Resources

Library

Do you often find yourselves wondering about the meaning of a word or passage from the Bible? You can find out in the library where there are dictionaries that describe words and their origins, concordances which explain the relationships of verses, and commentaries which add to our knowledge of the context of passages. You might not want to borrow these books to read from cover to cover, but there is a wealth of knowledge in them, so do take a look at them. You will keep coming back again and again as you do to other reference books.

St. John’s Church maintains a library for the use of its members. This is a growing resource of books, CDs, DVDs, and videos to help you grow in your faith. You will find the library in the Coulson Room. The collection of books is divided into three sections: books for children, books for study and devotions, and books of a more general nature. There is a good collection of music in CD format. The videos and DVDs cover a wide spectrum of titles including many for children.

Would you like to study one particular book of the Bible, maybe even the one that is being studied in the weekly services? Well, there are many one-book Bible study guides in the library. There are books to help with your time of meditation and prayer, even some to help you lead a meeting or hold a family time of prayer. And this only introduces you to the top few shelves of one bookcase! If you carry on down you will find stories of missionaries, biographies, women’s, men’s and family concerns. There are books to help you with your spiritual journey, books to make you laugh, books to make you cry, and even some that are just pure fiction. Don’t neglect the right hand bookshelf – it has adult videos on the top shelf as well as the items listed below. Take these resources home and learn more about the teachings of the Bible.

We have a copy of the Presbyterian Book of Forms in the library along with other books describing our heritage. There are also some videos that show the work of the church worldwide and audiotapes of the Presbyterian Record, the national magazine of our church. The Sunday Worship Services are taped and are available for your use in audiotape format. The collection extends back several years.

Children’s books have been placed on lower shelves so that little arms can reach them. There are several video series geared to children that are available to borrow. Some of these videos are used in the summer services,; now the parents can review with their children the stories they have been learning. There are also some teaching aids, both written and video. If you are teaching or thinking of teaching the children, you might want to borrow some for ideas.

There are a few books that are targeted at our youth. I hear that the youth might be interested in borrowing some of the music CDs in the library.

We would like to keep the library up-to-date and will be adding a few items at a time, but are trying to select topics that are not presently addressed. If you read a book that you think would be of interest to the church members, consider donating a copy or draw it to our attention. We continue to expand our inventory of resource materials and encourage each and every member of our church to utilize the centre for his or her spiritual growth and development. We welcome your contributions of new or gently used materials.

Book Review Presbyterian Record
April 2002

We must tell the stories: The Presbyterian Churches of
Bradford West Gwillimbury by Donald McGugan.

This is the story of the 180-year history of several small rural congregations south of Barrie, Ontario, now a part of St. John’s Presbyterian Church in Bradford, Ontario.

What makes this congregational history most interesting in the author’s use of original documents — not only church records but also reports from local newspapers and personal accounts by those who lived the events recounted in the history. This makes the book appealing even for those who have never been involved with the congregation or its people. The compiler of this history took his inspiration from the directive of Isaiah 30:8, ”Go now, write it before them on a tablet, and inscribe it in a book, so that it may be for the time to come as a witness forever.”

We Must Tell the Stories won the Presbyterian Church in Canada Congregational History Award for 2001.

The book has undergone two revisions/additions to bring its conclusion to the dedication of the new St. John’s church building. It is available from The Treasurer, St. John’s Presbyterian Church, Box 286, Bradford, ON L3Z 2X7

Church Directory

A directory showing pictures of members of the congregation of St. John’s was published and made available in December 2009 The directory enables the reader to put names to the faces that are met each Sunday.