January 13, 2026
Growing Compassion and Community.
by Isla Hayes
Compassion is like a garden; it starts with a seed. Something small, a smile at a stranger, a “ good morning”, or a little conversation with somebody. All these things may seem insignificant to you, but compassion is contagious. That one smile inspired somebody to be kinder to another; compassion grows and inspires more people. One seed turns into an entire garden.
When the pandemic started in 2020, I was 8 years old. My family made the decision for me to be homeschooled. A large part of my homeschooling was learning about compassion for others through volunteering. After that year was over, I went back to public school. I remember not wanting to go back to school, because I was concerned that I couldn't do the amount of volunteering that I had been doing before.
My homeschool year focused on St. John's community garden. From the planning, to the building, to the planting, and finally the harvesting, I was there for all of it. The pandemic was a very hard time for so many people, we made an effort to try to put a little good into the world. The community garden was the first volunteer effort I had done through our church. After that we all created a community dinner, and now a community cafe. All centered around compassion.
My favorite part about the garden is when we bring food down to the food bank, seeing the smiles on people's faces when they get fresh produce. Sometimes what seems like a small thing can be a big deal for so many people. Compassion is a learned skill. I have learned to be compassionate over my years of volunteering at St. John's. You never know what other people are going through, the silent battles they’re fighting. Most people struggling with food insecurity don't look any different from me. Before I went to the food bank, I admit, I had some preconceived notions about who used the food bank. What I learned was that a lot of different people, from many walks of life, need the food bank. I saw young, middle-aged, and elderly people who relied on it. This solidified the importance of the food bank to me. To be truly compassionate, you first have to be educated about the people you're trying to help, and recognize anyone could end up in need. This allows you to be truly empathetic.
I've met some of the most incredible people who I wouldn't have met otherwise while volunteering at St. John's, just by showing a little compassion for my community. The reward for volunteering is getting to meet new people, having new experiences, and putting a little more compassion into the world. That's something really learned, leading by example. Most of my closest friends I have met through my volunteering. These people have inspired me to be kinder to others, show compassion even when it's hard, and to not just help when asked, but to look for opportunities to be helpful.
I believe food is something that brings us together. We all need nourishment, no one is above it. When you sit down and eat together, it's a way of saying we are equal. I’ve helped package food for people who are not able to make it to the community dinners. I have helped people get food who have mobility issues. Recently, I spent the day on Christmas Eve and on New Year's Eve helping to prepare food at the Emmaus Cafe. I got to sit down and talk to an elderly woman who had nowhere to go for Christmas. I was later told how much it meant to her that I sat with her. A small effort from me, made her holidays that little bit better. It doesn't matter who you are, when we eat together, we create community.
Almost half of my life I've been volunteering at the church, and I can’t imagine my life without it. It's not always the easiest, and to be honest it's not always fun, but it's always rewarding. Getting to be a part of something bigger than myself is such a gift. I've gotten to help with multiple food programs in Port Hope since the first year that we built the garden. I spent every single summer working and helping out there since, helping not just grow food, but, hopefully, to grow a more compassionate community as well.
Faith Garden
First Harvest
Isla to the Food Bank
December 26, 2025
Teen Reads: Book Review by Stella Osen
Introduction
This book review is about a graphic novel adapted from a book called A Wrinkle in Time, written by Madeleine L’Engle and adapted and illustrated by Hope Larson.
The book follows the story of a young girl named Meg, her brother, and a young boy a year older than Meg named Calvin.
“Late one night, three otherworldly creatures appear and sweep Meg Murray, her brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin O'Keefe away on an extraordinary mission to save Mr. Murray, who has gone missing while doing top secret work. They travel via tesseract—a wrinkle that transports one across space in time—and discover a dark force that threatens the very safety of the universe.”
Character
I believe Meg is an excellent role model for young girls and boys who aren’t sure where they fit into the world. Meg struggles with school, except for one subject: Math.
Meg doesn’t feel smart when compared to her younger brother, Charles, who is emotionally intelligent and is loved by everyone who meets him.
She believes that because she isn’t smart in some ways, the one thing that she is excellent at doesn’t even matter.
By the end of the book, Meg realizes that she is just as smart as Charles, just in a different way, just like everyone else is different from each other.
Understanding
I think that this book would be good for 11-13 year-olds, but the concept of how they travel and time in this book might be difficult to understand. I thought that the concept of time in this book was a bit confusing and difficult to grasp when I read it in the original novel format. However, the graphic novel version of the book made it easier for me to understand and helped a lot.
Overall, it was a good and captivating book, and the graphic novel really brought it to life.
