Anglican Diocese of Toronto
NEWSLETTER SUMMER 1999
______________________________________________
In Memory of Anita Agyeman
December 20, 1988 – August 18,
1999
The summer is ending and everyone should be enjoying the last
of vacations and getting ready to return to school. Instead,
this community is reeling from the shock
of the murder of one of its children.
Kids ask, “Why did she have to die? She did
not get to go to high school or graduate.”
Another says, “I did not get to say
good-bye.” Responses to this agony and pain
are hard to come by. In the midst
of this great darkness, the Spirit
of God continues to be seen in
the neighbours gathering financial support for the family
and in the children comforting other
children who are overcome with grief.
Even though Anita lived only a short time, may her joy be
remembered by all, and we pray that God’s comfort be
with her family and friends._ Betty
Visitors
Visitors are always welcomed at the Flemingdon Park Ministry. In June, Sister Constance SSJD came and told us of the gifts she received from her grandparents during our celebration of the Eucharist. It was quite an event to have a nun in full black habit here. Sister Constance had everyone’s attention as she unfolded her story. In true Sister Constance fashion, she gave the Ministry a donation of pennies she had collected._
At the August Fellowship Nite, we
had The Rev. Aldo Quintao, his
wife Anapaula and son, Leonardo and
their friends Joachim and Tandea, as
guests. We heard about
ministry in Sao Paolo, Brazil, with
the poor._
Odds and Ends
What does Pet Smart, the Ontario
Science
Centre and the Toronto East General
Hospital all have in common?
All these places were visited
by the kids in the Summer
Noon Program this summer.
To say it was hot
this summer is an understatement!
The high humidex has added
to the busy task of
offering fun times to help
kids enjoy their school vacation._
JThe Sports Programme had five-to-eight-year-old
kids playing T-ball twice a
week. Teams for the younger ones are
not really important, but getting a chance
to bat is. When the ball is successfully
hit, all players on the field chase
it. It takes most of the
season for them to catch on
to the strategy that only one chases
the ball when it is nearby.
The older kids in the Softball Division
worked in teams very hard to
win so that their team name
will appear on the trophy
that resides in the office
and they get to take home a
first place ribbon from the banquet._
JThe Summer Noon Program children
enjoy games, visiting and experiments
conducted by the Ontario Science Centre,
followed by lunch. Four days a
week the Ministry office is filled with
children in the middle of
the day. It is a
time when trying to hear the
phone ring is nearly impossible.
The nursing student showed all children
some beginning first aid approaches.
We now look forward to the
fall when parents are grateful that all
children are back in school and
the routines can be put in
place again. The Ministry office, too,
settles into a quieter routine. There
continues to be many people looking for
employment, so the fax and copier are always in
demand. The office support for getting
resumes portraying the skills
and experience cannot be underestimated.
Since without one, there is no chance
of being considered for employment.
At the beginning of the
summer, the Ministry was invited with the
community to come together to create
a “Community Garden.” It was a struggle
to get all the players in place: Hydro,
MTHA and Parks and Recreation, but
one woman spearheaded the efforts with
success. It was small this year,
and had only flowers, but
next year the plan is that individual
plots will be available
and some have plans to
grow vegetables. The work in the Ministry
continues to be a potpourri of activities
that enables the light of Christ to
be seen in Flemingdon Park._
FaithWorks Campaign
This is the first year that our budget has been funded from FaithWorks money. We had a busy spring filling several requests to have a speaker describe The Flemingdon Park Ministry out and about the Diocese. Thanks go to: Clare Dyer, Grace Benevides, Heather Stacey, Penny Lewis, Cheryl Bee and Renate Schober, who assisted in meeting these requests. From all reports, FaithWorks is successful in telling the story of the Ministry done in this Diocese. We give thanks to all who help to make this campaign reach its goal. Even though we are totally dependent on FaithWorks for our funding, we have carried out our own project in order to make our own donation to the campaign so that we give as well as receive. This year, we again continue to sell hand-decorated fridge magnets for a loonie or a toonie, plus Flemingdon Park Ministry T-Shirts for $15.00 each. Our goal for 1999 is $1,000.00._
Canadian Tire Coupons
We can use this “money” to
buy equipment for children and for the
Ministry office.
