From a UOIT grad’s perspective

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UOIT - 2004

Most people who know me are aware of the fact that I am a very proud graduate of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. I arrived at UOIT in January 2004 and immediately fell in love with the campus. At the time, UOIT’s facilities consisted of half of a building and it was under various stages of construction throughout our first year. We became used to dangling light bulbs, construction workers wandering through our lectures and continual noise from power tools. What is now a beautiful green space was then a mud pit that ruined our shoes and left the back of our pants covered in mud splatters everyday. The campus was definitely a work in progress but it was ours and we loved it!

More than the campus, I loved the students of UOIT. During that first year, there were only 700 of us but we shared a common thread: we were excited to be part of the first cohort of UOIT students. We had the opportunity to shape our programs, student clubs and campus culture. I got involved on campus by leading tours and I was also one of the founding leaders of Campus Church.

After completing my studies at UOIT in 2007, I stayed on campus for another three years as an employee. I was an eye witness to the university’s growth and development. UOIT now has over 8,400 students between the north Oshawa and downtown campuses. The student body comes from all over the GTA, Canada and the world (over 55 countries represented!).

As someone who considers UOIT to be a second home, it has been so exciting to see how Calvary and other churches within Durham Region have embraced the students of UOIT and Durham College. Thank you for supporting and praying for the students of Campus Church. Thank you for rallying around them in the ups and downs of being a Christian on campus. Thank you for loving the students of UOIT and Durham College enough to give sacrificially of your time and finances so that they may hear the truth of who Jesus is and how He can transform their lives.

- Andrea Brown

Love Can Do Amazing Things

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Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid.  The Lord, the Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. (Isaiah 12:2)

A long time ago there was a little song from the movie The King and I, maybe you remember it: “Whenever I feel afraid, I hold my head erect, and whistle a happy tune so no one will suspect I’m afraid”?  What do you do to hide your fear from the judging eyes of others?  Christians are not supposed to be fearful people.  After all, the Bible is filled with the admonition, “Do not be afraid!”  But life is a fearful thing; you never know what is lurking in the shadows.  There are so many areas of vulnerability:  health, family, finances, possessions, career, future.  It’s a scary prospect.  In order to remain sane, you have to find a coping mechanism.  Maybe whistling in the dark does it for you!

There is an antidote to fear; a real one that works.  John, “the disciple that Jesus loved”, discovered it and wrote about it in one of his letters.  In 1 John 4:18 he wrote, “There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.  The man who fears is not made perfect in love.”

Hey ~ February is Valentine’s month!  A time when we major on “Love”.  Can it be true, is perfect (full-blown) love the antidote for fear?  Do you remember some of the “roller coaster” rides you risked as young people?   I remember one friend who drove her little MG sports car through a storm with axle deep snow all the way to Belleville to see her fiancé.  It’s amazing what we do for love. It’s also amazing how it can overcome fear.  But, in our earthly relationships, because humans are frail and subject to sin and all of its destruction, we soon lose our trust and very often the love that went with it.  It’s not love for others that John is talking about as an antidote to fear, but our love for – and our trust in – God. The Heavenly Father, and wonderful Saviour who say, “I will never leave you”, “I will be with you”.

The Old and New Testaments are filled with the invitation to come to God, love Him with all of our hearts, trust Him, rely upon Him, and live in His love.  Yet, why is this so difficult for us to implement?  Even if you do love God, “with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind”, is there still that element of mistrust?  We have the feeling that, somehow, God is not fully trustworthy.  After all, if He can heal us, why doesn’t He?  If He is almighty, why do bad things happen to good people?  In our hearts, we may withhold our trust from God because we are afraid that He, too, will disappoint us.  The truth is, we do not understand the nature of the battle in which we find ourselves.  It is a real war, and there are real casualties in the battle of the ages, being fought in spiritual realms, and echoed here on earth.  But we have a Champion—and He is with us at all times.

Our God is faithful and true.  We should decline to blame Him for life’s difficulties, choosing rather to praise Him, and fully trusting Him to do great and mighty things that we do not know about yet.  If you have the patience to wait for His timing, cooperate with His plans, and fully surrender to loving Him with all of your heart, then be prepared to see the miracle of your “perfect” full-blown love for God overcoming the fear that surrounds you, enabling you to “do it afraid”. What ever it is that God is asking you to do,  “Perfect love casts out fear”.

I have often prayed, “Lord, give me the courage to go with You into all of the adventures You have for me.”  Our God is adventurous, dangerous, and unpredictable.  You have to be head-over-heels in love with Him to move with Him into His adventures.  One great man wrote something like this, “The world has yet to see what one man completely surrendered to God can do.”

Happy Valentine’s Day – Mary B.

Bereaved families

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Dorothy Karn, mother of Rebecca Powers, (daughter-in-law of Chuck and Barb) passed away on Monday.  Please be in prayer for the family during this difficult time, especially on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. when they will be having a private family service.

Please also be in prayer for Christine and Shirley Anderson. Their mother, Julia Anderson, passed away this morning. Visitation and funeral will be in Welland this weekend.

Miriam in Bosnia

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Miriam Fulda arrived safely in Bosnia after a long day of travel. She left Canada at 5:40 on Sunday afternoon and arrived at her final destination at 6pm on Monday (with the time difference, 1am Tuesday morning). After a day to settle in, Miriam began her ministry of home schooling today (in English). Thank you for your prayers as she settles in, learns the language and reconnects with people she met last summer. She will be in Bosnia until the end of July, with six weeks in the summer devoted to camp ministry.

Why Bible memory?

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Over the past year of working at Calvary, I’ve been reminded of our rich history and heritage. I’ve pored over archives containing many stories of Calvary’s foundational years. All of the archives reflect the values that make up our 5 Essentials today – Word, Worship, Witness, Growth and Prayer. May I suggest that Mary K. Alloway, the founder of Calvary’s Bible Memory Program, set the example for treasuring God’s Word. Until her death at the age of 103, she studied God’s Word and made a point of memorizing Scripture. Her passion for this discipline led to the Mary K. Alloway Bible Memory Program. The program consists of 98 passages (divided into 24 courses) and is a great way to hide God’s Word in our hearts.

A little while ago, one of my friends requested that I add the courses of Calvary’s Bible Memory Program to the website. I thought bringing the courses online was a great idea but my friend’s suggestion also inspired me to take it further. Our lives are so busy with daily activities of work, family, church activities and errands. It can be so difficult to slow down – especially for a discipline like memorizing Scripture. But with the new year and its themes of renewal and resolutions, the theme of renewing our desire to hide God’s Word in our hearts couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. I can’t think of a better challenge for us to commit to in 2012.

And therein lies my personal challenge for the year. I dug through the box of memory work records (some dating back to the 1950s!!) and found my own. I completed Course 4 on August 23, 1998. I was fourteen. Over 13 years later, it’s time to start again. Taped on to my computer monitor is my next passage – Romans 8:1-10.

Are you up for the challenge? Make 2012 the year you start – or re-start! – hiding God’s Word in your heart. Find the Mary K. Alloway Bible Memorization program online at www.calvary.on.ca/memory or pick up the courses from the church office or Welcome Centre.