Category Archives: Newsletter

Punk Monk Newsletter – May 2024

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Hey Team Punk Monk, I have lots of updates for you, so I’ll get right into it…

25th Wedding Anniversary!

My wife Susan and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary this month. We were able to spend 5 days up on the Bruce Peninsula at a friend’s cottage. We did lots of hiking, bird watching and WE EVEN SAW THE NORTHERN LIGHTS!

GOHOP Transitions and our Family Gathering!

There are a couple of big changes happening at GOHOP: 

  1. Andy Groen, our director (and fearless leader) will be transitioning out of that role in the fall.GOHOP’s board will be looking for a new Director. I am very thankful that Andy brought me onto GOHOP and has empowered me to use my creative gifts in teaching, creating prayer spaces and supporting pastors and leaders. 
  2. GOHOP’s Prayer Room & Office will be moving. We always knew our prayer room and office space at Wentworth Baptist Church was temporary. The building is being redeveloped into affordable housing (alongside a referbished church) by Indwell. Hamilton is in desperate need of this kind of project, so this is a good news story and a real answer to our prayers. We always joke that we are professional prayer squatters at GOHOP (we have always found free or nearly free space to build prayer rooms in) and we are trusting that God will continue to provide us with a prayer room and office space in the future. These two things haven’t always been in the same location but that has been a blessing during the last few years.

We want to celebrate all the good and beautiful things God has done in our current space, so you are invited to join us for our Family Meeting celebration on Wednesday, May 29th from 7:30pm until 9:30pm in the prayer room.

Pray for GOHOP over this transitional season:

  • Pray that we will find the right person to lead GOHOP, someone with a combined skill set in leadership, prayer and administration. 
  • Pray that we will find a new prayer room and office space. Pray for us to discern whether we should be seeking temporary space or waiting for something more long term. 
  • Pray for us as we are packing up the prayer room and office. We are closing the prayer room at the end of May so that we can have it all packed up by the end of June. We will then pack up the office and need to be out of that space by the end of July. Pray that we will be wise in deciding what to get rid of and what to keep. Pray that we will find room to store our AV equipment, supplies and the furniture we decide to keep.  

Mama Bear, a new Old Reverend Randell Song!

n April I was part of a concert and art show organized by Hamilton Artists for Peace. It was a fundraiser for humanitarian aid in Palestine. One of my dreams for my Old Reverend Randell music is to be a peaceful Jesus presence in the wider secular music scene. I’ve written a new song called Mama Bear, which is a prayer for the children of Palestine. I was able to sing/pray this song at this very diverse gathering of people. I had lots of great conversations afterwards and it seemed like my prayer and music really resonated with people. I also sold a number of Looking for Kindness Cartoons that I donated to the fundraiser. Over $7500 was raised by the community! I’ll be releasing 3 versions of this new song in the summer, so watch out for that. You can find my current songs in all the regular places. If you haven’t listened to my 4-track Gospel album yet you can find it here: https://randellneudorf.com/music/

  • I’m looking for more opportunities to share my music live. Pray that I will have more doors open at churches and music venues. 
  • Pray for the timely release of Mama Bear. The recording is all done and I’m currently in the studio mixing. I’m so thankful for so many friends who have helped play and sing on this song (all donating their time). I wouldn’t normally head back into the studio so shortly after releasing an album but it seemed very important to get this song done and out into the world. More importantly, pray for a permanent ceasefire in Palestine & Israel, and that God would bring peace where there is no peace.  

The Return of the Prayer Truck!

Once a year, in the days before covid, GOHOP would create an outdoor prayer room in the back of a U-haul truck and park it behind Living Rock Ministries  (a local at-risk youth centre). This Prayer Truck ministry has a special focus on connecting with people who are homeless and/or street involved. Even before we knew that our GOHOP Prayer Room would be homeless, we had decided it was time to bring back this ministry. It seems even more fitting now. I used to work for Living Rock and I love being in contexts that enables me to connect with people on the margins, so I’m very excited to be a prayer truck host. We will be looking for lots of volunteers to help host the prayer truck between July 13th and July 19th. Let me know if you would like to apply to be a volunteer (we will provide you training). Perhaps we could even host the truck together!

