Group+C

= Group C =

Please keep in mind that only one person can edit this page at a time. It is recommended that each of you choose a colour of font and use the same one throughout.

As you work on your social action project (committed to 12 hours of dedicated time to giving service to others) plus responding in a Wiki format with your group of three, you will answer the following question: In light of your understanding of ministry, what does it mean to minister to others through your project? You will share your thoughts and observations and actions of setting up to kinds of things you did to what you observed or saw to the final pieces of your project. At the end of your project (Dec. 2 or what you have completed thus far), your group will come up with a group response to what is ministry based on your social action journey.

Let's start answering this question    tonight.

//What does it mean to you to minister to others? What is ministry?

Hello Paul,

It is so nice to hear that you are experiencing a lot of success with your program. It really isn't that difficult to do, however the benefits are incredible. We have an opportunity to silently help so many children and fill a need through offering food. Last week my volunteer became a grandmother for the first time. She took the whole week off so that she could be with her new grandson and her daughter. The staff at our school were great. I put a sign up sheet on the white board asking for helpers to help out with the program on Mon. Wed. and Friday. It was great! Everyone came together to help out and provide a service to the children who look forward to that extra little bit of nutritious food in the morning. The grandson is doing well and Mrs. Keating is back looking after those three days! My daughter who is in Grade 2 and my son who is Grade 4 also help me on Tues. and Thurs. It is amazing to see how children can take an interest in something and realize how important their help really is. Take care everyone and enjoy the weekend! Janis

Hi Janis, Like you I too saw the need to start running a Breakfast Club at our school. For me it became more of a passion rather than just having a door open and students to breeze in and out. At first students were very shy about coming in but as luck would have it I had baked a fresh batch of scones and low and behold in they came. They could not resist the smell of them baking. Since then -now over a year the B.C, has become very popular. I won't say that it is not work it is and of course as you know much dedication. I would not change it for the world as I have realized that the simplest thing such as having an open bottle of OJ on the counter ior some cut up fruits and yogurts is all thats needed to help someone. I know that for many students I have made a positive difference in their lives just like they have in mine. The club is ran Tuesday through Thursdays and has become a place of giving and recieving. I certainly would not give this club up for the world I started my ministry process a couple of weeks ago but I been unable to figure out wiki. Lets hope this goes as planned. I decided to organize a fall food drive. Deciding what to do was difficult as (we all are) I am pulled in many different directions. To find something that I could adjust my schedule to work with. There are many details and poeple to work with. I knew that I could not make a larghe impact myself to mobilize the school so wanted to come up with a way to get as many people as possible to become involved. Our school is starting a 'House' system this year and wanted to try to support this program with the food drive. I spoke with our chaplan to see if the house system would fit in with his view of the food drive. I also spoke with the person who started the house system hear. After many e-mails and discussions we came up with a plan. I put together the communication to send out to the teachers and houses to start the food ball rolling. It was great to see how an idea can take shape and how others will help out where they can. The different strengths that people bring to the process is terrific. It is a much better process for the involvment of others and there ideas. I look forward to see how things develop over the next weeks. // // Paul The simplest thought that comes to mind for me with respect to both questions is simply attending to the needs of those that need help in a giving and unconditional fashion. Currently I run the Breakfast Club at my school. It is a very rewarding program mentally and spiritually. At first it started out with some very shy and insecure students coming from all grades. Today it is up and running. It is a pure joy to hear the sounds of students laughing, swapping stories, and more importantly for me having the opportunity to eat a healthy breakfast in a warm ane caring environment. Many times I have come across a student that for some reason decides to stick to me like glue. I believe it is because I offer comfort-rarely ask questions but they know my heart is open and they also know that whatever food is in the fridge or cupboards I place it all out so they have choices and are not limited.While there are so many good things to mention the one thing that really sticks out is when I bake or make scrambled eggs or French Toast. Its like watching very young children open their gifts at Christmas! I get a real kick out of this and of course the students just love all this. I'm always amazed at the type of dialogue that these kind of breakfast treats open up. Everyone talks about theri favourite dish, or how someone in their family is the best cook and so forth. Anyways for me at this point I could not imagine not being able to serve these students three mornings a week. To truly minister to others is to give them hope and love from the bottom of ones heart. J.H.F.

