First†Metropolitan United Church is active in inner-city outreach through its sponsorship of The Our Place Society (formerly The Open Door Inner City Ministry and The Upper Room Society). Our Place is affiliated with the United Church of Canada as a Community Ministry, and has a long history of support from our congregation.
Our Place has been operating from its new building at 919 Pandora Street since December 2007. It is open five days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., on all holidays and during the winter it provides emergency shelter at night when conditions dictate.
Services and Programs
Services and programs provided at Our Place are extensive. Transitional housing is provided to 45 residents until they can move on to more appropriate accommodations, whether it involves treatment or more independence. Meals are provided to residents and drop-in members of the inner-city family. Other services include hygiene and clothing, healthy snacks, computer access, library, medical support, counseling, literacy, choir, advocacy, recreation and pastoral care. The approach is to provide a hand-up, not a handout and "unconditional love in a non-judgmental way."
First Metropolitan provides both financial and volunteer support to Our Place, including leadership through the Board of Directors. Donations of clothing, food and toiletry articles are also much appreciated.
More information can be obtained from the Our Place office at (250) 388-7112 or from the web site at: www.ourplacesociety.com.
Our Place has been operating from its new building at 919 Pandora Street since December 2007.
First†Metropolitan United Church continues to serve over 240 roast beef dinners each month, for nine months of the year. All inner city people are welcome to our Fellowship Hall on the Friday before social assistance cheques come out.
Volunteers are always needed to help cook and serve these meals. Phone Tara Channell, (250) 385-9166 for more information or to volunteer.
Volunteers are always needed to help cook and serve these meals.
The nights are long, wrapped in a wet sleeping bag, shivering from the damp and the chill, sleep comes fitfully—five or ten minutes every hour. A tree, a park bench, a doorway… these provide some shelter but safety and warmth and not common experiences for homeless youth.
First†Metropolitan United Church is one of several venues which offers night shelter for street youths each evening from November to April. It aims to provide warm, safe shelter for homeless youths aged 16 to 25 years. The coalition includes Beacon Community Services (lead agency), Cool Aid, St. John the Divine, St. Saviours Anglican, as well as First†Metropolitan United.
Volunteers are needed in two capacities:
- to be present for an evening or a morning shift to ensure the provision of a meal, and
- to donate the soup, muffins, eggs and other ingredients that make for healthy eating.
We also launch a yearly financial appeal to ensure that we meet our commitment of $5,000 towards the operational expenses of the coalition.
To volunteer or contribute in any way, please call the site coordinators, Leslie and Bob Wilson at 250-590-4586.
Faith in Action is a group of people from many different faith communities in Greater Victoria with a shared concern for the poor and vulnerable in our society. Our focus is to advocate for BC income assistance programs and other anti-poverty initiatives that recognize the dignity and worth of all citizens. All who share this vision of a just and sharing community are welcome to join with us.
By consultation, collaboration and consensus, Faith in Action works:
- To educate our members and faith communities about the needs of the poor.
- To provide resources, forums and venues that enable persons of faith to participate in finding creative solutions to identified problems and issues.
- To engage in an on-going conversation with all levels of government about the need to humanize the policies, services and programs that assist the poor.
- To communicate what has been learned to the news media and in the public arena.
Contact Sheila Hanna at (250) 920-3662 for more information.
Pastoral Care seeks to model the caring heart of Christ in our relationships with the members and adherents of First Metropolitan as well as those in the larger community. If someone is ill or hurting, the Pastoral team members will seeks to respond in a manner that best meets the needs of the individual.
A caring group of folk, with the assistance of the ministerial staff and our Health & Wellness Ministry:
- Visit members of the congregation who are in hospital, care facilities or confined to their homes, bringing a small gift of a plant or home baking during special seasonal visits. Birthdays of those who are 90 years and up are remembered with special cards and visits.
- Prepare and take communion to those in hospital or homebound.
- Provide support and comfort to the bereaved
- Link with the team providing memorial/funeral receptions.
- Hold an annual Spring tea for homebound parishioners.
