Bloor St. Church from the corner of Bloor & Huron Composite photo by Harold Durnford

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1 S U M M E R T H E N E W S L E T T E R O F B L O O R S T R E E T U N I T E D C H U R C H AN INCLUSIVE C O N G R E G A T I O N MINISTERING TO M U L T I C U L T U R A L T O R O N T O Bloor St. Church from the corner of Bloor & Huron Composite photo by Harold Durnford I n s i d e The Miracle Paint Job page 3 Restoration News page 4 Book Sale page 5 Films page 6 Summer Reading Insert

2 BLOOR PEOPLE Congratulations to Sarah Pell and Alex Stewart on the birth of Finnegan on April 8. Finnegan is the first grandbaby on both sides of his family. As a result he is a little spoiled and loving it, say his parents. Congratulations to Rosemary Cook and Michael Hilliard on the birth of Alexander James on May 9. Big brother is Nicholas and proud grandparents are Jean and Bob Hilliard. Congratulations to Marjorie and Brian Fox on their recent 50th wedding anniversary. Congratulations to Ann and Don Cooper who are celebrating their 51st anniversary this June. They enjoyed a month in a French villa last year on their 5oth anniversary. Congratulations to Alydia Smith on graduating with a Master of Divinity degree from the Atlantic School of Theology. Alydia was chosen as the valedictorian for her class. Congratulations to Jennifer Gordon who has just graduated from environmental science from the University of Toronto Scarborough. This summer, she will to travel to Honduras and Costa Rica, to spend 6 weeks in each country volunteering for wildlife conservation and research organizations. When she returns in September, she hopes to find a position in the fields of habitat restoration or environmental education. Emily Gordon, our current Children, Families and Outreach Coordinator, is hoping to spend six weeks as a volunteer at the ancient Iona Abbey and retreat centre during August and early September. Emily visited Iona Abbey, which is located on the island of Iona off the coast of western Scotland, in Welcome to new member Eric Heath who joined our congregation in May. He has practiced litigation law in Toronto for the past 7 years. Eric completed his undergraduate studies, law school and an internship in China after growing up in Mississauga. He and his wife Jacqueline were married at our church in Dan Benson has been confirmed as a candidate for ordered ministry in the United Church. Dan has been a very active member of Bloor St. as: Chair of the Worship Committee, a marmalade maker, a rummage sale organizer (several times) and as a participant in many other good endeavors at our church. As one of our lay presbyters, he acted as co-presider with Rev. Martha ter Kuile at the Easter Sunday service. Bob Hilliard is retiring from his full-time pediatric position at The Hospital for Sick Children at the end of June. He says he will continue doing some clinics at Sick Kids on a contract part-time basis and hopes to do some clinics with the Pediatrics Department at St. Michael s Hospital and with the Children s Aid Society of Toronto. Bob will continue as Chair of Bloor St. s Christian Development and Community Life Committee. And, he has been nominated as the NDP candidate for Don Valley East for this fall s provincial election. Rev. Martha ter Kuile with Dan Benson Photo by Harold Durnford Catherine Elsdon will begin an eight month internship in September in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, as part of her studies for the Master of Divinity degree. After the internship, Catherine will return to Emmanuel College for her final year of studies. Catherine has acted as secretary for our church council for the past year and also completed a contextual education student unit assigned to pastoral care at Bloor St. during the fall and winter. continued on page 3 2

3 The Miracle Paint Job Christine Mosser on behalf of the Property Committee " What's with you people? You are the ones who are supposed to believe in miracles. So said our custodian Karl Shuler when the offer of free painting of the church windows and halls was met with wary skepticism. Now that the painting is completed, it still seems very much like a miracle. Within one week of the initial offer, 125 students from Scholars at Your Service had painted the halls and stairways, outside windows and doors (as high as possible without scaffolding), the staff meeting room, two offices, and the nursery classroom. Scholars at Your Service donates two painting projects each year as its contribution to the community and as a training session for the new crop of student painters hired for the summer. ICI Paints donates the