All Together Now January 8th

Our next "All Together Now" intergenerational church experience will start at 10 am on Sunday, January 8th.  Bring the whole family to learn, share, and enjoy!

Meditation Group Special Events, Winter/Spring 2017

We have after-work meditation most Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:00 pm.  In addition to our regular meditation sessions this year, we will host a number of special meditation events.

Tues and Thu, Jan 3 and 5: New Year's Resolution Meditation

Thu Feb 9: Parinirvana Day: Meditation on Impermanence

Thu March 2: Meditation for Lent: Justice for God, Ourselves, and All

Thu April 13: Death, Resurrection, Reincarnation: Meditation on Easter

Thu May 11: Buddha's Birthday Meditation

Tues and Thurs, June 20 and 22: Summer Solstice & Aboriginal Day Meditation

January and February Lecture and Discussion Schedule

Our History, Philosophy, & Theology Group will meet irregularly on Tuesday evenings this January and February.

Jan 10, Tues (7 pm): Jesus the Jewish Cynic. Academics in search of the historical Jesus have proposed many models from apocalyptic prophet to social reformer to religious zealot and revolutionary.  We’ll look at the case for seeing the historical Jesus as a teacher and philosopher analogous to the Hellenistic school of cynicism. 

Jan 17, Tues (7 pm): Manichaeism: The World Religion that Lost. In the first millennium AD, Manichees were spread from Britain to China and the dualistic religion was briefly a credible rival to Christianity in the later Roman Empire.  We’ll look at the religion’s origin, cosmology, its structure, its rise, its extinction, as well as surviving echoes of its thought in the East and in the West.

Jan 31, Tues (7 pm): Exploring the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas. In our first seminar format discussion group, we will read passages from the gospel of Thomas together and talk about what its ideas might tell us about the historical Jesus, early Christianity, Gnosticism, theology, and philosophy.

Feb 7, Tues (7 pm): The Gospel According to Her: Luke. All the New Testament gospels are anonymous texts whose customary names Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, were assigned by later Christians.  We’ll examine the argument that the author of Luke was a woman. 

Feb 14, Tues (7 pm): Pagan Origins of Christian Holidays. Roman, Germanic, Celtic, and Norse paganism was deeply rooted in European customs, including holiday festivals.  We’ll spend this Valentine’s Day evening looking for possible pagan roots of our present-day traditions. Bring a date!

Feb 21, Tues (7 pm): To See, To Be, To Do: The Landscape of World Religions. Brian Carwana, director of the Encounter World Religions Centre and our guest lecturer for the evening, will take us on an overview tour of the variety of religious traditions around the world and here in Toronto.

Feb 28, Tues (7 pm): Myth in 19th Century America: The Book of Mormon. With the popular Broadway musical, the Book of Mormon has received renewed attention, but to 21st century ears, its central claim that the indigenous inhabitants of North America are descendants of Israelite refugees seems ever more outrageous.  We’ll put the Book of Mormon story into the context of America in the 1830s.  

Special Collection at the Toronto Congregation Library

In addition to antique published books, our congregation library includes a number of manuscript records dating back to our reorganization in 1891.  These are logged as follows:

MEMBERSHIP REGISTERS MANUSCRIPTS

• Branch Membership/Sacramental Register 01, “Record of the Toronto Branch of the London District” (Filled) 1890s – 1916
• Branch Membership/Sacramental Register 02, “Branch Record” (Filled, 10 pages blank) 17 September 1891 – 5 November 1916
• Marriage Register MS 01, “Marriage Register” furnished to Elder Geo. Virgin, February 16, 1897, (Filled, 40 pages blank), 20 January 1897 – 26 June 1918
• Marriage Register MS 02, “Reg #5244” (Filled, 17 pages blank) 24 May 1905 – 31 October 1942
• Marriage Register MS 03, “Marriage Register” (Active Register, 20 pages blank) 7 September 1951 – 17 August 2013

