48th Anniversary Sunday
MCC Toronto is very proud to announce the 2021 recipients of our Annual Awards
Beloved Disciple Award
Presented for long-term, distinguished service to the Church
Marilyn Byers
A long-standing member, and a former educator, Marilyn Byers may well be the embodiment of MCC Toronto as a welcoming community. A constant presence at our in-person and online Worship Services, Marilyn has always gone out of her way to make everyone all feel warm and welcomed to MCC Toronto. Through the pandemic, MCC Toronto staff (along with many other congregants and members) were blessed to receive letters of hope and encouragement from Marilyn.
Beyond her involvement at the Church, Marilyn was one of the founding members of PFLAG York Region (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) and has she been rightly celebrated for her for volunteerism. She has also rightly inherited the title of church grandmother from the likes of Ruby Hamilton. Marilyn is the mother of Kevin Wilcock, a past Beloved Disciple recipient.
Community Service Award
Presented to remarkable people who have made significant contributions to our wider community
Denise Campbell & Bentley Springer
In both their personal and professional lives, Denise Campbell and Bentley Springer are working to make the world a better place. Denise is a published author, and a respected speaker on social inclusion, and has received numerous awards including the Harry Jerome Award, the YTV Achievement Award and the YWCA Woman of Distinction Award. She is currently the Executive Director of the City of Toronto’s Social Development Department where she drives many city-building strategies like poverty reduction and confronting anti/black racism and is now creating a non-police led, community-based alternative to responding to crisis calls on mental health and addictions issues for Toronto.
Bentley Springer is a PMP certified IT project manager while being a technology professional and manager for decades also spent many years doing capacity building work in underserved communities. Among many initiatives, Bentley founded and led Black Habits for a decade, which conducted seminars that informed and empowered black community members. He also helped found and served in a variety of capacities with The Lions Circle, including the 2nd president and the inaugural Board Chair, which supports black men to self-actualize. Additionally, he is a trained mediator who has volunteered his services for many years mediating cases redirected from the courts. Bentley currently serves on the MCC Toronto Board of Directors and has recently been appointed as a Justice of the Peace by the Ontario Court of Justice and will be presiding in Toronto.
Denise and Bentley were proudly married by Rev. Brent Hawkes in 2013 and are the parents of twin boys.
Vision Alive
Presented to wonderful people who have taken part of the vision for our Church and made it happen
Alan Brody
Alan Brody has been a driving force on our Building Maintenance Team for the past 4 years. From renovating offices, to ferrying supplies around in his truck, to refurbishing our exterior windows (a work currently in progress), Alan volunteers his time and his resources to maintain and beautify our Church home. Over the past 16 months, Alan strung up our Christmas lights, purchased two Hero Heart Neon Lights to hang in our windows, and recently hung an orange shirt by our front door in solidarity with Indigenous communities and the Every Child Matters movement. He has also recently arranged for our Bell telephone box to be painted.
Club Sandwich
Since March, MCC Toronto has been proud to host the volunteers of Club Sandwich in our brand-new community kitchen. Club Sandwich is a volunteer-led food security organization that distributes food to 8 different street-involved serving agencies in the East End. By partnering with MCC Toronto, the volunteers of Club Sandwich are able to make upwards of 2,000 sandwiches a week.
Membership Milestones
Celebrating 10, 25 and 40 Years for dedicated involvement in our community
10 Years
Valerie Burroff
Marco Cardozo
Jack Crosby
Cori Ferguson
Nikkita Fomenko
Aline Guilan
Spencer Harrison
Rev. Diane Hoover
Taras Karpiuk
Kate Langford
Stephanie Long
Eleanor McCain
Hon. Margaret McCain
Charlene McMahon
Marc McNamara
Robert McNutt
Pastor Sandra “Sam” Morris
Rob Murray
Dalubuhle Ndlovu
Virgilio Ochoa
Gary Phillips
Okoh Ugbadamun
Sue Watson
Wesley Watson
Katie Winchester
Stefanknee Wolscht
25 Years
George Bertwell
James Blanchard
Jane Bongers
James Brown
Gilles Charette
Sylvio De Angelis
Michael Dwyer
William “Bill” Estey
Elinor Mahoney
David Redwolf
Michelle Seguin
William Winter
John K. Wright
40 Years
Michael Ainslie
James Brown
John Hagey
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