Robert Milton Carries the Olympic Torch

Ric Matthews and RObert Milton on the day the Olympic torch came to our neighbourhood

The Downtown Eastside and Strathcona community turned out in full force on the streets to welcome the Olympic torch on February 12th. Flame bearer Robert Milton, a member of the First United Church community was so proud of his opportunity to carry the flame that he was seen for many days afterwards wearing his Olympic jacket and carrying the torch. People would stop on the street to speak to him and to see the torch. Rev. Sandra Severs describes how she was working in her office a couple of days after the torch relay went through the community and she heard the sound of First Nations’ singing on the street. She says “Out of curiosity I left my office and went further down the hall to see where it was coming from. There was Robert out on the street holding his torch and a man standing beside him singing a song. It was powerful to listen to and moving to hear such a song on Hastings Street. Having the torch relay go through this community has meant a lot to people. Everyone wants to believe in the Olympic dream, ”

Valentine’s Day with Hannah

An unexpected treat for Hannah was having the opportunity to meet Robert Milton and to hold the Olympic torch.

Valentine’s Day was marked in a very special way this year through the generosity of one of our youngest donors. Hannah Newbury, from Wilson Heights United Church, has been collecting pennies and loose change for over three years. In that time she has collected more than $3,000 purchasing food for the pantry at Wilson Heights and providing special treats for the members of the First United Church community. In celebration of Valentine’s day, Hannah and her mother Margaret made hot chocolate and served it at First United. Not only was the hot chocolate greatly appreciated but the mini marshmallows were a special treat!!! Our thanks to Hannah and Margaret for sharing their gifts with us.

First Community attends Olympic Events

Members of First United took in Olympic events through the generosity of VANOC which supplied us with tickets to events like the preliminary rounds of men’s and women’s hockey, curling and the Victory Ceremonies. Seeing this as an opportunity to build community across socio-economic lines, First made available tickets to wider community volunteers, staff and residents of the Downtown Eastside. Groups of people all wearing their yellow Share the Gold scarves travelled together to the venues and applauded and cheered on their favourite teams. It was a wonderful opportunity to work on building a community at the margins in which there are no margins. Together we were just rabid sports fans!

Share the Gold Campaign

Dr. Chris Shaw and Mayor Gregor Robertson at the press conference to launch Share the Gold

First United recently launched its Share the Gold campaign with a press conference supported by Mayor Gregor Robertson, anti-Olympic activist Dr. Chris Shaw, members of the municipal, provincial and federal governments, the First United Church community and the media. We received good media coverage and what was especially uplifting was the sight of the crowd, the Mayor and Dr. Shaw wearing their gold scarves!

Ric Matthews comments, “This is not about simply throwing more money at doing ‘more of the same’. It’s about establishing a VANOC-like organization, (with authority and clear accountability) to deliver a comprehensive and integrated end to homelessness. It’s about recognizing this need as a priority and providing a vehicle for addressing it effectively and urgently. Together we can focus political will and access the resources to move from responsive compassion to proactive commitment in addressing the real challenges of our time.”

A Solidarity Stand was held on Wednesday February 24th for 30 minutes to raise awareness of the Share the Gold Campaign. Despite the rain, Vancouver City Councillors, First United Supporters, staff and community members lined  Hastings Street for two blocks wearing yellow scarves and toques and received loud encouragement from passing motorists.  

Are you surviving the change you initiate?

Lay and Order of Ministry leaders are invited to attend a two-day workshop on April 15 & 16 at First United. “Surviving the Change You Initiate” will be led by Ric Matthews and others. More details on our website soon.

Ric has 25 years’ experience in leading Organizational Development & Change Management projects in Southern Africa, North America & Asia. As an ordained minister in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa Ric served in four inner-city churches in Johannesburg. In a society challenged by the need for dramatic change, he was seconded to work in industry. After joining Deloitte Consulting as Associate Director of Change Leadership he was transferred to the Vancouver Deloitte Consulting office in August 1997. Before joining First United in 2007, he was supporting World Vision International in implementing organizational change across their offices in 105 countries worldwide.

The Beds Have Arrived

Thanks to overwhelming support from the community and the generosity of BC Housing, we have received enough money to fund more than 100 bunk beds.

“This is great news!” says Carol, a fifty-five year old member of the community who has been sleeping in the church for the past 10 months, “I’m getting too old to sleep on a hard surface.  My hips just ache after a night on the pews”.