 FINANCIAL REGISTERS MANUSCRIPTS

• Financial Register MS 01, Receipts and Expenditures (Filled, 50 pages blank) 20 July 1896 – 29 May 1909
• Financial Register MS 02, “Toronto Branch L.D.S” (approximately one third filled) 11 February 1901 – 9 February 1904
• Financial Register MS 03, “Temple Café” (19 pages filled) 26 July 1903 – 3 January 1906
• Financial Register MS 04, “Soho St Church Building Day Book” (only 10 pages filled) 29 September 1906 – 29 March 1907
• Financial Register MS 05, “Ledger Soho St Church” (three-quarters filled) 1906 – 1907
• Financial Register MS 06, (only 15 pages filled) 12 June 1909 – 10 January 1918
• Financial Register MS 07, “Cash Book” (only 39 pages filled) 31 May 1909 – 3 June 1918
• Financial Register MS 08, “Toronto Agency” (only 49 pages filled) 11 June 1909 – 4 June 1918
• Financial Register MS 09, “Toronto District Treasurer’s Book” (only 19 pages filled) 25 October 1909 – 4 June 1918
• Financial Register MS 10, “Toronto Agency R. C. Evans” (154 pages filled) 1 October 1910 – 4 June 1918
• Financial Register MS 11, “To Chief Bishop” (only 5 pages filled) 28 November 1910 – 5 June 1918
• Financial Register MS 12, “No. 782 Dominion Columnar Book” (Filled) 1 January 1929 – 20 August 1961
• Financial Register MS 13, (Filled), 1 September 1947 – 30 August 1967
• Financial Register MS 14 (About three-quarters filled), 1 September 1970 – 30 August 1988
• Financial Register MS 15 (Empty)
• Owen Sound Financial Register MS 01, “Owen Sound January 1^st 1893” (Filled) 1 January 1893 – 15 March 1905
• Owen Sound Financial Register MS 02, “Owen Sound Sept 1^st 1893” (Filled) 1 September 1893 – 11 March 1906

GUEST REGISTERS MANUSCRIPTS

• Guest Book MS 01, “Our Church Guests” (Filled) 13 January 1955 – 15 January 1956
• Guest Book MS 02, “Our Church Guests” (Filled) 8 December 1955 – 26 January 1958
• Guest Book MS 03, “Our Guests” (Filled) 2 Febrary 1958 – 27 January 1963
• Guest Book MS 04, “Guests” (Filled) 3 March 1963 – 29 March 1964
• Guest Book MS 05, “Guests of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Toronto Branch” (Filled, 6 pages blank) 19 April 1964 – 3 August 1969
• Guest Book MS 06, “Guests” (Filled) 17 August 1969 – 21 January 1979 *Note: Guest registers from February 1979 through December 1999 lost
• Guest Book MS 07, “Guests” (Filled, 9 pages blank) 16 January 2000 – 6 October 2013 *Note: no guest register was kept November 2016 through December 2016

ADDITIONAL MANUSCRIPTS

• Semi-Annual Business Meeting Minutes Book, 8 November 1909 – 10 July 1918, 131 pages typed, 2 manuscript pages
• “In the Supreme Court of Ontario, Benjamin R. McGuire et al. vs. R. C. Evans et al.” 26 May 1919, typed manuscript 761 pages
• “Addition to the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints” Pentland & Baker, Architects, 30 July 1962, typescript manuscript
• Women’s Department Record MS 1, (Filled) 13 September 1949 – 7 March 1967
• Women’s Department Record MS 2, (Only 46 pages filled) 3 April – 3 November 1970

Christmas Schedule 2016

Our Christmas church service at Centre Place will take place 11:00 am Sunday, December 18, immediately following our 10:00 am business meeting. We will not hold a service on Christmas Sunday itself. Sunday services will resume on New Year's Day, Jan. 1, 2017.

There is no Tuesday night lecture or meditation hour today (Tuesday the 13th). Meditation will occur as normal at 6:00 pm Thursday the 15th, Tuesday the 20th, and Thursday the 22nd. There will be no meditation the week between Christmas and New Year's.

November Lectures

Our History, Theology, and Philosophy Lecture Series will meet Tuesdays evenings on November 1st, 8th, 15th, and 29th.

Religious Tolerance in Medieval Times?

November 1 (Tues, 7 pm)
We'll explore the Norman Kingdom of Sicily where Christians, Muslims, and Jews lived together.

