May 7 – Mother’s Day
Hey Friends,
Hey Friends,
Hello Church family and friends,
We call the weeks after Easter the Easter Season. This is a season of hope and blessing. Tomorrow morning we will be blessed indeed to be witnessing the baptism of Marco Mak. If you want to watch it live, you may do so in person or join us on-line. Our service starts at 10am:
Following the baptism we will join with other Canadian Baptist churches to hear about the Global mission work of Canadian Baptist Ministries. CBM has prepared a special Sunday worship service for “Solidarity Sunday” For us at TCBC, this will be a good lead into May which is our Missions month. Throughout the month we will be hearing updates from our mission partners.
Like me, you are probably receiving notices from school, the workplace or hearing of friends who caught the latest COVID variant. I’m thankful that each one of my friends has recovered from this latest wave with no lingering effects. The disease is no joke though. Please make the choices you need to keep yourselves and your family safe.
We have made a choice as a church to move ahead with the next phase of our reopening plan and that is to have in-person children’s ministry starting in May. Our single aim is to provide the best environment for the discipleship of our youngest population. Working in coordination with the Mandarin congregation and the Children’s Ministry dept., we will begin with having our Bible teaching and Children’s music ministry at TCBC for the month of May. We hope to be able in June to move over to the Chinese Presbyterian Church which will allow us to add gym time to our children program. If you have any questions please direct them to me and/or attend our monthly members meeting to hear our proposal. (If you don’t have the Zoom link to attend our Monthly members meeting, please let me know and I can forward it to you.)
And of course, if you like working with children and/or would like to share in the Children’s music ministry, please step up to help as this is a very rewarding way to serve and influence the life of our young ones.
We are over 50% registered for our Children’s VBS camp that takes place Aug 8-12. If you have children K-G6 and or know of those with children who would like to attend a daycamp with fun activities and Bible teaching, here is the registration link:
VBS Registration
Lastly, we have received approval for hiring helpers for our Children’s Ministry under the Canada Summer Jobs program. If you are between 15-30 and/or know of anyone interested in working in this area over the summer, please look over the job description attached or follow this link:
Summer Job
Blessings,
Pastor Nolan
We invite you to join us in person for our Good Friday service starting at 4pm at the TCBC Main Sanctuary ( 72 Beverley Street ) on April 15.
Toronto Police services just announced that they will not be enforcing metered parking on Good Friday
If you are unable to join us in-person you can still join us on-line.
Hello Church Family and Friends,
From Sunday to Sunday of next week, Christians take extra time to focus on the Passion of the Cross and the Wondrous Glory of the Resurrection.
Last week Deacon Anthony took us into the Holy Week with a meditation on the worship and adoration of Mary of Bethany from Mark 14:3-9
This week’s lesson comes right out of the what follows after that Last Supper as we connect Jesus’ teaching on prayer with facing temptation and evil.
We continue to keep our worship services simple and make it a point of gathering to observe Sabbath for you who attend in-person and you who follow us on-line. I am certain that in-person attendance at any TCBC event poses minimal risk and that there is value in seeing one another. At the same time I understand the many reasons for choosing to keep to on-line services and my hope is that the time you set apart helps you to fulfil the plans and purposes that God has set for you in the week ahead.
Will have a simple in-person Good Friday service starting at 4pm at the TCBC main sanctuary on April 15. Please join us in the way you feel comfortable: in-person or on-line. This April we will host 2 baptisms: one on Easter Sunday and one of the following Sunday.
Finally, for those who want to take time to meditate on the journey of the Cross, check out Toronto’s unique “Crossings” initiative. https://www.crossingstoronto.com/
Martin Tam is interested in leading a group on a Sunday afternoon “pilgrimage” on Easter Sunday. We will keep you posted on the time for this.
Please continue to pray for our hurting world, for those you know who are sick and struggling and remember our ministries at TCBC, particularly our Children’s ministry that we as a church are working together on to be able to restart in-person.
Blessings,
Pastor Nolan
Hello Church Family and Friends,
April is here and we are in the Lenten season leading up to Easter.
I understand that COVID is still around and Toronto may be on the verge of another surge in cases. We do our best to ensure that the in-person attendance at any TCBC event poses minimal risk. As a pastor my hope is that you keep in contact with others in your Christian family and work on keeping spiritually attentive.
Will have a simple in-person Good Friday service starting at 4pm on April 15 in the Sanctuary at TCBC on Beverley Street. Please join us in the way you feel comfortable: in-person or on-line.
On Easter Sunday we will be back at St. George on Stephanie Street where we will host a baptism.
Please continue to pray for our hurting world, for those you know who are sick and struggling and remember our ministries at TCBC, particularly our Children’s ministry that we as a church are working together on to be able to restart in-person.
Blessings,
Pastor Nolan
As we continue the Lenten season leading up to Easter, we just wanted to remind everyone of our upcoming events.
Child Dedication – If you wish to have your child dedicated at our Easter service, please fill out the registration form available at the church office or contact Pastor Nolan. Please submit the completed forms on or before April 10, 2022. (I will put some in your mail box)
Monthly Members Meeting – Sunday, March 27th at 3:00 PM
Communion – Sunday, April 3rd
Good Friday Service – Friday, April 15th in the TCBC Sanctuary at 72 Beverley Street
English Service at 4:00 PM
Cantonese Service at 6:00 PM
Mandarin Service at 7:300 PM
We will be hosting VBS again this summer the week of August 8 to 12.
