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Missions and Outreach |
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1. Soup to Share. I am very grateful for the dedication and hard work of a number of individuals who make this ministry such a success: volunteers provide soup, do the set-up and clearing up after each lunch, bring cheese and desserts. Many thanks also to all who attend and donate so generously to the lunch. A total of $1366.50 was raised over the course of the year. The following charities were supported: Sharing Abundance ($167), North Shore Crises Services Society ($222), Rector's Discretionary Fund ($187), PWRDF's Refugees ($120), Burnaby Counselling Centre ($118.50), Coming Home Society ($181 plus 6 knitted blankets), Karen Refugees ($133), Anglican Church of Canada, Global Relations ($122.00), Sleeping Children around the World ($116.00 donated to PWRDF – Haiti earthquake relief). 2. Sandwich Ministry Ten years ago the Graham family made the enormous commitment to collect bread every Sunday evening from the Park Royal Cobs Bakery and distribute it around Vancouver and the North Shore to needy causes. It takes them approximately 3 hours to drop bread off at New Beginnings Baptist Church, Refuge House, Sharing Abundance Community Meals, and keep some for making sandwiches on a Monday afternoon for Queen Mary Elementary School. Once a month loaves of bread and other delicacies are put aside for our soup lunches. Lately the ministry was expanded to include cupcakes, all of which find a home in the surrounding community. Our thanks and appreciation to them, to Joyce Oswald who makes jam over the summer to supplement the supplies, those who kindly donate supplies from time to time and of course to the team of sandwich makers for showing Christ's love in a very practical manner. 3. North Shore Harvest Parishioners donate canned non-perishable goods for the NS Harvest Food bank throughout the year. In the Fall of 2009 Harvest saw its client base double. With this in mind, we had two special collections for the food bank: all fresh produce and donated food at our Thanksgiving Service as well as a special "Food Bank Sunday" on Dec. 14th. A substantial amount of food was delivered to Harvest Food Bank. Throughout the summer the Sunday School children tended a vegetable plot and in late September potatoes, beans and some squash were dug up by the children and taken to Harvest. Thank you to all who participated especially the children. 4. Outlook Shelter From time to time during the year clothing as well as used shoes (donated by Kintec) were delivered to the North Shore's only homeless shelter. 5. Hope Totes During Lent many parishioners donated small hygiene items for distribution among the homeless living in Downtown Eastside. Several boxes filled with small, personal items were dropped off at the offices of Union Gospel Mission. 6. PWRDF/Karen Refugees St. Clement's participated with their sister churches in the North Vancouver Deanery and Highlands United church to sponsor and support two Karen Refugee families. See the separate report for more details. 7. Harmony Mountain Choir Concerts We enjoyed 2 terrific concerts this year: one in June and one in November. As is customary, the choirs donated 50% of the proceeds ($734.62) to The Stephen Lewis Foundation's "Grandmother to Grandmother" Campaign and 50% to St. Clement's. Parish Council generously donated the St. Clement's 50% portion of the June concert ($351.50) to the Karen Refugee fund. 8. Lions Gate Gogos The Lions Gate Gogo group also raises funds for the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign and meets once a month at St. Clement's. We are planning a Book Swap in early Spring as our next fundraising endeavour and are also looking forward to "Eve with Steve" on May 3rd, at Centennial Theatre when Stephen Lewis will be speaking. Tickets are on sale now for $75 by calling 604.984-4484. We are grateful to St. Clement's for allowing us the use of the Upper room for our meetings. 9. Knitted Blankets Diana Segers, in the rich tradition of Mary Davie's work, continued sewing knitted squares into blankets. We were able to donate 6 blankets to Young Wolves Lodge after our June soup lunch and a further 4 blankets in December 2009. 10. Operation Christmas Child Many thanks to all who contributed shoeboxes this year. They were sent, brimming with love, kindness and care, to needy children in Central America, Caribbean, South America and West Africa. St. Clement's named Outreach as one of its core values at a MAP Parish Story Telling event. The high value placed on outreach was evident even through the economic down turn and other challenges. It was tremendously encouraging to see our community engaged in many successful projects. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all who so faithfully "light up the darkness and allow us to see the face of Christ", … "in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives". Respectfully submitted, Wilna Parry | ||||||||
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(This page is maintained by Lynne Graham .) |
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