A “women only” area has been set up in one of the rooms off the Gore Avenue Entrance. The former chapel off the Hastings Street entrance and the balcony of the sanctuary have been turned into sleeping space helping lessen the pressure on the area in the sanctuary.  Access to the beds is on a first-come-first-served basis and people will be able to sleep in them from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. Some of the bunks sleep singles only.  Others are double-wide to provide a place for couples to share space.  In total, approximately 110 people can be accommodated in the new beds. Thank you for helping us provide proper beds for our community members.

We will continue to make the sanctuary available for those who cannot get a bed or who choose to sleep on their own bedding. The sanctuary will remain open for 21 out of 24 hours

Support an End to Homelessness

“A Time To Heal”

“A Time to Heal,” the name of a CD that has been produced by First United, Laverne Gfroerer and Jacquie Forbes-Roberts, was launched during an inspiring concert on Wednesday, October 14th at St. Andrews-Wesley United Church with over eight hundred people present.  The CD, which is a collection of beautiful and inspired music intended to raise awareness and contribute to the end of homelessness, includes a wide range of musical talent such as National Arts Centre Orchestra conductor and violinist Pinchas Zukerman, blues musician Jim Byrnes and the Vancouver Chamber Choir.

CD’s can be purchased on line at www.firstunited.ca or by calling First United at 604-681-8365 ext. 118.

Offering Sanctuary

After much prayerful consideration, the Oversight Board and Ministry Leadership Team of First United granted the request of U.S. citizen Rodney Watson to seek sanctuary within First United Church.  Watson, after losing his job and being desperate for income, signed up as a cook for the U.S. army in Kansas City.  He was subsequently sent to Iraq for 12 months where he found himself working not as a cook but as an armed soldier charged with the task of securing the kitchen and mess area.  Within months of his 3-year contract ending, the U.S. army unilaterally extended his contract for a further 3 years and informed him he would be sent back to Iraq.  After his original tour of duty ended in 2006, he fled to Vancouver.

Despite the fact that there have been two majority votes by Parliament that support allowing U.S. soldiers opposed to the Iraq war to stay in Canada, Watson has been ordered to leave the country or face deportation. If he returns to the U.S. he faces a court martial and jail time.  Canadian law allows for a process that includes an opportunity for a review based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.  If Watson returns to the U.S. he will not be able to access this review and because of his criminal record he will not be allowed to return to Canada.  Watson has a fiancé and a small son living in Vancouver.

 First United Church remains committed to and respectful of the due process of Canadian law.  However, in this instance the Board and Ministry Leadership Team believes that it would be unjust for him to be deported at this point.  Justice requires that Rodney be given a fair hearing on compassionate and humanitarian grounds before being deported.  In addition, the hearing needs to take into account the Parliamentary majority votes and Canada’s history of providing refuge to Vietnam war resisters.

Storage Facility Opens

First United, in partnership with the City of Vancouver, has opened a storage facility for residents of the Downtown Eastside. This facility, which is being run as a six-month pilot project under the City’s Great Beginnings Project, provides those who are homeless a place to store their possessions. The project will enable both the City of Vancouver and First United to examine the feasibility of a year round facility operating in the Downtown Eastside.

Run by new staff members, Jenn, Darryl, Teina and Scott, the facility can accommodate up to 30 shopping carts and 150 storage totes. It is located in the First United parking garage and opens onto Hastings Street. Members of the community can access their storage totes ten hours a day, seven days a week.

First Stays Open

B.C. Housing and the City of Vancouver have officially announced that they will continue funding until April 2010 the three remaining HEAT shelters of which First
United is the largest.

Last December First United responded to incoming Mayor Gregor Robertson’s call for assistance and agreed to open its doors to allow those who were homeless to find
shelter inside. With its open door policy and welcoming of everyone, First United averaged 240 people a night well beyond the 40 bed average of other shelter provid-
ers. Forty-nine percent of all the people sheltered in the GVRD were sheltered at First United.

The shelters opened under the Mayor’s initiative were so successful in reducing the number of homeless on Vancouver’s streets that the funding for the shelters was ex-
tended beyond the initial three months to June 30, 2009, and now past the 2010 Olympics.

First United remains committed to providing a safe, caring environment for those who have no other place to call home.