Author Archives: randellneudorf

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About randellneudorf

Artist, Musician, and Pastor

Punk Monk Newsletter – Sept 2025

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Whether you have been following along with my GOHOP prayer ministry journey for a long time or you just signed up recently, I’m so thankful for your support, prayers and interest in what I’m up to.

What is a Punk Monk?

I know Punk Monk is a strange job title, but I have found it to be a great conversation starter. I actually have it right on my business card. In the summer I participated in a number of monthly Art Crawl street festivals in Hamilton. A huge chunk of James Street North is closed down for artists and entrepreneurs to set up and sell their work.

I love when people pick up my business card and laugh a little as they ask “What is a Punk Monk?” I tell them, 

“I work for a prayer ministry that helps people find healthy spiritual rhythms. We draw on both traditional Christian monastic practices but also new creative ways to play with prayer. My job is to help make prayer accessible to everyone. That is where the punk element comes in. Punk Music is more about participation than perfection. Anyone who has something to express (even if they just picked up a guitar yesterday) is welcome to start a punk band and start writing songs. That is how I think about prayer.”

So many great conversations have started this way, and I love how two words that don’t seem like they fit together makes people really curious and open. 

  • I’ll be at the next Art Crawl on Friday, October 10th from 6pm until 10pm (I usually set up near the BMO at the corner of James St. N & Colbourn St). Please pray that I’ll continue to have some good Punk Monk conversations. 
  • Pray that I would be sensitive to people’s spiritual journeys (especially if there is trauma involved). 
  • Pray that the Holy Spirit would use these conversations to help people engage deeper with seeking God through prayer & creativity.  
  • A couple months ago I was set up beside an artist with no church background who was very interested in attending a few GOHOP workshops. They had already been intuitively leaning into ideas of prayer in their own art practice. They were going to contact me over Instagram about GOHOP but that never happened. Please pray for this young man. Pray that we might be able to continue our conversation at the next Art Crawl. 

Prayer for Pastors & Leaders is off to a great start!

I’m the coordinator for GOHOP’s Prayer for Pastors & Leaders ministry. A big part of my role has been recruiting pastors and leaders to come and be prayed for. Often it is a slow start in September. It takes time to connect with people, build trust and get them booked in for a personal prayer session. That is not the case this year! We have had so many referrals and people reaching out to us that we hit the ground running. 

Each time we pray for someone, we start with 5 minutes of silence to practice listening prayer. We ask God, “What is your heart for this leader?” The team then scribbles down some notes. At the end of the 5 minutes we each share what we got. Some people share a scripture, a feeling, or a story. I usually have a picture that comes to mind. Often I have no idea how this picture will land. It takes a leap of faith to share about the random image of a juggler, box of chocolates, or unicorn that popped into my head (all real examples). Each week as I’m sharing my listening prayer, I wonder if this is the week I’m going to look like a  crazy person. Week after week pastors and leaders thank me for the image and say “That was just what I needed.” It is a real gift when they let me in on the secret of what God was saying to them through my seemingly random image. It is also amazing to see how the rest of the team’s scriptures, encouragements, and dare I say prophetic words, all fit together. That is one of the things I love most about being part of a listening prayer team. I get to see how God uses a very diverse group to say something that is far more profound than any one of us could have said alone. 

I work really hard to make sure this is a safe practice and a life giving experience for all the pastors and leaders who take the risk of meeting with us. I would really love to pray for any pastors or leaders in your life (including you). We meet both in person and on zoom so it doesn’t matter where you live. We use the term “leader” pretty loosely. Some of the people we pray for have official titles like Pastor, Executive Director, or Elder. But we also pray for students who are emerging leaders and people who are most definitely leaders in the eyes of their friends but they don’t yet have an official title. 

If you would like to know more about this opportunity, or you would like to refer someone to sign up to be prayed for you can use this link: https://www.gohop.ca/prayer-for-leaders

  • I’m seeing a real trend in people that we have prayed for inviting their friends and colleagues to contact me. Pray that this will continue. 
  • There has been an increase in executive directors of social services reaching out for prayer. Pray that they would also empower their staff to seek out prayer support. I’m always encouraging leaders to invite their staff to be prayed for.
  • I would like to see this prayer team grow by 1 or 2 more people. Pray that God would bring the right people to us. It could be a new GOHOP staff person, or a volunteer. 

