Welcome to the Justice Corner at Little T! As people seeking to love God and love our neighbours (Matt 22:36-40), we are actively engaging in a process of discernment through 2023 to see where God might be calling our community to deepen our engagement in justice issues and to care for those in need. Visit this page regularly to find out the latest updates in this process. We’ll also post ideas of how to engage thoughtfully with our neighbours, and stories of those in our community who are practicing kingdom-living in their neighbourhoods.
For more information or to contribute to this page, please contact Karen ().
Know Your Neighbourhood – Thank you to everyone who participated in the Know Your Neighbourhood workshops! We were delighted by the response, and encourage everyone who is interested to check out the video here of the workshop. As we enter the summer months, we’ll be taking time to explore our neighbourhood, make new connections, and begin seeing what possibilities there are for us as a church to contribute to our community in our own unique, Christ-centred way.
We are also still welcoming survey responses (link below), with thanks to everyone who has responded! So far we have heard that some of the things that most disturb us are systemic injustices, lack of affordable housing, food insecurity, lack of care for creation/the environment, and loneliness. These were the most named among many issues – but we’re still collecting responses, so make your voice heard!
Finally, we desire prayer to be a central part of this process, undergirding and enveloping all of our efforts. Please continue to pray for the Little T community, Yonge Street Mission, the Justice Working Group, and Karen Isaacs as we all work together to discern the way forward.
WHO ARE WE AT LITTLE T Survey? As we discern together what “doing justice” can look like at Little T, we will be: studying/learning together about what it means to “do justice” from a biblical perspective; praying for God’s leading; and engaging with our local church community to hear from them.
We are also exploring the passions, skills/gifts, and resources (including time, contacts, etc.) that Little T members have to offer.
This survey below is a start to that part of the process. Thank you for your participation!
Justice Working Group
Over the past year, the Justice Working Group has been instrumental in establishing a job description for the Justice Animator; helping with hiring, and once hired, supporting Karen in her work. That group continues to be instrumental leading in this process of discernment.
Meet the members:
Graham & Nathalie Chernoff – Graham and Nathalie Chernoff are passionate about seeking justice for the marginalized as a way of following Jesus. This has played a more dominant role in living out their faith since 2020. They are excited to participate in a renewal of gospel justice at Little T.
Caleb Edwards – Caleb and his wife Sarah (and two kids) have been attending Little T for almost a decade. His interest in the justice group stems from a conviction that if the church is to have any witness to our friends and neighbours, we are going to need to be beside them in the struggles they find themselves in.
Mary Henkelman – Mary Henkelman is a longtime member of Little Trinity (50+ years) who became interested in social justice issues through serving as a volunteer ESL teacher with a women’s group at Yonge Street Mission. This led to her moving into Regent Park in 2012 where she has been active in the neighbourhood’s many meetings and come to know the needs of her social housing neighbours.
Jennifer Martin (new) – Since 1986, Jennifer’s family has been blessed with great teaching at Little Trinity. Her taste of working in a service role came when she was asked to create some sort of Parenting class for the street youth at Evergreen, YSM’s Centre for Youth. Nine years of coming alongside street youth was scary, humbling and inspiring. Now it’s time to step out again!
Keith Martin (new) – Keith is a grateful husband, father, grandfather (to nine…soon to be 10), friend, investor, seeker, lover of music, and lover of Jesus.
Joanne Millard – Joanne has been attending Little Trinity since being married here, by Duke Vipperman, in 1996. Since retiring from a career in teaching English (primarily for immigrant and Refugee resettlement), she has devoted time and attention to learning about Indigenous history and current affairs, and to researching, writing and presenting on various aspects of Little Trinity’s and Toronto’s history.
Sangita Patel – Sangita Patel has been attending Little T for over 15 years with her husband Al and two kids. Her passion is in seeing acts justice extended to children in our communities and around the world.
James Rhee – James has been an active Little T community member since 1996. He has been involved in compassionate ministries at Little T and outside of it, locally and abroad. He is deeply moved and excited about where God is leading us.
Mary Kate Looby – Mary Kate works as a therapist and a university lecturer of Psychology. She is thankful for both jobs because they enable her to cultivate curiosity and grow in empathy.
Matthias Schilke – Matthias is doing his master’s degree in clinical counselling at Tyndale University and is working as an Intern Therapist. This training fosters his passion for people to be understood and valued.
We were delighted to welcome Jesse Sudirgo as our guest preacher on May 7. Jesse has been partnering with Yonge Street Mission to assist Karen Isaacs and the Justice Working Group in their work of discerning Little Trinity’s call to justice ministry; as we seek to love God, grow together, and serve our world in the place God has planted us. Jesse explored the theology of kingdom justice with us, both in the sermon and in the Justice Workshops. Here are the links to those workshops and videos:
Jesse is the Assistant Professor of Contextual Ministry at Tyndale Seminary in Toronto. He has a diverse breadth of experience in multiple disciplines of ministry in both the church and non-profit sectors. He is the former Director of Street-Involved Services at the YSM Evergreen Centre and continues to consult with churches in their engagement with poverty in the city. He brings to his work a conviction for interdisciplinary theological reflection that considers those most marginalized in society. His background in church planting in Boston Massachusetts has shaped his interests in missional lay leadership, community development, and urban poverty.
Mar/23 – Mary Henkelman is a Little Trinity member who moved into Regent Park eleven years ago as an intentional way of practicing kingdom-living in her neighbourhood. She has written lively, compelling short stories and essays exploring community-building in Regent Park, all which are available here. As a way of entering our Give6ix Lenten campaign and learning to love our neighbours in “the 6ix” better, how about committing to reading six of Mary’s stories before Easter? They are delightfully easy and fun to read, and informative as well!