Teen Reads: Book Review by Marcus Ciana
Eric's Greatest Race by Tim Challies and Paul Mignard
Eric Liddell’s life was a series of remarkable events, from refusing to run on a Sunday in the 1924 Olympics (as depicted in the film Chariots of Fire) to his missionary work, and finally to his imprisonment during World War II. Through it all, Eric never abandoned his faith in God.
The book. Eric's Greatest Race by Tim Challies and Paul Mignard doesn't live up to its subject. What the author intended was for more people of my generation to admire Eric, but the way it’s told is very simple. The writing of this story overall isn't very interesting or complex, which is what I personally look for in a good book. For example, most parts of the book say something like “The race started... I won!”. Every page is very simplistic and doesn't have very many words, which can be good for some, but for a book that teens might be reading, it's not great. l have to give the writing a 2.5 out of 5. It's not very complex for teen reading.
The illustrations are much like the writing, not very interesting. The whole book is in black and white and though the art style is unique, it isn't anything crazy, so a 2 out of 5.
Overall, the book is ok, it’s just a little bland and not that exciting. I wouldn’t recommend it to other teens unless they’re looking for something very simple. This book is better for younger kids who are interested, and I would recommend it for them.
Book can be ordered from Furby books on Walton Street in Port Hope.
Teen Reads: Book Review by Evan Ciana
Young David by Robert Moppet
This book is the perfect mix of a silly kid’s book and an informative church book. The art style of this book is perfect for little kids to understand and follow. This book is the story of David and Golieth from the Bible, retold in a child friendly way. This book is excellent for children and it’s technically educational. The book is published by “Drawn by Faith”who also make a lot of other Bible stories for kids, such as the “Story of Easter”,“Christmas Story” and an “Activity Book”. I rate this book 5 stars out of 5. Anyone can enjoy this story, but children 4 to 10 may have the most appreciation for it.
Book can be ordered from Furby books on Walton Street in Port Hope.
Teen Reads: Book Review by Samantha Sergiades, a grade 11 student in Northumberland County
The Anne Frank House Authorized Graphic Biography
I have always been intrigued by culture and history, so getting the chance to read Anne Frank's story was nice. The book is definitely great for other youth to read it and get a glimpse into a big part of history; world war 2 and Anne's perspective and personal challenges as it is in a graphic novel version. The book displays a bunch of pictures. Even as a teenager, pictures are nice because it gives a better visual to what happened. I saw Anne’s room and the secret bookcase that opened as a door to the secret annex that Anne spent just over 2 years in. I also appreciated that before the book talked in more detail about Anne, I got a little bit of a backstory on Anne’s family. I found out that Anne Frank's parents decided to move the family to Amsterdam in the early 30’s because of the rising antisemitism in Germany. I loved that the book included a bunch of little things from Anne’s diary that movies and such would probably not include. Little relatable topics Anne brought up really showed the story was about a teenager girl. For example, Anne mentioned her relationship with another hider in the annex, a teenage boy named Peter who she had her first kiss with and her disagreements with her roommate; Fritz Pfeffer. They had to make a schedule on when to share the desk. Finally one last thing I loved about reading Anne Frank's story was that even with the tragic ending, I found out that Otto Frank ( Anne’s Dad ) did survive, which proved that there was still something good came out of the tragedy as Otto Frank decided to share Anne Frank's story to the world, bringing inspiration worldwide.
The Faithful Spy has got to be one of my favorite WW2 graphic novels of all time. The story follows Dietrich Bonhoeffer a man who has devoted his life to theology but when Hitler comes to power and begins to take over Germany to make him their god or führer, Dietrich must make a choice between sticking to his morals or riding Germany's false god and dictator. The text is written in a way that keeps the main story written normally but along the sides of the pages there are notes and other bits of information that inform you on history and other details to help you understand the story further. Overall I believe that the text and writing are very clever and well done so I believe that it is a 4 out of 5.
On to the illustrations and they’re some of the most beautiful and clever illustrations I have ever seen in a graphic novel ever. The entire book is composed of only 4 main colors red, blue, black and white but they convey so much emotion with only those colors not to mention the amassing symbolism. The book most of the time instead of showing Hitler as simply himself they portray him as a wolf that hungers for revenge.
To be honest the illustrations alone are in my opinion one of the greatest parts of this book and are the main reason why I love this book so much. So, with that being said I have to give the illustrations in this book a 5 out of 5. Given the amazing story, writing and illustrations I would absolutely recommend this book to any teen looking for an incredible WW2 to read. Finally, something I learned from this story was how brutal Hitler really was, going to any means to secure victory in the war even going as far as to kill his own men. That is my review on The Faithful Spy.
