Our Offerings
Each Sunday, as part of our morning worship services, we invite those attending to participate in an offering of finances in addition to praise and prayer. The deacons of the church select a cause each week from the community or from the denominational ministries that we support.
If you are a visitor, you are welcome to participate by giving of the financial resources that you have been blessed with. You are also welcome to simply reflect on the offering or pray a blessing on the monies that are collected. If you would like to participate and would like to receive a tax receipt for your gift, please put your gift in an envelope distributed with the bulletin, check Today's Cause, and write in your name and address. If you attend regularly, you can request an Envelope Number so that you can simply write your number on the envelope each week.
All of the loose monies collected and those designated for Today's Cause on the envelope will be forwarded to that cause. The envelopes can also be used to designate gifts to the church's operating budget or the Building Fund (currently applied to our mortgage).
Below is a brief description of the causes that we are supporting in 2012:
February 5
Today our offering will be used for the CRC Ministry of Race Relations, which is mandated to design, organize, and implement programs that will assist the denomination, churches, and members in eliminating the causes and effects of racism within the body of believers and throughout the world.
January 29
Today our deacons have designated the offering for Gate 3:16, one of the outreach ministries we support locally. Gate 3:16 is a drop in centre for homeless people in the Oshawa area. They provide meals, computers, devotions, Sunday services, administrative services, hair cuts, clothing and food wear, and literacy skills training and laundry and shower facilities as well as counselling and resource to overcome life’s obstacles.
January 22
Today the offering will be used for Immanuel Christian School in Oshawa. This is a difficult time for many Christian Schools and they need help meeting their expenses. All money received during this offering will be used to help Immanuel Christian School teach our children from a Christian perspective. Amount received: $1,194.05
January 15
Today our deacons will collect a special offering to help those in the Philippines who have been devastated by the recent flooding (see Pastor Peter’s article in the Hope Fellowship Sun and the letter from the deacons for details). Summer clothes, personal hygiene items, non perishable food items will be collected and shipped by Jerry and Emma. Our offering will go to Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, which has been working in the Philippines since 1972 and will be used specifically to help those who are struggling to recover from this disaster. Amount collected: $4,487.89
January 8
Our offering today will be used for Diaconal Ministries of Canada. DMC partners with churches and ministries across Canada to demonstrate God’s love in the community. This is done through such things as Operation Manna, which provides funding and consultation to local ministries such as the Pregnancy Help Centre, and Community Opportunity Scan, which helps churches learn to know their neighbourhoods. Amount collected: $1,368.18
January 1
Today our deacons will collect an offering for Gary and Galya Timmerman, missionaries with Christian Reformed World Missions, working in Russia. Gary and Galya hope to be “home” in the spring and we will have a chance to hear first hand at that point the work that God is doing in Russia. The latest newsletter update from Gary and Galya is available at the Info Centre.
Below is a summary of the causes we supported in 2011:
December 25: St. Vincent's Kitchen
December 18: Hope Fellowship Vision Offering Amount collected: $1,790
December 11: Gate 3:16 gate3-16.bravehost.com. Amount collected: $1,270
December 4: The Refuge www.refugeoutreach.com Amount collected: $2,738
November 27: Christian Reformed World Relief Committee Amount collected: $1,371.91
November 20: Chaplaincy Ministries Amount collected: $1,053
November 13: Deacon’s Fund Amount collected: $1,267
November 6: Safe Church Ministry of the Christian Reformed Church Amount collected: $984
October 30: Christian Reformed Home Missions Amount collected: $1,105
October 23: Redeemer University College Amount collected: $1,194
October 16: Disability Concerns Ministry Amount collected: $1,088
October 9: Christian Reformed World Relief Committee Amount collected: $1,977
October 2: Race Relations, a ministry of the Christian Reformed Church Amount collected: $1,428
September 25: Hope Fellowship Vision Offering Amount collected: $1,793
