while we play games, dodgeball, or create!
We are really excited to be running Knox Camps in person this year! Gillian Brouwer is our camp director and has done a really great job getting things rolling for camp. We will begin the hiring process for our camp staff soon and are really looking forward to an amazing summer of camp! For more information about Knox Camps, visit knoxcamps.ca and if you know a young adult looking for a summer job, we’ll be posting positions here soon!

There are so many good things to celebrate and be a part of this season. Thank you for all the ways you pray for Knox Kids, Teens, and Camp!

Samantha Mudiappahpillai