  • Pray that we would be able to fill our hosting schedule for the prayer truck.
  • Pray that the prayer truck would be a blessing to Living Rock staff, youth and the surrounding neighbourhood.
  • Pray for safety, wisdom and humility. Homelessness and mental health issues are in crisis on the streets of Hamilton. Pray for us as guests of the neighbourhood and street community. Pray that we would represent Jesus well.

Financial Update:

A number of people have been asking me how my online Punk Monk Fundraiser went. To be honest, not good. A couple donations came in, and people have been listening to my music but I was a long way off from reaching any of my goals. In the past, my online fundraisers have done really well but this year it never gained any traction. It could be the time of year but in reality it is not the best way to fundraise. 

I’m refocusing my efforts towards in person, one on one conversations, meeting with people over coffee and telling them about my ministry and inviting them to financially partner. I have been really encouraged by these meetings and the grace people have given me to tell my story. I’m going to be putting the majority of my fundraising energy into this going forward. 

Here is where I’m currently at with my fundraising:

As of April 2024, I consistently raise $2090 a month. This translates into me working about 20 hours a week at the rate of $20 an hour. That is about 74% of my monthly goal, raised through 20 people being signed up for a monthly giving plan. 

To reach my goal, I need to raise an additional $716 per month. Building up a support team of monthly givers is the most sustainable way to make this happen. Here is what it could look like for me to reach the last leg of my goal:

  • 1 more person giving $200 per month. 
  • 1 more person giving $100 per month.
  • 3 more people giving $75 per month.
  • 3 more people giving $50 per month.
  • and 2 more people giving $25 per month.

If you would like to start a monthly giving plan or make an annual donation you can find out more here: https://randellneudorf.com/gohop/fundraising-plan/

If you are ready to make an Online Donation 
you can do that right now through CanadaHelps:
https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/53164

I recently revamped all the info on my website about the work I do and my fundraising plan. If you are interested, you can check that out here: https://randellneudorf.com/gohop/

  • Pray that I would be consistent in my fundraising efforts and meetings.
  • Pray that I would listen well to God and reach out to the people God brings to mind. 
  • Pray that I would have opportunities to speak at churches and connect with people interested in supporting the ministry I’m a part of.

The Praying Youth Group!

I want to leave you with one last story. A few weeks ago I got lead Philpott Church’s youth group in an imaginative prayer practice called Gospel Contemplation. About 30 youth participated. These kids were really open to trying something new with the chance to have a real life encounter with the Holy Spirit. I love introducing people to Gospel Contemplation because it really helps people ease into the idea that God is with us and actually wants to interact with us.

Here is how it works. We read a narrative story about Jesus (one where Jesus is interacting with people). We read the story in 3 different ways. I like to use film references to explain what we are doing. 

  1. In our first reading we are the director. We imagine what the scene might look like. We set the stage with all the sets, props and characters needed.
  2. In our second reading we are an actor. We choose a character (named or unnamed) and experience the story from that person’s perspective. 
  3. In our last reading we break the fourth wall and show up in the story as ourselves. After the story ends we imagine ourselves walking up to Jesus and ask him a question, being open to whatever happens next. 

So many youth had very profound experiences where they felt like they had a real life encounter with Jesus (I would argue, that is because they did!). From the questions the youth were asking I could really tell that they were fully engaged and excited about the possibilities that this prayer practice had opened for them.

  • I gave some tips of how these youth could keep digging into this kind of prayer at home. Pray that God would meet them in their journeys.
  • I have consistently seen real blessings come out of opportunities like this, pray that God would continue to open doors for me to lead times of prayer with people of all ages. 

Thanks so much for getting to the bottom of this update. I really appreciate your prayers and community!

Grace & Peace,
Randell (Randy) Neudorf

Punk Monk Fundraiser! March 2024

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You can make an online donation right now through CanadaHelps!

Hey church friends, I would really appreciate it if you could take a look at the info below about my annual fundraiser. If church isn’t your thing, feel free to just skip this. If you are curious and do decide to keep reading you can think of this fundraiser as me “crowd funding” my job.

I often describe my job title as being a “Punk Monk.” 

I’m on staff with GOHOP (Greater Ontario House Of Prayer), an urban monastic ministry connected to the world wide movement of 24-7 Prayer. We aren’t a monastery but we do live a community life dedicated to the monastic rhythms of prayer & service. That covers the monkish part of the job but what about the punkish part? For me, punk music is all about creativity with a strong DIY (Do It Yourself) ethic. I think of prayer in that same way. We can learn to play creatively with prayer as a way to connect more deeply with our maker and each other. For me this permission to play with prayer is very punk!