Did the Roman Empire Really Fall?

November 8 (Tues, 7 pm)
The fall of Rome is central to our historical narrative, we'll look at alternative perspectives.

Lives of Religious Innovators

November 15 (Tues, 7 pm)
We'll compare the lives of innovators including Zoroaster, Jesus, Muhammad, and Joseph Smith.

First Nations Spirituality

November 29 (Tues, 7 pm)

We'll attempt to deconstruct Western lenses to consider can be learned about indigenous spirituality.

October Lectures

Our History, Theology, and Philosophy Lecture Series will continue to meet this month on October 4th, 11th, and 25th.

Zoroastrianism: The First World Religion

October 4 (Tues, 7 pm)
Our lecture will explore the dualistic religion of ancient Persia, its substantial influence on Judeo-Christianity, and its survival today. Learn about the religion of the three Magi from the Christian nativity story.

Christian Schism: 2000 Years of Division

October 11 (Tues, 7 pm)
Why did Protestants separate from Catholics and each other?  How is Eastern Orthodoxy different from the ancient churches of the Orient and Ethiopia? Our lecture will chart 2,000 years of Christian Schism.

Who Wrote the Hebrew Bible?

October 25 (Tues, 7 pm)
According to some traditions, the Torah was written by Moses --- even though Moses dies in the story and the text continues.  We'll look at how scholars approach the question of Biblical authorship today.

Andrew Bolton on Salvation

Dr. Andrew Bolton who recently retired from the Council of Twelve Apostles spoke Tuesday, September 27, on understanding Salvation in Community of Christ.

The Enduring Principles

Sharing Enduring Principles at Community of Christ Toronto Congregation.

Summer Lecture Schedule

Our History, Theology, and Philosophy Lecture Series will continue to meet on selected Tuesday evenings during the summer months.

A History of Gnostic Thought

June 28 (Tues, 7 pm)
We’ll uncover the history of alternative groups in early Judeo-Christianity who believed that they alone knew the true, secret knowledge (gnosis) of the universe.

Polytheist Footprints in the Bible

July 12 (Tues, 7 pm)
Although in its present form the Hebrew Bible is a monotheistic text, many footprints remain that help us uncover the polytheistic roots of ancient Israelite religion.

Between the Testaments

August 2 (Tues, 7 pm)
Four centuries separate the last events of the Old Testament and the first episodes of the New Testament.  We’ll look at the fascinating history of those missing years.

The Fall of Roman Paganism

August 30 (Tues, 7 pm)
Only a tiny fraction of Romans were Christian when Constantine converted. We’ll look at why the old religions failed to meet the challenge of the new faith.

May-June Lecture Series

May 17, Tues (7 pm): What Is the Book of Revelations Actually About?  The Book of Revelations is among the most enigmatic texts in the Christian Bible. Rich in symbolism and gruesome in its imagery, the Apocalypse has been intently studied by prognosticators for nearly 2,000 years. Christians in every generation have read the text and decided that a literal destruction of the world would occur in their own lifetime and that they were the people to whom the text was directly addressing. And every one of them has been proved wrong in their interpretations, as time marches onward and this world continues to exist. If everyone has always misread the text, what is the Book of Revelations actually about? Who was its author and who was his actual audience? What if the book is actually a theological proposition and not at all a prediction of future history? If so, what does it mean?

May 24, Tues (7 pm): The Platonic Foundations of Christianity.  The early Christian writer Tertullian contemptuously asked "What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?" in his attempt to dismiss the Greco-Roman inheritance of learning. However, when the actual history of Christian thought is explored, it turns out that Athens has everything to do with Jerusalem. In the end, partisans like Tertullian lost out to theologians like Augustine of Hippo who ensured that Greek philosophical thought remained at the heart of Christian theology. Since the Enlightenment, Socrates and Plato have been misremembered as secular figures. In fact, they were deeply mystical religious reformers. Our lecture will discuss the degree to which ancient Greek philosophical thought, as opposed to the writings of ancient Israelite prophets, has always been at the core of Christianity.

