Greetings everyone, Happy New Year!
While many choose to celebrate in different ways, here at Toronto City Mission we wish to begin 2023 by expressing our thankfulness and appreciation to God for His leading and guidance over the past year. We also want to express our dependence on Him as we look forward to the days, weeks, and months ahead of us!
We welcome you to join us in having Christ as our focal point in everything we do and say. We thank the Lord for providing TCM another year of opportunities to faithfully serve the communities we so dearly love. We pray that in the coming days, our service and efforts to families impacted by poverty will lead to deeper relationships, deeper engagement, and deeper and more frequent opportunities to share God’s love in word and deed.
We thank you for your partnership as you keep our Outreach Workers in your prayers. These are our front-line staff who do the “heavy lifting.” From teaching and mentoring, to leading, serving, planning and guiding, our Outreach Workers are the pulse of our ministry, as they give of their time, energy, and heart to the families they enthusiastically, devotedly, and lovingly serve. May they be regularly refreshed and renewed from their dedicated relationship with God!
Did you know that the month of January is named after the Roman god Janus? Janus had two faces, one face looking backwards and the other forwards. The beginning of the new year is always a time to review the past year and make plans for the future. The past cannot change, but we can certainly learn from our mistakes. The Bible teaches that our most hopeful future is in God’s loving hands.
Philippians 4:4-7 provides for us with 3 Godly goals for this year.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
First and foremost, we are reminded to rejoice in our relationship with Him (v. 4), secondly, we are asked to reflect Jesus’ gentleness (v. 5), and finally, we are prompted to rest in God’s loving care (v. 6-7).
So, as we begin the new year, may these reminders from Philippians resonate and may they be applicable to each of our lives. Thank you for your continued support in bringing hope to families impacted by poverty!
In His Service,
Elliott Shin | Executive Director