Lessons From The Living Room Church (Bernard Tam)

The Living Room Church is a family of Jesus followers serving the neighbourhoods. One of their co-pastors is Bernard Tam.

Bernard resides in Midtown Toronto with his wife Susan and their two fun-loving and silly boys, Jeddie and Joshua. Learning to live in the urban center has been quite the journey for the Tams, but they are learning daily to see the beauty of the urban jungle. Bernard is passionate about connecting with people and (re)imaging possibilities while wrestling with faith and culture. He is also currently working part-time with The Alliance as a New Ventures Implementor, seeing new churches and new leaders in Toronto. Bernard is also a host of the Canadian Asian Missional Podcast. In the neighbourhood, you can often find Bernard hanging out in coffee shops where his passion for community and coffee intersects. Susan often likens the coffee shops to the show Cheers for Bernard.

To reach Bernard you can email him at btam@thelivingroomchurch.ca

Links:

The Living Room Church

http://www.thelivingroomchurch.ca/

Christian & Missionary Alliance

https://thealliancecanada.ca/

Canadian Asian Missional Podcast

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/canadian-asian-missional-podcast/id1339528072

Youth At The West Edmonton Mall (Braden Brodeur)

Braden Brodeur is a youth worker at Marketplace Chapel at the West Edmonton Mall. The chapel is staffed by Christians and provides spiritual and religious care to shoppers, employees, and wanderers. He is in process to become a Mission Canada urban worker.

The West Edmonton Mall is the 2nd largest mall in North America at 5.3 million square feet.

West Edmonton Mall has over 800 stores and services including nine attractions, two hotels and over 100 dining venues in the complex, and parking for more than 20,000 vehicles. More than 24,000 people are employed at the property. The mall receives about 32 million visitors per year; it attracts between 90,000 and 200,000 shoppers daily, depending on the day and season.

 Braden currently interacts with 100 youth on a weekly basis.

Links:

Marketplace Chapel

https://www.lovedmonton.com/

West Edmonton Mall

https://www.wem.ca/

Mission Canada Profile

https://www.paoc.org/canada/workers/bradenbrodeur

Homeless In Toronto (Brad Sider)

On any given night in Toronto, there are about 9000 men, women and children that have no place to stay. Brad Sider spoke at the Our City Scarborough conference on the topic of homelessness his city.

As a veteran shelter and street population worker, Brad is currently a director with the Maxwell Meighen Centre, one of several Salvation Army shelters.

Previously he worked with the Mennonite Central Committee with men coming from prison and reintegrating into the community.

As a follower of Jesus, Brad brings insight into how the gospel interfaces with people on the streets.

Links:

Maxwell Meighen Centre

https://www.torontohhs.org/shelters/maxwell-meighen/

Mennonite Central Committee

https://mcc.org/

Brad Sider

Restoring Women At Risk (Julie Hunter Interview)

Julie Hunter is the executive director for Windsor Life Centre, a residential, faith-based treatment centre for women recovering from drug and alcohol addictions. The Centre began 10 years ago on the property of Windsor Christian Fellowship under the vision and leadership of Cathy Ciaramitaro.

Windsor Life Centre aims to provide healing to the whole person, giving them tools to live out lasting recovery.

Grounded in compassion, we are designed to empower every woman to reach lifelong sobriety. We help women with their physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social wellbeing so they can live healthier lifestyles after graduating from the program.

Windsor Life Centre understands addiction is complicated and unique for each individual. We provide customized treatment plans as a key feature of our program by examining each woman’s strengths, treatment needs, and coping abilities. Upon admission to Windsor Life Centre and throughout the treatment stay, our team evaluates their progress and adjusts the treatment plan as necessary. We also offer 12 step facilitation, social activities, life skills training, and multiple forms of therapy.

Link:

https://windsorlifecentre.com/

Red Frogs And Zoe Manor (Nelly Latchman interview)

At sixteen years of age, Nelly Latchman was on a youth group mission trip to New Song Church. The days in Windsor were an opportunity to experience God at work in an urban context outside of her own neighbourhood. That initial experience would eventually culminate in moving to Windsor after graduating from Tyndale Seminary.

