On June 25th, St. Peter’s congregation members bade farewell to Pastor Mart Salumäe, who after 12 years of service, returns to his homeland of Estonia. At that same service, we also said goodbye to Marta Kivik who has enhanced our services with her organ music, but had decided to retire. We hope to see her around now and again for special services.
Welcome
We are pleased to announce that St. Peter’s has a new office administrator, Tiina Jenkins. The office will be open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. if you wish to drop by. As always you may contact the church by calling 416-483-5847 or emailing
Summer Services
As planned by the previous Board, their will be no regular services during the month of July. During this time we will focus on carrying out various repairs around the church and columbarium. We will be asking for volunteers to help out in the form of Estonian “talgud”. It should prove to be a worthwhile and satisfying experience to help spruce up the church for a new and exciting season. The dates and times will be posted in the paper and on our website. We will be asking you register to help out, so we can make appropriate arrangements. We are working on some special events for August….. such as a community open house to introduce our church to the neighbourhood.
Communication Plans
In order to inform our community of church events, information will be disseminated not only through the newspaper, but also through our new church website at: stpeterstorontoestonianchurch.ca and our official FaceBook page “St. Peter’s Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church of Toronto” www.facebook.com/Toronto.St.Pe... Both are works in progress and we invite you to participate and watch as we develop our new online presence.
Volunteer Opportunities
Would you like to get a little dirt on your hands? Do you like making sandwiches? Greeting people? Organizing archive materials? There are many ways for you to volunteer your time and talents. Check out our website under volunteer opportunities. Have a good idea you’d like to share or a committee or event you’d like to start? We’d love to hear about it.
Heritage Register
The property known as 817 Mount Pleasant Road is now officially included on the Heritage Register!
Inclusion on the Register involved a three-step process. The first step involved the Toronto Preservation Board, on April 24th, recommending to the North York Community Council that the City Council include the property located at 817 Mount Pleasant Road on the City of Toronto’s Heritage Register based on a presentation by a Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning. From there, the North York Community Council considered the recommendation, and on May 16th, adopted it without amendment. On June 14th, the City of Toronto adopted this recommendation without amendments and without debate.
Columbarium Closure Application
Since the congregation voted not to sell the church, there are no funds available to close the columbarium and relocate those interred in the niches and The Funeral, Burial and Cremation Act Registrar was notified thereof. The withdrawal of the Application was confirmed by the Registrar on June 30th.
Repairs and Maintenance
A thorough assessment of the church property is currently being undertaken. Erik Kalm, our facility manager, is hard at work with assistance from Roul Martjak in evaluating the repairs that are urgently required. Our priority is our precious copper roof which needs some tender loving care. We are getting estimates from qualified roofing companies.
We are happy to report that the pastor’s apartment is in great shape. It is architecturally outstanding thanks to the renovation undertaken for Archbishop Taul by his wife Eneri. We will be refreshing it in preparation for new tenants in August.
Future Events
Anne Liis Keelmann is busy planning our events schedule, and we will announce as soon as arrangements have been finalized. In the meanwhile, mark September 17th on your calendars. We have been invited by the Salvation Army, that we currently share our rooms with, to a joint service and BBQ. Come meet new people, listen to their band, enjoy some fellowship.
Board Members
If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please address these to the appropriate Board member:
Väino Einola, Chairman
Tiiu Roiser, Vice-Chair – Responsible for the running of the church office, staffing, and social media.
Toomas Trei, Treasurer – Responsible for anything money-related.
Linda Laikve, Secretary of the Board - Responsible for church sanctuary, and columbarium administration.
Anne Liis Keelmann - Community Outreach and events planning.
Erik Kalm - Facilities manager, and Mr. Fix-it. If anything is broken, he’s the man to contact.
