Group+C

 = Group C= = =  Please keep in mind that only one person can edit this page at a time. It is recommended that each of you choose a colour of font and use the same one throughout. As you work on your social action project (committed to 12 hours of dedicated time to giving service to others) plus responding in a Wiki format with your group of three, you will answer the following question: In light of your understanding of disciple, what does it mean to be a disciple of Christ to others through your project? You will share your thoughts and observations and actions of setting up to kinds of things you did to what you observed or saw to the final pieces of your project. At the end of your project (Dec. 2 or what you have completed thus far), your group will come up with a group response to what is a disciple based on your social action journey.

Let's start answering this question    tonight.

//What does it mean to you to be a disciple? What is a disciple?//

//**Last month the the other Guide leaders and I took the girls to the community centre to serve food to the Lion's Club. Not only did they enjoy themselves, but they got a chance to show their community that they are involved and willing to help.

Joan, I love the idea of hats and mittens from your children helping children campaign. Last wee at Girl Guides we made scarves for the less fortunate. We're hoping to make a bagful to send. We had to cut fleece into the shape of scarves and at the end of them we drew our handprints and cut out the shape so that when someone wears the scarf it's like we're sending our love and hugging that other person. By doing this the girls get a chance to see how love works from afar.

This weekend we will be in the Remembrance Day Parade in Tottenham to remember the soldiers and all those who have sacrificed for our freedom. It is a chance for us to demonstrate how we can be diciples not only through reflection and remembrance but also through being a citizen of Canada and a participating member of our community.

Tammi (Monday, November, 3, 2008)**// Joan Oct.29 We have begun to get quite a few mittens and hats brought in by our students, although not many gift certificates have arrived yet ( 2 so far). I think it is fantastic that so many people are donating the winter items. Last week I wrote an announcement to remind the students about this activity urging them to bring in thier donations if they hadn't done so yet. I also made up posters that were hung up in the hallways to help them remember. I wrote the words and my kindergartens coloured pictures of hats and mittens and cut them out to glue onto the posters. This activity alone helped my class remember to bring some items in. Annmarie, my partner for this project spoke to the St. Vincent de Paul Society representative. I shared my story about the student emptying her piggy bank last to make a monetary contribution. She (the representative) told me that little girl will remember this deed for her entire life. I think this project has helped her and others to try and be true disciples of Jesus ( even though she doesn't understand what that means yet!) and it has really taught me as well.   Two weeks agoTwo weeks ago my collegue and I discussed how we could organize our students in a meaningful way could contribute to the needs of our community. After our annual school Thanksgiving Food Drive, we still wanted to keep our needy in mind. Often once the food drive is over we don't think about them again until Christmas. We decided that we would begin a "Children Helping Children"campaign. The object would be for the students to bring in new hats and mitts that would then be donated to the St. Vincent dePaul Society prior to the winter months, as these objects are needed now, not just at Christmas. As well, Gift Certificates (from various local stores -- in any denomination) could also be donated and would be then given to the St. Vincent dePaul Society as well. They in turn would distribute all the items to the long list of needy people in our community. Once this idea was planned, we then created a draft of a letter that would be given out to our students' parents. We discussed our plan with our principal and presented the letter to him. The letter stated the timeline, which would be beginning the day after Thanksgiving up until the end of October in order to beat the Christmas rush. The grade 2 class ( my class' Reading Buddies) would go to each room after morning announcements and collect any items that had been brought in. To date, we have collected some items. We recently decided that the two classes (mine and our Grade 2 reading buddies) would get together to make posters to hang up in the halls and help remind the students of this project. The grade twos would write the words and my kindergartens would colour them in.. One wonderful contribution was made that is worth noting here. I received two envelopes with my name on them today. They were decorated with pictures and stickers. The JK student who gave them to me said there was money in it for the "Poor Kids". No note of explanation was with the envelopes of money, I called the mom at recess and asked her what the money was for. Mom told me that her daughter emptied her piggy bank ( full of mostly pennies and nickels) so that I could purchase a new hat and mitts on her behalf. Mom was unaware of this good deed until the envelpes were licked and sealed and the child showed her what she had done. What a wonderful example of decipleship from a four year old!!!!! Joan Oct. 20

//** To me a disciple is someone who is called to action; someone who teaches others by modeling the process. In the next couple weeks I will be doing just this with the 2nd Tottenham Girl Guides. We will be going to the Lions Club to share our friendship and join in the community by helping out. We will be serving food and beverages and entertaining. By giving the girls this opportunity, we will be showing them the rewards of building a stronger community based on shared interests, comradery, friendship and love with the seniors. It will give them a chance to appreciate the older generation so in the future they will care for them rather than dismiss them or neglect them. This activity would help to guide them to follow God's commandment to honour thy mother and thy father. I look forward to seeing how the girls and the seniors will get along. It's going to be fun.