Today, Nelly is a Mission Canada worker that serves as part of the national Serve Campus Network with her focus on the University of Windsor. She is also a young adult pastor at Parkwood Gospel Church.

Links:

Nelly Latchman - Mission Canada profile page

https://paoc.org/canada/workers/nellylatchman

Serve Campus Network

https://paoc.org/serve-campus

Red Frogs Canada

https://ca.redfrogs.com/

Parkwood Young Adults

https://parkwoodwindsor.com/youngadults

Asylum Seekers And Homelessness (Mike Morency & Ejay Tupe interview)

Our guests on this episode are Ejay Tupe, director of Toronto Urban Mission Hub in downtown Toronto and Mike Morency, executive director of Matthew House – Windsor.

We will be talking about a story that began unfolding this past summer when over 200 refugee claimants from African nations found themselves sleeping on the streets. Many were outside a homeless support centre at 129 Peter St. in downtown Toronto. There seemed to initially be a funding stalemate between levels of government.

Into the crisis, three churches got involved directly by opening up their buildings to provide shelter, food, and support.

·      Revivaltime Tabernacle

·      Pilgrim Feast Tabernacle

·      Dominion Church International

This story eventually leads to some of the asylum seekers ending up served by Matthew House in Windsor.

Links:

Ejay Tupe

https://paoc.org/canada/workers/ejaytupe

Oct 30th update from Ejay

https://youtu.be/-o4LVpanGmo?si=J11xqAhrKoEd_DPb

Matthew House - Windsor

https://matthewhousewindsor.org/

Our City Scarborough Conference

https://www.ourcitytoronto.ca/

News article:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/church-temporary-emergency-shelter-asylum-seekers-toronto-1.6927489

Ejay Tupe

Mike Morency

Vancouver Downtown East Side (Aaron White interview)

Today on the podcast we are taking a virtual walk on the sidewalks of Vancouver’s Downtown East Side and having a conversation with Aaron White.

Aaron is a pastor, justice worker and prayer instigator in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver for the past 20 years, where he lives with his wife and four children in a community home. He’s part of the team at Jacob’s Well, an ecumenical Christian centre of hospitality where his job description is resident theologian.

He is the co-author of Revolution and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Kingdom of God; co-creator of The Creative Way Down discipleship resource; and author of his newest book Recovering: From Brokenness and Addiction to Blessedness and Community.

Along with one of my previous guests Dave Carrol (Captain Kindness), he co-hosts the Two Wise Fools podcast, a light-hearted and sometimes emphatically, truthful conversation about all things sacred and profane.

Links:

Recovering Book

https://bakeracademic.com/p/Recovering-Aaron-White/41667

Jacob’s Well

https://www.jacobswell.ca/

Two Wise Fools Podcast

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/two-wise-fools/id1547557549

Musicians On Mission (The Extreme Tour)

For thirty years, The Extreme Tour have partnered with community groups and clubs, civic organizations, churches, schools, government agencies and municipalities that are working charitably to meet the needs of the disenfranchised.

Collectively they have been in hundreds of communities scattered throughout 20 countries bringing music, art, spoken word, etc. They are musicians on mission and people that want to serve.

In mid-September they spent a week in Windsor, Ontario assisting New Song Church and Feeding Windsor-Essex. This is our round table conversation about who they are and the unique work that they are called to.

Links:

The Extreme Tour

https://www.theextremetour.com/

Danyelle Speaks

https://www.danyellespeaks.com/

Idiomz Da Prophesayer

https://idiomz.bandcamp.com/

Manny Hubbard (Flamuel)

https://www.youtube.com/@MannyHubbardMusic

Samuel Kislow (Salmon Friends)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2CLfjEDGS4

From Fentanyl To The Soup Shack (Bobby Reaume interview)

Three years ago, Bobby Reaume walked into my office and said, “Hey remember me?” It took me awhile before I would remember that he and his wife Grace attended the church briefly a few years prior. When Bobby walked in, he had been released from prison, returned to addiction, and was living in tent city. He came to see me with John Button the founder of Launch Pad Recovery Centre as he was entering into a Christian recovery program.

