"Heavenly Father, in your Word you have given us a vision of that holy City to which the nations of the world bring their glory: Behold and visit, we pray, the cities of the earth. Renew the ties of mutual regard which form our civic life. Send us honest and able leaders. Enable us to eliminate poverty, prejudice, and oppression, that peace may prevail with righteousness, and justice with order, and that men and women from different cultures and with differing talents may find with one another the fulfillment of their humanity;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
This prayer comes from that app I've been raving about. (Mission St. Clare) And it punched me right in the gut when I read it the other night. It's so timely. We're in an era when mayors of major cities all over North America are not exactly poster children for integrity and civic fairness, to say the least. We witness oppression and injustice play themselves out in city streets on dozens of different stages. We see racism playing a significant role (Trayvon Martin, for one giant example) in urban centers everywhere.
Some people would argue that God has left cities behind to rot and decay. Many Christians have bought into a belief that you have to go to the country in order to experience God because God does not dwell in the city. Some days it's hard for me to muster up the strength or even the faith to dispute that argument.
But on most days I know that's a lie. God is in the city and I get to experience Him here. I meet Him in the streets amongst my friends. I encounter Her at my work. I've experienced His presence on my bike while riding throughout the city. I get to hear Her voice when I sit in silence in the Don Valley or by Lake Ontario. I become more acquainted with God as I live out my life with my family amongst my wonderful neighbours. I grow closer to God when I listen to or participate in playing life giving music.
God is in fact here in the city. And I don't need to get in my car and drive to the country in order to find Him.
But I'll keep continuing to pray for this city and for 'the' city in general. Because it needs some big things to happen. There are too many people being left behind by our consumer driven, self-absorbed lifestyles. People continue to die while mayors continue to lie and cheat and steal. We need God to step in and shake things up. We need honest and able leaders (and that's not a 'left' or 'right' comment because I'm very aware that both sides are corrupt)
One of the things that drew me so powerfully to the work that I currently do at Gateway is the motto that I inherited;
"The Hand of God in the Heart of the City". It implied that God is in fact in the city. And it challenged me then and continues to challenge me now that as a Jesus follower, I don't get to sit around and wait for God to act. But that I am called, I am responsible, to act on His behalf as His child.
Oh Lord, even with this weakened and failing body of mine, give me the strength and courage to continue to try and be your hand in the heart of this great city.
amen
Friday, July 26, 2013
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Summer Church
I haven't been going to church this summer. It's too hot and humid. My tolerance for humidity has significantly decreased from last year to this due to MS related complications. When it's humid I can barely put one foot in front of the other. It's hard enough as it is. So when I told my doctor about how I feel when I go to my wonderful yet old and non-air conditioned church, she told me I'd be wise to not go in the summer.
I'm taking her advice.
But it still feels weird on a Sunday after so many missed weeks to not be going. I feel some guilt. I miss the community. I miss the worship time.
So I've decided to try and worship in a different way on Sundays. This morning I got up early as usual, got on my hand bike, rode down into Taylor Creek, sat on a bench near a rustling river, took in the scenery and the gentle breeze, pulled out my iphone, and prayed.
"Pulled out your iphone?" you might ask. "That isn't usually on the list of tranquil things to do while trying to enjoy and take in the wonder of God's creation."
You're right. But there's an app! There's always an app. It's called 'Mission St. Clare'. (She's apparently the patron saint of cyberspace) It has daily morning and evening prayers, readings, and songs. It's my fave app by far, even better than 'angry birds', and I'd highly recommend it for you praying types. And when riding, it's hard to carry a Bible, prayer book, song book, and journal. But easy to carry a phone. So there's my rationale and I'm sticking to it.
This morning's prayers were so comforting. They reminded me yet again that God is God and that I am not. I was reminded that God is with me and always will be. I was comforted by the steadfastness and faithfulness of the God of the universe.
I needed the reminder that God loves me, that She is in control, and that He never changes.
