Ministry to the homeless

By all worldly accounts much of the ministry of The Church on the Street seems like a total waste of time. However, in my more reflective moments I realize that the answer lies somewhere in the mystery that on the street I am constantly surprised by holiness in the midst of addiction, violence, and poverty.

Sticking with tradition, Good Shepherd Ministries will once again provide guests with a holiday feast Easter Sunday in the face of further rising needs in food bank usage and meal programs in Toronto.

Though its doors closed in May of last year, one of Halifax’s historic parishes has reopened with a new purpose, offering a warm welcome to the city’s most vulnerable through a temporary basement homeless shelter.

For the hungry and needy of Toronto’s Parkdale community, St. Francis Table has been a beacon of hospitality, and over the past 20 years, a service kept alive through the care of Br. John Frampton.

It was one of those evenings when the streets of the city were in deep freeze. I arrived downtown and when I got out of the car, I instantly decided that this was an evening for four layers of clothing.

St. Catharines in Ontario's Niagara Region is not unlike other cities around the country when it comes to the high numbers of people using area food banks.

You know something? Nobody is perfect. Now this might come as a great surprise to some of you just as it did to me.

St. Patrick’s Summer Street Patrol program is returning for a 29th year of service next month as part of a continued effort to provide full stomachs and smiling faces to Toronto’s most vulnerable.

Youth from St. Anthony’s Parish in Toronto’s west end have put their humility and generosity on full display as they take to downtown streets to help the city’s less fortunate.