Community

I can’t recall a time I’ve been more proud of a ministry supported by Timothy Eaton Memorial Church than after visiting New Circles.

For years I have heard about their work, and I’ve admired Cindy Blakely, the founder and spiritual heart of the organization. Cindy’s journey started as a social worker. There she recognized the challenges of those underserved, living on a limited income with limited access to the necessities of life. So, she did something about it. Her vision birthed… Read more

Friends: you may have noticed some new faces in our official leadership ranks. They’re not all unfamiliar: Olivia LaPointe has sung for us for years, and has just moved back from New Brunswick. But Fraser Elsdon and Matthew Coulthard are brand new to us. Here is a bit about them. Note: always feed the interns! Seriously, they’re eager to get to know you, so ask them to coffee or meals and get to know them! - Jason

Olivia LaPointe

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Josh Del Rosario has worked at TEMC as digital coordinator since 2016. He began working as our youth ministry coordinator in January of 2024. He is a champion team player, always working to help others on the staff to do our work better. We talked about his older work with us, his newer youth work, and his life and faith.

Tell us about yourself, Josh.

I grew up here in a Filipino household. We came to Canada… Read more

Interview with Bonnie Marsh, our Sunday School Coordinator and Director of children’s Ministry

Tell me about coming to faith?

Where I grew up in Newfoundland, there were two churches: the United Church and the Salvation Army. My friends went to the United Church. That’s where I first learned about God, grew in my faith, and became a Christian. I was about seven years old.

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Friends, I’m so excited our summer preacher series is upon us! Several of these preachers will preach on “rude praise,” some from the Psalms, some from other places. Here they are:

This Sunday we hear from one of the most important artists in Canada. Shadrach Kabango has hosted CBC's "Q" and is the star interviewer for Peabody and Emmy winning Hip-Hop Evolution on Netflix. It’s an amazing show to watch—he gets to go around to his… Read more

A few Sundays back, our beloved soprano Ellen McAteer sang the Lord’s Prayer with a ferocity I’ve rarely heard. This was at our 11 am traditional service, mind you. When she finished, we applauded. I wasn’t surprised. We applaud often at our 9:15 contemporary service. And Ellen’s version was celestial.

One might object that applause isn’t the best response to a prayer. “This is not a performance,” one… Read more

One thing I’ve learned as I’ve gotten to know United Church polity is that it is really, really hard to change our church’s foundation.

Our administrative council voted a couple weeks ago in support of a remit to change the UCC’s Basis of Union to allow for an autonomous Indigenous… Read more

How does it feel as you prepare to leave TEMC?

I feel a lot of emotions. First it was bittersweet, then straight-up sad, and now I’m back to bittersweet. I’ve had an amazing time here. Now it’s time to go and do other things, to better myself and my career. So it’s a bittersweet time for me.

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An interview by Rev. Dr. Jason Byassee with Dr. Elaine Choi, Director of Music at TEMC. 

Tell us about the Leslie Bell Prize for Choral Conducting, which you’ve just won?

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Last Monday night we were honoured to host a gathering for prayer with three neighbourhood congregations—Grace Church on the Hill, Congregation Beth Tzedec, and Holy Blossom Temple. This sanctuary was full, with some 600 of the 800 people here our Jewish neighbours. It seemed every one of them thanked us, often with tears: ‘it’s been lonely. Thank you for your kindness.’ What we did was not hard: my sermon was short, Elaine’s conducting and Stephen’s playing were simple compared to a normal Sunday.… Read more