GCF – Carol Scovil: Reflections from the Hills of Nepal

Title: GCF – Carol Scovil: Reflections from the Hills of Nepal
Location: CRC Office – Wycliffe College

Description:
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GCF Thursday, November 5, 2009
Basement of Wycliffe College (5 Hoskin Ave)
– 6:00pm – dinner together
– 7:15ish to ? – Something After Dinner – Carol Scovil: In the Hills of Nepal
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Story-telling is a very important part of the GCF community.

Sharing bits of our stories happens informally all the time at GCF, of course:
We share about the ups and downs of the week past.
We tell stories that make of laugh.
We tell stories that make us cringe.
Sometimes we tell stories that make us weep.
We learn about each other through stories about our childhoods, our family traditions, our favourite holidays.

But because sharing our stories is so incredibly important to us at GCF, we also take opportunities to do so in a more formal way.

This week at GCF we welcome Carol Scovil to share a bit of her story with us.

Carol has been a long-time member and active participant in the GCF community since before I became involved with GCF three years ago. And before that, she was involved with at least two other CRC campus ministries during her undergrad and her Master’s in engineering.

On Thursday Carol will share with us about a particular section of her story: She recently returned to Toronto after spending 18 months living and working in Nepal. There she put her medical engineering skills to good use working in a hospital, helping to build and modify wheelchairs to suit the needs of a variety of people and landscapes. I will leave the rest of that story for Carol to tell.

But why do we share our stories at all? Why is story-telling so important at GCF? Why is it important for us to experience Carol’s story?

Of course, we share our stories so we can get to know each other better, and so that we can support, encourage, and challenge one another as together we try to follow Jesus, the Way. We share our stories to build trust and comfort within the GCF community.

But we also share our stories to give witness to the ways that God is working in our lives, in this world. We share our stories so we can rejoice with God’s grace as we experience it, and so we can lament together when our experiences re-remind us that the full expression of God’s kingdom is not yet on earth as it is in heaven.

Come. Come to listen to Carol’s story. Come to ask her questions about her story. Come to participate in the Story that is the foundation for the GCF community.

And bring a friend or acquaintance who you think might want to hear a good story.

With joy,
Sara Gerritsma DeMoor

***Upcoming Events Worth Noting!

Wednesday, November 4, 8:00 – 10:00pm : Wednesday Will Be (What It Will Be)!
-in the campus ministry office (Wycliffe College basement):
-Come exercise your creativity while enjoying good company, good music, and delicious chocolate cake. We are made in the image of the Creator: come to explore that creative side of yourself, for a few minutes or for the full two hours. Sara will have supplies available for those who want to create with paper, scissors, glue, ribbon, markers, stamps, etc

Thursday, November 12, 7:00pm: Book Launch!
-Sylvia Keesmaat (who just happens to be the wife of our campus pastor, Brian Walsh) has a chapter in each of two new books coming out: The Justice Project, edited by Brian McLaren et. al, and The Gift of Creation, edited by Norm Wirzba. The Justice Project is designed as something of a justice manifesto for the emerging church movement. The Gift of Creation is a beautiful coffee table book with essays by various scholars on the whole of the Bible and creation, and photography throughout.
–GCF is CO-SPONSORING this event with Crux Books!
–We will be gathering at 6pm to eat together as usual, and then we’ll move upstairs to Leonard Hall for the festivities, which will include some excellent music from: Billy Gekas and friends doing Hildegaard of Bingen music in relation to the creation book, and the Michael Iafrate band doing bluegrass related to justice themes.
–I’ll need some help with getting some finger-foods ready for the event

Saturday, December 5, evening: Christmas Feast
-Shannon and Mari have enthusiastically invited GCF to their home for a food and drink extravaganza in the Christmas spirit!
-More details to come: for now, SAVE THE DATE.

Finally.
If you have any ideas for topics to discuss, Bible studies, speakers, or any other ideas for GCF, please let me know via email or in person. We’re starting to plan for next semester, and our best ideas inevitably come from YOU

Start Time: 18:00
Date: 2009-11-05