A transcript is included.
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Thank you for allowing me to share with
you for a few minutes this morning. I have
only taken part in a couple worship services here since I moved away from the
city in 2005. I spent most of my
formative years at Edith Avenue and I am grateful that I was introduced to my
faith here. It is good to be back and
see the familiar faces. I’m also happy
to see some new people here that I have not met.
Just a bit of catch-up. After I moved from Saint John in 2005 I went
to McAdam for a few years and then went to Vancouver for a couple of years to
study theology. I came back to Saint
John a couple of years ago and have since been involved with a few different
organizations. I’m here today to talk
about one of these.
Out of the Cold is a shelter for
homeless men in Uptown Saint John. It is
located in Grace Presbyterian Church. This
is the church across the street from St. Joseph’s Hospital on the corner Hazen
Street and Coburg Street. We are open
for three months every year from January 1 until March 31. The shelter is open seven days per week
during this time, including holidays and weekends.
Our goal is simple: Make sure that there are no homeless men who
have to sleep outdoors during the cold and wet and snowy Saint John
winter.
Out of the Cold began operation in the
winter of 2010. It was a small group of
volunteers and they only planned to be open when the forecasted temperature was
10 degrees below zero Celsius. The
volunteers quickly realized that 9 degrees below zero and 10 degrees below zero
was not that different. They immediately
figured out a way to make sure the shelter was open every night that
winter. Being open every night has been
our model ever since.
Last year was the third winter for Out
of the Cold. It was the busiest winter
that we ever had. Sixty-seven individual
men used the shelter at least one time last year. Our nightly average was a little over ten men
per night. Our capacity is fifteen men,
but things start to get a bit tight with ten or eleven men all sleeping in the
same room. We expect to have similar
numbers this winter.
Christians play a big role in Out of the
Cold. The shelter is located in a
church. Some, but not all, the
volunteers go to church. You may have
noticed that I said that the shelter is located in a Presbyterian Church. This does not mean that all of the volunteers
are Presbyterian. Christians from a
number of denominations take part at the shelter.
I’m grateful for every volunteer that
comes through the door to help at Out of the Cold. I will happily work beside anyone who shares the
desire to help people who are homeless, regardless of what they believe or
don’t believe.
Right now, though, I am standing and
sharing about the shelter in a Church. I
want to take this chance to tell you a bit about why I volunteer at the shelter
and why my faith in Jesus is a key to why I volunteer.
As Christians, we are Kingdom
people. We pray that God’s will will be
done on Earth as it is in Heaven. We are
eagerly expecting Jesus to return. We
are even told what it will be like when Jesus does return in Revelation Chapter
21:
“Behold,
the dwelling place
of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,
and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and
death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain
anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
In The New Heaven and The New Earth we
are anticipating, there will be no more pain or misery. Right now, though, there is. I want the world right now to resemble the
coming world as much as possible. There
are all sorts of ways to do this. One
way that I am excited about is to help ensure that no homeless man has to sleep
outside on a cold, wet, and snowy Saint John night.
The things that go on at Edith Avenue
Baptist Church excite me. I have had a
couple of conversations with Pastor Alcorn and have read about some of the
ministries here in the news. I am
thrilled to see that Edith Avenue Baptist is working to show Saint John what
the Kingdom of God is like.
So, why am I here this morning? Out of the Cold could use some help.
I know that this is a busy congregation and
that you are already serving who Jesus would call “the least of these.” Please do not hear what I am saying as an
attempt to make you feel guilty or trying to push you into helping Out of the
Cold. That is not what I am trying to
do. Instead, I want to tell you about a
particular ministry that happens in Saint John and what the needs are. If you hear me say something and you think,
“Hey, I can do that,” please email me. If
you hear me say something and think, “Hey, I’m glad somebody out there does that,
but I’m already swamped,” that is OK too.
It is impossible for someone to do everything and I think this is why
God calls some people to some things and other people to other things.
One thing we need is volunteers. We have two shifts every night, seven nights
a week, for three months. This takes a
lot of volunteers. We have a broad range
of volunteers. Women and men, working
age people and retirees, religious people and not religious people volunteer. You can volunteer to help out only one night
if you would like or to come a little more often. We make sure that our volunteers are safe and
we make sure none of our volunteers are burnt out by the end of the winter.
Covering a shift at the shelter is not
for everyone. There are other ways to help.
We need warm clothes for men to
wear. Primarily, this means socks. The guys that stay at the shelter often times
spend all day walking. This sometimes
means walking through slush and snow.
One thing that we are regularly asked for by the guys is a pair of warm,
dry socks. We also give the guys several
toques, gloves, and scarves throughout a winter. Even one pair of socks will make a difference
for at least one man for one day.
We also need food. For the last couple of years we provided meals
for the men when they arrive, but we discovered the need for a full meal is not
as great as we expected. Happily, there
are several spots in the city where people can go to have a meal. This year we still want to have some food on
hand, but different types. We would like
to provide the guys with sandwiches, fruit, raw vegetables with dip, and
tea. In particular, the guys drink a lot
of juice, coffee, and milk.
We also provide the guys with Tim
Horton’s gift cards. We close the
shelter at about 7:30 in the morning.
That leaves the guys with a couple of hours before other places open. On particularly cold days, or snowy days, or
rainy days, a Tim’s gift card means the guys have somewhere warm to go for a
bit. If you would like to donate a gift
card, the gift cards we give the guys are for $5.00.
I’m going to stick around after the
service if anyone has any questions or wants more information. I’d be happy to chat for a bit. Otherwise, you can email me at my email
address in the bulletin.
Thank you.
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