'm online...please give me about 10 minutes (Wed. 10:01pm )

When I read about the 12 hour service component to this course, I immediately thought it was the motivation I needed to help with Out of the Cold. I've seen/heard about the need for volunteers numerous times, and have heard great things about the experience from a couple of colleagues, but have never made the effort to work it into my schedule. If I recall correctly, the last time I seriously considered it I was on maternity leave and the times available were in the wee morning hours (2-4am or something like that). In the meantime, I received a phone call from my principal and she asked if we would be interested in participating in the Roots of Empathy Program. I was very excited about this opportunity, so we immediately put the plan into action, without any hesitation or consideration of time restrictions, as before. There is a grade 6 class that could really benefit from this experience, and I'm so honoured that our family is going to be able to help. Through 9 class visits, Baby Carter will be the catalyst to the hopeful end result of creating a more empathetic class where students will be more considerate of others' feelings. I'm excited about the opportunity to witness and help shape this growth in the students who I otherwise would not have the opportunity to interact with (I'm on mat leave from grade 6). When I read the pamphlet the health nurse, Gwen, (facilitator) left with us, it made me cry to see the profound impact this program, the ROE babies and their families have had on the lives of so many young people and their communities. // // I'm currently not pursuing my desire to assist with Out of the Cold, but have come to the realization that God has called me to minister to these children at this time. What a wonderful opportunity we've been presented with. It hit me kinda funny that an enjoyable activity such as this would qualify as me giving something of myself to others. Carter will hear stories and see photos as he grows older and we are able to share with him the ministry that he was involved in before he was even old enough to sit upright. My husband Derek has surprised me by agreeing to get up early on his afternoon shift Mondays to go to the school with us, as Gwen encouraged his participation to help increase the impact on the boys in the class (seeing a male parent interacting with the baby/fostering a relationship). I guess that might be part of the answer for me so far: God gives us talents and opportunities to use them. We can take pleasure and develop greatly in our own spirituality, as well as that of our close family members (i.e., Carter, my husband Derek, and my daughter Taliya who is very excited to hear about Carter's role in this experience), when we answer our call to ministry. Smiles, ~Christine H.

Monday, Oct. 6 Did you see the Barrie Advance front page on Thursday? "200 people needed for Out of the Cold" Wow. We visited Carter's Grade 6 class today. They were very receptive to Carter and myself and were very tuned in to what he was doing. Carter loved the welcome song they sang as he met each and every one of them face to face. Many of them were rewarded with a healthy smile in response to their voices, and they in turn responded with smiles or giggles or comments like "he's so cute" Some of the boys, especially, chose not to sing, for a variety of reasons, I'm sure. I'm anxious to see if their barriers begin to break down as they get to know and understand Carter better. We all know that babies are not judgemental when it comes to quality of voice, and I think that these students will enjoy the great feeling they get when they receive a heart-warming smile for their efforts. During our almost 40-minute session, many of the students, boys and girls alike, volunteered to interact with Carter in the centre of the circle. They were very eager to get close to him and test their hypotheses on what his skill development level was like. They were glued to his every move and sound and made some very good observations of his behaviours and demeanor. This is a class that has had some ongoing/growing concerns over the years, and some of the more "concerning" individuals seemed to be the more intrigued/involved today. Apparently, when the class was informed that Carter's dad will be joining us next time (Oct. 27), there were a few eyebrows raised and a couple of boys who seemed rather excited. I'm glad that Derek is going to be a part of our future visits and I hope that the impact his involvement has on the students is positive and constructive. Overall, a great visit, and I'm looking forward to the next one. ~Christine H.

