Helen MacKay, sound technician, Inner City dinner greeter and more!

Volunteer Extraordinaire!

You’ve all seen Helen! She is most often working sound and lights from the back of the church.

Her name, by the way, is pronounced Mac I, NOT Mac A.

Helen is on Presbytery, and she also works with Shirley Chatfield to keep the church data base up-dated. She is the smiling hostess who meets people at the door and welcomes everyone to our Inner City church dinners. But mostly she’s simply there when she is needed. Just ask anybody at the Church. Ask her husband Stewart—or ask them at The Open Door (now Our Place) where she has been a volunteer for years.

Helen was brought up by caring parents who loved and supported her well. At one point Helen’s mother was a teacher at the Alberni Residential School and one of her students was George Clutesi, from the Tseshat Nation, who later went on to become known as an actor and as an artist (His work was shown at Expo 67.) George Clutesi kept in touch with the family over the years and Helen enjoyed listening to him speak about life. She learned spirituality and a real appreciation for nature from this wise and gentle person. She recommends his book, Stand Tall My Son.

Helen would love there to be more supported housing for the people who really need it. One day she was talking with a First Nations fellow at the Open Door. She said, "If I ever win the Lotto, I’ll put it into housing for whoever needs it." He said, "That would be good—but you know what would be even better? If they had a couple of old farm houses that needed some work with an area for a garden just beside. People would like to work to help themselves." Helen has never forgotten that conversation! And now we all know what she’ll do if she ever wins The Big One!