paint. This year one of their projects was to be University of Toronto Schools, but when that didn't work out they noticed that our building was in obvious need, came across the street and talked to Karl. A contract was hastily drawn up that week, and the following Monday and Tuesday, May 2 and 3, 125 painters were hard at work. The job was almost completed by the end of the day Bloor People continued Congratulations to Patricia Shand who has been selected to receive a special 2011 Friends of Canadian Music Award for Lifetime Achievement in Canadian Music Scholarship. This award was put in place this year as part of the celebrations around the 60th anniversary of the Canadian League of Composers. The Friends Award is jointly administered by the Canadian Music Centre and the Canadian League of Composers, and was presented to Patricia on June 3 at the Annual Conference of the Canadian University Music Society in Sackville, New Brunswick. Patricia is also retiring from the Faculty of Music at the Univ of Toronto, where she was recently honoured in a special university reception. At this event, she was surprised with a performance of a newly-commissioned suite for string orchestra, called Manitoba and dedicated to Patricia. The piece, composed by one of her distinguished former students, was premiered by some 40 senior string players from North Toronto Collegiate, whose teacher and conductor also studied under Patricia at the Faculty of Music. 3 Tuesday; several painters returned later in the week to finish and clean up. The church provided pasta/pizza lunches, with cookies and cake for dessert and breaks. The student painters were very grateful for the food. The halls and stairways are light green throughout. The accountant's office and staff meeting room are beige and cream, as is the nursery. The outside colours were kept as they were, with dark red on the doors, and of course, white around the windows. Our church now looks well maintained, as well as brighter and fresher, and we are all truly grateful. Many thanks to all concerned: Scholars at Your Service, ICI Paints, Karl and his team, members of the congregation who baked cookies and cakes, and our tenants and church groups who were good natured about the two days of organized chaos. The Choir Room by Mary Louise Work Behind the sliding wooden doors A warren of cubbies A grid hiding surprise and familiar; Each dark space a statement of loyalty to community and routine Each a testament to the Spirit through voice and song Each a stash of toil and joy in notes repeated 'til embedded in my soul Each a catalogue of Sundays numbered and tracked by performance Each filled with paper that sings And sheets that are torn Outdated but practiced and rehearsed Awaiting discovery and pleasure And ecstasy. God, let us praise you through our harmony. Mary Louise wrote this as part of the prayer writing workship Bloor Street offered in November 2006 with Helen Porter.

4 Restoration Fund Reaches Goal The Property Committee developed a comprehensive list of potential projects which we could tackle over the next few years. Some of these jobs must be done to maintain the building integrity and others could be delayed until we have a definitive answer on whether redevelopment is in fact going to proceed. The roofing project is a definite requirement and has already begun. The flat roof over the office and kitchen has been replaced and a new roof is also required on Pidgeon House. Repairs are also to be done on the slate roof over the main part of the church. The estimated cost of these repairs is in excess of $30,000. We have been very fortunate to have some of our space painted by the Scholars at Your Service group who volunteered their time and paint to spruce up a number of interior areas as well as some of the outside windows and doors. We have many other projects on our short and long term lists which will require our attention and funding. There are also the surprises that occur with the facility. Boiler and plumbing repairs seem to be the most common problems. Hopefully the boiler will hold out for a few more years. The Restoration Fund is our main source of funding for the larger issues that we face. It is also the source of funding for our adjacent property, Pidgeon House, which is currently occupied by the offices of the United Church Observer. We always endeavour to use the Restoration Fund wisely to keep our facilities functioning as we all expect they should. In early June the campaign goal of $50,000 was achieved. The generosity of the Bloor Street congregation is impressive and heart-warming and we are very grateful to over 80 donor households who contributed. A few donors even contributed twice to help us reach our goal. The Bloor St. Church courtyard, facing Bloor St., in early May Photo by Harold Durnford 4