Tammi (Friday, October, 3, 2008) **//

I feel that to be a true disciple one must have hope in Christ and spread the good news. To do this one needs to take action and be a participant in helping others. Keeping this in mind my colleague and I will be organizing a "Children Helping Children" campaign at our school which will give our students the opportunity to share with others who are less fortunate than us. As a group we will discuss what gifts we would like to share with other children in our community, Joan (October 6, 2008) Joan (Nov.30) A representative from the St. Vincent dePaul Society picked up our bags of hats and mittens. She was very thrilled about our project. In total we had exactly 100 hats and 100 pairs of mittens and various gift certificates that totaled up to $135.00. The amount we received exceeded our expectations. It seems we are always asking parents to give, give and give some more. However this proved that we have many disciples of Jesus out there. As I read about Tammy's experiences I realize that our communities are willing to help out others. The children as well as the adults give what they can and no contribution is too small. I was really touched by the child in my class who emptied her piggy bank in order to make her contribution (which added up to $3.05). Amazing! I liked Tammy's idea of adding hand prints to the ends of the scarves to represent hugs and love to the recipients.It will also serve as a constant reminder that he or she is loved just as Jesus wants us all to know and remember this. So what is a disciple? I am a disciple, you are a disciple, we are all disciples of Jesus Christ. We are called to action, not just think about the less fortunate. We are here to continue to do God's work of spreading His word of Love and I am so glad that I had the opportunity to take part in this social action journey because it really reminded me of my duty to be a disciple. Thank you

Joan, I think your project to collect hats and mitts was a great idea. Congratulations on its success (100 of each, wonderful). I got goose bumps reading about the little girl emptying her piggy bank. What a great story. Tammi, what a nice idea to cut out shapes in the scarves. I am sure many people are appreciating those hugs. I also feel that giving youth an appreciation for the older generation, as in your trip to the Lions Club can make a lasting impression on both the youth and the elderly. My social action project was geared towards having my high school students view Christmas as a time of giving rather than a time of receiving. My project started later than others and it is still ongoing. There are two parts overseas and local. We started in late November by participating in Operation Christmas Child (through Samaritan’s Purse). We decided to get 100 shoe boxes that would be filled on a volunteer basis. These shoe boxes were to be sent to children in a third world country. Each student had the opportunity to fill a box for a boy or girl of various ages. They were filled with toys, candies, school supplies etc. The students made up posters and hung them throughout the school. They wrote and put morning announcements on the P.A., as well as organized the distribution and collection of shoe boxes each day for 2 weeks. The interest was so great that we ran out of shoe boxes and had to order more. In the end we collected 171 shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. It was great!!! Here is a picture! The second part of the action project is to help a family in our community that is in need this Christmas. To be honest, I was a little nervous about this one. Homerooms at our school do this every year and I have done it in the past with a lot of success. However, in the past I have always had very keen senior students. This year I have grade 10, not so keen students. I was very nervous about participation. Little did I know that these kids would prove me wrong. The project was introduced this past Tuesday and we will be collecting until the end of next week. When I first told them about it I received some smart aleck comments. I couldn’t believe my ears when one student said, “Why don’t we just give them a job application?”. After taking a deep breath and thinking ‘I knew it’, I decided that it would not be the best course of action to send this student out. Instead I gave the class as a whole a speech that included the fact that these people may very well have jobs. They may simply be in need at this time. Then we went on to brainstorm reasons that this family may be in need at this time. I received answers that included… many mouths to feed (including extended family) and sickness or even death in the family (unexpected expenses). Ironically the family we received was a grandmother, 11 year old boy and 6 year old girl. Which poses the question “Where are the parents?”. Over the next three days these students shocked me with how eager they were to help out. I was so proud of them. I also felt so bad that I did not have faith in them. After three days they have brought in over 50 non perishable food items for the family and over $50 (only 7/27 so far) to go towards gifts. Many have asked their places of employment for gift cards (Canadian Tire, Cinema, A&P etc.), and one student said that her parents have offered to make up filled stockings for the children. A fully cooked turkey dinner for 6 has also been donated from a local restaurant to be picked up on the 23rd and all the family will have to do is heat it up. And finally, believe it or not the first student to bring in anything was the student who made the smart aleck comment the first day. What an amazing experience so far and we still have a week left. They are so excited and so am I! If the wiki site is still up and running, after the 17th I will take a picture and try to upload it. The moral of the story… that we are all called to be disciples of Christ. These disciples (my students) have actually taught me about following Jesus and I am grateful. Overall I feel that being a disciple of Christ means that we should be more like Jesus, having compassion for our fellow man. We should be learners who accept Jesus’ teachings not only in belief but in life style, and we should in essence be giving people with giving hearts.

Maureen (December 7)

Hi Maureen, what a great project. I feel the same way as you do when kids prove me wrong ,we don't give them the credit they deserve.  I think it is human nature to expect the worst and be surprised when it is something else. So to add to your definition of disciple of Christ:  //A discipe of Christ means to to be more like Jesus, having compassion for our fellow man. To trust others so that we may be trusted to do God's work.//  //We should live as Jesus did by being loving, caring and giving.//

Joan (Dec. 9)