What are you doing for Orange Shirt Day?

Tuesday, September 30th is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (or Orange Shirt Day). I’ll be attending the city of Hamilton’s Afternoon Gathering at 1pm. There will be stories told by a residential school survivor and a local elder. Lots of communities are hosting gatherings like this and I would highly recommend attending one if you can.

In the evening GOHOP is hosting a Prayer Time for Reconciliation. We will be hearing stories from some First Nations friends, praying together, and reflecting on a Lectio Divina passage using the First Nations Version of the New Testament. We will be meeting from 6pm until 8pm in the Prayer Room (1907 King Street East).

If you are in the Hamilton area, feel free to join me for either (or both) events. 

For those of you in other cities, I would love to hear how you participate in Orange Shirt Day.

  • Pray for GOHOP’s Reconciliation Prayer Time. Pray that we would hold our guest’s stories well. Pray that people would come with an openness to listen and learn. 
  • Pray that we would be able to lean into God’s call to reconciliation and that we would not shy away from looking at the terrible legacy that our country and churches have been a part of. 

Fundraising Update:

Sometimes fundraising feels a little bit like a song and dance routine. Like you are singing for your supper. I’ve been working with a therapist who does life coaching. We are specifically working on some of my organizational skills and tools to combat some of the negative self-talk that happens when you are doing hard things that are hard. 

  • Pray that I would be able to have more in person meetings with people about joining my monthly support team. I send out a number of messages each week. I’m always thankful when someone responds (even if they say, they can’t help). 
  • I’m trying to spend one day a week on Fundraising. Pray that I could sustain this rhythm and use my time and energy well.
  • Pray that I would learn to tell the story of my ministry well. I’m working on developing some tools to help me with this. Pray that I will get better at being concise. I’m prone to being a little wordy when I just wing it. 
  • Pray for my mental health. I find money to be something that causes a lot of internal stress and negative thoughts. 
  • Pray that I would be able to raise an additional $912 in monthly support. If you want to pray really specifically, all my budget info is poster here: randellneudorf.com/gohop/fundraising-plan/

If you would like to make a monthly or annual donation to my ministry with GOHOP you can do that here:

Donate Online with CanadaHelps:
https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/53164

You can now donate by E-transfer:
Send your e-transfer to donate@gohop.ca
You must write “Donation for Randell Neudorf” 
in the message section. 

You can also donate by Cheque:
https://randellneudorf.com/gohop/donate/

Monthly Prayer Workshops:

If you live near Hamilton, I would love to have you join me on a Tuesday evening in the Prayer Room. I would also really appreciate your prayers: 

  • Barnabas Listening Prayer: Learning Lab – Tue Oct 7th, 7pm – 9pm. As we enter this new season, I’ll be taking on more leadership responsibilities. I sometimes still feel like a novice when it comes to listening prayer. Pray that I will be able to deepen my own practice as I help others learn as well. 
  • Hymn Sing – Tue Oct 14th, 7pm – 8pm. We are a small group of people singing some old songs together and being open to praying about the words on the page. Sometimes the prayers are “God I love this line!” Other times the prayer is “God I don’t like this line, it doesn’t sit right with me anymore.” Pray that we would be open to what the Holy Spirit wants to do with this Hymn Sing night.
  • Asah: Creativity & Prayer Studio – Tue Oct 21st, 7pm – 9pm. Pray for my co-leader Megan. She has been off work for quite a while with a concussion. Pray that she would gain back her strength and endurance. It is good to be part of a team where we can fill in for each other but we want Megan to be whole and well.

