June 2016 - Capital City Mission
Transcription
June 2016 - Capital City Mission
The Drop-In Update, June 2016 Summer is Here! 521 Rideau Street Ottawa, ON, K1N 5Z5 [email protected] Summer is full of wonderful things like vitamin D, warmth, and the ability to enjoy the outdoors. We have begun to celebrate summer with our first BBQ of the season. The day was filled with excitement, food, and smiles. And this is what we expect of summer. A reprieve from harsh winter temperatures and darkness. Personal need and the stress on our community is certainly different than in winter, but needs are still great. The hot temperatures can be taxing on those who spend hours each day outdoors. The heat wears us down and few people have air-conditioning or the ability to go on a holiday by a lake or a pool. Tourists come to town and places for our friends to sit down and rest become few. The sink hole was an additional stress on our community. It was a tragedy for the marginalized, many of whom walk past the Rideau Centre daily. This location is a place to visit others, it is part of our community. Events like this cause anxiety, fear and other mental health stresses. We also had a murder 100 yards from our drop-in, in an apartment that many of our friends live in. This increases the anxiety attached to housing and causes people to spend more time outdoors, away from shelter. Please remember our community in this season. Seasons change and needs vary, but the need for connection and friendship persists. At Capital City Mission we are able to encourage each other to know that each person is loved. This summer we will have barbecues, our patio will provide shade and The Drop-In will be air-conditioned to be a refuge. We will cultivate a space where people can be refreshed physically and spiritually. Timothy A PLACE TO FIND HELP A PLACE TO FIND FRIENDSHIP Chaplain’s Update “The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not... knowing, not healing, not curing... that is a friend, who cares.” Henri Nouwen In the past few months, we have been able to be effective in bringing this presence to many wonderful people transitioning into palliative care. To chapel comes from a latin word. Before it referred to a building, its original meaning was linked to the cloak of Saint Martin of Tours. Before his conversion, and becoming a monk, Martin was a soldier. Tradition holds that Martin ripped his cloak, giving half of it to a beggar. This beggar was Christ and the tent which later held the cloak was given the name capella and the priest who oversaw the mass was the capellani. Our word chaplain then originates from the action of sharing ones very own cloak. The idea of covering a person as you come along side of them in a time of suffering is compelling. We cover them with our presence of empathy and in so doing the presence of God. My friend Mike has terminal cancer and many other extreme health issues. Doctor’s have suggested that he has less than a year. In the late winter Mike had nine trips to emergency within five weeks, and then spent months in the hospital, before finally finding a space in hospice care. A PLACE TO FIND HELP A PLACE TO FIND FRIENDSHIP On many occasions I had to travel to Mike’s apartment to collect his personal effects and important identification, but the only thing that Mike never failed to bring with him to the hospital was his one year bible. It went with him everywhere and he has managed to almost stay current. This daily reading along with his wonderful sense of humour has helped sustain Mike during such a challenging time. Anyone who meets Mike quickly recognizes his great sense of humour! In recent months we have also lost several close friends and have been blessed by walking with them in their last days. This week our friend Chris passed away but I was so blessed to be able to reconnect with him, because he was staying at the same hospice as Mike. Chris faced much suffering at the end of his life but it has been such a privilege for me to get to walk alongside of him through extreme daily challenges. I have been blessed by getting to know both Mike and Chris better and to learn from the grace they share in their lives. Last month we also lost two wonderful women who brought joy to The Drop-In every time they visited. Ruth had a wonderful smile and Keltie loved any chance they had to play crib together and tease each other about who was winning or losing that day. And Pat was a truly stubborn woman who brought a smile with each visit, though she suffered from addiction and faced hardships for many years. These two women will be greatly missed in out community. Please, pray for the families and friends of Chris, Ruth and Pat as they mourn the loss of someone dear to them. Your support of the Chaplaincy Care Ministry of Capital City Missions touches many lives. Thank you for helping us cover others with the cloak of God’s mercy and love. Timothy Mike is glad to be at hospice care in the neighbourhood, so he can still visit friends at the drop-in Please Help Us Stay Connected!! We are pleased to announce that we will be redesigning our website for a fresh look, beginning fall 2016. A redesign of the website improves our ability to communicate the important work of our ministry. We want you to know what is happening in our community and we want you to be able to share newsletters and other content with your friends. Help us share our stories about God’s work in Lowertown. We are blessed daily by the relationships that are built here and we want to inspire others. We want the church to receive a heart to serve the marginalized in our city and in this world. We want to communicate through stories, prayer requests, and videos that can assist you in sharing CCM with your community. We are considering going paperless by changing to an online newsletter format. We would love to hear your feedback! Please contact us at: [email protected] or by phone at: 613-241-2507 Please let us know if you would like to be added to our email list by emailing with the subject line: KEEP ME CONNECTED WITH CCM. Our emailing list will allow us to inform you about updates to our website. Allowing you to know when videos or blog posts have been added will help us be more effective in sharing what CCM is all about. Support Capital City Mission Today 521 Rideau Street , Ottawa, ON, K1N 5Z5 Name: Donation Amount: $ Address: Donation Frequency: One-time donation Monthly donation Memo: * to make a donation by credit card, please visit us online at www.capitalcitymission.com/donate.htm