Hello Friends,
Daylight Savings Time: Please remember to push ahead your clocks 1 hr. on Sundays. Sorry but that’s one less hour or sleep! Thankfully it’s March Break so for those with school age family members, you have a week for them to adjust before they have to return to school.
Worship Time: No change. We have opened in person and our live stream will start at 10am Eastern Daylight Time.
For clarity, if you are hoping to join us in-person:
Masking: Masks are required to be worn indoors. Medical masks are available to anyone who needs them.
Vaccination: Proof of Vaccination is required for everyone over the age of 12. TCBC requires all staff and those helping out in worship to be fully vaccinated (as defined by provincial and federal health authorities). For the most part, our church members have high rates of vaccination and can join our in-person worship if they so wish. We regret that returning to in-person worship can not be extended to unvaccinated teens and adults for now.
Self-Quarantine: We ask that household members refrain from attending any in-person church activities if there is a positive case of COVID-19 in their home. This is regardless of their vaccination status.
Self-Screening: We ask that, prior to attending an in-person event, you do a COVID-19 self-assessment, if you show any symptoms please join us on-line rather than coming in-person. This includes understanding of federal travel guidelines . You will not need to show proof of verification of daily screening. It is something we trust you to do on your own.
Cohorting and Physical Distancing: Cohorting (staying in your household bubble) and distancing is no longer required. There is no assigned seating. Please be respectful of others though who may want to keep social distance for their own peace of mind.
Use of Church: Limitations on in-person gatherings and assemblies have been removed and fellowship groups can plan and host in-person events on church property. Please coordinate your space needs with the church secretary.
On-line participation: We will continue our livestream Sunday worship and there are a number of on-line groups continuing to provide a place of learning, prayer, spiritual care and support. Please send a request to em@tcbc.on.ca if you are interested in learning about how to connect with others on-line.
Thank you for your patience as we move ahead cautiously into a less restrictive environment.
Blessings,
Pastor Nolan Lee
Hey Friends and Followers of TCBC EM,
Looking at my whiteboard I’m reminded that…my badminton racquet remains untouched all this year! Can you believe it? I can’t!
There were plenty of opportunities to play. Following the Step 1 protocols, our local badminton club (led by our neighbouring church CPC) reopened for play on Feb. 1 and they have been playing Tuesday and Thursday nights with no problems. Now that they have returned to full capacity, I have to plan to get out there and enjoy my membership.
This week I am even more excited to see Ontario moving ahead to the next step in it’s Reopening Plan. I’m happy to let everyone know that we now offer an option to attend our Sunday worship services in-person. For now the protocols will be exactly the same as in December: Proof of Vaccination, Masks while indoors, respect for social distancing are all required. There will be no need to pre-register. We will take attendance though and keep information for 30 days for contact tracing purposes only.
Our youth program, that we called Barnabas Fellowship, has also returned to meeting in-person. If you know of any teens who want to join a welcoming and fun group of students who ask questions about faith and what living is all about, you can e-mail the leaders of this group at barnabas@tcbc.on.ca
We are also starting up our Alpha Course for those who have questions about faith, life and why we think Jesus makes a difference. This course and our other groups can be found in our summary list found on this Google Doc: What’s happening.
Lastly, the sacred season of Lent starts today. There will be copies of a Lenten Devotional called Grace Unbounded available for those coming in-person to this Sunday service. If you are not coming, a friend can pick one up for you. This devotional is also available on Kindle for the very affordable price of $2.53.
I’ve been looking at All Ages Accessible teaching for the 2022 Lenten season and I’ve stumbled onto this series. On our TCBC English Ministry Facebook page you can follow along. Here is the link to the first day (Ash Wednesday) reflection.
I am certain that, young or old, Jesus will speak to you as you draw near to Him.
Blessings,
Pastor Nolan Lee
Hello Friends and Followers of TCBC,
It was confirmed during Thursday night’s meeting of the TCBC re-opening committee that the church will be opening its doors for in-person worship service starting Sunday, March 6.
We are so excited to be able to open our doors to those wishing to join us in-person Sunday mornings for worship. For those who joined us between the months of September to December, procedures will be pretty much the same. For those new to us and who are considering whether to join us, here is what a Sunday is like:
For the final 2 Sundays in February we will be bringing our Sunday teaching series on Friendship to a close. Our link for this Sunday:
Starting in March we will begin a series of teaching on the Lord’s Prayer as we look towards Easter. We are cleared to have baptisms in the church so if you are considering baptism as a profession of your Christian faith please contact me directly.
We have both on-line and in-person activities. Here’s the link for easy access: what’s happening.
Thanks again for following and supporting the English ministry at TCBC.
Pastor Nolan Lee
Hello Friends and Followers of TCBC English Ministry,
We have the go ahead to plan for offering in-person ministry again starting in March. We will be offering the option to attend in-person starting Sunday March 6. It will be a Communion Sunday. I will be there and we will be livestreaming the service and continuing to be accessible on-line.
We have a Church Reopening Action Team meeting this Thursday evening where we will work out details concerning masks, social distancing, and any pre-screening procedures. I will get back to you with what the church leaders decide.
Our teaching series has been on Friendship and the quote I keep coming back to is
“Faithfulness in loving our friends–whether or not we see immediate results–does yield a harvest of fruit.”
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we transition from on-line only to a hybrid format for our Sunday worship.
Thank you also to everyone who chooses to follow us on-line. During this time where we temporarily suspended in-person attendance, we have tried to open up new groups so that people can learn together, connect for support and pray together. As always, we want to support your spiritual growth and see you living in the fullness that Jesus promises.
Blessings,
Pastor Nolan
There are no upcoming events at this time.
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