MVS Home

MVS Toronto
Danforth Mennonite Church is happy to introduce you to our latest outreach initiative: a Mennonite Voluntary Service unit.

The Mission of the Danforth MVS unit is to call and support volunteers who will act on faith in Christ by serving the needs of the community.

We currently have a number of exciting positions to offer potential VSers. Some of the agencies we are working with are, the Canadian Bible Society, Warden Woods Community Centre, Jane/Finch Ministry, St Clair O'Connor Community, Gledhill Daycare, Neighbourhood Information Centre, and MCC Toronto.

MVS prefers two year commitments from volunteers. but one year terms are permitted with the agreement of all parties.

Completed Job Descriptions are available for viewing, with more to be added when they become availailable.

The Toronto Unit

The Toronto unit officially opened on September 1, 2003. Several service positions have already been established in a number of faith-based organizations including the Canadian Bible Society and two urban community centres. The local MVS Committee is also exploring a number of other positions with a wide range of organizations from child care to environmental concerns to housing shelters and more.

Location
Toronto [www.city.toronto.on.ca/] is the capital of Ontario [www.ontariotravel.net/] and located on the northwest shore of Lake Ontario. The weather here is moderate (for Canada) with only a couple months of snow and hot humid summers. Toronto is the largest city in Canada with a population of nearly 2.5 million people and also found to be one of the safest large metro areas in North America.

The Huron meaning of "Toronto" is "the meeting place". It is definitely the meeting place of many cultures and creeds. One of the most multicultural cities in the world, Toronto is a place where over 100 different languages and dialects are spoken and the population is made up of 48% immigrants. This multiculturalism shows itself in a rich diversity of faces, dress, neighbourhoods, shops, restaurants, festivals and more.

Toronto is a major economic, educational, and fine arts centre as well as the home of four major league sport teams
Maple Leafs [www.torontomapleleafs.com]. Argonauts[www.argonauts.on.ca].
Raptors [www.nba.com/raptors],
Blue Jays [www.bluejays.com])
Major cultural and entertainment attractions include the Royal Ontario Museum [www.rom.on.ca/].
the Art Gallery of Ontario [www.ago.net/].
the Ontario Science Centre [www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/]. and Canada's Wonderland. A host of other recreational opportunities are available in the city's many parks, community centres, theatre's, and public events. An extensive public transit system [http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/ttc/index.htm] of subway, street cars and buses, as well as bike paths and hiking trails, make it easy to get to the many attractions and around this vast city.

We face social and economic pressures not unlike other large cities, including homelessness, cost of housing, pollution and other environmental concerns, unemployment, underemployment, affordable daycare, isolation, family fragmentation. The unique struggles of new comers are also a major concern in our city.

The Toronto MVS unit now has a home.We have rented appropriate housing in the neighbourhood of the supporting congregation, close to the centre of the city on the major east-west subway line. The church's immediate neighbourhood is a moderately dense urban area whose residents are lower to middle class and are from a variety of ethnic communities. The neighbourhood was originally settled by British immigrants, but has since diversified and now many cultural groups are represented. A number of unique cultural neighbourhoods are close by, such as Greektown, Little India, and one of the Chinatown neighbourhoods.

Church

The Toronto unit is supported by the Danforth Mennonite Church (DMC)[www.torontoareamennonites.ca/danforth]. DMC is one of eight English speaking Mennonite congregations in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and also relates to five sister Mennonite churches or ministries in other language and ethnic groups (Chinese,Spanish, Cambodian, Korean).

Not unlike the larger population of the city, we are a congregation that is part of a culturally rich community. We come from a diverse background of creeds and cultures and socio-economic status who have a common commitment to Christ, coming together to form a caring community in the Anabaptist tradition.

Our membership is approximately 100 people. We are part of the Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada [www.mcec.on.ca. Everyone is welcome.

For 100 years, the Danforth Mission / Church has been characterized by the sensitivity of its leaders to the needs of an ever-changing community. We remain a church strongly rooted in its local community of East Toronto that cares deeply about families. The sharing of our faith stories reflect the richness of experience that many congregants bring as a result of their participation in voluntary service throughout the world. It is not surprising, then, that there is a strong emphasis on outreach .

We believe that the community environment described above and our desire to be instruments of God's peace and love to our neighbours provides a unique setting for service opportunities and the enrichment of volunteers.

We include the MVS participants in our fellowship, providing spiritual and material support, encouragement, forgiveness and healing. We encourage them discover, develop and exercise their gifts and creativity within our worshipping community.

For further information please