OGT update

We’re at about 17 Street Packs! Thanks so much for everyone who’s pledged and/or brought in their donations so far!!!

As stated in the previous post, our goal this year is 60 Street Packs!

Deadline to bring in donations is this Sunday! If you have pledged to give items or a full pack – you can bring in your gifts on Assembly Day (all are welcome!) But please let us know if that’s what you plan to do.

For those who are still deciding how to participate, we encourage monetary gifts just so we can buy things in bulk and have greater savings.

For those who have decided to shop for individual items, we are especially low on the following (new items only please!):

• Sleeping bags – minus 5C is ideal
• Restaurant gift cards – YU recommends $20 value for Tim’s or McD’s – they’re easy to find
• Gloves - size L or XL, dark coloured, durable, water-resistant preferred
• Hair brushes – not combs

Also remember to block off your calendars for Assembly Day on Saturday, December 5th, from 2-5pm! It’ll be in the gym, and will be tons of fun!!!

If anyone can offer to bake some goodies, or bring in snacks to share on Assembly Day, please contact us. Any help would be much appreciated!

And last, but certainly not least, please keep this project in your prayers!

Questions? Comments? Let us know.

Help us get there!

The goal for this year’s Operation Good Thing is…

60 street packs!

 

Having set the modest goal of 10 packs last year and seeing how God blew our expectations out of the water with 38 packs, we have, by faith, set the bar higher this year.

Let’s unite together and remember Toronto’s street youth this Christmas season!

We will keep you updated on our progress throughout the month of November, so stay tuned!

Resources page updated

We’ve added a “Donations” list on our resources page which will help you find relevant organizations to donate your new or gently used items. Most of these organizations are located in Toronto and the GTA.

If you have an organization you’d like to add, please don’t hesitate to leave us a comment and let us know!

Call for Volunteers: Operation Good Thing!

For those who are excited about Operation Good Thing and is itching to help out… here’s a list of volunteering opportunities!

• Booth Attendants
• Public Announcements
• Email Reminders
• Bargain Spotter & Coupon Collectors & Shoppers
• Snacks & Cooks
• Drivers & Drop-Off
• Fellowship Liaison
• Fellowship Presentations

There will be a meeting held next Sunday (Oct. 25) at the couches outside the main sanctuary, after English service.

Answering your searches, part 1

We’ve noticed that people land on our blog using some intriguing search terms. Here are 5 of the search terms we’d like to help you out with:

1. “Can you donate canned soup that’s expired?”
Good question. Technically, you can drop it off at your local food bank, but it will be screened out by staff and tossed. If you don’t think it’s fit for you to eat, it won’t be any more fit for anyone else to eat it. So if you have those old cans of food lying around in the cupboard and you’re pretty sure you won’t open it and eat it, just put it in the trash.

2. “issues of homeless in suburbs”
Yes, there is homelessness in the suburbs. Folks might be living in the bush somewhere in your neighbourhood, or in their cars, or they may be couch surfing (living with friends and family for short periods). Here are some of our posts about homelessness. We’d love to hear your thoughts on the issue!

3. “donate food mississauga” or “foodbank missisauga”
According to the Region of Peel’s website, there are 13 food banks currently in operation in Mississauga. Click on the link (lists food banks for Brampton and Calendon as well) to see eligibility information and contact numbers – most will probably accept donations. Give them a call and see.

From experience, we know that Open Door and The Compass accepts donation drop offs during opening hours. One final word – remember to donate to food banks year round! They’d appreciate the help!

4. “mississauga fire hall accept food donations”
The Mississauga Food Bank website says that all fire halls in Mississauga accept donations. At our local fire hall, there is a drop off bin located in the rear of the building. You may have to ring the bell to ask about food donations at your local fire hall. Fire halls accept donations year round, not just during Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas!

5. “is there any (way) to pass the ogt”
Hmm, good question. The OGT we refer to here is Operation Good Thing run by Youth Unlimited. The way to pass this OGT is to contribute (stay tuned for more details!).

The OGT that you, searcher, might be referring to is the Ohio Graduate Test, which we know nothing about since we’re not from Ohio. But here’s a site from Ohio’s Department of Education that might point you in the right direction. All the best!

Good Reads

Here are some great short articles from Urbana:

Thank You Note to a Child Laborer
“These are tough financial times, and working for $2 per day to help provide for your family is also really helping us here in the west. I thought I should write a quick note of thanks.”

Social Justice and Evangelism
“A friend of mine, Doug Schaupp, observes that it is easier for him to take someone who is good at evangelism and turn them into a lover of justice than to take a socially active Christian and grow them into a good evangelist. That is sad to me.”

Anyone else find it easy to give and do but hard to speak the gospel? How can we develop ourselves into Christians who both proclaim and carry out the gospel?

-:-:-:-

Thank you for your overwhelming response to the new food bin in the MCBC lobby! The folks at The Compass are quite happy at the food that’s coming in, and it truly warms our hearts to see the box full of food in the past few weeks.

Keep it up!

Let’s feed the hungry!

Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.”

He replied, “You give them something to eat.”

