" Isaiah 58:10-12 Feed the hungry and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as day. The LORD will guide you continually, watering your life when you are dry and keeping you healthy, too. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. Your children will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities. Then you will be known as the people who rebuild their walls and cities."

Mission Update:  May, 2005 - Andy Coats

This is the online issue of StreetLife, written and edited by Andy Coats as a periodical update for Ekklesia Inner City Ministries - Project 417 ©2005

Real Stories:  OoTC Update and Street Craft Program for Youth Time to Volunteer Letter of the Day, Toronto Sun, Jan. 24, 05 Spring and Summer 2005 Poem: Blessing from the Street, by Ozz What's in a Name? Ekklesia - Project417 Mission Statement of Project417 Site Directory - Navigation and Links     .

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" In December, 1995 the U.N. General Assembly proclaimed the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997 - 2006). They declared the theme for the decade as a whole to be: Eradicating poverty is an ethical, social, political and economic imperative of humankind" more...

The month of May is upon us and spring is flexing its muscles. It's a time of transition at Project417 - Ekklesia Inner City Ministries as we move into our summer programs. The Knox Out-of-the-Cold program for street youth has come to an end for another season - the ninth year of this successful outreach to homeless and at risk street youth under the age of twenty-five. Congratulations are due all of the Knox Presbyterian Church volunteers, especially their tireless Program Coordinator, Vicki and her husband Bill, along with this year's new Volunteer Coordinator, Lynn. The list of helpers is long, but I can't go without mentioning Young Deog (Ruth), Gillian, Sophie, Merle & Pearl, Tom, Marco, Patricia, Joanna, Pat, Peter, Mark, Adam, Fred, Irene, George, Katherine, Lex, Melinda, Sharlene, Amy, Keira, Catherine - and I know there's so many others, sorry if I've forgotten your name (senior moments...). Their dedication to the program and innovation in making it more than just a meal and shelter for the kids is a true example of servanthood.

Their groundwork was instrumental in attracting the Wednesday night team from the Royal Bank. Originally RBC looked at several Out-of-the-Cold locations before asking to partner with Knox and are now in their fourth year. And that Royal Bank team has really stretched and built new bridges of trust with the youth also. Shoutouts to their leadership and volunteers - Diane, Matt, Peter, Chitra, Andrew, Marina, Margaret, Joachim, Mabel, Rebecca, Jennifer, Mary, et al. Many new volunteers have arrived to help from outside the Knox and Royal Bank groups - Isabel, Nancy & Mackenzie (hi Mac!) :D, Lisa, and a whole group from U of T Life Sciences. The Knox team has set a standard other inner city youth outreach programs can emulate and is demonstrating the true heart of community. Our prayers go out to all the youth, that they may find, healing in their lives, purpose, vision, hope and a time soon when they can have a home. Blessings for Didi, Crystal, Ivan, James, Kathleen, Huen, Cheyenne, Sketch, Ed, Bunny, Meg, Jackrabbit, Kramer, Silent Bob, Jim, Renes, Jean, Michelle, Stretch, Katie, Big Ben, Gary, Josh, Tony, Kramer, Mighty Mouse, Boomer and all the many others who came and endured our hesitant, usually bumbling efforts to be friends. God keep them and bless them all.

Knox ran a trial this spring of a program designed to cater to these street youth year round. For six weeks they operated a small foodbank on Tuesday nights from 6:30 to 7:30PM. (Vicki ran a trial this year on a smaller basis during the Tuesday night OoTC). Supplied by Knox food donations and a supply agreement with Second Harvest, this great program will serve the needs of many of the youth who have recently been housed, to provide them with essential food items as well as special treats they wouldn't be able to afford and things like small appliances, cooking utensils, dishes and hygeine items. Maybe their "home" is just a room, or an apartment shared with over a dozen other youth, a tent under a bridge or a "squat" in an abandoned building. Now they will be able to get nutritional food at Knox, stay in touch with our community and make their needs known on an ongoing basis. Judging from the good turnout of youth so far (and their ecstatic praise for all the "killer" foodstuffs they could choose), it looks like the program will be a success and, given continued volunteer support and donations, may continue throughout the year. Knox needs your donations of foodstuffs to keep a good and varied selection on hand.

