Engagement with the needs of the community and the wider world is a priority for us at Glebe.  We see this simply as a matter of faithfulness to the core teachings of our faith – we are called to “love God and to love our neighbour as ourselves.” 

 So we offer hands-on volunteer help such as:

• Food preparation and service, Out of the Cold Program, St Andrew’s Church, Toronto

• Purchase of large quantities of socks for homeless guests of the Out of the Cold Program

• Drives to collect warm clothes for homeless, poor and marginalized people in Toronto who suffer disproportionately during the cold winters

• An annual Christmas carolling event that includes persons with mental disabilities and their families – a joyful experience for all of us!

• Occasional fundraising concerts or dinners for our outreach program

A Monday evening in December at St. Andrews, Out Of The Cold programme

Last night on offer was: Beef barley soup, bangers (sausages), and mash with peas, and carrots. The vegetarian was a vegetable curry which included coconut and tofu. The dessert was carrot cake with cream cheese icing.

We served 222 guests. We had to ask some of our guests to wait outside as the room got filled up quite quickly. While they were standing in the line up they were served a cup of soup. One of guests later told Jackie he thought that was a very thoughtful and loving thing to do. He had never experienced  it before.

Reports from the boutique: A guest was particularly pleased, he told me he had a good dinner and got a good toothbrush-Oral B, the best. Another guest came in sandals and wet socks. He was very pleased to get a good pair of boots. When I left, I noted his sandals and socks in the garbage by the front door.

And here are some examples of areas where we provide financial help:

• Out of the Cold Program, St Andrew’s Church, Toronto

• Evergreen, Toronto’s Yonge Street Mission ministry to street youth

•  Bonar Parkdale Presbyterian Church breakfast program for school children and homeless persons

•  Salvation Army (Eglinton) soup kitchen

•  Camp Cairn, Presbyterian family camp at Baysville in Muskoka

•  POINT (People and Organizations in North Toronto), community resource centre

• SPRINT (Senior People’s Resources in North Toronto), home support for elderly and disabled persons

• Gateway Flemingdon Park (Toronto) children’s after-school program 

• Presbyterian Refugee Centre, Montreal

• International Presbyterian aid projects in Kenya, Malawi and Guyana

 In addition to these initiatives which we undertake as a church, we appreciate the wonderful variety of helpful service offered by individuals among us.  Many put their faith to work in practical service of all kinds.

 We welcome you to participate with us in whatever area of service may interest you.  Maybe you have ideas for enhancing our effectiveness in reaching out to the community.  Please feel free to contact us.

Glebe supports fair trade!

For a few years Glebe has offered a monthly opportunity for members or neighbours to order fair trade coffee, tea and chocolate products for household enjoyment or use at church, office or business.  Fair trade coffee is served at our weekly coffee hour following the Sunday service.  We order these high quality, reasonably priced organic products from the Toronto enterprise-with-a-conscience, Alternative Grounds www.alternativegrounds.com.  Here is an excerpt from their website’s description of what fair trade is about:

Alternative Trade, now more commonly known as fair trade, began as a movement that sought to address issues of social and economic injustice in the coffee market. Traditionally, small coffee farmers have been forced into exploitive relationships with local "coyotes" or middlemen, to whom they sold their coffee, often at less then the cost of production. This in turn, perpetuated a cycle of poverty, tying the farmer to the "coyote" for loans to produce next years crop, or put food on the table. Those without land were often caught in the same cycle of poverty working for less-than-living wages picking coffee on large estates. Fairtrade is one powerful mechanism that can help break the cycle of poverty and build self-sufficiency and community strength.

Fairtrade works with small farmers who work together to develop community cooperatives. Working with a fairtrade organization, the cooperative sets a mutually agreeable fair price, known as a "living wage". This price is independent of the wild fluctuations found on the New York Stock Exchange where the price of coffee often falls below $1.20 US, which is the amount of money it actually costs the farmer to grow the coffee. It also eliminates dependence on the "coyote", providing farmers with direct access to the market place. Building cooperatively means that small farmers can not only become part of the bigger picture, but can also help define what that picture will look like. Profits from the premium paid for beans through fair trade are distributed within the cooperative and enable the farmers and their families to control and direct the growth of their business's and communities. It also encourages farmers in the stewardship of their land, utilizing farming practices that nurture and support the integrity of the land and the people who are responsible for its continued well being.

At Glebe we have recognized that fair trade choices are a significant way of responding to the call for justice that resounds throughout our faith tradition. 

Please contact us for more information and to participate in our monthly fair trade order.