5 MAY BOOK SALE text and photos by Isabel Ward It was a cloudy cool day on Saturday, May 14. There was warmth in the Bloor St. Church basement where book tables lined the long hallway and three rooms. More than 900 books, magazines, CDs and LPs were sold to enthusiastic customers. More than $1600 was raised from the Saturday sale, an after-church sale on May 8, sales to Ryerson University Library and sales of rare and unusual books to dealers. Christine Mosser and Dianne Johnson organized the sale with the help of many volunteers. There s always an interesting mix of people who come to our book sales. There lots of students and other young adults, young couples, older couples, many men by themselves and some women, the occasional young mother with a child and many senior book lovers. A few stand out. A young mother with a friend and a girl aged about 6 arrived at the cash desk with a few adult books and a pile of children s books. The mother's English was limited and she was obviously new to Canada. She pulled out a loonie and asked if that was a loonie. Then she asked: Loonies and toonies? She pointed to her daughter and said that the books would help her learn English. A rumpled middle-aged man arrived with a large young friend. The older man happily chose books and the younger one brought them to a growing pile behind the cash desk. When they were ready to leave, the older man told us that his friend had come with him just to carry home the books. A man who looked like a retired professor climbed stiffly down the north stairs with his adult son. He handed the cashier a ten dollar bill. The cashier asked what the money was for. He replied: Admission for two. There s no admission charge for our sale. He too had brought a young man with him to carry home his purchases. Many happy people left the basement with bags of books. As well as raising money for Social Justice projects, this sale is a great recycling project, a good way for the church to reach out to the community and to create happy customers. Shoppers Conrad Hazen & Hazel Gardner Book Sale organizer Christine Mosser Young shoppers selecting classical literature Volunteer Terry Cooper packing books at the end of the sale 5

6 Film: a look back at a pretty good year by Bill Davis The run up to the 2011 Academy Awards from November to January featured an unusually strong selection of films. Our film group saw a number of them and will see more before next November. There are already reviews on the church web site for Babies, the Social Network, London River and Fair Game. We have recently watched Made in Dagenham and the review is now on the web site. What follows is a list of recommendations containing films our film group will likely see before the end of the year. I am Love Tilda Swinton, often overlooked as an accomplished actor, plays a Russian woman married into a wealthy family from Milan. While the patriarch dominates every aspect of the family s successful business and social life, she is not discontented as much adrift. The sons are being groomed to take over the business and face high expectations. The photography is stunning. As unexpected events occur, Swinton s portrayal of a woman who has lost her identity is riveting. This is a film largely overlooked but worth discussing. Another Year A British film that follows the life of an older couple who are active and content. Their daily routines bring them in touch with a range of family and friends, most of whom do not enjoy the same level of contentment. When the movie ends you find that many of the people who pass through this couple s life remind you of someone you know or knew. There is no climactic moment, just two decent people doing the best they can to help others cope with stresses within their lives. Perhaps it is a film about grace. Of Gods and Men A true story set in Algeria 15 years ago. A small group of Cistercian monks maintains a self-sufficient community in a war zone. They are a Frenchspeaking remnant of a past colonial power. They are clearly well regarded for serving the community. Increasing tension with militant Islamists endangers not only their lives but also that of the community outside their cloister. The film is slow paced, powerful and thoughtful. The music is moving. The monks are forced to decide on their call to stay or relocate, and the process for decision-making is central. The King s Speech This film rightly won the Academy Awards for best film and best actor. It is more than just the triumph of a man thrust