Rev. Cindy shares about her mother passing away and the support she received from her congregation. She reflects on lessons her mother taught her about compassion, faith, and family. The council report discusses repairs to the church building, generous donations received, and upcoming plans to discuss the church's mission and vision with the combined congregations. Membership news shares about members who experienced injuries over the summer and upcoming changes to the envoy system.

1. THE ORIOLE
Message from Rev. Cindy
Dear Members and Friends of OYM,
One never knows how the Spirit is
moving. Coral and I had planned to go
to the east coast for our summer
holidays, but in June we changed our
plans. We debated about renting a
cottage in Ontario, but never decided
where to go. All of which turned out to
be a blessing as my Mom was
hospitalized on July 30th
and we were
told she had one to two days to live.
Being faced with this news turns your
world upside down. We stayed with her
round the clock, talking and singing to
her, so she knew she was never alone.
And at 11:00 a.m. on August 1st
, with her
family by her side, she left us to go
home to be with her God whom she had
loved and worshipped all of her life.
It has been a difficult time of grief and
sadness for my family. We all so loved
Mom. I am so grateful for the outpouring
Oriole-York Mills United Church Newsletter September 2013
In this issue:
Message from Rev. Cindy
..………………….…..…....……. 1
Report from Council .………. 4
Ongoing Membership News
................................................. 5
United Church Mission
and Service …………………. 6
Bazaar News …….……...........7
Did You know? Quinoa……. 7
Cookie Day 2013………..……9
DVRR Arrivals ………….….....9
Thanks to Contributors…....10
Future of the ‘Oriole’ …..…. 11
Ways to Save Trees
and Money …………..….....11
Contributions and
Suggestions …..….….…....11
Your OYM Calendar…....….12
Contact OYM.……..…..….….12
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of care that so many of you from OYM and CJUC have shown my
family since Mom passed away. Your words of comfort at church,
through emails and cards, as well as your donations to Grace United
Church, Mom’s church have been wonderful gifts of love that have
touched and nurtured my heart in so many beautiful ways. I was
overwhelmed when so many of you came to Mom’s Memorial
Service on August 10th. I cannot begin to thank you enough for all
the love and support you have given me during this time of loss. You
have graciously and compassionately ministered to your Minister
and I am forever grateful.
Mom taught me many lessons over the years. Some I listened to
and followed and others, I am sorry to say, fell on deaf ears. She
taught me the art of compassionate caring for others. She always
wanted one of her three
daughters to follow in
her footsteps and
become a nurse, but
none of us could stand
the sight of blood.
However through my
pastoral care in ministry
and through the healing
touch of Reiki I have a
small hand in this
profession.
Mom shared her love of food with us and taught me to cook and
bake. I even mastered “Sue’s Never Fail Pie Crust”. However, I
have to admit she missed the mark on her chocolate pudding as it
was always lumpy. Yet she loved her girls so much that she would
strain it for us.

2. 3
She taught us all the importance of our Christian faith. She took us
to church each week and gave us a strong foundation on which to
live our lives. As little girls she would dress us up in pretty dresses
with matching hat, gloves and shiny shoes. She tried to pass on her
elegant flair, but I am afraid she was the only classy dresser among
the girls in the family although her granddaughter Erin has taken on
this role.
Her ultimate gift to us was her love of family. As introverts we were
not the most talkative family, but we certainly knew how to feel deep
love and care for one another. We learned to live from the heart
which resulted in a strong and special bond between us.
I am so thankful for the gift of my Mom and for having her for so
many years in my life. I will miss her always, but cherish the
memories that we have shared.
Some of you have also experienced the loss of a loved one this past
year and my prayers are with you in your time of grief. I wonder
what you learned from them and how God has been revealed in
their life.
One of the gifts of being in this community of faith is that when you
are hurting or in need, people are there to support and care for you.
I feel blessed to have such wonderful congregations to be in Ministry
with and I am looking forward to beginning another year with you
filled with lots of opportunity to share God’s love and care within and
around our communities of faith.
God Bless You All!
Rev. Cindy Cooper
_____________________________________________________________________
4
Report from Council
At the Council meeting on September 18th
, we began the Fall
session with a number of positive reports from our committees. We
were delighted to welcome Marion Felker back on Council as a
member at large.
During the summer months Pedro supervised the inspection and
repairs to the lighting in the sanctuary. Linda Fujita, a member of
CJUC, has been in contact with several contractors to obtain quotes
for replacing the elevator.
On the financial front, our operating surplus for this year is larger
than expected due to a very generous bequest received from the
estate of Les James for the church’s general operating fund. A
second bequest was received from the Les James estate that is
designated to support food banks in North York supported by OYM.
Last month, Rev. Cindy Cooper welcomed us to a planning meeting
at her beautiful home in Caledon. Members of OYM attended to join
with CJUC to plan activities for all the combined church committees.
An electronic calendar to share this plan will be available to the
congregation in the near future.
The Exploratory Team (ET) will meet in early October to review a
property condition report for the church building and the consultant’s
recommendations for a plan to preserve and maintain the building
over the next 10 years. A subsequent ET meeting will begin to
explore a mission and vision for a new church using a model
recently developed by the United Church. A congregational event is
planned for late Fall to invite both congregations to participate in the
discussion of a new mission and vision.