Today Bobby is working full-time, sober, spirit-filled and serving the homeless population in our city of Windsor with the Soup Shack, a trailer set up to distribute food and basic supplies to people on the street.

 Links:

Soup Shack organized by Feeding Windsor-Essex

https://www.feedingwindsoressex.ca/

Launch Pad Recovery Center

https://launchpadrecovery.org/

Hope On The Streets Of Leamington (Jennifer Hyde interview)

In the fall of 2022, three Leamington entrepreneurs came together to establish the Leamington Community Hope Centre at the old Knox Presbyterian Church located in the downtown core. Their goal was to secure a community space where necessary resources would be available to people in need to help ensure their physical, mental, social, and spiritual health was prioritized.

The Centre is taking shape quickly with a surge of community volunteers getting involved, many from area churches. Jennifer Hyde is the executive director of a new organization known as the Leamington Community Hope Centre.

Links:

Leamington Community Hope Centre

https://www.leamingtonhopecentre.ca/

Feeding Windsor-Essex

https://www.feedingwindsoressex.ca/

Healed Of Schizophrenia (Josh Tamblyn interview)

When it comes to medical conditions and healing, Christians hold a range of views from the intervention of doctors and medicine, alternative practices and healing that comes from God. I am not a doctor, so I would never give medical advice but would always encourage people to take a threefold approach to getting help.

First, we ask God for help in all things. Secondly, we investigate and utilize good medicine and thirdly we look at alternative methods when the first two are not yielding a result. Some will try alternative before mainstream and that’s their choice.

I bring this up today as we consider that the spiritual life of a person may be affected by physical and mental conditions. I believe that God heals, and today’s guest passes the test in my mind for a verifiable miracle from God.

Josh Tamblyn was healed of schizophrenia. We’re going to hear his story and also learn about his present involvement in ministry.

Links:

Mission Canada Profile Page

https://paoc.org/donate/joshtamblyn

University Christian Ministries

https://www.joinucm.org/

Serve Campus Network

https://paoc.org/serve-campus

Ministry Spotlight

https://youtu.be/LtTXs724Fpw

Captain Kindness Lives In Brantford

Dave Carrol is the lead pastor of Freedom House, a community minded church in Brantford, Ontario. Through many years of working closely with civic leaders, the church has gained a reputation for serving with a great attitude.

There’s a good story here about the day that David donned leotards and a red cape and became Captain Kindness. The Kindness Project was launched to make Brantford the kindest city in Canada. Perhaps podcast listeners will be inspired to release their own inner superheroes.

Links:

The Kindness Project

https://freedomhouse.ca/kindness-project/

Freedom House

https://freedomhouse.ca/

Two Wise Fools Podcast (with Aaron White)

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/two-wise-fools/id1547557549

ABCD and the Lord's Table

I met today’s guest Doctor Jon Massimi when we were both presenting at the Anchor Ministerial Fellowship conference in Cambridge. Jon and his family live in the Kitchener/Waterloo area presently and has worked and ministered extensively in the community space.

 Jon is an Anglican priest and has developed his thesis on the relationship between Asset Based Community Development and the Faith Base.

Links:

Anchor Ministerial Session – 2023

https://youtu.be/bc1NwEcZq1c

Tamarack Community article

https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/local-business-benediction?hs_amp=true

The Connected Community by Cormac Russell and John McKnight

https://www.amazon.ca/Connected-Community-Discovering-Health-Neighborhoods/dp/1523002522/ref=sr_1_1?crid=56Q0MVL3SEI5&keywords=the+connected+community&qid=1687455809&sprefix=the+connected+%2Caps%2C93&sr=8-1

A Panel Of Urban Pastors

What are the things that urban churches need to be thinking about? Pastor Duane Henry from Portico Church in Mississauga hosts a conversation at Our City Toronto 2023 with four urban pastors that are on the forefront of strategy and mission.

Olu Jegede is a return guest on Sidewalk Skyline Podcast and continues to pastor at Christian Centre Church.

Jessie Knight is an assistant pastor with Olu with a focus on student ministries.

Godfrey Adderley pastors at Stone Church in downtown Toronto.

