Jason Byassee
I’ve enjoyed preaching at TEMC this summer perhaps a bit more than senior ministers traditionally have. Our Festival of the Word has brought amazing preachers, as we have had this summer in Paul Scott Wilson and Donyelle McCray from Yale. Thanks for indulging me the chance to preach through Judges with Pastor Dayle and Joanne.
Earlier in the summer I got to preach and teach at Lakeside OH’s Chataqua Institution. This was originally a Methodist camp meeting where people got saved by the side of Lake Erie. Today it’s a summer conference and vacation site that continues to offer religious teaching alongside other cultural goodies. I also taught an intensive doctoral seminar at Northern Seminary in Chicagoland on the doctrine of the Trinity. Later I spoke at a conference honouring Fleming Rutledge, a preaching hero of mine, at an Episcopal Church in Connecticut. Next week I am in Atlanta Georgia preaching at Peachtree Christian Church and delivering their Craddock Lectures. Later in the fall I lecture at our own Lester Randall Preaching Festival and also speak to Presbyterian ministers in Prince Edward Island.
Elaine Choi
In July, I had the joy of serving as the mass choir conductor at the Owen Sound choir camp, working with 125 enthusiastic adult amateur choir singers.
August became a month of rest and renewal on the East Coast, where I focused on learning how to better care for myself and my body. In an unexpected twist, the Air Canada strike extended my stay and brought me to Berwick, Nova Scotia—where I once again found myself sharing my love of choral music with over 100 community choir members at the country’s longest-running choir camp as a surprise guest, hosted by the Nova Scotia Choral Federation. As I say - after all you can’t spell ‘Choir’ without ‘Choi’ haha!
This fall, I’ll be honouring my ongoing commitments with TEMC, Babεl, and Pax Christi Chorale with lots of exciting events and concerts. Looking ahead to spring, I’m already looking forward for a few new adventures, including trips to Newfoundland and Düsseldorf, Germany as guest conductor.
Joanne Leatch
Pastoral care has been busy, and I have been working to make connections with people I don't yet know, visiting those I do and strengthening relationships and making new ones with organizations such as long-term care facilities and retirement homes. Thus, I have been happily bopping all around the GTA this summer. I also took 2 courses towards my Master of Divinity degree at Emmanuel College.
Fall is now here, visits and group activities continue and I'm back down on campus working on more courses towards my degree. I'm also hoping that we can send a team back to Honduras in 2026 and am starting to plan for that. Please let me know if you are interested.
Dayle Barrett
Pastor Dayle’s summer began with a small field trip to Wycliffe College with members of TEMC’s “tackling homelessness” small group. At the two-day Reimagining Church, Land, and Community event, we learned how other churches and community groups are working to use their space and resources to glorify God in new ways. He also led two services at Christie Gardens Apartments and Care – one in May and one in August.
The justice work continued into July as Dayle accompanied the Rev. Dr. Jason Byassee at Holy Blossom Temple. There, they joined with rabbis, other faith leaders, and community representatives for a meeting with Leslie Church MP and The Honourable Gary Anandasangaree (Minister of Public Safety) about how to address antisemitism in the riding of St. Paul’s and in Canada as a whole. July ended with a guest appearance at the two-point Bancroft United Pastoral Charge, where Dayle had been invited to lead worship for the anniversary service of St. Matthews United Church on Baptiste Lake. As he settles into his new appointment, he’s looking forward to a new season full of fresh challenges and exciting opportunities for worship, outreach, and community building here at TEMC.