Darwood Morley Shepherdson July 1, 1953 – March 2, 2024 Peacefully and surrounded by family, Darwood passed away on Saturday, March 2, 2024 at the age of 70. He faced multiple health challenges, particularly in the last months. He was born July 1, 1953 in New Liskeard, Ontario, the oldest son of Morley and Frances Shepherdson. He grew up in Dymond Township, attended Dymond Public School, New Liskeard Secondary School, and graduated from the New Liskeard College of Agricultural Technology. He then entered into a partnership with his dad, Morley, at Sunny Ridge Farms for 19 years, where they raised Charolais and Simmental cattle. When he left the farm, he went back to school at Georgian College. After graduating with a business degree, he worked at Honda in Alliston for 19 years.He retired in 2014, but not for long, as he then worked for Community of Christ as Bishop of Canada until his death. Dar always cared about, and contributed to, the communities he was part of. He served on the Dymond Township council, was president of the Ontario Charolais Association, and served on the Board of Directors for the Georgian Bay General Hospital and Grace-Carman Senior Citizen’s Home. In his role as Bishop of Canada, Dar served as a director for Zerin Development Corporation, Sionito Community Development Corporation, and Encounter World Religions. Darwood is survived by his beloved wife of 30 years, Shari, his children Aaron, Kateri and Joe, his step-children Stacey, Kelly, Cory and Michael, 13 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild. He is also survived by his mother Frances, brothers Lew (Carol) and Ed (Donna), sister Keri (Cindy), and many nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his father Morley (2011) and his oldest son Marc (2017). Dar loved “living the dream” with his family, children, and grandchildren at his home on Georgian Bay, and playing golf with his many long-time friends. If desired, a donation in his name to Encounter World Religions or Community of Christ would be appreciated. Cards of sympathy may be sent to Shari Shepherdson, 112 Mitchell's Beach Road, Victoria Harbour, ON L0K 2A0. Family will gather for a private ceremony. A public memorial service to honour Dar will be held in-person at Scarborough Community of Christ, April 13 at 4:30 p.m. ET when we are already gathered. Light refreshments will be available prior to the service. The memorial service will also be broadcasted. Click the button below to register and receive the link. Beyond the Walls – This Is My Body Our experience of the passion continues this 4th of 7 Easter Sundays, as Jesus invites us to “Keep Watch with Me.” Apostle Shandra Newcom shares the vigil in the Garden of Gethsemane, as Jesus prays, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” Meanwhile, Jesus’ closest disciples Peter, James, and John are unable to remain awake during the vigil. Let us share this hour together and reflect on ways we sometimes fail in our discipleship and how we can better embody God’s will. We invite you to share this hour of reflection, prayer, meditation, music, and fellowship with the Beyond the Walls global community on 📅 Sunday, March 10, 2024. ⏰12:00 PM EST YouTube: https://youtu.be/VdYEibeS5a0 ⏰12:00 PM EST Facebook: https://fb.me/e/gXGaCpDPV ⏰6:00 PM EST YouTube: https://youtu.be/wzzLtvijOeM ⏰6:00 PM EST Facebook: https://fb.me/e/55oQ5hDS4 ORDER O WORSHIP
SLIM (Sharing Love in Mission) - 1:45 p.m. James will preside over the Lenten worship and Karen Smith will share the message. Don Robb will lead prayer and discussion following the service regarding the recent World Church announcement. Contact Don Robb for Zoom info.
Other Online Ministries are available from many varied places for you to connect with. April 5 - 7
Instructor: Lew Shepherdson Where: Reaching Out Congregation, 125 Queen St S. Mississauga, ON An introduction and exploration of the nature of scripture in the life of Community of Christ; helps students understand genre, literary context, and historical and cultural context; guides in the responsible use of the Old Testament and dealing with difficult texts; provides a sample small-group Bible study; and explores the function of the lectionary in sacraments, preaching, and teaching. To register contact Nancy Baer 519.532.3982. There is no cost for this class. You are responsible for obtaining your class material. Instructions will be e-mailed upon registration. Saturday, April 20
10 am to 3 pm Guelph Office 355 Elmira Road North, Unit 129 GuelphCost: $15 per personInstructors: Pat Stoakley and Doug Bolger Please make cheques payable to Community of Christ Bring a sack lunch This Seminar is designed for ordained priesthood who wish to be licensed to perform weddings and as a review for those currently holding a licence. In order to apply for a license, the church is legally required to provide training. Each registered participant will receive handouts and resources including wedding service samples. Registration is limited to 12 persons. Preference will be given to new officiants. The Seminar will address the following:
World Accord invites nominations from qualified candidates to serve as a Board Director for an initial three-year term.
