Outreach
The Outreach Committee of St. Andrew’s United Church lives out our Christian faith in the community and wider world by sharing the resources of our hearts and hands with those in need.
As a new generation of faith we embody St. Andrew's historic legacy as “A Sanctuary In The City” through Christian service and care. By sharing our property and financial resources we acknowledge God's gifts to our church and give thanks for God’s presence in our lives. By God's grace, and in partnership with external agencies and organizations committed to social justice we hope to foster and support relationships that are mutually beneficial and enriching for our diverse community.
For example the St. James Town Ecumenical Outreach programs "The Macaco After-school Program" and "Reaching Out Through Music" in partnership with the St. James Town Safety Commitee...
Local kids respond to offer of music lessons
First concert set for May
By Carolyn Purden 
In May, two dozen children from the St. Jamestown neighbourhood of Toronto will be excitedly getting ready for a major event in their lives. After months of practice, they will be taking to the stage at St. Simon-the-Apostle in
Toronto to sing in an important fundraising concert.
The children, who are new Canadians from Sri Lanka, the Philippines and China, are members of the church’s Reaching Out Through Music Community Choir. On May 9, they will be joining several professional musicians to raise funds for the church’s extensive Reaching Out Through Music program, which offers both instrument and singing lessons. It was started last year by church organist Kirk Adsett for children aged seven to 14.
There are 20 children enrolled in lessons on a variety of instruments: 10 on piano, one each on recorder and violin, and six on guitar. In addition, two children are taking voice lessons. The lessons are provided by private teachers in the community, and subsidized, so the students pay only $2 a lesson. (Mr. Adsett teaches the piano students.) Another 24 children have joined the Reaching Out Through Music Community Choir.
The idea for the Reaching Out Through Music program arose out of a homework club that meets daily at St. Simon’s and is cosponsored by Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church, Rosedale Presbyterian Church and St. Andrew's United Church of Canada. Mr. Adsett asked the children in the homework club if they would be interested in taking music lessons. To his delight, the response was a resounding “yes.” He has also advertised the music program in the community.
“Music offers so much in increased brain activity,” he says. ”There have been many studies that show that if kids study music, they grow a particular part of their brain and their reading and arithmetic skills improve.” There is also a social element, he adds. “If we spend time with them, there’s less likelihood that they’re getting into trouble.”
Having established a need for the program, Mr. Adsett had to get some money to subsidize it. So last May, a number of professional musicians staged a fundraising concert and silent auction at St. Simon’s that raised $18,000. In addition, the church subsidized Mr. Adsett’s involvement by increasing his hours so he could plan and organize the music program.