Minister's Message : Transforming Community Through Food

In 2017, a grant of $10000 was received from the Erskine & American Fund through our Presbytery for Mission projects (particularly the commercial freezer). As our Office Coordinator and I write a request for 2018, some of the information gathered is good news to share with all:

Food security continues to be the heartbeat of SouthWest Mission. Our Food Hub includes Breakfast Club, Welcome Wednesdays (Mini-Market and Community Lunch), Collective cooking activities for all ages, and group purchasing.

Monies received from the Erskine and American fund in 2017 were an investment in our vision offering a radical inclusive hospitality that invites all, particularly our vulnerable population, into an experience of healthy, inclusive community.

In 2017 the Mini-Market was offered every two weeks in a sustainable model. Expenditures for fresh produce were $10,503.38 with revenues of $10,688.61. It averaged 30 individual shoppers feeding 55-60 people. Mini-Market was staffed entirely by a core Volunteer team of 4. We were able to offer longer hours in the summer months (10:30 am to 6:30 pm) to better accommodate 9-5 workers and to take advantage of the plentiful local merchandise.

In August we put our publicity budget to good use to print some 5000 postcards for distribution in the neighbourhood of the Mission. 30 Youth volunteers in town for Rendez-vous did the door-to-door distribution. We had a fantastic response!

The growth we experienced in 2017 has been mainly in Food transformation and distribution. This has been made possible by the presence of a Kitchen Coordinator  who began as a volunteer over a year ago and since September 2017 has been on the payroll at 20 hours a week through a Mission Support grant. Since having a “professional” Kitchen Coordinator, as well as adequate freezer space, we have been able to receive meat from Harvest Montreal for processing into community meals and take-out. The Welcome Wednesday community lunches (every two weeks with occasional lighter meals offered on the “off” weeks) have been very well received, bringing in an average of 42 people, and a total of $2094 in donations. A team of four cooks each week transformed food under the leadership of our kitchen co-ordinator with a total of 50 different volunteers participating in 2017.

Erskine funds in 2017 allowed us to realize the dream of a Community Dépanneur. Employing a commercial display freezer, we were able to offer nutritious soups and single-portion meals at suggested prices to anyone attending activities at the Mission or just dropping in. The Dépanneur has brought in some $1500 in donations since September, 2017. These prepared meals are taken out to seniors when requested and made available to the congregation on Sunday. In addition, any “extra” food we have (milk or bread from Breakfast Club, fresh vegetables not sold) goes into our Self-serve fridge, available at no cost to anyone needing it. 

We have reached more people with reduced mobility in the last year, although not exactly in the way we had foreseen. Deliveries were undertaken by a few volunteers throughout the year, but the SouthWest Boxing Day Community Turkey meal was the main event:

A total of 290 meals were provided to community at no cost, of which 149 were eaten in two sittings at the Mission.  The 40 volunteers that were involved in preparation, cooking, serving and delivering came from both the congregation, Mission and wider community. The 61 meals delivered to people with limited mobility included 3 local HLM's and 3 senior residences, and another 40 were taken out by people who attended the meal to shut-in family members and neighbours. There is an organic growing and transformation of community that is exciting, challenging, risk taking, all at the same time. 

We are living transformation as a community of faith, living gospel in action, seeking justice for a vulnerable community, welcoming neighbours into an experience of healthy and not expensive food.  We seek to be a vibrant outreach into our wider community and offer a model of transformation to our existing community of faith.

Strength! Courage!
Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged.
God, your God, is with you every step you take. (Joshua 1:9)

Ne tremble pas, ne te laisse pas abattre, car moi, le Seigneur ton Dieu, je serai avec toi partout où tu iras. (Josué 1.9)

Rev. David

In our Kitchen this Month (January)

Happy New Year, dear kitchen friends!

May I wish us Love, Glory and Beauty for 2018?

Oh, but we have all that already!

BYE BYE 2017

Oh, Holiday Season! It was great, extraordinary, and the best part is that it’s over now! SouthWest Kitchens are officially reopening today, after two weeks of semi-closedness (this is a word) during which we served one spectacular turkey meal for 300, and another less spectacular but equally yummy community meal for 15.

On a very personal level, our kitchen statistics for 2017 have made me very happy. Last year, we served 26 Welcome Wednesday community meals to approximately 1,300 people. Even more satisfying to me is the number of volunteers who lent a helpful hand in the kitchen throughout the year : that was over 50 people, some showing up once, some staying true to us week after week. Thank you all for this amazing human experience, and for this loving, resilient community we are building all together. #VerdunLuv big time.