The part about never changing was a crucial reminder to me today. Everything around me is changing. My health is in decline and so I'm doing necessary things to adjust. (I'm learning to drive with hand controls instead of using my legs so we can retrofit our car with those controls. I'm in physio rehab 4 hours per week. We're renovating the bathroom so as to make it safer for me to shower. I have qualified for wheel trans. I have leg braces. And everything is so crazy expensive in all of these areas it's bringing great stress on us.) Things at work are changing very quickly and mostly for the better (more on that in a week or so).
Everything around me is changing. It's hard to even process all that is happening right now.
So today I did in fact go to church. Not the one with 4 walls and great people, but the one at Taylor Creek.
The one where I watched a rabbit hop around me.
The one where I saw squirrels gathering food.
The one where I got to listen to beautiful music made by the many birds all around me.
The one where I got sniffed by the odd unleashed dog (and only one howled and ran away from me very fast after his sniff).
The one where I pulled out my iphone and read some important prayers and scripture passages that reminded me that God is with me every step of the way.
So today was a very good church day indeed.
Benediction (from my app)
'May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy spirit."
amen
I'm taking her advice.
But it still feels weird on a Sunday after so many missed weeks to not be going. I feel some guilt. I miss the community. I miss the worship time.
So I've decided to try and worship in a different way on Sundays. This morning I got up early as usual, got on my hand bike, rode down into Taylor Creek, sat on a bench near a rustling river, took in the scenery and the gentle breeze, pulled out my iphone, and prayed.
"Pulled out your iphone?" you might ask. "That isn't usually on the list of tranquil things to do while trying to enjoy and take in the wonder of God's creation."
You're right. But there's an app! There's always an app. It's called 'Mission St. Clare'. (She's apparently the patron saint of cyberspace) It has daily morning and evening prayers, readings, and songs. It's my fave app by far, even better than 'angry birds', and I'd highly recommend it for you praying types. And when riding, it's hard to carry a Bible, prayer book, song book, and journal. But easy to carry a phone. So there's my rationale and I'm sticking to it.
This morning's prayers were so comforting. They reminded me yet again that God is God and that I am not. I was reminded that God is with me and always will be. I was comforted by the steadfastness and faithfulness of the God of the universe.
I needed the reminder that God loves me, that She is in control, and that He never changes.
The part about never changing was a crucial reminder to me today. Everything around me is changing. My health is in decline and so I'm doing necessary things to adjust. (I'm learning to drive with hand controls instead of using my legs so we can retrofit our car with those controls. I'm in physio rehab 4 hours per week. We're renovating the bathroom so as to make it safer for me to shower. I have qualified for wheel trans. I have leg braces. And everything is so crazy expensive in all of these areas it's bringing great stress on us.) Things at work are changing very quickly and mostly for the better (more on that in a week or so).
Everything around me is changing. It's hard to even process all that is happening right now.
So today I did in fact go to church. Not the one with 4 walls and great people, but the one at Taylor Creek.
The one where I watched a rabbit hop around me.
The one where I saw squirrels gathering food.
The one where I got to listen to beautiful music made by the many birds all around me.
The one where I got sniffed by the odd unleashed dog (and only one howled and ran away from me very fast after his sniff).
The one where I pulled out my iphone and read some important prayers and scripture passages that reminded me that God is with me every step of the way.
So today was a very good church day indeed.
Benediction (from my app)
'May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy spirit."
amen
Sunday, July 7, 2013
It's summer. And things are heating up!
Usually when summer arrives and winter is officially behind us, it’s a symbol of a time to come up for air, take a deep breath, and enjoy the slower pace of life and work for a couple of months.
But when you’re homeless, there’s no such thing as summer holidays.
There are no cottage plans.
No vacations to exotic destinations.
No long weekends.
In the streets it is business as usual. And at Gateway we are finding that to be true as well. We are very busy. There is much to do.
Here are some updates as to what we’re currently up to in order to do our best to respond to the needs and hopes of our friends on the streets;
1. All of the shelters in Toronto have been full since July of last year. So we have been asked to open 10 more beds, taking our total number of beds per night to 118. As space is an issue for us, we have purchased bunk beds and installed 5 of them on each floor of our dorms. We are now officially a 118-bed shelter and are still full and very busy.