Luke 9:12-13a

We all know how this story ends. Jesus sits down the crowds of hungry people and feeds them, and the disciples are left amazed by the food that is leftover. In our awe of the miracle, we miss the fact that Jesus gives us a role too, even as he is about to perform a miracle.

Today, we are still faced with crowds of people who are hungry. While we want God to resolve hunger somehow, Christ calls us to make the first move. Yes, the hungry faces are many, but are we willing to provide that one loaf of bread, that one can of soup to start? Who knows what Jesus can do that one loaf or can we bring?

To respond to Christ’s call to feed the hungry in our community (Matt. 25:35), there is now a food donations bin under the lobby coat racks at MCBC for you to donate on a regular basis. The food is currently given to The Compass, a Christian outreach centre in Port Credit.

Please remember the poor in our midst and share, and tell your friends and family about it!

For a list of items most needed at The Compass, please visit our Grocery Runs page, and join us on our next run!

Small group schedule updated!

Receipts from our small group grocery runs can go 6 cans of soup long!

Hey everyone! We’ve recently updated our small group schedule for the fall term. Take a look and let us know if you want to join!

Calendar at a glance (2009):

• September 5: No meeting
• September 12: Neighbourhood walk - Kipling area
• September 19: Discussion from Catalyst
• September 26: Grocery run
• October 3: Discussion from Catalyst
• October 10: Small group brunch
• October 17: Operation Good Thing Prep Day
• October 24: MCBC Ministry Planning Day @ church
• October 31: Grocery run
• November 7: Operation Good Thing Prayer Day
• November 14: Neighbourhood walk – Chinatown/Mississauga Chinese Centre
• November 21: Discussion from Catalyst
• November 28: Operation Good Thing Shopping Day
• December 5: Operation Good Thing Assembly Day
• December 12: Discussion from Catalyst
• December 19: Grocery run
• December 26: Boxing Day – No meeting
• January 2: New Years – No meeting

More info is available on the Small Group tab. Also, come January, we can look forward to studying The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne together. Join us!

School Supplies Needed

Here’s a note from our friend Cliff at MCAC:

-:-:-:-

I was speaking with Krista from Open Door and she mentioned to me that the kids need school supplies to go to school.

I know when I was in grade school, the school use to provide supplies.  Like glue, crayons and markers.  (Hehe, I use to take them back home.)

Nowadays the school doesn’t supply them anymore and the family needs to provide them.

I was thinking of creating a few kits to help bring the kids back to school.  I don’t know if anyone is interested.  If you can support financially or have a few school supplies at home and like to donate, please let me know.

Here is the list of items Krista suggested:
I have made a list of suggestions for school supply packages.

• Back packs, kids and teens
• Binders
• Pens, blue, black, red
• Highlighters
• Pencil Crayons
• Crayons
• Markers
• Rulers
• Pencil cases
• Pencils
• Erasers
• Compass and Protracter Kits
• Lined Paper
• Blank Pater
• Glue

I will be flying to Australia in Aug 20th. Therefore, I like to have these kits ready by Aug 17th. 

-:-:-:-

If you’re interested in helping out, please leave a message and we’ll arrange to get the items from you. Please let others know about this drive too!

Please donate to your local food bank!

“There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward those of your people who are poor and needy in your land.” – Deuteronomy 15:11
 
-:-:-:-
 
Food banks are running low on food this summer. As a volunteer at The Compass (http://www.thecompass.ca/), a food bank/outreach centre in Port Credit, I’ve seen the shelves of food become more bare in the past month. People don’t realize that food banks still need their donations through the summer months!
 
I’ll be taking donations for The Compass throughout the summer and fall, and I’d be happy to collect anything you donate to bring to The Compass when I work there (if you’re at MCBC, pass them to me on Sunday). Feel free to collect food for your local food bank if you’re not within my vicinity.

Do ensure that the food is not past expiry – anything that’s expired will be thrown out due to health regulations.
 
I encourage you to buy a few extra things whenever you get your own groceries. Encourage your small groups, fellowship members, friends and family to donate generously.
 
Food donations can also be dropped off at any fire station. They will distribute the food to a local food bank, such as the Mississauga Food Bank. I’m sure all food banks are suffering from a lack of donations in these summer months.
 
Here’s a list of items needed at The Compass:
-cereal
-juice boxes
-canned or jarred fruits (any kind)
-canned vegetables (specifically waxed beans, peas only, potatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes – there’s plenty of corn and mixed veggies)
-canned meat (salmon, chicken, turkey, ham, Spam, corned beef)
-canned pasta
-canned stew
-canned soup (Ready-to-Serve and condensed)
-fruit cups
-pudding cups
-instant noodles
-toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, body wash, soap, deodorant, feminine hygiene products, toothpaste, toothbrushes, diapers)
-toilet paper, kleenex
 
Other donations are most welcome since something always runs out every time we’re open. Even packaged snacks like crackers and cookies are appreciated. 
 
Let’s show the love of Christ to the world through our thoughtful, compassionate, and continual actions.

Please give generously!