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The Daily Bread Food Bank in partnership with North York Harvest Food Bank, have released Who’s Hungry 2021 – a report profiling hunger in the city of Toronto.

This year’s report reveals there were 1.45 million visits to food banks in the past year, the highest number ever recorded in the city’s history. The report also finds that for the first time, new clients outnumbered existing clients at Toronto food banks.

Be a partner in the fight to end hunger. Read and share with others, some of this year’s key findings below:

• While pandemic restrictions are easing and the economy is re-opening, there are many people in Toronto still living in a state of crisis.
•  With 1 in 3 food bank clients reporting having gone an entire day without eating, we need to advocate for systemic change.
• The report provides a clear call to action to all levels of government to respond to the urgent community needs created by COVID-19 and to build greater resiliency through decent work, affordable housing, and strong social safety net. 

Take action today. Here are three steps you can take:

1. Read the Who’s Hungry 2021 report to raise awareness about why poverty and food insecurity are on the rise in Toronto. You can share the findings of this report on social media – please tag @dailybreadTO and use the hashtag #WhosHungry2021.
2. Hunger is a direct result of poverty. With the provincial election fast approaching, you can help advocate for change by sending an email directly to Ontario’s party leaders asking them to commit to bolder action to reduce poverty in your community. Take action now: dailybread.ca/takeaction
3. Join us for a webinar discussion on Thursday, November 25 at 12:30pm EST, on how we can move from crisis to resilience as we discuss our calls to action. https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4rwE9YK9TlqRZ01aHxCiYA

Visit dailybread.ca/whoshungry to read the full Who’s Hungry 2021 report.

In partnership,

Neil Hetherington
CEO Daily Bread Food Bank

Topic: The infancy narratives from Luke and Matthew

Dates:  Monday Dec 6 & 13 from 1.30-3.30 pm in main hall at BUC.

Leader: Ted Schmidt

Host: Allan Baker

Attendance: in person with pre-registration.  Proof of double vaccinationis required.

Register: by email to  allan.baker7878@gmail.com

The obscure birth of a child to a carpenter’s wife was, in view of what came out of it, a decisive moment in history.
C.H Dodd

The Christmas stories are not for children. Christians have for far too long treated the Infancy Narratives as either myth or as pretty harmless legends for kids. They are anything but. They are evangelical dynamite, brilliantly polished nuggets brimming with radical theological import. They challenge the Roman claim that the powerful Emperor Augustus is Lord and rules as “dominus et deus.” a common inscription of the time. In an absolutely outrageous claim, the evangelists point to the itinerant rabbi, murdered by the state as “dominus et deus.”

TED SCHMIDT former Religion Head at Neil McNeil High school is also the former editor of the Catholic New Times As well he is the author of Shabbes Goy: a Catholic Boyhood on a Jewish Street in a Protestant City (2001), Journeys to the Heart of Catholicism 2008, Never Neutral: A Teaching Life (2013), The Season (2017} and I Was a Catholic Zionist (2018)

In a lifetime of teaching he has been honoured by religion teachers and colleagues at large. In 1991 he received the Ontario English Teachers’ Award of Merit, the highest distinction the association grants. In 1998 he received the Glorya Nanne Award for his writing on Catholic education. In 2002 he received the Social Justice Award from the Toronto Secondary Catholic Teachers Association. In 2006 the Ontario Teachers’ Federation honoured him with the Greer Memorial Award for his “outstanding commitment to publicly funded education.” In 2013 received the Queen Elizabeth Jubilee Medal for his work “in Education and Justice.”

A pioneer in Holocaust studies, he was the first teacher in Canada to systematically teach the Holocaust (1968) and has done several workshops for the Holocaust Remembrance committee. In 1993 he co-authored the Ministry of Education OAC course on Philosophy. For 30 years Ted has taught teacher training courses on scripture, social ethics   as well as cross Canada retreats on biblical justice. For 3 years  he lectured on Catholic education at the Faculty of Education at York University.

Ted Schmidt has appeared on Metro Morning, Canada A.M., Sunday Morning and Sunday Report (CBC), The Current, Studio 2. In 2005, he was Global TV’s commentator on the Papal funeral and regularly comments on Catholic issues  for the CBC and CTV.  An award winning columnist for the Catholic New Times he assumed the editorship from 2001-2006.

Ted is married to Joan his wife of 52   years. They have three grown children and 5 grandchildren.  He can be reached at  jtschmidt@bell.net

On December 26, our community will say goodbye to Karen Dale as she completes her last worship service as minister with us at Beach United Church.  

Karen has been a vital part of our community for 12 years. To mark her rich legacy of ministry, we have planned some send-off events:

On Wednesday, December 15 there will be a Zoom goodbye from 8 to 9pm. Feel free to “drop in” to spend some time with Karen and wish her well. At 8:45pm we will raise a glass to toast her with some formal remarks. Mary Anne Lemm will send this link out the week before. 

On Sunday, December 19 our worship service (in person and on Zoom) will include a time when you can, if you feel comfortable, share your best wishes with Karen. Jim McKibbin is also preparing some remarks to share on behalf of the congregation and community.  (You will be required to be double vaccinated to attend in person and pre-register on Eventbrite).  It would be great to have as many people as possible in attendance or online to wish her well!

Please let us know if you have any questions. Mark your calendars and let’s make this a fantastic send-off for Karen!

Our Christmas Market will be back online again for the 2021 festive season. From Monday, November 29 to Friday, December 3, you can shop online with your credit card at beachunitedchurch.com.

All purchases will be available for pick-up at the church (140 Wineva Avenue) on Saturday, December 4 between 9am and 5pm.

Here’s what you can buy at our 2021 Christmas Market:

• Beach United’s famous savoury pies (meat and vegetarian) *
• Delicious jams, jellies, chutneys and other preserves *
• Scrumptious shortbread *
• Tasty granola *
• Yummy lentil soup mix in a jar *
• Fair Trade chocolate bars, coffee, tea and hot chocolate mix
• Two fabulous gift baskets
• Soothing lavender bath salts *

(* these items are made by Beach United volunteers)

Last year our online Christmas Market was such a success that items sold out quickly. Shop early to avoid disappointment!

Proceeds from the Christmas Market support Beach United’s community programs. We also encourage customers to bring non-perishable food bank donations when they pick up their purchases.