THE FALL SEASON OF REGULAR ACTIVITIES AND SPECIAL EVENTS HAS BEGUN AT CALVARY.

COME IN AND FIND A PLACE IN OUR FRIENDLY COMMUNITY

PRAYER REQUEST

Tom and Helen Powell are asking for prayer - Helen is in hospital after a fall and the prayers from their Calvary Memorial church family would be greatly appreciated. Tom and Helen have asked that we delay calling or visiting at this time and Tom will let us know when this changes.

UCW MEETING

UCW Meeting Tuesday, October 8th, 2024 at 1:30 p.m.

in Kellerman Hall.

Anne Reuber is the speaker on WOW Regional UCW .
All ladies welcome.

JULIETS' LUNCH

Tuesday, October 15, 2024 at Omega Restaurant 685 Fisher-Hallman Rd. Kitchener, Ontario 11:30 AM

Retired Married Ladies Lunch

All the retired married ladies of Calvary Memorial are invited to lunch together at Omega Family Restaurant 685 Fisher Hallman Rd on the 3rd Friday of the month at 11:30 AM.

HEALTH AND WELLNESS DINNER

Thursday October 3rd, 2024

@ 5:30 PM

The theme of this dinner is

“Grand River Hospital Withdrawal Management Program”

Please sign up on the board next to the elevator

COMMUNIITY MINISTRY POSITION OPPORTUNITY!

Calvary Memorial is seeking a

COMMUNITY MINISTRY COORDINATOR

FOR THE COMMUNITY MINISTRY PROGRAM OF

CALVARY MEMORIAL UNITED CHURCH, KITCHENER

This position will include emphasis on advocacy for the marginalized people in our community and providing services such as coordinating the weekly community supper and assisting in personal issues such as medical appointments, legal issues, etc., all provided within a Christian perspective. Preference will be given to applicants with relevant education and experience. A more detailed position description and an overview of Community Ministry’s programs follows.

.

Interested applicants should send a resume and cover letter to the Community Ministry Search Committee by October 18, 2024.     

Community Ministry Search Committee

Calvary Memorial United Church, 

91 Gruhn St.,

Kitchener, ON., 

N2G 1S5 

or 

office@calvarymemorial.ca

COMMUNITY MINISTRY PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Community Ministry is an outreach program of Calvary Memorial United in Kitchener. This Ministry was initiated in April 1997. The Ministry is funded by two congregations (Calvary Memorial United and Trillium Lutheran Church), funds from the broader local denominations of the Lutheran and United Churches as well as through many fundraising events held throughout the year. For 2023, our fundraising totals were just over $14,000 as well as money from the two partnership congregations of just over $28,000.  Fund raising was limited because of a restructure on operations as a result of the pandemic.

Community Ministry started when a young couple showed up at the door. They had just arrived from Winnipeg and were looking for food when some of the congregation was having a pot luck supper. They were invited in to share the meal and as they prepared to leave said, “See you next week”. The people present decided to return the following week and offer another meal. Dinners have continued every week ever since that time.

As the dinners continued, more people in the community heard about them and began coming. As people in the congregation got to know the people from the neighbourhood, they became more aware of the needs and challenges people right in our own community were dealing with. The ministry works with people to help them achieve their maximum potential. Success is not monitored by numbers of people who no longer need our support but rather by how people are able to manage day to day with their limitations and gifts. We offer a place where people can share with us whatever gifts they wish to and we find ways to encourage their gifts to be utilized. Many of the folks that we are in community with are living with mental health issues and /or addictions. Some are homeless, all are living in poverty. Any of our resources are available to anyone in our community regardless of religious affiliation, if any.

Goals 

• To promote activities to bring neighbourhood residents and church members together to address mutual concerns. Over dinner each week all people present, both volunteers and those seeking support, are invited to sit together and discuss areas of concern. Educational opportunities enable congregations and community groups to better understand the issues that face many people locally. Support is offered to people who are challenged by issues related to healthy daily living such as the staff person attending meetings connected with housing, medical appointments, legal appointments, social assistance appointments as clientele request. We offer opportunities for groups from various places to come and participate in our ministry. Food assistance is available to families in need.

• To ease feelings of isolation among people of the community. Our weekly meals offer times of fellowship. There are people who come primarily for the fellowship of eating with others rather than eating alone. There is much fellowship before meals. Other programmes have been offered when we are able such as cooking classes based on items people commonly find in food hampers, or spa days for ladies. Visits are made to homes, hospitals and prisons, wherever people are and desire to have support. There are worship opportunities available and people participate in these activities as they wish to.

• To create an atmosphere where people know they matter. We have offered programmes like photo days and birthday bags so our marginalized neighbours can enjoy many of the same activities most of us take for granted. Photo day offered an opportunity for people, singles, couples or families to come and have pictures taken. They were given several copies including a framed one. People are thrilled to be able to display their pictures in their homes. Birthday bags are for children up to the age of 12. When they are having a birthday, their parent can come and get a bag with simple decorations, cake, icing and candles as well as paper plates, napkins and cups so they can have a birthday party. Included is a grocery gift card to buy some food as well for the party. 

As a Ministry in the community, we are able to respond fairly quickly to the needs of our clientele. We have offered a variety of support over the years as the needs have arisen. Some have been short term and others longer term. We have had a Single Mom’s support group, a Moms and Tots group, a high school breakfast program. For various reasons, these programs are no longer part of the Ministry but we would be able to offer them again if the need arose.

We work in partnership with other agencies in our community, most notably the neighbouring high school. We have been able to offer haircuts to our clientele through the Cosmetology class, the Hospitality class have prepared food for us on various occasions, the Horticulture class shares the produce from their garden. In turn, we offer a place for students to complete their community volunteer hours required for graduation, we offer a Christmas shopping day for students who have been identified as students coming from families with financial needs, we gather dresses for young students to select from for their prom and we have often had students from the Life Skills class assist with our preparations for our weekly community meal. We had 2 students who came every week to help in the kitchen with food prep and hall set up for this meal.

As we continue to live out our vision of “Where people matter”, we plan a special evening where we have decorated dinner tables, a special meal served by Hospitality students from a local community college, a musician playing music throughout the evening and a treat to take home at the end of the night. Pictures are taken that evening and shared with participants. We also have had a 4 week Cooking from Food Hampers course. 

Revised 18 September, 2024

GIVE THANKS WITH A GRATEFUL HEART ~ GIVE THANKS WITH A GENEROUS HEART

Your gift will help sustain Calvary's ministry, its outreach, and its building.

You can put your donation in the new offering box at the Gruhn Street entrance,

in the mail slot at the Gruhn Street door,

or in the mail to Calvary Memorial United Church, 91 Gruhn Street, Kitchener, N2G 1S5

E-Transfers can be directed to office@calvarymemorial.ca.

Please include your name, offering envelope number, and what fund to direct your donation to in the memo line. If you do not have an envelope number, please include your full address so that we can provide a tax receipt.