Volunteers in Evangel Hall’s kitchen help prepare one of the 8,000 meals produced there each month
Celebration and Service at Evangel Hall
Evangel Hall Mission is celebrating the past and looking to the future.
The Hall began in 1913 in a 5,000 – square – foot building on Queen Street West, Toronto. Last March, the mission celebrated its fifth year in a custom – built 55,000 – square – foot building on nearby Adelaide Street West.
“We used to be a tiny, little location … We had tiny, little offices and a tiny, little drop – in centre, and the homeless problem was growing in downtown Toronto,” said Ann – Marie Morris, who works in resource development and communications for ehm. “We needed more space, so that’s why we came here.”
The new building houses a much larger drop – in centre and kitchen, a youth centre, a community kitchen and garden, a chapel, 84 affordable housing units and an upper – story patio. In this facility the staff and volunteers offer support programs, a clothing depot, community dinners, an Out of the Cold program, youth programs, and more.
The Hall’s newest feature is a medical and dental clinic. Over the past year, about 1,100 individuals who cannot access other forms of health care have been served in the clinic. Still, the ehm staff knows they can always do better.
“We have two dental suites,” said resource development and special events person Paula Aceto. “If we had dentists in each one Monday to Friday, we would still have people that we weren’t able to see. There’s such a high demand.”
That demand has grown dramatically in the past few years. Since 2009, the number of individuals using ehm’s drop – in centre has grown by 40 per cent. Of course, it isn’t only the services that attract people to the mission.
“Loneliness is a big problem for people on the street, so we are their family in a sense,” said Morris. “I mean, some people come for the food, some people come for the family, but mainly to have a sense of belonging.”
As they wind down from the new building’s five – year anniversary celebration, the ehm family has an even bigger event to prepare for: in 2013, the mission will be 100 years old. Planning is in its early stages, but with talk of monthly events and a big party in the spring, the anniversary promises to be a grand affair. ¦ —EW
Two weeks after a tornado ripped through town on Aug. 21, the congregation of Knox, Goderich, Ont., were allowed back into their almost unscathed building.
“Of all the buildings in town, ours is the one that probably would have survived a tornado straight on,” said Rev. Bill Vanderstelt. “It’s mostly concrete.”
And it was a near miss. The tornado veered one block south of the Presbyterian church, ripping the roof from nearby Victoria United. Knox’s only significant loss was its “Christmas tree,” an evergreen that the congregation used to decorate, and some shingles from the roof. With their building still intact, the congregation has offered its use to members of First Baptist, whose church was severely damaged.
Speaking to the Record almost three weeks after the tornado, Vanderstelt said he could see “both optimism and despair” among members of the community, and “frustration” among merchants in town.
“I think the tornado took the most destructive path possible,” he noted. It hit the mine, which employs about 500 people, as well as the business district and the town square, closing many small businesses during the busy tourist season. Many residences were also damaged or destroyed, including the homes of three families from Knox.
He said the local ministerial association has been doing a good job coordinating its churches’ collective efforts. “[A disaster] draws you into the community. It engages you. We took part in feeding the masses—the volunteers and the people who were displaced for a couple of weeks.”
As the Record went to print, Knox was continuing to serve lunch to Samaritan’s Purse volunteers who were helping with the clean up.
The ministerial also held a community worship service in the wake of the tornado, drawing about 1,200 people. Another such service is tentatively planned for next year, to be held the Sunday closest to the anniversary of the tornado. ¦ —CW
Canadian Opinions Split Over Religion
The majority of Canadians believe religion creates more questions than answers according to a poll released in September.
Although 53 per cent of the 1,129 people surveyed said they believe in God, 64 per cent said they feel religion creates more questions than it answers. And while one half of respondents agree that “religious practice is an important factor in the lives of Canadians,” only 29 per cent think “religious folks” are better citizens, and half of respondents believe religion does more harm than good.
The results also challenged the link between religious affiliation and belief in God. Twenty – eight per cent of those who identified themselves as Protestant and 33 per cent who said they were Catholic also said they do not believe in God.
A mere 13 per cent of respondents attend a weekly church service. Of those churchgoers, 23 per cent said they do not believe in God.
They national online survey was conducted by Ipsos Reid for the television show, Context with Lorna Dueck. ¦ —CW
Renewal Fellowship Selects New Executive Director
The board of the church’s most prominent evangelical association has selected Rev. Fred Stewart to become its new executive director. He begins work Oct. 1, and will replace Rev. Calvin Brown who retired from the position after 16 years.
“I think it’s very exciting,” Stewart said of his new role with the Renewal Fellowship. “But I’m scared stiff, too. Whenever you go into something you’ve never done before, you can only speculate on what it will be like. I’ve done a lot of thinking, and am going to talk to a lot of people who have a passion for the Fellowship. … It’s fairly overwhelming whenever you follow a minister who has held a position for many years. I hope to learn from Calvin’s experiences.”
Stewart convened a committee that planned three evangelical conferences for the Presbytery of Hamilton in 2005, 2006 and 2007. He said he hoped those experiences, and the many relationships he has forged with fellow ministers over the years, will help him as he moves into new territory.
“One of the things I have resisted are the one – word labels: conservative, liberal, evangelical,” he noted. “No one word can aptly express anyone I know in the Presbyterian Church. I really love our big tent.”
The Renewal Fellowship is made up of Presbyterians committed to the group’s covenant. For information on the organization and its events and publications, visit renewalfellowship.presbyterian.ca. ¦ —CW
Journalist Prepares for Ministry
The assistant managing editor of a daily newspaper in Chatham – Kent, Ont., says he is “still telling the news, but this time it’s the good news.”
After a 24 – year career in community journalism, Andrew Cornell decided to heed a call to ordained ministry. He began full – time classes at Knox College, Toronto, in September after three years studying for his master of divinity degree online through the school’s distance education program. He also began work Sept. 1 as a student minister at St. Andrew’s, Dresden, and Rutherford, Ont.
“I knew God wanted me to be in journalism,” he said, noting that he has always believed in God, although he came to Christ later in life. “I know it sounds corny, but I really think my purpose for being in journalism was to make the world a better place in my small corner. You can see the obvious parallels there. Ordained ministry means shining a different kind of light in similarly dark places. On a practical level, it’s about people.”
Cornell also said he plans to put his experience in modern media—with an emphasis on social and digital media—to good work in a church setting, along with skills like diplomacy, deadline management, and pastoral care that he’s picked up along the way.
Cornell worked at the Chatham Daily News for 18 years. ¦ —CW
Reconciliation Events
In preparation for the third national Truth and Reconciliation event in Halifax from Oct. 26 to 29, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is hosting six story – sharing hearings in various towns in Atlantic Canada and Newfoundland. The hearings will also be streamed live on the web.
According to the TRC’s website, “The purpose of the hearings is to inform the public about the Commission’s work and statement – gathering process, and provide survivors with time to reflect and share their experiences in lead up to the TRC’s third National Event.”
The Halifax event is one of seven such hearings scheduled across Canada, where residential school survivors can share their personal experiences with the Commission and others. The Presbyterian Church’s principal clerk, Rev. Stephen Kendall, Moderator of the 137th General Asembly, Rev. Rick Horst, and Stephen Allen, associate secretary, Justice Ministries, will be present. Rev. Dr. Sydney McDonald and Rev. Kenn Stright represent the PCC on the local TRC planning team in Halifax.
For more information, visit trc.ca. ¦ —AMRenewal Fellowship Selects New Executive Director