The other DIY part of my job is that I have to raise my own support. Believe it or not but being a Punk Monk is my actual job. I’m just over 3 years into this crazy adventure and it has been amazing to see so many friends, family and even strangers partner with me as part of my support team.

I have a couple of financial goals I would like to reach by the end of March (I picked March because it is my Birthday month):

  • $2000 in one time donations. If you would like to make an online donation to this fundraiser you can do that right now through CanadaHelps! If you would like to make a donation by cheque you can find all the info you need here.
  • $300 in additional monthly giving plans. Monthly giving is the most sustainable way from me to raise support for my ministry with GOHOP. Currently I raise $2000 a month from people signed up for monthly giving plans. This has been accomplished by people giving anywhere from $5 to $300 a month. If you would like to support my work in this way please consider signing up for a monthly giving plan. Find out more here!

I also have a couple music related goals. I record music under the name Old Reverend Randell. I currently have one single out called “Sometimes the Darkness Takes the Lead,” with an album called “4-track Gospel” coming out very soon. My music goal is to have:

  • 100 followers on my music platforms. You can subscribe to my music on Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp and anywhere else you stream your music. Having followers makes it easier for people to find out about new songs.
  • 1000 listens on Spotify. Until a song reaches one thousand listens you just get that dreaded “<1000” beside your song. People don’t know if that song has had 999 listens or just 1 listen. It really adds to an artists credibility to get over 1000 plays for a song. Feel free to add my music to your favourite playlist to listen more often.

I think it is really important when talking about money to be 100% transparent. If you would like to find out more about my job (including what I get paid) you can find all that info here: https://randellneudorf.com/gohop/

I also have an e-newsletter that I send out about 4 times a year. Email me if you would like to be added to that list: randellneudorf@gmail.com 

Thank you so much for any type of support you are able to contribute to this fundraiser (listens or donations). I appreciate you taking the time to consider partnering with me.

Sincerely,
Randell (Randy) Neudorf

You can make an online donation right now through CanadaHelps!

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/53164

Punk Monk Newsletter – Summer 2023

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I thought it would be good to give a quick update before everyone runs off to enjoy their summer. 

Spiritual Retreat:

I was very happy to be invited back to Maple Grove Christian Retreat Centre to lead their annual spiritual retreat weekend. On the Friday night I introduced the Spiritual practice of Visio Divina and then led people through an exercise where people were asked to draw 4 Images of God:

  1. Their earliest image of God.
  2. Their image of God when they first became a Jesus Follower.
  3. Their current or dominant image of God.
  4. The image of God that the Holy Spirit is inviting them to for this next season. 

I was first introduced to this exercise by some of my coworkers at GOHOP. The idea behind drawing (instead of writing) is that images come from a different part of our brain. Sometimes we can recall memories we have completely forgotten by using a different part of our brain. Many people were very pleasantly surprised at their earliest images of God

On the Saturday morning I led people through a Gospel Contemplation spiritual practice that helps people connect with Jesus through our imagination. We had some great discussions and people were really open to participate. In the afternoon I led a Blind Contour Drawing Workshop. Blind Contours are a drawing exercise that can feel a lot like prayer. You are only allowed to look at the person you are drawing and not not look down at your page. The drawing might look funny but it teaches you to really be present. I asked people to see each other as children of God and give thanks for each other as they were drawing. The picture above is of the youngest artist (age 5) drawing one of the oldest artists. It was amazing the diversity of people engaging with each other.

On Sunday I spoke at Maple Gove’s chapel service on Prayer Walking. I had retired pastor come up to me afterwards and say that they are still using the prayer exercise I had taught them last year. That was really encouraging.  

  • Pray that the seeds planted at this retreat would continue to grow.

Breath Prayer Resource:

I had the opportunity to introduce a group of pastors to the spiritual practice of breath prayer. I try to make sure that whenever I’m leading a prayer experience that there is also some sort of takeaway that helps them continue to journey with what they have learned. 

