At Hosanna, Edmonton, we have recently been evaluating our food security and assistance ministry.
This work includes being one of the Foodbank’s longest-running distribution depots, providing meals for the Inner-City Pastoral Ministry (ICPM) Sunday services, being a part of a local winter-warming meal program, and offering five community meals a year.
As one might expect, most of this was disrupted by COVID. During COVID we continued as a food bank depot, but our community meals were shut down.
The ICPM and winter warming meals became bag lunches. None of these ministries were the same as before, with the personal contact and community-building aspects primarily gone.
We considered re-establishing some of these programs but faced declining resources and aging volunteers. We knew we wanted to help but weren’t sure how that would happen—then came the phone call that changed things.
The person on the phone asked if we would consider letting them use our kitchen to prepare food for people in need. As the story unfolded, I learned that the request came from a group that prepared a hot meal and served it on Sundays at a local park. The kitchen they had been using was in a building about to be leased to another agency.
They were desperate to find a suitable kitchen, and we had one that fit. After more conversations and approval from the health department, the congregation agreed to work with them on a trial basis, which has now been extended indefinitely.
As we got to know each other better, we discovered that this program was what one might describe as an adhoc ecumenical ministry. Several groups work together to make the weekly event happen. One group provides drinks; another provides homemade doughnuts or other treats for dessert. Some volunteers work with clothing distribution, while others ensure someone is always available for prayer.
We also discovered that this group, Helping the Homeless in West Edmonton, operated totally on faith. They didn’t even have a bank account. As part of our contribution to the work, we now administer their funds, provide tax receipts for donors and assist with some of their organizational needs.
We have also been working to co-ordinate the work of area agencies better, hoping to avoid duplication or gaps in services (still a work in progress).
The congregation supports the ministry by volunteering, donating, and providing necessary resources (water, power, cleaning supplies, etc.). Our annual “Socks, Undies, and So Forth” drive collection was distributed at the Christmas meal this year.
Hosanna couldn’t possibly provide this ministry alone. However, by working with these many different groups, extraordinary things are accomplished.
Together, we serve between 200 and 350 hot meals a week and provide clothing, community and spiritual support for a growing population of vulnerable people.
I have long known that the Spirit often works in mysterious ways. However, I was not expecting it as a phone call ask-
ing to use our kitchen.
Now, the challenge has become trying to conduct worship while the pleasant aroma of lunch emanates from the kitchen.
—Rev. Dr. James Hendricksen
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