Joel Spiridigliozzi is a regional director for Western Ontario District working with pastors and ministries in the Toronto region.

Links:

Duane Henry - Portico Church

https://www.porticocanada.ca/

Olu Jegede & Jessie Knight - Christian Centre Church

https://ccctoronto.com/

Olu Jegede

Jessie Knight

Godfrey Adderley - Stone Church

https://stonechurch.ca/

Godfrey Adderley

Joel Spiridigliozzi - Western Ontario District of PAOC

https://wodistrict.org/

Mental Health In Ministry (Sath Arulvarathan)

Sath Arulvarathan is a Registered Social Worker who has experience working in community and hospital mental health organizations. He is also involved in church planting.

Sath is skilled in supporting individuals experiencing anxiety, depression, substance use, trauma, life transitions and relationship breakdown.

He believes that the relationship between the therapist and client is the foundation for any intervention to be effective, and works from a trauma-informed, strengths-based, and anti-oppressive perspective. A firm believer in the benefits of short-term counselling, Sath aims to support clients to develop the skills and self-understanding they need to live better.

Links:

Sath’s blog posts for Trinity Life Church, Scarborough

https://www.trinitylife.ca/people/sath-arulvarathan/

Toronto Church Planting Video:

https://vimeo.com/77222798

Jesse's Urban Theology 101 (Jesse Sudirgo)

Jesse Sudirgo is the Assistant Professor of Contextual Ministry at Tyndale Seminary. He has a diverse breadth of experience in multiple disciplines of ministry in both the church and non-profit sectors. He is the former Director of Street-Involved Services at the Yonge Street Mission Evergreen Centre and continues to consult with churches in their engagement with poverty in the city. He brings to his work a conviction for interdisciplinary theological reflection that considers those most marginalized in society. His background in church planting in Boston Massachusetts has shaped his interests in missional lay leadership, community development, and urban poverty.

This session was recorded at Our City Toronto 2023.

Links:

Tyndale University

https://www.tyndale.ca/faculty/jesse-sudirgo

Community Exegesis (Ejay Tupe)

Ejay Tupe has served as an urban worker in downtown Toronto for sixteen years. In this session he shares stories and ideas about listening to the city. What can we learn by listening to the people, the values and the culture?

Recorded at Our City Toronto 2023 conference.

Links:

Mission Canada

https://paoc.org/donate/EjayTupe

Bring Back The Village (Sileen Phillips)

Rev. Sileen Phillips is the children’s minister at The Church of St. Peter and St. Simon The Apostle Anglican Church in Toronto. In this session at ‘Our City Toronto 2023’ she brings her insights from working with the vulnerable sector in government institutions and the community.

Links:

The Church of St Peter and St Simon-The-Apostle

https://stpeterstsimon.ca/

Our City Toronto

https://www.ourcitytoronto.ca/

Building A Non-Profit From Scratch (Dagma Koyi)

Dagma Koyi is a visionary woman with an unconditional love and passion for people. She has an overwhelming desire to see all people live enriched and thriving lives and has become known as a social innovator, humanitarian, Minister, impactful teacher, leader, coach, author, and an entrepreneur.

Her passion for social innovation has led her to pioneering several remarkable ventures including REST Centre, a non-profit charity that takes a holistic approach to invest in homeless youth, and prepares them to face the challenges of adolescence and adulthood through structured interventions. Today REST has become a strong community support for hundreds of BIPOC youth in the Peel Region.

More than meeting Practical needs, ordained minister Rev. Dagma Koyi has a great desire to see lives transformed by the power of God's word and prayer. She is the founder Heart-2-Heart Global Ministry, an empowerment program that equips women to live out their faith audaciously. The ministry provides a community encouraging sisterhood and a platform where they can heal and receive transformation through the sound teaching of God's word. Her weekly teaching ministry reaches women across Canada, the USA and the Caribbean.

Dagma is supported by her loving husband, Olubusola. They are the proud parents of twins, Mishael and Rhema, and live in Toronto Canada.

Links:

https://www.restcentres.org/

Heart-2-Heart Global Ministries

https://www.facebook.com/Heart2HeartGlobal.CA