3. 5
The ET meeting to explore a mission and vision for a new church
later this fall could be exploring a mission and vision for our new
church!
Carol Maclean
Chair of Council
____________________________________________________________________
Ongoing Membership News
How quickly life can change!! At least two O-YMers have
experienced that since our last issue of The Oriole. First, Peter
Holloway slipped and fell in his kitchen. He ended up in the hospital
and rehab. with a fractured hip, for most of the summer. Then, in
early August Ron Bloor fell from a ladder and suffered broken ribs
and a collapsed lung. Anyone who has experienced broken or
cracked ribs knows how painful that can be!!
Both Peter and Ron have contributed to the well-being of OYM. For
several years Peter organized the spring clean-up of the church
grounds which were more extensive prior to the construction of
Cedarhurst. Ron served as Chair of Council for many years.
Among other things, we can thank Ron for providing the impetus
leading to the installation of our electronic sign gracing our front
lawn. Thank you Peter and Ron and thank you to Ann and Brenda
for their contributions as well. Thanks also to Elda Scott's prayer
circle as well as to Rev. Cindy's prayers for Peter and Ron on behalf
of all of us.
Last week I was invited to a regular luncheon meeting convened by
The Golden Age Club of The Danish Lutheran Church at 72 Finch
Avenue West. It reminded me of the days when OYM had a similar
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activity. It was brought over from Yorkminster United through the
efforts led by Marie Gatley. When the Gatleys moved on Grace
Matthews provided the leadership. This Danish luncheon was a
delightful mixture of Canada and Denmark. For instance, songs
were sung from a booklet of Danish folk songs. When it came time
to eat the sandwiches they were the open-faced, Danish style.
During the business portion of the meeting, however, all discussion
was in English.
Back at OYM, you may have received OYM news from a different
envoy recently. We are re-organising the envoy system and one
way or another, the OYM news will come to you when needed.
Yours in faith
Don Worth
Membership Relations and Communications
_____________________________________________________________________
United Church Mission and Service
In a letter to ‘Friends at Oriole-York Mills Pastoral Charge’, Cheryl
Curtis, Mission and Service Funding Officer wrote:
In 2012, Oriole-York Mills Pastoral Charge contributed $9,805 for
the Mission and Service of the United Church of Canada (M&S).
This is part of the national M&S total of $29,347,390.
Your gifts to M&S truly make an ongoing and tangible difference
in peoples lives. Thank you for these gifts.
Your generosity enables ministries across Canada and around
the world that change people’s lives. For example, across

4. 7
Canada 73 community justice ministries provided food, shelter,
and advocacy in 2012, while 113 local congregations received
M&S support to sustain their ministry, often through times of
transition. Last year as well, 97 global partners in 30 other
countries addressed human rights issues and ensured access to
food, safe water, and land. With a strong annual Mission and
Service Fund, the United Church of Canada is able to support
ongoing ministries and sustain trusted partnerships for the
healing of the world.
Our work as the United Church of Canada is as important as
ever. Every gift to the church’s Mission and Service is used
wisely. Thank you for your gifts to the wider United Church for
God’s Mission.
_____________________________________________________________________
Bazaar news
Mark your calendars for Saturday October 19th
and the second
CJUC OYM Bazaar starting at 12:30 pm!
There’ll be books to browse and buy this year – any donations are
welcome. Donated crafts, baked and canned food, and gently-used
treasures you no longer cherish and other small items are also
welcome.
_____________________________________________________________________
Did You Know? Quinoa
The United Nations Food and Agriculture has declared 2013 the
Year of Quinoa to celebrate its nutritious qualities and crop viability.
8
Nutritionists have classified quinoa (pronounced
KEEN-wah) as a superfood. Quinoa has a near
perfect balance of protein, carbohydrates and
dietary fibre. It is also rich in vitamins and
minerals (a good source of iron, calcium,
phosphorus and zinc; of all grains, quinoa is the
highest in potassium).
Quinoa’s protein content includes all the amino
acids humans need. Quinoa is also an especially good source of
lysine (linoleic acid), an omega-6 essential fatty acid that is rarely
found in plants.
Quinoa seeds are harvested from a broad-leaf plant that grows
seven feet (1.2 m.) tall. Surprisingly, it is closely related to spinach,
beets and chard. The harvested quinoa seeds come from the
brilliantly coloured seed heads. The edible seeds, which humans
can benefit from, are coated with a bitter resin-like substance that
discourages insects and birds.
Quinoa is native to the Andean mountains of Peru, Bolivia and
Chile. Archeologists have found evidence of quinoa use before
5,000 BC there. The Incas gave quinoa the name ‘la chisiya mama’
– the mother grain – and it remains the staple food of Incas who still
inhabit the rural Andean areas of Peru, Bolivia and Chile.
Sadly, when Spanish conquerors arrived in the Andes in 1532, they
were wary of how quinoa was revered and deemed it a threat to
Christianity. The Spanish invaders destroyed the quinoa fields and
planted wheat and barley and other European crops. However,
indigenous people in remote areas continued to grow and eat
quinoa.
Look for baked
goods
containing
quinoa at the
upcoming
Bazaar on
Saturday
October 19th

