“People cried when we started these programs,” Rev. Grace Myung Chun Kim told the Record. “They were so excited. A lot of seniors homes don’t even have a chapel or a chaplain, so this was something new. They never had something like this before.” She is referring to the Korean-Canadian Family Ministry, which she founded in 1988 to bring hymn sings to seniors homes in the Toronto area. Today, the program reaches more than 900 senior citizens.

The ministry is run with the help of more than 130 volunteers who visit 16 different seniors homes twice a week, every week. The project has been so successful that Kim has helped start hymn sing programs at 14 seniors homes in Vancouver and in three states.