into a role for which he was ill prepared and ill suited. It is a commentary on trust across class lines. It is not a film that leads to group discussion, but is worth watching. In a Better World This Danish film won the best foreign film over other nominees such as Biutiful and Incendies. I agree with the selection. The film takes place in two places. In Africa we watch a Swedish doctor serve a refugee camp aided by local nurses and other medical staff. The demands are heavy. He is clearly effective and respected. The second location is in Denmark where his separated wife and two sons are dealing with persistent bullying which the oldest boy faces at school. A new family arrives in the community. A father and son, recently bereaved after the mother s long struggle with cancer, relocate from London. The son is unable to cope with his loss and forms a bond with the doctor s boy and tackles the bullying head on. The two boys soon are wreaking revenge for any perceived injustice in increasingly dangerous ways. The doctor commutes back and forth and faces his own challenge when asked to treat an African rebel leader who has terrorized the refugee camp. The issues of revenge and forgiveness surface in both Africa and Denmark. Other interesting films Barney s Version, Incendies, West is West, and Nora s Will. 6

7 Quick Sketches Tea Treats and Treasures. Thanks to all Bloor Streeters for supporting the Togogo Grannies spring tea on May 7. The Bloor St. grannies worked with the Old Orchard Blossoms Grannies of St. Timothy s Anglican Church to organize this very successful event. We raised $ for the Stephen Lewis Foundation to help African grandmothers care for their HIV/AIDS grandchildren and orphans. (Di Johnson) The Annual General Meeting Part II: Programs was held on Thursday, June 9. After a potluck dinner, the meeting approved the reports from the various committees and groups and welcomed the new Church Council for (see right column). Michael Hilliard and Stephen Milton gave excellent presentations on redevelopment (Michael) and our website (Stephen). Copies of the report are available at the Information Table on Sundays or from the church office. Our new nanny, Marianela Marquez, began work in the nursery on May 1. Marianela has extensive experience with little children including her own two toddlers. She will also be able to help children in English and Spanish. Our Christian Development / Community Life Committee is most pleased that Marianela has accepted this position. The nursery is off the Chapel on the second floor. A big thank you to Joan Irwin who devoted many years to our nursery, caring for our youngest children. Would you like to see more photos on the church s bulletin boards? There are many photos on our website and Good News on Bloor always prints photos in each issue. However, the Good News photos are black and white and small. The original photos are in colour. Hardly any of the photos which are taken of Bloor St. people and events have appeared in coloured print form. If you have experience cropping digital photos and have some free time we could use your help. After printing the photos need to be mounted on cardboard or coloured paper and then posted on the bulletin boards. Short captions and the title of the event or group would be included with the photos. After a month or two, the photos would become part of the church s archives. Are you interested? Please contact the editor, Isabel Ward. 7 NEW CHURCH COUNCIL Doug Welwood Nenke Jongkind Ellen Schwartzel Anne Farquharson Heather Hilliard Liz Tinker Nenke Jongkind Bob Hilliard Stephen Milton Sandra Cruickshanks Brian Fox, Jim Hunter TBA Pat McPhee, Mary Sanderson George Bartlett, Dan Benson, Liz Tinker, Lisa Walter Don Payne, Arthur Smith, Dan Wright Laurie Gordon Investment Committee Trustees Redevelopment Committee Chair Chair of Council Past Chair of Council Secretary Chair of Pastoral Care Chair of Worship Chair of Social Justice Chair of Finance & Administration Chair of Christian Development & Community Life Chair of Communications Chair of Ministry & Personnel Co-Chairs of Stewardship Chair of Property Volunteer Coordinators Presbytery Representatives Members at Large Coordinator of Fund Raising Task Group linked to Finance & Administration Jim Hunter, Don Cooper, Heather Young, Tom McCauley, Michael Hilliard Don Cooper, Bill Davis, Bob Hilliard, Sue Kaiser, Mary Louise Work Michael Hilliard Thanks to Sandra Cruickshanks, Catherine Elsdon, Michael Hilliard, Ron Kentner, Tom McCauley and Lisa Walter, who are leaving positions or moving to new positions, for their commitment and contribution to the life of Bloor Street United Church.

