DANFORTH MORNINGSIDE MENNONITECHURCH

We hold weekly worship services and provide Christian education for adults and children. We have an Outreach Committee for community engagement with a focus on homelessness inequality and indigenous issues. Our Pastor and Ministry Support Team leads us in giving spiritual and physical support to those in need. We administer a Benevolence Fund for those in financial distress. We offer social and spiritual connection through a monthly Men's Breakfast group and a weekly Ladies Walking group. We stay connected through a weekly bulletin and a quarterly Outlook newsletter. We have fellowship and social events such as potlucks birthday celebrations Christmas banquets and Easter breakfasts etc. The church has hybrid in person and ZOOM worship service and meeting options that began during the COVID 19 pandemic. We work closely with Freedom Gospel Ethiopian Church. We supply volunteer board members and chaplaincy funding to the St. Clair O'Connor Community in partnership with Toronto United Mennonite Church. We help support street mission work by donating funds to Sanctuary Ministries. We support and donate funds to Mennonite Central Committee for domestic and international relief and development work. This support includes volunteering at the local MCC relief sale now called the GTA Mennonite Festival. We support area church conferences and their activities by sending funds to the Mennonite Church of Eastern Canada and Mennonite Church Canada. We help newcomers adjust to Canada by donating to the New Life Centre. We support refugee resettlement to Canada by being active participants with Welcome the Stranger - GTA Sponsorship Committee. We sometimes have members assist or participate in rallies or advocacy work for causes such as refugee resettlement anti-Islamaphobia events food insecurity or other social justice issues. We support Christian Camp programs by donating to Willowgrove. We support inspiring live theatre with a social justice focus by providing financial support office and rehearsal space to Theatre of the Beat. We provide oversight and encouragement for Sowing for Peace and their work with Conflict Transformation and Spiritual Growth with a focus on the Korean community. Advocating for peace is an important activity for many in the congregation. We rented meeting space and offer other supports for the Restorative Justice program of Mennonite Central Committee Ontario. Our rentals prioritize community and non-profit groups.

We have a Ministry Support Team to assist and support the work of the Interim Pastor. They have assumed a more active role in caring during the search for a long term Pastor. We are continuing a 'Messy Church' program for children and their families to help with Christian Education and spiritual development. This program takes place outside of the Sunday morning church time. We have an Outreach and Service Committee who discern initiatives to extend and deepen relationships with the local and larger community. e.g. food bank and clothing drives. We continue to collaborate with other local churches to address world hunger through a project called 'Danforth Grow Hope'. The Presbyterian World Service and Development group along with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank administers the project. They work alongside local farmers to provide food for those in need. We are planning to participate in Doors Open Toronto for a third year. We continued with the 'Learning to Prepare Meals' workshops using a grant from Mennonite Disaster Service. The workshops have been led by a representative from the Mennonite Central Committee Restorative Justice Program. 3 sessions have been held in 2023 and 2024. We worked through a discernment process which led to full 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion in church activities.