Outreach Ministry
Outreach, with the dedicated support of the congregation, is an integral part of St Bartholomew's vision. Our aim is to seek partnerships with specific programs caring for children, the poor, the ill and elderly locally, nationally and around the world.
During the season of Lent, our EASTER TREE grows in the Narthex. Crosses are placed on its branches in memory of loved ones or in recognition and appreciation of friends and relatives. As Easter week approaches often those bare branches bear delicate blossoms as well as a sea of white crosses.
During the other seasons of the year, our WISHING WELL gathers donations of loose change. Various initiatives are supported. The Peel Children's Aid's Holiday Wishes program is our traditional Nov. - Dec designated charity.
This residential home for adults in Caledon, has been visited for more than forty years by members of our congregation. For the last two decades it has been the Outreach team taking the lead.
At Christmas time the residents are encouraged to take part in a play to which their families are invited. There are several rehearsals with residents and Outreach team members as the actors. After the performance, Santa arrives to present each resident with a large and small piece of wearing apparel (or any special request items such as a CD) as well as chocolates (diabetic as appropriate), pop corn and a candy cane.
Each spring we host a bingo at the House and later in the year we organise an offsite outing. For the last 2 summer excursions we have included a restaurant visit for a pizza buffet - quite a favourite activity among the residents.
We continue our partnership with this downtown Brampton organization - serving the marginalized folk in our community. For several years we have held gently used clothing drives and given monetary donations to their program. In the spring of 2009 we learned that new underwear is often a luxury item for men and women attending their breakfast program. This surprised and saddened us. We decided to take on the challenge of providing new "undies" for everyone. Having experienced first hand how well this program was received, we will try to make it an annual initiative.
In the summer of 2009 we learned that they desperately needed a group of volunteers to organize and sort clothing donations. As an answer to that call - from late August to the end of November - our team clocked 110 hours of sorting time. This was first envisioned as a one morning a month project! Due to the backlog and later, to an onslaught of generous donations, it quickly moved into a once a week session. These sorting mornings have become a time for laughter and fellowship.
The aim of this organization is to help students attend their grade 8 or 12 graduation or prom night wearing a very special outfit. We know that many youths in Peel Region are on Social Assistance or are living in low-income households under the poverty line. They struggle with the burden of their everyday lives. Finances do not stretch to luxuries. This year 300 young people, invited by social workers or teachers, attended Boutique Day at the Mississauga Convention Centre.
As well as collecting outfits and accessories for the big day, we were delighted to have a team of our own volunteers there to help this year. It was such an exhilarating day, we plan to be back next year.
Each year we support programs that reach out to First Nations children. We began by collecting books for Lieutenant Governor Bartlemann's project targeting the isolated communities of the Far North. We continue to support the AMICK CLUB reading program which developed from this initiative.
Closer to home we send funds to assist the Toronto Urban Native Ministry's Christmas program. It provides a hamper for families in need as well as programs within the community.
We continue our partnership with this organization - the recipient of one of our railroad containers of used bikes. For the second year running we provided a bank draft to assist in their educational and food programs. FHS provides a nutritious meal for 250 vulnerable children in the black township of Katatura six days a week. In addition they provide kindergarten and remedial education - preparing their charges for entry or reintegration to local schools.
In spring 2009, we had a special fundraising project for this grassroots organization in the poorest township of Kampala, Uganda. Their vibrant jewellery is designed with beads made from recycled posters which are cut into strips - tightly wound, shaped and cut to the desired size. At this stage they receive coat(s) of clear shellac. Often the resulting beads are left the existing colour - with the original print visible.
We had a combination of 6 after service sales, a display at the UCW bazaar and two private sales. We were delighted by the support we received from the congregation. Our contribution will help Caring Hands Kampala continue with their projects to improve housing, send children to school and improve health education - to name a few of their ambitious initiatives!