May 31, Tues (7 pm): The Invention of Hell.  From Dante's "Inferno" to the sermons of revival preachers, grotesque visions of the eternal tortures of Hell litter the Christian imagination. And yet these images are completely absent from the Old Testament. We are not told in Genesis that Cain, the first murderer (and fratricide) is condemned to Hell — nor is any other villain in the text consigned to eternal torment. Indeed, there is no mention or notion that such a place exists in the text. If the ancient Israelites had no concept of Hell, what are its origins and how did it infect Christian thought?

June 7, Tues (7 pm): Deleted from the Bible.  Only a tiny percentage of early Christian texts made it into the canon of the New Testament. Most of the texts left out were revered as scripture by different Christian groups. What do these texts contain and how do they differ from canonical scripture? What do the texts left out of the Bible tell us about the history of early Christianity? What insights do they give us about the writings that were canonized? Our history, theology, and philosophy seminar will take a look at some of the lost books of the New Testament and discuss these and other questions.

April-May 2016 Tuesday Activities

Our History, Philosophy, & Theology Lecture Group continues each Tuesday evening this April and May with some interesting topics and exciting activities.

April 19, Tues (7 pm): Who Wrote the Gospels?  (Understanding Scripture in Context Part 7): Our Lifelong Learning Lecture group will look at what we know about the authors of the canonical gospels. Although traditionally attributed to "Matthew," "Mark," "Luke," and "John" all four gospels are actually anonymous and the traditional attributions are late. What do the academic disciplines of history and literary criticism tell us about the gospel authors, their stories, and the historical Jesus?

April 26, Tues (7 pm):  Movies that Matter with Leandro Palacios: (movie to be announced).

May 3, Tues (7 pm): What Can We Know about the Historical Jesus?: Although at the heart of the largest religious tradition in human history, Jesus of Nazereth left no writings. The earliest texts about his sayings, teachings, life, and movement were written decades after his death in a language (Greek) that was almost certainly not the primary language he himself spoke (Aramaic). Morever, his activities attracted almost no attention outside of the backwater frontier provinces of the Roman Empire where he lived and died. Nevertheless, it is possible to tease a significant amount of historically likely information out of the sources through the discipline of literary criticism. Our lecture group will explore how scholars have undertaken this project and look at some of the results of two centuries of academic inquiry.

May 10, Tues (7 pm): The Early History of Christianity from the 1st Easter to Constantine: From a small Israelite sect whose leader had been summarily executed by Roman authorities in the 30s AD, early Christian communities continued to spread, despite occasional periods of official government persecution, until after three centuries the Roman Emperor Constantine himself became Christian. How did Constantine's Christian church differ from the earliest Christian communities? What did the earliest Christian communities even look like? Our Tuesday lecture group will explore these questions as we continue our study of Christian history.


May 17, Tues (7 pm): What Is the Book of Revelations Actually About?  The Book of Revelations is among the most enigmatic texts in the Christian Bible. Rich in symbolism and gruesome in its imagery, the Apocalypse has been intently studied by prognosticators for nearly 2,000 years. Christians in every generation have read the text and decided that a literal destruction of the world would occur in their own lifetime and that they were the people to whom the text was directly addressing. And every one of them has been proved wrong in their interpretations, as time marches onward and this world continues to exist. If everyone has always misread the text, what is the Book of Revelations actually about? Who was its author and who was his actual audience? What if the book is actually a theological proposition and not at all a prediction of future history? If so, what does it mean?

Weekly Activity Calendar

We're excited to unveil our weekly activity calendar for Toronto Centre Place.  

On Sunday, activities kick off at 10:15 am with scripture class. This year we are exploring the various gospel texts, both canonical and extracanonical.  At 11:00 am we begin our weekly church service. Although our forms follow traditional North American Christian practice, our lessons, hymns, and prayers are filled with meaningful, contemporary content. Sundays are capped off with our social hour where we share snacks and visit.

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday beginning at 6:00 pm, we practice silent sitting meditation, in the tradition of Zen Buddhism. It is OK to arrive late and/or leave early, you can meditate for as long as you want. We are here to provide a supportive community and a calm space to help you with your daily practice. 