We welcome applications from people across Canada and are committed to a governance board that models diversity, equity and inclusion. December 5, 1938 – November 7, 2023 A celebration of life will take place on Saturday March 23, 2024 at 1:30pm at Scarborough Community of Christ located at 10 Eppleworth Rd, Scarborough, ON M1K 3G9 The celebration will be live streamed for those who are unable to attend. Click Here To Watch Mary Mitchells Service Donations in Mary’s Memory may be made to World Accord or the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Speaker: Kelda Lorax Webinar – Sunday, March 17, 5pm ET ZOOM Online Ministry Permaculture is the development of agricultural ecosystems intended to be sustainable and self-sufficient. How is that different from organic gardening? Organic gardening focuses on soil health and chemical-free gardening practices. Permaculture includes those goals, but also designs each site to imitate natural systems, using nature’s adaptations to keep it sustainable. Permaculture agriculture or gardening may resemble a food forest of herbs, vegetables, and flowers. It maximizes the natural energy sources around the plants, just like forest plants do. It goes beyond agriculture to the way we design each site and the associated buildings. Kelda Lorax began studying permaculture as a teenager in the 90's. She has co-taught several Permaculture Design Courses, served on the board of the Northwest Permaculture Convergence, and has Diploma's in Permaculture Site Design and Permaculture Education through the Permaculture Institute of North America(PINA). She currently teaches with Permaculture Women's Guild, Oregon State University's Online PDC, is a Field Advisor for “Regenerative Land Management” (RLM) of the Earth Activist Training Program, and is a Field Advisor for PINA diplomats. Kelda's passion is for learning about and creating models of healthy human-ecosystem relations, while acknowledging and working to end the many injustices that have disrupted our collective relationship with the land. On the ground, Kelda currently runs Stardust Market Garden in Fairland, OK and serves on the board for L.E.A.D. Agency, a nearby indigenous-led environmental justice non-profit. If not registered for this Zoom series, please click below. Randy Burdette of Francis Lake, passed suddenly on Saturday March 2, 2024 at the age of 60 years. He was the son of Dorothy Rydall Burdette and the late Raymond Burdette. Randy was predeceased by a brother, Raymee, in 2018. Randy was born February 11th, 1964 in West Virginia, USA. Randy’s maternal grandparents were Elmer and Laura Rydall, of Wiarton. He completed his higher education in Lindsay, Ontario. He loved friends, family, music, fishing, and cooking. He found his real joy in the last 10 years of his life as he trained his Golden Retriever to be a Therapy Dog, and together they made life brighter for senior care homes as they worked together. He will be greatly missed by his friends and family in the US and Canada. Private family arrangements entrusted to the Thomas C. Whitcroft Funeral Home & Chapel, Sauble Beach (519) 422-0041. Cremation has taken place. A Memorial Service to Celebrate Randy’s Life will be held at a later date. Donations to the St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog Program would be appreciated. Condolences may be expressed online. BETTY MAE FIELDER 9 May 1927 – 29 February 2024 On the 9th of May 1927, she “came into the world in the usual way.” Born in the family home on Whitewood Avenue, New Liskeard, she was 1 of 11 children born to Ada (Johnston) and Wesley Shepherdson. Her family moved to and lived most of their earlier years just out of town on a road now known as “Shepherdson Road”. The hospital where she left us is located less than a kilometer from where she was raised. After Betty finished high school, she went to work for George Taylor Hardware, retail store, in the office. When the Second World War ended in Europe, C. Graydon Fielder returned to his job at George Taylor Hardware retail store in December 1945. Betty was working at the store helping her uncle when she saw a young man with a happy smiling face enter and said to her Uncle Fred, “I could go for a guy like that”. He immediately took her over and introduced her to Grayd. They married on September 11, 1946. Their first son Dennis (Lynda) was born in 1948. They had already bought their first home on Lakeshore Road for $3,000. It was a real “fixer-upper”. It had hot water only in the winter months when the wood furnace was hot. Sons, Terry (Darnelly) and Randy (Queta) arrived while the family lived in that tiny home. They moved to their house on Mary Street, just before Kent (Linda) was born. That is where the family lived for most of Betty’s adult life. The three younger children: Rob, Dwight and Jaylyn rounded out the family. Betty was a full-time mother. She worked outside of the home as much as she could in the early years until little children filled her life. In those early years, Grayd left salaried employment and started his own hardware store. The family lived a year and a half with only Betty’s meager income to help Grayd build up his business. At