628 11th Street Hanover, ON N4N 1T7 ![](http://www.hanovermissionary.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/phone.png"){kind=small}
519-364-1823 
office@hanovermissionary.comWhat a wonderful time we shared over bowls of chili on Sunday! Thanks to everyone who had a hand in organizing and to everyone who brought in a pot of chili.
We intend to host these casual gatherings every month so watch the bulletin for details as plans come together 
At the beginning of February the Ladies Social team hosted a Winter Tea Party. Here are some thoughts inspired by that event…
by contributing writer, Michelle McLaughlin
Life’s busyness doesn’t always leave room to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. Drinking tea from a proper teacup and saucer. Enjoying dainty treats made by hands other than your own. Laughing. Savouring the moments with friends made special through shared life-stories, hurts, triumphs, fears, laughter and joy. Deepening friendships newly made.
With the many to-dos waiting to be done and the varied lists of needs yet to be fulfilled, it’s too easy to get caught up in the getting-it-all-done. It’s too easy to be caught up in bearing daily life burdens alone. It’s too easy to mistakenly think we are each the only one with this many demands on our abilities, on our resources of inner strength, on our oh-so-precious time.
But it was in the enjoyment of a tea party amidst a roomful of women of all ages and stages of life where I was reminded that I am not so alone as I sometimes delude myself into believing. It was in sitting with my dear friends that I was refreshed after a day made long by my own unkind, unprompted emotions. It was in the sharing of burdens when I was nudged to remember I am not the only one facing these daily struggles of motherhood and cooking and loving and cleaning and dreaming and praying for these families we are entrusted with.
It was a tea party with fancy hats, delicate teacups and saucers, a fun photo booth and friendships. We smiled. We laughed. We talked. We shared. A few of us even shed a tear as we listened to the life story of a woman made wise with embracing life as it unraveled before her. A story permeated with her trust that God would see her through both difficult and joyful times.
The day began with bearing emotional encumbrances alone. The day ended with a hot cup of tea infused with gentle reminders that I am not alone, that I am not the only one traversing this road of motherhood and womanhood.
Enjoying a cup of tea is all about slowing down the hurry’s and the have-tos of the day to enjoy the moment. It is savouring the delicate aroma wafting from the warm amber liquid before that first lovely sip of infused flavour.
Mingling our hearts and time with our friends infuses our joys so the harshness of life is lessened.
Michelle is a stay-at-home mother to 5 energetic boys, striving every day to find the simple blessings in a busy household of seven. She has been attending HMC for a few years and volunteers in the nursery and with the Ladies Social team.
Michelle shares her life on her own blog at Simple Bounty.
Every year we like to welcome the Fall with a special kick-off Sunday. In the past we’ve done different things (all involving food, of course) but this year we decided to go for something completely new and fresh.
Alanna Rusnak shares her life with her husband, three children, and a cat she’s trying hard not to love. She has attended HMC for her entire life and been on staff since 2003, currently fulfilling the role of Creative Communications. You can find her over at her own blog, SelfBinding Retrospect.
On July 27, the Hallberg’s generously hosted our fifth Bond Fire of the season and people began trickling in just as the rain started. 
The first Bond Fire of the season came on the heels of a torrential downpour. Between vicious cracks of thunder the Rusnak’s regrettably posted a cancellation notice only to glance out the window ten minutes later to see the sun peaking through. Everything was soaked but one look at the daughter who’d spent her afternoon labouring over a sign and the cancellation was rescinded with a ‘you might get wet but I dare you to come!’ announcement post.
Some brave kids jumped in the river at tonight’s BondFire @ The LaPrise’s pic.twitter.com/iq2zQFNIbK
— Hanover Missionary (@hmcnews) July 7, 2014
The Ladies Social team has been doing a tremendous job of crafting events that bring people together. Recently they hosted a ‘Talent No Talent’ night in which the main goal was very simple: laughter. There is little else that is more refreshing or healing than a good night of giggles!
The night was narrated by two ‘wigged’ men, (resident funny guys, Mike Krotz & Caleb Dyck) who cracked jokes and introduced each act from beneath their striking coiffures.
From family acts to an opera singing clown – the Talent No Talent night showcased a marinade of talent and silly non-talent much to the delight of a participatory audience.
Acts were segregated by Minute-To-Win-It challenges that got staff members competing against congregants. The night was full of lighthearted fun.
