Inspiring ideas

A SANCTUARY REPURPOSED

With shelters overcrowded and few options available, Beth Emmanuel Church took a novel approach. Three nights a week the church in London, Ont., removes the pews from its sanctuary and sets up cots for those in need. Each cot is set up with clean sheets, a sleeping bag, pillow, towels and a chair. The church also helps its guests look for work, and access education and addiction recovery support. WWW.GLOBALNEWS.CA

COMMUNAL STAY-CATION POTLUCK

After a congregant complained about not having anywhere to wear formal cruise clothes, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Salmon Arm, B.C., decided to host a social Dinner Cruise Night. Everyone was welcome (dressed formally or casually) for a cruise-themed potluck dinner. One congregant acted as the event photographer, while others organized a shuffleboard game and slideshow of pictures from cruises members had taken. Congregants loved the social outing, amid the cold of winter, and plan to make it an annual event. WWW.PRESBYTERIAN.CA

BEAN THE CHURCH

The town of New Germany, N.S., has no coffee shops. The local Anglican parish of St. John’s-in-the-Wilderness saw this as an opportunity to reach out and get to know the community better. Thursday mornings from 9 until 11 (in nonpandemic times), they host a free community café that averages around 30 guests. The café also accepts donations to support local schools and foodbanks. WWW.ANGLICANJOURNAL.COM

FOOT WASHING IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Summerside Baptist Church in P.E.I. hosts a foot care ministry. The free clinic typically sees four or five clients per week, cared for by a nurse from the congregation who runs a foot care business that provides services from nail cutting and special foot care for diabetics to dealing with warts and corns. The nurse says the emotionally vulnerable position of receiving foot care often allows for deep conversations where she can share her faith and pray with clients. WWW.SUMMERSIDEBAPTIST.COM

REMOTE EDUCATION

As schools closed and students began exploring ways to learn from home, True North Aid saw a need among Canada’s Indigenous communities. Founded as a way to bring practical support alongside evangelical missions in Canada’s north, True North Aid has networks in place in remote Indigenous villages. Many children in these communities can’t access the materials they need for learning from home. The organization is raising money and distributing backpacks full of school supplies to Canadian children in need. WWW.TRUENORTHAID.CA —CRAIG MACARTNEY