On Tuesdays at 7:00 pm  (following the Meditation hour), we have our regular Lecture Series evening, where we have classes on topics ranging from history to philosophy, theology, scripture study, religious studies, comparative religion, and more.

The first Wednesday evening of each month, we encourage everyone to login to Community Place's online streaming community gathering. 

On Thursday afternoon from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm, we're introducing Coffee Talk: a casual forum for meaningful life conversations.

On Fridays at 7:00 pm (following the Meditation hour) we plan to watch "Movies that Matter" and talk about our reactions to the ideas they treat.  Movie Night will be hosted in conjunction with Community of Christ Campus Connections.

Saturdays are set aside for various service projects, such preparing and giving out care packages to under-housed people living in our neighborhood.

March-April 2016 Tuesday Activities

Our Lifelong Learning Series continues each Tuesday evening this March and April with some interesting topics and exciting activities.

March 15, Tues (7 pm):  Easter Hymn Practice with Mike Karpowicz and Leandro Palacios. We’re getting together to learn parts for some Easter carols, including “Now the Green Blade Rises” — which is set to the Medieval French tune “Noël Nouvelet”.

March 22, Tues (7 pm):  The Old Testament and Academic History (Understanding Scripture in Context, Part 6): John Hamer will continue our exploration of scripture by looking at the history of the Old Testament by unravelling its component texts and comparing its sacred stories to what we know from the academic disciplines of history, literary criticism, and archaeology.

March 29, Tues (7 pm): Understanding the Religious Brain: Dr. Michael Adam Ferguson will discuss groundbreaking research on how the religious brain works. Using data from brain imaging scans, Ferguson will talk about what happens in the brain when praying, recalling spiritual experiences, or feeling a “prompting.”

April 5, Tues (7 pm):  What does the word ‘God’ mean?  John Hamer will put the question into context with an introduction to theology throughout history. Although in modern times in the West, God is frequently pictured as an old man with a white beard, this representation is very new.  How did ancient Israelites and early Christians picture God?  (Answer: they absolutely did not picture God.)

April 12, Tues (7 pm):  Invitation to Meditation in Community of Christ. Meditation as a spiritual practice is a broad and deep tradition with roots in the religious traditions of both the East and the West. As Toronto congregation will now be hosting a meditation group four days each week (Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri 6:00-7:00 pm), Leandro Palacios will explain the ideas, practices, and techniques. 

April 19, Tues (7 pm): Who Wrote the Gospels?  (Understanding Scripture in Context Part 7): John Hamer will look at what we know about the authors of the canonical gospels. What do the academic disciplines of history and literary criticism tell us about the gospel authors, their stories, and the historical Jesus?

April 26, Tues (7 pm):  Movies that Matter with Leandro Palacios: (movie to be announced).

"Church for the Unchurched" Presentation

One of our Tuesday evening seminars.  John Hamer discusses the increasing numbers of people who identify as religiously unaffiliated or as "spiritual but not religious" in North American and why congregational communities can still be of value to people who have rejected dogmatic religion.  This visual presentation considers the idea of religion in its complete historical and cultural context and describes how organized religion, properly retooled, can have value, appeal, and utility in a post-modern, pluralistic society.

John Ford, Rest in Peace

We are very saddened to relay the news that our dear friend and long-time congregational family member John Ford passed away this week at the age of 90.  In the last few years, John had grown increasingly frail. In the hospital, he had lost the ability to eat or drink much liquid; and pneumonia prevented him from taking nourishment intravenously.  John and Edna and their daughter Beverly and their family have been in our thoughts and prayers and they will continue to be in our thoughts and prayers.  The funeral will take place at 2 pm, Saturday, January 23, following a 1-2 pm viewing at the Jack and Thompson Funeral Home on 318 Main Street in Shelbourne, Ontario.

John has long been a pillar of Toronto Congregation.  Like a gardener planting acorns for a future grove of oaks that he treasured, even though he knew he wouldn't live to see, John was an avid supporter of our Renewal Plan and regularly contributed directly to the building fund in order to help see that the congregation's future potential was put in order.  We were so happy that he was able to see us through the transition and participate in worship services in the new building to see the first fruits of the future that he helped create.  His soul and memory will live on with us eternally.