5. 9
In the past Inca warriors are believed to have carried small balls of
cooked quinoa and animal fat into battle for stamina, energy and
strength. More recently, Thor Heyerdahl took quinoa on the raft Kon
Tiki to sustain himself and his crew on their journey. The high
nutritious content and infinite culinary possibilities has also
prompted NASA to consider quinoa as a food source for astronauts
going into space on multi-year missions.
_____________________________________________________________________
Cookie Day 2013
Date: Tuesday December 3rd
in Fellowship Hall
Sign up: For both bringing cookies and for delivering the tins,
please see sign up on the sheet on the bulletin board in
the narthex
Questions: Contact Moira Mancer … suggestions also welcome
_____________________________________________________________________
DVRR Arrivals
On Wednesday September 18th
, representatives of DVRR
welcomed Hodan Elmi and her family of six children (ages 5 to 23
years) at Toronto’s Pearson airport. Hodan, whose homeland is
Somalia, is the daughter of Habiba Adan who has lived in Canada
with her husband for many years and who has been known to
DVRR for about five years. Habiba had not seen her daughter in 25
years, so you can imagine how overjoyed she was to be reunited
with her daughter and to see her grandchildren!
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DVRR will act as co-sponsors and advisors with Habiba and her four
grown (Canadian) children. Habiba had found a townhouse (next to
her own in the west end) and is prepared to share costs with DVRR
Here is the Elmi family at the airport some hours after arrival and all
the paperwork.
Left to right:
Abdullah, Abdulrahman, Ahmed, Iman, Hodan, Faduma, and Amina
DVRR will again be selling amaryllis bulbs kits this year but also
welcomes financial donations to DVRR if you prefer not to buy an
amaryllis kit.
_____________________________________________________________________
Thanks to Contributors
Thanks to the following for contributions for this issue:
Rev. Cyndy Message from Rev. Cindy (page 1)
Carole MacLean Report from Council (page 4)
Don Worth Ongoing Membership News (page 5)
_____________________________________________________________________

6. 11
Future of the Oriole
There were no volunteers to edit ‘The Oriole’ in the future!
Thus this is the last but one edition of ‘The Oriole’. The final Oriole
will be in November 2013. Thereafter there will probably be a
combined OYM and CJUC newsletter … or perhaps a CJUC and
OYM newsletter.
_____________________________________________________________________
Ways to Save Trees and Money
We still need more readers to read ‘The Oriole’ online at OYM’s
website <www.oymunitedchurch.net>, under ‘About OYM’. Another
way to save OYM money is to receive ‘The Oriole’ in pdf format.
For either option to save trees and to save OYM money, please
send an email to ‘The Oriole <oymoriole@gmail.com>' specifying
your choice.
_____________________________________________________________________
Contributions and Suggestions
Contributions and suggestion for the final issue of ‘The Oriole’ are
welcome. Please send an email, leave a message at OYM or talk to
Moira Mancer if you have contributions and suggestions for the
November final edition of ‘The Oriole’.
_____________________________________________________________________
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Your OYM Calendar
Coming Sunday Worship Services and Events
Sunday October 6th
World-wide Communion Sunday
Sunday October 13th
Thanksgiving Sunday
Sunday October 20th
Worship Service
Sunday October 27th
World Food Day Sunday: Stone Soup
lunch – you are invited to bring a half cup
of a cooked vegetable
Sunday November 3rd
Memorial Service to remember loved ones
who have passed away from November
2012 to the present – if you have a loved
one who has died, please let Rev. Cindy
know their name and date of death
Sunday November 10th
Remembrance Day Worship Service
Sunday November 17th
‘De-caf. and green tea’ congregational
discussion @ 11 am – no worship
service, but lunch will follow as usual
Sunday November 24th
Mission Sunday – speaker pending
Sunday December 1st
First week of Advent
Contact OYM: Oriole-York Mills United Church
2609 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON, M2L 1B5
Phone: 416-447-5941
Email: orioleyorkmills@rogers.com
Website address: www.oymunitedchurch.net