Members of the Church of St. David’s English and Korean congregations pose after a night of games—table tennis, badminton, Scrabble in English and a game to teach Korean grammar.
It’s Friday at the Presbyterian Church of St. David, Halifax.
On most Friday mornings, I’m in my office around 7:15, but this is still not quite ahead of John the handyman. By 7:45, Dave (our resident poet) has arrived to set up tables and George is at the hall door ready to put out clothing. By 8 a.m. the kitchen is humming with activity.
Welcome to David’s Place!
Every (and I mean every) Friday for over eight years the volunteers of David’s Place have faithfully shown up in the worst of weather, on every holiday and under every circumstance imaginable. David’s Place is a cooperative venture of the church, the Victorian Order of Nurses, Feed Nova Scotia, local businesses, and volunteers from every background. David’s Place is a meeting place, a nutritious meal, a clothing bank, a food bank, a VON health clinic, a conversation with clergy, a little counselling and a lot of conversation. Everyone is a welcome guest and these guests—transients, street people and just about anyone else you can imagine—are part of our community. The coffee is hot, newspapers are on the tables, friends greet one another and newcomers are welcomed. By 12:30 the stragglers have been fed, the food bank is empty and volunteers are cleaning up.
The sudden quiet is misleading. In minutes the doors are flung open again and the Muslim community streams in for Friday prayer. Less than a year ago the Islamic Association of Halifax was hard – pressed to provide space for Friday prayers, especially for the post – secondary students in downtown Halifax. A chance meeting with me, and a casual conversation about appropriate space turned into a request to rent hall space for Friday prayers. The session looked at the request and said, ‘no’ … well, actually they said ‘yes’ to providing the space but ‘no’ to renting it, saying: “Please use the space but we can’t charge you for a place of prayer!”
There are some amazing conversations to be had as the gathering Muslim community meet a few of the remaining church folk. By 1:30 the hall is transformed with reams of cloth on the floor, prayer carpets in place and the local imam ready to lead the 100 – plus people who show up for prayers. By 2:30 the hall is empty again.
And just in time. By 3 p.m. the Korean Praise Band has arrived for practice and they set up in the hall or the sanctuary and get down to business. Many are second generation but a good number are Korean students studying at one of Halifax’s many institutions of higher learning.
If this were a story about Mondays, the conversation would move on to ESL classes where the Korean Church of Nova Scotia, St. David’s folks and a good number from nearby Calvin Presbyterian share together in an all – ages ESL program … but that is another story! By 6 p.m., the Korean Young Adults Night is in full swing, supposedly ending at 9:00 but often going late into the night!
TGIF!
In our changing world, it is good to know that a church like St. David’s can be used in such creative ways.