September 18: Christian Reformed World Missions to support Sheila Dykstra
September 11: Christian Reformed World Relief Committee
September 4: Durham West Tuition Fund Assistance Fund
August 28: Calvin Seminary
August 21: Knox Christian School Tuition Assistance Fund
August 14: Shalem Mental Health Network shalemnetwork.org
August 7: Pastor-Church Relations (CRC)
July 31: John & Marian VanderMeer, Wycliffe Bible Translators
July 24: Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, Disaster Response Services
July 17: Immanuel Christian School Tuition Assistance Fund
July 10: Deacons Fund
July 3: Gate 3:16 Outreach Centre
June 26: reForming Relationships tour (Aboriginal Ministries)
June 19: Hope Fellowship Vision Offering
June 12: Christian Reformed World Missions
June 5: Back to God Ministries International
May 29: Embrace AIDS (Christian Reformed World Relief Committee)
May 22: The Refuge www.refugeoutreach.com
May 15: Office of Social Justice (Christian Reformed Church)
May 8: Pregnancy Help Centre www.pregnancyhelp.ca
May 1: Operation Manna (Diaconal Ministries Canada)
April 24: Christian Reformed Home Missions
April 17: GEMS Ministry
April 10: Hope Fellowship Vision Offering
April 3: Refugee Sunday, CRWRC
March 27: Urban Promise
March 20: Calvin Theological Seminary www.calvinseminary.edu
March 13: Disaster Response Services (DRS), a ministry of the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee
March 6: Christian Reformed World Relief Committee/Canadian Food Grains Bank
February 27: Durham Christian High School Tuition Fund
February 20: Sheila Dykstra, Christian Reformed World Missions
February 13: Deacon’s Fund
February 6: Christian Reformed Church Race Relations
January 30: Christian Reformed World Relief Committee Harvest Hope Campaign
January 23: Hope Fellowship Vision Offering
January 16: Youth Unlimited
January 9: Diaconal Ministries Canada www.diaconalministries.com.
January 2: Food Bank
Summary of 2010 Offerings:
December 26: Deacon’s Fund
December 24: Gate 3:16
December 19: Missionaries (Sheila Dykstra, John & Marian VanderMeer, Gary & Galya Timmerman Kim Brinkman)
December 12: Back to God Ministries International
December 5: The Refuge
November 28: St. Vincent’s Kitchen
November 21: Christian Reformed Chaplaincy Ministries
November 14: Redeemer University College
November 7: Christian Reformed World Relief Committee
October 31: Christian Reformed Home Missions
October 24: Safe Church Ministry of the Christian Reformed Church
October 17: Disability Concerns ministry of the Christian Reformed Church
October 10: Food Bank
October 3: Race Relations ministry of the Christian Reformed Church
September 26: Hope Fellowship Ministries
September 19: Calvin Seminary
September 12: Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (Pakistan)
September 5: Deacon's Fund
August 29: Gary Timmerman, missionary for the Christian Reformed World Missions in Russia
August 22: Knox Christian School Tuition Fund
August 15: Food Bank
August 8: Pastor-Church Relations ministry of the Christian Reformed Church
August 1: Immanuel Christian School Tuition Assistance Fund
July 25: John and Marian VanderMeer, missionaries with Wycliffe Bible Translators in Isiro, Democratic Republic of Congo
July 18: The Refuge Outreach Centre
July 11: Sheila Dykstra is working in West Africa as an Education Specialist for Christian Reformed World Missions.
July 4: Christian Reformed World Relief Committee through Disaster Response Services
June 27: Deacon’s Fund
June 20: Aboriginal Ministries, a Canadian ministry of the Christian Reformed Church
June 13: Social Justice and Hunger Action, Office of Social Justice a ministry of the Christian Reformed Church
June 6: Food Bank
May 30: Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (AIDS victims)
May 23: Christian Reformed World Missions
May 16: Pregnancy Help Centre of Durham
May 9: Back to God Ministries International
May 2: Operation Manna, a ministry of the Christian Reformed Church
April 25: Gate 3:16
April 18: GEMS (Girls Everywhere Meeting the Saviour) ministry of the Christian Reformed Church
April 11: Refugee Sunday Christian Reformed World Relief Committee
April 4: Christian Reformed Home Missions
March 28: Deacon’s Fund
March 21: New Direction Ministries
March 14: Calvin Seminary
March 7: Christian Reformed World Relief Committee and the Canadian Foodgrains Bank
February 28: Shalem
February 21: Christian Reformed World Missions, (Sheila Dykstra)
February 14: Durham West Tuition Assistance Fund
February 7: Race Relations a ministry of the Christian Reformed Church
January 31: Calvinist Cadet Corp,
January 24: Deacon’s Fund
January 17: Christian Reformed World Relief Committee
January 10: Youth Unlimited, a ministry of the Christian Reformed Church
January 3: Food Bank