In other news…

My son Ethan has started his own business called Buddy Boy Dog Training. I’m really proud of all the work Ethan has put into studying to be a dog trainer and researching the small business side of things. It would be a huge help if you could:

  • Follow Buddy Boy Dog Training on Instagram and Facebook. You will get to see lots of great photos of the cute dogs he works with!
  • Consider Ethan the next time you need a dog trainer or dog walker. All his services are listed here: buddyboydogtraining.ca/services
  • Refer your Hamilton friends and family: buddyboydogtraining.ca
  • Pray for this young man as he builds up his business. He named it after our dog Buddy, who is a gift from God. We adopted Buddy back in 2020 just one month before lock down. God gave us our Covid dog before we even knew we needed one. We hired a dog trainer to work with Ethan and Buddy on issues they were having on walks. That very positive experience is what inspired Ehtan to want to become a dog trainer. 

⭐

Thanks for making it all the way to the bottom of this newsletter!
You get a gold star! 

Grace & Peace,
Randell (Randy) Neudorf

Punk Monk Newsletter – Summer 2025

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Hey Team Punk Monk! I hope your summer is going well. I wanted to let you know what I’ve been up to over the last few months in my prayer ministry with GOHOP.

Prayer Truck 2025:

Last week I spent most of my evenings in a U-haul truck, parked in an alley behind Living Rock (a ministry for at-risk youth). The truck was converted into a street level prayer room that was open for a week. We offered people water, friendly conversations, and prayer.

The prayer truck opened up on an evening where there was a fatal shooting downtown, so many people were understandably wanting us to pray about that. Praying for peace felt really important. A couple days later one of our hosts prayed for a family member of the woman who was shot. 

I got to pray with a teen who I would assume is trans. They asked me to pray for their mental health. I started praying, and half way through, I realized I hadn’t asked what pronouns they were comfortable with so I just went with  “they/them.” When I finished and said amen, I looked up at the person, they were beaming! I’m pretty sure I made the right choice. I don’t know why I didn’t think to pause my prayer and just ask what pronouns the youth was comfortable with, but I think God used my impromptu decision to show this young person that they were more than welcome at the Prayer Truck.

Another day I prayed for a young man who just graduated from an MBA program, had recently got married, and started a new job. I prayed for him in this season of new things. I prayed that when he looks back on this time 2 years, 10 years and 20 years from now, he would see the good roots put down in this time of change. Afterwards he thanked me and asked “How much do I owe you?” At first I thought he was joking but then I realized he was genuinely asking. I told him, “The prayer is free, this is just what we do!” I gave him a bunch of info on GOHOP and I’m hoping I’ll see him sometime in the future at one of our prayer times. 

  • Pray for peace in Hamilton. There is a lot of violence happening in the city right now. It seems like every week there is another shooting. At my church we sing “Mama, put my guns in the ground” (from Bob Dylan’s Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door). That is what I pray, over and over again.

Prayer Workshops and a Festival of gifts:

At the beginning of July I was attending Mennonite Church Canada’s national gathering in Kitchener. I was a delegate for my church (The Meeting Place) but I also had some workshops and events that I was leading. 

I got to lead two prayer workshops. I was introducing an Ignatian prayer practice called Gospel Contemplation, where you use your imagination to enter into a gospel story to have a conversation with Jesus. It was very well received and many people had very profound Jesus encounters. Afterwards I had a conversation with one woman who said,

“I really loved this! I used to always try to read the Bible through my imagination but my church told me it is wrong. They told me God has cast down imagination and we shouldn’t use it to read the scripture. Now I want to bring this back to my church and share it with everyone!”

This quote is very different from what I’m used to in Mennonite circles. I have found the Mennonite Church to be really open to the intersection of spiritual & creative practices, so I was more than a little surprised.

There were so many emotions that came up for me. I was overjoyed that this person encountered Jesus in her imagination and that she wanted others to also be able to have the experience of having a conversation with Jesus. I was also very sad that this person was taught that God had cast down imagination, when our imaginations and creativity are in fact a gift from God that reflects God’s own divine creativity. After we had talked a while, I was scared, because I was pretty sure her church wasn’t going to be open to receiving her rediscovery of imagination and prayer. I advised her to hold off on trying to change everyone’s mind at her church. Insteady I suggested she try to find 2 safe people who might be open to trying out Gospel Contemplation and imaginative prayer with her. 

