Posts by Erin Knight
Helping that HELPS During Christmas (and beyond!)
We all like to be helpful, don’t we? Opening a door for the elderly man walking with a cane, making a meal for a neighbour or friend when they are sick or just overwhelmed with life, lending a hand at the school fundraiser, and the list goes on. These kinds of ‘helps’ are wonderful and meaningful and are a wonderful way to bless another person.
So as we enter into the Christmas season, many of us are looking for even more ways we can help those who are less fortunate than us. But what if I told you that some helping doesn’t really help?
Top 10 Reasons to Attend our AGM
Not that any of you need any convincing, but we’ve heard in the past that sometimes deacons don’t like meetings. (I know, right?! We were shocked too!)
And apparently deacons aren’t alone in this! But the truth is, people don’t hate meetings; they just hate bad meetings. Would you agree? And what makes a meeting bad? It’s typically an unclear agenda/purpose and feeling like they aren’t heard or their input doesn’t matter.
Well, let us assure you right now that our Annual General Meeting (AGM), coming up next Thursday, will be different!
In case you’re not convinced, here’s our top ten why you SHOULD attend!
Apart, Yet A Part of God’s Kingdom Work
One of the key components of a NewGround partnership is how it supports its partners with learning and networking opportunities; the main one being the annual Ministry Networking Day!
For the first time ever, the annual Ministry Networking Day was held entirely virtually. And while participants were apart and were unable to gather in the same room due to provincial restrictions, one theme resounded during the afternoon spent together: while we remain apart, we are still a part of God’s great Kingdom, serving in a variety of spaces and places in His name!
Read MoreSome New Faces at Diaconal Ministries!
We’re excited to welcome three new people to our awesome team!
Let’s get to know them a bit better…
Read MoreBC Youth Centre Provides a Safe Harbour with Help of NewGround Partnership
Mission Youth House, also known as MY House, in Mission, BC, is a collaborative initiative to provide a place for youth to eat, shower, do laundry, access medical care and other services and receive help from caring adults. Mission Hills Community CRC has been a key partner in providing counseling to staff, prayer support, financial donations and volunteer support. In order to grow the ministry and move more into the spiritual transformational work within the ministry, they knew they needed some help.
Enter NewGround…
NewGround Partnership “Pays Off” for Brampton Church
The CAP Debt Centre has allowed the deacons and members of Crosspoint to cultivate relationships and care for people in Christ-centered and tangible ways, and to celebrate successes as they work together with clients in holistic ways.
Word continues to spread as residents and city organizations continue to contact them for help – help they would have been unable to provide without a NewGround partnership.
Read MoreNewGround Partnership Helps Church Love Refugees
“The refugee crisis desperately needs churches to show up in ways that further hope, healing, and reconciliation in the world,” Danielle Steenwyk-Rowaan, Open Homes Hamilton’s team leader, shared.
With the help of a NewGround grant, New Hope Church in Hamilton, ON showed up to partner with Open Homes Hamilton. This new partnership has allowed New Hope to welcome refugee claimants into communities of belonging and has reminded them of the transformative power of the ancient Christian practice of hospitality.
Read MoreOvercoming Spiritual Roadblocks in Ministry – Devotion #2: Prayer Changes Things
When we step into the place of prayer, it is often to ask the Lord to change circumstances. We pray for healing for someone who is sick, comfort for someone who is grieving and for the Lord to change the heart of someone who is walking away from God’s kingdom. Prayer changes things, and the Lord is able to move in people’s lives and circumstances because we pray.
But prayer does not just change a situation…
Read MoreServing God’s Church and the Community as a Diaconal Coach
Len Bakelaar served as a Diaconal Coach in Classis Huron for over 18 years. When Len ‘hung up his hat’ and retired from being a Coach back in June of 2020, we asked him to share about his time with Diaconal Ministries.
Read MoreSowing Seeds of Community in a Pandemic
The city and region of East Preston, Nova Scotia is now considered a “food desert”. With the help of a Covid-19 grant from Diaconal Ministries and World Renew Canada, John Calvin CRC in Truro is working with the community of East Preston and sharing their community garden expertise.
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