Another Update...

They just keep coming. We have re-posted a better version of one of our newest songs written by Greg - Called. Check it out here.

Also, post to community life & prayer, so we can pray for one another through the week!

Bored?

Why not answer a bunch of questions in CBC's Test the Nation? Find out the results from the TV special here.

A couple additions...

Two more things up for the week. Per usual, go here for the week's resources in meditation and devotion. We would love to hear how God is using these!

Also, Tony Campolo was in Toronto last week and was interviewed by George Stroumboulopoulos on CBC's "The Hour". Check out the interview, it's powerful stuff.

What's Goin' On | March 26

Your friendly, neighbourhood webmaster here...I've got to say, last night was really exciting and I'm excited to hear about how God is moving among us as we are commissioned to our vocations and into the places we are.

On that note, our community life & prayer this week is centered on those places, people and things God has called us to. Post your comments! Read here.

We commissioned every based on one of six groups. Each group had a specific Scripture read to them as part of the commissioning before we laid hands on one another and prayed together. The summary of the verses used are here.

A Few Updates...

Commissioning gathering tonight!! Read this if you haven't yet!
Gene's teaching is now up as well. And also the Desert Fathers story from last Sunday. And last but not least, a community announcement:

Becki Lee is seeking a new room mate to share a spacious 2 bedroom apartment on Bloor St. between Bathurst and Spadina. Preferably a fun and easy going Christian female. Very short walking distance to subway. $600/month plus hydro. Available May 1st.

Addressing Poverty

Check out The Daily for the Star's resource on their War on Poverty. I am struck by the appeal to popularity that seems to be in every budget - go for the middle class!! Should we be supporting this kind of action? The Gospel is Good News for the poor, for the oppressed, for those who suffer injustice. I know money doesn't solve everything, but...anyhow...post your thoughts via comments!
Check the post in the Daily for one writer's opinion and a link to write your MP if you have something to say to them.

Here is also an interesting link to the blog of one of the speakers at the upcoming Evolving Church conference: Read it here.

COMMISSIONING WEEK | Reminder!

Just your friendly neighbourhood reminder about this week's upcoming commissioning gathering. To read more and also pray through how you sense God leading you to be commissioned, go here.

The War on Poverty | A Public Forum

Just wanted to let everyone know about a series of forums going on in the city which look really interesting and something the church should definitely be a part of!! Here's the blurb from the Star:

The Toronto Star and the Income Security Advocacy Centre tackle the issue of "precarious employment" – people working part-time, casually, with few benefits and low wages – at a public forum tonight, Tuesday, March 20 at 7:30 p.m., at the St. Lawrence Centre, 27 Front St. E. (view map).

Read the flyer here.

What's Goin' On | March 20

As always at the start of the week, lots of new stuff up on the blogs. I'll just run them off here:

• Community Life and Prayer post for the week. Post prayer requests, stories of God that we can celebrate.
• Urban Monk resources for the week. We continue to pray that these will bring us together as a community and lead us closer to the heart of God together.
• Becki Lee's Newsletter for this month. Continue to pray for her!
• Journey to the Cross image from the last two weeks.
• A poem by Heidi on TILT Art. Thanks Heidi!
• I think that's it for now...
  

The Lord's Supper

Ever since our series on First John, we have been receiving the Lord's Supper every week as a community. Here's an interesting video that might spur some thinking on who and what communion is for [shared from Work of the People]:

Gene's Teaching & Leave Your Footprint on the Blog!!

Yes, that is Gene leading Alpha, but on Sunday night he was at TILT, teaching about the meaning of the Cross. Check it out here!

God leading you in any direction this week as you read his written Word or pray? Post your thoughts here.

Need prayer for something? Have an exciting story to tell? Leave a comment under community life and prayer.

What's Goin' On | March 13

Here is your semi-regular update on links throughout the TILT blogs. Your weekly resources for reading and prayer are here under Urban Monks as always. We continue to affirm the belief that a community rooted in prayer and Scripture reading together throughout the week will hear and be moved by God in amazing ways! Any feedback on this would be superb...comment here or under the resources.

Community prayer and life is here. Please add any stories, need for prayer, praise. Anything!

NOTE: Our commissioning gathering will be on March 25 stemming from our series "Reconstructing the Call". In preparation for this evening gathering, we would encourage you to read through the document in the post on the Commissioning Gathering here. It will illustrate how will we go about commissioning and it would be great if you can pray through it beforehand!

Gene's teaching will be up tomorrow morning.