It has been a educational and, in a way, humbling, year for me to be involved on a regular basis with both the Knox Church and Royal Bank groups - I have learned so much from all of them and this encourages me to carry on in my mission at Project417 and try even harder to be a better helper. Project417 is blessed to be able to continue our connection with the Knox OoTC - it was always our founder, Rev. Joe Elkerton's, vision when planting programs like this, that the community would catch the vision, assume leadership and become agents for the growth and evolution of the program. To now see the comitted involvement of both Knox Church and the Royal Bank teams and the expansion of the outreach to a year round effort is a confirmation of the goals of Project417 - Ekklesia Inner City Ministries. Pastor Joe has often quoted II Corinthians 3:2-3 -

During the Royal Bank Wednesday night program I had the opportunity to help with setting up craft activities for the youth. It had been so successful on Tuesdays that we decided to offer it also. We tried our hand at marshmallow toothpick models, popsicle stick sculpture, gimp bracelets, then hemp friendship bracelets and beaded necklaces. It was a big hit and the youth, especially Big Ben and Didi, showed us how to overcome the all thumbs syndrome. It was really great, because it gave us another opportunity to sit with the kids and just talk and listen. Among the volunteers, Nancy's daughter, Mackenzie, was especially skilled at designing beaded bracelets. This involvement has lead to us to develop a new program for Project417 this summer to stay in touch with the street youth. I am going to trial run an outdoors craft program, setting up out on the streets where the youth hang out during the days and perhaps evenings.

We will start with bracelets and necklaces made from hemp twine, beading thread and the multi-coloured beading so popular now. We'll provide the materials through donations and I will carry them out on the street. Through discussions with the youth, many are interested, and consensus seems that a good meeting place might be the Grange Park, just off Beverly at John and Queen St. next to University Settlement House. I'll also scout out some other places along Queen West and possibly Yonge near Dundas Square. The goal is to stay in regular contact with those youth who are homeless and spend much of their day on the street by providing supplies for an activity many are interested in. They will be able to exercise their creativity, give the finished products as gifts to friends, or even sell them as opposed to panhandling. A long term vision may be the development of a street co-operative for the youth, to set up the sale of the finished products through street vending or offering for sale (on spec) at the many trendy bead and jewelry shops opening in the Queen West area. This also has the potential where we could offer volunteer opportunities to both students and adults interested in being involved with helping at risk street youth. At Project417, we want to be re-builders of the city just like Nehemiah in the bible. (Neh.4:17 is the inspiration for Project417). Re-builders of trust, broken relationships, friendship, community. I feel the craft program will add to our efforts. I was encouraged by the old stories of Moses building the first tabernacle in the desert in Exodus - Exodus 35:30-35,

"Then Moses said to the Israelites, "See, the LORD has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts- to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic craftsmanship. And he has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as craftsmen, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers-all of them master craftsmen and designers."

Project417 will need your continued support this summer to continue this program. Consider donating materials or make a tax deductible financial donation to Ekklesia Inner City Ministries - Project417 here.   Thank-you, Andy Coats Project417

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Make the time to volunteer...

At Ekklesia -Project417 we are pleased to offer the opportunity to volunteer. Jesus said, "Whenever you did this for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did it for me". I urge you to consider joining one of these programs soon - you'll have fun too! Check out some volunteer comments here

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"The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever. My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest". Isaiah 32:17-18 NIV