Unfortunately, the video camera only captured a small portion of the evening but you can catch a few of those highlights in this quick little highlight reel:
We were sensing a hunger among the people of HMC to return to a real place of personal connection. We believe that relationship is essential to building a strong and caring community. There is much to be said for intensive theological study or radical prayer meetings but without relationship it can all fall a little flat. Ministry can and will thrive when our relationships are vibrant and strong.
We wanted to provide an opportunity to casually gather beyond the walls of our church building, a chance to get to know one another better, an occasion to laugh and play together, and a safe environment to invite others into participation with the HMC family. 
If you could spend a little time listening in on the brainstorming that goes around our staff table you would quickly learn that naming something – whether it be an event, a series or a sermon – is a massive undertaking of navigating a circle of seemingly incompatible creative leanings while balancing various levels of ‘cheese-factor-appreciation.’ It is a fun and frustrating ordeal that (more often than not) yields great bounty; and, once something is named, excitement seems to overflow around it and we suddenly become a hive of activity working towards making that event happen. 
We scheduled weekly campfires every Sunday night throughout the summer as a low key venue for community. Congregants offered their properties and fire pits. They made homemade signs and made space for a port-a-potty. With everything in place, all that remained was to see if people would invest in such a vision.Long ago, we used to sing this old Gaither chorus and though it’s no longer part of our musical repitoire I think it really is part of the heartbeat of what HMC wants to be:
It was a small group of women who decided it was high time to gather together the ladies of the church – to create an easy atmosphere of lightheartedness – to laugh together – to span across generations – to share stories and tables and tea and punch and dress-up clothes…
And to eat sinfully delicious strawberry treats!
From this vision came the first ever HMC official Strawberry Social.
“We were really excited…about the first women’s social,” said Kristina Dyck, one of the wonderful women who made it all possible. “[We were] excited because, as women, the need for companionship with other women is so great…regular women’s socials are such a great way to develop those relationships and create new ones.”
Hanover Missionary Church has a rich history of fellowship – of potluck meals and Christmas dinners, work bees and sack-race picnics – but the current culture often seems too busy for something so ‘frivolous’ and fun and so, the team approached the idea with some nervousness. They weren’t sure if the women of HMC felt such an event was as important as they did. Would anyone really come?
Kristina shared that when they were first planning they talked about how if even 20-30 women attended it would still be a great success; but they stepped out in faith and decided to plan for 50. As the event date drew closer, excitement brewed. With energetic pulpit announcements (during which Pastor Jason, without apology, bemoaned the fact that he could not attend a ‘women only’ event) and cute posters around the foyer, the buzz began to build. “We felt we should increase that number to 70 just to be safe, but we were blown away when 70-80 women showed up! It was so neat to see women of all ages enjoying each other and in some cases meeting for the first time!”
It was a full house! Auditorium A/B was decorated sweetly with bright pink tissue paper poufs, an adorable bunting made from material scraps, and darling little rocks painted to look like strawberries. The room was alive with the sound of laughter. Women, ages sixteen to eighty-nine, mingled around the room during a lively game of People Bingo, dressed in all manner of hats – the grand, the old fashioned, the wonderfully strange – seeking out someone to sign each box on their card: someone with a toe ring | someone who has bungee jumped | someone who has skinny dipped [gasp!] – it was a brilliant way to get people moving and talking and meeting each other.
After some very ‘healthy’ servings of various trifles (because you couldn’t try just one!) we listened as one of our senior ladies shared her testimony. She told an incredible story of love and loss, joy and heartache and the ultimate freedom through Jesus that had carried her through. I think it’s fair to say there was more than one lady who had a tear drip down into her tea.
The testimony was followed by more treats, mingling and countless silly moments in the photo booth the ladies had set up in the basement foyer. With a ‘tickle trunk’ full of accessories, there was no end to the possibilities for capturing fun memories of a great night.
“We are so excited about the upcoming year and the other events that are in the works,” Kristina said. “We are hoping to create a space for fellowship, for women to share their hearts with each other, for mentoring relationships to develop, and of course to just have a great time with each other as sisters in Christ.”
“A cheerful heart is good medicine…” Proverbs 17:22a
[See more from the photo booth by visiting our facebook page – click here]Special thanks to Faith Shelley Photography for capturing the memories!
Alanna Rusnak shares her life with her husband, three children, and a cat she’s trying hard not to love. She has attended HMC for her entire life and been on staff since 2003, currently fulfilling the role of Creative Communications. You can find her over at her own blog, SelfBinding Retrospect.