YO 2018!

We have many projects for the New Year.

The first and most urgent one is to replace the faucet in the kitchen : it has been dangling dangerously, and is saddly beyond repair. We have decided to make the most of the catastrophe-to-come to replace the whole counter: the new sinks will be bigger and deeper, and the new counter will shine its stainless steal upon us, oh yeah!

Another important project for us this year is to transform our bi-monthly community meals into a weekly event – hopefully in the coming weeks, when the counter business will be sorted out.

Finally, we wish to welcome and accompany more groups in the kitchen this year. If your organization or yourself are thinking of starting a collective cooking group, you may like to become residents in our kitchen: we are blessed with great equipment (Vitamix alert!) and are able to offer produce at low prices or for free, including meat. Oh, and did I mention the chef’s expertise?

JANUARY, FEBRUARY AND THEREAFTER

Our usual activities are back :

-       Every Wed. am, we cook for the community. The Dream Team Cuisine is not a exclusive group for a happy few, but a welcoming place for all of you who want to cook, improve their cooking skills and make the community profit from the process. We have a lot of fun, and I swear that all of you who have already volunteered have become experts in the art of onion chopping! Contact me if you want to join in.

-       Every Tuesday, 5-6:15 pm, Easy Peasy Recipes, cooking workshop for 10-12 year-olds. Registration is closed for the Winter session.

-       Every Wed. 5-7 pm: TeenCuisine, cooking workshop for the 13+. Talk to your teens, encourage them to come, threaten them if need be! Registration continues for the Winter session : $5 per workshop, $40 for the session.

-       Every second Wed., 12 h 30 pm : Welcome Wednesday community meal, at the same time as the Mission’s minimarket (fruit and veg at cost price). The meal is free, though you may contribute generously. The next one will be on Wed. Jan. 17th.

As for less usual activities :

-       Tuesday, Jan. 16h, 1 :30-15 :30 : Savour life, or how to feed your infant, a workshop in partnership with Verdun CLSC. Nutritionist Josée Corbeil will be explaining the theory, and I will be getting my hands dirty ! This workshop should become monthly as of March. Contribution : $15, free for all OLO participants. Call Josée to register : 514-766-0546 poste 52293.

-       Monday, Jan. 29th, 4 :30-7 pm: collective cooking with the Centre des femmes. For women only, right! Call Nathalie Vigneault, at the Centre des femmes de Verdun, to register: (514)767-0384

Have a great beginning of 2018!

Strength and energy!

Léonore Pion
Community Cook
Kitchen Coordinator, SouthWest Mission
leonore.pion@gmail.com 
Facebook : SouthWest Kitchens / Les cuisines du Sud-Ouest

En cuisine ce froid janvier !

Bonne année, amis des cuisines !

Je nous souhaite évidemment Amour, Gloire et Beauté – même si, il faut bien l’avouer, en la matière nous sommes déjà vernis !

BYE BYE 2017

Ah, le temps des fêtes ! C’était merveilleux, c’était super, c’était beau et… c’est fini, youpi ! La cuisine rouvre officiellement ce lundi après deux semaines de semi-fermeture, durant lesquelles on a quand même servi un gargantuesque repas de l’après-Noël à près de 300 convives, et un bien plus modeste (mais tout aussi délicieux) repas communautaire à une quinzaine de personnes.

Le bilan statistique de 2017 me fait personnellement très plaisir : l’année dernière, nous avons mis sur la table 26 repas communautaire Mercredi m’attend. Chacun d’eux a profité à une cinquantaine de personnes, soit près de 1300 repas servis. Pour ce qui est de l’aide que vous, chers amis, nous avez apportés, il y a là encore de quoi se tartiner d’orgueil : plus de 50 personnes se sont présentées pour nous prêter main forte en cuisine – une fois pour certains, 20 fois pour d’autres. Merci, vraiment. D’abord, parce que, d’un point de vue très personnel, vous m’offrez des expériences humaines incroyables, mais aussi et surtout parce que notre travail collectif est en train de construire une communauté mieux nourrie, plus aimante et plus résiliente. On a le cœur à Verdun, comme dirait l’autre J

YO 2018 !

On ne manque pas de projets pour 2018, que non !

