The blue wagon goes missing

Cold weather is arriving this week, colder than we've had yet this fall. And when you're homeless and trying to survive in the outdoors, temperatures below zero are always an issue; warm clothing a must.

A replacement wagon?

Fortunately for Sanctuary of Peace and our Tuesday Table Time ministry, we've been receiving a lot of good winterwear, snacks, handwarmers, and toiletries "survival kits" from friends who know about our street ministry. Every week, we wait outside Bissell Centre East to meet those who live on the streets or in shelters located nearby. We offer them basic necessities, often things donated to us, that folks can't afford to purchase for themselves.

A few years ago, a friend donated a blue canvas collapsible wagon that we've used to transport a lot of Table Time supplies. We've guarded it carefully because we know so many of our folks would love to have it for their own use. We've often heard, "Is that wagon up for grabs?"

and received a lot of good-natured teasing when we said, "No, we need it or we can't set up our table next week."

Even so, the wagon suddenly vanished. We realized it was missing on Sunday because we usually fill it with left over cardboard boxes after we pass out the 200+ lunch bags supplied by our supporting communities. Its absence was felt again today because we had more than the usual Table Time supplies to offer folks ahead of this coming cold snap. We did a big search for our missing wagon, with staff at the Bissell Centre helping as well. Pastor Quinn also checked with the Provincial Navigation Centre across the street. 

No luck.

The wagon was very much missed for the hour and a half that we managed to give away piles and bins of good warm clothing, snacks, toiletries and gloves (we never have enough gloves for everybody). I and others made extra trips to and from our office, juggling boxes in our arms as we tried to navigate door handles. Good thing I did my Tai chi this morning to warm up those muscles!

Unless our wagon turns up this week, which we highly doubt, we're on the lookout for a new one, and/or anyone who might like to contribute toward it.

I've priced them out, and a good collapsible wagon (we don't have a lot of storage space) costs more than $100, more like $150. It has to have a heavy-duty metal frame, with good wheels that can roll down the corrugated metal ramp from our office to the street. Cheaper wagons with tiny wheels or a box that isn't sturdy enough to carry our bins and boxes just won't cut it.

If you're looking for a way to support folks living rough in the heart of the city, cash donations to Inner City Pastoral Ministry (our old name) will help us to buy a new wagon -- or, if you prefer, gloves, snacks and other winter items that people really need right now. Click here for a link to our website's donation page. E-transfers can be sent directly to icpmgiving @gmail.com, and tax receipts will be issued by our board treasurer.

Any amount helps. Our arms and backs will be much happier when we can use another wagon, and our friends on the street are always happy to receive Table Time assistance, whatever form it takes.

Let's not forget Syria

Thousands donated photos to make this image to represent
Syrian children caught up in their country's conflict.
(Save the Children/InterAction.org)
http://www.facesforsyria.org/me

With all the rightful concern and excitement about what's been going on in Crimea over the last days and weeks, something else has been missing from the news -- namely, Syria. Have you noticed? I have, because I work with two wonderful people from Syria whose families and friends have been affected by the ongoing crisis there. It hasn't been easy for my friends to watch their beautiful country descend into total chaos over the past three years. There have been periods when they've wondered if some of their family members are even alive... and when they've heard that some are not... I think of my friend's twelve-year-old cousin named Giorgio who was killed by a stray bullet in his own living room...

Many Syrians have been forced to flee their homes for overpopulated refugee camps where health issues such as polio and leprosy have suddenly reappeared. Lebanon, to Syria's south, is about half the size of Nova Scotia (10,800 sq km), and its population of 4.5 million has swelled by almost a third as 2 million Syrians have sought refuge there, further stressing the country's already precarious finances, healthcare, housing, employment and education.

Two weeks ago, a Lebanese doctor who works to provide healthcare to Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Dr. Rita Rhayem, came to Edmonton to make us aware of how our donations to Development and Peace (Caritas Canada) have helped Caritas International in Lebanon serve many Syrian refugees. She shared stories about helping families to get essential health services from basic first aid and vaccines to more critical help like delivering babies, psychological counseling and wound care. The Caritas Lebanon team of  approximately 25 doctors and 30 nurses is a dedicated group, many of whom have been working with the organization for more than twenty years. They are so convinced of the importance of what they do that there is little, if any, staff turnover -- they see that they are making a difference with every smile they receive from their patients. Here's a little video that gives you an idea of what they're doing:

When it became evident that the Syrian crisis would not just go away, every politican and their dog jumped on board to raise funds to help the people of Syria. But now, three years in, other issues have turned their attention elsewhere, and Caritas Lebanon's funding of projects to help Syrian refugees will soon run out. So it's important to spread the word about excellent organizations like Caritas, which also runs projects for Syrian refugees in Jordan, Turkey, and within Syria itself. We need to point people to places where they can learn about and support the work that people like Dr. Rhayem and her colleagues from Caritas International are doing. Please consider sharing this post and visiting any of its links to learn more and make donations to help the people of Syria. It's one simple way to live in solidarity with our Syrian sisters and brothers.

Simple Christmas idea #30 -- Set up a new Christmas giving box

Think about next year...

As I'm writing this (on December 23rd) Josh Groban is singing, "There's so much to be thankful for" (I'm biting my tongue about where he's situated his preposition!) and I'm thinking this is the perfect suggestion as we move into a new year. As North Americans and people in the developed world, we are blessed in more ways than we can count... and often find ourselves with spare change in our pockets, unlike about 92% of the planet's population.

Now is a good time to make a plan for next year's giving. Setting aside a box for that spare change, or organizing our charitable donations for the coming year means that by next December, we'll have contributed to many worthy causes, and still have our spare change box to share with the Food Bank or the Salvation Army, or any other Christmas charity of choice. We do have so much for which to be thankful, and it isn't hard to spread that gratitude around, especially if we plan in advance. So find a little box, put it in a prominent place, and dream of those who might appreciate some shared spare change next year...