This Week at Royal City Mission...

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. ​

Serving Meals
We have been working very closely with the Drop In Centre to provide meals. Food is delivered to Royal City Mission and prepared, packaged and delivered by staff and volunteers from both the Drop In and RCM. The separation of food prep from the bigger community allows for proper distancing. We have an enhanced cleaning regiment to disinfect the kitchen between meals.

We are currently delivering to 3 stops: 

1. A hotel which is housing 4 shelters: Wyndham House (Youth Shelter), Stepping Stone (Men’s Shelter), Dwelling place and Elizabeth House (Women’s Shelters). Moving these shelters to a hotel allows for physical distancing not available at our regular shelters. 45 meals delivered
   
   
2. 90 Carden St. - This is an apartment building where many people who are struggling and in need of extra support live. 30 meals delivered.
   
   
3. The Drop In - Those who are not housed and not able to be at the hotel are allowed to stay at the Drop In 24/7. They are screened daily for the Covid-19 virus, along with all who enter. Those who are housed may pick up a meal “to go” at the Drop In and take it home to eat. 

Connecting on Facebook
We will continue to use Facebook as a primary platform for connecting as a community during the pandemic. It's familiar and easy to use for most of our community, including those who have limited access to, and knowledge of technology. We are aware of the challenges of doing live video with poor internet connections and are working on solutions to overcome these challenges. Here are some of the ways to connect with our community on facebook.com/rcmguelph

Live @ 11 on Sundays
Sundays at 11 am we are broadcasting a brief teaching time with opportunity for questions and comments. The broadcast remains on our page for those who are not able to join in at the time of the live broadcast. We have had over 500 views of our first live broadcast!

Good Friday Service
We were looking forward to meeting with Waterstreet Community Church for a Good Friday Service. Since that is no longer possible, we will hold our own Good Friday Service on Facebook at 11 am on Friday, April 10th. We hope you will join us.

Midweek Meditation
Gavin Wark is posting a contemplative meditation related to our Sunday teaching passage each Wednesday. We would encourage you to spend a few minutes with it between Wednesday and Sunday and join others who are engaging with comments.

Friday Facility Update
In this period while there are no public gatherings in our building, many upgrades have been undertaken. Watch for Mark Anderson's facility updates each Friday afternoon on Facebook.


What Can We Do?
This question has been asked again and again and we are so thankful for your support.

We have been receiving lots of food through the closure of, and reduced business at local venues and restaurants. If you have contacts that are willing to make further donations, we would be extremely grateful. Food items can be delivered to the back of Royal City Mission without having contact with anyone.  Lisa Laws is organizing all food and food deliveries - lisa@royalcitymission.ca Please contact her before dropping items off. 

Currently the biggest needs for ongoing support of the meals are:

• Masks to screen at the Drop In Centre
• Rubbermaid totes with lids for delivering packaged meals
• Baked goods
• Soup in freezable containers
• Money to purchase extra supplies to deliver food- packaging etc
• Money to purchase food 
• Continued financial support for RCM operating costs
• A freezer - preferably upright- but chest will also work. 

Thanks  for your interest in the on-going life and mission of our community.
We pray that God's peace would rest upon you in these challenging days.

Kevin Coghill
Lead Pastor | Royal City Mission

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