  • Please pray for this lady and the rediscovery of her creative prayer gifts. Pray that she would find some safe people to pray with. 
  • Pray for all the people who took home prayer resources. Pray that the seeds of these ideas, handouts, tricks, and tips would take root.

On the Friday night of the conference I hosted a large intercultural and intergenerational gathering called “Festival of Gifts.” There were a lot of moving pieces happening with13 different groups contributing art, drama and music. We also had over 20 new congregations being welcomed into Mennonite Church Canada. This was a very packed schedule. I put a lot of work into planning things down to the minute to squeeze all of this into just 2 hours!. 

I opened the night by telling everyone that there were a couple skill sets they were going to need to navigate this Festival of Gifts:

  1. They needed to have an open heart and posture of receiving. Iasked everyone to put their hands on their lap or table with their palms facing up as a reminder of this open posture. I let them know that everyone who was bringing something to the stage was sharing an act of worship with their Creator. It might not be in a language we understand, or it could be something we aren’t used to, but we honour their gift by having an open posture. When we do this sometimes the Creator can whisper something back to us through what is being shared.
  2. They needed to master THE SWIVEL! I let people know that this was going to be a very busy night and that sometimes while one person was sharing on the left side of the stage another group would be setting up on the right side of the stage. I knew this might feel awkward so it was important to name that ahead of time. I got everyone to get ready for this by all “swiveling” their attention to the right side of the stage and then to the left, back and forth, and back and forth again, as a stretch to be ready for all the hard working churches, music teams, and youth that would be taking the stage. 

No one was more surprised than I, that the plan worked. Everyone was so joyful in the room and we even finished right on time! Afterwards the head of the denomination came up to thank me and said,

 “This was the one night of the conference that I was really worried about. We didn’t really know how to pull this event off. Once I heard that you were brought on to help plan and host the night I wasn’t worried anymore. I knew you had the right energy and ability to improvise to make this work.” 

It was so nice to hear that. I had met him a few times in the past, but I wouldn’t have even expected him to know who I was. 

I was also thankful for the Mennonite Spiritual Directors who had created a prayer room for the conference with a giant indoor labyrinth. I spent a couple hours praying in that room before all the kaoss of sound check started. It was a very wise choice. I felt way more ready to tackle all the behind the scenes curve balls that happened right down to the wire. It is amazing how a prayer room can focus our prayers in a very different kind of way. A prayer room functions a lot like the secluded places Jesus would go and pray in. Space and time set aside for prayer is such a life-giving practice. 

Do you have a go-to location that you use for prayer? It could be a park, a trail, a specific room in your house, or a prayer room.

If you live in the Hamilton area, here are a couple prayer opportunities you might want to try:

  •  Visit the GOHOP Prayer Room. Our summer hours are 8am – 8pm on Tuesdays until August 12th. We will then be closed for a summer break. The prayer room will open up again on September 9th from 8am-8pm on Tuesdays & Wednesdays.
  • The Form & Fire Prayer Internship will be starting on September 25th. This is a great way to take 3 months to lean into prayer practices from across the many streams of the church. Get all the details here: https://www.gohop.ca/internship

Pray for GOHOP:

  • Please pray for GOHOP’s fall activities. I’ll be helping to lead our Barnabas Listening Prayer Learning Lab and Asah Creative Prayer Studio. Both of these workshops have had some great momentum in the spring. Pray that we would be able to help move people from participating to leading prayer activities. We really want individuals to be able to pass on what they are learning.
  • September 1st – 7th, we will be hosting a week of Zoom prayer times for people across Canada. Pray that good connections would be made and that people would be inspired to start their own rhythms of prayer. If you would like to join us for this week of prayer, sign up for the GOHOP newsletter to find out more info: https://www.gohop.ca/newsletter 

Looking for Kindness Church Shows:

I have a 45 minute version of my Looking for Kindness Amidst Anxiety show that is designed for sharing with churches on a Sunday morning. I just got to share it with the folks at Crosshill Mennonite Church and it was really well received. A number of people shared with me about their own mental health journeys and appreciated this being talked about so openly at church. One teen who is really into music, liked the sounds my telephone mic made. I could tell he was excited to hear music at church that sounded so different. I also had a bunch of little kids tease me for singing so weird. I thanked them and said “Isn’t it great that we can be weird sometime. It would be so boring if we all sang exactly the same.” I think that took them by surprise because they kept hanging around while I was packing up and told me about the instruments they were learning to play. 