En premier, on va refaire le comptoir arrière de la cuisine. Malmenée par une utilisation trop intense, la robinetterie menace de lâcher d’un jour à l’autre. On va profiter de l’imminence du bris pour changer les éviers, rendus trop petits, et remplacer le plywood qui s’effrite par de l’acier inoxydable qui rutile. Ça va briller !

Notre autre gros projet de l’année, c’est d’offrir des repas communautaires toutes les semaines – et plus seulement deux fois par mois, comme c’est le cas présentement. On espère être en mesure de le faire dans les prochaines semaines – quand le comptoir aura été remplacé !

Enfin, on souhaite accueillir et accompagner davantage de groupes en cuisine cette année. Si votre organisme ou vous-même souhaitez partir un groupe de cuisine collective, pensez à venir vous installer chez nous : notre cuisine est très bien équipée, et on est en mesure d’offrir les ingrédients à prix coûtant, ou même gratuitement !

JANVIER, FÉVRIER ET LA SUITE

Ce mois de janvier, les activités habituelles reprennent en cuisine :

-       Tous les mercredis matins, on cuisine pour la communauté. La Dream Team Cuisine n’est pas un groupe fermé de bénévoles triés sur le volet : venez vous joindre à nous ! On a beaucoup de fun tous ensemble, et je vous l’assure : tous ceux qui passent par ma cuisine font de fulgurants progrès en éminçage d’oignons !

-       Tous les mardis soirs de 17 h à 18 h 15 : Les recettes vite faites, cours de cuisine pour les 10-12 ans. Le groupe est déjà complet pour la session d’hiver.

-       Tous les mercredis soirs, de 17 h à 19 h : TeenCuisine, cours de cuisine pour les 13 ans et plus. Parlez à vos ados, encouragez-les à venir, menacez-les si les encouragements ne fonctionnent pas ! Inscriptions toujours en cours pour la session d’hiver : 5$ le cours, 40$ la session.

-       Un mercredi sur deux, 12 h 30 : repas communautaire Mercredi m’attend, en même temps que le minimarché de la Mission (fruits et légumes à prix coûtant). Le repas est gratuit, vous donnez ce que vous voulez (beaucoup, évidemment). Le prochain repas communautaire aura lieu le mercredi 17 janvier.

En ce qui concerne les activités un peu moins habituelles :

-       Mardi 16 janvier, de 13 h 30 à 15 h 30 : atelier Savourez la vie, ou comment bien nourrir votre nourrisson, en partenariat avec le CLSC de Verdun. La nutritionniste Josée Corbeil apporte la théorie, et moi, la pratique ! Cet atelier deviendra mensuel à partir du mois de mars. Contribution : 15$, gratuit pour les participantes au programme OLO (Orange, Lait, Œuf). Informations et inscriptions auprès de Josée : 514 766-0546 poste 52293.

-       Lundi 29 janvier, de 16 h 30 à 19 h : cuisine collective du Centre des femmes. Pour les femmes seulement ! Inscrivez-vous auprès de Nathalie Vigneault, au Centre des femmes de Verdun : 514 767-0384

 Bon début d’année !

Force et énergie !

Léonore Pion
Cuisinière communautaire
Coordonnatrice des activités de cuisine, Mission du Sud-Ouest
leonore.pion@gmail.com 
Facebook : SouthWest Kitchens / Les cuisines du Sud-Ouest

January Calendars: Food and Table!

A collaboration between several community organizations under the umbrella of Verdun sans faim, these monthly calendars show where to find community meals in Verdun, as well as where to join a collective kitchen, buy cheap fruits and vegetables (our own Mini-market) and get food assistance. 

Welcome Wednesday schedule

For those who already know about the good food and pleasant atmosphere offered at these lunches every second week, and for those who will discover them in 2018, here are the dates of Welcome Wednesday/ Mercredi M'Attend for the first half of the year.

Les repas communautaires Mercredi M'Attend

Pour ceux qui connaissent déjà les dîners chaleureux aux deux semaines à la Mission et pour ceux qui les découvriront en 2018, voici les dates du repas Mercredi m'attend / Welcome Wednesday pour les prochains mois:

Minister's Message: New Year's, 2018

Psalm 90 speaks to my heart as the new year has begun:

‘O God our help in ages past, 
our hope for years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast, 
and our eternal home.’ 

