Page 33 - Presbyterian Connection

Connection
MISSION AND OUTREACH
Warming Hearts and Hands in Barrie
presbyterian.ca
SPRING 2023
PRESBYTERIAN
33
By Laurie Watt, Communications Coordinator, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Barrie, Ont.
The Mitten Tree at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Barrie, Ont., has branched out, literally, onto a busy downtown corner.
The church’s annual tradition of collecting and sharing toques and hats, gloves and mittens, scarves and socks has been our mission project for years. The goal has been to distribute some basic winter wear to those in need through agencies including the Women and Children’s Shelter of Barrie, Youth Haven and the Eliza- beth Fry Society.
But on Nov. 25, St. Andrew’s Women’s Missionary Society took the little winter warmers to the street, literally, so that anyone who needs a bit of warmth can get it. Twice each week, the tree is restocked with 20 items kept dry in zippered plastic bags.
“Obviously there’s a need. People can just take what they want, and no one will see them. There are no questions,” said WMS president Pam Watt, adding that the idea for the project came from a church in Calgary she’d read about in the Presbyterian Connection.
Located on a corner that’s across from the Service Canada centre and kitty-corner from the
downtown branch of the Barrie Public Library, the Little Winter Warmers Tree is very accessible to many people—whether they are standing in line for Employ- ment Insurance or immigration assistance, heading to the library to warm up because they have no place to go, or running errands that take them either to City Hall, the courthouse or a downtown business.
St. Andrew’s Barrie has had a history of helping those in need. The church pioneered the Out of the Cold program, which is a shelter program open seven days a week, run by the David Busby Street Centre. St. Andrew’s Barrie also partners with a nearby Angli- can church to stock a little food pantry.
“Some (people) are living on the street and some are just find- ing it hard to make ends meet, so things like scarves, mitts and hats might be a bit of a luxury to them (and) they are trying to make do with what they have,” Watt added.
Homelessness continues to grow in Barrie, as housing here is among the 10 most expensive cities in Canada. A one-bedroom apartment in Barrie rents for $1,730, according to a December 2022 Zumper Canadian Rent Re- port. There are nearby parks that are home to those camping out
Left is WMS president Pam Watt and right is WMS secretary Kathy Tutty.
despite the season, and the David Busby Centre is also a short walk away.
Several people have told Lis- tening Post volunteer and St. Andrew’s member Carolyn Boyer that the street mission project has warmed them up, physically and emotionally.
“(It’s) so nice to find new, warm mittens,” said one woman. “Mine were old and had holes.”
This year, St. Andrew’s also donated 177 pairs of mitts and gloves, 86 scarves and socks and 61 hats from its annual mit-
ten tree. The Little Winter Warm- ers Tree is more universal and more accessible, offering warmth to anyone who needs it.
“The homeless have told me how grateful they are that we have the Little Winter Warmers Tree,” said WMS secretary Kathy Tutty, recalling a day a passerby stopped to thank her as she re- stocked the tree.
“It’s so encouraging to hear these comments and realize that there is indeed a need in down- town Barrie and our group is play- ing a small part in helping.”
Food Pantry for People in Need
By Little Deacon’s Cupboard Team, Erindale Presbyterian Church in Mississauga, Ont.
In 2021, Erindale Presbyterian Church in Mississauga, Ont., built and installed a food pantry just outside its front doors. Here is the story of why and how we did this.
For several years, Erindale has worked with a number of sur- rounding churches on a mission and outreach program called the Deacon’s Cupboard. This pro- gram operates out of St. Peter’s Anglican Church and provides food and spiritual support for people in need. Every Sunday, our congregation would bring lots of non-perishable food to give to the Deacon’s Cupboard. Unfortunate- ly, once the pandemic came, all the supporting churches were in lockdown and the Deacon’s Cup- board struggled greatly to provide
support for its guests. We began to pray—How can we help in this time of great need?
God’s spirit moves in beautiful ways—in April 2021, we were struck with the thought, Why don’t we build our own little out- door food pantry for people who are in need? That’s how our food pantry, or what we call “Little Dea- con’s Cupboard,” was conceived. It wouldn’t solve all the hunger is- sues, but we felt it would help.
Over the next few months, a small group researched the style and size, materials, location, etc., for the food pantry. Placing it at the front of our church was decid- ed upon, because it’s easy to see and access. A very skilled mem- ber built our wonderful pantry, with different shelf heights to hold small cans through to large boxes of cereal, and one of our talented youth painted “Little Deacon’s
ber. The church has since reo- pened and the congregation once again brings in non-perishable goods. We also held an outdoor food drive and received lots of donations. And we reach out to the community, delivering flyers to promote the food pantry.
Right from the very beginning, the food pantry has been well used. It is restocked twice a week and rarely is there food left. We have also learned a few things: for one, during the winter, when it is extremely cold, we cannot put out liquids such as soup and juice, as they will freeze. On these days the pantry is filled with dry goods, such as rice, cereal and granola bars. We have also learned that our community is helping with this mission work, as we often find items in the food pantry that we did not put there. As well, some people were a bit
worried about vandalism. We are delighted to say that we have not had any issues at all.
Our Little Deacon’s Cupboard has become a big part of our church family’s mission work. We feel God’s presence each and every time it is filled.
If you are interested in starting your own food pantry, we would be delighted to answer any of your questions. Please email or call our church at erindalepc@ rogers.com or 905-277-4564.
The Little Deacon’s Cupboard Food Pantry for people in need, located at Erindale Presbyterian Church in Mississauga, Ont.
Cupboard” and “Food Pantry” on the front.
The food pantry opened in the fall of 2021 and was dedicated on our Anniversary Sunday in Octo-