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More Guests Visiting Cooling Centre
With this incredible heat, we have seen a rise in the use of our cooling centre. We are now seeing 15-25 people each day. They are so appreciative of a cool place to stay out of the heat with access to drinks, freezies and washrooms... It has been incredible to see how needs are being met here at Royal City Mission.A local school (Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute) recently donated the contents of their kitchen to RCM. I wondered as I loaded it into our kitchen: “Where will I put all of this?”
Cooling Centre Opens
This week we opened our Cooling Centre... and just in time for the incredible heat. I am thankful for the relief today! We've only had a few visitors to date, but we are expecting that it will take some time for people to hear that we are open. Change can be scary...the unknown throws us off...it unsettles us. Sometimes this unsettling is very good for us! There has been so much change that even someone like me, who usually loves change, has felt daunted by the constant movement in the last couple of months.
Blessing is not a word that I use often... I struggle with the idea that God is bestowing something on me that others wouldn’t also receive, or I get confused at how money is a blessing when it leads to so many issues etc.etc.
This week we began to feel the fatigue of the situation. In conversations with staff, I have heard, “I am tired of this…” and as I sat down today, I felt as if I had hit a wall.
Change…these days is a constant! The strength of our team is evident as we once again “pivot” to make sure the community is cared for.
This week has seen big changes for us at Royal City Mission. With most of our homeless population being relocated to local hotels, the Drop In Centre has closed to allow staff to be onsite at these temporary shelters. The impact of COVID-19 to our Sunday gatherings has made tithing and submitting offerings a challenge for those who have normally done so using the collection plate. Consequently, it is becoming more difficult for RCM to cover expenses, much of which have shifted to the cause of helping provide essential services (food, food prep, food delivery) to those in our community who struggle to find food and help--the very community we engage with through God’s blessing.
God's Provision in the Kitchen
We continue to work together with our partners during this time, sharing space and food and energy. The Drop In staff and volunteers are really enjoying the space and ease of our new kitchen. Who could have known last summer, that it was being made ready for this time? Over the last several weeks there have been many changes, in fact things are changing daily. We know that you are interested in what is happening and so we are going to do our best to keep you all up to date each week with a short email. We will plan to send one out each Wednesday while the crisis lasts.
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