I really enjoy creating these little handout resources and I seem to have a knack for it. I’m going to start adding these ideas to my website. Feel free to use them yourself or pass them along to your church. You can download the resource here: https://randellneudorf.com/breath-prayer/

  • I have a few other resources and projects that are in various stages of completion. Pray that I would stay focused and be able to get these done.
  • I’ve handed out a number of these Breath Prayer bookmarks now. Pray that God would use them to help people encounter the God that gave us breath.

Summer Art Shows!

I’m very excited to be participating in a number of art markets over the summer. I have lots of fun hats and posters for sale. If you are in the Hamilton area feel free to pop by on the following dates:

  • Fri July 14th, 7pm – 10pm, Art Crawl on James St. N. (between Barton & York)
  • Sun July 16th, 11am – 4pm, Open Streets on Barton St E. (between Wellington & Victoria)
  • Sun August 20th, 11am – 4pm, Open Streets on Barton St E.
  • Sun September 17th, 11am – 4pm, Open Streets on Barton St E. 

Pray that I would sell enough art to pay for my time and to fund my other creative endeavours. I’m starting to sell some of my more personal Looking for Kindness Cartoons that talk about mental health issues. Pray that God would use these drawings to start some good conversations.

Recording & Health Update

We hit a little bit of a snag in the recording of my first Old Reverend Randell album. My voice hasn’t been cooperating. My doctor suggested not singing for 2 weeks to let my voice heal (a harder task than I expected, apparently I sing all the time without realizing it). In the recording studio we had the vocals done on half the songs so we have switched over to mixing. Hopefully I’ll be able to let you hear the first single by the end of the summer.

I have been singing now for about a week and my voice is doing better but I can still feel that it isn’t 100%. My mental health on the other hand has been much better. I haven’t had any large anxiety attacks in the past few months. I feel a lot more like myself.

  • Pray for my voice to be strengthened. 
  • Pray that I would continue to do the physical, spiritual, and mental health self care that keeps me in a good place. 
  • Pray for the songs I’m recording. They aren’t your standard worship songs. My producer and I really believe that these songs are needed both inside and outside the church. Pray that we can get them done and out into the world.

Summer Donations & Budget Update 

I’m currently receiving $1990 from people signed up for monthly giving plans. That is 68% of my monthly goal! That means I’m only $920 away from hitting my monthly goal. 

Consider Making a Summer Donation:
If you are someone who donates occasionally, or on an annual basis, it would be really helpful if you were able to send your next donation in over the summer. Donate Online with CanadaHelps!

If you like to use cheques or you would like to find out more about signing up for a monthly giving plan click here.

  • I’m so thankful for the support I have received. Pray that I would be able to  continue to connect with people that believe in the work that I do and that I would be able to reach my fundraising goal.
  • Pray that God would continue to open up opportunities for me to speak at churches, workshops and retreats.

Grace & Peace to you over the summer,

Randell (Randy) Neudorf

PS: It might seem like a small thing but I have created a new business card that brings all my endeavours under one roof. This will go onto the back of all my art posters and handed out when I’m teaching at churches. I’m trying to be a whole person and not have a separate identity for my prayer and creative endeavours. I’m hoping this card piques the curiosity of someone meeting me in one sphere to find out a little more about some of the other things I’m up to in another sphere of my life. 

Punk Monk Newsletter – March 2023

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Hey Team Punk Monk,

It has been a busy winter. I’m really sorry for getting behind in posting these updates.  Here is a little of what I have been up to…

TrueCity Prayer Room Stations:

I’m happy to report that my year end fundraiser was a big success. I exceeded my goals for both one time donations and art sales. I raised $410 in new monthly giving plans! That is a really big deal, since Monthly Giving Plans are the most sustainable way for me to raise support for my ministry. I now receive 50% of my income through predictable monthly donations. Over the next year I will continue to focus on this area and try to get this number up to 75%.

If you would like to sign up for a Monthly Giving Plan, or find out more info click here.

If you would like to make an Online Donation through CanadaHelps: click here.

Please be praying…

  • Continue to pray that I would meet my monthly fundraising goals.
  • Pray that I would grow in my ability to fundraise. I find it hard to ask people one on one to consider giving. This is by far the best way to fundraise so I need to learn how to do this.
  • Pray for a healthy rhythm.  The main part of my job isn’t fundraising but I can’t work without consistently engaging with potential partners. Pray that I would find a good balance in this area. 