My next church show will be at Westview Christian Fellowship in St. Catharines on Sunday August 24th at 10am. 

  • Pray that good conversations would happen at Westview. Pray that the people who need to hear a little more about kindness would attend. 
  • Pray that other churches would be open to trying something different for their Sunday service. 

Thank You For Your Support!

Thank you so much for all the prayers, donations, and encouraging messages. I couldn’t do this ministry without your support. I thank God for your generosity and trust. 

If you would like to make a monthly or annual donation to my ministry with GOHOP you can do that here:

Donate Online with CanadaHelps:
https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/53164

You can now donate by E-transfer:
Send your e-transfer to donate@gohop.ca
You must write “Donation for Randell Neudorf” 
in the message section.

You can also donate by Cheque:
https://randellneudorf.com/gohop/donate/

  • In the fall I’ll be reaching out to more people to ask them to consider joining my monthly support team. Pray that I would be able to meet with 1 person a week in October & November. 

Summer Fun:

I got to try out paddle boarding a few weeks ago, and it was so fun. Have you been able to try something new this summer? I would love to hear about it.

Grace and Peace to you on your own summer adventures,

Randell (Randy) Neudorf

Punk Monk Newsletter – April 2025

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I’m very excited that it is finally feeling like spring outside. I have been able to bike to work the last couple weeks and that has felt great. I wanted to let you know about a couple things I have been up to in my ministry life.

Easter Sunrise Service:

In my last newsletter I mentioned that I’m doing some prayer & outreach work at 541 Eatery & Exchange (the pay it forward cafe) on Thursday mornings. This is through a partnership between my church (The Meeting Place) and GOHOP. I have been meeting lots of people while visiting around the big harvest table in the cafe. I’ve had the chance to pray for a number of people over the last 5 months, which has been very meaningful. It has also been a great weekday check in for people who are attending my church on Sundays. 

We have an Easter tradition at the Meeting Place where we have a joint sunrise service in Beasley Park with our friends from Trinity Lutheran Church. Afterwards the Lutherans host everyone for a big breakfast. This year one of our regulars who is experiencing homelessness joined us for the 7am service. It was a big deal that he made the effort to be there right on time. He shared that he made it a priority because he really appreciates Trinity Lutheran. He told me a story about when he was having a really hard time and he found himself at a cafe drop at Trinity. He fondly remembers that they served toast with REAL BUTTER!!!! He hadn’t had such a treat since living rough. For some of us, real butter might not seem like a life changing experience, but for this man, it made all the difference, he felt appreciated and valued. 

It was a privilege to celebrate Easter with my Meeting Place friend. 

  • Pray for people in Hamilton experiencing homelessness. Pray that they would be able to find stable and supportive housing. 
  • Pray that I would be able to make meaningful connections with people at 541. 
  • Pray that there would be a few core people that would lock in with this weekly prayer time. It is a transient population, so I don’t always have consistency with who shows up. Having even one more person who really commits to being there every week goes a long way to welcoming new people.

Looking for Kindness Shows:

In March I was able to do a living room Looking for Kindness show in Guelph. The host family invited 20 of their friends to come hear me sing and tell stories about my prayer and mental health journey. They even dragged a couple extra sofas into their living room to create 3 rows of theatre style seating! I could tell people were really engaged with my story because after my last song called 4-track Gospel the room was completely silent (no one was clapping) but it was the profound type of quiet. It felt like a holy moment. 

I have a couple more shows coming up in the next week:

If you know anyone in Owen Sound or Dundas please let them know about the show.If you haven’t seen me perform yet, there is a little teaser trailer posted up on YouTube:: 

  • Pray for me as I talk to people before and after the shows. There are a lot of great conversations happening and sometimes people are sharing some very hard stories with me. Pray that I would be a good and supportive listener. 
  • Pray that I would have more opportunities to perform in both church and secular contexts. 

