Christ Church, Oshawa, plans to use its share of the Our Faith-Our Hope funds—nearly $129,000—to do a lot of little, local things really well.
“It’s the little projects that are getting the church known for being involved in the community, and we love that,” says the Rev. Judy Paulsen, incumbent.
A few years ago, the church switched its outreach focus from sending money to projects to building relationships, especially with people in the neighbourhood. As a result, the church has made strong connections with the community and energized its outreach volunteers.
For example, the church recently started a drop-in play group for parents on maternity and paternity leave, and it is already growing. “We had no idea how many people feel isolated from work and family,” says Ms. Paulsen. “We’re finding that there are a lot of young parents who just want to get together with other young parents to talk and find out what they’re doing.”
The church ran a marriage course in the spring and plans to offer a parenting course this fall. “That’s an area we want to grow in: how to be a resource to young families, whether it’s through parenting courses or answering their kids’ spiritual questions,” she says.
In addition to programs for adults, the church runs Messy Church once a month and a Vacation Bible School (VBS) every summer. The Messy Church draws children and their parents who would not normally come to church, and the VBS attracts 50 kids from the surrounding neighbourhoods.
“It’s been a multipronged approach to say, ‘What do we need to do differently to connect with these young families?’” says Ms. Paulsen. “It’s been really fruitful.”
The church has already put deep roots into the community. About three years ago, the church formed a “missional action team,” which went to nearby Mary Street Community School and asked the principal about its needs. The principal thought the students were not getting enough calcium in their diet, so the church started providing an extra serving of milk a week for every child in the school. The school was also short of play equipment, so the church donated 200 skipping ropes of every colour and style.
The church also runs some projects at O’Neil High School. Some kids cannot afford the full bus fare to get to school, so the church, along with the school, provides reduced-cost bus passes for them. During the first year of the church’s relationship with the high school, the principal estimated that about 20 students would arrive at the school without any school supplies, so the church bought some backpacks, put them around the altar, and the congregation filled them with items that the school had suggested.
Ms. Paulsen says these and other local projects will benefit from the Our Faith-Our Hope money. “We’ll use this money in a very intentional way,” she says. “What are the little things that we could help with and get involved with? That’s part of our plan for the campaign money.”
She adds: “We have the people to do volunteer work, but we’re not a parish that is wealthy with endowments, so the Our Faith- Our Hope money is definitely going to help us do ministry into the future.”