the same time, Betty was active in the Rebekah Lodge and then helped start the local Lioness Club. She played Bridge and hosted the local Women’s Bridge Club. But, as her family grew, she left those clubs. She became a leader in the local Skylark’s girls’ group at her church and later joined the Group Committee for Scouts Canada at the church. She then became a Beaver Leader for 5–7-year-old boys, known to them as “Snowflake”. Betty and Grayd began travelling in the early 1960’s and did not stop. They travelled all over North and South America, the Caribbean, Europe and Africa on tours and cruises. After Grayd passed away, she went on a cruise to Australia and the South Sea Islands. She returned to Africa for a safari with good friend Gordon Carter. With all the travel, they did not take the kids, but we sure got the “T-shirts”! Betty loved her gardens and had large flower gardens and a vegetable garden on Mary Street. She was featured on the 2008 Art Gallery Garden Tour. Mostly she just loved to garden but it was hard because the cottage on Fairy Lake called her…and she had gardens there as well. The cottage was her favourite place on earth. She would pack the car on the last day of school so as soon as the children got home, she loaded them into it and off they went to the cottage, returning to town on the Labour Day Monday so the kids could go back to school. Almost every Sunday afternoon all year round, after church, Betty and Grayd took the family out to the cottage to hike, shovel the snow off the roof, cross-country ski, birdwatch or just catch some rays. When Grayd retired, they bought winter residence in North Fort Myers, Florida where they hosted friends and family for many years. Now Betty could garden year-round. While in Florida, she joined ‘The Pretenders’, a group of entertainers. Betty’s act would be to mime out actions to humorous songs. Their group would perform in their park and then often be invited to neighbouring parks to ‘take the show on the road’. Betty was a lifetime member of the Community of Christ Church in New Liskeard. She attended church conferences in the United States and family church camps in Ontario. She often performed skits and gags that kept everyone laughing. Everyone knew they could rely on her to come out with some unexpected gag. Betty loved to knit, sew, and make crafts. She spent thousands of hours making things and selling them at craft and church events. All the money she made was donated to World Accord to help fund community development projects in poor countries and war zones all around the world. One year she travelled with son Terry and his wife Sandra to Honduras to see what her years of efforts was doing to help poor communities help themselves. All the knitting for crafts sales did not stop her from knitting many sweaters for her children and grandchildren, and even great grandchildren. Her last batch of sweaters went off to her latest great granddaughter only a few days after she returned to her creator God. Betty’s sunset years were spent at Northdale Manor where she had many friends. She loved life there crafting, playing bingo, watching live entertainment and other special events. Her last living siblings Donna and Clair visited her at Temiskaming Hospital near her final hours. Betty loved hymns and selected nine of her favourites, requesting that the family sing them for her when she went into palliative care. Using the internet, the family joined in from Texas, Nevada, Alberta and Ontario. Terry, Kent and Linda were in the room with her. For an hour that turned out to be her last, we sang together for her. Moments after the last hymn, she slipped away. She may have left us here quietly, but rest assured, it is not quiet among the loved ones she met up with on the other side. Her infectious laugh, her jokes and skits will bring joy there as well. Her wit and sense of humour will carry on because that was her, the “her” we will miss until it’s our turn to join her in that Kingdom. She came to the world in the usual way. She spent her life for family, friends, and many she never met, to make life more of a joy. She turned the usual into the extraordinary. She decorated crafts with colour to brighten life for others. She hands off the task to all of us to live life and to make it better than just the usual for the community in which you live. Peace! Betty was predeceased by her husband Grayd, sons Dennis, Randy and daughter-in-law Sandra. She is survived by sons Terry (Darnelly), Kent (Linda), Rob, Dwight and daughter Jaylyn. She is also survived by daughters-in-law, Lynda (Dennis) and Queta (Randy), 24 Grandchildren and 26 Great Grandchildren. Betty was the fifth member of her siblings, Eldon (Dode), Audrey (Thomas Ridley), Kenneth (Marie), Ray, Verdun (Lillian), Morley (Frances), Clair (Joan), Charlene (Bogdon Kocia), Floyd (Carol) and Donna (Charles Caldwell). There will be a Celebration of Life at the Community of Christ, Niven Street, New Liskeard on March 30th at 2:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations to World Accord, Camp Noronto or a charity of your choice would be greatly appreciated. |
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