2. 10 extra beds bring a domino effect with it that must be taken into consideration. With those beds comes extra revenue from our funder. But it also brings extra pressure on our building, our food and laundry services, and our staff. So with that extra revenue we will be hiring a 3rd case manager, which will be a dramatic improvement on our capacity to respond to our residents more comprehensively. As we don’t have an office for that case manager, we are renovating a little corner of our building in order to house that new employee. This is very exciting for us but is keeping us on our toes.
3. We also want to improve the condition of our drop-in and its washrooms. Right now they look worn down and institutional due to all of the traffic that we get every single day. So we have submitted a funding proposal in hopes of being able to replace the drop-in floor to make it look and feel warmer and less institutional. We are also hoping to renovate our drop-in washrooms so as to create a more dignified space to take care of the most basic of human needs.
4. Our Gateway Linens program is looking to expand. We have a proposal in for a very large contract that, if we get it, will double our whole program over night. It would take us to a 2nd 8-hour shift, add twice as many staff, and double the number of people we can train in our program.
5. I’m very pleased about the addition of our new volunteer coordinator/ community life director and newest member of our program management team, Jake Aikenhead. Since his arrival, we have organized and played in a softball tournament, are running a dental hygiene clinic, host Friday night games nights, developing a monthly concert series, planning an arts group, and are getting ready for our summer residents retreat up north. He is an exciting addition to our team.
These are just a few of the things we are up to that are keeping us very busy, to say the least. It is indeed a very hot summer. If you’re the praying type, we could definitely use your prayers in the coming weeks as we wait to hear from proposals, renovate spaces, and keep the Gateway moving steadily onwards towards our mission to be
‘THE HAND OF GOD IN THE HEART OF THE CITY’.
But when you’re homeless, there’s no such thing as summer holidays.
There are no cottage plans.
No vacations to exotic destinations.
No long weekends.
In the streets it is business as usual. And at Gateway we are finding that to be true as well. We are very busy. There is much to do.
Here are some updates as to what we’re currently up to in order to do our best to respond to the needs and hopes of our friends on the streets;
1. All of the shelters in Toronto have been full since July of last year. So we have been asked to open 10 more beds, taking our total number of beds per night to 118. As space is an issue for us, we have purchased bunk beds and installed 5 of them on each floor of our dorms. We are now officially a 118-bed shelter and are still full and very busy.
2. 10 extra beds bring a domino effect with it that must be taken into consideration. With those beds comes extra revenue from our funder. But it also brings extra pressure on our building, our food and laundry services, and our staff. So with that extra revenue we will be hiring a 3rd case manager, which will be a dramatic improvement on our capacity to respond to our residents more comprehensively. As we don’t have an office for that case manager, we are renovating a little corner of our building in order to house that new employee. This is very exciting for us but is keeping us on our toes.
3. We also want to improve the condition of our drop-in and its washrooms. Right now they look worn down and institutional due to all of the traffic that we get every single day. So we have submitted a funding proposal in hopes of being able to replace the drop-in floor to make it look and feel warmer and less institutional. We are also hoping to renovate our drop-in washrooms so as to create a more dignified space to take care of the most basic of human needs.
4. Our Gateway Linens program is looking to expand. We have a proposal in for a very large contract that, if we get it, will double our whole program over night. It would take us to a 2nd 8-hour shift, add twice as many staff, and double the number of people we can train in our program.
5. I’m very pleased about the addition of our new volunteer coordinator/ community life director and newest member of our program management team, Jake Aikenhead. Since his arrival, we have organized and played in a softball tournament, are running a dental hygiene clinic, host Friday night games nights, developing a monthly concert series, planning an arts group, and are getting ready for our summer residents retreat up north. He is an exciting addition to our team.
These are just a few of the things we are up to that are keeping us very busy, to say the least. It is indeed a very hot summer. If you’re the praying type, we could definitely use your prayers in the coming weeks as we wait to hear from proposals, renovate spaces, and keep the Gateway moving steadily onwards towards our mission to be
‘THE HAND OF GOD IN THE HEART OF THE CITY’.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)