stitches. Heartfelt bear
stories emerge. “I comforted a four-year-old
during emergency hernia surgery. Her whole
family was so scared,
but I told her to hold
me close and she came
through just fine.”
A new bear introduced Baby Noah born
two months premature.
“He was hooked up to
lots of wires and tubes
but I was there for him.
I reassured Noah’s mom
and dad too because
they were so anxious.”
pHo To: gReg pHaRoaH
“There’s a whole
family around our house:
three kids and six bears,”
exclaimed an older Hug-a-Bear. “These kids have
so many health issues.
One had open-heart surgery at three months of
age, but she’s five years
old now and still sleeps
with her twin bears. See
the one with a scar on his
cheek like hers?”
Guelph hospitals are
the primary recipients
of Hug-a-Bears but a
variety of other services
associated with domestic violence interventions and
other police and fire department activities also receive bears. Some
are in neighbouring municipalities.
Hug-a-Bears have been such a blessing to children and families in Guelph
that, since the Pharoahs are not able to
continue, the Guelph General Hospital
has issued a press release asking for
other volunteers to carry on.
Seven other churches as far away as
Nova Scotia and British Columbia have
requested patterns. They are available
from 519-824-1161 or gift-of-love@
celebratinggod.org
–CHARLENE DE HAAN
magazine helps churches Tackle Technology
As wave after wave of new technology changes our society, an ontario- based magazine wants to help churches cope. Churches have often struggled with substandard technology and
a lack of technical training for their worship teams, says kevin Rogers Cobus
of Queensville, ont., executive editor of Technologies for Worship Magazine
( www.tfwm.com).
The magazine, born in 1992 as a secular music directory, evolved into a
bi-monthly magazine aimed at church leaders as Cobus
saw many “rush out to grab some peripheral cabling at
Radio shack without really understanding how it all fit
together. we saw a need for professional guidance in product knowledge and implementation.”
Today houses of worship have increasingly come to
see the value of technology in their worship services and
the importance of an online presence as part of outreach,
Cobus says.
The magazine offers practical articles such as “Just
start podcasting,” “Crafting a web strategy” and “drum
microphones 101” containing usable information from
industry experts who know the challenges churches
face.
The magazine tries “to provide the essentials [churches] need to know, with
a keen eye to being good stewards of money,” Cobus says. Thus other articles
focus on topics like how to allocate budgets appropriately and how to train and
nurture volunteer technical teams.
How much technology a church needs depends on who attends, Cobus says.
powerpoint might be effective with boomers (people born in the postwar era,
1945-1964) but it won’t grab youth who want the full sound-and-light show. For
much older congregants – especially if they’re confined to home – technology
presents the opportunity to participate at church through podcasts.
The magazine, which draws advertising from industry manufacturers and distributors, also hosts its own trade shows in various locations, showcasing new products and offering training seminars and workshops. n – ALEX NE WMAN
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. –isaiah 9: 2 (TNIV)
