Learning at Redeemer: Redeemer Explorers

This past December, a delegation from the Diocese of Toronto went to Jerusalem and travelled through Israel and Palestine. They drew as close as they could to local life, visiting holy sites and remote villages, meeting local people and listening to their stories.

On January 25, the Rev’d Dr Chris Brittain, a member of the delegation, will preach at the 10:30 AM Eucharist. Following the service, we will gather over lunch to hear from four members of the delegation about their experiences and encounters. The panel will be moderated by Jon Allen, former Canadian Ambassador to the State of Israel, and director of the Rozana Project.

This is a precious opportunity to deepen our understanding of Palestinian culture, and of everyday life under occupation, and to learn from “shoes on the ground” examples of nonviolent resistance and reconciliation.

In order for us to ensure we have seating set up for everyone, please take a moment to register. The catered lunch is now at capacity, and RSVPs for that are closed. The panel discussion will begin at 12:30 PM and the livestream will be available about 15 minutes beforehand.

The event will be live-streamed on YouTube, with hybrid capacity during the discussion period.

Our 9:30 AM Sunday programs are back during the Epiphany season! Please join us in the Board Room for these 45-minute sessions. They’re a great chance to connect with others in a small-group setting. With coffee.

Dr Jennifer Wilson will join us to talk about her experiences leading 11 medical missions to Ghana, Africa, between 2007 and 2018, addressing how her Christian faith informed and was transformed by her experiences among the poor and suffering people of northern Ghana.

More about Dr Wilson:
In 2004, Jennifer Wilson, a member of Uxbridge Baptist Church, a family medical practitioner and emergency room physician, and mother of five, attended a conference in Toronto. The keynote speaker was Stephen Lewis, who was the UN Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa. He told story after story about what it was like for people living in Africa in the wake of a generation lost to the ravages of HIV/AIDS. Stephen Lewis’ words awakened in Dr Wilson a question: in light of the first two commandments, love your God and love your neighbour as yourself, how could she show compassion to global neighbours?

In 2007, Dr Jennifer Wilson led her first medical mission to Ghana in partnership with an NGO. There were 10 more missions to come, and eventually, the founding of the Leyaata Hospital, the only hospital in northern Ghana. The eleven missions of the Ghana Health Team from 2007 through 2018 are the subject of her book Grant Us Tomorrow which is a memoir, written in first person, but which is mostly a close-up of the health team, the miracles that flowed through them, and of the resilience and courage of the local heroes, that is, the people who queued for each clinic in droves, some of them walking from neighbouring countries to receive care from Dr. Wilson’s Ghana Health Team.

Mark Ebden will lead us in reflection on the Beatitudes from last Sunday’s Gospel reading.

Watch Previous Events on our YouTube Channel

Imagining the Life of Julian of Norwich

Encampment as Community and Toronto’s Underhousing Crisis

On Wednesday, September 24, The Rev’d Maggie Helwig of St. Stephen’s in the Fields, and author of the acclaimed recent book Encampment (Coach House Press), reflected on experiences of love, solidarity, hope, mutual support, and the enlivening presence of the Holy Spirit in and around her congregation and the tent community it hosted, before its forced removal by the City of Toronto.

The event was the first in an occasional series on the theme of “Building More Compassionate Communities. You can watch the presentation and Q&A at the YouTube Livestream.