With a desire to be encouraged in their faith amidst the busyness of their downtown workplaces, a small group of business professionals in Toronto has begun meeting for lunch on a monthly basis.
(Clockwise from bottom left): Mark Van Helden, Dan Carter, Jack Van Meggelen, Norm Groot, Joel Kok, Fred de Jong, Adrian Miedema, and Dickson Corro
Photo by Jenny O’Meara
The eight men—women are welcome to attend too—are from a variety of professions. The group includes a lawyer, graphic artist, bank employee, and insurance company manager, as well as several retirees.
Joel Kok, pastor of Willowdale Christian Reformed Church, leads monthly discussions on how working people can be faithful and thoughtful about God’s calling in their workplaces as well as in all of life.
“We meet because we want to acknowledge Jesus in the middle of our day and in the middle of our great city. Our times together express our belief in the gospel of the kingdom—that Jesus rules over all things. We believe that in and through our daily activities, God is forming us into the likeness of Christ, and we believe our conversations help us participate in this formation,” Kok said.
Adrian Miedema, a member of Willowdale CRC and regular attendee of the lunch group, enjoys this gathering.
“It is simply a group of Christians taking time out of their workdays, coming down out of their office towers, to reflect deeply on what it means to be a Christian in the workplace and in the rest of our lives,” Miedema said.