What's Going On - 2025 in the Rearview - December 30, 2025

What’s Going On? 2025 in the Rearview

I am usually focused on the future.  However, as we near the end of 2025, I would like to spend some time looking back at the past year.  Besides, I already covered the near future in the last blog post.

Our worship series this year included a Stewardship Series, Lenten Guided Prayer focusing on the Living Rock, a Summer Psalm Series, a Sermon on the Mount Series and finally Advent Stories.  Interspersed in there were special days like Pentecost and one-off sermons as well as Sundays celebrating specific ministries.  You may have your favourite, but our hope is that the overall body of worship services move us collectively closer to Jesus.

The Deacons have been busy this year.  There was a decision to sponsor another Refugee family, the Saids.  We sense that the large cost would be prohibitive to smaller congregations and so took the lead and have invited other area CRCs to join in.  The Deacons also sponsored another full season of the Tuesday Food Program which grew in the number of us involved and in the number of meals served.  Near the end of the year, the Deacons decided to support another missionary:  Mwikali Mambua works for Resonate Global Mission (CRC mission agency) in Kenya.  We hope she can be with us so we can meet her in the new year.  Finally, our children have been taking an offering for goats and chickens for World Renew.  It is always good when our young ones learn generousity.

Our youth have been active in 2025.  Along with their regular meetings, many youth attended the All Ontario Youth Convention.  We also had a team help lead the SERVE Niagara event, taking a year off attending in anticipation of going a little farther afield in 2026.  One of our young adults, David Vanderkolk, was our first participant in the SOCO beach project as well.

There is not space here to explain all these ministries in detail or to mention every regular ministry because Mountainview is usually a busy place all week.

I will mention that our Faithwalking contingent grew to nearly a dozen people.  Each of them is digging into their journey so far and seeking to have God guide them to a healthier understanding of themselves as God’s children and image bearers.

And, the DIG trip to Guatamala is in 2026, but most of the planning and fundraising has taken place already so that has shaped our year as a community.

One of the things that has been mentioned to me recently is that Mountainview is a little more relaxed.  The symbol of this could be the recliners in the foyer.  We continue to seek to be welcoming and accommodating to the whole variety of God’s beautiful people and our building adjustments seek to help with this.

Finally, we had two births this past year and so they get named:  Larrisa & Tim welcomed Tessa Riley into their family, and Justin & Val welcomed Caden Asher.  Unfortunately, we said goodbye to 14 members who passed away.  We miss them and grieve the loss as we recognize the ongoing shift in the membership of our community through birth and death, coming and going.

We remember each of these things as a way of paying attention to how God has been working among us.  God is our help in ages past and our hope for years to come.

Pastor Erick Schuringa