// Monday October 27th, Paul and Christine, Having read how you are both going about what it is to Minster I was very touched by the passion that shines through from both of you in your writing. Definitely we are blessed that we have the strength and time to give of ourselves when situations arise. Although we may not be able to see any visible signs of how we positively impact the lives of those we have helped my personal belief is that to Minsiter is simply to give without having any personal agenda, not be blind to the needs that are visible and non visible all around us and to open our hearts to allow those searching for comfort a place to feel safe and nurtured. Thank you both for your insights. Janet  This is my third attempt to try to enter a wiki entry. I have read what everyone is doing and it all sounds good. I can't believe what a difference we are making in just a short while. Ministry to me means seeing a need in your community and responding to that need in whatever way you can. Six years ago I saw the need for implementing the breakfast program at our school. Children were often coming to school without a lunch. Up until last year our program was only offered to the students 3 days a week due to the lack of volunteers. We do have one parent who faithfully runs the program Mon. Wed. and Fri. I thought we could offer the program for the full 5 days a week. Back in Sept. we began running the program everyday. I look after the program on Tues. and Thurs. withthe help from my daughter. She has enjoyed helping out and looks forward to Tues. and Thurs. Take care everyone, and keep up the great work everyone is doing. Janis

The colour left and can not get it back so think pink while you read! I have been negligent on my wikiing. The food drive has been going with varied response. It is amazing how it takes people to motivate others and it can grow exponentially. The students were slow wo respond to the food drive as the houses were slow to get organized and get the information out. Once the teachers started to get the students pointed in the right direction they were better propared to get announcements and posters circulating the information. The food drive is winding down and I am looking forward to see how much was collected as well as which house won. I will be coordinating the delivery of the food. I am looking forward to bringing in the boxes and learing more about the next steps of the process. I have never been to any foodbank but have been aware of it and know many people who have used it. I have heard of people who do not need to go as they have plenty but use the food bank as a way to save money for beer, trips or toys. I am interested in asking the organizers what there perception is? Not theres to Judge? As long as helping the many Ok if a few misuse? Are they aware? Even people who seemingly have plenty have difficult times so perhaps the abuse of this great service is minimal

Novemeber 20th 2008 Over the last two weeks the Breakfast Club has expanded-menaing more students haave begun ti attend. I put this down to a few things-changes in the weather and word of mouth. The funniest thing happended the other day. I had just finished closing the door becaue the bell went and I had to get to class. A student showed up looking for some food. I oculd not leave my class waiting so I asked him to come with me for a few minutes. He followed me to my class we said prayers, listened to the messages and went back to the food class. As luck would have it the class that was scheduled to be in there had a computer lab booked and the student's teacher was away. I called the supply made arrangements for teh student to get his work and made pancakes and scrambled eggs for all of us. We had a feast and students made some terrific new friends. I really never thought too much about it as eventaully we all had to go back to normal everyday routines and so on. A few days later the chaplain in our school and approached me about that particualr breakfast and told me to my surprise that the student who had come looking for food was relatively new to our school and his paretns were going through a divoce adn his mother was ill. Anyways I remembered a story my fatehr once told me. Here it goes. He was walking across O'Connell Street Bridge in Dublin, Ireland. There was a child wrapped up in a blanket with his hat out for money and myy dad said I really had none myself to spare and I kept going. But he said for soem reason he went back and gave the child teh spare change he had in his pocket. My father said he looked at the child and saw Jesus smiling. H e said it was such a calm feeling that it was not soemthing that one could go and yell about. He has no doubt that that child was Jesus. He said when we look hard enough at those who need our help we will find Jesus and most of all he will find us. I have enver forgotten that story and I beleive taht when we minister and give completely of ourselves not only will we find Jesus but we will understand that Jesus comes to seek us out in in many          ways. Ask yourself how often do you serve Jesus and what does he look like to you? Janet The food drive was very successfull. I was a little worried earlied as it did not seem like as much food was being collected but when it was all said and done the new system that we put together collected almost twice the food as previous fall food drives. With any luck we will use the same procedure next year. Have been having trouble co-ordinating the drop off of the food as the one organization is not always available. Will hopefully get the food delivered soon.