Recording my Old Reverend Randell songs:

I have 4 songs that I’m recording professionally at Sheepdog Studios with my friend Eric Fusilier. These songs really encompass my spiritual journey over the last few years and I think they give permission for people to be honest about the hard things in life while still leaning into a God that is expressed through the fruit of the Spirit. I look forward to sharing more about this as the project comes together. My guess is I will have something for people to listen to in the summer.

  • Everywhere I have shared these songs live, there has been a really positive and meaningful response. Pray that the recordings carry that same resonance and spirit. 
  • Pray that my body and voice will be strong. I have had some pain flare ups that have me worried about my guitar playing. I also find that anxiety & stress constricts my voice, so feeling relaxed and well is really important. 

TrueCity Prayer Room Stations:

I contributed a number of prayer stations to this year’s TrueCity Conference Prayer Room. I created a new labyrinth guide to tie in to the conference theme of Shuv (to repent or to turn). I also made a guided prayer resource (see attached) to help people take some baby steps into Jesus’ teaching of blessing those that curse you. I like to use the prayer room to create things that might be useful in other places. I made the prayer guide like a little folded church bulletin that people could use in a service or in a small group. You can download the resource here. let me know what you think, or if you use it. 

We try to feature a lot of art in the prayer room. This year my Looking For Kindness Cartoons were highlighted along with some new pieces reflecting on the Plank in your eye verse. 

Lastly, I really wanted to connect some of our year long ministries at GOHOP to the TrueCity prayer room. 

Every Friday GOHOP staff and volunteers get together and pray for pastors & leaders for a couple hours. I reused my prayer candle cartoons to invite people to join us in praying for leaders. Prayer room visiter would draw the flame on the   little candle card and then write the name of the pastor or leader on the inside that they were praying for. These little cards really caught fire because 123 prayer candles were “lit.” On Fridays the GOHOP team took turns praying through each name on every card, adding our prayers to the fire. If you would like to find out more about how GOHOP prays for pastors & leaders check out: https://www.gohop.ca/prayer-for-leaders-contact

  • Although the 2 week TrueCity Prayer Room is done, the prayer room isn’t closed. We keep this space open for drop in hours every week (I’m there Monday nights from 5-9pm). Pray that the momentum from TrueCity would carry on into people using the prayer room throughout the year. You can find out more here: https://www.gohop.ca/pray-with-us

Asah & the Art of Being Seen:

A couple of weeks ago we had a homeless lady drop by during our Asah: Creatiivty & Prayer Studio in the TrueCity prayer room. She was in a snowsuit and had all her belongings in a garbage bag. She thought it was the Tuesday meal night (that Lift church runs out of the space) and was a little disappointed to find out it was Monday. I told her about the prayer room and that we did have coffee. I also let her know that she was welcome to sit in the prayer room or in the lobby until as late as 10 o’clock. She was very surprised and said “Really? I can just sit down and have a coffee?” I answered, “Absolutely!” 

My new friend spotted the fancy mocha mixes and asked “Who are those for?” I said “You! Would you like me to make you one the professional way?” I started talking to her about how you need to mix the powder with the cream first and then add the water. She told me, “You should work at Tim Hortons.” I laughed and replied, “Actually, I used to manage a coffee shop called The Freeway and this is how we made our cafe mochas.”

The conversation then went a little deeper. She confided that she wished she was invisible and said, “I wouldn’t usually stay in a place like this, I don’t like people to see me.” I said, “Wow! Thank you for sharing that with me. Sometimes I feel like I’m invisible, and I just really want people to see me.” We chatted a little more and then I traded off with Megan from Asah to teach the second half of the art workshop. When I came back out the lady was gone but Megan said she had asked her to say thanks to me for the coffee and the visit. The ironic thing was that the art workshop I was leading was all about using drawing to help us see each other as children of God. It was amazing that what God was teaching in the lobby through hospitality was the same thing God was teaching the people in the prayer room through drawing.

Thanks so much for all your support and being part of my Punk Monk journey. If you would like to hear more about what I’m doing I would love to talk to you over a coffee, zoom, or an old fashioned phone call. Let me know.

Grace & Peace,

Randell (Randy) Neudorf
Artist /// Musician /// Punk Monk
C# 905-379-3717
randellneudorf@gmail.com
www.RandellNeudorf.com

To make an Online Donation in support of Randell’s ministry through CanadaHelps: click here.