- Hold a six week series on Accepting Loss, assisting those who have experienced loss, say goodbye to the past and welcome tomorrow.
Also posted in Pastoral Care | Tag(s): Church Work |
Twelve volunteer lay persons have been trained as spiritual companions to help elders reflect on their life experience and record the spiritual lessons at First†Metropolitan United Church. The program is designed to reduce the isolation of elderly, frail members of First†Met through building a mutual spiritual friendship, and to ensure the wisdom of our elders is passed on through an Honour Our Stories project.
First†Met hopes to grow as a community in which all members are valued and involved regardless of their age or physical circumstances. The volunteer companions are “hearts with ears and a pen” and meet with their elders every two or three weeks to record their stories and build a relationship.
For more information or to participate as an elder or companion, please contact Terry Dance-Bennink at (250) 220-6834 or by email at tmdance@shaw.ca.
Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives
First†Metropolitan United Church participates in KAIROS, a dynamic church-based social justice movement.
KAIROS works with its members, partners, and a cross-Canada community based network in the following areas:
- Ecological justice
- Solidarity in Canada
- Human rights and trade
- Grassroots action for global justice grounded in the local community
Visit the KAIROS in action page for program plans and annual reports. A daytime group meets monthly from 10 to 12 noon at First Metropolitan United Church on the third Thursday of the month. An evening group meets monthly on the fourth Wednesday from 7 to 9 pm at Christ Church Cathedral.
Contact Janet Gray at (250) 478-5066 for more information.
Also posted in Outreach | Tag(s): KAIROS, Social Justice |
Promoting personal health and healing has been central to Christianity from the beginning.
The Health and Wellness Ministry has programs to promote well-being, empower you through self-help and support healing through healing touch, prayer or laying on of hands.
Ann Maffey, a registered nurse and member of the Canadian Association for Parish Nursing Ministry (www.capnm.ca), is the health and wellness coordinator. Available to consult with individuals on a one-to-one basis, she can suggest programs, refer you to community resources and education, and advocate on your behalf when you have health concerns.
You can contact Ann by phone at (250) 388.5188, ext. 233 or email her.
Donations to the Health and Wellness Bursary Fund are tax deductible and may be made in lieu of fees where no fees are indicated.
Subsidies may be available for programs that have a fee. Please speak to the Health and Wellness Coordinator.
Programs offered include:
Please note that offerings may vary throughout the year depending on the interests of congregation members and participants. Please check the church events page for dates and times of upcoming health and wellness sessions. If no location is given, check the notice board at the Balmoral Street entrance when arriving for a session.
New Vistas is a series of ‘lunch and learn’ forums for older adults in Victoria, B.C.
Older adults are invited to explore spiritual issues from an interfaith perspective and connect with like-minded souls in a peaceful, scenic setting. It’s an opportunity to make new friends and renew old friendships through lively dialogue and over a delicious hot lunch at Queenswood Centre.
More than 65 people attended the inaugural program in Spring 2007 series on such topics as Becoming a Wise Elder, Forgiveness, Coming to Terms with Death, and What’s Your Story? Tools for Harvesting Life.
Ninety percent of the participants rated the series “excellent – very good” due to the quality of our speakers, the small group discussion, and the sharing from the heart.
Check the events page in the fall for dates and topics. For more information, contact Ann Maffey at (250) 388-5188, Ext. 233.
Tai Chi Class
(Tai Chi Chuen)
Date: Mondays and Wednesdays
Time(s): 12 noon to 1:00 p.m.
Location: First†Metropolitan United Church
Join other men and women in learning Tai Chi to improve their inner and outer balance, while also having fun! Newcomers always welcome. Speak to Carol Halvorson (250) 386-6670 for more information. There are no sessions when the Monday is a statutory holiday. Classes start again for the fall and winter Sep. 14. Beginners and returnees welcome!
Come and feel your energy flow!
No fee but donations welcome.
- E-mail: Ann Maffey
- Phone: (250) 388.5188, ext 233
- Fax: (250) 388.5186