ANNUAL 5K RUN/WALK WILL BE HELD ON OCTOBER 20 to help raise the money for St. John the Evangelist's outreach activities. (Photo from the last year's 5K run/walk: Eager participants about ready to start the race)
By Liesel White
EVERY SATURDAY night, for 27 years, St. John the Evangelist has been welcoming hungry Londoners to dinner.
Our guests come not only for food. They come for the fellowship and support provided by our volunteers and by fellow guests. Each comes with their own individual story. Some are homeless, some are casually employed, some depend on Ontario Works and disability cheques, many are seniors, some are recent arrivals to Canada, some are students, most are singles, but some are families with young children.
Many volunteers work together to ensure the delivery and success of the Saturday Meal. We have a rotating roster of serving teams – from St. John’s and from other churches, including St George’s Middlesex, St Anne’s Byron and St Aidan’s. We have teams from community groups, including Western’s medical and dental faculties, the Bishop Hellmuth Neighbourhood Association, and the Camino Pilgrims of London. We have other teams made up of groups of friends, unaffiliated with any organization. Different individuals and teams do the weekly shopping and prepare the rotating menu of the Saturday meals.
Because Tuesday was a day without a lunch offering in the community, this year we added one. It has a more eclectic menu, depending on purchases to supplement what is available through Second Harvest and Harvest Hands (organizations which ‘save’ unsold grocery chain goods approaching their ‘best before’ date). The lunch has its own roster of volunteers to prepare the food we serve our guests.
Every year the number of guests grows. Currently we serve the Saturday meal to 24% more people than a year ago and 50% more than in 2022! The Saturday and Tuesday meals combined feed over 250 people each week – with the weekly numbers being higher towards the end of the month when the cheques run out.
Preparing and serving these meals would not happen without the ongoing commitment of so many! We have been truly blessed!
We recently saw another need in the community – food insecurity in individuals who do not come to our meals. We have a vague idea of who they are – students living in nearby rental housing, the working poor, people who are living on the margins. So, earlier this year, we added the Outdoor Food Pantry. It sits just outside the church tower entrance, with the invitation to “Take What You Need and Leave What You Wish.” (Recently a man on a motorcycle left a large and very full grocery bag).
A dedicated team of volunteers coordinates securing food and keeping the Pantry stocked. Parishioners donate non-perishable food along with money. A team organizes a biannual neighbourhood food drive, and this fall we plan to organize a food drive involving high school students.
On October 20, we will be holding our 17th annual 5K Run/Walk. It raises the money to ensure that these programs, and our many other Outreach activities, continue.
This is a fun event with (a few) runners and (lots of) walkers. We have prizes for winners in a variety of categories – children and adults, humans with dogs, walkers and runners, and most money raised. We have music before, during, and after from St John’s Marching Band and the Barclay Road Brass Works. And we have post-race pizza!
Everyone is welcome to participate – more details are available at https://www.stjohnslondon.ca/pages/5k-run-walk .
Liesel White is a St. John the Evangelist parishioner.