Fourth container arrives in Namibia
Our FOURTH CONTAINER arrived in Windhoek, Namibia on October 7th, 2008 after a voyage of nearly 6,000 kms. This voyage began on June 16th, 2008 when the Container left our Church by road to the CN Terminal, Rail to Halifax, and then loaded on to the cargo vessel ZIM SHANGHAI Voyage 21. The vessel called briefly in Barcelona, Spain arriving in Haifa, Israel on July 4. On July 11 the container was loaded on the CONTI EMDEN Voyage 824 this carried the Container through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, the Indian Ocean to Djibouti. From Djibouti it was transshipped onto the JOHANNA RUSS Voyage 14 arriving in Durban South Africa on September 10. On September 17 it was transshipped on to what is called a feeder vessel the "TUGEL" Voyage 097S.
After leaving Durban this vessel called into ports around South Africa, such as Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, and Port Nolloth, then Luderitz, Namibia, and finally Walvis Bay in Namibia. Walvis Bay is about a third of the way up the West African coast in the infamous area called the Skeleton Coast, so named because of the many shipwrecks that occur due to the violent weather in the South Atlantic Ocean. (the source of all of Hurricanes that batter the Caribbean, Southern and Eastern United States)
The Container's arrival will conclude a quite remarkable accomplishment of St Bartholomew's United Church. Half of the contents of this container were left over from our last year's efforts, which sent three forty foot containers of Bicycles and other items to Namibia. This latest Container held 222 Adult Bicycles, 46 Children's Bicycles 22 Bicycle Frames, Spare Wheels and more than $2000 worth of specialized Bicycle Repair Tools and Tires, 2 Wheel Chairs, 172 Soccer Shirts & Shorts and a large quantity of Children's Books. This container size and the contents were somewhat less than the three last year. First the container was not purchased because of a specific request from the team in Namibia that would like to "top up" the previous shipments. Because the container remains the property of the shipping company, we did not have to incur the expense of purchasing it. Also the committee felt that we should not find ourselves having to find storage for left over items as we did last fall. So our advertising was less vigorous, and more specific about the type of bicycle. Amazingly what was received filled the container to capacity.
Following is an excerpt of an email message received from Michael Linke the manager of Bicycles for Humanity in Namibia.
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Date: Wednesday October 8th, 2008 7:24:37 AM
Subject: Container Update:
Yesterday we unpacked the container and moved everything into our storage container. It's a great haul! There are some really nice bikes in there. I also phoned MaryBeth Gallager who came to collect the soccer gear and box addressed to her, and she says a big, exuberant THANKS! Abigail from FHS is coming today to collect her books, I'm sure the kids over there will be over the moon.
We are in the process of helping our mechanics establish their own workshop, similar to BEC projects but in a more up market retail space, with the aim of having them eventually retail new bikes, so the tools you have sent will be invaluable. I have been dreaming of a spoke tension meter for the last three years! The ones you sent will be particularly useful as we're now trying to build a lot more wheels in-house. Some of the mountain bikes with women's frames have already been allocated to tow bicycle ambulances, and many of the rest will be sent out to other BECs in the coming weeks. Lucky, in the photo attached, is the newest addition to our cycling team and has been praying for a road bike to replace his heavy old mountain bike. There is a big race on Saturday and he'll be riding this bike in it. Lucky will also be part of our travelling promotion to encourage Namibians to have HIV tests, and we have also employed him to do our deliveries, so the bike, and Lucky, will get a good workout!
Best wishes and thanks again to all at St Barts.
Michael
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Many people both within our congregation and out contributed to the success of this Outreach Project. The financial support was outstanding. It demonstrates what can be done when there is a worthwhile cause, and it is well managed. Because of the generous funding we will be paying to move the contents of the Container right through to Windhoek, thus relieving the Bicycle Empowerment Network (BEN) from this expense. MANY, MANY THANKS TO ALL OF YOU, you know who you are, so I will not be naming names. Within the United Church in Brampton and area, we are known as the Bicycle Church. Within the Bicycle for Humanity membership, we were the stimulus to drive many other groups to get formed. Still we are used as an example, and remain a logistics resource for new groups as they are forming.
Regrettably, Pat Montani who founded Bicycles for Humanity in British Columbia in 2005 has resigned as its leader leaving the various groups to operate independently. Pat remains involved helping with communications and web site management. Some of these groups continue to work with Namibia, some are looking at other areas of Africa. Michael Linke remains the contact in Namibia.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to speak with me or any member of the Bicycles for Africa Committee
Respectfully Submitted by Terry Owen
Bicycle Committee Member