Teaching Sampler | The Journey to the Cross

For the next two weeks we are looking at "The Journey to the Cross". This week, Gene will be teaching us about how Jesus was aware of his fast approaching death as he journeyed to Jerusalem. Check out Hebrews 12:1-2:
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne".
What exactly did his death do or accomplish? Was it just 'substitionary' - that Jesus died in our place? Then why couldn't he have just been killed when he was two and Herod tried to kill him?

More updates...

I've added another great link under Green Resources. It's a website called greenopolis.ca. It contains a directory to green products and services, and a bunch of other useful tidbits that are easy to implement. Start small!!

We would also love to make part of the urban monks blog a sharing of our stories with one another. Becki's story from the stations is up there. If you would like to share your story, email tilt.toronto AT gmail.com.

What's Goin' On | March 4

Last night we had an intimate communion potluck. Any votes for favourite dish of the night? I have to go with Les's cake, despite the bottom being stuck to the pan.

Some more stuff will be posted later, but most importantly: Community Life & Prayer for the week.

Resources for the week are up now too.

COMMUNION POTLUCK | Tomorrow!

For our gathering tomorrow, we're having our about bi-monthly communion potluck where we celebrate communion over a meal. So, we'll be downstairs in the Multi-Purpose Room instead of up in the sanctuary. 6:30 pm per usual!!

We don't assign food by name or anything like that, so if you are able to bring anything, please do. However, if you don't have time/money/whatever to prepare anything, don't worry about it! We always make extra and often those who need to take food home, we send some with them!!

If you haven't been at a communion potluck before, a little background...the early Christian church celebrated communion over an entire meal, rather than just as part of a worship gathering. So, that is what we are doing at TILT - framing a meal together through the celebration of communion, so that the entire meal is communion. Greg, you can comment if this is an inadequate explanation...

See you tomorrow night!

What's Goin' On! Updates...

Check out the latest under green resources, including an article on "High Efficiency Worship". James Kingsley's small(er) blog is gaining momentum and an interesting place to stay updated on what other churches are doing [speaking of which - Rodway, if you are reading this, what's the name of that RC church that won an environmental award...James would definitely be interested].



A new feature in the Daily...let me know what you guys think...but I just saw Stranger than Fiction and couldn't help seeing parallels to the Christian faith. Check out the post. It would be great to get some discussion/thoughts on that one. Do we want this type of thing on the Daily? Comments!! Post 'em!!

As always, post things we can pray about as a community under Community Life & Prayer posting for the week. Something to pray through as the Canadian church is the recent report: "The Rich and the Rest of Us". [click title to read article from The Star]

We have also begun a new section in the Urban Monks blog: "Our Stories". Check it out.

What's Goin' On | February 26

Last night was the final evening in our series of "Reconstructing the Call", although we will be having a commissioning gathering on March 11th to send us out as God's called people (information about this here). Our focus was "God's Call IN Your life" and we wanted it to be a practical evening. How do we listen to God and know His will? We often hear about the "5 Steps to Knowing God's Will", but is that really biblical? We're not so sure. Check out the stations from last night here. Post comments on how God spoke to you last night on that post. Last night's images are also up here.
Continuing reflections for Lent: Week two Earthkeeping Exercises | Other resources
Read what some people have given up for Lent (below the post): here. Lyndzie - did you have some chocolate on your Sabbath? Becki - cheese?
Community prayer post for the week - please post thoughts/requests/praises/God's working in your life.
A TIP for navigating the blogs: There are five blogs and on the right sidebar of each is a "label cloud" - this is an easy way to find a post that relates to any of the labels in the blog (for example, click on "goin' on" in the label cloud and you will get all of these posts in one page!).

Reconstructing God's Call | COMMISSIONING!

We've spent several weeks learning about what it means to have God's call upon our lives. We've seen our primary call to follow Jesus, our call to community, Sabbath, creation, ministry. And how God has a call ON our lives.

So, knowing that God calls us in all of these ways, we would like to commission everyone at TILT in their lives as a whole and in the specific things that we all do. We are planning on doing this on March 11 (CHANGE: March 25th).

To prepare for this gathering, check out the post on Commissioning. Read through the linked summary in the post and pray through where you feel God has placed you vocationally. We will be using this model to commission everyone. Obviously, we all don't fit neatly into one box - good! You can obviously be working in more than one 'vocation'.

What's Goin' On...February 23

A few things to make note of...

• A new addition to TILT Art - poetry! Nick Cox has a couple of poems up. Read them under TILT art.
• Rob Bell (you know the guy from the NOOMA films) has a new book coming out in a month, called Sex God. I think the title is more provocative than anything. Read the first chapter here - pretty powerful stuff about our humanity.
• This Sunday we are doing stations. We'll be journeying through how God calls us in the details of our lives.