8 CRADOCK LECTURE 2011 Sunday, October 16, 10:30 am Margaret Atwood Margaret Atwood is the author of more than 35 volumes of poetry, fiction and non-fiction. Her most recent novel is The Year of the Flood. Poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, environmental activist and an avid Twitter-user, Margaret is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history. She has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize five times, winning once, and has been a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award seven times, winning twice. She is also a winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award and Prince of Asturias award for literature. Mark your calendars for this very special Bloor St. event (thanks to the Wikipedia website and The Toronto Star). From small expectations to BIG results "I didn't really expect much" is the way one camper started camp last summer. But Lake Scugog Camp turned out to be a great time of new experiences, new friends and new independence. This camper is signed up for Leaders In Training for 2011, and now reports that "I would like it if when I'm older, younger kids would look up to me and know that I can always help them." Our Refugee Outreach Program camping activity is about helping kids have fun and grow up well. Contributions can be made through the office or on Sunday in the offering. For more information contact Sue Kaiser. COMING EVENTS Sunday, June 12 Pentecost Sunday Family-friendly service & a potluck picnic in the courtyard Sunday, June 26 Congregational meeting following the service July Joint Services: 10:30 am At Trinity-St.Paul s Church West of Spadina on Bloor Street August Joint Services: 10:30 am At Bloor Street Church FALL SCHEDULE & SPECIAL EVENTS Sunday, September 11 Sunday School classes begin Congregational lunch following the service Sunday, October 2 Congregational lunch following the service Sunday, October 16 Craddock Lecturer: Margaret Atwood Saturday, November 5 Time and Talent Fundraising Auction Sunday, November 6 Anniversary Sunday is edited and published 4 times a year by the Communications Committee of Bloor St. United Church. All articles are copyright and may not be used without permission of the author. 250 words is the standard length for unsolicited articles. Articles should be single spaced, in 12 point type, without paragraph indentations. All articles may be edited. Photos will only be used if space permits and if suitable for publication. Editor: Isabel Ward: booksleuth28@gmail.com Ministers and Staff may be reached by contacting the Church Office at (416) Deadline for the Fall Issue: Sunday, October 16 Layout: JANICEKRANGLE (416) Purple tulips in the sanctuary on Easter Sunday Photo by Harold Durnford Visit our website at:

9 Summer Reading Suggestions Emily Gordon recommends: This past year, one book reminded me why I love reading: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. The setting is Guernsey, one of the English islands in the Channel, which was occupied by German forces during the Second World War. The book s epistolary form does a wonderful job of capturing the characters voices, and the book is filled with humour, as well as a very moving story. A fun summer read is The Book of General Ignorance, which comes from the British panel show QI (Quite Interesting), hosted by Stephen Fry. The book, like the show, debunks common misconceptions about all sorts of things in our world. It has perfect bite-size sections that are great for traveling or lazy afternoons by the lake. And you re guaranteed to learn something quite interesting. Irene Hunter suggests: Hand Me Down World by Australian author, Lloyd Jones, has been my favourite this year. (His Mr. Pip in 2007 won the best Commonwealth Book award.) This is the haunting story of an African woman who wins a beauty contest and a prize to be trained as a housekeeper at a Four Seasons hotel. A quick learner, she is promoted to another hotel in Tunisia. Here she meets a black European guest who fathers her son. When he suddenly disappears with the baby, Inez s odyssey begins. Various people she meets on her search tell parts of the story from their perspective including a truck driver who thinks she is a prostitute, a hunter who helps smuggle her over a border and an old blind man who hires her to be his housekeeper in Berlin. This unusual story will remain with you long after you have turned the final page. The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman. Through a series of connected short stories, we learn the history of an English language newspaper in Italy. As the title suggests, many of the staff are peculiarly flawed. The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver is set in Mexico and the USA during the time of Leon Trotsky s stay with Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Later, their Mexican servant escapes and becomes a famous author in the States until his career is ruined by the communist witch hunt of the McCarthy era. The story is told by his loyal secretary with the help of his journals. Suggestions for mystery fans: The Man from Beijing by Henning Mankell moves from Scandinavia to China and Africa and forward and backward in time through journals and the reminiscing of characters. This author always offers complexity and engrossing detail. The Price of Love by Toronto author Peter Robinson offers the pleasures of mystery and short stories together. The Innocent and Some Bitter Taste. A new author for me from the Lake Chapala library in Mexico was Magdalen Nabb who writes amusing police procedurals set in Italy with the very human Marshal Guarnaccia. Non Fiction suggestions: Factory Girls/from Village to City in a Changing China by Leslie T. Chang and Can Any Mother Help Me? Jenna