From the Toronto Sun, Letters to the Editor,  Mon, Jan. 24, 2005. LETTER OF THE DAY THE LETTERS on homelessness (Jan. 21) raise valid concerns. But they ignore the real improvements that have taken place over the last 10 yrs, back when the homeless were actually dying on the street for lack of shelter. It is correct to deliver food and sleeping bags because it is a reasonable humanitarian response to those in need. And it doesn't cost taxpayers a penny. The food and clothing I personally deliver is all donated. No tax dollars spent, none wasted. City Hall is not being manipulated by special interest groups, rather the public is manipulated by the media who report only the sensational. They all claim that the homeless policies don't represent the voice of the public, but what then of all the volunteers and corporate donors who support programs like Out of the Cold? Volunteers by far outnumber city staff.They are citizens with a right to be heard too. And the large amount of money donated to help the homeless shows that they are willing to put their money where their mouth is. Andy Coats (Sun Ed. note - We're willing to bet that none of those donors want people to stay on the street -- yet that's the common result) (Andy's note - of course donors don't want people on the street, but they're human enough to let outreach workers show compassion and work at the street person's pace instead of jailing the homeless as vagrants.)

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Spring and Summer 2005 Looking forward to the 1,000+ volunteers who will come on sandwich runs this summer. Special thanks to Center for Student Missions and their City Director, Jenn Reimer. We also will have new volunteer groups from Ambassadors for Christ with Paula Chan. Knox Out-of- the-Cold will trial a Tuesday night food bank for street youth who have been attending OoTC and have been housed this winter. The Out on the Street Youth Cooperative will be a new program by Project417 this year. We will be out in the city on the streets and in parks that the youth frequent (Queen West area and providing craft materials and instruction to stay in touch with them, provide them with an activity they enjoy and to produce craft items for sale. Contact Andy Coats for more details.     >Back to the top		Gifts in Kind Help Project417 this spring by donating goods and receive a tax donation receipt for the value of the items. Currently required: Laptop & desktop PC, with Windows XP or MacOS X, for website development and desktop publishing. PalmPilot or similar organizer for volunteer coordination and scheduling. Digital camera or digital camcorder for advocacy, public relations and website content. send email to: donation at project417 dot com
		What's in a name? Ekklesia Inner City Ministries - Project417 - The Nehemiah Effect Ekklesia the word ( Ek-klay-zee-ya) comes from the Greek word used in the original New Testament translated as "church". But is was never used to describe a building or temple. Literally it meant "those called out from". It represents the assembly or the community of believers in Jesus Christ. It doesn't mean "called out" in the sense of being separate, but rather called by name amongst the community of all people. At Ekklesia Inner City Ministries we want Christians to be identified by their faith as they express it through their collective contribution to the community around them, to model unity, cooperative efforts and healthy living- physically, emotionally and spiritually. It is our desire to mobilize the faith community to model servanthood, specifically by helping those people who are most at risk in society; people who have been let down by the "system"; the ones most in need of physical, emotional and spiritual healing. Our designation of Project417 comes from the Old Testament: Nehemiah chapter 4: verse 17, "...[the people of Judah], who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other". Nehemiah volunteered to organize the rebuilding of Jerusalem after its destruction. They faced strong local opposition and had to perform the work rebuilding walls literally ready to fight. Similarily, we as Christians can't separate our faith from our actions. We need to be "rebuilders" and work in readiness to defend our actions, to be advocates for justice and the welfare of the entire community. >Back to the top

 Blessing From the Streets
 
God bless us all each and everyone, 
even though we can't undo the things 
we've already done. 


We wake up each morning to the day 
you have made, knowing full well 
that our debts have yet to be paid. 


You gave us your son to take away all 
the sin, but without acknowledging
that and thanking him our lives will 
never truly begin. 


As we wake each morning and 
slumber every night, we may have 
done some wrong but your 
love can set us right. 


For this last line I would like to say, 
GOD BLESS US ALL EACH 
AND EVERY
DAY.
 

by Colin S.(Ozz) Osborne 
Copyright ©2005 Colin S.Osborne

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DearFriends,

Please consider supporting the work at Ekklesia Inner City Ministries - Project417 with a tax deductible financial gift. Ekklesia receives no government funding. Your individual support will continue to play a key role in supporting our work with the homeless. It is possible to arrange automated bank debit withdrawals for even small monthly pledges. Visit the website www.project417.com for this and other planned giving alternatives. - AC

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