Ukrainian Easter Egg Workshop:

Every month I help lead the Asah: Creativity & Prayer Studio in the GOHOP Prayer Room. There was a great turn out for our traditional Ukrainian Easter Egg Workshop. You might not know this but traditional easter eggs are absolutely rooted in prayer. As you are creating your design, you are supposed to be holding someone in prayer. The whole thing is done by candle light through a very slow and meditative process. I was very happy to be able to add some calm and beauty to people’s lives as part of their journey towards Good Friday and Easter. This was a great follow up to our workshop where people created a cross filled with collaged images of things they wanted to add or subtract from their daily rhythms over Lent.

  • I lead Asah with my coworker Megan. Pray for us as we try to foster opportunities for people to engage with their creator through creativity.
  • This prayer workshop is always an experiment (there is no manual for this kind of prayer). Pray that we would continue to be open to trying new ideas. 

Prayer Songs:

Prayer & Music has been a real theme for me over the last month. 

I had the opportunity to perform at the Hamilton Public Library as part of an event organized by Public Health. I chose a mix of my original gospel songs along with tunes I would consider secular hymns (Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door, Man In Black, etc…).  A few days before this event a friend gave me a listening prayer image of me being inside a guitar filled with water. I was peering out of the sound hole, looking through the strings that were vibrating. He said there was a feeling of energy and power through the music. When I heard this, I immediately connected the image to the songs I had been preparing for the library gig. I was kind of nervous about singing so many “Jesus-y” songs in a very secular setting, and this listening prayer felt like a gift that put me at ease and made me feel confident that I had picked the right songs. The event went great and I really felt like I was praying these songs over the many newcomers and street involved people that attended the event. 

I also lead a monthly Hymn Sing night in the GOHOP Prayer Room. The idea is that we sing old hymns and then use the words that stand out from the song as our prayers. I had just been telling my coworkers that I was a little discouraged that I often had been singing and praying on my own, but the very next Hymn Sing someone joined me! I explained the idea of using the hymns as prayers and the person told me they really wanted to sing the songs but they weren’t so sure about the prayer part because they are agnostic. After every song something jumped out at this person that they named as their prayer. They also had lots of memories that came up for them and shared a personal story after almost every hymn. For someone who wasn’t sure about the prayer part, they sure did a lot of praying. Afterwards it occurred to me that if other people had shown up that night (like I had been wishing), my agnostic friend might not have felt so free to pray and be open to the memories the Holy Spirit brought up through the music. I was so thankful for this very special Hymn Sing night.

  • I get really excited about engaging with people on the edges. Whether that is the edges of the church, or society in general. I’m often told that I feel very safe for people. Pray that I wouldn’t take that safety for granted and that I would use these opportunities to connect with people on the edges well. Pray that these safe moments would allow people to be open to the Holy Spirit. 

Fundraising Update:

I have been trying to put more effort into setting up one on one appointments to invite people to join my monthly support team. I would really appreciate your prayers around this.

 It takes a lot of courage for me to put myself out there and ask people to consider giving toward my personal support raising. Some days I don’t feel very courageous at all (please pray that I would be bold and diligent in my fundraising)

If you would like to meet with me to talk more about my ministry with GOHOP (and to just catch up), or if you know someone I should connect with, please reach out to me. Fundraising happens best one conversation at a time. 

If you would like to make a monthly or annual donation to my ministry with GOHOP you can do that here:

Donate Online with CanadaHelps:
https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/53164

You can now donate by E-transfer:
Send your e-transfer to donate@gohop.ca
You must write “Donation for Randell Neudorf” 
in the message section.

You can also donate by Cheque:
https://randellneudorf.com/gohop/donate/

Some Exciting Family News:

Lastly, I wanted to share some exciting news. My daughter Zoe is engaged to her boyfriend Luis (obviously now her fiancé). Susan and I have loved getting to know Luis and are so excited to have him joining our family. I think I’m going to like being a Father-in-law. Any advice out there from other Father-in-laws?

Grace & Peace,

Randell (Randy) Neudorf