Council's support of youth ministries: sharing faith with a new generation through United Church camping.
For 117 years, The Toronto United Church Council's services have contributed to the church's focus on action. While Council does not do the work of the Presbytery, it continually seeks to be in partnership with Presbyteries, mission units and congregations. The mission of the Council includes the interests of the congregations, and goes beyond these interests or the advancement of a single denomination. Along with managing assets and loans, the Council also sets its sights on helping the church serve Canadian society at large.
Council's ministry has changed over the years: In the 1920's and 1930's, the emphasis was on city missions and social services. The 1940's and 1950's were years of massive church expansion. Council was involved with the building of 45 churches during the period 1947 to 1967. There were many Christian Education additions also built, bringing the total number of projects to 54. During the 1970's and 1980's, the focus was on the redevelopment of older churches and responding to the needs of the growing suburbs of Scarborough, Markham, Vaughan and Richmond Hill. During the 1990's, Council focused on ways to assist Presbyteries in their work and in 1992 expanded its focus beyond the city to include Grey, Dufferin & Peel, Muskoka, and Simcoe Presbyteries. Council continues to respond to the needs of new church development and church redevelopment by providing significant grants for mission strategy.
Toronto Chinese United Church takes advantage of the 'Raising the Roof' fundraising day to raise funds for Toronto’s homeless.
In much of its work, the Council takes its lead from the interests of the congregations. As of old, that often means taking care of the poor. But today, that might mean helping a congregation buy freezers to set up a community food bank. Or helping a congregation build a community centre for all citizens, or setting up a holistic health centre, or building environmentally-friendly housing for the homeless, or working with the United Church at large to care about the deteriorating life-support system of the planet, or helping the church understand the AIDS pandemic in Africa. In recent years, it has begun developing novel financial instruments to help congregations help each other, through the "Investing in Ministry Fund".
Council has held a close relationship with the Massey Centre, the Fred Victor Centre, and the Christian Resource Centre as they have grown and changed over the years to meet new opportunities for service. Council has also played a major role in the provision of campsites to serve the youth of our congregations: Lake Scugog Camp, Sparrow Lake Camp, Camp Simpresca and Camp Big Canoe all benefit from Council's partnership and financial support.
The Toronto United Church Council is a registered charitable organization (Charitable Registration Number: 10812 3274 RR0001).
You are invited to read Empowering our Church to Dream - Enabling it to Serve written by Alanna Mitchell. This history introduces readers to the personalities and projects that have made the Council an integral part of life and work of The United Church of Canada.
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