Page 30 - Presbyterian Connection

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PRESBYTERIAN
SUMMER 2021
presbyterian.ca
Connection
MISSION & OUTREACH
Reaching Out in Richmond Hill
Community Hot Meals in Weyburn
Jane Smith from the Church of Christ in Weyburn, Sask., bags a meal for the community hot meals program hosted by a number of community churches, including Knox Presby- terian Church. PHOTO CREDIT: THE WEYBURN REVIEW
Lois Leonard—RHPC member, elder and Pastoral Care Committee convener—is pictured here with Scottish Country Dancer Mike Housley of the Richmond Hill Celtic Connection at the 2020 Rabbie Burns Supper. PHOTO CREDIT: JOANNE WITT, SNAPD RICHMOND HILL
By Susan Johnson, Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church in Richmond Hill, Ont.
This spring, Richmond Hill Presby- terian Church (RHPC) in Richmond Hill, Ont., hosted the Mosaic Inter- faith Out of the Cold program of York Region. The overnight shelter pro- gram was originally scheduled to run from November 2020 until March 30, 2021, but was extended to June 30 at the request of York Region due to COVID-19. We were pleased to help the vulnerable in our community by
providing our church facilities for this extension.
The Mission and Outreach Com- mittee raised $1,485 as an Easter offering fundraiser for the Richmond Hill Food Bank. This fundraising initiative was organized in memory of Lois Leonard (nee McLeod), who, for many years, up until the pandemic began, delivered food items donated by the congregation monthly to the Richmond Hill Food Bank. Lois was a long-time member of RHPC (since 1960) as well as an elder, Pastoral Care Committee
convener and member of the choir. She was also involved in RHPC Christmas bazaars, rummage sales and the annual Rabbie Burns Sup- per. Very much a pillar of RHPC, Lois died on Jan. 19, 2021, just a few days shy of her 90th birthday, which was on January 25, a birth- day she had in common with the late and well-known Scottish poet and lyricist, Robert Burns. We miss her dearly.
For auld lang syne, my jo, for auld lang syne, we’ll tak a cup o’ kind- ness yet, for auld lang syne.
By Barb Hudson, Knox Presbyterian Church in Weyburn, Sask.
In the fall of 2016, a community out- reach initiative was star ted at Knox Presbyterian Church in Weyburn, Sask., by the minister, the Rev. Jay Song. The outreach provided a nutri- tious hot meal to those in the commu- nity who were socially isolated and/or in need. It was held in Knox Fellowship Hall. The meals were prepared and served by Knox volunteers one Sun- day a month from October through March. Over the next few years, local talent added a bit of entertainment to accompany the food and fellowship, leading to the name change of “Happy Hour” for the guests.
When the Rev. Jay Song shared word of the outreach at a ministe- rial meeting, other local congregations were very interested in becoming in- volved. Within a short time, there were enough congregations on board to host the program each Sunday, pro- viding a weekly meal and fellowship during the winter months. With the involvement of community congrega- tions, the program became “Commu- nity Hot Meals.”
Over time, the program has grown from nine to upwards of 30 guests. The Sunday gatherings have been greatly appreciated by the partici- pants. While it has been a fulfilling experience for our congregation to provide this outreach, it has also given the volunteers of the local congrega- tions an opportunity to work together for a common cause.
In March 2020, the program was put on hold. With COVID-19 regula- tions in place, we were not able to provide the meals in the format we had known, and some of the congre- gation’s volunteers were not comfort- able being out and about. Thanks to the ideas of one of the community ministers, adaptive measures were put into place that made it possible for the hot meals to be delivered to the contacts of the outreach program.
Today, volunteers from several local congregations come together weekly to package and deliver hot meals to the recipients. The same volunteer drivers deliver the meals each week. In this way, the contacts receive regu- lar visits and the fellowship compo- nent of the program is not missed as much. Thus, Community Hot Meals outreach carries on. Since November, 822 meals have been delivered to 47 households.
Diana Marcotte ladles soup at the Church of Christ, as a small group of volunteers prepare hot meals. PHOTO CREDIT: THE WEY- BURN REVIEW
Volunteers from the Mosaic Interfaith Out of the Cold program of York Region at RHPC. PHOTO CREDIT: REHANA SUMAR