Wish List
Sluice Sink J New Photo Albums
Computer Club
A very generous donation was received
from the Parish of St. John, York Mills to continue getting
computers into the homes of kids to
enable them to begin their journey
to computer literacy. This program
got off to a slow start last
year, but with the new school year
just ahead, it is hoped that
it will pick up._
Nursing Students at
The Ministry
This spring and summer, we had,
for the first time, two second year Seneca College
nursing students, each for a six-week
placement. It was a time when
we enjoyed their fresh look at the
work carried out in the
Flemingdon Park Ministry and hopefully we contributed to
their education about nursing in the community.
We hope in the future that we
can continue to serve as a community
placement for Seneca College._
A Fairy Tale
written by the nine to twelve-year-olds
in the
Summer Noon Program
Once upon a time there was a
Princess named Grace. Her dream was
to become a famous chef one day
in the big city. Her father had
no idea of her aspirations. Grace
would awaken at 5:00 a.m. every
morning to the sound of trumpets.
She would get out of bed and
start roaming around the kitchen and
helping the servants prepare for breakfast.
The King had no idea this
was going on.
One day, Grace convinced the cook
to allow her to cook the dinner for
her family. She had decided that if
the dinner was a success, she would
tell her family of her dreams.
When dinnertime came around, Grace let
the servants serve the dinner and the
King loved it. He couldn’t stop
eating.He ate . . . He ate . . . And he
ate some more . . . When he was
finally finished, Grace walked over to him
and whispered her secret in his ear.
The King screamed, “You did what?!?”
The King came into the kitchen and
said to the servants, “How could
you let my daughter cook?”
“I am very sorry that I let her
cook,” said the servant. “Get me
the Knight Lali to be-head her!”
said the King. Grace cried and cried.
She said to her father, “Please don’t
kill Pat. It’s not her
fault. I begged her,” said
Grace.
But the King wouldn’t listen. And
Pat was be-headed. Grace was so
upset she dressed like a commoner and
escaped from the kingdom. She caught
the boat from the port and went all
the way to Toronto. When she got
there, the captain of the boat
asked her name and she said,
“Bella.”
From that time on, Grace was free
from the pressures of the royal lifestyle.
She got a job as a chef in
the famous restaurant named The Flemingdon
Park Ministry. The King never
found her and Bella missed
her parents, but she couldn’t live
in that lifestyle anymore. Bella met a
charming man and married him and
lived happily ever after cooking for
the most amazing and well-behaved children
she had ever met!_
The
Enchanted Ball
written by the
five to eight year-olds
in the Summer Noon Program
Once upon a time there was a
big girl named Karen. Karen was very
beautiful, all the boys loved her.
But Karen was in love with one
very special boy, Jamal. He was
the Prince of France. Jamal invited
all of the women in France to
his homecoming ball. All the girls had
an invitation delivered by hand
to their doors. All of France was
excited about the ball, they couldn’t wait.
Karen was sweeping the floors
and washing the dishes the night of
the ball. She was hurrying up
so she could get dressed and
put on her glass slippers and her
glass tiara. She got a ride to
the ball. When she got to the
ball, the Prince fell in love with
her. The Prince danced with her
and they were dancing outside. When
it struck 12, she had to leave.
She was running and the glass slipper
fell off her foot and on to the
floor. The Prince couldn’t find
Karen and he refused to ever
love again until he did find her.
One day in the market, he ran
into Karen and remembered who she was
and fell to his knees and asked
her to marry him. They
lived happily ever after._
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Reverend Aldo Quintao
Anita Agyeman and friends at the
Ministry’s Summer Camp program recently.
The Ministry’s Cheryl Bee enjoys
a chat with Sister Constance.
Rev. Aldo Quintaro and his wife,
Anapaula
were Ministry visitors recently.
Children participating in the Ministry’s
Summer Noon Program.