Bailey found a treasure trove of letters while researching for her M.A. and ended with a book of social history, letters written beginning in the 1930s by English women who founded the Co-operative Social Club in Many lifelong friendships developed. The group only disbanded when the majority of them retired to senior homes. The Paper Garden by Molly Peacock, an award winning poet who lives in Toronto. This is the biography of an eighteenth century woman, Mary Granville Pendares Delany. Married when she was 17 to a drunken squire of 61, widowed at 25, she did not remarry until mid life, but developed a circle of cultivated friends including Handel and Swift. She painted, stitched and designed clothing. After the death of her second husband, she suddenly shook off her mourning and at age 72, invented a new art form, mixed media floral collage. In the following 10 years she created 985 of these botanical masterpieces which are now housed in the British Museum. The author tells Mary s story using her journals and family letters as well as weaving in parallels in her own life and meditations on the nature of creativity and art. This is a gorgeous book with full colour plates of Mary Delany s flowers, bits of poetry and quotes from authors like Virginia Woolf. Dianne Johnson recommends: The Help by Kathryn Stockett. The Help takes place during the early 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi during a time of great upheaval

10 ... More Summer Reading in civil rights. It is a compelling story told Don Nicol recommends: by the help, black maids working in white What shall I suggest for summer reading? First, two excellent, homes, often raising the family s children. Aibileen and Minny secretly tell their stories very different biographies: Michael Frayn s My Father s Fortune and Tony Judt s Memory Chalet. Then Susan Vreeland s to Skeeter. The resulting book can have dire Luncheon of the Boating Party and its complement, consequences for them all. This novel is a real The Judgment of Paris the revolutionary page turner, told from insiders views of society decade that gave the world impressionism by in the South. The movie The Help, based on Ross King. Anne Michaels The Winter Vault, is the book, will be released in August. a moving novel that weaves together saving Abu Ali and Nino: A Love Story by Kurban Said. Ali, a youth Simbel, building the St. Lawrence Seaway, loss, from Azerbaijan falls in love with Nino, a princess from Georgia. and realizations about the future and, for the Their story unfolds in Baku, the crossroads of East and West politically inclined, Great Questions of Canada on the eve of the Russian Revolution. Ali is Muslim and Nino, edited by Rudyard Griffiths. Christian, but their parents agree to their marriage. The contrast Isabel Ward suggests: of cultures and values in a time of war is Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny just won central to this story. The long history of a the best novel honour at the 2011 Arthur Ellis country seeking to be free of Russia and Awards for Canadian crime fiction. Penny s series others is revealed in this dramatic novel. of mysteries, set in Québec s Eastern Townships, Val Lem suggests: feature Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the The Night Wanderer: A Native Gothic provincial police of Québec. This new mystery Novel by Drew Hayden Taylor. An aboriginal is set in Québec City where Gamache solves a playwright, essayist, comic and filmmaker, Taylor has recently mystery which began in the 19th c. when anglophones were the turned his talents to novels. The Night Wanderer is actually a power elite in the province. Gamache struggles with agony over young adult work featuring Tiffany, an angry teenage girl, and the death of a young colleague as he unknots the many tangles of a mysterious young boarder who knows a lot about the reserve s the story. history yet recently arrived from Europe. Teens and adults alike The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis is a will be able to identify with some of Tiffany s angst. The setting, satirical look at Canadian politics. The story an Anishnawbe community called Otter Lake, is also the setting centres around a reluctant Liberal candidate in a of Taylor s latest novel, Motorcycles and Sweetgrass. In this work rural riding near Ottawa, who is persuaded to let for adults (young adults will enjoy it too), a handsome white his name stand just so there will be a Liberal on stranger arrives in town astride a 1953 Indian Chief motorcycle the ballot. He s an engineering professor who is and proceeds to turn the lives of Maggie, the Reserve s chief, out of the country installing water wells in Africa and that of her teenage son Virgil, upside- during the election campaign (rather like Ruth Ellen Brousseau, down. The stranger, who calls himself John, the NDP candidate who went to Las Vegas and then won her is no stranger to the reserve, having visited it seat). His Conservative opponent is caught in a scandal and our many years before when Maggie s mother was candidate wins the seat. He decides to take his seat in the House a young woman. John is a trickster, and his of Commons as an honest politician who doesn t always follow his character recently won a CBC Bookie Award. party s position. Written well before the May 2 federal election, One minor side plot is the stranger s ancient this book foreshadows many elements of the election although enmity with the raccoons who evidently Fallis did not predict the NDP surge. Winner of the Stephen have memories that rival those of elephants. Both novels are Leacock medal for humour in 2008 and the CBC Canada Reads entertaining and will make you more aware of some of the issues competition in confronting natives in the twenty-first century.