I had the pleasure of visiting Mom and family in Ontario and appreciated the moments of sharing and remembrance as we gathered on the anniversary of Joe’s death, January 1.

Letting go of the past and resolving to live each precious moment with gratitude is a resolution appropriate for a 2018. Have you made any? 

Use the link to the Daily Bible 2018 Reading Guide from the Canadian Bible Society as a resolution to read scripture every day (paper copies are also available): 

I also want to share this prayer and blessing:

Holy God, as we enter this new year, 
we thank you for your presence with us
in all the years of our lives.
We have known joy, and also sorrow,
success and failure,
and through it all, you have been with us—
the companion of all our journeys.
Much of life is fleeting
and so we thank you for things that endure:
the love of faithful friends,
wisdom gained from experience,
the reliability of nature,
and your steadfast love.
We thank you for this new year which awaits us;
take us by the hand, and lead us on.  Amen.

Go into this New Year: 
dance, laugh, sing, and create,
risk, explore, discover, and love.
believe, hope, struggle, and remember:
We go with the assurance of your love, O God.
Thanks be to God!

Happy New Year 2018!
Bonne Année!

Rev. David

From the kitchen

Our annual Boxing Day turkey dinner was bigger and better than ever with a record 290 meals being served. That number includes 149 meals eaten at the Mission over two sittings; a record 61 meals delivered to people with reduced mobility; another 40 taken out by guests to relatives and friends; and finally 40 volunteers who got to enjoy the meal when their work was finally done. 

At the Mission, our kitchen never stays quiet for long. Breakfast club starts up on Monday as soon as the kids are back in class. Meanwhile, our kitchen coordinator organized a simple meal for all who dropped in on Wednesday the 3rd of January. Turkey leftovers - what else? - were turned into pies and about 15 people enjoyed a low-key Welcome Wednesday. A full-scale WW including Mini-market will return in two weeks, on January 17th. If you are interested in cooking with Léonore on a Wednesday morning, contact her at the e-mail address below. Cooking workshops for teens and tweens are also starting back up: Easy Peasy Recipes, for ages 10-12, is on Tuesdays from 5 to 6PM; TeenCuisine, for age 13 and up, is on Wednesdays from 5 to 7PM. 

INFO: leonore.pion@gmail.com.

Feast of Epiphany

Christmas comes but once a year, but it hangs around for 12 days! Today, Friday, January 5th, is the 12th day, and you know what that means, don't you? Drummers drumming! Along with the pipers and the dancers and the whole lot of them back to the partridge in the pear tree. What a racket. I am back in the office after a nice break and blissfully free of lords-a-leaping or ladies dancing, but only because the elementary school doesn't open again until Monday. (Our office is situated directly under a music classroom, so we basically get the twelve days of Christmas year-round).

The Twelve Days are immediately followed in our tradition by another holiday: Epiphany, on January 6th. Epiphany represents the Visit of the Magi, or Three Kings, bearing gifts to the newborn Christ Child. Some say we should keep our Christmas trees up until Epiphany, perhaps because the stars on top of them are symbolically guiding those famous late-comers, the Wise Men, to the stable. My tree didn't make it this year as it was so dry we feared it might spontaneously combust. So the tree is out to the curb, the garbage and recycling have been picked up, most of the cookies have been gobbled, and we just have to figure out how to keep the spirit of Christmas in our hearts for another twelve months!

At Southwest we always celebrate Epiphany on the Sunday closest to the 6th, which this year is the 7th of January, and we always have a potluck after the 10AM service. Well, it's called the "feast" of Epiphany, so why not? If you would like to contribute a dish, you can just bring it with you to church. Happy New Year to all / Bonne Année à tous!

Amy

EPIPHANY POTLUCK
SUNDAY JANUARY 7TH, FOLLOWING SERVICE (~11:30)
SOUTHWEST UNITED,
1445 CLEMENCEAU, VERDUN

Bingo !

Our Bingo games on the first Saturday of the month are world-renowned. Okay, that's a small exaggeration but they are very popular with those "in the know"! We are right back in the swing in 2018 and that means the game is on for this Saturday, January 6th.  Cost at the door is $5, which gets you your first bingo card and a ticket for the (cash) door prize. Additional bingo cards can be bought for 50 cents. Doors open at 12:00, play begins at 1PM and refreshments are available (donations gratefully accepted). Please note that this is at the church, 1445 rue Clemenceau in Crawford Park. Good luck!